Tuesday, April 04, 2006

get real

Sunny, still cool, but sunny. I have three little cards saying that I am entitled to all sorts of bonuses at Banana Republic (BR). Time to cash in. Time to dust off Mr. B and ride out to BR.

Trouble is, BR is at West Towne, our most distant suburban shopping oasis. I hate it (West Towne, not BR).

Still, $10 off for customer satisfaction, $15 off for shopping in my birthday month, plus some return credit – I have the loot that will expire soon! I must go!

So I bike over. Mr. B is telling me – are you serious?? The winds are at many tens of miles per hour. You are huffin so much it gives one pause. Let’s rethink this.


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But I don't rethink it. I persevere.

Later: I have arranged to meet a friend at the Old Fashioned this evening, Madison’s latest eating craze. Why do I call it a craze? Because people are crazily drawn to it. It’s the budget off-shoot of the fancy Harvest. As far as I can figure out, it has sandwiches and mac and cheese. But don’t take my word for it. Twice I had gone there to eat and twice I had walked away thinking my funny bone remains untickled. Nothing on the menu enticed me to stay.

This time I came with hope. Wouldn’t you eat in a place that reflected such spectacular Madison landmarks in its windows?



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We came in, we learnt of the waiting time, we left. Give it up.

Sure, I would have spent less $$ had I stayed, but I would rather order two simple appetizers and eat within an hour of entering a place than to have to wait until someone decided that you, rather than the million at the bar, were entitled to a tbale.

And so we ate next door (Harvest), where the view from the inside was huge. Sort of like the view from the outside at Old Fashioned, but looking out now.


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Very very straightforward moral of the day: don’t venture out where the wind is too strong and the crowds too overpowering. You can do better. And you cannot underestimate the power of pink: a cosmo helps give perspective.