Trouble at a Restaurant

 

I've mentioned before how I have issues when I go out to restaurant.  Usually I like to stare at what other people are bringing to a BYO.  But, I have another issue, that has happened to me more than once at establishments that own a liquor license.

I always pick out the bottle of wine.  That's my thing and my husband lets me handle the selection.  Sometimes I will ask him to choose or get his opinion, but the bottle selection is in my department.  I had a boss in the advertising world who always let me pick out the wine with clients.  She didn't drink, but she trusted me to always pick out a selection in her budget that would impress. 

When I select a good bottle of wine, I'm also looking at the vintages.  I tried to order a 2001 Brunello at a posh restaurant in Ramsey, NJ owned by David Burke years ago.  I will never say a bad word about this guy.  I've had the pleasure of hanging out with him once and he is a real down-to-earth, nice, fun-loving guy.  His restaurant is so unlike him.  It's very snobbish.  At least his waiter was.  He tried to bring me a 2002 Brunello.  Now, what a 2002 Brunello is doing on Burke's list is a mystery. I'm going to chalk that one up to a wine director who was not paying attention when he received his shipment.  2002 is the worst year for Brunello and this waiter was trying to pass this crappy bottle off on me.  Except, I called him out on it and he was shocked.  So, I asked for the wine list back again.

Recently we went out in Kenilworth and I was first looked at the wine list online, only to find out the menu was different when we sat down.  I spotted a 2001 Barolo, much to my delight.  We were celebrating our anniversary and that was the year we were married and it's an exceptional year for Barolo.  Of course, when I ordered, the server brought over a 2004.  I told him that I ordered the 2001.  He said, "oh, is that what the menu said?"  I said yes.  He ran away and over came the wine director.  No 2001, so I went back to the wine list to find a delicious alternate selection.  2004 was a great year, but my sentimental meaning was now lost.

But, do they do this on purpose?  Am I just some dumb woman who doesn't know what I'm doing and they think they can pass off other items on me?  Little do they know that I'm paying attention. 

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Chianti Classico has a New What?

My days off to me from the retail world are very precious.  So, what did I do on my last one?  Volunteer to work a wine tasting!

This one paid me, gave me free lunch and let me taste the wines.  It should have been a way to give me a few extra dollars in my pocket if not for the train ticket and the parking ticket I received at the train station.  The day was a-wash money-wise, but I had a lot of fun.

This tasting was extra special.  The Chianti Classico Consortium, the 600 members who make the wine laws,  decided for the first time in history to introduce a new type of wine, the Chianti Classico Gran Selezione.  The wine is made exclusively from a winery's own grapes from its best vineyards.  The grapes must be aged for 30 months and also have 3 months of bottle ageing.  The Gran Selezione is comprised of 9 communes and 30 wineries debuted their new wines in New York this past week.

I was more excited by the guest list.  It comprised some of the wine world's best of the best from distributors, importers, winery owners, restaurant owners, wine publications, wine authors, wine educators and so on.  

There is a woman I have always held in high regard....that is until the tasting.  This wine author and well decorated educator with a lot of initials after her name, was a complainer.  When she checked in and saw her name tag she sighed and said, my name was spelled wrong and you have the wrong company name.  I told her it was no problem and that I would make her a new badge.  The tasting booklet was highly organized by commune, so that if you followed the tables, you could taste from north to south and the pages were exactly in order.  Except, this author couldn't figure it out.  She couldn't find one winery.  I told her where it was.  She complained.  I got the organizer because I could not leave my station.  Later, when I did the tasting, I wondered what her problem was since I had absolutely no problem tasting in order of the book and the room layout.  So, my view of her is now, not in such high regard.

One poor winery owner was getting a lot of flack from tasters.  His wine was oxidized.  When I approached the table, a taster was asking the owner to smell his glass.  He did and shrugged.  I smelled my wine, looked at the other taster and said that is was oxidized.  He agreed and said that was what he was trying to tell the owner.  Later on, I saw the winery owner with bottles in one hand and luggage in the other, storm out of the room before the tasting was over.  Hey, if your wine is not showing well, don't serve it!

Out of 30 wines, the ones to watch are 

1) Fotodi

2) Gabbiano

3) Fattoria Viticcio

These wines from the Chianti Classico Gran Selezione are not yet available for purchase, but they will change your mind on how you view Chianti's.  Keep your eyes out for them!

