MGD

You know how that thing from Kentucky was supposed to be only referred to by its initials because expanding the initials made it sound unhealthy? Being of the vegetarian variety myself, it hardly mattered to me. I mean you could take a chicken and fry it beef lard and smear it with pig-fat and serve it and I would not bat an eyelid, cause you know what, I DONT EAT THAT STUFF!

So I was on this cruise right, in Pittsburgh. Apparently there are rivers and there is a cruise you go on and the boats real nice (and yes, they have bathrooms, and not bad, not bad, better than those in the Chennai airport). You see the baseball and the football stadia and a bunch of other things and this REALLY ugly building that is the Medical Center here. And yeah, a bar and a buffet dinner.

Big hoop silver earrings the girl was wearing and a black vest. I said
"What kind of beers do you have"
"Miller Lite; Coors Lite; MGD"
(What the hell? Who drinks that stuff? I mean, there are a lot of American things I like, even pasty-faced white boys with floppy blonde hair at times, but EVERYONE knows that these are crap beers. There ARE American beers I like, for various reasons. Cannot live in New England for so long and not drink Sam Adams, for one)
(And LIGHT, it is, like NIGHT, FIGHT).

Anyhow, MGD is obviously and evidently Miller Genuine Draft. As opposed to the other Millers which are fake, of course. So I say
"Fine, give me that Genuine Draft crap, whatever it might be"
(and Please, get rid of the vest and stock some real beers for a change)
"Oh, you mean the MGD"
(WTF? I am not even supposed to EXPAND initials anymore. Thats uncool now? I tell you WHATS uncool. Drinking this thing. And for nought I care. I am real tired and I can use some alcoholic stimulants to get me over my jet-lag and stuff, so here, talk to the hand, woman with the hoop earrings).

So, yeah. But thankfully, I had other opportunities to sample the things I come all the way to the land of tissue and toilet paper for: Guinness; Starbucks; and Speciality Runners Stores.

I am headed back to base today. Mind-blowingly long travel. 36+ hours. I usually drink Gin w Tonic Water on flights. And SLEEP AND SLEEP.

Public Transport

Really, that was the highlight of our US trip this time. We were in New York City and Cambridge (Mass). Both are notorious for their traffic, and in our experience, finding parking is as bad as it is here, in Pondy Bazaar in Chennai (a rather unfortunate name for a shopping district of that level of variety). We don't have valid licenses, so driving was out at any rate. Which turned out to be a very good thing. We took the trains EVERYWHERE. We took really very very few cab rides. To and from Kennedy to Queens, where we stayed, you know, 'cause of the luggage, we took cabs. In Boston, we took the train even with all our luggage. It was just awesome. We visited friends, went out to dinner, went to museums, went shopping, I went to work, all by train. We went to Penn station to catch the Boston Amtrak by train, and then from Boston South Station to Harvard Square by T. On the way back we were contemplating a cab from Penn Station to Queens since our luggage had expanded a lot. But our friend showed up there on cue and we lugged the bags all on to the train again! Incredible. I wish we could boast of such systems (and such discipline on our part) here in our country.

We did the same in Athens when we were there two years ago, and really, those trains are even better than the American ones (because they are newer). I have said this before, but I just cannot wait to try the Delhi metro, only it never seems to go where I need it to! And for all the junk we have to put up with in Sakinaka (and other places), I do hope the Bombay metro will be nice.

And yes, the monster LOVED the trains - the Subway in NYC, the T in Boston, and the Amtrak we took between those two cities, not to mention the elevated tram somewhere in one corner of NYC. So yeah, it was wonderful.

(Meanwhile, without my knowledge or consent I have been signed up for a game where I am Pooh. So off I go. Thankfully, I am allowed to bring a banana onto the boat we are going on so my purpose of making Piglet eat some fruit is served.)