Monday, August 24, 2009

Modern Sac

I had dinner in a japanese restaurant in downtown Sacramento. It was the night before the first day of the bar exam so I carefully opted for hot soup, thereby avoiding any unecessary risk of food poisoning from raw fish. (I'd also been making sure to pick my feet up to avoid tripping while walking, carefully looking both ways before crossing a street even when it was one-way and I had a green light, and chose not to vacuum my house before leaving lest I throw my back out in the process. After 10 weeks of 8-10 hour days of studying, I wasn't taking any chances of being unable to sit for the exam.)

I used the bathroom before I left the restaurant. Imagine my surprise to find an electronic bidet/toilet with picturesque buttons. Pressing the button with simple ass icon and the word "back" would send a stream of water from this public toilet to clean your behind. Pressing the button with the picture of a girl in a dress and the word "front" would, I assume, squirt the other end of the nether regions (and not merely spray the front of your dress).

The restaurant bidet disturbed me. I stood there staring at it, questions racing through my mind. Did the owners think that this amenity would be the tipping point for customers to choose their restaurant over the other japanese restaurant two doors down? "Yeah, you can get sushi there, but here, you can get sushi and get really clean." Or, was the bidet already in place when they opened the restaurant? If so, how long had it been there, and what was the prior establishment? A spa? A tattoo parlor? Furthermore, how many people have actually used it? Did it cause long lines for the bathroom when the restaurant was busy? Most importantly, why was the toilet seat so yellow?

Although I was tempted, I didn't press any of the buttons to see if the bidet actually worked. Neither did I ask the wait staff for answers to my questions. I guess I prefer the mystery.

Snacks on a Plane

On a recent flight from Sacramento to Chicago, the flight attendant (FA) offered nourishment in the form of "snack boxes" for $6.00.

Me: "Could you tell me what is in the snack box?"
FA: "Snacks."
(pregnant pause)
Me:"Could you be a little more specific?"
FA: "Well, some have carbohydrates, some have protein, you know, like tuna."

Really?