Danocrates discusses overheard nyc

Proper Etiquette of Toothpicking Cheese Cubes 101

cheese.jpg

I played basketball today and realized I was extremely hungry. I dipped into Gourmet Garage to buy something to eat. I didn’t know what I wanted, so I roamed aimlessly around until I found something.

Luckily, The cheese department had five platters of cheese cubes with a cup of toothpicks.

Famished, I plucked out a cube and bit it off the end of the toothpick. I sucked off the lingering smokey flavor that seemed infused into the wood. Still starving, I went to the next tray, then the next, then the next and finally hit the last tray and felt a pang of guilt for eating so much cheese for free. Then out of nowhere, some Botoxed Upper Eastsider bitch felt she needed to teach me some manners.

UPPER EASTSIDER BITCH
(condescendingly) That’s extremely unsanitary.

ME
What? Are you talking you me?

UPPER EASTSIDER BITCH
Just so you know…you should use a new toothpick for each cube.

ME
What are you talking about? I carefully pierced each cube individually. Why is that unsanitary?

UPPER EASTSIDER BITCH
No. You’re wrong. I just wanted to let you know. (she then passertively walks away to the olive section)

ME
(I followed her) No, I’m not wrong. Don’t leave now. You felt comfortable enough to comment on my eating habits. Please, I implore you to enlighten me why I am “wrong”.

UPPER EASTSIDER BITCH
(visibly shaken but still condescending) You were wrong and that was disgusting. Don’t do that again. (she quickly beelines it to the butchers)

ME
(enraged) You’re a fucking lunatic, lady!

Another woman pushed her cart directly in between the Upper Eastsider Bitch and me. She was shocked by my expletive statement. I told her the dialogue I had exchanged with the crazy lady. Fortunately, she agreed with me (but I suspect she wanted an easy out of the situation) Then I proceeded to talk to each person and stated my case. Oddly, everyone agreed with me. I realize now that I probably scared everyone I encountered.

The paradox of calling someone a “fucking lunatic” to everyone who walks by because that particular person didn’t like how you ate cheese makes you look like a “fucking lunatic”.

“Nice” Old Couple from St. Louis

While waiting in the customs line to enter Grand Cayman, I decided to act differently since I was on vacation and decided to make some small talk with my fellow Americans in queue to be processed. I say “act differently” because as a New Yorker, I am forced daily to stand face-to-face with anyone in a subway car and never acknowledge their existence. Since the single file line came to a standstill because the custom agents were native Caymanians and they were operating at the same speed of a person swinging in a hammock underneath two coconut trees, I tried to “mingle” with the crowd and sparked up a light conversation with an older couple.

couple.jpg

ME
How was the flight?
OLD WOMAN
Our flight almost got canceled because of the snow.
ME
Ours too. We were stuck on the runway for two hours and they had to de-ice the plane three times. Where are you flying from?
OLD WOMAN
St. Louis. How about yourself?
ME
New York City.
OLD MAN
Oh really?
ME
Well…Astoria, Queens to be exact. She’s from Hoboken. (pointing to my girlfriend) Depending on how you look at it, either we really like each other or we can’t stand each other because there’s an island and two rivers between us. (Everyone laughs)
OLD MAN
I grew up in Brooklyn.
ME
Where in Brooklyn?
OLD MAN
You probably haven’t heard of it. Greenpoint.
ME
Sure I have. I biked from there to Coney Island once.
OLD MAN
It’s changed so much since I was boy. It use to be all Germans, then the Italians (he pronounced it, “eye-tal-yens” with the subtext of “dirty Dagos”) moved in…
ME
(Since my great-grandfather was Sicilian I was slightly offended but let him slide on the Italian comment and just assumed he was a WWII veteran who did a tour in Italy.)
OLD MAN
(He then lowered his voice and looked around)…then the Blacks and the Jews moved in.
MY GIRLFRIEND (A JAMAICAN JEW)
(Disgusted) Nice. I’m going to the bathroom.

This is why I ignore people.

Overheard in a Starbucks on Fifth Avenue

MIDWESTERN MODEL
How’s your new agency? Any perks?

PERUVIAN MODEL
At first they were great, then stupid 9-11 happened. Now I have to fly coach.

MIDWESTERN MODEL
Yeah, that sucks. I hate terrorists. You’re from Peru right?

PERUVIAN MODEL
Si.

MIDWESTERN MODEL
I just watched a show about Conquistadors. They were reeeeallly mean.

PERUVIAN MODEL
Conquista-what? Who? What happened?

MIDWESTERN MODEL
You know…when the Incas were killed by Francisco Picasso.

PERUVIAN MODEL
Oh yeah, they like took their ears off or something.

Mexican Metrosexuals

I overheard a conversation in Spanish on the subway about a well-groomed metrosexual:

“Si no es un pato, esta cerca del lago.”

“If he’s not a duck, he’s close to the lake.”

Name Dropping versus Name Throwing

I overheard a conversation:

SOME DUMB DUDE
I hate schmoozing. I’m no good at it. Man, I wish I was like Eric. That dude is awesome at networking. He’s like real good at name-throwing, if you know what I mean.

Name-throwing? What the fuck is that? I’ve heard of name-dropping, but I’ve never heard of a name-throwing. A name-thrower sounds like a weapon used in Viet Nam.

SOME DUMBER DUDE
I fucking rocked at that industry party last night. I name-palmed the shit out of that place.

Overheard Through My Window in Queens

I couldn’t sleep last night because of the pain, and was elated to finally fall into slumber at the crack of dawn. Only to be awoken by annoying song birds, a woodpecker drilling another useless hole, a squirrel trying scrape his way through my thru-the-wall air conditioning unit, and little fucking boy hitting a concrete wall with a sledge hammer.

Queens Father
That’s it, Jimmy! Keep hitting it!

Queens Kid
I’m gettin’ tired, Dad.

Queens Father
Quit yer whinen’ and keep swingin’

Queens Mother
Come on, Frankie. Give him a break!

Queens Father
Hey, Womens-Lib you want to come out here?

Please free me from my prison.

Disoriented Tourist

Whenever, I surface from the subways, and confidently head in one direction on an avenue. Inevitably, someone walking beside will notice my keen navigational skill and will ask me, “Are we going up or down?”

I have two responses:

1. “Actually we are going horizontal. Our vertical displacement is zero. What are you stupid?” Then I glare at the person angrily, shake my head, and storm off.

2. “I don’t know—I’m agnostic, I guess it depends how you’ve lived your life and what you believe in.” Then I slowly look up and stare at the sky until it gets awkward. Unless she’s really hot, then I cut the corny shenanigans.

Overheard at Laundromat in Queens

FAT LADY
There aren’t anymore goddamn good movies left at The Dollar Store.GUY WITH BROWN TEETH
Yeah, you’re tellin’ me.

FAT LADY
There ain’t one fuckin’ descent movie in there.

GUY WITH BROWN TEETH
(sighs) I know…I know

FAT LADY lights a Viceroy 100 cigarette

FAT LADY
It’s a good thing I went in there last week and bought the ones I liked.

GUY WITH BROWN TEETH
Me too.

FAT LADY
I’m glad I was able to grab Beverly Hillbillies. Now there’s just a bunch of shit left.

GUY WITH BROWN TEETH laughs