chang's chats.

for those of you who don't know, i work at a p.f. chang's. we have a lot of customers, giving me a lot of opportunities to talk to strangers. more often than not, the conversation leads me to telling people i'm from utah, and when they hear the word utah they automatically ask me if i'm Mormon. i have discovered that people have a lot of funny preconceived notions about utah. this is usually a real blessing. i have talked about the gospel with so many people. i love all the questions that come, and i love getting to answer them. sometimes, like today, i get to catch people off guard. 

example #1. 

guy waiting for interview: it's freezing out there. i hate winter. 

me: its like 50 degrees... that's not winter where i come from. 

guy waiting for interview: oh really? where are you from?

me: utah. it gets really cold there during the winter. 

guy waiting for interview: utah, eh? they have a lot of... those "cliche" people there. 

me: cliche?

guy waiting for interview: yeah you know who i'm talking about. do you know any of "those people."

me: you mean Mormons?

guy waiting for interview: yeah. (eye rolling giggle)

me: yeah, you're looking at her. 

guy waiting for interview: (nothing)

then my manager came in and took him away to be interviewed. 

example #2

guy i was taking to his table: ya know i've only eaten at a p.f. chang's one other time. i was in salt lake city for a business trip. 

me: oh really! i'm... 

guy i was taking to his table: it was funny. i walked into the restaurant and everyone stopped eating and stared at me. they had obviously never seen an Indian man (the guy was Indian) before. it's not very diverse there, if you know what i mean? (then he looked at his friends and  they started laughing.) i'm sorry i interrupted you, what were you saying.

me: oh i was just saying, i'm from salt lake city! but hey, you gentlemen enjoy your meal. 

guys i was taking to your table: (no words, just awkward nods)  

i enjoy working at a place where i can do a little bit of missionary work on the job, but sometimes i just have to laugh inside.