This is a good week for housekeeping, to set down all the random
thoughts I’ve been collecting this term. Doubtlessly lots of other
folks blogs will be more interesting or sensational because many
Emerald-ites are in Seattle this weekend. So let them be, as I unwind
four points.
1. I don’t know why people — journalists, technology people,
‘analysts’ — have made such a big deal about blogs. I mean, hasn’t
posting a journal on the Web always been possible? Perhaps, as some
say, the technology is now easier to use. Umm… haven’t there been
ways for the neophyte to publish Web pages for years now? Crappily in
the beginning, perhaps, but still, long available. And now suddenly,
everyone realizes it — Google just bought the biggest blog company
around. But couldn’t they make their own software just as easy (or
cheaply?). I say what’s made blogs such a rage is the fact that someone
finally came up with the term ‘blog.’ All the hype is organized around
one word.
2. Here, I’ve walked the same paths, traced and retraced the same
footsteps so many times that some places I’ve been visiting for years.
I’ve found a couple niches. During my first few years, one of my
favorite places was Willamette Hall in the atrium, three floors up by
the windows. A great, sunshiny open view. The other was the library,
third floor, hidden away on the tables where… there’s a good bathroom
on that floor as well. Go up seven or eight floors on PLC, go to the
end of the hall, and look down on campus like a bird that’s sitting
still.
3. Food. Holy Cow is consistently good in the EMU, but I find that
their “after hours” menu consists of their weakest dishes. The Thai
Ttofu dish one gave me bad stomachaches both times I ate it, and the
Phad Thai would be okay, except for the fact that it’s loaded with
celery. On Monday there’s India House, but they’ve been disappointing
me lately due to their lack of chai. On Tuesday, there’s Ritta’s
Burritos, which is decent, too. Moving over to the bookstore side of
campus, Sakura is the by far the best restaurant around (my opinion on
this subject is probably obvious by now). Espresso Roma has good
pastries (especially the pumpkin muffins and cranberry oatmeal
cookies); Starbucks actually has the best chai, and good pastries as
well. However, Starbucks is expensive, and Roma can be as well. I’ve
recently found the most reasonably priced, cost-effective cup of chai
— it’s in the coffee shop in Hamilton. Two bucks for a 16-ounce
cup! The Buzz has organic coffee, Willamette Hall serves up a good cup
of Seattle’s Best coffee. Sometimes I drink coffee — like four times
this year so far. East 19th Street has good food a little over and
away from campus. High Street has the same menu, it’s a little
farther but
the building is cooler. Sundance has a great salad bar and good bulk
food. They have bulk hair dye as well. Misako is where it’s at for
sushi, and that’s pretty much everywhere I eat regularly. I’ve been
mostly frugal this term, the exception being food. There’s something
about the presentation of a good meal that I can’t get enough of.
4. Headlines and the little descriptions prefacing an article
published in the Emerald are written by the copy staff, not me. I
suggested one headline once, and that “A Brief History of Chai” for my
reporter’s notebook on the subject. Copy ended up using “Tao of Chai.”