Joining the Herd... Of Unicorn

 So.  This happened.  Yes I got a Unicorn Frappuccino.  I would not have spent money on it.  I don't think I would even have used my star rewards that I earned for spending money on one.  But when I got the email that Starbucks had added a free item to my card for my birthday on the day that the Unicorn Frappaccino came out,it seemed like a sign.  And since they were going to give me one for free just for being born I decided to give it a try.  I went to a Starbucks that I don't usually go to where the baristas wouldn't know me and I would never have to see them again.  And I still felt silly asking for it.  And then I felt silly carrying it down the street.  And then I took a sip and didn't really know what to think.  It tasted like... bubblegum?  Maybe?  Did it change color?  Sort of.  If you swirled it around hard enough you could get the blue, whatever it is, to mix with the pink frappuccino to get a purplish color.  But I had to work at it.  And since the blue stuff is sour it did change the flavor as well.  A little.  Sometimes.  Mostly it was just all the same sweet indistinct flavor.  It wasn't bad.  But I'm not sure I liked it either.  After drinking one I have to say I don't get it.  I'm not sure what they were going for.  Obviously, the point was sales.  You create a buzz.  Everyone runs to buy it.  You have it just long enough for everyone to get one and then you get rid of it.  Because, let's face it, after you've had one you aren't going back for another.

What is that? I need to buy it!

I have been spending a lot of time in the produce section of the grocery store since I have started counting calories.  I'm always looking for things to fill my belly that have a low calorie cost.  And that I don't mind eating.  Which isn't always easy.  All this time looking at fruit has made me aware of a strange impulse I have to buy things when I don't know what they are.  If there is a fruit that I have never seen before I tend to buy it.  You would have thought I would have learned not to do this since the first time I did I ended up with a Buddha's Hand.  I had no idea what it was or how to eat it but it was new and looked cool.  Turns out, you don't really eat a Buddha's Hand because there is nothing there but skin and pith.  All you can do with it is use it for decoration or zest it.  So it sat around until it started to rot and ended up in the compost.  But I keep going.  Recently I was picking up some mangoes and saw something new.  "Oh, what's that?  I need to buy it."  So in the cart it went.  This time it was kiwi berries.  Which turned out to taste like a mix between a kiwi and a grape.  This compulsion came as a surprise to me since it is the only place in my life that I am adventurous.  I usually don't like new and am not impulsive.  Unfortunately, this is a lose-lose type of thing.  On the one hand it could turn out to be something I don't like.  On the other hand I could like it but since I have never seen any of these odd fruits twice I can never get them again.  But at least I'm expanding my horizons so I can recognize more things when I'm watching Chopped.

So Good I Didn't Even Notice

I was reading a book the other day and I kept thinking that the dialogue didn’t sound right. It was strange and unnatural. And then it occurred to me that I have never read a book and noticed the great dialogue. I mean, I notice when characters are funny or witty or something but I never think to myself how natural the dialogue sounds. Which seems like a shame. I notice wonderful descriptions, emotional stories and well developed characters and other things that go into a good book but I don’t notice the dialogue unless it’s bad. I’ve tried to write dialogue and I’ve read enough bad dialogue to know that writing good dialogue isn’t easy. So the writers of good dialogue should get some recognition. But they don’t get any from me. The problem is that when dialogue is done right it is so natural that it doesn’t stand out. At least not to me. So I want to thank all the writers of good dialogue out there. And apologize that, even after this big revelation, I will continue to fail to notice it.

I wonder what else was so good that I didn’t even notice it.

Tea in a Teashop? Outrageous!

I’m going to rant a little here because this is my blog and I can do that if I want. Anyway…

I hadn’t planned to go out for lunch but as lunchtime rolled around I found I could really use a cup of tea. Because tea sometimes has the ability to make me feel better. But that doesn’t work if it is sold to me by some pompous condescending nitwit who makes me feel like I’m mentally challenged for wanting to buy a single pre-made cup of tea. Now part of it is my fault for going there in the first place. When a Teavana opened up near where I work I, of course, had to rush over and try it. Well, it didn’t go well but I thought I would give them a chance to work out the kinks. But after a few more bad experiences with the place I swore it off. There was a Tealuxe down the street the other way and they were cheaper and nicer. But then I was having tea withdrawals and happened to be near Teavana and gave it another shot. It went much better this time and I lifted the ban on the place. So I went in today. I knew what I wanted and asked the guy behind the counter if I could have a cup of the Youthberry (even though I felt a little silly saying it.) The guy raises one eyebrow ever so slightly and says ‘You caaan,’ in a tone that meant he obviously didn’t recommend it. And then he asked me if I had even gotten tea from them before. I had and I told him so. And he told me it was cheaper to get the loose tealeaves. First, pointing out that your tea is outrageously expensive does not seem like the best pitch to me. Secondly, what? I want a cup of tea. Now. How are tealeaves going to help me? Why can’t he just give me what I want without making it sound like I’m stupid for ordering tea in a teashop? So I swore the place off again. Usually when I need a cup of tea I want to relax not be aggravated by bad service, long waits for no discernable reason, and condescension from the servers.