Not having written for a while on eligible females who turn out to classless and nowhere near as intelligent or broadminded as they believe themselves to be, it is time for another in the series.
The star of this episode was yet another who dwelt in an inner city suburb in one of our great metropolitan areas, Sydney. I never did find out which suburb she lived in, nor her occupation. But it would have been something suitably "toney".
Conversation with her was certainly a challenge, as to her celebrities & the Sydney "A-list" social scene was the most highbrow of subjects. (You're already starting to get the picture)
I would never be so narrow minded as to call those topics the most trite, trivial and irrelevant of subjects (not to mention pretentious). In the interests of charm & better interpersonal relations I made an effort. Nothing is as novel or broadening to the mind than to meet & interlocute with someone whose worldview is entirely different from one's own.
However I fell at the first hurdle.
This broadminded & savvy city girl, with the most cosmopolitan of outlooks (yeah, right!) made a comment (without any sense of irony) about "pretentious types" and how they "sit at Otto's" and watch the world pass by.
Years later I was to learn that "Otto's" is/was a Sydney restaurant frequented by the "A-list", however at the time it meant nothing to me, she may as well have spoken in Greek.
Thankfully she kept talking and gave me some context, it seemed Ottos was a fancy noshery prone to trotting out highbrow tucker.
It just so happened that the day before I'd been at a place called "Cafe Otto" in the suburb of Glebe.
Thinking this was the place she meant, I made an observation about not only the attractiveness of the .. er... view onto the street in Glebe, but the tucker produced by this cafe.
As I found out years later, this was not the cafe she meant, nor the view she was speaking of. It wasn't even the same suburb.
Without another word she got up & left. Just like that!
For some time I pondered what faux pas I'd made. It would have been handy had she at least had the courtesy to say "bye" or something.
After considerable reflection the most plausible explanation I could come up with was that she believed I'd deliberately & obtusely pretended to not know of "Ottos". (After all, the whole world knows the restaurants in Sydney where the A-list linger over brunch).
5 comments:
Sidney has a A-List eatery? Chips Rafferty, Sir Les and Hoges sitting down for a bit of tucker and a cold one?
Richard, if you're going to exhibit that attitude you won't help things much.
With that sort of talk from you, she wouldn't know who to ignore first, you or me.
This broadminded & savvy city girl, with the most cosmopolitan of outlooks (yeah, right!) made a comment (without any sense of irony) about "pretentious types" and how they "sit at Otto's" and watch the world pass by.
Your first mistake was in assuming a location. Your second was in not leaning back and saying in a bored voice: "Oh, I've been there. You're right, Otto's isn't really the bien pesant place."
Your third mistake (which could easily be your first) was to have anything to do with a girl with the most cosmopolitan of outlooks in the first place.
Ate there once - it's not that flash. Waiters were a bunch of wankers, the other patrons were as stuck up as they come and the food was over priced and really not very good. And they stiffed us with the bill. There are much better restaurants in Sydney. I mean - for crying out loud - it's just a flipping restaurant!
"Nothing is as novel or broadening to the mind than to meet & interlocute with someone whose worldview is entirely different from one's own"
true, but interpersonal relationships should not be fostered. however, saying that, i have fallen for that trap more times than i care to remember, and have finally learned my lesson.
ditto what rebecca said.
Post a Comment