Friday, March 09, 2007
My mom got her birthday package in the mail today and totally loved it. :-) My dad insisted on getting on the phone to tell me how "excited" she was about it, because he said it was beyond description (I can sort of imagine). She called me on the phone right afterwards, but I wasn't there (actually, she called twice), but I saw her name on the caller ID later and phoned her back. I knew she'd like it. He said she "jumped up off the floor" when she opened the book part. I got her this book. It has everything.
Posted at 6:08:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
(Completely unrelated, but) it is so weird (overmuch inexpressible) to see Blake's 7 looking clear and sharp and dark and gorgeous. It looks brand new. Newer than new. No awful degraded horrible-copy-of-a-horrible-copy. Pristine! Better than pristine. And the sound!! I don't know if my brain can even handle the concept of this.
I ate some fantastic spiders and mackerels and eels tonight.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Hipster Dude: "I'm going to try to make the best cappuccino of my career." Wow. Well, I appreciate that a lot, even though it was definitely not the best cappuccino of my career. But it wasn't bad, and I told the new store manager what my favorite kind of cup is, so I was feeling semi-okay about Rocky until I finished reading the Advocate and stood up to leave and noticed Marshmallow Guy and the Devil Beard Guy huddled together at a little table in the corner behind me. I said Hi to them and left and then I was really sad. I miss the good old Rocky so much. Aaagh. It's ridiculous. I hate, hate, hate getting attached to things/people.
Posted at 5:00:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
Almost all my favorite baristas are gone, the store manager is gone, and the atmosphere is so different. I never realized how much the store manager made Rocky what it was, but she really did. It was a cohesive, happy, well-run place; the workers liked her, liked each other, liked being there. Baristas would hang around at the store even when they weren't on duty; you'd see them and the store manager sitting outside together chatting and gossiping; they were friends. There was just a really special rapport going on; it was a great team. Sure, baristas would leave and new ones would join, but it happened gradually and the store manager made the whole thing work; the new people were integrated and the atmosphere stayed the same. The store was warm, relaxing, neat, and constant; it felt like a home-away-from-home to me, a Drones Club. It's not like that anymore. It just isn't. I miss the Dry Guy and the Conscientious Guy and Lauren and the Opera Singer lady and Galapagos Gal and the Store Manager and the D.B.G., and I even miss the Friendly Guy and Marshmallow Guy and Caitlyn because though they still work there, it's not the same. It's like when your favorite sports team gets a new manager and all the players you like start retiring or getting traded and the chemistry's gone and it's a shadow of its old self and it makes your heart heavy to watch anymore. Or like the final season of Millennium (or The X-Files). Or the reunited Band without Robbie and Richard. It just hurts to remember the way things were.
I know I'm silly. I can't help it. I'm glad I appreciated it while lasted, at least. I knew it was special.
Oh, and there was an article in the Advocate about how Whole Foods is taking over Wild Oats, so the Wild Oats store in West Hartford will probably be going down. Egads.
[Edit: I wasn't going to post this Rocky stuff, but putting it down in words--sort of explaining to myself what's going on--makes me feel a little better about it, somehow. And I think I'll want to remember, a year from now.]
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
I introduced myself to the new store manager (actually, I asked her, "Are you the new store manager?" and told her I've been a regular for a long time). Her name is Beth. When I was standing by the bar waiting for my cappuccino, Hopeful Guy commented that he hadn't seen me much recently. 1) I was pleased that he noticed, and, B) I told him I'd been coming in "erratically." I didn't mention that the erraticism was intentional. It was nice and dead at Rocky today, for a change. Maybe just because it's -8° with the windchill factor. (18° without.)
Posted at 3:11:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
At the post office, picking up a Priority Mail box for my mom's birthday package, I overheard this guy rejecting $2 bills as change. I'm going to try to get one when I go back to mail it! I love $2 bills.
[Edit: Got my bill!! ("Did I hear you say you have $2 bills??") Cindy was only too happy to get rid of it. She said someone "offloaded" a bunch on them and no one wants them. She also told me you aren't supposed to re-use stamps that the post office failed to cancel. They're considered "recycled stamps" and you can bring them in for credit but you're not supposed to glue them on something and use them again (even if they look brand new, which mine did). What the heck. She let me get away with it anyway, though.]
Good grief, the wind (and accompanying warpy metal sound) is so loud. It's disquieting.
Posted at 1:14:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
Monday, March 05, 2007
I went to Whole Foods today and actually semi-liked it. It's good how you can sort of sneak there the back way and not have to drive in the trafficky sections of West Hartford. They had golden beets, and GuS, and Vosges Gogi bars. Yes. My new fav chocolate ever, thanks to Jan. That's why I went there--I thought they might. I showed lots of self-restraint and only bought one. Whole Foods is very overwhelming, though. It's Too Much.
Posted at 5:43:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
I also got a fantastic new kind of yogurt, but not at Whole Foods--at Super Foodmart in Berlin! It's called Emmi, and it's highly Wallabyesque, but they have some unusual flavs, like pink grapefruit, which sounds bizarre for a yogurt flavor, but is delicious. They really, really, really need to add rhubarb as a variety. It would be so perfect.
Can't remember what else, because I failed to write this in a timely manner... oh yeah, I tried out my new bag today, and it was highly satisfactory. It even passed the test and didn't fall off my shoulder while I was wearing my slippery coat. And I brought the No Direction Home "soundtrack" (aka bootleg series vol 7) out to the car (disc 2 of course) and it did things to my brain. Good things. Whoever thought of pink grapefruit for a yogurt flavor is strange but smart.
I got my hair cut on Thursday and the bangs are very thick and choppy and straightdown, and I really like it. Lots of wind is supposed to be coming, again.
