Monday, February 19, 2007

What I learned today in small town America.

Audiences in a full theatre here behave just like they do in theatres in NYC. I went to see Bridge to Terabithia and the theatre was packed with screaming kids. There were at least two people who answered their cell phones and then there were the two teenagers who were eventually escorted from the theatre for throwing popcorn, farting, and disturbing everyone in the back of the theatre. For two plus hours I really felt like I was back in the big city. Just for the record the movie is not for small children. It's really for kids 9 or 10 year olds. Unfortunately, the average age today was about 4 and they were BORED.

I also learned that unlike NYC people here don't assume what your buying should go in a bag. I went to the Kum and Go (Insert joke here) last night and the girl looked at me like I had three heads when I asked for a bag for my things. The same thing happened today at the grocery store. Is it too much to ask that when you buy something that it can be put into something you can carry.

After almost six weeks in Iowa I've yet to find a restaurant in town that has decent food. Tonight I tried Chinese. I've heard since I got here which Chinese place is best and was told in fact that the one next to the coffee shop was excellent. I guess excellent is relative. I had the worst broccoli chicken I've ever had. It's was completely lacking in flavor and I almost didn't know I was eating. It was more than a little disappointing.

That's it today for Life Lessons in Iowa.

12 comments:

digital t-square said...

I would have thought, with all of those smokers, that the cooks would have to increase the flavor. How does one f*ck up broccoli chicken?

Sorted Lives said...

When it comes to stupid straight people, life is the same whether it be in NYC, Portland OR, Miami, or Iowa. Take care my friend.

I suggest you take a day and go to Des Moines. Maybe you could find some good eats there!!

KipEsquire said...

I don't go to movies anymore, for precisely this reason.

Praise be unto Netflix (and iTunes and Xbox Live Marketplace and PPV and VOD...)

As for sortted's comment: one exception I've found is bars. New Yorkers understand, for the most part, how to behave in a bar. People in other cities tend not to.

Unknown said...

Thus another reason not to have kids.. and it looks like you will have just stick to chain restaurants for any food that taste decent... ughhh

Anonymous said...

The theater issue with screaming kids is spreading through the nation it seems. I'm even amazed at some of the young kids attending 'R' rated movies. Whatever happened to carding them for their age? I remember being carded till I was 27. lol.

Hope you find a good restaurant there. That does sound a bit frustrating.

Spider said...

Sounds like Iowa is the place to go if you want to lose weight! Tell us what you want to eat and we will FedEx in some meals to you!

Anonymous said...

I wish everything here didn't taste so good. :) I would love a reason to quit eating.

fullofhype said...

run, run for your lives!?

Donnie said...

I'm sorry the movie-going experience wasn't a good one. I'm all for having "children free" viewings of children's movies...especially for the childless adults who wish to see them.

Ur-spo said...

hohoho
G Keillor once said Midwesteners make OK New Yorkers but New Yorkers don't make good Midwesterners. You can see them at night grumbling 'If this was New York we could get decent pastrami sandwich at this time of night'.

Michael said...

One thing I've noticed when I'm out of NYC is that no one double bags anything. They assume you're going to walk from the store with your 2 litre bottle of coke in it's flimsy plastic bag from the register to your car, from your driveway to your front door and that's that. They don't calculate a 5 block walk home into the equation.

dirk.mancuso said...

Having read the book, I think the movie's trailer is a bit misleading but more importantly -- was it any good?

As for good Chinese, I share your pain. I love me some chicken and green beans and have found only one restaurant in a 250 mile radius that makes it the way I like it.