California @ Davis, SF.

Again (and again), from the SFGate:

To follow up on my Orangina!! post, I thought I’d share an interesting counterpoint in terms of personal taste. By counterpoint, I mean “something that is weird to everyone else on earth”.

Presenting: ramen!

Photo by heyjoewhereyougoinwiththatguninyourhand

Like many poverty-stricken college students, I ate a bunch of this back in the day. However, I developed a taste for it that has transcended the trauma of reliving cash flow problems. Even more weirdly, I don’t even eat it soup-style. For me, it’s just the noodly goodness without seasoning.

Therefore, here are my options for dinner:

1. Cook something
2. Get takeout from the reallyreally good Thai place around the corner (open till 3 AM!)
3. Get takeout from one of the 10 gazillion Indian places within a block of my place (1 of which is open 24 hours!)
4. Get takeout from one of the 47 thousand gazillion other restaurants within walking distance of my place
5. Eat ramen noodles with no seasoning

Guess what’s winning out lately? Mmm, Orangina and ramen. A winning combination.

Orangina!

Photo by hexodus

It’s way classier than Diet Coke.

Photo by adwriter

Signs that you are in Northern California:

• Cars halt for pedestrians, even without crosswalks or stop signs.
• The restaurant at your inn serves only vegetarian food.
• Peace flags are proudly displayed outside local businesses.
• The pizza parlor has a clock permanently stopped at 4:20.
• The tie-dyed-clothing-sold-out-of-Volkswagon-vans industry is booming.
• You pass the Peace, Love, and Grilled Cheeses Hair Salon.
• Your subpar canoe skills prompt a good natured “Are you high?”

Pacific Gas & Electric screwed up, and now they owe a bunch of people money. The fact that they’re being held accountable, that consumers’ rights are being protected, blah blah blah is inspiring and wonderful, of course. However, my favorite part of the SFGate’s article on this is where they cover PG&E’s response to the question of what people should do if they think they deserve a refund.

PG&E’s position:

PG&E says it will identify people who deserve a refund and give them a credit on their bill … The utility has not yet set up a mechanism for handling [disputes] and told The Chronicle it doesn’t want customers flooding its phone lines with requests. “Customers don’t need to take any action right now,” a spokesperson said.

SFGate’s response:

Just in case you feel like contacting them anyway, here’s PG&E’s customer service line: (800)743-5000.

Bathroom door at Orphan Andy’s diner: