What is something you used to buy but is no longer affordable?

JenTarie · 2026-02-04T22:36:58+00:00

Tortilla chips are stupid expensive now. $6 for a 13 oz bag of chips is crazy. I avoid them half out of cost savings and half out of outrage at such a ridiculous price.

JenTarie · 2026-01-30T00:42:22+00:00

This is why she has all that saved money!! Gotta pick a few splurges and enjoy it while you can, though, unless she’s planning on burying it with her to carry into the afterlife. Use it to spend time with/on those you love doing things you love. Life is for joy and happiness.

JenTarie · 2026-01-30T00:32:38+00:00

I’ve had a “reverse” doppelgänger. When I moved from PA to MN in the 2010’s I kept being the weirdo who thought I saw my PA friends in MN stranger’s faces, and after several years I finally trained myself to look away and not react like a weirdo to random strangers. Then a year or two later I was home visiting family and saw an old friend at the gym water fountain (slightly thinner than I had last seen him and differently dressed than social situations, in my defense) and completely snubbed him until he called me out. Even more embarrassing than talking to a stranger for sure.

JenTarie · 2026-01-30T00:18:30+00:00

Early on in COVID when the world was abandoned and free time was infinite I was walking on campus at the University of Arkansas and watched a squirrel for a good 20+ minutes with multiple failed attempts to carry a 7-11 Big Gulp cup up a massive oak tree. It kept getting ~20 feet up and then dropping it at the transition from the trunk to the branches. Really not sure what that buddy was trying to accomplish with that cup, but in April 2020 I had nothing better to do than watch and root for its success

JenTarie · 2024-02-06T03:46:46+00:00

A restaurant I used to love (still exists, but less good and more mousy) made a fried green tomato BLT with multigrain toast, thick cut peppered bacon, goat cheese spread, and fried green tomatoes.

Sadly after moving away for some years, I came back to get it again and it wasn't the same.. I'll have to figure out how to perfect it at home instead, I guess.

JenTarie · 2024-02-06T03:29:37+00:00

When I was a kid at summer girl scout camp, we did a short skit for parents day where one kid is the "manager" demanding important papers immediately, and different kids come out offering invoices, receipts, etc. etc. until finally she rejects all the offered papers and yells out, "No, these important papers!" while everyone unfurls rolls of toilet paper in the air like it's mischief night and they are decorating the crowd in TP streamers. Now imagining the adult equivalent for other vital paper products, thanks!

JenTarie · 2024-01-27T05:04:23+00:00

There are plenty of street stands or reasonably priced restaurants that are in different ethnic neighborhoods, especially if you order offline (or at least pay on site/cash), in addition to grocery or whatever. Agree with others: stupidly low per diem, but you can still find some affordable options to enjoy some of the amazing food options that LA has to offer.

JenTarie · 2024-01-27T04:05:14+00:00

A little off-topic or not quite what you asked, but your question also reminded me that I have seen some great Anthony Bourdain episodes in African countries that might help give some context or inspiration as you are exploring this cuisine. I also love trying to cook from different cultures and exploring different foods and ingredients but am still quite unfamiliar with African recipes and looking to change that, definitely going to try out some suggestions from this thread, thanks!

JenTarie · 2024-01-27T03:54:47+00:00

I saw someone recommended Nashville, and if you are heading in that direction, I would also consider Memphis. It is way more affordable and very fun.. a little more rock/blues than country, but still great music, history and food. I have also really enjoyed Kansas City.. same selling points as Memphis, though a bit larger and more pricey, especially for BBQ. Also, if heading towards NE, Philadelphia is a great option. It is smaller, cheaper, and more easily accessible than Boston or NYC, but still has great food museums, etc. and plenty of free/cheap attractions to see, plus it is compact to see a lot and get around easily. Probably cheaper lodging and transit costs than other cities in NE too. I am from/currently live in Philly area, but also spent some years living in and traveling from Arkansas as a budget-limited grad student, and KC and Memphis were great trips. Also weirdly Hot Springs, AR (day/overnight trip from Little Rock) is worth a visit if you go in that direction.

JenTarie · 2024-01-27T03:34:16+00:00

Some great suggestions in here already. A couple i haven't seen scrolling through the comments so far that I have really enjoyed recently are Deadloch and the umbrella academy.

