The Day it Finally Happened for Me!

According to Merriam-Webster:

chipotle: (n) a smoked and usually dried jalapeño pepper.

According to Chris Kearsing:

chipotle: (n) a trendy, not-quite-sit-down-but-not-quite-fast-food-burrito-restaurant that serves euphoria wrapped in foil.

It's unclear when I was first introduced to Chipotle burritos. This routine-altering event may have occured during my first visit to Madison, WI in August of 2002. If not, it was definitely my second (November 2002) or third (January 2003) visit to Madtown. In any case, it was definitely part of my lunch rotation by the time I started taking classes at the University of Wisconsin—Madison during the Spring 2004 semester. (Bombers on Lark St. is a good reference point to describe Chipotle burritos for those of you from the Albany, NY area).

Anyway, I quickly became dependent on Chipotle. I would order a chicken burrito with pinto beans and homemade guacamole (for $1.35 extra) at least once a week (and sometimes twice!) Sadly, eating Chipotle was sometimes a highlight of my day. It's that good.

I moved back to NY after I graduated from UW in December 2005. I never thought I would miss Chipotle as much as I do. The food selection in Glens Falls is less than stellar, especially compared to Madison, which claims to have the most restaurants per capita in the United States. It feels like Glens Falls has nothing good to eat (which is mostly, but not totally true) by comparison. I went through withdrawals for 10 months until...


...the day it finally happened for me! I had to go to NYC for work. I knew that the closest Chipotle to the Glens Falls area was in New York City. I found the nearest Chipotle as soon as I was able to break away from my work obligations.

It was just as beautiful as I remembered. I ordered my chicken burrito with pinto beans and guacamole and all was well with my life. It was a beautiful day in New York.

So Long Sweet Summer

"So long sweet summer
I stumbled upon you and gratefully basked in your rays
So long sweet slumber
I fell into you
Now you're gracefully falling away"


"Hey thanks
Thanks for that summer
It's cold where you're going
I hope that your heart's always warm
I gave you the best
Gave you the best that I have"

-Dashboard Confessionals

I hate the winter.

Don't pet the animals

Look at what Brad and I cornered in our neighbor's yard one night at 3:00 a.m. (after a few beers)...



We've been terrorized by a skunk for the past few weeks and we thought this particular striped mammal was the odorous offender... but as it turns out, our skunk is all white. He/she is still on the loose. We had that bitch cornered but he/she did not spray us. We probably should stop provoking the skunks, though.

All the wasted soap

Why does it seem impossible to find a soap dispenser that allows you to use ALL the soap in the bottle? Look at all the wasted soap! The soap on the bottom is completely inaccessible because the hose on the pump is too short. I know I can mix the soap with water, but the point is I shouldn't have to. Poor design.

Roadtrip!

Brad, Eric Rentz, and I were sitting around on Thursday night, drinking beer, and talking about our plans for Friday. We wanted to ride roller coasters but the only theme parks open on the east coast on Friday were Hersheypark and Morey's Piers. Eric and I would have loved to see our friend Nicole, who works at Morey's, but we wouldn't have enough time to spend with her. We decided to make the (theoretical) 5 hour trip to Hersheypark.

Eric Rentz got stressed out when he realized he would have to reschedule his important haircut but the prospect of riding new roller coasters was a force that overcame him. Brad had various errands to run in the morning, and I slept until 11:00. The park was open from 5:00-10:00. We got on the road at 12:15 and were hoping to arrive by 5:30.

Brad is not a patient person. He stresses out if he has to sit still for more than a few minutes. Despite all this, he behaved pretty well on the ride down. I decided to let him smoke and that was probably a good choice. We had a smooth ride down through New York and New Jersey. We drove through PA on I-78 and everything was smooth all the way through Allentown and into the countryside. We hit some major traffic delays about an hour away from Hersheypark. It was about 5:00 and we were in a complete standstill.

Still about an hour away from the park we had to sit in traffic for a full hour until we creeped up to the next exit. We met some friendly folks in a limo who were kind enough to pose for a picture for us. Eric found an alternate route and we got off the interstate, avoided the construction delays, and got back on the highway a few exits later. We finally arrived at Hersheypark around 7:00.
The park was not busy at all so we rode all 10 roller coasters (except for Roller Soaker, which made Eric cry for the next few days) and some other rides all before the park closed. We had a really great time at the sweetest place on earth despite the long drive and the traffic delays.

We left the park around 10:00, stopped at Wendy's (who proceeded to screw up our order) on the way out of the park, and drove home. We arrived at 3:15 a.m. and we got just enough sleep to get up for work on Saturday. It was a really long trip but we had fun. Next time we're going to Dorney Park, which we passed on the way to Hershey. Stay tuned for more details!

The critical problem with ATMs

WHY do ATMs insist on sucking your card in the machine when a simple swipe would work just as well? I really want someone to explain to me why it's necessary for an ATM machine to hold my card captive until the transaction is complete.

I insist the machine would still function correctly even if I only swipe my card (like at the store) instead of feeding my only access to cash directly into the mouth of the hellish beast. I would be really pleased if someone designed an ATM that doesn't have so much potential for user-failure. I lost my debit card for a week (but I did not leave it in an ATM) and it was one of the darkest weeks of my life. I had no access to cash and I hate using checks.

Until this happens, be careful not to leave your card in the ATM machine!

Remember Final Destination?

Yeah so that happened to me.

Yikes!

Dirty Little Secret

I like the song "Dirty Little Secret" by the All American Rejects. I always thought the lyrics describe a private, passionate relationship—one that could be hurtful to those who discovered the sinful secret . However, I recently watched the video and now I'm not so sure.

I instantly enjoyed the video. Instead of a secret relationship, the faceless people in the video seem to expose the one secret they are most afraid other people will discover. I'm not sure why he says "I'll keep you my dirty little secret," since it seems like he is giving his secret a formal identity. That's why I wonder what the song is really about. Anyway, the video is cool so check it out. You can also find it on myspace.

The song triggers one of my pet peeves. Instead of ranting about the blatant disregard for grammar in pop music, I'll just point out that he should be singing "You are the only one who needs to know!"
What (who) is your dirty little secret?