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My First Wine Gift at Work

 

Over the years, I have watched my colleagues be rewarded by customers with gifts.  The beer guys always received items like cigars, growler glasses, beers you can't get locally, etc.  The liquor guys received bourbon, ties, scotches, etc.  

The wine people?  We get shafted.  I can't say I've received nothing.  I have received cash tips from a few customers in my early years in the wine business, but it was mostly from hosting their dinner or event.  I had one customer who gave  me a really nice cash gift for Christmas years ago and I had a customer who gave me a bracelet off her wrist after I gave her some top-notch customer service and I remarked how pretty he bracelets were.  It was like a $2 hand-made beaded bracelet, but I wear it frequently and cherish it.  But, no customer had ever walked into the store with a gift specifically for me.  

Until yesterday.  It's weird how much high-end wines I deal with.  I've always imagined that after I delivered one of my guy his wine wroth $120,000 that he wold reach down and grab a bottle worth $200 and say, "Thanks.  This is for you."  But, that's never happened except in my delusions.

Yesterday a customer came in to pick-up a special order.  He wanted  a Cabernet about $12 that I ordered just for him that he had at a local wine bar.  His wife told him before he got there, to give me a bottle to try.  Appreciated?  Elated!  He purposely came in with an agenda to do something nice for me.  And, he will go down in history as the first customer to ever give me a bottle of wine from his personal stash.

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I Work for Free Wine

 

I had the most amazing experience yesterday.  A few weeks ago I saw an ad on my former school's web site calling for volunteers to work a wine Competition.  There were promises of free lunch, free parking and free wine.  I'm in, right?

When I arrived at 9am, there was a small room filled with hundreds and hundreds of wine bottles waiting to be judged.  This was even more glorious than I imagined.  I started off by opening dozens of bottles of wines with the not the best corkscrew, but I persevered.  Shortly thereafter, I was introduced to another volunteer who I would be working with.  This was her 7th year participating and she was just as anal as I was.  We made sure that all the wines were organized for our panel of judges, wines opened, paper trivet's labeled (the thingy's that go around the bottom of the wine glass with labels identifying the wine) and we were ready to go at 10am.

There were 6 tables of judges and each table or panel had their own volunteers and wines to judge.  Most of the judges were buyers in the industry.  They were able to judge on price, varietal and country.  Everything else, was up to them.  If they wouldn't buy it, the wine did not get a medal.  If they would buy it, then they had to decide if it was a bronze medal, silver medal, gold medal or double gold medal.  A double gold medal was awarded if everyone at the table agreed that it was superb.

I don't know why, but I had a ball.  Pouring, organizing, delivering the wine to the judges, hearing their scores and then going back and starting all over again.  It reminded me why I went into the wine business in the first place - for FUN!

We broke for lunch and we were able to talk with the judges and other volunteers.  I was surrounded by amazing people.

After lunch we started the process all over again until we finshed at 2:30pm.  I'm sure our judges were exhausted.  They had started with all the reds, moved to rose, then white, sake, fruit wines and dessert wines.  They had wines from Kentucky, Minnesota, China, Japan, Nevada, California, Australia, etc and it was an interesting array of wines.  And this was just OUR table. 

When it was all over, it was our turn to taste all the wines.  Being in the business, I was able to pinpoint the high end stuff first and start there.  We all tasted the winners and the losers weren't so shabby either.  Once all of the tallies were in, the judges came back to look at their wines and taste other panels.  The big winner at our table was a $8 Malbec from Argentina. I was shocked to see that some of the "better" items did not medal at all.  

After some time, it was announced that all the volunteers could take home one case of wine - unopened wine!  I pounced on the good stuff first and grabbed some winners from my own tasting.  As I said my good-byes, the Director told me that I should take a case of opened wine.  I told him that I couldn't carry it all to my car so he offered me his hand truck.  I could not pass this up!

2 cases of wine later, I headed home with the biggest smile on my face.  What a great day!

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The Art of the Wine Event

 

I love running wine events – dinners, walk-arounds, tastings, you name it.  They are very stressful, but I get an adrenaline high from them.  I have done everything from a 2-person wine dinner (awkward) to a bar-type wine tasting for 150 people.  I would love to tackle a larger tasting, such as one for the trade or a customer grand tasting.  This is strange coming from the woman who didn’t want to plan her own wedding.  I wanted to elope.  It would have been easier!