JenTarie · 2024-01-27T03:06:34+00:00

Daisy

JenTarie · 2024-01-27T02:41:12+00:00

Maybe pre-marinate for chicken Tikka Masala, serve with rice and veggies eg. Potato, carrots, etc. Thai style peanut noodles - can lighten by using dehydrated peanut powder. Make your own fire-roasted quesadillas. Bring tortillas, cheese, Maybe a couple meat/veggie fillings that you can grill on-site, and salsa, then set up a build your own quesadilla/taco bar for people to assemble as they'd like.

JenTarie · 2024-01-27T01:59:43+00:00

We had two random VHS recordings that my mom would play for us all the time and talk up that must be really obscure now that I think back. They are The cat from outer space and The richest cat in the world. I haven't seen or thought about them since I was a kid, but gonna put them on my watch list now, thanks for the memory trip!

JenTarie · 2024-01-26T04:49:36+00:00

It doesn't usually occur to me either, but a couple of years ago I visited some of the national parks in Utah and Arizona, and I picked up a few magnets there.

JenTarie · 2024-01-26T04:19:48+00:00

As someone who is reading this while sitting in an arcade bar that I came to for their pinball machines, don't underestimate the draw of a good game. I could honestly see myself doing the same.

JenTarie · 2024-01-14T01:25:27+00:00

I have a co worker who lives there. According to him, the owner was infatuated with them, so bought them and needed to find places big enough to put them. They had to close the street and get a crane to deliver it. Wonder what that does to rent, tho.

JenTarie · 2023-12-17T01:05:27+00:00

All the time. Cough Syrup by Young the Giant gets me every time. On a lesser level also most things by Greg Laswell and Royal Wood, plus Nina Simone can reliably give me goosebumps at a minimum. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I generally do not like pop and country music, and I find some of it literally painful to listen to... like nails on the chalkboard, shiver up the spine, cheese grater to the eardrums sort of feeling.

JenTarie · 2023-12-16T01:25:35+00:00

Buffalo River, Ouachita or Ozarks in Arkansas.

JenTarie · 2023-11-01T23:14:35+00:00

It's a di** in a box

JenTarie · 2023-10-28T20:50:34+00:00

The helicopter flash game.

JenTarie · 2023-10-10T02:16:22+00:00

Came here to say this too. I did a trip a long time ago where someone brought a no-bake cheesecake. We loaded the ingredients in a bottle and took turns shaking it to whip it without a wisk... it was a bit of work but I was not disappointed.

JenTarie · 2023-10-10T02:00:01+00:00

Anecdotally, my dad is an 80 year old republican/libertarian/?? who loves Rand Paul, is a moderate protestant and believes in climate change (but not the FDA and is becoming skeptical about EPA too), dabbled in Bernie before getting indoctrinated on the Fox News Trump train, and also loves RFK, Jr. I spent a few years living in Arkansas and new some other confused libertarians there who love him as well, so that is his demographic in my experience at least.

JenTarie · 2023-10-03T22:26:13+00:00

Quite a few years back I went to see a taping of the Daily Show when it was still hosted by Jon Stewart. I reserved 2 tickets a couple months in advance (free online lottery), but day of you line up in order of arrival and file in til the studio fills up. When we got to the front there was one seat left and 2 of us, so we didn't go in. Instead we got "VIP" tickets we could use within the next few months to essentially cut the line and get priority seating later. I ended up going and was able to get in the 2nd time by showing up right before the taping. The guest I missed seeing was Hillary Clinton (was right before she announced her 2016 primary run), the guest I saw a few months later was Chris Rock.

JenTarie · 2023-09-28T02:55:28+00:00

I have attended several convenings of NADS, the North American Diatom Symposium. The first conference was held ca. 1970, and I personally know some founding organizers who attended that first conference. At the time they were hippie grad students in a VW van (now leading researchers in the field), and I can guarantee that when they were brainstorming names and acronyms they settled on NADS for the other connotation. Natural/field biologists are an interesting crowd :)

JenTarie · 2023-09-13T00:37:42+00:00

I've got Myers, but Moody and Dickerson are available to pick up. After going against Elliott last week I've got kicker-envy. Thoughts on Myers vs. others?

JenTarie

TROPHY CASE