DAY THREE – 19 November 2014
Because
it was so damn chilly in Austin
before I left (due to that damn arctic front), I’d packed a sweater. It
was looking like it’s be in the 70s during the day, so I probably wouldn’t need
to wear it. I did have a sweatshirt to wear down to breakfast, so it was
completely obvious that I was wearing the same clothes as the night
before. I went and grabbed some brochures and “Things To Do” magazines so
I could get ideas of future non-work visits. I’m going to suggest to Mum
that we take a vacation together in this area, as opposed to going to Phoenix . Nothing
against Arizona ,
but since I’m getting a feel of the area now, it makes more sense to explore
further at some point later.
I staked
out my seat in the dining area by putting the brochures there, so I’d just a
nice clear view of the TV for the morning news and traffic. Oh, it was so
nice as I was scooping up the scrambled eggs, I looked forward to their yummy
protein. I got my plate loaded with my muffin and came back to my seat,
only to find some lady had grabbed it. I just set my plate on the next
table over, and then reached over to grab my stuff. There was no hint of
recognition from her at all as she stuffed her face, nothing to show she
realized she had perhaps grabbed a seat where someone was already sitting
at. Her laptop case was next to her, so there was no mistake that I
claimed her seat already. I’m more surprised she had gotten a plateful of
food so quickly and chowing down so quickly. It didn’t hurt anything, so
I just had my breakfast and then went back to get cleaned up. I do want
to note during the entire time I was there she never even acknowledged my presence.
Yeah, no matter where you go you’re going to encounter assholes. The
trick is not to them bother you.
My first
stop of the day was in Long Beach .
They didn’t have an extra office for me, so I was able to set up in their
business office (where the warranty clerks were). I was right next to
desk of one of my contacts (Bianca). They referred to me as “the GM guy,”
and I told them they didn’t need to act any different with me here.
Bianca asked if I was ready to hear what an office full of women talked
about. I replied that I had a pretty good idea, so be as free with what
you say. One of the managers had brought in a huge bun from Panera, which
smelled so good. I was full from my breakfast so I didn’t need any, but
was glad they offered anyway. Once I was done there, I mentioned I was
looking for a good place for lunch, and the office ladies gave me a number of
good suggestions. I’d just have to see what was on my way to my next
location.
Heading
down Carson Street ,
I passed Long Beach City College
and Heartwell Park
My name
tag with the GM logo is on my coat, which I leave in the car when going to
lunch, since I’m going to take it off anyway. As I was at Buffalo Nickel,
some people came down and sat at the table across from me, and I could tell by
the suits they were wearing it was a law firm going out to lunch
together. I could over hear them discussing some the air bag cases they’d
be taking to hearing, but didn’t get any specific details. I didn’t know
if these were one of the firm antagonistic to GM (ie, the ambulance chasers),
so I kept my mouth shut. I was texting one of my counterparts to let her
know what was going on, and she suggested if I had a grenade to roll it under
their table. If only….
After
lunch, I shot over to Cerritos ,
as this was one of the dealerships which has more problems. I have note
that due to their size, and the corresponding volume they get, that adds to
their poor response time. Still, I had a good chat with my contact there,
and hoped that we had a good dialogue to keep from having too many issues in
the future. I was able to have my laptop set up in her office, so we were
able to discuss items as they came up.
Once 5 pm
hit, it was time to go. To get back to Seal Beach was pretty much a
straight shot down Interstate 605, about ten miles, and figured I’d get caught
right in rush hour traffic. I hit it right, and breezed through there
before it built up too bad. It was still dusk when I got back to the
hotel, so I missed seeing my sunset over the Pacific again.
With a
quick change of clothes, I returned to Main Street Seal Beach
I took
the opportunity to walk Main
Street from the Pier to PCH and back, and noted a
few places to eat along the way. Charo Chicken and Hennessey’s Grill both
made the “maybe list,” but I’d decided on a place which I’d spotted from the
Pier. A place which we considered during the September trip. A
place which I’d considered yesterday.
From the
outside, The Hangout looks like the “beach bar” it advertises itself as.
But since I could see all types of people inside, I figured this would be a
good place to try. The décor had a subtle beach feel to it, and it was
very inviting. A surfboard mounted on the wall listed the craft beers
available, so I tried a “Lucky Duck” brown ale. For my meal, I got the
chicken-fried chicken, only because I hadn’t had that in a while, and I knew
it’d be filling if it was done properly. The breading wasn’t too thick,
and the correct amount of pepper was in the gravy, so I enjoyed it. There
was such a diverse cross-section of people here (unlike the yuppie-types I saw
last night for dinner), that made a better atmosphere as far as I was
concerned.
While
waiting for my order, I was reading a really good article in the OC Weekly,
their weekly “alternative” paper (much like what Austin Chronicle is,
just much thinner). It was talking about the water shortage facing
southern California
due to reduced spring run-off, shrinking aquifer, and increased population
density. I wanted to take this back with me to show the problems facing central
Texas are not
unique. After I had finished my dinner (and passed on dessert), I went
and walked the Seal Beach Pier again to work that off. The reason why I
mention it now because it’s when I was driving back to the hotel was when I
recalled I left the paper at the restaurant, and it was too late to turn back
around to grab one. I just hoped I’d be able to grab one the next day,
even though I noticed the available number of copies was dwindling.
The
reason why I didn’t get dessert at The Hangout was on my walk up and down Main
Street I’d stopped into a bakery and eye-balled some cookies. I figured
if I was still hungry post-dinner, I’d come back to get a couple. I
walked back up to Sweet Jill’s Bakery, which was in the direction of where my
car was parked. I showed restraint and purchased only two cookies (a
chocolate chip one and a peanut butter one). There were a lot of other
baked goodies here. I wanted to get more to take home with me, or even
bring to some of my office peeps, but they wouldn’t be a fresh when they got
them as they were now.
Instead
of going back up Main Street
to PCH, I knew there was a way to go east along the beach as it would arc back
to the corner where Seal Beach
Blvd meets PCH. I knew that because that’s
how we at least once during the September trip. Since it was dark, I
missed the turn off, and got to drive around the Seal Beach
neighborhood before circling back around to Main .
Since it wasn’t as hot out, people didn’t have their doors and windows open,
but they still had their shades pulled up. I still find that odd to be
eating dinner, watching TV, or whatever after dark with your interior lights on
and shades up, because it gives a clear view into your house. Definitely
a different mentality, than we had back in the smallest city in New York State ,
or anywhere in Texas .
Just an observation there.
Since
cookies need milk, once I got back to my hotel, I walked over to the
stop-and-rob to buy a bottle of NesQuik. I had no fridge in my room, so
that’s why I only got one bottle. I also got a copy of the L.A. Times so
I could send it to John, Sara, and the other TMSers who used to work on that
project. Sure it’s not the Sunday edition which would be funnier, but this
should be amusing enough for them. I won’t have to run over to the Post
Office the next day, I’ll have to send it to them when I get home
For more information on the places visited or mentioned:
Charo’s Chicken (Seal Beach ):
http://www.charochicken.com/
Hennessey’s Grill (Seal Beach ): http://www.hennesseystavern.com/
The Hangout (Seal Beach ):
http://www.thehangoutrestaurant.com/
OC Weekly: http://www.ocweekly.com/
Sweet Jill’s Bakery (Seal Beach ): http://sweetjillsbakery.com/
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