Cat invasion to Come

After careful consideration and analysis of how much time I'll spend at home next spring while I study for step I of the USMLE, I decided to get a cat.
Me, with a cat? I've always hated pets. Well, over the summer, I spent some quality time with a dog named Bear who changed my mind. Bear belongs to a pediatrician I worked with over the summer. I borrowed Bear to hike with me.  After when I went to visit the doctor, Bear wanted lots of attention. It was endearing. I like dogs, but eventually rotations will start, and I won't have time for a dog, but a pet at home will be fun. So I decided an elderly cat will be best.



I went to the Albuquerque animal shelter and picked out a lovable 11 year old female cat, or so I thought. This morning I received a phone call informing me that what they thought was an un-spayed female is actually a neutered male. Kitty has lots of fur, mistakes can be made. And the cat has advanced dental disease. Bummer. I have decided to pick him up anyway because he was so friendly. He looked out of his cage at me wanting my attention, and he purred when I held him. He is a grey bundle of hair, skin, and bones, with intelligent green eyes. At the animal shelter, if things don't work out with your furry friend, you can take him back within 30 days and get the adoption fee credited toward the adoption of a different animal. Cats over three years old are currently only $10, which pays for vaccinations, fixing, and a microchip for identification, and you get a referral for one free veterinarian visit. What a bargain!

Where do you begin?

How much of our past defines who we are as people? You can know a person very well, and not know what they did before they met you. Do you know their past self? People change.

Yet, if you killed someone, people who were close to you would want to know. What past actions define us, and what are we obligated to tell new people in our lives?

Frozen yogurt everywhere!

I went to San Diego to visit friends, and they told me about a fad centered in southern CA, frozen yogurt. This isn't TCBY or Golden Swirl, though I liked their yogurt. This new trend features tart yogurt, yogurt that still smacks of bacteria, although I don't think acidophilus is an extremophile, so I don't think it survives in frozen yogurt. We sampled three places: Pinkberry in Hillcrest, Yogurt World in Clairmont, and Yogurt Land in PB. Among the three places, the nutritious value of the yogurt, calories, and the amount of sugar was consistent, ranging from 11-20g of sugar for various flavors. Surprisingly, the plain yogurt has the most sugar. Alegra explained this adequately, pointing out that dark chocolate is often higher in sugar than milk because more sugar is needed to overcome the bitterness. The same is true for the plain yogurt. To cut to the chase, the winner was Yogurt Land.

Pinkberry

Pinkberry had the best tasting, but most expensive yogurt. They featured three snobby flavors: green tea, pomegranate, and plain. The yogurt was creamy and tart, but it was not self-serve, so it lacked what I now think of as the "frozen yogurt experience". The toppings were very high quality, and included kiwi, blueberries, strawberries, and candy and nuts.


Why so big for so little, cup?


Lovely yogurt and toppings behind the counter.


Small portions, but tasty and enjoyable.

Yogurt World

Yogurt World had many flavors, including taro, bananas foster, birthday cake, and green apple, and they have large signs proclaiming the health benefits of yogurt, including making the lactose intolerant lactose tolerant. Some of the machines did not have yogurt, but ice cream. This was not labeled, so it was slightly misleading if the customer only wanted yogurt rather than custard ice cream. Also, the toppings were not as high quality as those at Pinkberry. But at 38 cents/ounce, you can fill your cup. I recommend chocolate Pebbles to top your yogurt.


The orange decor, signs, and self-serve machines of Yogurt World.


Got ailments? Get yogurt.

Yogurt Land

Yogurt land has the best-priced yogurt: a mere 30 cents/ounce! They had about a dozen flavors (their tart blueberry is delicious) and they are self-serve. You can pig out on samples because the shop is run by college and high school students who don't give a rat's ass about the business. The toppings are nicely arranged and labeled, and they are also self-serve. The place was hopping at 10pm on a Monday night. Yogurt Land also claims to "build better skin". I believe yogurt can also fix our economy. Probably indulging in lots of samples will not.


A blurry treat.


The full shop.

Both Yogurt World and Yogurt had tasty yogurt, although the plain tart yogurt was not quite as good as that at Pinkberry. However for the price difference, Pinkberry loses. Yogurt Land has good yogurt and toppings at a great price, and Yogurt World is worth a visit for good yogurt and funny signs.


Crazy concoction for < $7 at Yogurt World. This would have been ~$5 at Yogurt Land. Only the wealthy could afford so much yogurt at Pinkberry in our bleak financial era.