Peanut Butter Jelly Time

It'ssss peanut butter jelly time...



Hahaha, justttt kidding.

Anyway, this is a RANT. A rant about serving size, caloric density, and deceptive packaging. RANT. So, think what you wish.

I rarely go without having peanut butter 1-3 times per week. It is so delicious that I will willingly "trade-off" more food quantity for some PB, because PB is high fat and calorie. So, I traveled these past two weekend and part of this travel was a long-ish drive. I made some of Sarah's breakfast cookies and took them with me because...well, gas station snacks are less than ideal! As per her suggestion of adding a nut butter to the top, I went with it. To more easily transport peanut butter, I went after some single serving containers. I found these things called Jif to Go.


This homegirl is down with portable peanut butter. Holla (if only it came in crunchy?:-P)

So, I snapped a photo for you using my blackberry so you can see , next to my sharpie marker, exactly how big these cups are.



Looks reasonable, right? The packaging reads "6 single cups" as part of the hook. So, what would most normal people think? They give it to me in these cute little cups that are "great for dipping" (per the package), so I must be able to consume the entire cup and be cool with that! Pre-op, I would have been happily dipping my carrots away, consuming the whole cup, and saying pppssshhhhawww to the cookies I was passing on.

Now, I, of course, flipped the package over to look at the nutrition facts. There were two separate columns. Suffice it to say, I was shocked when I read the column for one serving (which I assumed based on the packaging was one whole cup) said 195 calories and 16g of fat (standard for a serving PB, this is why I was cautioned at its caloric density). The serving size was listed in ounces (who really thinks of peanut butter in anything other than tablespoons?!) and it was convolutedly referring to half of the cup. Why not just write 1/2 of "single cup"? I am envisioning consumer confusion and apathy abounding! I think this packaging leads people to believe that the cup is a serving...it seems really misleading there...even though the packaging doesn't say "single SERVING cup".

So, you go through and dip your carrots, pretzels, or apples in this whole peanut butter cup. You will have consumed 390 cal and 32g of fat. My eyes just about popped out of my skull. I'm not a calorie counter, but I AM very careful with things like nuts and cheeses...don't want to get too crazy! I myself could easily consume this amount of peanut butter (might make me uncomfortable...all of the fat) and I have a 6-8 oz. stomach. I can imagine busy moms and dads dropping these into their kids lunches as a "healthy" snack. How would the child know not to consume the whole creamy and delicious pack?

They say that low-fat diets aren't going to lead to any significant weight loss, which I agree with, but consuming 400 cal worth of peanut butter in one sitting...for an average person...is a bit much. If you're eating it with pretzels or an apple, tack on at least 100 additional cal, carrots 50. A "snack" at 500 cal? NOT ideal.

You had to be on your game and NOT a passive food consumer to notice this. That's what made me mad! Everyone around me is in such a hurry all of the time they may fail to notice that these are NOT single SERVING cups, rather a means to package 200% serving sizes into portable packages.

So, WTF, Jif? Why couldn't you just put it in a g*d d*mned single serving container and actually HELP the American public with our serving size issues instead of further exacerbating the problem on a particularly calorie laden food?

Party in The USA

“Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus

I seem to excel at writing blog entries on my flights to and from Seattle, so here we go.

I have the BEST seatmate next to me on the airplane right now. I mean. He is superb. He’s not passing judgement on me, he’s friendly, he’s selfless, he’s a cuddly teddy bear…and he loves carrots. He has big feet. And he’s canine. He is a seeing eye dog. His name is Cooper and he looks a little like Deb and Ed’s dog Heidi, except he’s tri-colored. It is thoroughly outstanding that the only food I happen to have in my bag right now is carrots, which are his “treats”. We may be soul mates. ☺ The guy across the isle should take note, he’s pretty darn surly and has a staring problem!


Not his best pic, but I had to take it on my blackberry.

I was in Seattle/WA this past weekend for enology camp for my WSU learnin’. I was in Seattle/WA the weekend before for grape camp for my additional WSU learnin’. I’m tired of traveling, but have had a series of outstanding weekends. This past weekend I got to see a few of the people I really liked from the enology class and got to know a few more…wine people are (for the most part) hella cool. We’re winemakers, or wannabes, for a reason. Winemaking attracts an eclectic bunch, and that is very cool for me. Mostly passionate, confident, driven people. The week before was viticulture camp, and this is all an amazing fantastic world to me. I know comparatively little about viticulture, but I am certainly enjoying learning. Bring on the vineyards! I can’t envision being a winemaker and not knowing anything about farming. I equate not knowing viticulture to picking up a book halfway through and expecting to have a thorough understanding of what is going on. It just won’t happen. I like farmers, anyway.

