I was a Jordan girl

It was an accidental fanship. I was in 2nd grade and I saw a girl with a NKOTB pin. She asked me if I liked them and I lied, I had no idea who they were, "Of course. I love...them." A fan was born.

I had their bedsheets.

Joey, Jordan, Jonathan, Donnie, and Danny have reunited for a New Kids on the Block reunion tour.

Oh, and I'm going to be there.

An Achieved Status

I've been given the title Regular at Dees Family Restaurant. I'm there once a week. Toward the end of the semester I'm there sometimes twice a week reading and studying and doing end of the semester things, which is right now.

On Wednesday I go in and order a bacon, cheese, tomato melt on white (three strips of bacon, a couple slices of tomato, and swiss cheese between two pieces of grilled bread). You wouldn't think that it's very good but it really is. I eat my salad and fries while I'm reading. I pick up half of this totally awesome sandwitch that I've been thinking about since about 9:30 PM and take a bite.

This tastes funny. I take a nother bite, not really paying attention. Still tastes funny. I look at the sandwitch and find that there is American cheese on it. What's this crap? Since when did they put American cheese on a bacon, cheese, tomato melt? Under further investigation of the sandwitch I find that it looks like they made a grilled cheese sandwich, realized their mistake, opened the sandwitch, slid the correct ingredients in, and served it to me.

Um, I hate American cheese.

During the Dee's Scare of 2004 they kept selling the establishments to build Walgreens and Mexican restaurants. I've been going to Dee's since I've been little and to come home to a valley less three Dee's (that I've been to) I was quite concerned. May we have a moment of silence to honor those fallen Dee's Restaurants of 3500 South, 400 South, and North Temple.

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The building on 2100 South and 700 East became my Dee's when I moved out of my mom's house. This is the Dee's where I earned my achieved status (sociology term) of a regular. I was concerned to find that this restaurant, that I've grown to call my own, has screwed up on my order. This has never happend at my Dee's. I've been going to my Dee's for three years now. I've eaten probably hundreds of meals there and this is the first time they've ever messed up my order.

I looked up to my waitress and then I looked down at my food and my book then back up to my waitress. I realized I needed to make a decision. Send the food back or eat what's been given to me. How many of you have been in a situation where you've had to send food back to the kitchen in a restaurant? I don't recall many times where I've had to do this. In fact, I think this is the first time this thought has crossed my mind. Maybe my bark is bigger than my bite because I'm sure I've said, "If anybody ever screws up on my order, by gum, I'm sending it back." I didn't send it back. I ate the bacon and tomatoes then realized that there was a rather large group of young adults that was seated behind me (I'm just realizing this because I've been so into my book that I really didn't know they were there).

I got up to pay. Heart pounding. Eventhough she doesn't need to ask, the manager says, "How was everything tonight?" I start out with, "Now, how often do I complain? I don't. But (insert the sandwitch ordeal here)." I reassured her that she would not loose a customer but asked her to talk to whomever she needed to talk to.

The next day I go back to Dee's to do some soul searching. I told the manager again the she didn't loose customer. I got my food, did some writing, and paid for my meal. It was perfect, the Dee's I always remember. She told me that she talked to the cook, who wasn't all there anyway, and told him that if you screw up on an order, throw it away and remake it. She told him that a lot of these customers are regulars and know what's in their food, such as my case. I told her that I appreciate what she did and I also told her that that situation probably would've driven a regular customer away, just not me. Dee's has served me for 15 years and this is the first time my order was ever screwed up on. I'll be back as long as I have studying or reading or writing to do.

I still love Dee's and will go there until I'm old and grey, if I'm still in Salt Lake by then.

I'm Jaded, You're Jaded, Let's be Jaded Together

I just finished watching the documentary Thin and I was about to watch the film Once, Academy Award winner for best original song by the Frames, when the urge to blog hit me. I've been devising this post for about a week and a half.

If you can't tell from the title, this will be a post about members of the opposite sex. When I think I've got a good thing going for me, POW, right in the kisser.

Backstory.

We just got home from Afghanistan. My Sergeant Major says, "Sabo, I'm going to introduce my son to you. He needs to meet some good girls." Henceforth, we will call him the Sergeant Major's Son. We meet. He takes me to see Children of Men, not for the faint of heart, especally during the last bit of the movie where there is a very intense and extremely accurate urban combat scene. Completely off topic. We hang out a couple more times. No big deal. He just got back from his mission, he needs to live life, right? Yes, he does. This is why it's not a big deal that we lost contact for more than a year.

Story.

Spring Semester 2008. After a long series of unfortunate events about an extremely stupid English class that I'm required to take eventhough I got an A in 2010, the Sergeant Major's son and I end up in the same Political Science class at Salt Lake Community College. We start chatting before and after class. We chat during class. He even convinces me to go to see Gogol Bordello with him (Start wearing purple, wearing purple. Start wearing purple for me now. Your insecurities will all vanish, I promise, if you start wearing purple for me now). The flirting has increased. Lately, we've been finishing eachother's sentences, saying the same thing at the same time, wanting to make the same comments in class. I mean, will you give me a break? He's political, he digs music, he has a cool dad that likes me, he's good looking, he's smart, he reads, he goes to church. (Is it a coincidence that this falls into my lap right at the same time I start asking Heavenly Father about dating again?)

Defying all things the church has taught, I got my tarot cards read. "So, Margaret Ruth, there's this guy (insert the rest of the story here)."

"Allison, I'm getting a really wierd reading here. Well, I'm seeing that you have a very strong psychological connection with this guy, strong spititual connection but there isn't anything that's going to come from it. He's holding onto something. There's something he's hiding from you. But there's nothing that's going to come from this connection." I shrug. Meh, we'll see.

The very same week we're chatting outside class as usual. He brings up this girl (red flag #1) so I lay it out. "Are you dating somebody, Seargent Major's Son? You can tell me."

"Not technically dating per se. We've been on and off for the last eight months."

"Okay. So are there issues with this girl? Are you jaded? Are you upset because she's not paying attention to you? Is she young? What is it? Let's get to the root of this problem. If you've been on and off again for eight months what's stopping you from taking me to dinner?"

"It's not that simple. She has a condition."

"Condition?"

"Yeah, a condition (nodding his head, giving me the wide googley eyes)."

My jaw drops. I felt my face drain from my forehead to my chin. "Did you get her pregnant."

Silent head nod. He busts out with, "You never knew me in high school." He's right. I never knew him in high school but his dad did. Why else would he want to introduce his son to a good girl?

I have absolutely no idea what to say next besides, "Well, let me chew on that. I've got to go to class. I'll see you Monday." We give eachother our customary high five and go our ways.

Now, I know I've been attracted to assholes in the past, but this guy seemed like a real winner (please look at above mentioned awesome things about the Sergeant Major's Son, except for the whole getting a girl pregnant that he's been on and off again with, pun intended). I know I'm jaded, I know I'm extreme. But there's this phrase: once bitten, twice shy. Okay, when does it go into twice or even thrice bitten?

I know it's a physiological thing about dudes not being able to keep in in their pants. Isn't there some higher source that someone can talk to about their weaknesses? What am I thinking, of course there is. Isn't there some sort of covenant young men make when they are 19 and about to go to Brazil to serve the Lord for two years that can help them to keep it in their pants after they get home? Oh, yes, there is.

I'm taking my books and I'm going home.