situation: 2 "friends" have purchased a bottle of wine. It was Friend A's idea. Friend B puts the charge on her credit card and they walk home ready to get black teeth from the wine. Friend A says she will pay Friend B for her half of the bottle of wine. The friends arrive home. Friend B pours her wine and drinks happily. Friend A pours her wine and sets the cup down, forgetting about the wine and then falling asleep face-down on the carpet (she has already had 1 bottle of wine).
The next week, Friend B suggests that Friend A buy her lunch to cover her half of the purchased wine. Friend A says "But I didn't even drink it!" Friend B thinks, yes, but you poured it making unsuitable for anyone else to drink and now it is some nastyass vinegar. Friend B starts to feel less friendly but isn't quite sure how to approach the subject again.
Please dear friends (none of whom are Friend A), sound off. Who is right? A or B? Assuming B is right, how should B go about getting her $7 dollars? And yes, $7 is worth more than the friendship- A and B are not that good of friends.
Sarah, I know this started out sounding like a standardized test. Sorry to disappoint but it's sort of like algebra what with the letters and all.
Advise.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
"Let the morningtime drop all its petals on me..."
Island Flavors in a Yellow Envelope
By JULIA MOSKIN and KIM SEVERSON
LONG before the BlackBerry and the PlayStation Portable, New Yorkers loved their hand-helds. The folded pizza slice, the hot dog and the crusty knish have a built-in mobility that lets hungry New Yorkers eat on the street, and enough density to carry them through to the next meal.
New immigrants have added to the on-the-go family, introducing Colombian arepas, Mexican tacos and Uzbek samsas. But the hand-held with the best shot at making the list of classic New York noshes is the Jamaican beef patty, a rectangle of flaky yellow crust filled with ground beef shot through with onion, thyme and the inimitable heat and perfume of Scotch bonnet chili peppers.
By JULIA MOSKIN and KIM SEVERSON
LONG before the BlackBerry and the PlayStation Portable, New Yorkers loved their hand-helds. The folded pizza slice, the hot dog and the crusty knish have a built-in mobility that lets hungry New Yorkers eat on the street, and enough density to carry them through to the next meal.
New immigrants have added to the on-the-go family, introducing Colombian arepas, Mexican tacos and Uzbek samsas. But the hand-held with the best shot at making the list of classic New York noshes is the Jamaican beef patty, a rectangle of flaky yellow crust filled with ground beef shot through with onion, thyme and the inimitable heat and perfume of Scotch bonnet chili peppers.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Trading Spaces II
I spent 3 days last week in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Origin of Sarah and current residence of Jenny Gassman-Pines and her boyfriend (also of Wesleyan) Ben Weeks. As well as a lot of joggers, for rent signs, beer drinkers, lakes, caribou coffee houses, progressives, and degrees. It was almost 100 degrees when I was there. And humid.
Walking off of the plane and into the terminal, I found myself smack in front of a Maui Taco. It looked exactly like the Maui Taco around the corner from my office back home. I met Ben at the baggage claim and began the car ride from the airport. The conversation came easier than expected and answers to questions like "So you enjoy living in New York then?" seemed obvious.
Stepping into their fully furnished and decorated apartment (complete with pet bird), I felt unsettled. They really live in their apartment. I use mine in Brooklyn as a place to sleep. The kitchen held enough food for both humans and bird. There was a parking spot, hanging plants, laundry downstairs, air conditioning. Every window had blinds! I guess it doesn't take too much to impress me.
Waking from my first night on the air mattress, I found an already gymed and freshly showered Jenny. I wondered what we'd do for breakfast. When she suggested we leave the apartment and get some bagels, I felt at home. Sure I'd be the only one out of the three of us who would need coffee, but at least she didn't have a full breakfast waiting for us.
Once at Brueggers, a few things struck me as odd. 1) More flavors of low fat cream cheese than regular cream cheese 2) No iced coffee 3) Bagels had huge holes. But most shocking was what followed my ordering a cup of coffee. There was no milk and no to-go lids. Where was I ? The fine people at Brueggers were not very skilled at wrapping up the bagels in that paper stuff and did not include napkins. Living life on the run is not something they've gotten down to a science in that neck of the woods. Instead we ate by beautiful Lake Calhoun, then drove to St.Paul, sipped blended drinks with smart people, ate Vietnamese food, caught a documentary at an art house theatre. This was a great place.
I've got to run now to a house warming party. I hear they've installed shelves. I'm sure to be very impressed.
Walking off of the plane and into the terminal, I found myself smack in front of a Maui Taco. It looked exactly like the Maui Taco around the corner from my office back home. I met Ben at the baggage claim and began the car ride from the airport. The conversation came easier than expected and answers to questions like "So you enjoy living in New York then?" seemed obvious.
Stepping into their fully furnished and decorated apartment (complete with pet bird), I felt unsettled. They really live in their apartment. I use mine in Brooklyn as a place to sleep. The kitchen held enough food for both humans and bird. There was a parking spot, hanging plants, laundry downstairs, air conditioning. Every window had blinds! I guess it doesn't take too much to impress me.
Waking from my first night on the air mattress, I found an already gymed and freshly showered Jenny. I wondered what we'd do for breakfast. When she suggested we leave the apartment and get some bagels, I felt at home. Sure I'd be the only one out of the three of us who would need coffee, but at least she didn't have a full breakfast waiting for us.
