Zimagal Monthly Magazine - Volume One, Issue Nine

Random Rant:
Travel would sure be easier with the invention of the transporter. I don't think I would mind having my atoms scrambled if it saved me from spending 7 hours on an airplane.

You like me, you really like me! Well, you keep coming back here to see what I have to say...you must at least be curious about my opinions. I don't really care whether or not you like me, or even if you agree with me. As long as you read me.

Homesick Lament
How can one be homesick for an area in which one never lived? I dunno, but I feel it. While researching articles and images for this issue, I found many Web sites with information about some of my favorite cities: Seattle, London, and Chicago. I have been to each place more than once; after the first trip, the subsequent ones felt like going home.

As I am typing this, I am listening to WGN in Chicago, via RealAudio, waiting for the Cubs game to start. At the moment there is a program about local restaurants, Food Time. The host mentioned Ed Debevic's, the Hard Rock Cafe, and Brother Jimmy's, all of which I have visited. He also mentioned a few new places near Wrigley and in the downtown area. As I made a mental note to visit these places in the future, I realized that I was not in Chicago.

I found the BBC and various other radio sites from the U.K. while looking for information on the London Underground. Listening to the accents while reading about one of my favorite cities made me sad. I haven't visited in nine years and know I cannot afford to go anytime soon.

Since I was sinking quickly into a funk, I tried to avoid the Seattle-related sites. But then I stumbled upon them while researching the wine article for issue ten. And as I fondly remembered my favorite Washington State wine (which I have not been able to purchase in MD), I thought about my visits to that fabulous, young, vibrant (and wet) city.

Sigh. I need a vacation!

Random Rant:
I can't decide whether the concept of Airport as Shopping Mall is a good idea or a bad one. In the past, one could barely be assured of a cup of weak coffee and a local newspaper while passing through a terminal on the way to catch a plane. But now a person can have a vente skim caramel latte from Starbuck's and a copy of the Chicago Tribune to peruse before take-off from BWI.

Food Fight
It is customary, for me at least, to link travel memories with food memories. I don't have the inclination to write an entire article about it for this issue, so I will just mention it in brief here. Especially since I have a complaint. Why is it that I find tasty things in far away places that I cannot find here? I am not talking about prepared food - I can almost reproduce that lovely Bolognaise sauce I first tasted in Paris (yes, Paris - I think I have consumed the food of every other nationality except French in France), and it's not all that difficult to find good fish and chips in MD (Red Brick Station in White Marsh). Rather, I would like to know why it is so difficult to find Snoqualmie Muscat Canelli and Sally Jackson goat cheese here? Both are Washington State products. The wine is not distributed on this coast as far as I know, and the cheese is unheard of in these parts. Oh, I could probably contact the vinyard and Ms. Jackson and purchase their treats directly from them. But I don't think I need or can afford cases of wine or multiple pounds of cheese.

I am sure everyone has tasted something somewhere else and would like to experience that product again. Perhaps someday, everything will be available for purchase on the Internet. But right now, we just have to settle for our fond and flavorful reminiscences.

I couldn't stand merely thinking about it any more...so in the middle of writing this issue, I took a little trip to Seattle. To my chagrin, I was not able to find the exact brand of Muscat which I wanted - apparently there have been several bad seasons for that particular grape, and previous vintages have already been sold out. Sigh. But I did find a substitute Muscat and also a nice Johannisburg Reisling from Snoqualmie. I faced the same problem when it came to the goat cheese. Seems that nobody I asked had ever heard of it, even in the same shops in which I had purchased the stuff just two years ago. Quel disappointment!! Or as a friend might say, "Quel Fromage!"

Culture Schlock
On my vacation escape out West, I had some revelations about life. One small but important thing stands out in my mind: my Seattle friends seem to be so much more culturally involved than my little crowd here in Baltimore. It's not that they are classier or more sophisticated than we are, it's just that they accept culture as part of their everyday lives, rather than as something simply reserved for "special occasions."

I have friends who are educators, artists, architects, experts in many fields. Why is it that a good time with friends involves nothing more than mindless activities such as gossip and dancing? Why do we not get together for the viewing of the latest foreign flick, with coffee and conversation afterward? How about a trip to the symphony or a visit to one of the many fascinating museums in the area? Perhaps a stroll through a historic neighborhood to admire the architecture?

I am thinking of starting a reading group...perhaps 5 or 6 women at first, getting together to discuss good books - and Danielle Steel does not pass muster. Does anyone else think this is a good idea? Surely it would be far more enriching and educational than sitting around online, gossiping about everyone else, making idle chit-chat, and wasting time sending pages full of scrolling "hugs" to other people whom one might not give a damn about.

I am sure there are those of you reading who are blanching at the idea of doing something that does not involve beer. Too bad for you. But since you will never know what you are missing, I guess it matters not. I, on the other hand, do know what you are missing, indeed, what I am missing. And I invite all of you to go out and experience something different once in a while. Live a little - go to the Smithsonian on a weekend, by yourself if you cannot drum up a companion, and visit some great works of art. Think about them - why are they considered to be great? Can you see the genius behind them? Or grab a friend and see some live music, something classical, or perhaps some mellow jazz - feel the music. Then discuss what you feel...why you feel...and if you do not feel, listen again and again. Visit a bookstore and skip over your usual trash fiction or computer nerd manual section. Head over to non-fiction and pick up a book on travel through Provence, or Egypt, or even Chicago. Look at the world through someone else's eyes.

Try doing something that will enrich your life, rather than something you simply need to do to exist. Try Thai instead of McDonald's; go see Smoke Signals instead of Armageddon. A simple change in your routine might bring you to some revelations about your life.

Stay Tuned For the Next Exciting Bitchfest!

Random Rant
Why do Starbuck's employees seem so stupid? I thought it was an East Coast phenomenon, but I found it to be true in Seattle as well. I clearly order a vente skim caramel latte, pay for it, then get served a grande cappuccino, extra foam. Shouldn't these kids be required to take a test on their ability to differentiate between all the many many (many) types of gourmet coffee drinks?

Random Rant
Why is it that when I have a really really attractive seating companion on an airplane, he doesn't speak English??

Random Rant
It seems that many people in Seattle are in the habit of talking to themselves. Is the town full of wackos, or is it that the extreme cultural diversity makes it difficult to find someone who speaks the same language as oneself?

Randon Rant
Why does spending money on vacation seem ok when doing the same at home might seem frivolous? Why does that tacky tchotchke in the souvenir shop seem like a must-have when at home you would sooner shop at K-Mart than Nordies just to save a buck??