Even when I planned my mother’s 70 birthday 4 years ago, it was exciting.  Things went wrong – the decorations didn’t arrive in time and I had to scour every party store in 10 miles for luau decorations in the middle of winter.  The DJ I hired stepped out of the room during the big “surprise”, so that people weren’t aware she was walking in and then my star act got stuck in traffic and people didn’t want to stick around and stay.  It’s ok though.  Mom had Elvis all to herself and he serenaded her all night long.

With wine tastings/dinners you have to cost out the wine and the food to come up with ticket prices, advertise, get out on social media, get your guerilla marketing on, send e-mails, post flyers, send press releases,  get entertainment or a speaker, possible charity coordination, buy the food, get the wines in the fridge, make tasting sheets, etc, etc.

The most stressful and frustrating thing that happens is when people wait until the last minute to sign-up.  I’ve run $100 per person classes that sell out weeks in advance, I’ve had dinners I have had to cancel 24 hours before because I didn’t get many people to sign-up and then 2 hours later, 24 people want to sign-up and I’ve had tastings where 30 people walk in the door and pay extra without batting an eye.  I hear this from people who send out invitations to their weddings – people either wait or don’t respond at all.  This is just a wine tasting/dinner so, whatever.  I guess it's the sign of the times.

I was doing a class once for about 40 people at $60 per person.  I was the speaker and ill prepared, but I bumbled through it.  I had one guy who came in, sat down, proceeded to drink every wine at his seat, eat all the food on the table and once I started speaking, got up, created a ruckus and left.  I’m not very good when I get interrupted except when Chef Jamie Oliver interrupted me once, but that’s another story.

When the event happens, people usually, except for the guy I just mentioned, have a great time.  The more they drink, the more they buy and the happier everyone is.  But, on the day of the event, I get wedding day jitters.  I get nervous.  It’s just the last minute preparations that get me going crazy, barking out orders to everyone so that when the event finally starts, it’s like Mr. Rourke in Fantasy Island.  “Smiles everyone!  Smiles!”  And then…it’s all over and you clean up and hopefully like that one time, there is no puke to clean up and everyone gets home safely.  Yeah, I love running wine events.  Can’t wait for the next one!

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The Life of a Retail Wine Goddess

I just posted about how much I love the wine business and that same day when I went to work, all hell broke loose.  I fought with my boss, customers were asking ridiculous questions and I wanted to turn around and leave.  The wine business is not all it's cracked up to be.  People think it's glamorous and all you do every day is sit around and drink wine.  I mean, we do that, but there is a lot of spitting involved.

The retail business is even tougher.  You can't plan your life.  Your schedule is different every day, every week.  Today is Friday and I still don't have a clue when I'm working next week and what day I might have off.  Now, I just said day, instead of days.  Next week is a holiday week.  Passover starts this weekend and next weekend is Easter.  We have mandatory 6 day work weeks, with longer than normal shifts and NO EXTRA PAY.  That's right.  A 60+ hour work week for the same pay.  When you are a salaried employee, it is the owner's right to abuse you.

And holiday weeks bring out all the crazies.  And we have to deal with them with a smile on our faces.  These are people that never buy liquor, but they need it this week because they have to have it for their guests or they need to bring it over to someone's house.  They will be rude, demanding, and ignorant about wine.  When someone holds up a clear bottle of white wine and asks you "is this white or red?" you know it's a holiday week.

So, when you're out there this weekend and next week and you're shopping for your holiday brunches. please be kind to us - all retailers who are serving your needs and being abused by the system all in the name of a holiday. 

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Was the Wine Move a Mistake?

I sometimes ask myself if I should have stayed in advertising.  I miss the money, the perks...did I mention the money?  I have been in the wine business full-time now for 7 years.  I thought by now I would have moved further into my career than I have.  I thought by now, someone would have noticed how special my talents are and that I would be a real hot-shot in the wine industry.

But, despite all that, and despite people in my life who might try to squash my dreams of becoming a star in the industry, I remembered that it really was all worth it.  I love wine.  I love talking about it, learning about it, seeing how it's made, sharing it, finding new wines and of course, drinking it.  Despite all the nonsense that comes with my job role, I still love the business.  I'm still looking to be a superstar, but for now, I'll keep educating myself and my customers and keep reaching for the stars.

