Gloom pervades national and local news lately. Yesterday we lost Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Aside from my family, Michael Jackson was maybe the most important person in my life during my younger years. He was my first celebrity crush, and his red-leather-clad action figure was a prized toy. The Thriller tape (back when you bought music on tapes) was perhaps the only popular music I enjoyed until my teenage years (though the video was way too scary for me to handle). It's been a sad week.
And a dreary month. It has been the cloudiest June in recorded history. If this is how Pacific Northwesterners live, you have my deepest sympathies. All of this grayness gets you down, and it also makes you worry about the health of your tomatoes.
Not that we're growing them. Last December, we joined a CSA, community-support agriculture program, and we've had a few pickups already. New England CSAs challenge you to remember your New England strength during the month of June, in which lettuce, bok choy, spinach, beets, radishes, swiss chard, and kale play a significant role. Luckily, strawberries are available to remind you of the goodness ahead. LS promises me that better veggies will be available the second week of July. though who knows how their quality will be since they've been drowning these recent weeks. Wasn't there a pumpkin shortage a few years ago due to an unusually rainy spring? I shall have to stock up on pumpkins early in the season to guarantee some festive fall cheer.
But all in good time - for now, it's time to put an end to my little doom-and-gloom party and buck up, cowgirl. This weekend promises to bring at least a little sun, and it can't rain all summer (right?). July 4 is around the corner, and with July 4 comes sunshine, hot dogs, fried dough, watermelon, fireworks, Cape Cod weekends, and summer fun. I've already moved my summer clothes to the top rack of my closet, and one of these days, we'll be able to eat dinner on our patio, and we might even work up the courage to put screens in our front and back doors. Come on over, summer, we're ready and waiting.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Pictures from NYC
As promised, here are a few pics from our NYC mini-break.
First up: The view of Manhattan from Brooklyn Heights - very cool.
You can see the Brooklyn Bridge in the background.
Here we are on the Brooklyn Bridge. If you can deal with the chaos of noisy cars underneath, daredevil bikers sharing a lane with you, and a slow-moving crowd, it's an enjoyable walk. Otherwise, take the subway.
Il Cinghiale! He's our fourth sighting. What a handsome devil. And the piggy is cute too.
Here's B, getting aggressive with his carousel horse.
We enjoyed a lovely rowboat ride in Central Park. The Boathouse Cafe is in the background of my pic.
First up: The view of Manhattan from Brooklyn Heights - very cool.
You can see the Brooklyn Bridge in the background.
Here we are on the Brooklyn Bridge. If you can deal with the chaos of noisy cars underneath, daredevil bikers sharing a lane with you, and a slow-moving crowd, it's an enjoyable walk. Otherwise, take the subway.
Il Cinghiale! He's our fourth sighting. What a handsome devil. And the piggy is cute too.
Here's B, getting aggressive with his carousel horse.
We enjoyed a lovely rowboat ride in Central Park. The Boathouse Cafe is in the background of my pic.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
A (long) walk in the park
Continuing with the NYC recap...
Day 2, Sunday, dawned gray, cloudy, and cool, but B kindly watched the weather forecast, which promised blue skies and sun. Additionally, his iPhone weather forecast displayed a sun next to the day, so we bravely left the umbrella in the room while we set out on the day's adventures.
After our heavy (I don't understand how people can eat bacon on a daily basis) but free breakfast, we walked east toward the Queensboro Bridge and Sutton Place Park in search of another Cinghiale statue. We were alerted to its presence by the Wikipedia page and wanted another photo to complement our collection. Sutton Place Park appears to be a series of parks, and the first one that we visited did not house the statue, but the second park did. Number 4, check! I'll post pics of the boar and more in another post.
While heading towards our little piggy, we noticed a large number of NYC police officers standing on street corners, and some were erecting barriers. We also noticed a large number of people with Puerto Rico flags, both in their hands and on their cars. Could it be...did our minibreak coincide with...the Puerto Rican Day parade?
