I had a babysitting job down in Redondo Beach today, and afterwards headed over to Eat at Joe’s for lunch.
-Bright white walls with bright blue chairs, doors, windowsills, and beams. A color combination I find particularly lovely.
-Communal seating at long tables… for someone as (sporadically, randomly) shy as me, this is a bit difficult. When the waitress tells me to sit anywhere I slide into a seat at the far end of a table. Four chairs separate me from the two elderly couples at the other end. I overhear, “my dermatologist is worried about you,” and then they lower their voices.
-I have a hard time deciding what I want. I’m fairly hungry, but nothing seems right. Mostly because I’ve decided not to have meat after last nights bbq binge, and being allergic to eggs severely limits my options. I settle on a veggie burger and french fries. Meh.
-Free wifi, so that’s nice.
-There are a number of pictures of John Wayne here, just like at the Pinnacle Peak. I hope this isn’t going to be a continuing trend. There is a life-size cardboard cutout of him in the next room, and outside “home of the John Wayne special” is painted on the wall. I guess he used to come here, and liked a particular sort of egg dish.
-Two tables over, some women are having a conversation about public libraries. I’d love to join in, but I’m not quite close enough to A) hear exactly what they’re saying, or B) lean in casually.
-a busboy has a long narrow beard, falling about a foot from his chin and ending in a point. I love this beard. I wonder if he ever curls it? God, I hope so.
-Unattached bathrooms for which you need a key, like at Cindy’s but not as prettily decorated. This project is certainly taking me out of my comfort zones.

What I Ate: Veggie burger with tomato and pickles, french fries.
What I Read: Still working on “The Islands of Chaldea” by Diana Wynne Jones. I’ve been stretching it out as long as I can, because it’s the last book of hers I’ll ever read (not counting the books I’ve read before and read over and over all the time).
What Sort of Ghost I’d Expect to Find if I Believed in Ghosts Which I do Not: Buddy cops who were so used to coming here together for lunch every day, they didn’t stop just cause they were dead.

400 N Pacific Coast Hwy, Redondo Beach, CA 90277