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The Smelly Guy

 

It's not just the customers I like seeing, but the employees have some fun reactions to them.  One day I was helping a customer and I smelled something really foul.  It smelled like someone shat himself in his pants, had not bathed in at least a week and definitely did not know what deodorant was.  When the stench hit me, I moved away...FAR away.  But, I knew this guy had to go through the registers to leave the store.

One poor cashier who had been with us for some time was the lucky one.  I know her and knew exactly what her reaction was going to be.  The smelly guy was with a family.  The family was checking out at the register and he was hanging back.  He looked like the grandpa of the family.  So while they were checking out their merchandise, she couldn't smell him... yet.

I moved over to another employee by the door and said "watch this."  As the family finished and the smelly guy approached her, I said, "wait for it..." And as he got right in front of her and started to walk past, I said, "NOW."

Her reaction was classic and on my command.  She whipped her head around to look at me and started to dry heave.

Then there was this face and the search for some air freshener to spray her area free of the filth.  

Happy Friday everyone!

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Ask the Beer Guy

Customer walks in and asks my ID checker at the door where the beer is.  He points and tells him it's at the end of the store.

Same customer sees me 4 aisles away and asks me the same question.  I do the same and point to where he should go.

Then it gets busy and I end up near the beer station.  The beer guy is pouring some beer into a container for a customer to take home fresh, draft beer.  The same customer sees me and before he asks the question I say, "Ask the Beer guy" and point at said guy.

Customer: "No, no, no.  Let me ask you.  Can..."

Me: "Ask the beer guy, sir.  I know wine."

Customer: "No, no, no.  Let me ask you.  Can I..."

Me: "Ask the beer guy, sir."  And point again.

Now, my beer guy is starting to lose it and crack up.  Clearly, this customer is a glutton for punishment.

Customer: "No, no, no.  Let me ask you.  Can I take one beer out of a 6-pack?"

I turn to the beer guy and say, "Beer guy, can you answer this gentleman's question?"

And, then I walk away.

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We Get All Types-Part 2

Customer wants to return a bottle of Tarima Monastrell because he said "My father couldn't get the cork out.  He said if it doesn't come out right, there is something wrong with it."

He takes the wine out of the bag.  I pull out my handy wine key (That's a corkscrew to all you non-wine industry folks) and proceed to open the wine, pull out the cork with absolutely no problem at all and say, "It's a plastic cork, sir.  What's the problem?"

He looked stunned and embarrassed.  He wouldn't take the bottle back.  It smelled perfectly beautiful.  What a waste.

Me: "You should probably pick your Dad up a better corkscrew.  These waiter's corkscrews are inexpensive and will last a lifetime."

I told him to get another one and would swap it out for him.  After he's done shopping, he indicates that he is ready and I notice that he doesn't have a bottle of Tarima to replace the one he brought in.

Me: "Are you not going to get another Tarima?"

Customer: "I thought you were going to get it."  

He huffs away and goes to get another.  Really?  I opened your bottle for you AND I have to go fetch you another one?  Must I do everything?  Maybe I should go to your house and drink the wine for you, too.

Wait, I might be on to something.....

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We Get All Types

A customer walked in and said he wanted to return some wine.  I asked him to step over to the counter to take a look at what he had.  He had one unopened magnum of Woodbridge Cabernet/Merlot and one opened bottle of the same with about 2 inches of wine in it.

Customer: "I'd like to return this.  It has sediment in it."

Me: "And?"

I thought there would be more to the story.  I thought wrong.

Customer: "It turned my tongue purple."

Customer sticks tongue out and points to said tongue.

Now, I'm thinking...gross.  You drank this last night and still didn't brush your teeth yet?  

Me: "And?"

Customer: "It has sediment in it.  I brought the bottle to show you the sediment."

Me: "Thank you.  I know what sediment looks like.  You should see the sediment in the 05 Rioja we just decanted.  Looked like a pile of sand."

I then proceed to tell him how natural sediment is and it won't harm him if he consumes it and to get himself a good strainer.  He is clearly not hearing me.

Customer: "It turned my tongue purple.  I brought the sediment to show you."

He is clearly out of his mind.  I told him that since he drank 90% of the opened bottle I could not refund that, but I would refund the unopened bottle.  He was amazed and shocked even that I would question the fact that this wine would have sediment.  

