Uh...
This morning at the daily meeting at work, the lady in charge of store security and safety (very good at her job but personally a very irritating person with a very high opinion of herself - she sometimes acts as though she were the boss of the whole place) made an announcement. Tomorrow, at 10:30 am, the store will participate in a national earthquake awareness/preparedness drill. Apparently when the announcement is made we are to move to an area free from the danger of heavy falling items (how to do that in a Walmart I'm not sure), get down on the ground (to prevent being thrown to the ground in an actual earthquake) and curl up with out arms covering our heads.
Everyone could tell from his gobsmacked expression that this was the first that Dave (store mgr) had heard of it. He made the comment that if he were a customer and all the employees in a place suddenly dropped to the ground and took a fetal position, he'd be just a tad worried.
She said it was a company directive. I wondering why it's the first he's heard of it. I can't believe there wasn't a company wide email for upper management so he must have failed to read it. I still can't believe she didn't discuss it with him first.
Apparently at 9:45 we'll begin making announcements to save all the customers from believing the whole store has gone mental.
I understand the reasoning behind this because people don't associate the Midwest with earthquakes. The New Madrid Fault in southern Missouri is a big one and the last time it ripped (I think it was 1811) it forced the Mighty Mississippi to flow backwards for awhile and completely changed its course. The area was very sparsely populated but still it toppled chimneys hundreds of miles away. The next one (and there will be a next one even if not in my lifetime) could be pretty bad, with the possibility of devastating the areas between St Louis and Memphis.
Still, I can't help thinking back to grade school when we practiced crouching under our desk with our hands over out heads in the hope that it would protect us from a nuclear blast.
I will not be dropping to my knees. In the event of an actual earthquake you'd find me laying 'flat out like a lizard drinkin', but until then (1) It's very hard for me to get up and down from the floor, (2) my right knee is still rather screwed up, and (3) I'm very subject to leg cramps which happen more often than not when my feet are flexed like that. Instead I'll park my ass on the bench at the fitting room along with Donna who says she'll be damned if she'll get on the ground for anything less than the real thing.
And here's the next batch of my
100 Foods You Should Try Before You Die
21. Heirloom tomatoes - Every damn chance I get. I usually grow at least one heirloom tomato on my balcony.
22. Fresh wild berries - blackberries, tiny wild strawberries and when I was a kid there was a huge mulberry tree in a local park that the other kids and I would gorge on to the point of nausea.
23. Foie gras - not a fan
24. Rice and beans - many times.
25. Brawn, or head cheese - another thing that my dad loved. I took a bite of my dad’s head cheese sandwich when I was a kid. It was pretty tasty. Until I knew what it was. He and Iron Chef Michael Symon could have bonded over their love of animal innards but it scarred my childhood.
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper - I’ve had it raw in salsas but I’m not masochistic enough to just take a bite of one.
27. Dulce de leche - cloyingly sweet. It’s OK in desserts though.
28. Oysters - They’re OK fried, like in a po’boy but raw it’s like swallowing a salty lougie.
29. Baklava - love it! I want to try this version and see if I can tone down the carbs in it.
30. Bagna cauda - I had to look it up. Since I’ve realized that ‘anchovy’ isn’t synonymous with that pungent paste they sling on cheap pizzas I wouldn’t mind trying it.
31. Wasabi peas - very tasty.
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl - yes, but like
dine I’d rather have something like beef stew or maybe chili in my bread bowl.
33. Salted lassi - nope! I’ve had sweet lassi, but not salted.
34. Sauerkraut - love it, especially on Reuben’s (hold the dressing please) or with sausages and mashed potatoes.
35. Root beer float - I’ve tasted them but I don’t care for root beer.
36. Cognac with a fat cigar - don’t care for cognac and the cigar is never going to happen.
37. Clotted cream tea - a few years ago some friends and I enjoyed a high English tea (clotted cream included) in an establishment in Victoria on Vancouver Island in BC, Canada. It was tasty but nothing I have a burning desire to repeat.
