May 10, 2007

• Edited to add:  I will say, in his defense, he explained that he didn’t want to say anything negative at dinner; that he was trying to be pleasant.  And because the class probably asked him about how the food was, he didn’t lie.  He just doesn’t add up, though.  Even his car is weird.  He drives a plain, white sedan, almost like a police car.  And his clothes are odd, just as nondescript as his car.  When the teacher was asking why he wanted to learn Spanish he said wanted to be able to communicate with the “Mexicans on the farm.”  She pressed him about whether he employed them or worked with them and he wouldn’t answer, waving his hands and saying something like he didn’t want to go there.  His English is sometimes better than other times, depending on the conversation.  Like he plays dumb.  In class he sucks up to people, saying muy bueno to the older gal who is way on top of things.  The weirdest thing, though, is that he refuses to sit at the long table with the rest of us, opting for the table perpendicular to it.  That puts him at the opposite end of the teacher, sort of like the other head.  I was teasing him about choosing a position of authority and he said under his breath so only I heard him, “that’s where I sat at meetings.”  I said, “What meetings?” (he’s retired)  And he said, “never mind.”  The other thing he’s cagy about is his age.  I would think he was somewhere between 35 and 40 yet at dinner he said he was an old man.  He tried to pay for my dinner but I told him “Unless I’m sleeping with a guy, I pay my own way.”  I was horrified when the words just popped out.  I didn’t have the nerve to look over.  But I could feel him react.  Maybe that was insulting.  I thought it was a slutty thing to say.  I’ve never said anything like that to a man I barely knew.  I act weird around him. 

   

  I got the Palm Treo 700WX.  And it only took three phone calls, a trip to the mall, and three “chat” sessions with the Verizon online sales department.  I swear, it took that much to get the price down.  They are tricky like that. Part of the ordeal was renegotiating my plan and getting them to take off $100, which was a promotional thing the first woman didn’t do.  Online, it said free shipping overnight.  Right before I hung up the phone with the first gal she said, “So, you should have it in two to three business days.”  I said, “But I thought it was overnight.  I’m leaving Sunday.”  So now it’s touch and go whether I get it in time, plus I won’t be able to have those little “chats” when I can’t figure the book out.  That’s what I get for procrastinating.

  I had my Spanish class today, which I love.  There is a party the Monday I get back, and we are each supposed to cook something from the recipes in the back of the workbook.  There is a guy in the class who I thought I liked but now I’m not so sure.  We went to dinner after class last week.  I had to leave dinner early so just ordered an appetizer.  I had a cooking class to go to.  He ordered the chili relleno, and when I got to class today he had told everyone it wasn’t very good.  The restaurant had been my suggestion, as I’d eaten there once before and enjoyed it.  He, in class, had asked whether there were any good Mexican restaurants around and I said I was going there after class.  He invited himself along.  I liked the way he pretended he could speak Spanish with the waiter.  I liked the way he steered us to the best table.  And I liked the confidence with which he ate. 

  He’d acted like it was good, but today in class he wrinkled up his nose. 

  “I thought you said you liked it.”

  “Oh, so you are going to cry about it?” (English is his second language, one of four.  I can’t figure out what mix of Asian he is.  At dinner he said all these odd things like he lives on a farm and used to have horses but it was “too expensive to hire the Mexicans.”  Now he just has chickens.  Well, I know he has Hispanics working for him, that’s why he’s taking the class.)

  I laughed at the cry joke and so did the class but a little part of me was hurt.  So I ignored him today.  Usually I sit by him but three people didn’t come today so I sat up by the teacher.  Normally, we walk to our cars together but he hung back with the teacher.  Then he yelled my name and told me to have a good trip. 

  I went back to that restaurant tonight and had the chili relleno to see if it was okay.  Not that I’d know, I’ve never ordered it, if you can believe that.  I thought everything seemed good.  At the table he did say he made better tortillas.  I was impressed that anybody would make their own.  But when the teacher was asking each of us what we were bringing to the party he said he didn’t cook.  I said,  “What about those great tortillas you make.”  HA!, nailed ‘im.  That’s when we were leaving class and he and the teacher stayed behind to talk about his recipe.  Something about that guy bugs me. 

  • 10:39 pm
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