He told me that the wine had no clarity.  Yup, red wine has no clarity, sir.  That's why it's red.

Here is your money.  Have a nice day.  And, thanks for leaving me an opened bottle of wine that I now have to dump out and recycle.

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More Tales from the Wine Store

I hear a lot of things people say.  I wish I didn't.

• I heard a mother address her two children: "C'mon Spawn and Spawn 2."
• I heard a Staten Island woman call Zinfandel Zinfandale repeatedly.
• A woman asked me for a blue bottle of Riesling called Sleeper.  "Do you mean, Relax?"  That was it.
• Someone asked me for "Sprinkling water wine."  What the hell is that?
• A customer asked me if I carried the "Skuff-along" grape.  She made that up, right?
• A husband loudly embarrassed his wife on purpose "You're going to buy all that?  You just got out of rehab!"  He was joking, but if I was her, I would have slapped him.
• A woman on the phone asked me if I had something in stock.  She read about it in that "Spectacular magazine."  For you non-wine people, the magazine is called Wine Spectator.
• I asked a woman if she needed assistance and she replied, "Someone decided to make a re-appearance and I'm texting them to shove it."  She's got issues.
• And there is always that one person who asks for Chocolate wine, but they don't really want Chocolate wine, they want wine that has notes of chocolate, but they really think that there is chocolate added to it.  He wanted to know where that section was. 

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More Dining Out & My Obsession

I've said before that it's tough for me to dine out.  It's even tougher going to a BYO restaurant.  I have a secret obsession.  I have a sickness where I need to see the wine that everyone brought in.  

It starts as soon as I walk in.  I scan the room.  I spy Santa Margherita.  I spy Yellow Tail.  I spy Cavit.   The sickness in spying these items is that my nose goes in the air so that I can say, my wines are better than yours.  People see my wines and know, I know something about wine.

Then we sit down and I look around more.  When the diners leave and leave behind their bottles, I have to get up and go look at them.  I have to pull them out of ice buckets to see what they brought.  I don't know why I do this!

We dined out the other night with friends and we brought a nice variety of Greek, Italian and French selections.  But, when I looked around, I saw good wines on other tables.  I even saw bottles I wasn't familiar with.  Some people even had craft beer!  This place had class!  Could it be because this place had a wine shop attached to it?  Did they not carry those crappy selections I always play I spy with?

I'll never know.

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What's Your Reason?

People go to the wine shop for many reasons.  Some need to simply stock up or get their daily fix, but there are events that drive people to the store.  

I've helped brides and grooms plan their weddings.  I've helped parents cater their kids baptisms, communions, confirmations and birthdays.  I've assisted people selecting a wine for a dinner party or even the BYOB they were heading to for dinner after they left me.  I've helped bridesmaids plan showers and bachelor parties and I've helped people plan their big birthdays.  I've assisted wine groups plan their monthly tastings and wine lovers plan their own wine tastings for their friends at home.

The sad ones are people coming to me to plan their loved ones passing away.  The other day, I was helping a woman and I guess she felt compelled to tell me that her mother just died and she needed something to help her sleep that night.  She also wanted to get her Dad a favorite selection. 

I never know why people are coming in.  I can only hope that when they leave I've brought them some comfort, made them bit happier and helped their events go smoother.

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Going to the Wine Bar

It's very hard for the Retail Wine Goddess to go out to eat at restaurants that have a wine list for one simple reason.  I actually know how much the bottles cost.  I ventured out the other night to a new chain restaurant that opened up that bills itself as a wine bar.  I had an overall bad experience as the service was slow and the food was not that great and also inconsistent, but the wine part killed me.

I originally decided that it would be cheaper to get one bottle of wine, but after looking at the prices, I went though the roof.  I know that a bottle of Gascon Malbec sells in the retail store for around $11.99.  This restaurant was charging 4X the price!  That's a big jump.  So, I opted for a couple different glasses so that I would at least feel that I was paying for the experience of trying a few new wines.

When the server came over, she said, "the wine list is extensive so if you need any help with your selection, I have a cheat sheet."

She said what?

Could you imagine if you came into my wine store and started asking me about wine and I put my hand up and said, "hold on, I have a cheat sheet."

Talk about not knowing your business.  By the way, the wine list is one page long.  It is not a book or extensive at all.  There are 94 wines on this one page of which about half are available by the glass.  I consider myself a librarian in the wine store.  It is my responsibility to know about thousands of wines I sell.  And in this situation, I would make damn sure I knew my wines to help people pair their dishes, give them a better experience and make more tips!

