Entry 57

We got John a few more undershirts and pants after that. We only needed the one pair of shoes and jacket, as both changed color so it would seem as if he owned multiple. It turns out he didn't need a "real" jacket (you know with sleeves) because the shirts and the like are made to regulate body temperature. It's pretty cool. You can wear just a think undershirt in freezing weather and be fine. [John would like to note that the clothes are only rated for -50 degrees Fahrenheit].

Perhaps one of the great parts of shopping on an alien spacestation was that we didn't need to carry around any bags. Blaue arranged it with the shop's Artifical Cognizant so that the stuff we bought would be delivered directly to her. We could enjoy our time on the space station without worrying about losing our stuff.

"Shopping is such taxing work," John said over dramatically after we visited a pet shop. [Blaue strongly reminded us in that shop that we weren't allowed pets - not that I would buy any of those strange creatures. I couldn't even begin to figure out how to care for them]. "I think we need a break. How about lunch?"

"Is it that time already?" I asked in surprise. I went to grab my cell phone out of my pocket to check the time, and then remembered I didn't have my cell phone. It's not like it worked in an alien time zone.

"It is approximately the time when we would have lunch on the ship," Blaue concurred.

"Do we come back to the ship to eat?" John asked Blaue. "Or do the restaurants here actually serve food we can digest?" I had not thought of that. Leave it to John to remember that what's food for one alien might be poison for us. The restaurants may not serve anything we could eat.

"You can eat at a restaurant," Blaue said. "Ven really enjoys one that is not very far away. I will call ahead and alert them of your dietary needs and you should get served fairly quickly. What do you feel like eating?"

"I could really go for just a classic cheeseburger," John responded. And I agreed. You forget how awesome plain old American food is until your in space eating who knows what for eons.

"Cheeseburgers it is," Blaue said. She then gave us the directions to the restaurant.

"My friends at home would never believe this," I commented as John and I strolled through the space station.

"Your friends also believe that Say Yes to the Dress is the best show in television," John said. "Somehow I don't think what they believe really matters."

"Like your friends are so much cooler," I retorted. "Watching reruns of Stargate and avidly awaiting the next Terminator movie**."

"Says the girl who is avidly awaiting the next Harry Potter movie!"

"Hey, so are you!" I playfully shoved John, and he laughed, ruffling my hair to annoy me. And I was annoyed by his action, but at the same time I was happier than I had been in a long time. This was normal. This was me and John teasing and playing while at the mall.

We got to the restaurant, all smiles, and as I stepped through the open doorway, I was greeted by what seemed to be a human hostess.

"Greetings," the young woman said. "I am the Artificial Cognizant of this facility. Your cognizant called ahead with your reservation."

"Yes, we need a table for two," John said, crossing the restaurant's threshhold. Suddenly the smiling face of the Artificial Cognizant turned grim.

"I'm sorry," she said. "We don't serve your kind here."

**I realize that Terminator Salvation and Harry Potter have both been out for a while, but this was like last October. It wasn't out yet.