B grabbed his iPhone and confirmed--yes, the city was to be blessed with a massive parade that day. The parade was on Fifth Avenue between 40-something-th and 80-something-th, so we decided that our best course of action was to get on the west side of Fifth and stay there all day, or go far enough uptown so that we could cross on the other side of the parade. As it turned out, we spent most of the day in Central Park, so we were largely insulated from the parade (though the horns, whistles, bass, and screams from the crowd did occasionally make it through the leafy barriers).
We did our best to complete two of the walking tours through the park, though parts of the park were closed off "due to the parade." We surmised that perhaps there were crowd control issues in years past and they were simply trying to contain the excitement to the parade route. We saw the skating rink (which was an amusement park, since it's a bit too warm to maintain a rink in the summer), the Imagine mosaic, Shakespeare park, the Tavern on the Green (I know it's sort of a cliche/tourist restaurant, but it looked like it would be magical to eat there, especially at night), the zoo (didn't go in, just walked past), the Dairy (which is now a visitor center/gift shop, but was originally intended to feature women dressed as milkmaids, milking cows, and giving the milk free of charge to the poor children of NYC), and several bodies of water. We took a ride on the carousel (much faster than I expected, and lots of fun) and rented a rowboat in the lake (according to B, a much better constructed boat compared to those we rented in Madrid and Barcelona).
After many hours of fun in the sun (it did eventually come out), we were ready for food, so we exited the park in the Upper West Side (near the Dakota) and walked back to midtown and our hotel.
All of those blocks left us a bit tired (and by a bit, I mean I felt like I could not go on), so we stopped off at the hotel for a rest and decided to tackle a less ambitious (that is, a closer) restaurant for lunch. We went to a nearby pizza place that B had visited before. It reminded me of a great pizza place in my college town, only it was about twice as expensive and not quite as imaginative with toppings. However, when you wait until mid-afternoon to eat lunch, imaginative toppings are not always your top priority.
After lunch, we decided that we had had enough fun for one weekend, so we returned to the hotel, finished packing, hopped into an exciting cab ride to Grand Central Station, and were on our way home.
In sad news, my legs are still sore from our extensive walking, proof that it's time to get in shape, girl, or else, because we're planning a return trip to the city, and I don't intend to invite pain on the trip this time.
Day 2, Sunday, dawned gray, cloudy, and cool, but B kindly watched the weather forecast, which promised blue skies and sun. Additionally, his iPhone weather forecast displayed a sun next to the day, so we bravely left the umbrella in the room while we set out on the day's adventures.
After our heavy (I don't understand how people can eat bacon on a daily basis) but free breakfast, we walked east toward the Queensboro Bridge and Sutton Place Park in search of another Cinghiale statue. We were alerted to its presence by the Wikipedia page and wanted another photo to complement our collection. Sutton Place Park appears to be a series of parks, and the first one that we visited did not house the statue, but the second park did. Number 4, check! I'll post pics of the boar and more in another post.
While heading towards our little piggy, we noticed a large number of NYC police officers standing on street corners, and some were erecting barriers. We also noticed a large number of people with Puerto Rico flags, both in their hands and on their cars. Could it be...did our minibreak coincide with...the Puerto Rican Day parade?
B grabbed his iPhone and confirmed--yes, the city was to be blessed with a massive parade that day. The parade was on Fifth Avenue between 40-something-th and 80-something-th, so we decided that our best course of action was to get on the west side of Fifth and stay there all day, or go far enough uptown so that we could cross on the other side of the parade. As it turned out, we spent most of the day in Central Park, so we were largely insulated from the parade (though the horns, whistles, bass, and screams from the crowd did occasionally make it through the leafy barriers).
We did our best to complete two of the walking tours through the park, though parts of the park were closed off "due to the parade." We surmised that perhaps there were crowd control issues in years past and they were simply trying to contain the excitement to the parade route. We saw the skating rink (which was an amusement park, since it's a bit too warm to maintain a rink in the summer), the Imagine mosaic, Shakespeare park, the Tavern on the Green (I know it's sort of a cliche/tourist restaurant, but it looked like it would be magical to eat there, especially at night), the zoo (didn't go in, just walked past), the Dairy (which is now a visitor center/gift shop, but was originally intended to feature women dressed as milkmaids, milking cows, and giving the milk free of charge to the poor children of NYC), and several bodies of water. We took a ride on the carousel (much faster than I expected, and lots of fun) and rented a rowboat in the lake (according to B, a much better constructed boat compared to those we rented in Madrid and Barcelona).
After many hours of fun in the sun (it did eventually come out), we were ready for food, so we exited the park in the Upper West Side (near the Dakota) and walked back to midtown and our hotel.
All of those blocks left us a bit tired (and by a bit, I mean I felt like I could not go on), so we stopped off at the hotel for a rest and decided to tackle a less ambitious (that is, a closer) restaurant for lunch. We went to a nearby pizza place that B had visited before. It reminded me of a great pizza place in my college town, only it was about twice as expensive and not quite as imaginative with toppings. However, when you wait until mid-afternoon to eat lunch, imaginative toppings are not always your top priority.
After lunch, we decided that we had had enough fun for one weekend, so we returned to the hotel, finished packing, hopped into an exciting cab ride to Grand Central Station, and were on our way home.
In sad news, my legs are still sore from our extensive walking, proof that it's time to get in shape, girl, or else, because we're planning a return trip to the city, and I don't intend to invite pain on the trip this time.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
"What's a vacation without rain, anyway?"
B spoke these words of wisdom on Saturday afternoon as the skies opened up in the West Village. Probably the skies opened up all over the island of Manhattan and in the surrounding areas, but we have only definitive proof for the area between the West Village and mid-town.
Other than the showers--or rather, despite the showers--we had a great minibreak in the city. I'll start with Day 1.
Thanks to a very early wake-up on Saturday, we were in mid-town by 10 AM. We checked into our hotel and--amazingly--they had a room for us, and they were willing to give us a 4 PM checkout for the next day. Our spirits were somewhat lowered when the bellman opened the door to our room, which was teeny. The emergency evacuation map on the back of the door confirmed that we did indeed have the smallest room on the floor.
B's status with the hotel chain usually ensures that we have the best, or at least one of the best, rooms in the hotel. Perhaps the woman at checkin assumed that we'd rather have the room that was available then rather than the better room that would be available later. No matter--we decided that we could deal with minimal living space for a single night, and how much time would we spend in the room, anyway.
We stopped in at the restaurant downstairs for breakfast, which was free because B used to get coupons for a free breakfast and would never use them, so he has an impressive collection that will feed us for many NY trips in the future. With bellies full of eggs, hash browns, bacon, and toast, we were ready to conquer the island.
We hopped the subway and rode all the way down to Brooklyn Heights so that we could follow a walking tour. I had never been to Brooklyn but was pleasantly surprised by the architecture, ambience, and views. The borough felt more low-key and family-oriented than most of Manhattan, and the views of the Manhattan skyline were fabulous.
We wandered by Grimaldi's, apparently a famous pizza place, but the line for a table was nearly a block long, and they don't sell individual slices (why not??). We decided to pass. Instead, we took perhaps the longest possible route to get to the walking path for the Brooklyn Bridge and walked to Manhattan. We were going against most of the foot traffic but enjoyed a better skyline view than those heading in the opposite direction.
We wandered up through SoHo and grabbed hot dogs for lunch. Two hot dogs and two small cups of juice were less than $4--bargain. We ate standing up, European style, and were quickly on our way.
Next we moved on to the Greenwich Village/West Village area, stopping en route at the first threat of rain at Pinkberry, which was fantastic but not at all like ice cream. It's sour, like yogurt, but smooth, like soft serve, and very, very cold. You can get it on its own or with two toppings, and there are only three flavors (original, green tea, and a seasonal flavor which is currently pomegranate). I got pomegranate with bing cherries (pitted) and white chocolate shavings. B got green tea with Cap'n Crunch cereal and crushed Oreos. Our two Pinkberry swirls were nearly $10--more than twice the cost of our lunch--but were excellent, if you like the sour yogurt flavor.
After yogurt, I bought a new pair of socks and in one of my less classy moments, changed into them on a park bench. Emergencies call for quick responses, and I had chosen bad socks that day, to the point that walking was painful. My new socks gave me the mental fortitude to go on.
