Spring freebies

First of all, let me take a moment to wish you a Happy Spring. I love this time of year and I know that I echo the sentiment of many when I say that I'm happy that Winter has ended.

It is becoming a common trend for many businesses that have a product that sells better during the warm months to give away free samples on the first day of Spring. Two such businesses are Rita's Italian Water Ice and Dunkin' Donuts. Dunkin' Donuts is giving out free, 16oz. iced coffees today.

I have blogged about iced coffee before. This entry will be nothing new.

Earlier today, I drove by Dunkin' Donuts and noticed that the drive-thru line was short, so I stopped by and got a free iced coffee with blueberry flavor. I sipped on that thing for over an hour - enjoying every last swig.

Later in the afternoon, I had to stop by the bank and make a deposit before it closed. On my way back, I passed by the same Dunkin' Donuts. You can imagine my dilemma. "Is it wrong to get a second free iced coffee today?," I pondered. There was nothing on their sign that said anything about a limit. I wasn't certain what I was going to do, until I noticed that the drive-thru line was even shorter than earlier in the day. At that point my decision was made and I pulled in.

I tried to play the part of a new customer as I ordered. "Hmmm, let's see. I'll try one of your free iced coffees with coconut flavor."

As I pulled forward, I noticed that the lady in line ahead of me also got an iced coffee. Even though it was free, she insisted on giving them a dollar for it. Apparently, I'm nothing like that lady. She felt bad for taking something free while I was justifying a second free iced coffee.

I couldn't see the cashier at the window. I wondered if it would be the same person from earlier in the day. I started running through normal shift times in my mind.... 9-5, 11-7, 6-2..... I was hoping that the woman who served me earlier in the day worked the 6-2 shift. I was hoping this, mostly because I'm a cheap, cheap man who doesn't want to have to admit it. Furthermore, how stupid does it look when a grown man who drives a brand new 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser feels the need to procure a second free iced coffee.

I pulled up to the window slowly. It was her.... the same woman who served me earlier today. I literally couldn't make eye contact with her as I accepted yet another free drink. I thanked her and drove away, feeling a little embarrassed, yet willing to drown out that embarrassment one sip at a time.

How brazen would I be if I stopped by yet again? As I type this, it's not that late in the day. I still have plenty of time. Should I?

I'm noticing a pattern

I don't know if this should be cause for alarm, but, inspired by my immature behavior earlier last week (see previous post), I did something equally as immature on Friday.

Each year around this time, I attend a communion service with many other pastors and their wives. After the service, we share a meal at a local restaurant.

This year, a good friend of mine, who is also a pastor, hosted the service at his church. He shared the message and lead the communion service. Afterward, he sat next to my wife and I at "The Village," a local restaurant.

After the meal, as my wife and I were loading our kids into our van, I realized that this friend was parked next to me. Feeling mischievous, I took my meal receipt out of my pocket and scribbled the message you can read in the picture above. (He scanned it and posted it online... so I jipped it).

I didn't know this ahead of time, but apparently, he has a history of getting parking tickets, so this all seemed plausible to him. Once he read the "citation," he walked back in to the restaurant and became quite angry. According to his account of the story, this is what happened next....

Friend to Waitress: What is this? I just ate here. You saw me in your restaurant. I'm a customer. I wasn't illegally parked.

Waitress: Hmmm, let me see this. I don't think our manager wrote this. I'm pretty certain he can't spell "citation."

At that point, they walked into the kitchen and showed the "citation" to the manager.

Manager: This isn't from us. I think your friends are messing with you.

Manager & Waitress: Ha, ha.

Minutes later I received a call on my cell phone.

Me: Hello

Friend: I'm going to kill you.

If you would like to read the other side of this story, you may do so by clicking here. He chose to blog about it on his church's MySpace.

Shopping

Well, as you can see from the lack of posts last week, nothing all that interesting occurred during my "Bachelor Week." I stayed up late, ate unhealthy food and missed my family. That's about it.

On the other hand, this is a new week and with a new week comes a fresh opportunity to do something stupid. For example.....

This past Monday, I stopped at JCPenney to take a look at suit coats. Their prices are usually fair and I like their options. After trying on several coats, I settled on one I liked. I was in a good mood because the cashier gave me an extra 10% off the already discounted price.

As I turned to leave the store, I saw a friend off in the distance. He was carrying a small bag and was walking toward the center area of the mall. This friend happens to be another pastor and he's about twice my size.

Being the kind of person I am, I thought it would be comical to sneak up behind him. When I noticed the bag, I thought it would be especially funny to grab it and run.

I crossed through the store and got about 100 feet behind him. Very quietly, I quickened my pace and inched closer and closer. He was about 20 feet from the store exit when I caught up to him and, from behind, I grabbed the bag from his hand. (I discovered later that the bag contained a nice necklace he had just purchased for his wife for their anniversary).

As I grabbed the bag, he quickly turned in my direction with both hands in the air as if he was going to grab me. His face went completely white and his eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. As I stood there smiling, it took him a second or two to realize that he hadn't been mugged. It was quite funny to watch his stunned face melt into laughter.

Even funnier was the response of the other shoppers who watched this happen. This was the first time I have ever witnessed an entire section of a retail store laugh in unison.

I'm pretty sure that pastors were better behaved in public when I was a kid.