The Alchemy of the Burrito

First off- to whomever may read this on Blogger- I messed up and last week's post stayed in "draft" mode while I did export it to MySpace- where no one else seemed to be reading my shit the last couple weeks- until I saw I had 22 views today there- for no good or particular reason

Anyhow- I still weigh whether or not I should export the link to Blogger from my Facebook page- Have had the usual harrowing amount of 1-degree-of-separation thoughts on there in recent days- but occasionally have to come back to Earth and realize that some of those I see there- probably don't want to talk to me just as much online in 2009 as they didn't want to in person through whichever incarnation of school I was attending with them in the 1980's or 90's- which gives me reason to do an online, virtual "Whew!" with requisite forehead wipe

Onto January's assorted bullet points-
- Chalk up the local burrito establishment as another place offering less for more in this economy- Went to what was the second-closest one to me in Somerville the other night- not the one closest to where I used to live- the one that is awesome and at end of old street- but known as surly, even to Spanish-speakers- but the other one- which has a clientele that's largely clueless white people who seem to act like tourists in a land that's across from the
Cambridge city line and the MBTA's Red Line and commuter rail and what could best be described as a quasi-organized ordering system by the staff there

Anyhow- learned after awhile to ask for "everything" on their wares- whteher I wanted it or not- since it was a crapshoot whether I'd either get/ get charged for "everything" and figured even one variation was too esoteric for the counter help to deal with- Like everything else for me- I just want to get my shit and get the fuck out- even if it means stuff I don't want/ don't want to pay for

The supposed 'nut' of this story is me going the other night for the first time in a few months- usual line- usual white people (myself included) and usual counter help- Order same stuff as I usually do- super steak burrito and 2 chicken quesidillas with whatever they usually put on them- get smaller-looking offerings at $17 and change- after last visit was $13 or so- I could not help but think about the fucked-up ordering system there (told girl who was skipped ahead of me that the orders there were "always a crapshoot") leading to the larger price tag

I don't know- but was thinking of "the alchemy" of their ordering/ pricing system when I got back to my place and stopped in the middle, ice-free, lit area of the parking lot here to try and open/ shut my car's hood after I made an aborted try at adding more wiper fluid before Wednesday's huge snow-to-rain event here in the Boston area- ended up blocking one of the building's owner's from his spot and had to move my car- He came over and asked why I was looking at engine- Felt like homo as I told him I couldn't fully open or close hood- he sprayed some lubricant on latch and opened/ closed it in a few minutes- He asked why I thought there was a problem and all I could say was "It must have been something with the alchemy of it for me"- with the word on my mind- He asked "What?"- I had to respond "Oh, it didn't work a few years ago in a similar situation"- feeling like a complete douche for using the big $ word in that situation

-Speaking of food- bought Ramen noodles at store last week- for first time in about 15 years or so since I graduated college- Tasted about the same as they always did- felt kind of odd to re-visit them at this point (3 more left to eat)

-Another Facebook observation- I see a lot of people uploading only old, goofy photos of themselves there- This really brings my old theory on bad-license/dumb-recent-photos on the news idea I had thought about years ago- seems news outlets will now go to MySpace or Facebook for photos of crime/ tragedy/ et al- victims- Always have to think whenever you post the on-line phots- could readily be the TV/ news-media epitath for anyone when you post your short-lived 1990 experiment with the Arsenio fade cut or a bad mullet as your profile photo

-Not surprised that Mickey Rourke is actually challenging real wrestlers (Chris Jericho) now after his (thus-far) award-season success with "The Wrestler"- one site I regularly visit- pointed out Vince McMahon is probably offering Rourke a bigger payday at the upcoming 25th WrestleMania than he got for the film- seems to work for both sides- McMahon can benefit from glow of awards for film and sort of co-opt star that depicts the tragic scenario for old pro wrestlers and Rourke can sort of strike while the iron is hot and get a chunk from McMahon and the WWE- seems to work for both sides

-Boston-area speaking- Has there been a bigger supposed-local-celebrity circle-jerk than the recent Ernie Boch Jr./ Andelman Brothers ("Phantom Gourmet")/ Bruins cheerleaders ads?