I have been undergoing a bit of a….food revolution lately. A food revolution, you say? I underwent a food revolution last May in a big way (yes, I still miss big tasty ciabatta rolls and ice cream) but now I’m fine tuning things. I am reading a fine hunk o' book called “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan. It is science dense and fantastic and I highly recommend it.



But, it has made me reconsider the foods that I eat where they come from. So, I’m setting off on a sort of quest to do my best at eating real food, grass fed meats, and un-processed as much as possible on a limited budget. I think that could be a blog in itself. I’m considering switching gears a bit here as this is consuming a considerable amount of my brain space and thinking time. Should I become a food blogger? Explore the world of being conscious about where my food comes from, how it is processed, and what that might mean for balance in many ways: environmental, nutritional, financial….balance. How can I try not to get bogged down in the buzzwords that are now corporate and government sponsored: “organic” or “sustainable”, etc? Do free range chickens REALLY free range? Can a woman like me wade through all of that crap…in addition to having limited financial means and no land to grow anything on and actually eat real food?

I don’t know. I’ll work on it. We’ll see. I’m working on a number of things at the moment…running a 5k next weekend (the 20th!). I’m pretty psyched. I will keep you all posted on how that goes.

Looks like we’ve started our descent into Oakland, so, I have to run!

Yes, I am listening to Miley Cyrus. I’m not too cool to admit it, I freakin’ love this song. “Got my hands up they’re playing my song, I know I’m gonna be okay…” Miley, you’re a little bit shady, but I sure do love this little pop-tart of a song! (And yes, I still have my Achy Breaky Heart CD, don’t hate.)

American Pie

I rode BART this weekend (pictures to follow), so this means that I had a great deal of time to think. I meditated on some things in life, and I started thinking about how things enter into my consciousness and change my worldview forever. I consider a dynamic worldview to be a good thing, and music is always part of my changing scenery.

So, I put together a list of the 15 songs that have changed my musical life, for the better. I could talk about them for pages, but I'm going to try to keep it to a few sentences explanation. You don't have to read, but, if you're curious, here we go!

1. "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin-- I didn't know music could sound like this before I heard this song. I'll repeat this frequently, but, it is true. I'd heard "Stairway to Heaven" and hated it (still do), but I heard this and it threw open a door to a whole new level of music.

2. "Beat It" by Michael Jackson -- I jacked my parent's copy of "Thriller" on cassette and used to play it over and over with my friends. This song, which was my favorite, was my first memory of popular music.

3. "Waterfalls" by TLC -- I thought I had stolen the Hope Diamond when I managed to talk my mom into buying me the "Crazy, Sexy, Cool" album by TLC...it had swear words, and words that were spoken rapidly over beats that sounded nothing like the "old" music my parents had me listen to....and they talked about AIDS. And condoms. Enter popular music circa 1996 and beyond.

4. "American Pie" by Don McLean -- My Mom told me that this is the song DJs put on when they have to go to the toilet. I think they should chose "Paradise by the Dashboard Light", but I can see it. This song introduced me to the idea of a musical story. We used to sing this in the middle school locker room, not knowing any of the words other than the chorus. "Do you believe in rock and roll? Can music save your mortal soul?" Yes, yes it can.

5. "God Bless The Child" by Billie Holiday -- I have never, and I repeat NEVER heard anyone like Billie Holiday. I don't remember why I first heard this song, somewhere in early high school, but, once again, I didn't know music could sound like this. Rich, soulful, heartbreaking, and OLD. She, and this song, opened the door in my world to Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Bobby Darin, Sammy Davis, Jr, Lena Horne, etc etc.