Once at Brueggers, a few things struck me as odd. 1) More flavors of low fat cream cheese than regular cream cheese 2) No iced coffee 3) Bagels had huge holes. But most shocking was what followed my ordering a cup of coffee. There was no milk and no to-go lids. Where was I ? The fine people at Brueggers were not very skilled at wrapping up the bagels in that paper stuff and did not include napkins. Living life on the run is not something they've gotten down to a science in that neck of the woods. Instead we ate by beautiful Lake Calhoun, then drove to St.Paul, sipped blended drinks with smart people, ate Vietnamese food, caught a documentary at an art house theatre. This was a great place.
I've got to run now to a house warming party. I hear they've installed shelves. I'm sure to be very impressed.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Trading Spaces I
I spent 4 days last week in California. Origin of Juliet, residence of Moira, Julia and Alison and, at one point, of Kristina also. As well as a lot of migrant farm workers, movie stars, gay men, tree huggers, plastic surgeons, mountains, ocean, hitchhikers and oranges. My feelings about California, in principle, are mixed. Basically, it seems to me a little overblown. I mean, there are lots of places to live but to listen to some CA-dwellers, why would you? Obviously this is also the case with a lot of New Yorkers and you'd probably even be able to find people who would think you were mad to move away from Dubuque, El Paso or Mobile... but I digress. This is a not an outline of the reasoning behind my pledge to never live in California, but rather a meditation on some differences I observed while visiting the homestate of Juliet, the very same weekend she was visiting mine.
1. California is a big state. San Francisco and Santa Barbara have nothing to do with one another. SoCal and NoCal are very different. A lot of people live in California.
2. The weather. I remember folks who went to college in Southern CA saying over Thanksgiving freshman year back in Mpls that no one even spoke about the weather. It was just always nice. Northern California is another story and I really think it's time to stop using the weather as a reason for living in the bay area... come on, folks. We can talk bubble tea, streetcars, charming streets or the possibility you'll find gold whilst panning... on the other hand, maybe this is actually an advantage-- at least folks in San Francisco have something to awkwardly talk about in elevators. Additionally, California couldeb improved by having water warm enough to swim in at all/more of the year.
3. I saw Avocados for sale for $.79. This alone is a reason to live somewhere.
4. I didn't have a bagel, but I bet it wouldn't have been so great. I did also notice that every bagel store I saw was called something having to do with Brooklyn or New York. So I decided I may as well wait until I got home where we have the geography built-in and bagels stores can just be named for bagels ie, Bageltique. Mmmm... Bageltique.
5. California is really pretty. Even with smog in L.A., in suburbia, in more industrial parts.
6. California loves the Evite. At least thats what Alison and Julia said. They estimate nearly all events they attend are advertised via Evite. I find thi bizarre. Not because there is anything wrong with the Evite but because it seems so foreign. I wonder why this is?
All in all, a great trip. In a lot of ways, seeing where someone came from is a good way to understand more about them... I mean, we are all products of or reactions to what we've experienced. Then again, we've all been seperated by miles and/or years from that upbringing... all in all, I am impressed that Juliet didn't turn out to be an Asian man with bleached blonde hair. And that Moira, Alison and Julia haven't copped that steez. Maybe Kristina did a little, but she's been cosmo-checked back to reality by two years back in 'Soter.
Cal-eh-fourn-ya, Cal-eh-fourn-ya, CAL-EH-FOURN-YA... here we coooome...
1. California is a big state. San Francisco and Santa Barbara have nothing to do with one another. SoCal and NoCal are very different. A lot of people live in California.
2. The weather. I remember folks who went to college in Southern CA saying over Thanksgiving freshman year back in Mpls that no one even spoke about the weather. It was just always nice. Northern California is another story and I really think it's time to stop using the weather as a reason for living in the bay area... come on, folks. We can talk bubble tea, streetcars, charming streets or the possibility you'll find gold whilst panning... on the other hand, maybe this is actually an advantage-- at least folks in San Francisco have something to awkwardly talk about in elevators. Additionally, California couldeb improved by having water warm enough to swim in at all/more of the year.
3. I saw Avocados for sale for $.79. This alone is a reason to live somewhere.
4. I didn't have a bagel, but I bet it wouldn't have been so great. I did also notice that every bagel store I saw was called something having to do with Brooklyn or New York. So I decided I may as well wait until I got home where we have the geography built-in and bagels stores can just be named for bagels ie, Bageltique. Mmmm... Bageltique.
5. California is really pretty. Even with smog in L.A., in suburbia, in more industrial parts.
6. California loves the Evite. At least thats what Alison and Julia said. They estimate nearly all events they attend are advertised via Evite. I find thi bizarre. Not because there is anything wrong with the Evite but because it seems so foreign. I wonder why this is?
All in all, a great trip. In a lot of ways, seeing where someone came from is a good way to understand more about them... I mean, we are all products of or reactions to what we've experienced. Then again, we've all been seperated by miles and/or years from that upbringing... all in all, I am impressed that Juliet didn't turn out to be an Asian man with bleached blonde hair. And that Moira, Alison and Julia haven't copped that steez. Maybe Kristina did a little, but she's been cosmo-checked back to reality by two years back in 'Soter.
Cal-eh-fourn-ya, Cal-eh-fourn-ya, CAL-EH-FOURN-YA... here we coooome...
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