Friday, April 2, 2010

Post 15.2: Milpitas Mealtime Mayhem

At 2:30 on a Monday afternoon, Milpitas Square was dead.  Like... tumbleweed-blowing-through-by-a-cactus dead.  The only movement in the parking lot was from a middle-aged man who was reading the newspaper in his Lexus.  And he wasn't moving at all.  In fact, his bare feet were kicked up on his dashboard, and his wiggling toes were quite visible to passing shoppers.

Not only was it blazing hot in Milpitas on that day, it was smelly too! Did you know that Milpitas was built on an old landfill? Man... it was even worse because the warm breeze picked up the scent of trash and carried the awful olfactorial odor right to our noses.  We were sweaty, smelly, and hungry... it was quite an uncomfortable afternoon. 

We took a first we sped down the street to the next plaza.  We were so famished that it didn't matter what kind of food we ate anymore.  We found a Chinese restaurant as a substitute.  CASH ONLY.

Mike: Hey, I think I only have a buck.  Do you have cash?
Vickee: *shakes head*
Mike: Is there a Chase somewhere around here?
Vickee: Chinatrust Bank?
Mike: HELL NO.
Vickee: Get in the car.

The midnight Honda fit sped back down Barber Lane. I didn't know what Vickee had in mind, but I knew she was hungry. Upon parking the hunger-mobile, Vickee announced, "99 Ranch. Cash back!"

Ahhhh, what a genius. So we tore through the market like the contestants on Supermarket Sweep. Shortbread cookies? Okay! (I would get cookies, wouldn't I...?)

(Mandarin)
Check-out register man: 沒有現金呀?
Mike: 沒有啊...
Check-out register man: 啊! 我也是! *laughs and points at empty drawer* 好! 等一下...

Wow, this was turning out to be the most arduous process of finding lunch ever.  How does the cash register not have any cash?

(English)
Check-out register man: You don't have cash?
Mike: No...
Check-out register man: Neither do I. *laughs and points at empty drawer* Hold on...

He returned with my twenty, and we ran to the first restaurant that seemed... I don't even know.  We just... stopped.  It was like the flashback of when Forrest stops running, and everyone running with him is like... WTF.  Well, I stopped running.  Vickee stopped running.  That was our Forrest Gump WTF moment. 

And there it was... Taiwan Noodle House.

Until next time let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20100405/20100315

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