6. "Keep Ya Head Up" by Tupac Shakur -- My cousin Miranda is solely responsible for introducing me to Tupac, for better or for worse. (She also introduced me to the Steve Miller Band...thanks, girl.) I remember hearing the first few lines of this song not for their lyrical content, but for Tupac's voice. Still to this day I find it completely intoxicating. I am close to the whitest white person you'll meet, but those of you that have ever touched my iPod know I LOVE rap music. This song was likely the beginning of it all. Enter Kanye West, Notorious BIG, The Fugees, Jurassic 5, Jay Z, and a host of others that I found as a result of my first run in with Tupac.

7. "Buddy Holly" by Weezer -- The first time I put the blue album of Weezer's into my discman (yea, I'm cool) I listened to Buddy Holly thoroughly and promptly dismissed the rest of the album as "too hard". I was, 12, maybe? (I'd spent all of my Christmas money at FYE to buy the blue album and No Doubt's "Tragic Kingdom") Then I listened to it again and again. I started to turn my radio dial to the alternative/modern rock station more frequently. I was never really into alternative as my primary mainstay, but I would have it ignored it for much longer. Regrettably, I gave away my copy of the Blue Album. Whoever I gave it to, I'd like it back now.

8. "Sympathique" by Pink Martini -- I never knew music could be this fun. In so many different languages. I've since seen Pink Martini live...they outdo themselves, really. Changed my life...for the better!

9. "Fire and Rain" by James Taylor -- My room mate in college was into James Taylor, I had never really been...turns out my mother doesn't like him. But the first time I heard "Fire and Rain" and to this day, I'm comforted by it. Whenever I have a bad day, it is quite likely that that song will play. "Won't you look down upon me Jesus, you gotta help me make a stand. You've just got to see me through another day. My body's aching and my time is at hand, I won't make it any other day." PS-- I love James Taylor. Sorry, Cath.

10. "Jupiter" from The Planets by Gustav Holst -- I'm a violinist and I wish I had learned to play the trumpet. There are many, many orchestral pieces that I love...but none as much as this one. It fills me with optimism and promise.

11. "Baby Love" by Diana Ross and the Supremes -- I remember laying in the back of my parents car on the way to Missouri to visit our relatives playing the only disk I had, "Motown's Greatest Hits". Well guess that, that same CD is still in my car. Motown is its own entity to me. It was all I knew of music for some time, and I was happy for it. I made a Motown station on our Pandora at work...I think I surprised the people who were around at that time that I even knew the music. Know and love!

12. "Black Water" by The Doobie Brothers -- I stole my parents record of this song (and more!). It is eternally summer for me. It doesn't get much better for me. "Well, I built me a raft and she's ready for floatin'..."

13. "La Vie Boheme A" by the Original Cast of RENT -- RENT is probably the most changing set of musical works that I ever encountered. Enter...musical theatre. Enter concepts I'd never heard of....people I'd never have "met" otherwise...another CD still in my car. :-)

14. "Higher Ground" by Stevie Wonder, remade by the Red Hot Chili Peppers -- If you've never heard these songs back to back, I recommend that you do so, Stevie first. I had the mistaken impression that all covers of songs were crap. I retain that most are, but, not this one! This song always succeeds in making me want to jump into a spontaneous dance party...either version.

15. "The Seeker" by The Who -- my love of this song is ENTIRELY because of a scene in film "American Beauty". Kevin Spacey is buff as hell and rocking it and the opening bars of The Seeker come on. Amazing. Whenever I'm trying to be buff as hell and rocking it, I crank this one. Works like a charm.

1-15. Boring for all of you, I'm sure. I love music and wouldn't survive without it. I hope you feel the same way. What are your favorites? What changed your life, musically or otherwise?

Cheers
Catrina

For the record, songs recorded before I was born: 10/15. Good Job Cath & Kev!

The Fabulous Adventures of...

The Honda CRV. No song title this time. "Baby you can drive my car"?

It's red. It's a manual. It has a rusted undercarriage and is usually going over the speed limit. It has strict safety belt regulations. It's hauled many of you around. It drives in the snow fabulously. It is a beast. The driver's side window is broken. It has a very noisy exhaust system. It's usually messy. It's MINE! :-)

I feel now is the appropriate time to write an ode to my little red Honda CRV. It has carried me many, many miles. Countless trips back and forth to Gettysburg. My CRV and I met in 2003 before I knew how to drive a manual transmission. An all-holiday present from my parents, we continue to be in a long term relationship...and a happy one at that. We even made it through learning to drive manual...I'm sure that was tough on the CRV!

