Jamba...Can You Hear Me????!!!!

Oh Jamba Juice, Oh Jamba Juice - wherefore art thou Jamba Juice?





I was first introduced to Jamba Juice on Purdue's last visit to the Rose Bowl - where I saw Jamba Juices on just about every street corner in SoCal. I love juice and 'jamba' sounded positive so my friend, Susan, was kind enough to swing by a store and let me try one of the smoothies. Positively delectable. They were SO good. I never forgot about Jamba Juice. When I was working in NYC or visiting the city on a weekend, I would try to swing around to midtown just so I could pick up a Jamba Juice. I was EXCITED that they were making their way to New York. Even on my honeymoon to Hawaii, we managed to find some Jamba Juice stores and get a cool, refreshing, fruit smoothie to enjoy.
When we moved to Virginia, I kind of forgot about Jamba Juice but not for long...because I found that a Whole Foods in Arlington had a Jamba Juice inside....never mind that there was a Jamba-less Whole Foods less than a mile from where we were living - I would make the extra trek into Arlington just to get my fill.

But now...they're gone...the Jamba stand in Whole Foods is no more. The Jamba Juice that existed on GW's campus is no longer. (I never went to that one but it was nice to know it was there.) The replacement that has been popping up in it's place all over town? Robeks. Robeks is what I like to think is a cheap imitation of my beloved Jamba Juice. And there are Robeks closer to my home now than the Jamba Juice in Arlington. But do I make it a point to go for a smoothie at Robeks? No. It's just not the same. Sure they have some of the same fruit blends and the same type of 'boosts' that Jamba provided but there's something missing. I don't understand why they closed - the Jamba Juice line at the Whole Foods was ALWAYS packed....never a clear line when going for a smoothie.

I want my Jamba - I want my Strawberry Tsunami (with lime sorbet) with a Femme Boost because not only was it tasty, in some quirky way, ordering it with the Femme Boost made me think I could become a Femme Bot. Jamba equals FUN. Robeks equals NOT fun.

I miss you Jamba...I'll be thinking about you while I slurp on this 'not-so-tasty' Robeks.

Super Worms: Where Do They Come From, Where Do They Go?

Unless you've been living outside of the US, everywhere you turn, there has been some kind of unsavory weather hitting your area - for the Mid-Atlantic, it has been rain. It wasn't like it was raining for 10 days straight -but it sure felt like it. Just buckets and buckets of rain.

And with rain comes a nice little surprise on the sidewalks and driveways - worms. After a rainy day, I tend to see slimy worms laying on my driveway or scattered about the sidewalk from the parking garage to the office. I had asked the question, long ago, why there are so many worms after a rain storm. The answer I got was just that the worms come from the nearby grass - the rain kind of flushes them out.

Okay - so that's kind of understandable. I guess if it's been raining buckets, eventually the holes in the soil will flood and the worms get displaced from their 'homes.' So how is it that they end up smack in the middle of a sidewalk, a good two feet away from the grass, and not tangled up in other parts of the lawn? How is it that they can cover just about everywhere on the sidewalk no matter how far the grass is? Do they swim there when there's lots of rain? Do they surf a grass blade over and just run out of steam and lie there awaiting their fate in the middle of the driveway? Sometimes I wonder if they don't jump there. After all, a rain storm in human world is like a virtual tsunami in worm-land!

When the weather becomes sunny again and the sidewalks and driveways are drying up, some worms dry up in their place - and because they're in such high traffic areas, some inevitably get stepped on. But there are those that make it back - make it back into the grasslands....how is that and when do they do it? Whenever I pass them (I try not to step on them), they're just laying there. Maybe they wait until the sun is down and travel at night. Maybe cause they do it at night, they're able to jump back into the grass. Maybe they're Super worms!

Okay - I know my questions are getting out of hand....but honestly, this isn't something that I find worthy of a wikipedia look-up. I'll just sit and wonder and wait for a Pixar animated film about it...the secret lives of worms.

Starbucks Survivor

A few days ago, you heard me lament about the sad absence of "Face Time" with my new "remote office." But of course, there are positives to working remotely too (aside from being able to work in my pajamas). One of these positives is the ability to be able to take my office basically anywhere (hence the use of the term "remote").

Today, I am in NYC, visiting my friend Michelle and planning to go to a book signing of one of my favorite authors. I felt a little silly booking the trip, but why not? I should take advantage of one of the perks of my job. Does anyone really care whether I am at the San Antonio Hawthorne Suites or East Village? I see no difference. And, in fact, I am getting a better internet connection here at Starbucks than I did at the hotel.

So I have been here for three hours and counting. Don't worry - I'm not a freeloader. I bought my coffee and breakfast here and enjoyed it for quite awhile now (I recommend those little petite vanilla scones - delicious!). What is interesting, setting up office at Starbucks, is the number of people who come in and out. While a frequent Starbucks patron, I can't really say I've been here for the long haul. But surprisingly, even the people with laptops - they don't last forever. Forty-five minutes maybe. An hour tops.

Except for the one guy in the other corner, who was here when I arrived. He's committed to his laptop and his earphones. I haven't seen him move once, not even to take a bathroom break. I've outlasted everyone else, but can I outlast him? Stay tuned.

For more Starbucks Survivor.

A Note To My Mother-In-Law

As you may know, my mother-in-law (aka - MIL) is in DC visiting. I was not particularly looking forward to her visit (read: http://morningcupcake.blogspot.com/2008/05/invasion-of-mil.html) and as her arrival drew closer, I DID make an effort to think positively. Unfortunately, all that positively went out the window within the first five hours of her arrival.

