10.057
3 (Sun) March 2019
1.5
on Korean Air Flight KE 867
-Somewhere over Asia-
solo
Mission to Mongolia, Day 1.
In Ulaanbaatar. As part of a coordinated region-wide retreat to work on the new Regional Director’s vision for the future, I’ve been deployed to facilitate the proceedings at the Mongolia Country Office. Could be construed as a recognition of my skills as a facilitator, but it’s not. Anyway, happy to be in Mongolia for the first time.
When ordering these special meals, the flight attendant always comes up to me before the service with some list and asks, “Excuse me, could I please confirm: you are Mr Hahm? And you have requested the – [looks down at her list] – Hindu meal? The Hindu meal?”
Anyway, I didn’t enjoy it so much this time. Maybe it was the fish. Or the pineapples. Or the cardboard flatbread. Or the novelty worn thin.
Dropped by Shake Shack for a quick afternoon snack before boarding.
Me: I’ll have a cheeseburger.
Her: Our cheeseburgers just have cheese.
Me: Wait – [pause] [frown] – what?
Her: Our cheeseburgers just have cheese.
Me: What do you call the ones that have cheese and meat?
Her: Shack Burger.
Me: Then I’ll have a Shack Burger.
While I respect an establishment standing by its food branding – so I wasn’t really phased by the “Shake Burger” part of it – to take “cheeseburger” and make it literally a burger of just cheese is just dumb. It’d be like making a “hamburger” of actual ham.