Okay, so now I don't think I'll ever eat at Ken's Pizza again. I've boycotted them before and I know they have developed a reputation for nastiness but for some reason I always go back. The food isn't all that good, I've known that for awhile now. You just get used to it over time. There are so few places to eat in this small town that return visits are inevitable if you are to enjoy any variety in your dining experience. But this time I think I'll be able to nip that rare desire to eat there in the bud.

I went to the lunch buffet yesterday. I grabbed a plate and headed for the pizza. THERE WAS A FLY BUZZING AROUND IN THERE!!! I should have turned and walked out that minute. I certainly considered it. But I already had a plate in hand. I fervently prayed that the dirty insect had not landed on any of the pizza...at least not on any slice I might happen to scoop up.

The selection was abyssmal. The only thing that looked fresh and warm was a spinach/Canadian bacon pie. I have never tried that kind so I decided I'd give it a chance. After about 3 bites I decided I did NOT like it. So I waited for them to put another pizza out. When they finally did, guess what kind it was? That's right. Spinach & Canadian bacon.

Eventually some decently topped pizzas came out but by that time I was already disappointed with my dining experience (I mean, come on! A FLY in the buffet warmer!). I went to pay my ticket. The assistant manager is one extremely unattractive female, so that wasn't a nice thing to have to look at after eating 7 or 8 slices. You could tell she was in a piss poor mood, too. She gets this way every once in a while. She's either overboard friendly or long-faced sour. It's not as if this was the first time she's been my cashier, but for some reason I seemed to notice it more. To top it all off, she didn't even say "thank you" as she gave me my reciept and credit card. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but by God when I pay money for vittles in a restaurant I want to get some kind of acknowledgement, some kind words as a token of appreciation for choosing one feed-trough over another.

This was the final straw. It's not the first time I've resolved to avoid the joint, but I don't think it will be all that hard this time.

In other news...I was hearbroken a couple of weeks ago when I went to the shed to retrieve my set of Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" books and found that they had suffered a good deal of mold damage. I'd put them out there because I was going to give myself a break from Rand Al'Thor, Moiraine, the Forsaken, Trollocs, Fades and the rest of the "Wheel" universe. But I couldn't do it for long so I decided to retrieve them.

The mold is confined to the bottom spine area of 5 or 6 of the books. A couple got lucky and weren't affected at all. One, my paperback copy of "The Dragon Reborn", was ruined completely. Of the ten books only two were paperback. One of those was unscathed. These were nice, hardbound copies and it was a real shame to see them come to such an end. I will keep them, though. I'll read them eventually. After the mold stench goes away.

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