It has been five days now and she's leaving tomorrow morning...and I've held my tongue a lot in the last five days because there have been times where I've just wanted to throttle her. So instead of disgracing myself and actually inflicting harm on her, I decided that I will release my frustrations by blogging a note to her - letting her know what issues I have with her and possibly explaining why I have not been a very-gracious hostess.

Dear MIL,
I'm sincerely glad that you were able to finally make a trip out to visit your son and daughter-in-law (that's me). I understand that you're not the best traveler and it's not very convenient for you to pick up and leave your home like some other independent people but it's nice that after eight years of living away from Indiana, you decided that now would be the time to come out and visit.

I understand that a majority of your trip has been marred by torrential rains and colder temps...and spring time in Washington is very beautiful - so I'm sorry that you didn't get to enjoy more of that. Usually when first-time visitors don't get to do as much as they'd like to do outside, they look at the rainy days as opportunities to go to the museums and check out the exhibits. Not so for you, I guess, since I've been trying to push museums on you since your arrival and it's been like talking to a brick wall. At least you got to see half the monuments because as we kept telling you months leading up to your visit, to see all the monuments involves A LOT of walking and because you're out of shape and didn't bother getting 'in shape' prior to your visit, you left out some of the best monuments, like TJ (Thomas Jefferson) and FDR. I suppose they'll forgive you.

Being a first-time visitor to the area and to our home can be awkward but we've known each other for ten years now. Yes, you are a guest in our home, but you are also family....that puts you in another category - the category of: family guest which entitles you to help yourself to doing stuff around the house like you helped yourself to three out of five snack cakes from a box I had JUST opened. Or the way you helped yourself to one of my sauce dishes to soak your finger in peroxide - in a dish that we use and eat out of....and you didn't even bother to rinse it out when you were done....subconsciously, I would think you might be trying to kill us! And no, it doesn't count that you asked if you could help with anything AFTER I got home from a LONG day at work and I've already started cooking dinner. What could you possibly do cause I don't think you asked your son if he needed help while he was cutting up the potatoes and chicken prior to my arrival. And I find it pretty insincere that you ask if I need help while sitting on your tush, staring at the TV - and not even coming into the kitchen and asking face-to-face. To me, your asking was just a courtesy question.

When my parents visit, they are family guests too but when they're here, they don't mind cooking dinner - and I don't mind cooking dinner for them because at least they pitch in and help clean my garden, sharpen my knives or go out grocery shopping with me. Of course they like doing that stuff anyways - but they HELP out when they're here. I don't particularly enjoy coming home and seeing you on the couch knowing that you did absolutely nothing all day.

I've come to the realization that we're just two different people. You act very much like a child and seeing that you're almost 60 years old, I refuse to treat you like a child. I understand that you're not exactly the best conversationalist and have come to expect that you don't particularly like talking about anything unless it directly involves you. We've already heard about your finger injury from your manicure since Day 1 - it's now Day 5 - deal with it; we have.

I try to involve you in stuff like going to the grocery store and going to the mall - I know you were with me at the grocery store cause you kept oohing and aahing about how big it was - and so I know you saw the pineapple, bananas and honeydew I purchased...so when you asked me if I had any fruit besides bananas and I looked at you like you had 10 heads...then proceeded to point to the pineapple and honeydew that have been sitting on the counter for 24+ hours under the same roof you've been under for the same 24+ hours? Do you see my point here? I find it extremely frustrating that you can be so clueless. But to make matters worse, after I pointed out the fruit, because they weren't cut up, you asked if you could have an apple sauce. Sure - sorry my fruits aren't canned like you're used to.

As I write this, I find that I can't even get into your toiletry issues - looking in the guest room reminds me of being at your home or CVS - so we'll not go there.

So MIL - I hope you can understand that my lack of warmth and friendliness stems from the frustrations that I feel when you're with me. As I mentioned before, we are two, completely different people and I cannot enable your lifestyle - it brings me down. I cannot understand how a person can live the way you do and therefore, I don't want to be a part of it. I think seeing you once a year is enough interaction for me - and I don't even mind it so much, now, that when we do see eachother, you expect us to buy your meal. Because after having you live with us for just six days, my two grocery bills have skyrocketed to $100+ each and I have yet to see an invite for breakfast/lunch/dinner extended to me.

I think we'll manage to get some bonding time in, though, before you leave....like when I help you pack your bags for your departure - it will be grand!

Sincerely,
Your DIL

Face Time

I'm a social person by nature. Whenever I get my annual review at work, one of the positives is usually "good with the clients." On the negative side, I get something along the lines of not "digging deep enough." Both are pretty accurate, I'd say. Mingling with clients can be tough at times, especially during detailed discussions of the industry, but I am all about expressing interests in their hobbies, their children, their guinea pigs (seriously). And I joke around with them (although I am pretty careful about taking any joking too far).

I also work very hard about establishing good friendly relationships at the office, whether it is with my superiors or the support staff. I take a certain pride in having won over the veteran secretaries in my office. Believe me, it wasn't easy. But I know that it is important to have a good rapport with everyone, and the support staff plays an essential role in business. Without them, I'd be in trouble.

Given my social nature, working remotely, from the comfort of the Hawthorne Suites (currently) is a very strange experience. Sure, it's nice to be able to just roll out of bed to go to the "office." It's great to know that I can move my office to the pool deck or to the Riverwalk Starbucks.

But it's sad too. Technology is amazing, but it's no substitute for the real thing: face to face contact. Getting up to go to work was a pain, but there was often a certain excitement wondering what the day would bring. And when I bought a new outfit, there was nothing better than taking it out to show it off.

Dressing up to go to the grocery store somehow isn't the same.