Kielbasa Lunch

Today at work, I had kielbasa for lunch. It was from a street vendor cart two blocks from the office. It was a transaction that felt so right - allow me to explain:

There's a few hip coffeeshops and luncheons on the bottom floor of my building. They're pretty, I'll give them that. But I kind of enjoy that down-in-the-trenches feel of eating on the go in a city. I want to get to know my lunch provider on a first name basis. I want to talk to him or her about the fuckin' weather, the phils, and "if I saw that crazy shit on the news."

After I gave the street vendor his cash, he replied, "thanks bud." I feel this is a good first step. When I buy 2 or 3 more, i'll introduce myself.

There's a sidebar here - the same sort of transaction happened in one of the small coffee shops in my lobby. The guy who poured my tea asked me what my name was and promised me he would remember it as long as I worked there. I found that to be a pleasant gesture, but I wanted to test him on it. I went back a couple of days later and indeed, he remembered my name, but the way he said it made me feel like he attached my name to an order and not to my face. After I said "green tea with lemon," he replied "Jeff, right?"

That makes me feel like i'm "Green Tea with Lemon." The kielbasa guy, on the other hand... I see a lot of potential there. In the future, he may ask me about work and "what us college grad hippies are doing up there." I would appreciate it.