posted
Seriously, I know someone that use to give the name "Zebulon" to places like Starbucks or at restaurants that have a waiting list. It kinda made sense; every time I give my name at a restaurant I have to wonder and go up and ask if the "David" they're shouting out is actually me or not... Just this last weekend there were five Davids at the restaurant I was at.
If they call for "Zebulon", you can be pretty sure you're it.
Posts: 3486 | Registered: Sep 2002
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posted
Maybe you should be even more specific and give your title as well, just in case there are multiple Zebulons. "Zebulon, Destroyer of Worlds" should do the trick.
Posts: 2054 | Registered: Nov 2005
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I lived my whole life in California, and this sounds like a strange thing to even get upset about. If somebody asked me my name for any reason other than some kind of paperwork I would automatically give my first name. That's just the norm there. It's not rude. Rude would be going in there and telling them off because our culture is somehow wrong and yours is obviously right.
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I'm a regular visitor to the Starbucks near my school/place of employment. Regular enough that the baristas know my name and my typical drink order and just ask if I'm having the usual. I find it wonderfully convenient, and have actually formed a friendship with of the the morning employees.
Posts: 1099 | Registered: Apr 2005
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quote:Originally posted by scifibum: We all spend too much on fancy coffee.
Not all of us. I've never spent a penny on fancy coffee and my closest friend drinks bargain brand instant.
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
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quote:Originally posted by scifibum: We all spend too much on fancy coffee.
Speak for yourself. In the average year, the number of times I go to a coffee shop can usually be counted on the fingers of one hand. And they're generally getting-together-with-a-friend or similar social things.
I make my daily fancy coffee at home.
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Oh, I know not all of us at hatrack, or all of us on this thread, or all of us coffee drinkers. I meant all of us who visit Starbucks often enough to be included in the "we". Posts: 4287 | Registered: Mar 2005
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quote:Originally posted by scifibum: We all spend too much on fancy coffee.
Not all of us. I've never spent a penny on fancy coffee and my closest friend drinks bargain brand instant.
And are you proud of this?
Proud of not drinking coffee myself. Not exactly "proud" but certainly happy with it. The disadvantages of being addicted to caffeine seem to far out weight the advantages in my opinion.
Proud of having a friend who drinks cheap instant coffee? Yes, I'm very proud to have this person as my closest friend. Only really shallow people choose their friends based on their coffee preferences and I'm proud not to be one of them.
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
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quote:Originally posted by GaalDornick: Maybe you should be even more specific and give your title as well, just in case there are multiple Zebulons. "Zebulon, Destroyer of Worlds" should do the trick.
It doesn't fit on the sheet, and I'd much rather have them omit it than try to abbreviate.
quote:Originally posted by The Rabbit: Proud of having a friend who drinks cheap instant coffee? Yes, I'm very proud to have this person as my closest friend. Only really shallow people choose their friends based on their coffee preferences and I'm proud not to be one of them.
Don't be petulant, I was asking whether you were proud of your friend for being cheap when it comes to coffee. I didn't take you for one of those "proud to be cheap" types.
And, incidentally, it makes sense to me that you don't appreciate the advantages of coffee drinking when you have friends who buy instant. That's like: "My friend drinks Rotgut Brand Malt Liquor, but I don't really see the advantages of alcohol consumption compared to the costs."
You're allowed to not like coffee and not buy it. Just don't dig at people who do buy it like it's a waste of money. You obviously have no idea.
Posts: 9912 | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:Originally posted by The Rabbit: Proud of having a friend who drinks cheap instant coffee? Yes, I'm very proud to have this person as my closest friend. Only really shallow people choose their friends based on their coffee preferences and I'm proud not to be one of them.
Don't be petulant, I was asking whether you were proud of your friend for being cheap when it comes to coffee. I didn't take you for one of those "proud to be cheap" types.
And, incidentally, it makes sense to me that you don't appreciate the advantages of coffee drinking when you have friends who buy instant. That's like: "My friend drinks Rotgut Brand Malt Liquor, but I don't really see the advantages of alcohol consumption compared to the costs."
You're allowed to not like coffee and not buy it. Just don't dig at people who do buy it like it's a waste of money. You obviously have no idea.
