Monday Meaninglessness

**  H A P P E N I N G  **

    A Prius left me in its dust on the freeway yesterday and in some ways I'm still trying to make sense of what just happened.

    Everyone hates getting stuck behind a Prius; to this rule, there is little exception. Except, that is, maybe another Prius. I used to judge Prius' (plural = Prii? I've often wondered) until I borrowed a friend's for a couple of days and instantly went from being a Prius-hater to a Prius-driver who fulfilled every stereotype about Prius-drivers. Take it from someone who gets bored if she's going under 65 MPH -- the things really just don't move. It's not in their Prius DNA. And compared to my Honda Civic coupe, they feel top-heavy, too. Thus the "I know I'm only going 28 MPH, but my max speed is something like 40 and if I take this bend any faster than 14, I just might roll"  effect.
As a friend puts it, "it's called the struggle, and it is real."

**  O T H E R  R E A L I Z A T I O N S ** 

    Tube roses are beautiful. Particularly before they've bloomed.

Though that kind of seems like the equivalent to saying "You're pretty... well, especially before you hit puberty."
 

**  N E W  B E L O V E D  M U S I C  **

Mindy Smith
Rivers & Robots
Sarah Jarosz

**  O B S E R V A T I O N  **

    A lot more people use Starbucks strictly as a bookless library that allows drinks other than water, without experiencing any real obligation to actually purchase something than I ever realized.

    Visualize:
    A bench against the wall with three tables. Me with my laptop, books, and Venti iced coffee. A girl next to me with her skateboard, backpack, and phone call. A man next to her with his laptop... and nada else. Across from us? Two UCLA students with energy drinks I know aren't sold in the refrigerated section next to the Pellegrino. Across the room, somewhere between the chatter, dramatic lighting, and concentration, is a person with a kindle and a Grande drip... And perhaps in a city busier than Camarillo there exists a Starbucks where such blatant loitering isn't tolerated. And judging by the real-life scenario I just presented you with, that branch is keeping the whole company afloat.

    But this arguably epitomizes the fact that Starbucks' days as a novelty are over. Dead. Way back there. Everyone goes to Starbucks, and now evidently, everyone abuses Starbucks. The only other establishment this abused is Walmart. Like the person who removed a pregnancy test from the box, assumably peed on in it right there in the aisle, and replaced to the shelf, where someone on social media documented the item that was never paid for. (For those of you who are curious, it was positive.) Who does that? I don't know; who walks into a business establishment that strives to maintain a certain atmosphere, only to be used be people who bask in its AC, use its outlets, and violate its silence without ever contributing a dime?

    Sbux = Wally World.

    (I don't really judge anyone who "abuses" Starbucks. Because actually, I don't really care. I'm just not crazy about Starbucks. And the title of this post is "Monday Meaninglessness.")

**  A C C O M P L I S H M E N T  **

    Bre and I made our first gluten-free pizza crust today! It was... "chalky," as Bre put it, politely. Little did she know I've eaten the consequences of far less tolerable pizza crust jobs in the past than I care to admit, except that to add insult to injury they were glutenful, too. The funny part? I'd been looking forward to sinking my teeth into some daiya (soy-free "cheese") since Wednesday, but when the rubber met the road, neither of us were willing to shell out the $5 for the 6 ounce bag. And then we entirely forgot the yeast. Fortunately, people with limited diets are easy to please (and can still drink wine and carry on long conversations). Thus, "accomplishment" status nevertheless.

**  N E W  W O R D  **

 "Glutenful"

**  M O R A L  O F  T H I S  S T O R Y  **

Let me know the plural word for Prius;
be a paying customer, acknowledging that there is no other kind;
hope that I make Monday Meaninglessness' a regular thing.