The Boloco Police

I go to the Boloco on Congress Street at least once a week. Besides the actual food, one of the reasons I like going there is the staff. They're just extremely friendly and efficient, which makes them stand out from other places that may be just as quick, but definitely not as welcoming. I've been going to Boloco since 1997; this is when it was known as The Wrap. My roommates and I would go to the Cleveland Circle store when we wanted to escape BC's dining halls. In the 11 years I've been buying their wraps, they haven't once messed up an order. I ask for hot sauce on my burritos and no celery on my buffalo chicken wraps, and my order always arrives as expected. Perhaps this is why I get such a kick out of the customers that insist on following their wraps along the assembly line. People who refuse to move down towards the order pickup location because they need to watch their order being made. People with furrowed brows standing on their tip toes and holding their breath waiting for an errant ingredient to be added to their wrap. This constant scrutiny would really annoy me if I was behind the counter. To their credit, I've never once seen a worker give one of these peeping toms the evil eye, which is why I try and do it for them.

Friends with Benefits: the Nut Guy & the Tour Guide

Immediately outside of State T stop, there's a Roasted Nut vendor. I had gone to Viga in Pi Alley for lunch and as I was walking past the nut guy on my way back, I saw two of those Colonial tour guides greet the vendor with familiarity. One of the guides dips his hand into the copper bowl that holds the roasted nuts, scoops out a handful and keeps on walking. The vendor didn't even blink an eye, which made me think that this is a reoccuring event. If you're friends with the nut guy, do you get a complimentary handful of nuts each time you pass by?
When you're buying food off the street, I realize that you're sacrificing a bit of cleanliness; however, this is pretty disgusting.

Adventures at the Lush Lounge

Despite leaving 20 minutes late, the Bolt Bus managed to get us to NYC at exactly 3:30, which was the scheduled arrival time. I didn't pack a lunch with me, since their web site states: On a longer trip (over three hours) we will typically make a quick comfort stop. This stop will be at a location with vending machines and public bathrooms. The driver was on a mission to get us to NY on time though, so we didn't end up stopping. I was sitting in the front seat, and noticed he had an interesting habit of talking to other cars on the road and critiquing their driving. All in all it was a comfortable ride, and in the future, I'll definitely use Bolt Bus over the Fung Wah and the standard Greyhound and Peter Pan buses.

We had a great time at Kim's bachelorette party, which started off with dinner at the Cowgirl Hall of Fame and ended with karaoke at the Lush Lounge. I love singing karaoke, despite the fact that I am potentially the world's worst singer. On time in high school, some friends and I were flipping through our friend Kristina's piano song book and playing name that tune. I was actually singing the line, "I heard it through the grapevine. Not much longer would you be mine," and no one could Name that Tune. My friend Lauren thoughtfully said, "It sounds familiar...." but was stumped in the end. Having a terrible singing voice has never prevented me from belting out a few tunes though, and I kicked off our karaoke evening with .38 Special's, "Caught Up in You."

I was so terrible, I made myself grimace

We had all the usual bachelorette accouterments, including a bun pincher. The bun pincher was an immediate hit, and several people asked to borrow the pincher to try out on their unsuspecting friends.

This man's buns were housed in a previously unheard of brand of boxers: Saddles

All in all, we had a great time and Kim, our bachelorette, managed to end the evening without having done anything to put her future marriage in jeopardy. Well done!

Live from the Bolt Bus

We left 20 minutes late, but that's because the time was spent trying to help a passenger locate her confirmation number. I guess that's good customer service, but I am surprised they were willing to delay the trip like that. I bought my ticket online and it said C 05, so when I got to Terminal 21, I stood in the C line. There was an A,B and C line, and the A's boarded first, etc. I'm not sure how the letters were determined, but I'm guessing it has to do with when you bought the ticket. The driver is friendly, but tried to pull out of the terminal without shutting the outside luggage bins and had to be flagged down by another worker. Good thing someone noticed it, otherwise the anatomically correct cookies I haved stored there in my backpack for Kim's bachelorette party might have been strewn up and down the Pike. The bus is brand new and very clean, I think it will be a good ride!

Someone Cut the Cheese(man)

From Boston.com:
Carmen 'The Cheeseman' DiNunzio indicted in Big Dig corruption sting

Alternate headlines could be:

"Someone's got a beef with the Cheese"

"Cheeseman wants to be left aloam"

"FBI Caught the CheeseBoss, His Mama Never Sleeps at Night"

7th Heaven

If the Celtics win tonight, they'll advance to Round 2 of the 2008 NBA Playoffs; however, should they lose, the series will be tied 3-3 forcing a 7th game series tiebreaker. More importantly, if the series goes to a 7th game, I'll have a ride home from NYC Sunday morning with friends who have tickets to the game. I'm scheduled to take a 2:00 pm BoltBus back to Boston, but a car ride would be infinitely more comfortable. BoltBus does not offer any refunds or exchanges, but part of the beauty of a $15 ticket is that it's easy to blow off should something better come along.

Either way, tonight's game is a win-win situation.

Circle of Trust

Last night a button fell off my favorite leather jacket, but fortunately I heard it hit the sidewalk and safely stored it in my purse. The buttons are covered in the same leather the jacket is made out of, and it would be virtually impossible to find replacements. I toyed with the idea of sewing it back on myself; however, I am a terrible sewer and even when I try to sew a simple button, it looks like I used a stapler instead of a needle and thread. On my way into work I stopped at a dry cleaner and asked the woman behind the counter if she could sew my button for me and tighten up the others that were loose.
She was about 5 feet tall and 90 lbs, but she spoke as if she were built like a linebacker.
"You can't do this yourself?!" she demanded incredulously.
"Well, I think you would do a better job than me." I was immediately frightened of this woman, and thought that the best strategy would be to butter her up. "It's my favorite jacket, so I thought I should bring it to a professional."
"Ah... yes! Yes!" She wasn't looking at me anymore and instead was focusing on the jacket with such intensity I thought she might burn a hole through it. "OK! Do not move!" And with that, she took the jacket in the back and I stood still for 8 minutes. How did I know it was 8 minutes? I didn't check my cell phone for the time out of fear that she was watching the security feed in the back room and would know I had disobeyed her order to stand still. There just happened to be a wall clock in front of me, along with a sign that said, "We will make you look good!" and "No credit cards!"
She came out from the back room and showed me the jacket. "You will like this!" And, in fact, I did. All of the other buttons had been reinforced with a thread that perfectly matched the jacket and the other button was back where it should be. "How much do I owe you?"
She looked at me closely, leaned forward and said, "I like you and I like your jacket. I will give you a special price. Normally the cost is $10, BUT! I will only charge you $5."
"Oh, thank yo-"
"DON'T TELL ANYONE!"
"Uh, ok... thank you." I took the jacket and started to leave the store. As I started to push through the front door, she cheerfully said, "Have a great day! Please come again!"