I'd rather be doing calculus

Waiting tables again is great. You get to see many different kinds of people, and it really makes you wonder. For instance, is it really that important to sit outside on the patio? You're about to drop 80 bucks ($96 with tip!!) for you and your girl to have a nice dinner and some cheesecake, so it makes perfect sense to share it with flies. In addition, our patio is right on the street at the Town Center in Virginia Beach. Central Park Avenue happens to be the only street people use at the Town Center. I'm sure Chicken Madeira tastes great mixed with exhaust fumes.

Oh, and then you have the glorious combination of sun and wind. Around 10 or so in the morning, the sun starts to creep up above the roughly 26-story Armada Hoffler building and shines right down on the patio, which has a glass "roof". I feel like an ant under a magnifying glass. During a tornado. The wind is insane. Most of the buildings are at least 5 stories, creating this nice windtunnel, so a light breeze in Virginia Beach translates to gale force wind on Central Park Avenue. Particularly windy days blow rolled silverware and salt-and-pepper shakers off the tables and onto the street.

People just love to sit outside, and I just love working outside. It seems that people who know they're bad tippers like to sit outside. It's cool though, that's why we have a patio, I guess. Just don't ask for any grated cheese on your pasta, because it's all going into your lap when the wind picks up.

You think cell phones are dangerous.

Now, I'm not going to say I'm the world's most attentive driver. I often drive when I'm much too tired to do so, but generally speaking, I know what's going on around me. I don't follow too closely (anymore) and I make sure I always have a way out when possible by not driving directly next to someone. I check my mirrors and I look at the cars around me. You see people some intersting things. People talking on the phone, putting on make-up, the usual. Some people even eat or send text-messages while driving. Today I saw a woman reading while driving. She was not glancing at some notes or a newspaper at lights. She had paperback novel open on the steering wheel, and she did not put it down while she was driving. This bitch was reading and glancing at the road while she was driving. It wouldn't have surprised me to find out there was a child in the back. I don't understand people.

Well, I've clearly received overwhelmingly support for my new reading list. The suggestions I did get were good ones, though. The first came from Kristin (thank you), and it was a book I was thinking about anyway, so the first book on my list will be The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I expect it to be a good, educational read. I'll let you know.

Yes, I can read

I'm compiling a reading list. I read a ton, but I read a lot of the same sort of stuff. I'm trying to branch out and try different things; broaden my horizons if you will. I could use some suggestions. Leave me a comment with some suggestions: your personal favorites, must-reads, etc. I'll read anything; fiction of any kind, non-fiction, literature new and old; it doesn't matter. I'm doing a little research to start my list, but anything you suggest is greatly appreciated. I read about a book a week, even when I'm in school, so the list can't get too big. Thanks!

Oh, and the cough went away. I didn't kill myself.

If this cough doesn't go away

I'm going to fucking kill myself.