our deep-pockets customer last night (read this drug rep with a mandate to spend his budgeted bucks rather than lose them) was truly annoying. he arrived after many of his clients with the promised wine and beer- in the rain- and handed me several bottles of red and barked at me to chill them as quickly as i could. gentle reader, surely even you know that red wine is best at room temp- or thereabouts- not chilled, which i pointed out as politely as possible- he studied me for a second, probably trying to decide if i would really know such as thing about wine- i knew enough to know that his australian red was probably better than his argentinian red. the whites he bought were already chilled, and he requested that the argentinian white be opened first- rather than the australian one. in my book, a good host leads with his best wine, not his worst..... then he thrusts a bag at me holding new corkscrews- like we wouldn't have one ourselves. he also brought beer, a lot of beer- 2 cases of miller and 2 of bud light, and 3 6-packs of heineken. he seemed interested in putting out the cans of miller and bud rather than the good stuff- we did put it out because this was a crowd that would like that kind of beer. the dinner did go ok, as these dinners go we had to quick make an extra salad and dinner for someone who had been in the bathroom all this time....the rep ordered 30 dinners, and only 19 showed up. the main plate was served about 7:45- at 9:30 as we are about to go home, the rep decides that he wants all of the leftovers wrapped up so he can take them home. they had been long wrapped up in the refrigerator- and he stood there watching while i tried to reassemble boxed dinners from them. yes, he did pay for them, but he was such a jerk in insisting on his rightful property. he actually was crass enough to ask if he had everything that he had paid for.....i thought he was going to go through the refrigerators himself. he then preceded to chase down the doctor who did the presentation at her car and gave her several of the boxed dinners,like he did it all himself, just for her. funny, when we were turning out the lights, i happened upon a 6-pack of heineken that he had somehow overlooked in his zeal to get all of the pork and chicken boxed dinners- i could have run out the door after him to make sure that he had the last of the beer, paid for with his company card.... no gentle readers, i took them home myself......ernst really likes good beer....