My first post from the loft (dial-up). I am sitting here mulling over bits and pieces of conversation overheard at a loft party. What do I make of all this? I catch the following:
They are harmless, harmless! But they move fast. I don't kill them, I capture them in a cup and set them free (a propos house centipedes, occasionally seen scurrying around on the warehouse brick walls)...
...I moved here from California and so I am used to basically subsisting on Tader Joe's. No, I will not shop at Willie Street Co-op. I don't care if it's equidistant (to Whole Foods). I went there this week and everything was wheat free or gluten free. What the hell is wrong with wheat? It's not as if we kill anyone to eat wheat. And I bought eggos. Okay so I like eggos. The bagger was actually frowning at this. I want eggos sans commentary!
I happen to know the private number to some pretty important people at Trader Joe's. I called them and said -- help! I've been in Wisconsin two weeks now and I am running out of things to eat! Can you tell me please when your store is moving here? Last quarter of 2006?? I'll starve!
So Nina, when I heard you're moving in to these lofts, I thought: holy crap, I read her blog. I should mention, I have my own blog. In fact, you link to it. You shouldn't -- I'm sort of quitting writing.
...Sure you can hear the noise of your neighbors! But think of it -- you'll be walking distance to campus. You're downtown.
The brick dust? It's not really dust, it's grit. If you wipe it off the surfaces that abut the walls daily, you should be fine.
They're great lofts, they really are!
Maybe it's like New Yorkers listing faults with the city they love to hate and hate when others talk dismissively of it. Many here are actually from NY or the environs. Maybe after all the flecks of tar, the house centipedes, the brick dust get cleared up with the coming of winter, we'll find ourselves wishing there was something else to wail about. Because really, if you want a quiet ride, you can move to the suburbs. You will not be disappointed. Plenty of quiet there. Yawn.
11 hours ago
I hope your neighbor with the TJ's connections successfully intercedes. The lack of demolition of the old Ken Kopp's building is making our neighbor who's the neighborhood association's point-person on the Monroe Commons wonder if there's been a snag in the TJ's lease negotiation.
ReplyDeleteNina,
ReplyDeleteYou are living in loft Valhalla. Dust, centipedes, bah! I lived in an artist studio in Austin, Texas, one block off Sixth Street back in the mid-eighties. It used to be a garage, and before that a Livery Stable.
Try oil-grunge laden floorboards and rats; 106 degree heat indoors; a neighbor who spills turpentine and smells up the whole joint. Valhalla I tell you!
Californians! Well, I won't get into that except to say they seem pretty maladaptive here too, redeemable only in comic relief. What did they do to California to want to leave it?
I love the "eggos sans commentary" remark. That one really made me laugh.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if your Californian friend has actually been to Willy Street Co-op. It's true that some items are wheat-free (to accommodate customers who are allergic to gluten -- such people exist), but there's plenty of wheat flour, wheat pasta, and wheat bread.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what happens when you buy Eggos at Willy Street (I've never actually done that), but I buy meat there pretty often, and no cashier has ever expressed disapproval or given me the evil eye. Most of the people who work at the Co-op are usually cheerful and friendly, even to middle-aged West Side carnivores like me. That's one of the things I like about the Co-op.
Speaking of looking askance at things, the next time you serve something in a cup, we're going to be wondering centipede cup????
ReplyDeleteOk, I'm the person who bought Eggos *with* commentary at the Willy Street co-op (yes, I really *was* there, and I saw all the wheat items, hence part of my irritation). Anyway, in my defense: I'm not *from* California, I just lived there for two years....I'm pretty darn adaptive, I just want to buy my groceries without being judged (at least,not out loud).
ReplyDeleteLesson I've learned: be careful what you say around Nina 'cause it goes up on line the next day!! :)
Anon: notice how I never identify who said what unless it is a wonderfully effusive and positive statement about someone, or I have (blanket or direct) permission from the party making the comment to put it in the blog. So, Eggo guy/lady: your identity is protected.
ReplyDeleteAnd blog rules (self-imposed) state that you do not use the blog to make fun of your friends!
P.S. Sorry about the noise last night. I wanted to knock on your door and invite you over. Next time, okay?