Tales From the Fruit Cart: A Fruit Cart Announcement

Ever intrepid journalist Elizabeth Crawford takes a moment out of her daily reporting and source follow ups to update us on the MIA fruit cart.

It is [Employer's] turn to push the fruit cart again. My day is July 29. I thought you'd enjoy the announcement about it sent out by the president of [Employer]. See below.

It's time again for us to take the lead
And fulfill UCG's fruit and vegetable need.
I know you'd rather give out Twinkees and Hohos
But that won't regain your Fruit Cart Mojo.

A push, a shove and it's manna from heaven above.
(Well, not manna, but lots of green banana.)
Sing and dance and enjoy the grins,
But don't forget the napkins.

When: [Employer] does the Fruit Cart from July 22 through September. (Interns are signed up already.) There's one day for EVERYONE. Sign up now and improve the chances you'll get your preferred day.

Where: See the calendar sign-up sheet on the pillar near [fellow employee's] desks.

Why: The benefits of fiber are best not discussed publicly.

The readers of Zandrea! will wait with bated breath for the EC's July 29 turn and subsequent update, I'm sure!

A Cool Summer

Growing up in Wichita, Central Air was a necessity. The summers are long and terrible-- the heat is 80+ from April through October (I recall more than one Halloween wearing shorts and a t-shirt to school). It is not uncommon to go directly from the air conditioned house, to the air conditioned car, to air conditioned work. Public schools have half days the first week of school because the heat is so bad. Actual contact with Nature is driving the car to the neighborhood pool and spending the afternoon swimming (resultant in first day of school green hair each September, but that's another story). Henry Miller titled his 1945 critique of American culture, "The Air-Conditioned Nightmare."
"Nowhere else in the world," Miller wrote of the United States, "is the divorce between man and nature so complete."**
Before coming to college in Boston, my cousin told me not to bother packing t shirts-- it would never be warm enough in my 9 months academic year to wear them. She was correct, and I realized also the Central Air for people's homes was practically non-existent. Air conditioning units are the prefered means of keeping cool, when needed. In fact, many people get by with a window or stand alone fan.
The temperature hit near 100 this past weekend and I would have suffered through sans fan or AC, but for an inheritance from G-- his AC window unit to use while he travels for the next month. I generally prefer to keep my windows open, enjoy the cool night breeze and be awakened by the sounds of birds and garbage trucks-- idyllic morning sounds. But the past several nights I have guiltilly enjoyed the AC, being able to snuggle under the blankets and wake up refreshed-- not sweaty and sticky.
I'd like to believe that once G leaves on Friday, I'll revert back to my normally conservative persona and open the windows...but sometimes it's nice to be spoiled.


** Thanks to the New York Time's story Shivering for Luxury, printed Sunday June 26.

Souvenirs

Shopping in any foreign country holds such appeal that even (and especially!) the tchotchkes one gives and receives hold special personal value. When I was in high school, I started collecting the small "floaty" pens-- a cactus floating through a desert scene for a town in Texas, David or Venus floating up and down in Italy or a car floating under the Saint Louis Arch. The appeal of these pens is that they are cheap and portable, and have the benefit of reminding you where you (or your friend) was when purchased.
A former co-worker of mine traveled to India every couple of years, and before she would go, she would ask us to make a list, including spending limits, of things (jewelry, fabrics, etc) we would like her to bring back. For a total of $75, I received a custom made silver jewelry set and a hand embroidered wool shawl. My friend Rashmi has offered a similar service-- no doubt the shopping will be for her as fun as it is for us to receive!
Visitors to the U.S. often have lists of things that can be purchased here for cheaper than in their country, or perhaps not purchased at all. My friend Salma would come to Boston for usually a month at a time in the summer, and would stock up on Marshmallow Fluff, cranberry juice, Hamburger Helper and Gap clothes. Her shopping would be punctuated by frequent stops at Starbucks-- a surprisingly non-entity in her Mexican home. In return for accompanying her to the Hard Rock Cafe, she would bring me boxes of KinderEggs...a rare and expensive treat here.
I just helped G through a treasure hunt list for his aunt in Israel. The varied list included clothes, makeup and linens. An easy list save for the translation differences-- no fewer than 3 Bed, Bath and Beyond employees helped us convert the towels size from centimeters to inches.
I spoke to a friend last night who just got back from a year abroad. She buys a children's book (and asks her friends to do the same) from every country she visits, so her future children will have a world library.

Feel better soon?