We started our walk in the West Village, and then the rain started, a small sprinkle at first, though it quickly worked its way up to a downpour. We finished our walk and headed over to Magnolia Bakery for a wait outside in the rain for some treats.
We each picked out a cupcake and also got blueberry crisp. I asked the girl who was helping us for her favorite, and she said banana pudding, which sounded strange to me but I was willing to trust her expertise--and I am glad I did. Bananas, banana bread, and an amazing cream were our rewards, and we ate the snack right outside the bakery.
Despite our sweet reward, we decided that we couldn't go on and needed to give our aching legs a little rest. We grabbed a cab (unfortunately not the Cash Cab), headed up to our hotel, and rested until later that evening, when we wandered out to a nearby cafe for dinner and then collapsed in our little hotel room.
More later...
Other than the showers--or rather, despite the showers--we had a great minibreak in the city. I'll start with Day 1.
Thanks to a very early wake-up on Saturday, we were in mid-town by 10 AM. We checked into our hotel and--amazingly--they had a room for us, and they were willing to give us a 4 PM checkout for the next day. Our spirits were somewhat lowered when the bellman opened the door to our room, which was teeny. The emergency evacuation map on the back of the door confirmed that we did indeed have the smallest room on the floor.
B's status with the hotel chain usually ensures that we have the best, or at least one of the best, rooms in the hotel. Perhaps the woman at checkin assumed that we'd rather have the room that was available then rather than the better room that would be available later. No matter--we decided that we could deal with minimal living space for a single night, and how much time would we spend in the room, anyway.
We stopped in at the restaurant downstairs for breakfast, which was free because B used to get coupons for a free breakfast and would never use them, so he has an impressive collection that will feed us for many NY trips in the future. With bellies full of eggs, hash browns, bacon, and toast, we were ready to conquer the island.
We hopped the subway and rode all the way down to Brooklyn Heights so that we could follow a walking tour. I had never been to Brooklyn but was pleasantly surprised by the architecture, ambience, and views. The borough felt more low-key and family-oriented than most of Manhattan, and the views of the Manhattan skyline were fabulous.
We wandered by Grimaldi's, apparently a famous pizza place, but the line for a table was nearly a block long, and they don't sell individual slices (why not??). We decided to pass. Instead, we took perhaps the longest possible route to get to the walking path for the Brooklyn Bridge and walked to Manhattan. We were going against most of the foot traffic but enjoyed a better skyline view than those heading in the opposite direction.
We wandered up through SoHo and grabbed hot dogs for lunch. Two hot dogs and two small cups of juice were less than $4--bargain. We ate standing up, European style, and were quickly on our way.
Next we moved on to the Greenwich Village/West Village area, stopping en route at the first threat of rain at Pinkberry, which was fantastic but not at all like ice cream. It's sour, like yogurt, but smooth, like soft serve, and very, very cold. You can get it on its own or with two toppings, and there are only three flavors (original, green tea, and a seasonal flavor which is currently pomegranate). I got pomegranate with bing cherries (pitted) and white chocolate shavings. B got green tea with Cap'n Crunch cereal and crushed Oreos. Our two Pinkberry swirls were nearly $10--more than twice the cost of our lunch--but were excellent, if you like the sour yogurt flavor.
After yogurt, I bought a new pair of socks and in one of my less classy moments, changed into them on a park bench. Emergencies call for quick responses, and I had chosen bad socks that day, to the point that walking was painful. My new socks gave me the mental fortitude to go on.
We started our walk in the West Village, and then the rain started, a small sprinkle at first, though it quickly worked its way up to a downpour. We finished our walk and headed over to Magnolia Bakery for a wait outside in the rain for some treats.
We each picked out a cupcake and also got blueberry crisp. I asked the girl who was helping us for her favorite, and she said banana pudding, which sounded strange to me but I was willing to trust her expertise--and I am glad I did. Bananas, banana bread, and an amazing cream were our rewards, and we ate the snack right outside the bakery.
Despite our sweet reward, we decided that we couldn't go on and needed to give our aching legs a little rest. We grabbed a cab (unfortunately not the Cash Cab), headed up to our hotel, and rested until later that evening, when we wandered out to a nearby cafe for dinner and then collapsed in our little hotel room.
