Force Fed

The other day while watching T.V. a particular ad caught my eye: It was for Red Lobster. Through all the other pointless babble that my accustomed brain usually just zoned out, this particular ad had done its job, and quite successfully too. I had to have Red Lobster! The lobster tails looked so juicy, the chicken strips so tender, even the baked potatoes inhibited me with desire and I can’t stand them :p I was quite aware that I was being a sucker but I didn’t care, and I even “mapquested” the nearest one to me!

I convinced a friend of mine to come with me on my quest for juicy lobster in the heart of glendale, and we were off. After a good 10 minutes past where I thought the restaurant would be, I realized that Google maps had lied and this Red Lobster did not exist anymore, and though I was quite disappointed, I was in shock by the vast amount of choices that were present before me. I drove down the street and passed THREE Pizza Huts on the same street! Let’s not forget about the Starbucks, Yoshinoya Beef Bowl, Chilis, Taco Bell… Big bright colorful corporate signs were all around me and I couldn’t help but try to rebel against this american culture, or should i say non-culture, screaming “I’m in corporate hell!” as my natively French friend chuckled beside me. Though this lack of funk, lack of soul, of finesse, of beauty, my physiological needs took hold and I settled to eat at Sizzler. We walked in and didn’t even know how it worked. I made my way over to the cash register and asked the cashier where I was supposed to go and she glared at me, either saying what a snob or what an idiot. I ended up ordering from her and I was given a number AAAND the freedom to sit wherever I pleased. Families of 12 or 24 sat at the immense tables designed especially for them. The food was cold and tastless, but Hey! you get free ice cream at the end Isn’t corporate America great?