Oh, I already cook for almost all of my meals, and I like chopping vegetables... I just haven’t paid as much attention to grocery sales, and what little meat I do consume is local/organic/pasture raised. The big change will be swapping $15/lb beef with $1/pound lentils.

I love this series. I’m getting ready to start a postdoc in Boston. I will make more than I currently do as a student, but the cost of living is so much higher compared to Baltimore, it feels like a pay cut. I’m going to have to be more mindfulness of food costs, and meat will be the first thing to go.

Delta is (re)introducing complementary meals in coach on longer domestic routes. American and United will probably follow ifDelta sticks with it.

I love little escargot plates, but don’t have the cash or space. Instead, I just use tiny ramekins - six snails in a 4 oz ramekin works well.

Have you ever been to Italy? You have to wear disposable gloves to handle produce in the grocery store.

I made a batch of Easter ham fried rice today, and completely forgot about the furikake in my cabinet. I just set the jar on the counter, so I will remember when I pack my lunch tomorrow morning.

The jar in my cabinet has sesame seeds, salt, sugar, and seaweed. No MSG added, but some naturally occurring in the seaweed. If you’re OK consuming nori, then you should be OK with furikake.

Furikake. That is all.

My dad died when I was seven. He was a pretty prominent in our small town, so his illness and death were well known. It sucked to have everyone know my business and watch my every move. My mom felt the same, to the point that we moved to a different town as soon as the school year ended (bonus that it put us closer to…

Obviously fake news. Everyone knows the Mar-a-lago grill only serves shoe leather.

Oh, they definitely fly out of BOS. They’re the only ones flying BWI-BOS nonstop, which is my second most frequent route...

To be fair, a lot of Southwest’s recession-era success boils down to lucky/well time purchase of oil futures. When all of the airlines were struggling with rising fuel costs, Southwest was cruising along with relatively cheap fuel because they locked in good prices.

For Southwest, it isn’t enough to just check in “early” - you have to check-in right at 24 hours before departure. Like log in a few minutes before the check in window opens and hover over the check in button until the minute ticks over. Or spend the $ for early bird so you get automatic seat assignments. It’s a pain,…

Death row is in Indiana (Terre Haute), but they will probably keep Roof at the supermax prison in Colorado until it’s time for his execution (if that ever happens). They reserve supermax space for inmates who are very high profile, high risk for escape, or high risk of causing injury to self/others.

More or less, yes. They can remove people if the flight is overbooked as long as they ask for volunteers first, and then follow their stated protocol for selecting the people they involuntarily remove. They also have a lot of latitude when it comes to removing passengers for “disruptive behavior” or “failure to comply…

Yes. They have to have an a priori protocol for bumping people. As long as they follow their stated protocol, they can deny passengers boarding/transportation due to an overbooked flight. They have to ask for volunteers first, and airlines much prefer volunteers because they don’t have to report it to the FAA. If they…

I visited Ireland last fall, and brought back more Crunchies and Malteasers than a healthy adult should consume. When I was in Denmark a few years ago, I stocked up on gummies of all types. I really want to visit Bonn so I can go to the Haribo store...

Absolutely. I’m almost finished with my dissertation (adviser just signed off on the last set of tables/figures, so it’s time to write!). My program has a strong emphasis on conceptual frameworks and logic models - you have to demonstrate how your hypothesis fits into the existing literature before can you start any…

I have big boobs. Like really big. All I want is a swimsuit that is reasonably supportive without any side boob or bulging where things should not bulge. If I’m feeling confident enough to show skin, then I’ll wear a two piece (preferably with a top that is essentially a swim-friendly bra). If I’m wearing a one piece,…

I am 34 years old, and this is still a perfect illustration of drunk me.