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Do Not Upset The Penguin Today

By
Real Estate Agent with Century 21 Lanthorn Real Estate LTD., Trenton, Ontario

Do Not

(Ne derangez pas les manchots aujord'hui) - Avec les memes numeros.

I have eaten at many Chinese restaurants, and therefore have cosumed more than my fair share of fortune cookies. I enjoy the crispy texture and the bland almond-like taste. Getting that little slip of paper thats been inserted inside is just a bonus to most people, but that's the part of the whole deal that I live for. I don't play the lottery, so the "lucky numbers" are meaningless to me.

My fortune cookie area of expertise revolves around the actual "wordy" part of the fortune. The vast majority of fortunes can be broken down into two categories. For simplicity's sake, we shall call them Category A and Category B.

Category A makes up the lion's share of fortune cookie fortunes. This category consists of banal snippets of wisdom. One would think that perhaps they are Confucian in nature, but really, the good ones were dreamed up by some Jewish fellow in San Francisco. These are the ones like "A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you're in deep water" or "He who laughs last is laughing at you". They consist of little sayings that we know to be true.

Category B is slightly different. This category consists of actual fortunes such as "Today will be a good day" or "Your business will prosper this year" (the last one prompted my son to pick up the tab for the meal even though he's still in school). I'm not sure how the waiters and waitresses know how to properly distribute the correct fortune to the right customers, but this must be something that they teach in Chinese Restaurant Serving School.

I recieved a very strange fortune the other day, which prompted this blog (what won't I blog about?). I was warned not to upset the penguin today. I thought that this was some pretty original advice. Never before had I ever been warned not to upset the penguin. Perhaps I have been warned not to feed the penguin at the zoo (and I'm not even sure if I have ever been warned of that), but to upset the penguin....can't say that anyone has ever warned me not to do that.

This advice was so unusual that I had no choice but to take it to heart. I spent the rest of the day on the lookout for the penguin so that if our paths did cross I would be sure to remember my manners. Fortunately for me, I never did meet up with the penguin, and as a consequence I managed not to cause an upset. I'm going to take this advice one step further though, I'm dedicating the entire month of January towards not upsetting the penguin. Good advice like this doesn't come often and should never be ignored.

Chris Smith
Re/Max Chay Realty Inc., Brokerage - New Tecumseth, ON
South Simcoe, Caledon, King, Orangeville Real Esta

Malcolm, a fortune like that would have made me go "hmmmm"...

Planning a trip to Antartica?

Are you a Batman fan?

Have you ever been to Cut Bank Montana?

... now there is a story... we were vacationing with my in-laws and were on our way back from Glacier National Park planning to visit relatives in Great Falls, when, while relaxing in a motel and the end of a long day, my wife, searching the internet, found out about the world's largest talking penguin (?) in Cut Bank MT. 

We did not have a GPS in 2003 and she got out the CAA trip-tiks and associated maps and insisted we make the 50 mile (each way) detour to pay homage.  My father-in-law and I both rolled our eyes... but as we get older we realize we have to choose our battles...  somewhere we have a picture of the four of us at the foot of this twenty foot penguin (that, btw, wasn't talking!!).  If you plan on being in the vicinity, you might want to beware of the penguin in Cut Bank MT ;-)

Jan 09, 2011 04:24 AM
Janice Ankrett
Burlington, ON
Staging Professional

Beware of men in tuxedos LOL.

Jan 09, 2011 06:21 AM
Brian Madigan
RE/MAX West Realty Inc., Brokerage (Toronto) - Toronto, ON
LL.B., Broker

Malcolm

I have always thought of them as very well dressed birds.

Brian

 

Jan 09, 2011 11:00 AM
Norma Toering Broker for Palos Verdes and Beach Cities
Charlemagne International Properties - Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
Palos Verdes Luxury Homes in L.A.

I know where the penguins are hanging out--McDonald's is stuffing them in their Happy Meals--my granddaughter found one in hers today.  He was of the stuffed variety and very tolerant as my teething darling chewed on his head.

Thanks for the entertaining post--I laughed aloud more than once.  By the way, my most recent fortune cookie contained the following, "Be prepared to modify your plan."  They must know I'm in real estate...

Jan 09, 2011 02:53 PM
Ty Lacroix
Envelope Real Estate Brokerage Inc - London, ON

Malcolm: A lot of things have happened in Quinte so I think it is wise to follow your plan.

Ty

Jan 10, 2011 09:47 AM
Anonymous
alex

I like your reasoning, congratulations for the post, somehow I feel a bit like you, but never put into practice, thus, through their considerations will weigh more on the slice of fortune A.

Jan 13, 2011 11:23 PM
#6
Barbara-Jo Roberts Berberi, MA, PSA, TRC - Greater Clearwater Florida Residential Real Estate Professional
Charles Rutenberg Realty - Clearwater, FL
Palm Harbor, Dunedin, Clearwater, Safety Harbor

While Chinese restaurants are good, I worry about MSG when I visit them. Thai Restaurants are actually my favorite!

Jan 23, 2011 08:47 AM
Anonymous
Glamazon

I got that too and have no clue what it means but living in the desert the chances of me pissing off a penguin are probably pretty slim 😊

Mar 12, 2015 01:53 PM
#8