38. Vodka jelly shot - some of these sound delicious but no, I’ve never tried them.
39. Gumbo - absolutely delicious. I haven’t met a gumbo I didn’t like.
40. Oxtail - not really from an ox, you know. Yes, I’ve made and eaten oxtail stew. But they’re so expensive.
Everyone could tell from his gobsmacked expression that this was the first that Dave (store mgr) had heard of it. He made the comment that if he were a customer and all the employees in a place suddenly dropped to the ground and took a fetal position, he'd be just a tad worried.
She said it was a company directive. I wondering why it's the first he's heard of it. I can't believe there wasn't a company wide email for upper management so he must have failed to read it. I still can't believe she didn't discuss it with him first.
Apparently at 9:45 we'll begin making announcements to save all the customers from believing the whole store has gone mental.
I understand the reasoning behind this because people don't associate the Midwest with earthquakes. The New Madrid Fault in southern Missouri is a big one and the last time it ripped (I think it was 1811) it forced the Mighty Mississippi to flow backwards for awhile and completely changed its course. The area was very sparsely populated but still it toppled chimneys hundreds of miles away. The next one (and there will be a next one even if not in my lifetime) could be pretty bad, with the possibility of devastating the areas between St Louis and Memphis.
Still, I can't help thinking back to grade school when we practiced crouching under our desk with our hands over out heads in the hope that it would protect us from a nuclear blast.
I will not be dropping to my knees. In the event of an actual earthquake you'd find me laying 'flat out like a lizard drinkin', but until then (1) It's very hard for me to get up and down from the floor, (2) my right knee is still rather screwed up, and (3) I'm very subject to leg cramps which happen more often than not when my feet are flexed like that. Instead I'll park my ass on the bench at the fitting room along with Donna who says she'll be damned if she'll get on the ground for anything less than the real thing.
And here's the next batch of my
100 Foods You Should Try Before You Die
21. Heirloom tomatoes - Every damn chance I get. I usually grow at least one heirloom tomato on my balcony.
22. Fresh wild berries - blackberries, tiny wild strawberries and when I was a kid there was a huge mulberry tree in a local park that the other kids and I would gorge on to the point of nausea.
23. Foie gras - not a fan
24. Rice and beans - many times.
25. Brawn, or head cheese - another thing that my dad loved. I took a bite of my dad’s head cheese sandwich when I was a kid. It was pretty tasty. Until I knew what it was. He and Iron Chef Michael Symon could have bonded over their love of animal innards but it scarred my childhood.
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper - I’ve had it raw in salsas but I’m not masochistic enough to just take a bite of one.
27. Dulce de leche - cloyingly sweet. It’s OK in desserts though.
28. Oysters - They’re OK fried, like in a po’boy but raw it’s like swallowing a salty lougie.
29. Baklava - love it! I want to try this version and see if I can tone down the carbs in it.
30. Bagna cauda - I had to look it up. Since I’ve realized that ‘anchovy’ isn’t synonymous with that pungent paste they sling on cheap pizzas I wouldn’t mind trying it.
31. Wasabi peas - very tasty.
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl - yes, but like
dine I’d rather have something like beef stew or maybe chili in my bread bowl.
33. Salted lassi - nope! I’ve had sweet lassi, but not salted.
34. Sauerkraut - love it, especially on Reuben’s (hold the dressing please) or with sausages and mashed potatoes.
35. Root beer float - I’ve tasted them but I don’t care for root beer.
36. Cognac with a fat cigar - don’t care for cognac and the cigar is never going to happen.
37. Clotted cream tea - a few years ago some friends and I enjoyed a high English tea (clotted cream included) in an establishment in Victoria on Vancouver Island in BC, Canada. It was tasty but nothing I have a burning desire to repeat.
38. Vodka jelly shot - some of these sound delicious but no, I’ve never tried them.
39. Gumbo - absolutely delicious. I haven’t met a gumbo I didn’t like.
40. Oxtail - not really from an ox, you know. Yes, I’ve made and eaten oxtail stew. But they’re so expensive.