Red Elephant

Smaller Stores

So, I ran across this article by Mark Morford in the San Francisco Gate this morning [via tmn]. Morford is out in force, with a rant against all the worst of grocery shopping -- attacking the worst of what passes for food along with the experience itself. Yes it's a little over-the-top hippie ranting, but it's meant to incite. And I definitely lean that way. I'd much rather shop smaller, local & ethnic groceries than warehouse stores any day.

Just this weekend, my brother and I went to Wohlner's Grocery to pick up some BBQ supplies. For those of you not from Omaha, Wohlner's is an old-fashioned neighborhood grocery, well-known for it's meat department. We did pretty well for ourselves, too. Got some ribs on sale which turned out extremely well, just ask anyone who sampled them.

The store itself is pretty small, so we were out of there within fifteen minutes. On our way out, we shot the shit with our checker, and our conversation carried over to some other customers. In short, it was a community experience rather than just a consumer experience. As I left, I thought to myself, "I need to shop here more often." Even though it's a bit more expensive than say a warehouse food store.

As I'm writing this, I'm finishing up a salad from Bob's Grill downstairs. I don't wish Bob's any ill will, but I'm positive that their chicken is frozen instead of fresh. Now, this is probably a slightly different rant, but I've started to be able to taste the difference. Bob's is doing pretty well for themselves since they've managed to crack the $5.00 lunch barrier [which seems to be the tipping point for casual lunch in downtown Omaha].

Cafe 317, the previous occupants of the space had salads & sandwiches just over $5.00, but they used higher quality ingredients. Don't want to be a total food snob, but I'm willing to kick an extra $0.50 or so, if it means that it's fresh, and not super-processed.  Then again, if you grill and bread the hell out of your lunch, it probably doesn't make a whole lot of difference. But again, maybe I just have sour grapes since one of my favorite places to eat closed down for lack of business.

What it really comes down to are the trade-offs. I think it's worth the price to pay a little more for better food, or for a better shopping experience. You skip the extra-calories, or the ultra-processed snack items that are designed to get you to eat more, rather than satisfy your hunger. It's an experience that's a little more human, rather than just another transaction.

Too Awesome

Perhaps someone will get this for me for the winter holiday gift giving season...

H2 vs. Tha Bird

I'm not surprised I'm not the only one who does this.

Don't miss the main site and fan/hate mail. It's amazing to watch people rant at each other.

Markets

After being somewhat sick and very much asleep yesterday, I went out for supplies. My roommate Chris and I have been cooking lots of meals, and hoarding food in general. You should see our cupboards.

I started out at the Asian store, where I was tempted to pick up some fresh sausage rolls [trucked in from Chicago] and Pocky on a recommendation from Sonali. In honor of our dim sum experience, I got some really good dumplings and pork buns, too. I checked out the shelves of fish-related products that I still haven't gotten used to, and then just checked out.

Then it was off to the pharmacy for some things you can't get anywhere else, and some cleaning products from the health food store. I try to use the most earth-friendly products I can, even if they're a little more expensive. I think it's a good investment. I also picked up some rice cakes in an attempt to snack healthier.

I'm a bit old-fashioned in that I like to go to several markets instead of a supermarket. Granted, I don't always have the time, but it keeps me honest in rotating my diet and trying new things. I'm a big fan of ethnic groceries, which have things you can't get anywhere else.

Whether it's getting frozen samosas from the Indian market, or being able to choose from a wide selection of feta cheeses, or being confronted with the wall of noodles at the Asian market, I'm usually floored with the options and all the things I haven't tried. Yet.

Little Dangers of Modern Life

Anonymity

A couple of weeks ago, I lost my debit card. It wasn't a terrible experience, I still had my receipt from the last place I used it -- the comic book store -- so I was able to track it down. The store owner was apologetic. He's occasionally seen his clerks give shoppers their reciept and a pen, and put the card on the counter. He's told them numerous times, "Hand them the card first." They tried to call me, but I'm not in the phone book.

This is, in part, by design. I got rid of my landline a couple of years ago to split a cell phone plan with my roommate & then my family. Say what you want about the constitutionality of the National Do Not Call Registry, telemarketers have to take you off their list if your only line is a cell phone. And with the FCC's rules on number portability, I'm slowly erasing reaons that mobile phones are a scam/cartel. Well, separate issue...

It got me thinking about the other ways I try to keep a low profile. I don't fill out surveys or contests anymore. I don't give out my email to anyone. When I do have to give it out, I have separate account that I use to prevent spam. I contact the Direct Marketing Association whenever I move to cut down on junk mail & phone calls. I'm what you would call a private person.

It's probably good that I have a roommate again. My rotting corpse could lie around the apartment for days before I started to stink enough for someone to notice. [I'm a pretty clean guy.]

