Congrats, Fifi--you got your own tag!

So the premise of today's strip is that if a couple only goes out to eat once a month and eats very casually at home...they should have low expectations? Honestly, if I only go out to eat once a month, I want it to be nice. And waiter, rolling your eyes if I complain about wilted lettuce is not going to help your tip. I also wouldn't be happy with lukewarm water and dirty napkins. Most of these aren't unreasonable complaints! It really shouldn't matter how people eat at home; if the people at the next table eat off their fine china every night, but have similar complaints, are those valid? Fifi sure does seem to have an issue with messy people. Particularly people who are messy in private, but want things neat in public. I don't really consider that hypocrisy, but it sure does piss Fifi off.

Also, what does "live like they're camping out" even mean? They only have hot dogs, hamburgers, and smores to eat? They sleep in sleeping bags on the floor? They need to leave the house to use a bathroom?

Penalty for unnecessary Latin

Not that we needed more proof that TDIET is clearly set in the 1950s, but today's strip provided some. Lunch at a swanky bistro, that I assume we're supposed to find expensive, is a whopping...$32? Parking in an attended lot is...$0.75? Seriously, that's only $16 a person, including tip!

Which doesn't really get into the substance of the strip, I know. And yes, this sort of thing does happen. It's amusing, actually, because the other night a friend of mine told me a story that basically was this strip:

My friend and his boyfriend went out with a couple that they met at church. They were having a lovely time, chatting, etc. The bill comes; my friend's boyfriend picks it up and puts down enough cash for their half of the tab. And they just keep talking...and talking...and the other couple doesn't even glance at the tab. The waiter comes by a few times, and still the other couple does nothing. So my friend finally grabs his credit card and pays for the entire thing. Afterward, the four of them go someplace else and the other couple offers to buy dessert. So my friend bought dinner and got a $4 cookie and coffee. His boyfriend refused to have anything, so the other couple couldn't claim they were even.

Anyway. Not sure of the use of "non compos," which I believe means "not in control." What? Usually it's "non compos mentis," which I actually believe Al has used before. That implies "not sane," but that doesn't fit it. It just seems random.

When promptness bites you on the butt

My big question about today's strip is, Why do Barfo and Lula look so surprised to be getting a dinner invitation? Perhaps the amazement is that they actually received it in the mail. Do people send invitations through the mail anymore? I mean, maybe for, say, weddings and baby or bridal showers. In any case, the open-mouthed shock of Barfo is a bit over-the-top. And looking at the invite, perhaps the problem is that the Crovneys don't actually put a date on the invitation. Are the guests supposed to guess?

But no, this has never happened to me. Sure, I've gotten to places where the host is still putting the finishing touches on things, but never have I arrived to find the hostess in a robe and curlers. Obviously these people are insanely rude--telling the husband to shut the door, presumably in Barfo and Lula's faces? Also, Alf is wearing a pink undershirt under a white shirt. Does this make sense to anyone?

At least Barfo and Lula look happy in the bottom panel. (Really, what's up with the "We'll be there on time!" in the top panel? Who says that?)

I think we'll have to draw straws to break it to Al that Alf is actually the name of an alien from Melmak.