Theater Kids

I went to an alumni function for my undergraduate alma mater, Wayne State University tonight. I enjoy attending functions sponsored by the alumni association and since they don't have a ton of functions in New York, I think it's good to attend the ones they do have in town. Tonight's function featured several small acting skits and songs performed by graduating theater students. The students were great and so young. It was all very Glee-like. Everyone can't be on Broadway, but I hope these kids end up doing what they love for a living regardless of where the future leads them.

Brooklyn is a Deathtrap!

The streets of Brooklyn are dangerous and I'm not talking about the persistent crime.  I'm talking about the vehicular accidents.  Rarely a week passes without hearing that someone got mowed down by a speeding driver in the borough.  When I heard about the tragic accident over the weekend with the young couple and their unborn child, I was not surprised that it happened in Brooklyn.  People simply drive too fast here.  I don't know why they feel like the highly residential streets are a speedway or the Autobahn.  I think the high fatalities occur because (A) people are just driving too fast and (B) many of these drivers are simply bad drivers because they learned to drive at such a late age and, therefore, haven't had years of experience driving or learned to drive in some country where the driving rules are a lot more relaxed (if there are any rules at all).  I frequently see people running lights and speeding between lights and stop signs in Brooklyn.  During the six months when I had my car in the city before I sold it, I feared for my life behind the wheel.  Drivers were out of control.  I still fear for my life, but now I fear for it while I'm on foot.  Just crossing the street around here means taking your life in your hands. 

Farewell, Warm Delights!

In my effort to try and drop some pounds, I'm giving up the tasty Warm Delights microwave cakes that I love so much (along with other sweet foods full of sugar and goodness). The Warm Delights cakes were becoming harder and harder to find. So farewell, Warm Delights. Maybe we'll meet again once I lose some weight.

I Don't Like, Like, Uptalkers

I've complained many times to family and friends about the way many younger people (women, in particular) talk lately.  Overuse of the word "like" in sentences is particularly annoying. "I, like, went to Macy's and, like, saw this dress that I wanted to buy and, like, it was so, like expensive."  You get the picture.  My eyes glaze over when I have to overhear this kind of conversation and I feel like I'm losing brain cells just exposing myself to this kind of ridiculousness.  Yes, I use "like" also so I'm not above the criticism, but I really try to curb my use of the word.  But, even more annoying than someone using "like" too much is someone who is an uptalker.  The uptalker phrases statements as questions.  The uptalker cannot be declarative.  The uptalker seems to be asking rather than telling.  What do I mean?  I mean someone saying something as simple as, "I went to the store" but turning this harmless statement into a question by putting a flourish on the last word of the sentence so that it comes out as, "I went to the store?"  Are you asking or telling? 

I notice many young women (usually the same ones who overuse "like") are also guilty of being uptalkers.  Where did these verbal ticks come from and when will the trend come to an end?  I know the whole valley girl thing from the 80s is at the root of the problem, but many of the young women I hear talking this way weren't even born (or were infants) in the 80s.  They didn't even grow up with the whole valley girl thing.  I guess it just comes from being a product of your environment.  You grow up around people who speak the same way and you all end up talking the same way and using the same expressions. 

My hope is that these young folks grow out of overusing "like" and uptalking.  No one wants to hear a 35 or 40-year-old talking like a suburban teenager (unless it's being done ironically).

Out of Work???

My local laundromat has being going severely downhill lately.  I don't believe they've had hot water since before Christmas.  Every week I go there lately, there are signs posted saying that there's no hot water.  When I asked the guy behind the counter when they'd get the problem fixed, he said next week.  That was three weeks ago.  In addition to the lack of hot water, many of the washers and dryers seem to be out of service.  There was a sign posted on a dryer today that said "out of work."  I assume the employees meant to say "out of order" but English isn't their first language, so that's probably why the sign was so awkwardly phrased.  I used to enjoy going to this laundromat because it's big and has a lot of washers and dryers and seemed relatively clean, but now I think maybe it's time to take my business elsewhere.  Aside from the lack of hot water and broken washers and dryers, the place just looks dirty.  The floor is often littered with discarded dryer sheets.  Employees used to come around and sweep, but they don't now.  I long for the days when I had my own washer and dryer in my apartment in New Jersey and could wash when I felt like it.  But, those days are over and have been for some time, unfortunately.

Publisher's Weekly

The February 2013 Publisher's Weekly self-published books supplement finally came out and I'm happy to see that the cover for Clean Hands was featured.  Yea!

Street Meat

I saw a story on the local Fox station the other night about the disgusting behavior of some food cart vendors around the city.  I have always made it a rule not to eat from food carts (except for the waffle truck--they get a pass from me).  All you have to do is look at some of the guys who run many of the food carts parked around the city.  Some of these fellows look like they don't bathe daily.  If you can't keep yourself clean, why would I expect you to keep your grill clean???  The local news story showed a guy blowing his nose into a rag or napkin of some kind and using that same rag or napkin to wipe down his grill.  Nasty!  Another guy dropped a pretzel on the ground, picked it up, and put it back on his food truck for sale.  Another guy was seen wiping his cooking utensils down with a dirty rag.  (The rag was black with grime!!!)  Everytime I see a food cart vendor, I wonder (1) How does this guy wash his hands?  (2) Does this guy wash his hands?  (3) Where does he go to the bathroom? (4) How is the meat he's cooking stored?  I find it better to just avoid these trucks entirely.  You're just asking for intestinal problems if you eat street meat and the news story just confirmed what I already suspected.