![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
The Honeycomb Said "Roanoke"
Mar. 24th, 2008 02:13 pm
I met ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
toob for lunch at Togo's today; you know, it was really great. I had the turkey and cranberry sandwich I had long been craving, it was great, and we talked about the story that he was working on. He also nearly broke the umbrella outside, but I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone. (That last sentence was a blatant lie.)
He had discovered a beehive that had been made inside a tree that must have been hollowed out. It was really neat to see. With all the news recently about Colony Collapse Disorder, it's becoming more and more amazing to see a beehive. I never thought a swarm of bees would be something that made you feel hopeful instead of...filled with respectful dread, but there you go.
A few other bystanders started to gawk with us, and we got to talking. Apparently, bees are making hives inside buildings more and more; one fellow told us about a monstrous hive that made honey drip from roof to ceiling of the University's science building. When they fumigated, this man said, there was a pile of bees six feet long and almost knee-deep.
That last detail was pretty chilling. Didn't they know that bees were inexplicably disappearing? I wanted to say. Wow, is what I said instead.
When I worked at Bookbuyers, a hive set up shop somewhere in the ventilation system. There was an opening to the hive just above the back door and the front door, and through the vent shafts of both bathrooms upstairs. As you might guess, this was cause for all sorts of bee-related toilet-based hilarity. After both rooms were shut down for the umpteenth time by a surprise swarm, it was decided something needed to be done about it.
Extracting hives from buildings, it turns out, is an incredible endeavor. It's also insanely expensive -- it costs about ten times as much as having a guy come out and kill everything with poison gas. Bookbuyers, despite being enormous hippies, were driven to kill off the bees in the end. It was just too expensive to do anything else.
I wonder how many other times this story has been repeated throughout California, possibly the country. If bees are being killed off en masse every time they set up shop inside a building, then maybe it's not such a big mystery where they're all going.
toob for lunch at Togo's today; you know, it was really great. I had the turkey and cranberry sandwich I had long been craving, it was great, and we talked about the story that he was working on. He also nearly broke the umbrella outside, but I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone. (That last sentence was a blatant lie.)He had discovered a beehive that had been made inside a tree that must have been hollowed out. It was really neat to see. With all the news recently about Colony Collapse Disorder, it's becoming more and more amazing to see a beehive. I never thought a swarm of bees would be something that made you feel hopeful instead of...filled with respectful dread, but there you go.
A few other bystanders started to gawk with us, and we got to talking. Apparently, bees are making hives inside buildings more and more; one fellow told us about a monstrous hive that made honey drip from roof to ceiling of the University's science building. When they fumigated, this man said, there was a pile of bees six feet long and almost knee-deep.
That last detail was pretty chilling. Didn't they know that bees were inexplicably disappearing? I wanted to say. Wow, is what I said instead.
When I worked at Bookbuyers, a hive set up shop somewhere in the ventilation system. There was an opening to the hive just above the back door and the front door, and through the vent shafts of both bathrooms upstairs. As you might guess, this was cause for all sorts of bee-related toilet-based hilarity. After both rooms were shut down for the umpteenth time by a surprise swarm, it was decided something needed to be done about it.
Extracting hives from buildings, it turns out, is an incredible endeavor. It's also insanely expensive -- it costs about ten times as much as having a guy come out and kill everything with poison gas. Bookbuyers, despite being enormous hippies, were driven to kill off the bees in the end. It was just too expensive to do anything else.
I wonder how many other times this story has been repeated throughout California, possibly the country. If bees are being killed off en masse every time they set up shop inside a building, then maybe it's not such a big mystery where they're all going.
You Must Consume!
Mar. 13th, 2008 11:29 amDeciding that I had better stop eating a significant portion of my paycheck in our (newly renovated!) cafe, I brought in a TV dinner with me to work today. It wasn't much, but it looked reasonably tasty -- a Lean Cuisine Santa Fe-Style rice and beans entree thing. I even brought a couple of sides with me. Completing lunch is a cup of creamy coffee yogurt (gelatin-free!), a small pouch of Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies, and a Nutri Grain bar (this'll actually be my afternoon snack).
