Daily Archives: August 24, 2007

You are browsing the site archives by date.

Things I Contemplated Buying Today for Friend Going to Burning Man

1. A childrens’ lunchbox. Nixed because it was too “90s rave culture.”

2. A bottle opener shaped like a flamingo. Beak seemed sharp – dangerous.

3. An envelope for business cards. Is she going to be handing out business cards at Burning Man? Probably not. You don’t want those people knowing where you work.

4. Condoms. She’s already stocked up.

5. Drugs. All I have is Tylenol PM and a couple Vicodin left over from dental surgery. That’s not going to cut it in the desert.

6. Some anti-Bush, pro-liberal buttons. Isn’t that just assumed?

7. Cute purse. Oh wait – that was for me.

8. A decorative thermos. Wasn’t nearly big enough to hold the two gallons of water you have to drink every hour you’re there.

9. Chocolate. A) It would melt. B) People would assume it was laced with something and then they’d be disappointed and perhaps take it out on my friend.

10. An escape pod. jjjjjk.

I settled on something very ordinary (albeit Mexican), and something she can easily re-gift to new friends, and something that can double as a travel case for LSD. I’m a good shopper.

PS Thank you Cha Cha’s and Paper Rock Scissors.

Best Salad in Town

Today I was walking down the mall to get a salad from the Blue Ridge Country Store (across from the post office, beside Bagby’s sandwich shop, near the Pavilion), and I saw my cousin’s husband walking toward me with the telltale cardboard salad container, and for a moment we stopped to gush about how amazing the BRCS salad bar is. And how the same amount of awesome salad would cost you $15 at Whole Foods while it only costs you $5 at the Country Store. I said “Surely these prices can’t last,” immediately embarrassed that I sounded like an infomercial, and he responded “Maybe enough customers just buy iceberg lettuce and ranch dressing, balancing out those of us who want red bell peppers and spring greens.” We stood there thinking deeply about lettuce and we had a bonding moment, perhaps greater than any moment we have shared at all the Murray Thanksgivings and Christmases. Salad brings people together. It brings families together.

This will not be my last post about the Blue Ridge Country Store salad bar.

The Wife

Today I started reading The Wife by Meg Wolitzer. So far it’s great. Almost too great. Sometimes I don’t trust contemporary books that are so well-written. Sometimes I doubt that they can be meaningful as well. There are good novels, where you sit back and say “Wow, great sentence” over and over again. Or “This girl must have an MFA from a prestigious NYC grad program or a history of winning writing competitions in lit journals.” And then there are novels that are so good the writing becomes invisible, and all you see is story. I will let you know what I think at the end.

Update on the end.

Armenian Princess

I don’t want to neglect Diana. Diana and I are in the Recluse Honor Society. Diana comes home from work, reads The Odyssey, watches Carnivale, and makes thousands of dollars worth of beautiful jewelry. She sits on her smoky rug and tweezes sterling silver into necklaces for hours. Sometimes she reads my blog. Sometimes she picks up the phone when I call. She is the best person to have breakfast with in Northern Virginia. We share a love for eating our boyfriends’ food. I am always pleased when I can get her out of the house.