More later...
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
New York, je t'aime
I'm really lucky to live in New England. We're never more than a few hours' drive from a beach, a city, a coastal island (though with those, a boat or plane is also involved), the mountains, and even another country that speaks a different language. We're even close to New York City, our destination this weekend.
It's a semi-spontaneous trip. (Recall that I don't do real spontaneity.) B has to go there at some point in the next few weeks for work, and my work schedule and vacation time have aligned so that now would be the perfect time for me to get away for a few days and be a tagalong on his trip (though I'd do my own thing while he worked - I'm not proposing that we invent a new "Take your wife to work" day).
However, the meeting at which his travel dates will be decided has been postponed several times, and I'm getting antsy and worried that I won't be able to go along when the trip is scheduled. Heartbreak! After another postponement today, I decided to carpe diem and proposed to B that we go for a night, even if it's on our own dime. B, who is more amenable to spontaneity, agreed in a second. I booked the nonrefundable hotel today--the trip is on.
B and I both spent time in NYC after college (separately), so we've done many of the touristy activities and are most interested in walking around the city. I'd also like to pop into a few of the stores that were beyond my means at 23. To prepare for what I hoped was an inevitable NYC trip, I bought a city travel guide recently. The book features 24 walking tours, and I've identified the 6-8 tours that I would most like to follow. We plan to visit Brooklyn Heights (never been), Greenwich Village, the West Village, the Upper East Side (to take a walk in Blair Waldorf's shoes), and Central Park (where, according to my book, we can rent a boat in the pond--whee!).
And of course we're going to visit the Cinghiale statue that wikipedia promises is in one of the parks in the city. Number 4, here we come!
It's a semi-spontaneous trip. (Recall that I don't do real spontaneity.) B has to go there at some point in the next few weeks for work, and my work schedule and vacation time have aligned so that now would be the perfect time for me to get away for a few days and be a tagalong on his trip (though I'd do my own thing while he worked - I'm not proposing that we invent a new "Take your wife to work" day).
However, the meeting at which his travel dates will be decided has been postponed several times, and I'm getting antsy and worried that I won't be able to go along when the trip is scheduled. Heartbreak! After another postponement today, I decided to carpe diem and proposed to B that we go for a night, even if it's on our own dime. B, who is more amenable to spontaneity, agreed in a second. I booked the nonrefundable hotel today--the trip is on.
B and I both spent time in NYC after college (separately), so we've done many of the touristy activities and are most interested in walking around the city. I'd also like to pop into a few of the stores that were beyond my means at 23. To prepare for what I hoped was an inevitable NYC trip, I bought a city travel guide recently. The book features 24 walking tours, and I've identified the 6-8 tours that I would most like to follow. We plan to visit Brooklyn Heights (never been), Greenwich Village, the West Village, the Upper East Side (to take a walk in Blair Waldorf's shoes), and Central Park (where, according to my book, we can rent a boat in the pond--whee!).
And of course we're going to visit the Cinghiale statue that wikipedia promises is in one of the parks in the city. Number 4, here we come!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
All's quiet on the vacation front
It's been a long time (for me, anyway) since I offered a new vacation dream/plan/eye twinkle. Taking three European vacations in a relatively short period of time left us a bit upside down in our vacation budget. We've recovered and are working up to our upcoming PR trip and are trying to figure out if we can squeeze in anything between now and then.
Unless we experience a dramatic (in a good way) financial event, we won't be able to squeeze in this dreamer of an Italian trip through the countryside:
http://tours.ricksteves.com/tours09/product.cfm/rurl/code/VIT09/200
Yes, it's a tour, and in general, I don't really do vacation tours. Tours require that you follow someone else's schedule and view the sites that someone else has chosen. Plus you never know what kind of mixed bag your fellow tourists will be.
However, note the company that offers the tour - it's Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door company. If I were to ever consider taking a tour, Rick's company would be at the top of my list. Since I read and trust his guidebooks, I can assume that his tours will highlight only the best sites in each location.
