Standards?

Jan. 24th, 2019 09:26 pm
waitingman: (Default)
[personal profile] waitingman
Just returned from 'date night' with L-SP - who would argue that, since we don't have children, every night is date night... We had a buffet meal at the Sheraton on the Park Hotel in the city - something that would normally cost $100 per person, but a voucher deal halved that for us & made it worthwhile indulging

Or did it? Arriving at 6.30pm to a quiet, 1/3 full restaurant, the first 2 trips to the seafood section were a definite highlight, though the crab selection really reminds you that those little sideways critters are a lot of hard work for not a lot of reward (certainly not a patch on the Alaskan King crab we had in a Shack in Augusta Georgia a few years ago, unlikely to be bettered!!), but the oysters, mussels & prawns were of superior quality, so plenty of those were eaten as well

By this time, the place had filled up considerably, so when the time came to investigate the hot foods, it was a bit of a zoo, trying to get around people & get to anything that looked appetising. This is where it all came unstuck, really... I don't know what it is about buffets that brings out the caveman in modern humans. People were stacking plates so high with food, things were sliding off, picking at things with their fingers, pushing in or through the semi-orderly lines... all for dishes that, sorry, weren't that great, really... Certainly not $100 per person great... & barely $50 if we're counting that way

And it's not as if there was any shortage of food - waiters & servers were constantly re-filling dishes, only for people to swoop down like seagulls & take waaay more than you'd consider polite & bugger anyone else...

So here's the rub - I'm all for social climbing, ambition & aspiration - hell, I've been doing it all my life - but whatever happened to the raising of standards as you go up in the world. I mean, here we were at one of the city's more expensive Hotels & there were people getting 'round in shorts, t-shirts, baseball cap & thongs - dressed more for the beachside pub than the Sheraton &, as mentioned, behaving like the seagulls you'd find in the beer garden there. L-SP & I had dressed 'up' slightly, for the occasion, but soon discovered we needn't have bothered, given the standards on display... And for god's sake, take your damn stupid cap off when you're indoors!!!!!!

Okay, so Australia prides itself on being egalitarian & 'classless' to a degree & I applaud that attitude to an extent... but whatever happened to the idea of being better, or at least seeming to be??? Or even just the notion that you put a little effort into your appearance if you're going somewhere a few pricepoints above the local RSL Club (in fact, I even dress smartly to visit the Club!). Just because we're a classless society, doesn't mean classlessness is acceptable...

... Or is it? Is this just another outdated aspect of my anachronism?

(no subject)

Date: 2019-01-25 04:49 am (UTC)
basefinder: (Default)
From: [personal profile] basefinder
I remember when people would dress up to fly on an airliner.

In 1976, when my family was about to return stateside from Guam, my mom insisted on my brother and I getting suits (albeit leisure suits of the time) for the flights!
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