A Day Off

A day off. Today is a national holiday, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.  Like many holidays, we often do not acknowledge or celebrate the reason for the holiday. The past couple of years, I have watched TV shows about Martin Luther King, Jr. and  his efforts on behalf of the disenfranchised peoples of the United States, not just the racially disenfranchised.

This year, I did not.  I had some small tasks to do, and spent the rest of my day reading.  I was glad for a day of leisure, however. I took myself out to lunch, and let someone wait on me.  I have had some back, hip, and leg pain with toe tingling. I did not do much this weekend, and have not felt much pain, which is a blessing to me. 

There are chores I could have done around the house, but would have exacerbated the pain. So, I chose not to do those things. I am anticipating a pain management procedure next week, and if it is successful, I may take a day or two off to do those chores I have delayed.

Last year, when I did my taxes, my tax provider gave me a gift certificate for a local restaurant in celebration of the numbers of years I have used them (5 or 10?).  So, I went out to eat, took a book, ate lunch off the lunch hour prime time, and enjoyed being waited on while I relaxed and read.

So, I decided that I should do that about once a month.  Over the last 2-3 years, I have taken my self to lunch intermittently, but often to a self serve buffet, or would buy some take out, and bring it home to eat.  So having someone wait on me was really nice.

The experience varies. Today's experience was average.  The waiter was fine, but near the end of my meal, acted like he was in a hurry for me to check out, and then came back and told me to take my time, sit back and enjoy my book.  But he had ruined the atmosphere.  I went to Red Lobster http://www.redlobster.com/ because I won several gift certificates for that restaurant.  I will return to Red Lobster several more times, as a result. 

Red Lobster is not my most favorite restaurant.  I love sea food, but most of their sea food is not fresh.  Today, the waiter told me what on the menu was fresh sea food, and, it was more than I wanted to spend for lunch.  But I had a fine lunch. 

I have been out to eat several times and brought a book.  One of the best places is the Hong Kong Restaurant http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/203/1047280/restaurant/Hong-Kong-Restaurant-Lubbock.  Typical of many Oriental restaurants, it does not always get good ratings from the health inspectors.  But it has selections that I like.  You can get Mongolian barbecue, sushi, and other Oriental selections off the buffet.  They also have "American" selections including desert. I can eat enough soup, spring rolls, egg rolls, and Oriental selections to fill up my tummy.  I order a pot of tea, and enjoy the meal.  The thing about eating at the Hong Kong is that the pot tea is sufficiently large that I have tea left after I am done eating my meal.  Since I am not in the restaurant during the rush hour, and not taking up a table they need for a waiting customer, I take my time to finish the tea and enjoy my book.

I have decided I will explore other restaurants where I might find a place where I can sit back and read and be waited on. 

Sometimes, we just need to have someone take care of us, and a day off is a good day to do that.

Loose Lips Sink Ships...But Tingling Lips Get Our Attention...And Remind Us We Have Things To Say

So, it was late afternoon, my last day off of this past long weekend.  I was minding my own business, reading in the living room, when I realized that my lips were tingling.  That was strange.  I checked in the mirror, there was no discoloration and no swelling.  I checked myself for other symptoms:  slightly elevated pulse, which I attributed to nerves, no diaphoresis, no chest pain, no shortness of breath, no radiating pain, and as far as I could tell, no cognitive changes.

I "googled" tingling lips and discovered that one of the causes is a reaction to seafood.  Ah ha!  I had taken myself out to lunch at my favorite oriental buffet, The Hong Kong Buffet http://www.yellowpages.com/lubbock-tx/mip/hong-kong-restaurant-10222549.  I know better. This restaurant very often has multiple health issues when it is inspected. And, I could tell that the steam table was not hot enough.

But it has selections that I like: some kind of green bean selection, at least one shrimp selection, fish, and mushroom selections.  So, as always, I ate too much, including some sushi selections, including one that had a seaweed topping.  I do not usually eat seaweed. Everything else I ate, I usually eat, including the hot and sour soup. 

So, I am thinking that the tingling lips are a reaction to something I ate, specifically, but speculatively, the seaweed.  To be on the safe side, I took some aspirin.  But in about an hour, the tingling in my lips went away.

That was a weird sensation. But it reminded me that I wanted to write about the good and bad about eating at the Hong Kong Buffet.

Eating Out

I do not eat out much.  Once a month, usually, I eat out with the Barnes and Noble Mystery Book Club. http://www.barnesandnoble.com/  I enjoy that. The company is good. Because "Barnes and Noble" is now located at the South Plains Mall, sometimes we choose the "Food Court" at the South Plains Mall http://www.southplainsmall.com/.  Other times we choose "The Olive Garden" http://www.olivegarden.com/ which is located in the northeast corner of the mall parking lot. Sometimes, we choose other restaurants just north of the mall on Slide Road.

For a while, I was trying to go, once a month, to a buffet that was mixed Oriental, American and Italian food.  It was okay. I would bring a book, and take my time to eat. I tried to eat after 1 PM, so my lingering presence would not take up needed table space.

I have sometimes, over the years, especially on Friday night, bought take out from "The Fortune Cookie " http://fclbk.com/.  They do Lubbock Daily Deals http://dailydeals.lubbockonline.com/engine/Splash.aspx?contestid=62192 so every time they do, I buy these coupons and appreciate them. I need to frequent this restaurant more often, though, without the coupons.

I received a gift certificate for an order at the counter, but the meal is brought to you, restaurant, River Smiths Chicken and Catfish http://www.riversmiths.com/. That was really nice.  I again took a book, and enjoyed having someone else taking care of me.

Over the last few years, "Orlando's" http://www.orlandos.com/ and "The Texas Land and Cattle Company" http://www.texaslandandcattle.com/files/menus.aspx  have from time to time, sent me gift certificates, which I use. I also enjoy the service, and usually bring a book to read while I am waiting for service.

I have also taken myself out a couple of times for a meal. Most recently, I went to "The Red Lobster" http://www.redlobster.com/.  I was not pleased with the service or the meal, although it was edible, it was not worth the price.  But, really, why should I complain.  That is my long term experience with "The Red Lobster."

This is a holiday weekend. I have taken extra days off at work. I am thinking that one of my meals needs to be at a restaurant that will wait on me.  I have not decided which restaurant yet, but I have Sunday and Monday to decide. I like having someone waiting on me, so I can sit back, relax, and just enjoy. That is a vacation kind of experience.