The main appeal of this particular tour is that it visits smaller towns and villages in Italy, a feat that would be possible on our own only if we rented a car--and that's not happening. We had enough difficulties when we drove to Quebec, where street signs are in English in addition to French. Conquering roads featuring Italian-only road signs and drivers who follow different rules than the ones that we know might not make for a relaxing vacation. No, thank you. But I'd love to explore the Italian countryside, especially if a competent bus driver were transporting me from one magical village to the next.
However, note the price tag of this awesome tour - nearly $4,000 per person, and that rate doesn't even include airfare. There will likely be no Village Italy tour this year or even next year, but if I find a bag containing $10,000, you can guess where we're headed next.
Unless we experience a dramatic (in a good way) financial event, we won't be able to squeeze in this dreamer of an Italian trip through the countryside:
http://tours.ricksteves.com/tours09/product.cfm/rurl/code/VIT09/200
Yes, it's a tour, and in general, I don't really do vacation tours. Tours require that you follow someone else's schedule and view the sites that someone else has chosen. Plus you never know what kind of mixed bag your fellow tourists will be.
However, note the company that offers the tour - it's Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door company. If I were to ever consider taking a tour, Rick's company would be at the top of my list. Since I read and trust his guidebooks, I can assume that his tours will highlight only the best sites in each location.
The main appeal of this particular tour is that it visits smaller towns and villages in Italy, a feat that would be possible on our own only if we rented a car--and that's not happening. We had enough difficulties when we drove to Quebec, where street signs are in English in addition to French. Conquering roads featuring Italian-only road signs and drivers who follow different rules than the ones that we know might not make for a relaxing vacation. No, thank you. But I'd love to explore the Italian countryside, especially if a competent bus driver were transporting me from one magical village to the next.
However, note the price tag of this awesome tour - nearly $4,000 per person, and that rate doesn't even include airfare. There will likely be no Village Italy tour this year or even next year, but if I find a bag containing $10,000, you can guess where we're headed next.
Monday, June 8, 2009
A throw-down over M&Ms
A few weeks ago--the day of the hailstorm, when we went to see Star Trek--we decided to pick up some movie treats before hitting the theater. I'm a big fan of eating junk food at the movie theater, but as a former movie-theater employee, I object to the outrageously high prices that theater companies charge at the concession stand. Some companies are worse than others, and the theater near us is not among the worst offenders, but still...if lower-priced options are available, we owe it to ourselves to investigate them.
I thought I remembered seeing boxed candy at Michael's, and I was correct. B was let down because they didn't have the treat that he wanted--Goobers. He read somewhere that Raisinets outsell Goobers by a factor of something like 10, and he wanted to show his support for what he thinks is a superior candy. (We both decided that chocolate-covered peanuts are better than chocolate-covered raisins, but the embarassment associated with ordering a candy called Goobers is the reason for the skewed candy data.)
My candy of choice--peanut-covered M&Ms--was in stock (of course). Peanut M&Ms are similar to Goobers but have the bonus of the candy-coated shell. Also, they don't come with the bitter off-note ending that characterizes their naked Goober cousins. (Perhaps there is more to the situation than the naming...?)
The peg that held the Ms read $2.79, but the Ms bag that I picked up (and every other bag on the peg) was marked $2.49. I prepared myself for a potential battle as I walked up to the register.
Many minutes later (there was a line), my Ms and I reached the front of the line, and sure enough, they rang up as $2.79. "They're marked $2.49," I said. In general, I try not to make cashiers' lives more difficult than they need to be, especially over $.30, but I was having a principled day and didn't want to pay a higher price without offering a token objection.
The cashier left her register, walked around to the Ms display, and called to me, "The peg is marked $2.79," as if hers was the final word on the matter. As if it were legal to charge people a higher price than the price that appears on the item. (It's not.)
I weighed my options and decided that I couldn't let the issue go. I tried once again: "But this package is marked $2.49."
"Well, the candy prices went up recently, and the peg says $2.79, so they're $2.79," she replied. I'm sure her self-righteous attitude grew out of dealing with penny-pinching customers on a daily basis; however, adopting such an attitude while breaking the law is misguided and inappropriate. I decided that the Ms and I would part company at the register, though I tried to leave some helpful advice behind: "You might want to check the tags on the candy bags because they're all marked $2.49," I offered. I suspect my advice was not helpful to her because she once again repeated her refrain about the peg.