I recall going up the driveway to Fox Run (where I was about to start working) and stalling out. I spun tires and rocks that day! It's no wonder the CRV still loves me.

It overcame the incident pictured below...Anna driving it around the parking lot in Gburg, loaded to the gills with my favorite people.


It carried my mom and I cross country. It saw many things...including:

Kadoka, SD:


Mt rushmore, yellow stone, a tornado, a lot of cheese in wisconsin, the wild wild west...well, you get the picture. My Mom thought it was a sweet ride too.



It carried me from WA south, to my current home. Since being in California, the CRV gets moderately offended from time to time because I chose to walk over driving it, but to make up for my neglect, I take it on some pretty awesome adventures.

Like to Big Sur....



Part of my Honda's enduring identity (and mine) was that it had NY license plates.

Well, this weekend, I paid my dues to the state of California. Laying out $200+ dollars to declare my permanence. I had my car plated here. It was very sad.


The (grouchy) DMV person snatched those beauties right out of my hands (along with 2 months worth of grocery money) and I nearly cried. (Partly because of the remaining $0.93 in my bank account!)




I affixed my new plates and adjusted to them and told the CRV not to despair, we could still drive like New Yorkers. :-)

Here's to the journey of the next 130k miles, CRV! Thank you!

Cheers!

Another Christmas Song

“Another Christmas Song” by Steven Colbert

Greetings all! I am tardy, as usual, but, what else is new? You all know my feelings on “catch up” entries, but it seems to be all I write! I’m actually processing this entry in word because I’m on a flight to Seattle with no wifi. Ahh, the luxuries we adjust to!

Needless to say, my time at home and in the DC were well spent and immensely enjoyed. The trip started out with my mildly amusing run through JFK and only got better. I left Syracuse that afternoon and Mom and I enjoyed our ride home in balmy 19 F weather. Needless to say, I was a popsicle. I snapped this with my blackberry on the ride home.



Balmy, no?
The days before Christmas were spent shopping, baking, cooking, layering my clothes, visiting, and being a PY barfly with some old friends. Owing to the time change from PST to EST, I was easily able to be a terrible night owl. I was alert until 2 am every night! This is both expected and humorously ironic considering that I literally have to prop my eyes open to stay up past 1030 pm! 4 am used to be a regular event for me, but evidently I’m becoming an old woman.

Christmas Eve…Mom and I spent the day prepping for Christmas day. In the evening, we went up to my cousin Miranda and Gavin’s house to visit for a while. My mom ended up teaching Miranda, and me, how to make a roux to make macaroni and cheese. I make MEAN mac and cheese, but I do so by layering! I don’t make mac and cheese too terribly often anymore, but I am now going to quest for great tasting roux based mac and cheese that is high protein, lower carb, and with a reasonable amount of fat. Watching my Mom cook was always one of my underground favorites, and I learned most of my basics from her, especially with regard to baking. Did you know the North family owned and ran a real bagel shop? I learned a great deal while making bagels with the family! After we left Miranda’s, we went to church with the Folts family at the Bluff Point Methodist Church, where my Mom and her siblings went as young children. I’m not methodist, maybe not even Christian, so, most of the service was lost on me, but it as nice to be with my mom and extended family at an event steeped in tradition and love. We ended up partying with the Folts clan for a while (we took short ribs…we North’s make MEAN shortribs, too! Which sadly, those of us that have been surgically altered (2/3) cannot enjoy!) and I returned home to wrapping and then sleeping…waiting for Santa! Here we are on Christmas eve, at Miranda’s!



Christmas day was very nice. My mom, dad, and I got up and ate our traditional breakfast….sausage gravy over English muffins. It is FREAKING AMAZING. We opened presents! Santa was good to me! He brought me a Wii and Wii fit, some gift cards to buy CLOTHES THAT FIT!, a heart rate monitor, some slippers, and a very cute and monogrammed purple suitcase. I seriously love my purple suitcase…it’s perfect! Do you think I could smuggle one of these dogs back to California in it? ☺ My mom's cat, Holly, loved me too! She would definitely fit in the suitcase!







