Add "Mr. Coffee" to my list of sobriquets.

After Saturday's post, I ate at Five Guys Burgers & Fries (and enjoyed their nearly Boardwalk Fries) and Bojangles. I also discovered that Ringgold Road might possibly be my favorite road in Chattanooga (actually East Ridge, TN, but I suspect only the townies insist on the distinction). It has both The Book Company, a used bookstore (not as large as COAS in Las Cruces nor McKay's in Chattanooga, but still good), and a bowling alley on it.

On Sunday, I had breakfast at Aretha Frankenstein's. (Alas, they were all out of men's T-shirts!) On my drive back home (and I do recommend driving around a new city at dawn on a Sunday if you actually want to see things and find your way without running into anyone every 50 feet), I saw where The Terminal brewpub is and Niedlov's Breadworks, so I drove back to the Terminal for lunch (Niedlov's is closed on Sundays), and will go back again, for the beer, the menu, and the friendly and interactive serving staff (one employee, not my waitress, actually had a conversation about the book I was reading, longer than, "What's the name of the book you're reading?"). I had pizza for dinner at Portofino Italian Restaurant (which also served Greek dishes, hence the incongruous and random switch between Greek bazouki music and the theme from The Godfather).

How am I able to bring you this astounding array of new gustatorial delights? It's because the school's dining hall was closed last week and will be again this week, so I have sought my overindulgence in calories elsewhere. (Not to worry; I'm still walking my 12 laps around the track every day.) Faculty and staff on the campus are allowed to eat for free.

Have I mentioned the school is very generous?

Besides the increase in salary, this place has so many perks compared to my last job. I get a discount at the bookstore, eleven shirts and pants, free uniform laundering (wear five one week, send them for cleaning, wear five the next week, etc.), cheap rent in a campus-owned apartment, a cell phone, an office as big as my last one but which I don't have to share with 1.5 other people, the copier, the fax machine, and the network printer (and it has windows!), and the people are so darn nice that I'm suspicious. (That's not necessarily my fault; it's a natural reaction to the negativity and hidden meanings at my last job.)

Mr. Coffee. Perks. Get it?