Was A "Social Lie" Called For?

As many of you know, over the Christmas holiday I had a part-time job at a chocolate shop. It had been a dream of mine since I was a little girl to one day work for this chocolate shop company. I not only got to live that dream, I got to live it in the very store that had inspired me as a child.

Recently, they called me back to work there again for the upcoming Valentine's Day rush. I said yes and, as I'm currently an employee there, I'd prefer not to mention the name of the company here just yet. You probably know and that's fine; let's just see if we can avoid mentioning it in the comments, m'kay? ;-)

I worked last night for a few hours and had a moment that left me questioning my response to a customer query. Now, customers ask me a LOT of questions during each and every shift (when I'm no longer working there, I plan to write about some of them) and because a high level of interaction is required, I turn into the perkiest, chattiest Cathy you ever did see. So not me in general, but it's kind of part of the role. I'm used to being questioned and responding in a friendly manner and tonight was no exception. The question this time was a first for me, though.

A nice man (who had been kind enough to let an older lady go first because he was indecisive about what to get), who I would say is around my age, was ordering his candy and I was getting it bagged for him. I think he asked a question or two about what kind of boxes were available and it was a pleasant interaction. Then he smiled and asked, "It must be really hard for your other half to get you something special for Valentine's Day when you work in a chocolate shop, huh?" I didn't really think about it too much, I just replied honestly, smiling, "Well, if I had another half then, yes, it might be difficult for him!"

At least two of the ladies in line visibly cringed and one said, "Ohhhh..." in an "Ooh, you stepped in it, mister," kind of way. I could tell that he didn't really know what to say for a moment, so I continued on in an attempt to mitigate his embarrassment, "But then, I love getting chocolate so it really wouldn't be all that hard!" I kept smiling and finished the transaction. He recovered and was smiling again when he left.

I was left to wonder if being honest (but pleasant) wasn't the right move in this case, however. Because while I didn't mean to put him on the spot, he was making a common assumption I encounter all the time: Coupled, until proven otherwise. I'm used to setting the record straight, so it came naturally and there was no ill will intended in my answer. Now I'm thinking, however, that it wasn't actually meant as a personal question -- it was really just like the ones I get all the time along the lines of "Oh, how can you stand to work here without eating chocolate all the time?!?" -- so perhaps I should have just played it off with a laughing, "Oh, it is!" or something similar.

Was the so-called "social lie" called for in this case? What do you think?

Wanna know?

Do you know what I'm doing right now? Right this moment in between bouts of tap, tap, tapping on the keyboard?

No, of course you don't because you're not here to see me.

And, I must selfishly admit, I'm glad you're not here because you might want to do what I'm doing right now this very minute and that would mean I'd have to share. I'm a generous person in most cases, but I don't want to share. Not with you, not with anyone. Seriously.

To paraphrase and misquote a very young Brooke Shields: Nothing comes between me and my Reese's.

Photo by Cybele

I've had a love affair with Reese's peanut butter cups since I was a child and, while over the years I've had many pricier, "better," high-end chocolates and people may sniff at Hershey's products in our age of sophisticated palettes, it's still the one I'll choose when it's offered to me.

And, oh, does it take me back. I remember the joy of unwrapping the foil wrappers from the miniatures and feeling like it was the most special of treats, debating with my favorite cousin whether the name was pronounced REE-sis or Ree-sees (it is, of course, the former), trying to peel off the tiny brown cups without breaking off the "teeth" along the edge, and figuring out my own personal way of eating them. (For the record, with miniatures I'm a fan of biting off the entire cup, leaving the thicker chocolate wafer, which I then let melt on my tongue. For regular-sized cups, it depends on my mood.) I remember having the money to buy a fancy gift box of miniatures when I was about 10 years old and treasuring them like the gold they were wrapped up in. I've had most every variation they've come up with, when I can find them, and have even ordered them direct from the factory. Major yum.

I guess you could say I'm a very devoted Reese's fan, and I was recently invited to join a place that recognizes people like me: Devoted to Reese's. It's pretty new and the content is still being developed, but there's a possibility that it will be more interesting in the future. If you're a fan, too, I invite you to check it out and sign up. If nothing else maybe we'll find out about giveaways and specials before the masses.

Right now they're having a big tie-in with the upcoming Batman movie, The Dark Knight, and have a sweepstakes (though you can't enter online) and some unique branded products which they made in both milk and dark. I have yet to find the individual bat-shaped pieces, so that's my current quest. I did find the medallions and look forward to trying them soon. There's a whole bag of each so I might consider sharing. Maybe.

Mo Site: Candy Blog

One of my goals in coming back from my hiatus was to get back to what I'd originally intended this blog to be: a place to share the various sites, stories and other items I come across online, in lieu of emailing them to my friends and family...sometimes to their disinterest or annoyance or inattention due to just general busyness. Granted, the blog may garner those same reactions, but at least it amuses me more than sending emails off into the vast, silent cavern of the Internet.

I haven't done as much of it as I'd planned, though the list of Mo Sites off there to the right has grown a bit to include those I've talked about since I started up again. My hope is to have it serve as an index for the sites I find and feature here; the ones that I find myself visiting often and telling people about...or trying to tell people about when I can get them to pay attention long enough!

So let's get down to it, shall we?

With Easter just down the bunny trail, this is pretty timely. Candy Blog is the place to go to get a review of new and interesting chocolate and other candies from all over the world. Cybele (who I think of as The Candymeister) covers a huge variety of candy, from what can be found in the dollar store to what's found in the high-end, designer shops. She takes the most compelling pictures of the goodies and has a very concise and consistent way of reviewing them, from where they can be found to how much they cost, with a rating system and links to other related reviews.

I have discovered quite a few new, delicious favorites (chief among them, Sweetriot nibs) since I've been reading her blog and I can't get enough of it. I stop by frequently and find myself looking for new items on store shelves in anticipation of her take on them. Our tastes aren't entirely on par (she adores licorice and I can't abide it) but they're similar enough in other ways (neither of us likes cherry-flavored items much) to make me look forward to the next review.

This was Egg Week, where she reviewed all sorts of chocolate eggs that are out now for the Easter season. Last week was Hollow Chocolate Rabbit Week, replete with bitten-off ears! So if you're looking for something tasty for that special someone's basket this year, go check it out.