walked up to pot belly for lunch today, which is a place i really enjoy.  the portions are kind of small, so i tend to get chips and a cookie to complement it, but the sandwiches are only like $4 and their hot peppers are amazing. had a conversation about the peppers with my workmate about how great they are.  they’re not too hot, but also not too… not hot… i guess.  anyway, what i’m trying to say is i tend to like hot stuff as long as it’s not so hot that all you taste is the burning.  i like to get some heat but i don’t like to have my tongue burned out of my mouth.

so really, the whole point of this post is to talk about a particular awkward situation that i’m sure a lot of you have been in.  the previously mentioned coworker and i decided to sit outside.  if you’ve been by the campus pot belly’s you know that they have a few tables out there and most of them are baking in the sun all day.  we choose one that was next to the building but not in the shade, cause it’s hella nice out today and the sun was very nice.

anyway, after we’d been out there for a few minutes (long enough to eat 1/2 my sandwich) two ladies walk past our table and one of them turns to us (me) and says “will you reserve that table over there?” *pointing to the one table in the shade*  she continues on to say “just tell them two hot, older,  very cranky women want to sit there.”  her friend (found out later, sister) kind of looked at us apologetically and they continued on in to the store.  i would not have described either of these women as “hot” but i know a lot of people have very distorted self images (probably myself included).

now, did i go out of my way to keep an eye on the table (which was behind me and around a corner so i would have to strain around to even see the it, let alone keep someone from sitting at it)? no, of course not.  oh and never mind that there are actually two doors to the joint, and it would have been highly plausible for someone to exit the door we aren’t sitting near and snag their table without us ever knowing.

what baffled me even more was there were two nice looking dudes in blue scrubs sitting at the very next table. why she choose us to single out for her selfish table preservation is beyond me.  no wait, i’m going to attribute it to my amazing good looks and charm.

anyway, after a few minutes the speaker exits and tells me what a good job we’ve done because her sister is “one mean lady” (or something to that effect).  yeah, great job by us.

what i hate is, why put a complete stranger into such an awkward situation in the first place?  it really bothers me that people choose to do this.  it’s one thing if you are already sitting at a table or seat and have to get up for a minute.  it is acceptable in that situation to ask someone to keep your seat.  it is also acceptable to do so in movie theaters or other “first come first serve” style seating venues.  but to ask someone to save a seat for you  before you’ve even sat down is a little ridiculous.

what happens if someone takes that table?  how am i supposed to prevent that from happening other than to polietly ask them to vacate?  how does the original person respond when this happens?  we were lucky this time that it wasn’t very busy and that school isn’t in session.

it just boggles the mind that people will put a complete stranger into such an easily compromised position.