Overheard in Chicago

On Chicago's (perfect) grid system: "I was driving in Newark and got lost, so I pulled over at a Dunkin Donuts, hoping there would be a policeman around. Sure enough, there were four cops inside. They told me to go back out and take four rights...After I gave them a confused and quizzical look, they asked me, 'What's wrong?' I said, well, where I come from, taking four rights would put me exactly where I started! They said, 'No no, it doesn't work that way here. You must be from Chicago.'"

At the Culinary Historians meeting: "Our meeting today falls between the two high holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippor, so I thought it'd be appropriate to mention that Jonathan Goldsmith is not only a certified pizzaiolo miaker, he is also a circumcised pizzaiolo maker, so you know he's a cut above the rest!"

Sweet Carolina

The one thing North Carolina has in common with London is its fervent observation of God's day...MF and I were heartbroken when we got to Stamey's barbeque for lunch and found shuttered doors.

Erik and Ricky have been gone for less than two months, but as I regaled them with tales from Chicago, it felt like they'd missed out on light years of information. It's funny how we've gone from having a wholly shared experience for the last two years, to simply filling in and recapping the major highlights. It's even funnier how the Crew has carried on and revitalized in the aftermath of many departures.

Most of my social activities are spent with a nerdy, Fed-centric crowd, but hanging out with Erik's econ grad school buddies was a new level of nerd. At the James Joyce tavern, we debated the best version of Risk (Lord of the Rings?), the appropriate frequency of showering, and the greatness ordering of Mas-Colell, Green and Whinston (the authors of the seminal grad textbook in microeconomics).

The grad cohort appears to have self-segregated into study groups of Asians (both international and not), Mormons, and All Others. Apparently, there are strong ties between BYU and the econ department at Duke.

Finally, Cornell Plantations, move over. The South wins hands-down for the beauty of their gardens. I explored the Greensboro Arboretum, some parks, and the Duke Gardens while I was here, and the latter in particular was jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Look at those giant lily pads! I wanted to curl up on a lily pad and take a nap.