Saturday, 10 January 2009

Six is not bad. Seven is better.

.

Was in at the chemist's today (Pharmacy, drug store, you work it out.) and fronted to the counter to put in a prescription.

The conversation went something like this:

Sweet thing: How are you today?

Me: Good. How about yourself?

Sweet thing: Not too bad.

Me: (thinks) OK. That means what?

Me: (Asks) OK. If Bad is a 3 and Good is a 10, where are you on that scale?

Sweet thing: Uh...6.

Me: Excellent! That's above the national average!


I go off and do some shopping for dinner tonight and then return to pick up the prescription.

Sweet thing: Hi! How are you?

Me: Good, thank you. Yourself?

Sweet thing: I'm a seven now!

Me: It's been a good morning for all of us then.

(scene fades...)
...

21 comments:

  1. If we ever meet, I want you to call me Sweet Thing, OK?

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  2. Love how you call it "the chemist's".

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  3. Sweet Thing: Certainly.

    Willow: That's the term used here. As I am a chemist, not a pharmacist, I have gone through life explaining to people "No, not a pharmacist, an analytical chemist".

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  4. Thats one easy to please "sweet thing"...
    I think That did the trick....
    Call me that too.. please...!! promise?
    :D

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  5. So what now? This could get tricky.

    Sweet Thing #1, Sweet Thing #2,...

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  6. I'm guessing the horse has bolted now but can I be a Sweet Thing too?

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  7. "How are you?" often elicits an automatic response from people. Especially when asked by a stranger. So my advice to people is that if it is going to be automatic, it may as well be "fantastic."
    It is interesting that by bringing Sweet things awareness to her mood, she was able to bring it up a point. Well done.

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  8. We call it the chemist's too in Britain...

    What a delightful post!

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  9. I assumed that sweet thing meant that the poor wee girl had very little brain.

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  10. Blu: No, quite the contrary. There seemed to be a bright light in the window.

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  11. To save you an embarrassing confusion, Lee, you may call me "Old thing", an epithet which I believe was quite common in Britain in an older time,say early 20th century. Chaps who were embarrassed (or not brought up)to use the more sentimental endearments to their wives and sweethearts would address them as "Old thing" or "Old girl" - at least that is what I can retrieve from my lapsing memory. But the 'old' part was not really linked to actual age.

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  12. Judith: How about "Poor old darling"?

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  13. We call it pharmacists here..noticed some people in different countries use the words 'chemist' and 'apothec'. You didn't call me Sweet Thing when we met!

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  14. Why is this Sweet Thing thing getting me into so much hot water?

    Hliza: Well, you're a married woman so I need to be circumspect with my pet names! Am I a chicken? You bet. Better than being a dead duck.

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  15. On your visits to the chemist, make sure you bring along your Hungarian phrasebook, you don't wnat to 'buy a record' if it's 'scratched'.

    I like the scale. Gives folks a way to quantify the depth to which they don't care how you really are! (kidding)

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  16. :D
    ok dumb quetion: why isn't 1 bad?

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  17. I suspect that S.T. will always remember the 'scale' now.

    The Alchemist I am married to always has to explain the chemist distinction too.

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  18. Be careful if you start numbering the 'sweet things' ST#1 could be misconstrued as a 'favorite'

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  19. I'd like to be called 'sweet thing' too, but only if you respect me. ♥

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  20. This took me from a 5 to a 7 ...muchos gracias senor ...

    Now ... to find someone NOT allergic to using the term ST ...

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  21. woof! I'm too late to join in the sweet thingery fun, but it was a good chuckle!

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