The Umbrella

New situations and circumstances always prove to be a prime opportunity for me to experience some sort of funny and/or embarrassing moment in my life. This week was no different.

Now that I am working downtown Raleigh, my lunch hour can be spent walking up to the capital or sitting in one of the little parks or eating at any of the various restaurants near my office.

On Thursday, I thought I would try out the cafeteria in the legislative building. For those of you who didn’t know, in the basement of the legislative building, there is a great cafeteria that serves the best food at a really good price. If you ever want to see some of your tax dollars at work, you should come to Raleigh and have lunch with me someday!

The weather has been so crazy with the hurricanes coming and going but the “chance” of showers did not worry me at all. I set out for the legislative building, umbrella, purse and book in hand. A half a block into my stroll, the bottom dropped out. I quickly deployed my umbrella and made my way across the street, under a covered walkway. One other gentleman had the same idea and we paused there together.
He had forgotten his umbrella and was very wet. He was also in a hurry to get to his meeting. I smiled and said “Hello” and he responded likewise. I could tell by his accent that he was from India. He then looked at me and asked, “Can I borrow your umbrella?”

All of the sudden I was faced with a crisis. I wanted to help this man but what was I going to do if I gave him my umbrella? Plus, if he took my umbrella, how was I going to get it back? I figured he needed it more than me so I handed it to him but asked, “Are you going to come back?” He gave me this weird look and said, “You walk with me.” Which, of course, was the obvious solution but it had not occurred to me at all. We walked down the street to his building and he parted with a thank you.

I made it to the cafeteria and walked in timidly. It was packed with lots of politicians and their staffers. It was kind of cool but I was a bit nervous. I decided to get the roast beef and rice for $3.95.

In new situations, you just follow everyone else and that makes you look like you know what you are doing. However, I got in the wrong line to pay for my food and was redirected by a nice lady who called me “honey.”
I finally found an open seat but didn’t notice it was the smoking section till someone lit up a cigarette. I felt bad about moving because I didn’t want them to think I didn’t know that I was sitting in the smoking section. So my food didn’t taste as good as it could have because of the second hand smoke.

I managed to figure out that you leave your plates on the table for someone to come and pick them up and that you pay as you leave. Both of those revelations were a blessing because I would have most likely tried to find the kitchen to wash my own dishes and then left without paying J I felt a little surge of confidence having conquered my first lunch at the legislative building. I left with a little spring in my step but that only led to me tripping on the sidewalk as I walked past two senators engaged in a conversation that I interrupted as I tripped past them. As, always just a step away from humble!