Actually, it was scifibum who made the dig, not Rabbit. And for non-coffee drinkers, expensive coffee IS a waste of money, just like non-soda drinkers think Dr. Pepper is a waste of money or non-smokers think tobacco is a waste of money.
Posts: 2069 | Registered: May 2001
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quote:Originally posted by GaalDornick: Maybe you should be even more specific and give your title as well, just in case there are multiple Zebulons. "Zebulon, Destroyer of Worlds" should do the trick.
I like "Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All" only I'm female and "Dark Lady of All" doesn't have quite the same ring.
Posts: 2034 | Registered: Apr 2004
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quote:And, incidentally, it makes sense to me that you don't appreciate the advantages of coffee drinking when you have friends who buy instant.
I also have a friend whose many hobby is coffee. He blends, roasts, and grinds his own. He owns a dozen high tech coffee making machines. Visits the best coffee shops when he travels and can spend hours chatting with the staff on how to make better coffee. I also have friends who fall just about everywhere in between those two extremes.
I never criticized anyone for spending money on fancy coffee. I only objected to the assertion that we all do it. It doesn't bother me if people want to spend their money on expensive coffee, unless they are trying to borrow money from me for life essentials (which has happened on occasion).
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
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quote:Originally posted by rivka: I make my daily fancy coffee at home.
What do you do at home that makes it fancy?
I'm not a big fan of what I think of as fancy coffee, but I'm a huge fan of coffee made from high quality, relatively lightly roasted beans. Does coffee brewed from such beans=fancy? I also make coffee concentrate regularly, and make iced coffee from it daily. Is that fancy?
:\ I'm thinking maybe it is.
Posts: 1087 | Registered: Jul 1999
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quote:Originally posted by rivka: I make my daily fancy coffee at home.
What do you do at home that makes it fancy?
I nuke the milk and then froth it in my personal blender (Bullet knockoff). I also use flavored coffee pods in an almost-espresso-type machine.
Gives me a latte that tastes just as good as the mid-priced ones at a coffee shop (not quite as spiffy as the HOW-many-calories-are-in-that-thing extra-special ones, but I'm using skim milk), and for a fraction of the price.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
do they ask for the first name, specifically? As in, hi, I'm ____, what's your first name? Any time people in restarants ask me my name, I just give them my surname.
Except for that one time in Canada when it was loud, the girl was speaking quietly, and I misunderstood what she asked, so I said "no". She seemed somewhat surprised but then only said, "table for 2, no name" Posts: 5700 | Registered: Feb 2002
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quote:A chatty barista asks my name, and I have to repeat it 3 times, and spell it. Then they have to use it. Why? I'm not your friend.
Fair warning, this is GRUMPY OLD MAN talk, if this attitude is left unmanaged it will metastasize you with incurable GRUMPY OLD MANness, it is better to just learn how to be friendly with people whose continued employment often depends on the expressly demonstrated ability to be chatty with customers! I would personally make light of the whole situation and be all like 'lol, we Czechs often don't do this whole call-by-name thing, and it actually sort of makes sense considering we have first names like borivjrovjzchcklasckjkjjjjj *pound keyboard for extra special characters*'
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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So are there actually no Starbucks in the Czech Republic, or do they just have a different name giving policy from Starbucks in the rest of Europe?
Posts: 1528 | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Bella Bee: So are there actually no Starbucks in the Czech Republic, or do they just have a different name giving policy from Starbucks in the rest of Europe?
There are some locations in Prague (a handful) and I even have a friend working at one. In my limited experience with them, the name thing is not done. That follows Czech social customs, where a customer is refered to by 'sir' or 'lady'. Which produces hilarious reactions when Czechs use 'lady' (slečna) in English as a term of address, not knowing it's considered mildly rude.
Posts: 9912 | Registered: Nov 2005
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You know, sometimes random women at these sorts of places call me hen or something like it. I always notice it, as though the words are spoken with all-caps.
I don't really like it, and I'm not sure why.