I'm pretty pleased with myself about this, especially when lunch comes around. I don't have to kill time waiting for the cafe to open; I can just nuke my food and spend the rest of the hour writing notes for my D+D game. I popped in the entree with a sense of satisfaction, thinking about how productive I would be.
Six minutes come and go. Time to enjoy the fruits of my planning! I pull back the plastic cover, kind of impressed that the food is bubbling as vigorously as it is. The new microwave we put in is a lot better than I thought.
That's when I notice something is wrong. I push my fork around in the sour cream sauce without much resistance. I push again; there's no layer between the sauce and the bottom of the tray. There's *no* beans and rice there.
All of my planning has been undone by the mistake of some overworked factory worker. I hope they lose sleep at night, worrying about the pain and suffering they've caused some nameless office worker miles away. Likely not, but it'll make the slice of pizza I've waited twenty minutes for taste slightly better.
I'm pretty pleased with myself about this, especially when lunch comes around. I don't have to kill time waiting for the cafe to open; I can just nuke my food and spend the rest of the hour writing notes for my D+D game. I popped in the entree with a sense of satisfaction, thinking about how productive I would be.
Six minutes come and go. Time to enjoy the fruits of my planning! I pull back the plastic cover, kind of impressed that the food is bubbling as vigorously as it is. The new microwave we put in is a lot better than I thought.
That's when I notice something is wrong. I push my fork around in the sour cream sauce without much resistance. I push again; there's no layer between the sauce and the bottom of the tray. There's *no* beans and rice there.
All of my planning has been undone by the mistake of some overworked factory worker. I hope they lose sleep at night, worrying about the pain and suffering they've caused some nameless office worker miles away. Likely not, but it'll make the slice of pizza I've waited twenty minutes for taste slightly better.
Notes From The Underadobe
Aug. 7th, 2007 12:22 pmWork today has been kinda sucky. Call after call after call, combined with this and that thing to do, and oh look, people are showing up at the desk ready to meet employees for lunch! I'm beginning to think I might need another set of arms to keep up, and my lunchtime can't come fast enough.
At last, I am relieved, and I make a beeline for the the cafeteria and the bistro wrap station there. Their featured dish today? Organic chicken and apple salad with dried cranberries, red onions, pecans and citrus vinaigrette. It's Thanksgiving! I get loaded up, get a cup of yogurt and tuck in. All is right with the world, and I'm pretty sure I can face the unforgiving corporate world once more. Never underestimate the power of lunch. :9
Thanks for the birthday wishes and thoughts, everyone, it really made my day. :D It was especially needed when Ryan reminded me that my *actual* age is 27 now, not 28. Apparently I was so enamored with being a 'completely new' person I couldn't wait to leave those last few stubborn cells behind. Is it wrong of me to project myself as older than I am?
Finally, please keepdaroneasa in your thoughts. Light some incense, say some prayers, whatever you can do. :) She's going through a rough patch right now and could really use some good juju. Thanks. :)
At last, I am relieved, and I make a beeline for the the cafeteria and the bistro wrap station there. Their featured dish today? Organic chicken and apple salad with dried cranberries, red onions, pecans and citrus vinaigrette. It's Thanksgiving! I get loaded up, get a cup of yogurt and tuck in. All is right with the world, and I'm pretty sure I can face the unforgiving corporate world once more. Never underestimate the power of lunch. :9
Thanks for the birthday wishes and thoughts, everyone, it really made my day. :D It was especially needed when Ryan reminded me that my *actual* age is 27 now, not 28. Apparently I was so enamored with being a 'completely new' person I couldn't wait to leave those last few stubborn cells behind. Is it wrong of me to project myself as older than I am?
Finally, please keep
daroneasa in your thoughts. Light some incense, say some prayers, whatever you can do. :) She's going through a rough patch right now and could really use some good juju. Thanks. :)
