Qualities I look for in...

[se7entse7en]

a good seating location.

Corners and the outside perimeter facing the room's entrance way are prime. Furthest place away from the entrance.
Good, though not necessarily the best, view of the TV or the 'center of attention' for the evening. It sucks having to get up later and try to find a better viewing spot.
Often times I select the most difficult place to get out of.
Low traffic areas are a big plus.
The type of the furniture also plays a role. Arm rest(s) are a nice plus but a back is pretty much mandatory.


The reasons:

The corners are good 'cause I get to 'hide' away from the spotlight and not be the center of attention. That's probably pretty obvious.

I like the outside perimeter 'cause I don't like having people behind me. It's not a phobia or anything, but rather I just don't like having to whip my head around trying to follow everybody's conversations.
I also don't like not knowing what's going on behind me. Who does?

I look for low traffic places. Once I sit, I can sit for quite a while. I'd rather not have to keep getting up and scooting over and letting people pass, etc, everytime somebody else wants to move and get a glass of pop or whatever. This is why when sitting at a booth in a restaurant for example, I'd prefer to be the first one in. I'm pretty sure I won't have to go to the bathroom before dinner is over. And though it does suck having to wait for everybody else to leave before me, the pros outweigh the cons.

Sometimes compromises have to be made. Take the case at New Life. The 'annoyance' of being told to move up closer to the front my first couple of visits caused me to pick a seat in the middle. And although the middle is actually the front in most services, at least when we're asked to move up closer to the front, I'm close enough to not have to move, whereas everybody else would have to get up and move in front of me.

I also don't like sitting between people. Maybe that one's a phobia of some sort... dunno. I liken it to urinal etiquette, something I'm sure you all know intuitively.

Generally, the seat I select on my first visit to a new room, assuming it was found to be acceptable, tends to be my spot from that day on... even if it wasn't the 'ideal' spot in the event that the 'ideal' spot was already taken by somebody else.

Ok... now... I don't really go through this checklist or anything... it's just a 'feel' that I'm looking for.

What weird things are you looking for in... ?

[nature boy]

interesting topic idea. truth be told, i don't know if i think twice about wear to sit in a room. i just walk in and see what's available, then i sit. or sometimes stand, depending on the room situation.

however, i think i'm picky about my parking spots. i often look for something that's relatively close to the door, but off to the side so there won't be anyone parking next to me at least on one side. if there was a spot that was solo, that would be ideal (there's one under chapters at metro). also, i try to find spots that has (when facing the spot from the road) on its left a car that pulled in forward and on its right a car that pulled in backwards. that way as we know there had to be a driver, it may minimalize door dings, as the driver would be getting in and out on the opposite side of my car. i also avoid any kind of cars with car seats or "baby on board" signs or obvious family cars. kids don't give a crap about your paint, and will touch, lick, kick, spit on your car without any sort of thought whatsoever.

[se7entse7en]

Heh, and I park pretty much park illogically passing up on perfectly fine spots and choosing spots further away for no rhyme or reason. I justify it to myself by saying things like:
"I'm 'young' and have two working legs. I can walk. Someone else might not."
"That truck looks sketchy... they look like they might ding my car."
"I don't want to hold up traffic while I park."
"That spot over there looks easier to get into and/or out of.

I say those things but then end up parking in a spot that totally contradicts me.

I hate looking for parking.

*Edit:
What I REALLY should start doing is looking for spots that aren't under street lamps.

[geForce]

Wow Shaun, you've got seat picking down to a science.

[se7entse7en]

It really wasn't a conscious thing though. That's just sort of where I gravitate to. Also, I'm a creature of habit.

[nature boy]

also, stay away from trees. i usually park where there'd be less traffic where door dings would be more probable (door ways, beside handicap spots, etc).

and i avoid trees like the plague. at least 20 feet away from any overhang if possible. that's why i always try to park in the back of the chu's house, the front is like a forest.

[joel]

a good orange...

size, around 3-4 inches in diameter
color, as orange as possible
softness, a medium softness, nothing that is hard, but enough squish, that i can tell it'll be juicy. not mushy or the ones where you can tell the rine's already significantly detached from the fruit.
as little blemishes as possible.

if the bin of oranges doesn't even fit the first two criteria in general, i don't even bother looking through it.

[nature boy]

i eat whatever oranges are laying around. if they're already peeled/cut, the probability of me eating it increases.

[se7entse7en]

Oranges:
I look for many of the same qualities as Joel does, but size doesn't matter as much to me. Rather, I try and pick oranges with tight A's. No hemorrhoids allowed.

I would tend to avoid oranges that look like this:


I would opt for oranges that look like this instead:

[joel]

a staple dining in restaurant...

price, < $10 an entree
taste, knowing it's less than $10 a dish, i'm not going to nit picky about presentation, but the dish better taste good going down.
service, promptness is key, i'm not looking for the waiter to chat me and ask me about my day, just having a table ready to go when i arrive, being ready to take my order, when i am ready to give it, having my cheque rdy when i want to pay... i'm not fond of going to restaurants that are regularly packed. sure there's good reason they are full, i'd just rather not wait though. places where i can just walk to the front and pay when i am ready are great too... and eliminate that need for me to wait for a waiter to bring out a bill, and then wait again to pick up my payment.

cleanliness of bathrooms, even though i'll rarely use the bathroom at restaurants, i use this as a general gauge of restaurant cleanliness, if a restaurant takes the time to keep their bathrooms in great condition, i feel more comfortable that their kitchen is likely in good order too.

[nature boy]

[nature boy]

i don't like dirty restaurants period. i had a hard time with some of the places in hk as they had peeling drywall, mismatching chairs, and basically poor aesthetics. if i don't feel comfortable, i don't want to eat there.

the same goes for stores too, i generally don't like a lot of those outlet stores as they seem to be messier and dirtier than regular stores.

[se7entse7en]

[nature boy]

[geForce]