Yeah, Yeah... How Much?

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It's been another long day with me on the road from about 7 a.m. until around three this after noon. I had to exchange the mouse I bought for one that worked with Macs. Since I bought it at Best Buy I could exchange it at any of them. I decided to go to Raleigh and do it there just to see some different scenery. I think just doing that preserves one's sanity.

Going to some place like the Raleigh area forces me to think about things differently. Just about every time I go up there something has changed. It's gotta be one of the fastest growing areas in the country, and there's no blame in that. North Carolina is the mid point between the metropolitan areas up in the Northeast and the resort areas further south along the East Coast corridor. It's a sort of neti-neti place. Not this, not that.

I bought a mouse that cost me $17 more than the first one. I ended up paying $80 for a freaking mouse. A miser like me. Paying that much money for a mouse? I can buy a mouse for $10. My argument with myself stopped the moment I got it working right. The only problem I have with it is that I still can't get it to double-click with one push of the button. It says it will do it. I got the setting locked in for it to do it, but no cigar.

The mouse wasn't the only thing I bought. I bought a food slicer. I saw a chef on TV using one and he was making quick work of some tomatoes and onions. The local stores didn't have anything I thought was useful, so I decided to look at the stores in the Crabtree Valley Mall.

I was about ready to leave when I thought about looking for the slicer. I didn't know what kind of store to look in. The slicer the chef was using looked pretty fancy and expensive. I went to a large Sears store thinking they might have something I could use. They didn't carry anything like that. At least I didn't see one, and there weren't any sales people to ask.

I caught a look outta the corner of my eye at this real fancy looking place that looked like they might have some kitchen supplies. There was a duded up young woman at the cash register. I walked up to her and described what had in mind. Her eyes seemed confused for a moment, and then she smiled and said, "You want a mandolin don't you?"

"What did you say…?", I could have sworn she said mandolin. What? For a moment I thought she must have taken me for my friend Rainey who plays a mandolin. My head swam for a minute.

"No," she said, "There, look over there on that shelf… is that what you're looking for?"

I was still lost for words. She said "Come, look at it. Mandolin is it's brand name." We walked over to the indicated shelf. She took hold of the handle and moved it back and forth over the sliders, and then I realized it was the same tool the chef had used.

"¿Quanto?"

I didn't really have to ask. I knew I didn't wanna pay their asking price. I stated that it seemed a little too big for my kitchen, and asked if they had something smaller that could be used by hand. They did. I followed her to another section of the store, and for $20 they had a smaller version that looked like it had the same quality as it's bigger, more expensive brother. I bought it. How could I not? She delivered the goods.

On my way home from Raleigh I pass near this little crossroads town that's supposed to have a famous restaurant that has a reputation for putting on a good home-made style buffet spread. It was around dinner time when I got to the Interstate 40 intersection that goes there. I've passed it dozens of times and never got off the Interstate to check it out. Today I did.

The little town was only a mile or two off the Interstate. There were only a half-dozen commercial building. The restaurant was one of them. I found a place to park and went inside. There was probably 150 people in there, and the food was exactly as described. It was very tasty. It cost $7.50. No checks. Just pay on your way out.
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