I am going back and forth, trying to decide if this incident is enough to place Michael's on my Do Not Shop list, but I've decided that it wouldn't be fair, especially because I didn't get a manager involved. Surely the manager of the Micheal's would have known that you can't charge customers a higher price than the price that marks the item, and I'm sure that he or she would have corrected the situation. However, while I felt principled enough to put up a 30-second fight over a 30-cent mistake, calling a manager over seemed over the top for a single bag of candy.
I ended up spending over $3 to buy the movie-theater bag of Ms, but I was ok with the premium because I didn't feel like I was being cheated. There might be an interesting psychological study here--a willingness to pay more if it means that you feel like the transaction is more honest? We human beings are complex, and transactions that feel unfair - even if you come out ahead financially - rub us the wrong way.
To try to avoid this unfortunate candy situation in the future, we picked up 2 boxes of Ms and 2 boxes of Goobers at the grocery store recently. The price was cheaper than both Michael's and the movie theater, and we both got to have our favorite candy. Restraining ourselves from eating them has been a challenge, but it was great to know that our candy situation was under control this weekend when we went to see The Hangover, which was memorable, unique, and entertaining.
And we didn't come home to ripped screens and a damaged car (well, no more damage than before), so the experience was an improvement in several ways over our Star Trek outing.
I thought I remembered seeing boxed candy at Michael's, and I was correct. B was let down because they didn't have the treat that he wanted--Goobers. He read somewhere that Raisinets outsell Goobers by a factor of something like 10, and he wanted to show his support for what he thinks is a superior candy. (We both decided that chocolate-covered peanuts are better than chocolate-covered raisins, but the embarassment associated with ordering a candy called Goobers is the reason for the skewed candy data.)
My candy of choice--peanut-covered M&Ms--was in stock (of course). Peanut M&Ms are similar to Goobers but have the bonus of the candy-coated shell. Also, they don't come with the bitter off-note ending that characterizes their naked Goober cousins. (Perhaps there is more to the situation than the naming...?)
The peg that held the Ms read $2.79, but the Ms bag that I picked up (and every other bag on the peg) was marked $2.49. I prepared myself for a potential battle as I walked up to the register.
Many minutes later (there was a line), my Ms and I reached the front of the line, and sure enough, they rang up as $2.79. "They're marked $2.49," I said. In general, I try not to make cashiers' lives more difficult than they need to be, especially over $.30, but I was having a principled day and didn't want to pay a higher price without offering a token objection.
The cashier left her register, walked around to the Ms display, and called to me, "The peg is marked $2.79," as if hers was the final word on the matter. As if it were legal to charge people a higher price than the price that appears on the item. (It's not.)
I weighed my options and decided that I couldn't let the issue go. I tried once again: "But this package is marked $2.49."
"Well, the candy prices went up recently, and the peg says $2.79, so they're $2.79," she replied. I'm sure her self-righteous attitude grew out of dealing with penny-pinching customers on a daily basis; however, adopting such an attitude while breaking the law is misguided and inappropriate. I decided that the Ms and I would part company at the register, though I tried to leave some helpful advice behind: "You might want to check the tags on the candy bags because they're all marked $2.49," I offered. I suspect my advice was not helpful to her because she once again repeated her refrain about the peg.
I am going back and forth, trying to decide if this incident is enough to place Michael's on my Do Not Shop list, but I've decided that it wouldn't be fair, especially because I didn't get a manager involved. Surely the manager of the Micheal's would have known that you can't charge customers a higher price than the price that marks the item, and I'm sure that he or she would have corrected the situation. However, while I felt principled enough to put up a 30-second fight over a 30-cent mistake, calling a manager over seemed over the top for a single bag of candy.
I ended up spending over $3 to buy the movie-theater bag of Ms, but I was ok with the premium because I didn't feel like I was being cheated. There might be an interesting psychological study here--a willingness to pay more if it means that you feel like the transaction is more honest? We human beings are complex, and transactions that feel unfair - even if you come out ahead financially - rub us the wrong way.
