It's Rex Manning Day! It's Rex Manning Day!

[apocalypsos]

Otherwise known as Bulk Trash Day, otherwise known as Dumpster Diving Sans Dumpsters Day. My parents have a big pile of trash on their front lawn and people have been picking through it all day. By the time I took my desktop and one of my TVs up there most of it was gone, with the exception of a big pile of old wood-frame windows (apparently there were even more there before) and the keyboards from the three or four old computers my dad put out there.

I doubt my desktop's going to be out there very long. It's a main drag and it still looks good, so good riddance and good luck to anybody who wants it. The only thing that's wrong with it is the CD drive popping out occasionally, but that's something they can easily get fixed.

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Down With Picky Eating -- A Parent's Tale From Beijing

I don't know about his supposition that people will be more open to eating strange foods if they have no other choices. It just doesn't feel right. I mean, yeah, there's something to it, but it feels like it kicks having a general love of food right in the shins.

I can't afford a lot of strange new foods. I usually stick with what I know I can afford -- Pepsi (my addiction), Cheetos, chicken jambalaya, canned veggies, tomato soup, peanut butter sandwiches, Banquet chicken dinners, etc. But I love food and I'll try anything once. Who knows? Maybe I'll like it, maybe I won't. Can't hurt to try it once. And if I try it and like it, like sushi, that's one more thing I can have, and if I try it and don't, like with Vegemite, I get a funny anecdote out of the deal. It's win-win. :)

If his kids had grown up in America, that would be one thing, but he's raising them in China, where even he admits the variety is wider and yet different from American food. You can't pat yourself on the back because your kids will try anything when they don't even know what parmesan in a can is and don't make it sound as if it's something they WOULD try, if given the option.

And the story about him paying his kid a buck to try a slice of salmon is familiar -- my dad once offered to buy me a little stuffed dog if I tried a prune. I didn't like it, but the dog was cute.

Comments

[robyn-ma.livejournal.com]

Dude, when we had bulky pickup some guy was taking all our metal junk while I was still putting shit out. It's hilarious, and yet I don't wanna tell you some of the neat stuff we've found while bulky-pickup-diving.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Apparently my parents were watching TV last night at nine and they heard people outside digging through their pile. Hey, as long as your crap goes away, right?

I drove around town and gave everybody's pile a good once-over, but nothing really struck me as worth it. Everybody must have gotten the good stuff yesterday.