Driving

Nothing brings out the worst in me like traffic. My friends routinely refer to me as one of the most laid-back people they know. They also are awestruck by what a jerk I am while driving. I get some of this from my dad. He feels it's his obligation to block people from driving badly, or to underline their recklessness with a little road rage of his own. Maybe more road passive-agressive behaviour. I know I emulate this to a degree. "What? You're driving too fast? I'll cut you off & drive slowly. That'll teach you."

Did I mention I'm slowly getting over myself?

Now that I have the new house, I have to commute to work. This means ten to fifteen minutes of rush hour traffic, even at 7:30 in the morning. [Heavy sigh] I'm using the time to rediscover NPR in the morning, and explore alternate routes. I think I'm going to incorporate errands into my morning commute whenever possible, so that I have little stop-off points to distract me from my tendencies. That, or drive in at the crack of six, and avoid the issue altogether.

I also like to play the alternate routes game. My friend Nicole used to take a different way home from work every day. I have a few routes that I switch between, but occasionally explore sidestreets. Making it less a race home than a time to explore. I think wandering is important, especially in the light of dull, routine tasks like driving. I wish I lived somewhere with decent public transport. I'd much rather be reading a newspaper or sketching during my ride in. That, or walk.

Sleeping

After being proud of myself all summer for using The Artist's Way as a writing course, I have fallen off big time. I don't write in the mornings anymore, and my red elephant posts numbered two in the month of November. Max said to me, "I've beaten you with three posts on my three-day old blog." Yes, I am weaksauce. I need to get my write on. I missed NaNoWriMo. Maybe next year. More personal writing in the meantime. Getting up earlier, too.

I'm doing more yoga & going to the gym again. Perhaps all this physical exertion will allow me to sleep more deeply and in lesser amounts. Maybe it'll just keep me from getting sick, and get me out of my house. God knows I turn into a bear in the wintertime and hibernate. Need to keep switching venues. Perhaps a class is in order. Get me back out regularly. Or more writing. Regular writing dates.

Click-Through

I read an article today on website usability that said people are getting used to scrolling. Whereas once found to be annoying, scrolling through one page to find info is preferable to clicking through pages. I find this out after I start switching the format on my blogs. The default was the full text of the most recent posts on the front page. I changed it to have shorter introductions on the front page with the bulk of the essays on separate pages. I'll have to find the article and link back to it, just to remember who said this and who they surveyed. Perhaps I'll switch my format back, and see if I generate any more traffic.

Right. Like I'm savvy enough to save statistics. Typepad is great, but they only have the stats for the last day or so. Oh well. Go with the gut on this one. Sleep on it. Think about it while driving to pick up my lost financial information.

Addendum -- I remembered incorrectly. While people are getting used to scrolling, it is pretty much a toss-up between paging & scrolling, according to the folks over at Typographica. The only difference is ease of searching when scrolling, which makes sense considering that you can use the find function on your browser rather than some external search engine. Less loading time is good, more usable. Especially for 56K users, of which there are still a few.

Ever Hear of Thanksgiving?

Driving home, I saw a giant inflatable snowman in someone's yard, and white lights in the shape of reindeer. I would like to extend my middle finger to everyone who continues to extend and commodify the "holiday" season. I would say Christmas, as that's the tradition I was raised in, but it's getting worse across the board.

Final House Post

...for a while. I am all moved in, as of last friday. I am out of my old apartment as of sunday. Two rooms are painted, and one hallway primed, as of wednesday night. Last night I just took a break from the place, and had a couple of drinks with my friend Mike after work. We talked sharecrop. Then I had dinner with Andrea and her "crafternoon" compadres, Korrine & Harrie. Her husband [my amigo] Bronson, was not there on account of GRE studying. Good luck on that.

I got my first pieces of non-bill-related post yesterday--a lovely little note from Sonali, who wins the first piece of "good" mail award, and a flyer from my local hardware store that I signed up for. Both Chris and I are hardware store junkies. It is kind of neat to see my name on a piece of mail, and know it's coming to my house. No apartment number needed. I'm buying, thanks. I'm sure I'll still be asked about it, as it is the logical first question for anyone. "So Ben, how's the house?" But I'm going to cut back from writing about it as I think I've just about exhausted the writing possibilities for now. At least, I want to write about other things.

Owning a Home is a Lot of Work

First night in the new place. Sleeping bag on the floor of the dining room, which needs just one more coat of paint. The color of the room is already up for debate. Christopher thinks it's orange. I think it depends on the light. We're still laying the broad strokes of the house, ripping up carpet, choosing colors for the walls, moving in appliances. The finer details will come in the next couple of days, the actual arrangement of rooms, hanging art on the walls, fixing handles.

The first thing I did after closing on the house on Friday was celebrate with friends. We had a little wine on the porch as I gave tours and explained redecorating plans. A couple of neighbors stopped by. The couple across the street know people I know, and the guy talked shop with Jim and Max. He works in Max's old department at Creighton, and they were actually supposed to meet through mutual friends for lunch that day. Max got busy and had to cancel.