Posts: 1577 | Registered: Sep 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Samprimary: I would personally make light of the whole situation and be all like 'lol, we Czechs often don't do this whole call-by-name thing, and it actually sort of makes sense considering we have first names like borivjrovjzchcklasckjkjjjjj *pound keyboard for extra special characters*'
Heh. Well my first name is Welsh Gaelic, not Czech. But anyway, Czech first names are not complicated, just very generic. There are only a limited number of first names (under 200) for each sex.
I would say the weirdest traditional Czech name is Vojtěch, often rendered "Vojta" in the familiar.
Czechs until 1989 could not choose a name not listed on the calendar under a name day, limited the choices to several hundred. Today, Czechs may choose a name from a longer list of acceptable names, or they must petition for a name to be allowed if it is a foreign name (and they must prove that the name exists in use somewhere in the world).
Posts: 9912 | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Samprimary: I would personally make light of the whole situation and be all like 'lol, we Czechs often don't do this whole call-by-name thing, and it actually sort of makes sense considering we have first names like borivjrovjzchcklasckjkjjjjj *pound keyboard for extra special characters*'
Heh. Well my first name is Welsh Gaelic, not Czech. But anyway, Czech first names are not complicated, just very generic. There are only a limited number of first names (under 200) for each sex.
I would say the weirdest traditional Czech name is Vojtěch, often rendered "Vojta" in the familiar.
Czechs until 1989 could not choose a name not listed on the calendar under a name day, limited the choices to several hundred. Today, Czechs may choose a name from a longer list of acceptable names, or they must petition for a name to be allowed if it is a foreign name (and they must prove that the name exists in use somewhere in the world).
It is deeply sad to me that there are laws there about what you can name your kid. Because it's a massive affront to my sense of individual liberty, of course, but more importantly because this routine would be a lot less funny there.
Posts: 3580 | Registered: Aug 2005
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I actually think it's good when parents aren't allowed to name their kids "Crap Bucket" or whatever. The kid shouldn't have to deal with the parents' poor judgment or malice on something so central to identity.
Posts: 4287 | Registered: Mar 2005
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Well, I actually tend to think that people should be able to name themselves, kids included. But my concept of individual liberty extends to kids in most cases, so all agree it's pretty wacky and extreme.
Regardless, they should be allowed to have whatever name they choose, and I don't think governments should dictate rules about that to them.
Posts: 3580 | Registered: Aug 2005
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quote:Originally posted by scifibum: So, in theory, Moon Unit has a chance.
Not a good chance. Generally speaking, only "respectable" and "appropriate" names will be registered. Names that constitute a possible insult are not allowed.
So there of obviously no "crap buckets," allowed, and accounting for the above requirements, "Adolf" is ruled out, as is Ghengis, or Sadaam.
Posts: 9912 | Registered: Nov 2005
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Yeah, but then it seems like HE'S being rude by being difficult.
He kind of is. In the modern US such informality is pretty standard. So getting mad at local custom is a bit rude. When in Rome and all of that.
Posts: 305 | Registered: Jan 2008
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quote:Originally posted by The Rabbit: Amen CaySedai!! You are NOT too sensitive. This is just plain rude.
I was recently on an airplane where the stewardess (pardon me "flight attendant") kept calling me "sweetie". I want to say, "I'm not your sweetie, show a little respect". I should have. Next time I will.
I think Orin is being ridiculous. In American culture, People of equal status, call each other by their first names. Using someones first name in America does not suggest you are best friends. I know it isn't the same in many other cultures, but culture isn't right or wrong it just is. Get over it.
But calling someone by pet names, like "honey", "dear" or "sweetie", is just not something you do to people who are neither your lover nor a child. Its insulting.
Im the South and parts of the Southwest and Mid West it's normal for waitresses and the like to call men sweetie and in the South West male waiters and the like call men Boss. The situation is not much different than using the first name vs a more formal Mr/Miss So you are getting mad about the same thing you are telling Ornico not to get mad about.
Posts: 305 | Registered: Jan 2008
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quote:Originally posted by Orincoro: Well my first name is Welsh Gaelic, not Czech.
I know a Welsh girl who has 36DDs. It's a ridiculously long name.
I read this and I'm like: Why does having a large cup size make your name long? Ohhh...36 "Ds", not "36DDs".
Posts: 6683 | Registered: Jun 2005
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