View from an Office Window

This is from the window closest to my desk. If you look to the left you'll see a green awning and red and white umbrella tables. That's El Toro, a restaurant where we often go for lunch. We also sometimes go there for a very late lunch at 3 pm, when happy hour starts. For the cost of a Shirley Temple (yes, Jamie really orders that) and a diet coke (guess who) and whatever else everyone is drinking we get free burritos. They're not that great, but their green salsa, which is heavy on the cilantro, is wonderful. Last Friday four of us went for drinks after work. We compared dating horror stories. My entry tied for 1st place: I was on a third date with a good looking and well-educated guy I really liked. He wanted to sit on the same side of the booth in the romantic Italian restaurant he'd invited me to. Toward the end of the evening he sidled closer to me. I was excited. I thought he was going to tell me I looked pretty or that he was really enjoying getting to know me. Since I already mentioned that this was a horror story you know he did not say either of those things. What he said was "I'd appreciate it if you'd contribute $15 toward the check". The women asked me if I paid it. When I said yes a collective "Arrrrgghhhh!" went up. One of them- I'm not sure if it was Sojourner ("Sojo") or Faauu- summed it up well "Girl, you have got to raise your bar" That, in essence, is what my mother keeps telling me. And for the most part, with an occassional lapse (in the form of a troglodyte named Larry) I have.

To get back to my point of this post, I love the street my office is on. This same street, Broadway, turns into St. Helens avenue, where my apartment is. So what you are seeing is the first part of my walk home from work.