My first In-N-Out Burger experience

On Monday I had my first "In-N-Out Burger" experience. For more information take a look at the Wikipedia article on this California institution.

The premise is simple: they only serve like four things. A cheeseburger, a double burger, fries, and milkshakes. Huzzah! I opted for a cheeseburger, some fries, and a chocolate milkshake--not a frappe thank god. I can speak normal English again, now that I'm not living in New England.

Alright, so the best part of the visit to In-N-Out had to be the staff. Greeting me at the order counter were two cheerful clerks, who were busy squabbling about whether the secret, off-menu "veggie burger" option comes with a bun or not. The poor lady to my right had asked for a veggie burger with the bun on the side. Chaos quickly ensued.

Clerk A: The veggie burger doesn't come with a bun, you chump!
Clerk B: Shut up retard, it does come with a bun! If she doesn't want the bun you have to mark "no bun."
Clerk A: Screw you I'm just putting the order in.
Me (to Clerk B): Whoever loses has to eat the bun..

So the order comes out, and lo and behold, there's a bun on the tray.

Clerk B (to Clerk A): Ha ha! Eat it, eat the bun fool!
Confused Lady: But, but I do want the bun, just on the side.

Clerk B high fives Andrew in celebration.

The Dish

For this, my second run with the Palo Alto Running Club, I showed up for their weekly Monday night run. Each week they do the Dish run at Stanford. It totally kicked my butt. There are a ton of hills. If I get a chance I'll try to upload my GPS data so that you can see how ridiculous the hills are.

Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams

Well folks, as you know by now, I'm moving to California and starting anew. This is my blog about how I'm adapting to the new environment. I also plan to use this blog to record my training triumphs and tribulations as I train for the Chicago Marathon.

This song has given me a lot of inspiration in the past few months; perhaps it has meaning for you too:

"Going to California" by Led Zeppelin
Spent my days with a woman unkind,
Smoked my stuff and drank all my wine.
Made up my mind to make a new start,
Going to California with an aching in my heart.
Someone told me there's a girl out there
With love in her eyes and flowers in her hair.
Took my chances on a big jet plane,
Never let them tell you that they're all the same.
The sea was red and the sky was grey,
Wondered how tomorrow could ever follow today.
The mountains and the canyons started to tremble and shake
As the children of the sun began to awake.
Seems that the wrath of the gods
Got a punch on the nose and it started to flow;
I think I might be sinking.
Throw me a line if I reach it in time
I'll meet you up there where the path
Runs straight and high.
To find a queen without a king;
They say she plays guitar and cries and sings.
La la la la
Ride a white mare in the footsteps of dawn
Tryin to find a woman who's never, never, never been born.
Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams,
Telling myself its not as hard, hard, hard as it seems.