Sparkling Whites They Are

A week ago I had no idea who this guy was. Well, that’s a lie. I knew who he was. He was a legend of sorts. Now, I am not talking like the Babe Ruth kind of legend or anything, but a legend in his own right. His name (and this is the part where I am suppose to write something like “all names have been changed to protect the innocent,” but I won’t) is Michel. He is a sales guy at my firm and lives in California. Yeah, my office has employees in California. We are just like that.

Anyway, so I meet this guy from the Napa Valley and we hit it off like two peas in a pod. And for the record I am so glad that only a few posts into my blog I was able to use the wording ‘peas in a pod’ and it be beneficial.

So moving on. We meet in the dark hours of the morning one day and as he sips his coffee (ironic in accordance to his last name by the way) we talked about love, life, and wine. He actually knows a wino that I follow quite heavily named Gary Vaynerchuck. Friends from what I can tell. And jealous is what I am. Bitter actually. Yeah, bitter is a better word.

So we meet, we talk, we share steaming Joe together and that was that. We talked a few more times and he even showed me a video of how to turn my Nintendo Wii into a 3D wonderland. He also planted the seed that he was a tennis champion on the Wii. This comes into play a little bit later.

Now the next week he, Jenna (I will tell you all about her later) and I shared some fresh chips and salsa at a local hole in the wall. We talked, laughed, and cried (not because anything was neccesarily sad but because of the strength of the peppers and Tabasco) together. It was a great lunch and a great way to start a Monday.

So we see each other in the office the next day a few times and think nothing more of it. But later that evening is when things began to get interesting.

After spending some time working at my second office (Panera Bread) and drinking a few cups of coffee I had an immediate urge for Seattle’s Best cup of coffee. There is oly so much Hazelnut coffee to go around for one evening. So I head over to the mall to drink a cup of their Eggnog Latte and I begin walking around the mall to see what trouble I could get into. So I walk past the Wii center (what a great way to sell a Wii. Let’s set up a way to play it while walking around the mall. Genius Nintendo, just pure genius.) So I begin to play the lady that was working and she beats the crap out of me. She cheated, of course, but she beats me none the less. Just when I look over and I see Mr. Michael standing there talking to his wife. He looked lost actually, so I decided I better offer assistance. I shout his name across the mall hallway and he looks up confused that someone knew his name. He sees me and his eyes lit up with joy.

He walks over and decides to create conversation. It was a short lived one because he wanted to take his anger out on me in some Wii tennis. He grabs the controller in a fit of rage and begins to swing with all his mite at the ball as I sneak it past him every so quickly. I get up two games to none and he decides for a comeback. He gets back to final game 30-40. This is it folks. I can not let Mr. Michael comes back and take the victory.

His jacket is off by this point and he means business. But one fast serve later he is sitting on the floor in agony over his defeat. I help him up and his wife comes over to give him a hug and me a high 5. She consoles him and I, being the good sport that I am, come over to offer a few kind words on his match. We bid our fair wells and I continue along my way.

I walk here, walk there, and into a few stores looking for something that I wasn’t going to buy. I finally get bored and decide it is time to head home. Just when I turn the corner, however, I pass the section of the mall that requires bright lights and women dressed in scrubs. No, I am not talking about the baby changing station, I am talking about the stand where you can have your teeth whitened while you wait. I glance over and sure enough guess who I see sitting in the chair. It was Mr. Michael himself getting his teeth cleaned.

There are moments in a person’s life when you just are so glad you have a camera ready. This was one of those moments. I grabbed my phone and selected the camera option. I snap a photo without being seen and laugh as I put my phone in my pocket a happier man. I now have proof that Mr. Michael did in fact go three stages whiter in that mouth of his. Was it worth it Mr. Michael? I think so.