With my appetizer I ordered a glass of the ZD Chardonnay.  The server said, "what?"  I repeated that I wanted a glass of the ZD Chardonnay.  The server said, "what?"  I showed her the menu and pointed.  There are only 11 Chardonnay's on the menu.  I think a server should have at least tried to learn the names.

It took her a half an hour to get our first glass of wine.  We though that the bar was backed up, but no, the bartender gives the server the actual bottles to pour table-side.  And since they are already opened (usually) you don't have to wait for the server to open them.

Later on, the server had the audacity to tell me that the Master Sommelier (there are only 214 in the world according to the Court of Master Sommeliers) himself (he selected all the wines) actually visited the restaurant and trained them himself.  She then proceeded to say how she didn't like wine, but she liked beer.  

How did I luck out with this awesome server?  Could you imagine trying to buy wine from me at the wine store and me telling you how much I hate wine, but here, try this bottle!

There is only 1 Petite Sirah on the menu.  Just 1.  It's listed in it's own section.  My husband ordered the Petite Sirah.  The server had no clue what he was saying. 

So, chalk this up to bad training, along with poor service and mediocre food.  This wine bar had no flights, no cheese courses and no knowledge of the wines.  

Yes, it's tough for a wine snob to visit one of these places, it's even tougher when you're in the business.

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So You Live Out-Of-State, So What?

I have had this questions asked upon me several times now.  If I have a customer who lives out of state and I ship to him, he does not pay the 7% NJ sales tax.  But, I have customers who come into the NJ store, want to buy today in the NJ store and ask this inane question:

"If I live out of state, do I still have to pay sales tax?"

Of course you do!  The state of NJ only cares that you are buying products in the state of NJ.  They want their cut!  If you order now, go home and I ship it to you, you don't pay for it, so why would anyone in their right mind think that if they don't live here they don't have to pay sales tax when they buy here?

This is why New Jerseyans go to Pennsylvania to buy cars.  The sales tax is cheaper in their state.  This is why New Yorkers come to New Jersey to buy liquor.  The sales tax is cheaper in our state.  Everything is cheaper in NJ than in NY like gas, food, restaurants...

Could you imagine every person with an out-of-state license demanding that they don't pay sales tax in your store?  Ridiculous!

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The Thank You

It's always rewarding to get thanked.  The other day, someone went out of their way to really thank me.  One of my older  regulars came in to buy some wine for her daughter's birthday dinner. They were going to a BYOB and her daughter loved Merlot and Brunello.  I gave her one of my favorite, lesser expensive Brunello's and a really kick-ass Merlot.  She even bought the same Merlot for herself to enjoy later.  She left happy and on a random day and time a few days later, she called the store and asked for me.

She told me that she just wanted to thank me.  The wines were a huge hit for the dinner and her daughter was over the moon with both wines.  She just wanted me to know how appreciative she was for my help and my selections.

Now, usually when people call me they either want to talk about high-end wine or want to complain.  This was very rewarding to me.  Not only was she happy, but her daughter was happy.  And, all I did was pick out some wine.  So, to the hard-making winemakers and teams of Ferrari-Carano and La Rasina, my customer, thanks you more. 

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He Said WHAT?

It's our custom to greet every customer in the store.  We don't get commission, we just want our store to feel like a store-run family with big-box appeal.  An older customer walked into the store and was greeted by my colleague.

Colleague: "Hey, sir.  How are you today?"

Customer: "I'm alive."

Colleague: "Hey, that's awesome.

Customer: "You bet your ass it is!"

Yeah, that made my day.

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She said WHAT?

A nice pair of older women came in to shop.  I assisted one of them in finding some liquor and then I thought she was going to check out.  She circled back around and wanted to get a few more items.

She said, "I had a drink last week.  It's called bend over and F me."

Now, I'm not one to flinch over words especially when in the liquor industry you have to sell things like Bitch, Raging Bitch, Fat Bastard, Kinky, etc.., but this was like having a sex conversation with my mom.  Kind of icky and should be avoided at all or any costs.

So, I just listened to her tell me what she wanted, retrieved all her items and told her I hope it gave her the same feeling it did the first time.  She indicated that the name did indeed make her feel like that.  Ew.

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