The guy on the right

The girl on the left

Shopping at Ikea

I have never really liked shopping at Ikea because it is usually crowded, I get lost, and I have a hard time finding a sales person to help me.

But after reading this article about the Beijing Ikea (called Yi Jia) I realize that my experience could be much worse: at the Beijing store, people take off their shoes and get in the display beds to nap! Families come to hang out all day and enjoy the air conditioning and ample seating.

This reminds me of stories my friend Laura told be about visiting Beijing and Shanghai: kids wear pants with an opening that allows them to squat and go to the bathroom without any garment removal. They squat, sometimes over pieces of paper, and go to the bathroom in the street.

I am not ready to go to China.

Fixies

As I read here, fixed-gear bikes are now being sold online by Urban Outfitters. I already know a few people who have bought one (despite the fact that fixies are totally unpractical for everyday use), and last night I saw a couple school-aged boys dicking around in the street on them. How soon until we start reading reports of serious accidents caused by inexperienced riders on fixies? This is like ghost riding for hipsters.

Track athletes take drugs, cross dress

Isn’t it a known fact that professional athletes take as many performance-enhancing drugs as possible, and that the IOC has rejected tests that would more effectively screen for them?
That’s what I learned when I saw Bigger Stronger Faster, and seems to be the only plausible explanation for this.

I don’t like the idea of steroid use among professional athletes, because it seems disrespectful to previous generations; at the same time I understand that there’s no way to prevent it, and is a requirement today. I don’t like the false posturing about cracking down on steroid use while abandoning measures that could better detect it.

I do love this story about South Africa's Caster Semenya undergoing a gender test! How insulting. “Hey lady, you run real fast and you're busted; we think may be a man?”

Most intriguing is a quote from Leonard Chuene, a member of the IAAF Council and president of the South African track federation who says “Her main crime was to be born in a family in a village in the manner that she is."

What manner is that? Hermaphrodite? Fast? Ugly?

Jenny Sanford in Vogue incurs wrath of LAT commentariat

I am not sure what is the best or most correct way to handle yourself in public after your public husband has a very public affair. Silence in the vein of Silda Wall Spitzer, take it to 60 Minutes like HRC, or pour your heart out in Vogue like Jenny Sanford? I hope I never have to choose for myself.

But oh my, do those nuts in the LA Times comments section have something to say to Jenny! They think she reacted inappropriately (or wrongly?).

They call her a frigid bitch:
“As for Mrs. Sanford - why be satisfied with tanking her husband's career when full-blown character assassination is so much more thorough. Far easier to say her husband is an addict, than admit perhaps he's been looking for something a little less sterile than cameraderie in a mate.”
Boring, or not deserving of love or fidelity without love:
“He fell out of love with you, Jenny. You just refuse to face reality!”
And, a lunatic:
“Who's more delusional - Mr. or Mrs. Sanford?”

Though I sometimes find myself wondering about the issue presented by this commenter:
“have 4 friends who've gone thru this mid-life crisis. None of them saw it coming. Why? Because they were so busy, working so hard to take care of everyone besides themselves. And their husbands had enough time to think about other things … I tell my daughter "never give up your career, no matter how much pressure and guilt he puts on you". This is the womens problem today. We're torn between our kids and our survival. We give it all up for love.”

Also, it took me a second to register that the picture of Jenny Sanford accompanying the LAT article was not airbrushed; that’s why she looks like a middle-aged woman who has spent time in the sun and not a baby tushy. She looks mildy hot in the Vogue pic.

There are many reasons I am glad I do not live in Oklahoma

The fact that this law was ever on the books is one of them.

Also, it is illegal to sell beer with an alcohol content highter than 3.2%.

My favorite LOLcat of all time

That face!

Who buys cheese from swap meets or door to door vendors?

Are they referring to farmers' markets?

How crazy is crazy?

The windows of the Sigerson Morrison store near me (W. 3rd St.) say "CRAZY SALE."

I am going to investigate how crazy it really is. More than 50% off? They have been known to go up to 70% in the store.

Dinner for my mom's birthday

On the menu tonight:

• Lemon chicken (recipe from Silver Palate cookbook for crazy ladies)


• Pasta with tomato and basil


• Zucchini carpaccio


• Key lime coconut cake (made with regular limes)

Happy Birthday Mom, and thank you Smitten Kitchen for always coming through.

Lunch Bargain

Baja Fresh is the best casual dining establishment for many many reasons, one of which is their kids meal options. They offer a reasonable sized (smaller than regular portion which is too big for anyone but Michael Phelps anyway) burrito, quesadilla, or taquitos with rice and beans or applesauce, with a drink, for less than $5 (including tax)!

Today I had the bean and cheese burrito.

I threw away my chips so I can avoid becoming mayor of Fattown for one more day.

I might have swine flu

I made a couple jokes about it, but this article leads me to believe I have a real chance!

From the article:
"Employers should cross-train workers so that vital functions are covered and must take active steps to ensure that the H1N1 virus that causes the flu does not spread, officials said.

Such steps include aggressively cleaning work areas, encouraging hand-washing and sending employees home at the first hint of flu symptoms."

Do you hear that, Sheena in the next cube? Go home with your bronchitis cough already.