Burgerville and Bubble Tea

People up here feel sorry for me because apparently I've been "sheltered my whole life". This morning I mentioned that I had never had a burger from Burgerville (a popular organic fast food chain here in Portland). "What?! You've never eaten at Burgerville?" exclaimed my boss Terry in his overly excited, high-pitched voice. "That's it - drop what you're doing. We're going there right now!" "But it's 9:30. I haven't even eaten my yogurt and granola breakfast yet!" He insists, so the other two interns (Katie and Mat), Terry and I load up in his Prius and head down the street to the little drive-in hamburger joint. I figure I will get a little breakfast smoothie or something light, but the guys start ordering cheeseburgers and pepper steak sandwiches! There's no way I could stomach such a meal with my morning cup of coffee. So I get an order of hash browns, which are pretty much 2 huge greasy fries. That wasn't exactly how I pictured my first Burgerville experience, but at least I can say I've been there (although I would like to go back sometime after noon and actually try their famous burger).

Earlier this week, I overheard Katie and Mat talking about a strange concoction called "bubble tea". Curious and intrigued, I asked what exactly this foreign drink is... possibly a tea/soda mix? "You don't know what bubble tea is?!" You would think I was an alien from another planet. I felt like a wierdo, an outsider, a total freak of nature! So tonight, the three of us took a trip to The Fat Straw so that I could experience this drink which originated in Taiwan. It was interesting to say the least. I can't say whether I liked it or not, but I probably won't make it a weekly indulgence. It's a sweet drink made with coconut milk and flavored tea (I chose white peach). But what makes it "bubbly" is the tapioca balls they top it off with (or more like bottom it off with because they quickly sink to the bottom of your cup). The reason this place is called The Fat Straw is because you have to slurp through a big fat straw in order to suck up the tapioca balls (which one might mistake for large, squishy, gummy, flavorless bug eyeballs). Well, I think I've been descriptive enough about this specialty drink, but don't be afraid to give it a try if you are ever in Portland or Taiwan (which are probably the only places in the world who actually know what bubbly tea is).

the 3 current Murdock interns: Katie, me and Mat

Katie and I at The Fat Straw

There's a 1st Time for Everything...

Oregon has an odd state law: you are not allowed to pump your own gas within the state of Oregon. We are the only other state beside New Jersey in which it is actually illegal to pump your own gas. This week, we discovered that Katie has never in her life put gas in a car! But now she works in Vancouver, WA every day so she should experience the gas-pumping freedom she has always been denied. So we made a special trip to Exxon with her yesterday morning so that she could partake in this glorious yet grimy priveledge. It was a slow, difficult process for Katie (I'm not sure if it was the petroleum fumes or the inexperience) but she successfully filled her gas tank and her self-confidence!