There’s nothing more refreshing to me after months of social seclusion than a good day of hanging out with friends. I literally haven’t seen a single one of my college buddies since late April, when finals ended. I’ve been so caught up in working, babysitting when I’m not working, getting my driver’s license, and getting a handful of other random but important things done that I haven’t had any free time to see my friends.
This past Monday, I had to stop by the campus to take care of some paperwork – more errands, of course. Since one of my friends is taking a summer course, we thought it would be a good opportunity to do something after she got off.
We hopped on a train and went out to lunch at a restaurant that serves dim sum until 3:30. We had clear dumplings, pork dumplings (xiu mai), rice noodle rolls with shrimp, clams, and some sort of meat dish. I think the most memorable part of the meal was watching my friend have a spat with the waiter who couldn’t seem to comprehend the idea that we wanted to split the tab, my half with cash, her half on the credit card, tips included. He kept trying to tell us why he supposedly couldn’t do as we wished with the bill, and the conversation went a little something like this:
FRIEND: Can you put $13 on the credit card?
WAITER: No, I put $22 on card, you write down tip after.
FRIEND: Can you put $13 on the credit card?
WAITER: No, you pay tip after.
FRIEND: *firmly* CAN YOU PUT $13 ON THE CREDIT CARD?
WAITER: Takes the card and leaves to go put $13 on the credit card. And surprise, surprise, they were able to do it. =)
Next stop: next town over to go shopping. As we browsed the store, myself as a broke window-shopper and she as a broke shopper who doesn’t have any self-control no matter how astronomically high her credit card bill is, I watched her grab every item that was to her liking. Even more to my surprise, after she was done, she marched straight to the check-out line without trying them on. Apparently, she so often frequents her local mall that she simply lugs everything home because she can easily return anything she doesn’t like. While I’m concerned about her spending habits, I have to admit I like her spontaneity – it’s part of what makes her fun to be around.
Sadly, my schedule is clogging up yet again, and I had to postpone my next hang out with my other friend to early August.
Hope your summer months aren’t as socially deprived as mine!