Muni Tales

The SF Muni has become my key arch nemesis, and the most thrillingly
unpredictable part of the day. BART runs like clockwork, so it's the
whimsy of the Muni schedule which keeps me on my toes. Will it take
me 30 minutes to get to work? Or 90 minutes? Oh, Muni, you clever
minx.

I've noticed over the past couple weeks that interspersed with the ads
there are posters with drawings of specific Muni drivers and stories
that they've told. This is part of some art project, and since I
generally end up standing wedged between two Prada-wearing girls
unable to move let alone read my magazine, I stand and read them.
One story is about a passenger who is complaining to the driver that
she's late for a job interview. The bus driver says that he said back
to her "There's nothing I can do." The story ends with him finding
out that she made it on time after all. Another one is about a bus
driver who noticed a passenger behaving erratically, ringing the stop
request at every stop and screaming every time the doors open. The
passenger ends up charging the driver and putting his foot down on the
gas pedal, causing the bus to run several red lights before other
passengers can pull him away. The bus driver ends the story by
saying, "Thank goodness it was early in the morning," no doubt because
there was no traffic so running those red lights was a bit less
dangerous.

I ask you, what kind of public transportation system thinks these
anecdotes are good things to display to its passengers? Hail, Muni,
hail.

Not to brag...

But I'm #1 in my Wharton pool of 40+ people, which also happens to be
the only pool I'm in for any money. I'm sure it won't last, but I do
feel pretty good about dethroning the annoying girl previously on top
who kept emailing the group that we could just send the checks
directly to her. Side note: how hilarious is it that in a pool of 35
guys, the two people who have held top position are both female.
Maybe it's not so hilarious given my (ego protecting given how I tend
to do in the long run) stance that people who know basketball never do
well on these things.

March Madness!

Yes, it's here and I'm SO EXCITED. But even more exciting is this:

My visit to Willowbrook, IL included learning how my products are
actually made (so much more complicated than you could ever imagine)
and eating at an all-you-can-eat buffet of what can only be described
as Eastern European/Germanic Food. Included: Fruit Pierogis,
Blintzes, Chicken Kiev, Potato Pancakes, Schnitzel, Sausage, and
Sauerkraut. I out-ate two large midwestern men, one of whom lists his
two hobbies as hunting and training his golden retriever to past
hunting field tests.

My experiment of leaving Satchel with friends vs. his dog walker ended
so successfully that he actually had a mini-meltdown when I tried to
take him home. He was clawing his way back up the hill towards their
house. I know he'll be reprogrammed as soon as we play our first
round of the sock game tonight.

I'm going skiing! Finally I made some ski plans, and am continuing my
Tahoe-avoiding streak as well. The Four Seasons in Aspen is more my
speed anyhow, with the grand price of free accommodations. And what
could be more natural than Julie and three gay MBA's going on a ski
trip?

The Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo is so amazing I can't put it
down. I love everything he's done, and am glad to see he's still on
the upward trajectory in terms of his storytelling.

Isn't that exciting? But the most exciting thing is instead of
watching today's games at a sports bar, I'm stuck at work streaming
video illicitly over the internet. Pacific Time plus full time work
makes this year such a downgrade in experience vs. last year, it
almost outweighs the excitement expressed above. But not completely.

Shameless Plug Alert

Please please please watch TOP CHEF Season 4 starting on Bravo tonight
at 10/9 central, and running for the next few months every Wednesday
(and knowing Bravo, in countless repeats and frequent marathons as
well). And please go to www.mealstogether.com and play Slice and
Dice, the game which allows you to compete with other fans and predict
who will win each week, and who will be sent home.

Please please please!

Rock the F Out

I really enjoyed this article from ESPN about the Stanford Tree. It
got me in the mood for tonight's bloodbath vs. the Bruins. GO CARD!

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=3278905&sportCat=ncb

Graduated too soon

Potbelly, my favorite sandwich chain, opened in Philadelphia not two
months after I left! I am extremely bummed about my missed
opportunities, and hope my 1.5 Wharton readers take advantage of the
12th and Walnut location.

In other news, severe matting resulted in Satchel getting completely
shaved (again), so he is now sporting a t-shirt, and his head looks
about 10x too big for his body. But the hair was clearly holding him
back, because 'drowned rat' Satchel is bolder and more hyper than
dreadlocked Satchel ever was. He's also wearing a t-shirt with a
skull and crossbones on it, which may have some effect (the groomer
said it was too cold out for him to be 'naked' in his new cut).

Two days til UCLA/Stanford!