i haven’t blogged in awhile; i’ve been letting jenny take the lead on doing so. recent events, however, have motivated me to join the conversation.

first, the rant: among my most favorite meals is a filet of fish (extra sauce and extra cheese) with two milks and one apple pie. ONE apple pie. i mean ONE APPLE PIE. every single time, without fail, i get pushback from the fast food technician behind the counter. ‘but two apple pies are cheaper than one apple pie,’ they protest. ‘i don’t care. i want one’. ‘but two apple pies are cheaper than one apple pie,’ they repeat, astonished that i haven’t caught the clue. ‘i don’t care,’ i say again. ‘i only want one.’. ‘but…’. i actually have to argue. each and every time. each time that i think that i’ve prevailed with the order taker, i’m soon shocked (welll, less and less) to find that the person dispensing the food has placed TWO APPLE PIES on my try. it’s astounding to me that mcdonald’s is so hell bent on supersizing america that they price two apples pies cheaper than one. and, to boot, that they train their employees to push it. it’s freakonomics, and it’s time that someone blew the lid off of this one. i hope that i just did. stop the insanity.

next, the rave. at a cristalla board meeting last week, a homeowner complained that the carpets on the 17th floor were dirty. a conversation ensued during which it was ascertained that carpets are cleaned annually, under contract. this begged the question of how to handle stains in the interim. the board president suggested that the association acquire a steam cleaning vacuum cleaner and then, unsolicited, suggested that (and i quote), “we divvy it”.

music to my ears.