Picture Time. Or not.

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When I was a restaurant server, I took pictures of people whenever they asked. Eating out can sometimes be like a mini-vacation, yes? And we sometimes want pics of fun outings, right? Taking pictures seemed to be an occasional part of the job as a server, and folks were happy to document the good times. Of course, I was grateful they didn't ask when I was in a huge rush. I still would've complied but maybe felt a tad irritated.

Recently, I asked the host at Puerto Alegre, a popular sit down Mexican restaurant, to take a picture of our table. There was no one waiting for a table, and he was walking by and didn't appear to be hurried. He gave us an irritated look and answered in a snooty voice, "Ask one of the girls," as he pointed to the waitresses. "I'm busy," he added, as he turned on his heel and stormed off. Our jaws all dropped and we giggled.

Busy, really? 'Cause it seemed like that the amount of time it took for him to deny my (polite) request was a total waste. The camera was set, we were posed and ready, and all he had to do was point and press the button. Having a picture would've made us all feel, in some small way, that a good night had just gotten even better. Watching him walk around the dining room seconds later, one of my dining companions mentioned, "Yeah, I read on Yelp today that the service here can be lacking."

Am I wrong to feel miffed at our missed photo op? When we couldn't get the attention of our waitress, we decided to pay up and leave. Later, a couple on the street happily snapped our pic in one take.