I haven’t tried out the Wii, but I will let you all know it is! Christmas afternoon, the Spence family came over for abundant food and cheer. It is always nice to catch up with them, and due to geography, it doesn’t happen frequently enough! I snapped a photo of my beautiful dessert table, which was plentiful! Luckily, it was plentiful enough for me to share with the Robideau’s! ☺



Christmas was very nice. My paternal grandparents and uncle, who normally join us, were unable to join us, and their presence was definitely missed! We certainly had enough food to give them…but they were celebrating in Florida with my Dad’s sister. Christmas day menu did not include a sit down mean, only grazing. Mom and I made stuffed mushrooms, ribs, fruit breads, shrimp, ….I can’t even remember! I wasn’t feeling great on Christmas eve or Christmas day, so I did not do a whole lot of eating. And when I did eat, it was chocolate based! In any case, it was a day filled with fun, food, and alcohol (Fox Run 2007 Cab Franc-Lemberger, if you were wondering). At the end of the day, the dogs looked like this…and the humans weren’t too far behind!


In the days following the holiday, I went shopping with my cousin Miranda and met me Aunt Vick (her mom) and her brothers for breakfast. Aren’t we cute?



Miranda and I are good shoppers…and we got lots of bargains! I also did a little mini wine tour on Seneca Lake, which, as it happens, terminated in a great brew pub in Watkins Glen, (insert name), with Brett and Travis. I do like beer, and would like to make some of my own sometime. The night ended up in Lloyds, one of PYs watering holes, wth some additional friends and catching up. Here’s Trav keeping it classy….because Lloyds wouldn’t allow us to pay a cork charge and drink the 2007 Merlot from Fox Run. (Which was hands down one of the best wines I have had in a long time….this is especially funny if any of you know my usual feelings on merlot!)


On the 30th, I hopped on a plane to Washington, DC, to visit that area. I stayed in Frederick with my BFF Jen for most of the time, but satellite visits were abundant to visit other loved ones in the area. This entry is lengthy, so I’m going to quickly give you a few photo highlights:

Here is the Dom and Red Baron I cooked up:-) Happy New Year!



And here is my delayed flight board at Dulles. There were gale force winds that forced them to only run one runway. This resulted in my reasonable getting back to Livermore time of 1030pm being totally blown out of the water for the actual time of 0100. C’est la vie.



I’m hoping to get a few visits in this winter (San Diego, Seattle, maybe DC if someone sends me a flight deal), learning to ride my bike, run the Chinese New Year 5k, read more books for leisure, take classes at my gym (Zumba, Tai Chi, Yoga), do well at school, among assorted other things I cannot mention in a public forum! For those of you keeping tabs, I’m down 125 lbs. I’m charging forward!

Currently on a flight to Seattle to celebrate Anna Banana’s birthday, along with her havenese Pow and Oscar! So far the plan includes hot yoga, dinner at her favorite restaurant, and nothing else. I’m excited to try hot yoga…I might not make it.

Miss you guys! Happy New Year!

Cheers
Catrina


PS- I don’t know if any of you read about JR, but I saw she and her amazing family twice over my vacation and she is doing leaps better. She is a lucky girl. I am still thinking of her and praying for her, just she has a lot of people cheering for her, and she knows it. Her mom said she should be released next week, hopefully. Love you, JR!

California Girls

"California Girls" by The Beach Boys


Shalom all, greetings!

Actually, right now, I'm sitting in my Mom's office while she has a meeting. Yes, I am in Syracuse, NY!! Rockin'! She won't let me go visit JR with her car *ahem*, so, I'm doing a bit of homework. See?



I look pretty sloppy, like I haven't slept in 24+ and she's introducing me to all of her coworkers. I'm sure that's a great first impression! ;-)

So, yep, took off from Oakland last night around 11:15 pm PST. Was originally going to spend a few days in NYC with Alison, but I decided just to come home direct from NY. the flight from OAK was delayed....so I ended up literally sprinting to JFK to get to my connecting flight with all of my luggage. I was late and overweight (what else is new lol) with my bag, so I had to pay the guy off in wine at the ticketing counter. It worked like a charm, my bag was first off in Syracuse. As far as plans while I am in Penn Yan? I PLAN ON SEEING ALL OF YOU! And trying to stay warm (it was 3 F this AM. THREE. That's all.)