A week or so ago I was on the phone with a work related call, and my office mate gave me a folder with a card in it to sign. I smiled at her and she left it on my desk. When I got off the phone to sign it, I realized I didn't know who it was for, but it was a get well card. She had already signed it and the person's name (beginning with a K) was not someone whose name I recognized). My office mate was away from her desk then, and I knew I had to go somewhere soon, so I just signed it, "feel better! sincerely, Andrea" and put it back on her desk. Later she came back and asked if I still had the card; I know I should have just asked her who it was for then, but I just told her I put it on her desk, and then I heard her open it and go, "oh...okaaaay." And then off to deliver it to someone else.

Move Preparation: Installment 1

Just as chicken pox, sunburns and your teenage years seem to get worse before getting better, so does the attempt at improving one's lot in life. G and I have decided to live together as the next step in our relationship, but unfortunately this entails finding an apartment, finding a replacement roommate (for me) and physically packing and moving.
When I moved to my current place a year and a half ago, my (good) life started falling into place. I had (and still have) a job that I enjoy, I had a good stash of friends and family and my new apartment and roommates seemed to be problem free. About a month after I moved in I met Gabriel and things have been going well ever since.
Gabriel started planning a return trip to Israel this winter. The month long service/vacation would allow him to reconnect with his home and allow him to "volunteer" his mandatory military service.
Eventually we decided it would be good to move in together just after his month long sojourn, in August. He and his other two roommates are moving just prior to his departure, which means he had to find a home for his two cats and store all his belongings.
Last night we took a load of boxes to his storage unit...which was something straight out of a murder mystery. When he signed the contract, they made him promise not to store firearms, explosives...or ex-girlfriends. We pulled the car into the unloading garage and adult contemporary rock (Sarah McLachlan) played softly in the backgroud. The automatic sliding doors opened and we followed the corridor down to his unit. I kept expecting someone to turn a corner in front of us, or for us to stumble upon a dead body, while the Police sang "Every Breath You Take" overhead. We moved quickly since I didn't want to spend any more time there than we had to.
When he finally pulled the car out of the garage, I pushed the button to lower the garage door behind him, hoping to run under it before it closed, but the mechanism stopped the door and wouldn't let me do that. So I closed the garage door and tried to get out the normal egress, but it locked from the inside as well as the outside. I knocked for G to let me out, but he couldn't find the cards with the codes on them in any of his pockets! For about 30 seconds I felt trapped and alone inside the scary storage unit while G was free outside...and worried about all aspects of the impending move (will we find a place before G goes to Israel or will I have to find one on my own? will it be affordable and nice or will it be in the ghetto with bars on the windows? will I find a good replacement roommate for my roommates?). Then I remembered I had the card in my pocket so showed it to G and he let me out.

*Editor's note: I should note it's not all gloom and doom! We are optimistic and while we have seen a couple of doozies, it's good to know that G and I are in the same boat and can commiserate after the bad apartments over drinks at the closest bar!

Vacation in Boston!

Memorial Day weekend is the traditional start of the summer vacation season. Sometimes it's nice to evaluate your current surroundings and "go on vacation" where you live. This works especially well if you'd prefer to be elsewhere, but can't afford to.
Boston is actually a popular tourist destination and with my sister in town for the long weekend, we decided to hit a couple historical hot spots.

Stop 1: Mike's Pastry in the North End for cannoli and cappucino.
Overheard conversation regarding Red Sox hero Johnny Damon by two authentic North End Italian American locals

Stop 2: Haymarket. Tons of cheap produce...but with the caveat that what they put into your bag might be different than what you would pick out (ie moldy hot peppers).
Overheard "conversation" between vendors calling each other "jerk".

Stop 3: Walden Pond. Due to the close proximity of other pond bathers, the quiet and solitude achieved by Thoreau is hardly reached.
Overheard conversation between two college students:

"There was a girl in one of my classes who was actually going to write about how following The String Cheese Incident is actually a religion! I'm so tired of these hippies!"

Also, school of large, ornamental koi spotted in pond. Koi were followed by canoers, as well as an intrepid wildlife photographer who ran past us and into the woods to get a land shot of the fish. College girls offered themseleves as photo subjects.

Stop 4: Mt. Auburn Cemetery. A scenic drive through America's oldest garden cemetery resulted in an abrubt stop by driver, G, when a medium sized animal loped across the street, and over a hill. G exclaimed, "What was that?!" Liz replied, "I think it's a marmot." G jumped out of the car, saying, "I'm going to get that dog!" and proceeded around the bend in search of the oversized rodent.

The long weekend brought the first nice and seasonable weather in weeks, if not months. We upped the vacation factor by making a fiesta with fresh salsa, margaritas, lanterns and candles and the newly cleaned back deck.

The next day was spent shopping in downtown crossing and memorializing the day with photo booth snapshots.

By the end, the vacation home away from home was well spent, with a true Memorial Day barbeque to mark the beginning of summer.