To try to avoid this unfortunate candy situation in the future, we picked up 2 boxes of Ms and 2 boxes of Goobers at the grocery store recently. The price was cheaper than both Michael's and the movie theater, and we both got to have our favorite candy. Restraining ourselves from eating them has been a challenge, but it was great to know that our candy situation was under control this weekend when we went to see The Hangover, which was memorable, unique, and entertaining.
And we didn't come home to ripped screens and a damaged car (well, no more damage than before), so the experience was an improvement in several ways over our Star Trek outing.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Trading up to better nail polish
Trading up is a fun but dangerous habit to acquire. How can you maintain a streamlined life when you're paying two or three times what you need to pay for regular life items?
However, sometimes it's fun to dip your toe into the luxury pool, as I did this weekend with nail polish.
You might recall that I'm not much of a nail polisher; I use my fingernails as tools all too often, so my nail polish chips almost immediately. And then because my personality has an unusual mix of perfectionism/obsessive compulsion and laziness/procrastination, I am driven crazy by the chipping polish but don't address the problem, and every time I look at my nails, I get angry.
Angry is no way to live your life.
However, perhaps I've found another way through the use of superior nail polish products. This weekend, I purchased a few bottles of nail polish that might last just a little bit longer than the nail polish that I currently own.
I broke down and bought a bottle of Chanel nail polish. The color, which currently adorns my toes, is Lotus Rouge, and I love it. I wanted the perfect mix of red and pink and found it.
At $23 (plus tax), a bottle of Chanel nail polish is not a cheap acquisition. However, if you're looking for a way to justify the purchase, perhaps I can help.
A spa pedicure from your average nail salon comes in between $20 and $25, plus tip (if you go to a regular spa, expect to pay at least twice that amount). You're paying for a spa experience, but after 3 weeks, your toenails are chipping already and need to be redone. On the other hand, a bottle of nail polish that costs the same does not provide any kind of a spa experience, but you can paint your toenails for a year.
Still, $23 is a difficult justification for a single cosmetic item, so I also purchased some more reasonably priced nail polish from the OPI brand. You can buy about 3 OPI bottles for the same cost as 1 Chanel bottle, and it's doubtful that the Chanel brand lasts 3 times longer. However, I intend to start an experiment with the Chanel and OPI brands to determine how long each one can last. I'll start as soon as my toes need to be redone. If the Chanel polish is as good as I hope it is, it could be a while before I am able to start.
However, sometimes it's fun to dip your toe into the luxury pool, as I did this weekend with nail polish.
You might recall that I'm not much of a nail polisher; I use my fingernails as tools all too often, so my nail polish chips almost immediately. And then because my personality has an unusual mix of perfectionism/obsessive compulsion and laziness/procrastination, I am driven crazy by the chipping polish but don't address the problem, and every time I look at my nails, I get angry.
Angry is no way to live your life.
However, perhaps I've found another way through the use of superior nail polish products. This weekend, I purchased a few bottles of nail polish that might last just a little bit longer than the nail polish that I currently own.
I broke down and bought a bottle of Chanel nail polish. The color, which currently adorns my toes, is Lotus Rouge, and I love it. I wanted the perfect mix of red and pink and found it.
At $23 (plus tax), a bottle of Chanel nail polish is not a cheap acquisition. However, if you're looking for a way to justify the purchase, perhaps I can help.
A spa pedicure from your average nail salon comes in between $20 and $25, plus tip (if you go to a regular spa, expect to pay at least twice that amount). You're paying for a spa experience, but after 3 weeks, your toenails are chipping already and need to be redone. On the other hand, a bottle of nail polish that costs the same does not provide any kind of a spa experience, but you can paint your toenails for a year.
Still, $23 is a difficult justification for a single cosmetic item, so I also purchased some more reasonably priced nail polish from the OPI brand. You can buy about 3 OPI bottles for the same cost as 1 Chanel bottle, and it's doubtful that the Chanel brand lasts 3 times longer. However, I intend to start an experiment with the Chanel and OPI brands to determine how long each one can last. I'll start as soon as my toes need to be redone. If the Chanel polish is as good as I hope it is, it could be a while before I am able to start.
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