A good friend of mine, JR (she's standing next to me in Gilroy), was in a pretty serious car wreck last week. I planned on seeing her anyway, but I will definitely be seeing her more than once now! For any of you on facebook, you can check this out. I have been thinking of JR and her family a lot this week, and praying! I'm pretty sure the lord is probably sick of hearing me say "Please help JR get better...ya gotta!" I think things are going fairly well (knock on wood), but I will continue to pray and try to get up to Roch to see JR ASAP! She's my girl and one of my favorites. She's one of those rare people that has so much joie de vive that it just spills over on you and makes you happy as well. She, and her family, are fantastic to be around!

Other than visiting JR and Christmas, I have no specific plans. So, get at me! I wanna do some drinking and some socializing...and I want to stay out of this cold!!! Maybe I am turning into a California girl after all...at least with respect to the weather!

Cheers!

Editorial Rant: The Holidays

I'm considered, by some I know, to be a scrooge. I don't want to hear Christmas music before December 20th. I don't think decorating my apartment, where I won't spend the holiday, is needed. I don't have anything plastic and large and Santa or Rudolph looking. Christmas carols in November? Vomit. Walmarts holiday section? Looks like Santa's puke. I am just NOT into the shiny plastic parts of Christmas. If you are, I'm glad for you. If everyone in the world were like me, they would never play "Baby It's Cold Outside" on the radio or no one would decorate their houses.

But I am NOT a Scrooge. What I like to excel at is gift giving and trying to go out of my way to do nice things for people. I love picking out thoughtful and useful gifts for people. I like to make their lives richer and more pleasant or help them out by making things easier. As many of you know, I have many many people that I love and care about, and I try to tell them as frequently as possible, not just during the holidays. I try to be good to people and care about them and give love willing and often. That's what the season is all about, for me. It's an opportunity to cherish your loved ones and show them how much you care (and pay a TON for airline travel! woohoo!).

Part of "being good to people" is being good to ALL people. This is sometimes a challenge for me...I don't know many people who it is NOT a challenge for. But what bothers me most about the holidays...here it is...is how SURLY and MEAN people get. I was walking in Walmart yesterday and every other person I passed was scowling. A deep scowl. The CHRISTMAS scowl. It was the same way at the mall. And at Old Navy. Lots of Christmas scowling. I get it. There's extra stress. You have 10 million extra things to do. You have family around or coming that you may or may not care for. Sometimes the holidays SUCK.

But, is that any reason to take it out on those around you...specifically store clerks? For example, I went to the store the night before Thanksgiving Eve day to get fruit for the fruit salad. I was chilling in the canned foods isle, looking for canned pineapple. There was a man who worked for Safeway trying to help a woman. Their exchange went something like this:
Man: how can I help you?
Woman: I need some of that stuff. For dinner. You know? It comes in the turkey...you add water....don't you know what I'm talking about?
Man: What sort of stuff, ma'am? (She was a ma'am, trust me.)
Woman: You know, it has celery, and onions, and bread crumbs, and spices...
Man: Oh, stuffing. Well, if you want to make it, the onion and celery are over in produce, and right here--
Woman: *up in this dude's face* Did you not hear me? Are you stupid? I want the kind you add water too!
Man: *blank stare, possible tears*
Woman: Well, can't you help me? YOU'RE USELESS!!
Me: Ma'am, the bagged stuffing is right there on the end of the isle. (Literally, 5 feet away.)
Woman: God, these people are incompetent! I want to talk to your manager! *huff huff huff*

I honestly had no idea she meant bagged stuffing until the near end. The gentleman was NOT a native of the US, so his thanksgiving experiences were probably limited. But she tore into him like he had just stolen her last dollar! Dude! I wanted to like run in front of the guy and be like "Back up lady, or I will lay you out!" but, I resisted, she may have killed me.

This happens most frequently during the holidays and it REALLY bothers me. It totally misses the point of the holidays! Love, joy, comfort...none of the above when I see so much mean-ness going on out there!

To try to make up for the mean-ness, I'm going to try to be extra good to service folks. My cousin Miranda, when she was out here last October, taught me a very valuable lesson: be NICE, EXTRA NICE, to those that help you out with things you buy...you will be rewarded. And it is totally true! Not only are their monetary benefits, but I feel much better about myself when I make other people happy. Who doesn't?

So, that's what I'll try to do. Be good to people everywhere (regardless of how horrible they've been to me in the past!) and stay cool with service people, no matter how frustrating the situation.