04/23/2002 Entry: "Very French."

"No, that's not right," she said. "I wanted a latte. A double latte. With non...non-fat milk. And I wanted it hot. Make sure it's hot." I remember from my days of working in a coffee bar what 'Make sure it's hot' really means: 'I have no clue.' The barista took the incorrect beverage back to remake it. She waited for him, and looked up at the wall.

"That's a very weird clock," she said, actually cocking her head to one side like a cockatiel while she sized it up. "Very strange. It's a very...French...clock. Very French." The man behind the register came around the counter to look at it with her. She paused for a very long time, watching the hands go around. "I see the one, two and three, but the four is, like, this box sort of thing," she said. "The ten looks like a letter 'T'. And the nine looks like the symbol for pi...."

So I'm sorry to have to break this to the Japanese and Chinese, but your numbering systems are now French. Please adjust accordingly. Thank you.

Replies: 2 comments

maybe they were just talking shit about the customer? remember all the secret languages you would create so that you could talk shit right to someone's face.

Posted by aaron @ 04/23/2002 03:06 PM PST

You mean, how "Sir" and "Ma'am" really meant "Asshole" and "Bitch?" Don't know what you're talking about. :-)

No, those were the customer's reasons why she thought it was French. Oops, bad editing. I've changed the story so it's clearer who's talking.

Posted by Casey @ 04/23/2002 03:12 PM PST