The Grumpy Blog

So, I am back here at the hostel mid-evening, and I am feeling a bit grumpy about it. Kaori and I went to dinner together, which I now believe was a mistake. Starting with the end of the story, the reason I am back here is because she didn't feel safe walking around the city at night. I should clarify that there are literally thousands of peaceful, happy people walking thru these pedestrianized streets every night, sidewalk cafes more often than not and they are always filled with people, and literally a live band playing on every other corner to entertain the masses. It is unclear to me what could possibly be unsafe about this place at night.

I really appreciated when people speak English, bc I don't speak Japanese or German or Slovenian, but speaking English doesn't have to mean speaking really loudly. Every time I said anything quietly, she repeated what I said loudly. I realize that she wanted to make sure that she understood, but when its "this restaurant is too expensive", well, that's just embarrassing.

She saw a sex shop on the street and told me about it, giggling. I said "Did you go inside?" She didn't. "Have you ever seen one before?" Yes, she had. So, why were we talking about this? Your guess is as good as mine.

Now, I realize that I am feeling grumpy about how the evening has gone so far (but I plan to fix that in a minute), but I just want to tell you a bit more. This guy who works at the hostel recommended a couple restaurants for "traditional Slovenian food". We went to the first, and I was immediately a bit concerned as the guy who greeted us said "this is the best restaurant in the city with the best food. Best food. Best restaurant." I said, "Can I see a menu?" Apparently we had to go upstairs and be seated to see a menu. This was where I whispered about it being too expensive....

So, I really believe that I asked for a glass of cold, dry white wine, and Kaori really did ask for a pitcher of ice water with orange slices like she saw on the counter, but apparently that is not what our waiter heard. She got a bottle of water, and I got a glass of red wine. I would have drunk my wine but he took it away when I told him that I had wanted white wine and I thought I had said that. He was less cooperative when she sent back her bottled water bc HE had already opened it for her (even though we told him bf he opened it that it wasn't what she wanted). But I guess the worst part is that he was aggressive and pushy and not the least bit interested in bringing us what we actually did want.

At this point, we were pretty sure he was going to spit in our soup, and since we hadn't ordered yet, we decided we should go. But not, of course, before he told us that we had to order something because this is a restaurant and not a bar. We left some money on the table for the wine (probably too much) and walked back down the stairs, at which point he chased us and called out, "you have to pay!" which of course we had.

The second restaurant that our hostel guy recommended didn't exist. Or at least it was closed and invisible. This was a problem bc we had left a note for our other roommate to meet us at one of these 2 places. We found a nearby restaurant, but she never found us.

When I am getting really grumpy, the thing I often think about to make myself more grumpy is labeling people. I HATE it when people tell me that I am anything in particular, like "smart" or "funny" or "clumsy" or "tall". It makes me furious. Why do we need to categorize people like that? I mean, I wear and XL women's t-shirt in Slovenia, but I wear a Medium women's t-shirt in the states. So, if people's simple minds need to label me in order to think they understand me, they could at least have the courtesy to keep their labels to themselves.

Boy, I am working myself into a real tissy here. (deep breath)