We're very bagelless here in Wisconsin. Sucks.

I'm supposed to be going up to Milwaukee, but I don't really know yet if I feel up to that. Maybe I'll go tomorrow.

It's a texture thing, mostly. And I'm not sure American bagels outside of NYC are made with malt barley as all right-thinking bagels ought to be.

Also, in embarrassing news, I just realized that that guy I kept thinking looked really familiar at work for, oh, the past TWO YEARS? Is a guy I knew in college. Not one of my closest friends, obviously, but he was a theatre major in my class so we intersected in classes/plays/student films ALL THE FREAKING TIME. And the only reason I finally put it together is we saw each other at the reunion last weekend and got to talking and realized that we have kids the same age and live about ten blocks apart from each other. MY WORLDS ARE COLLIDING AND I DO NOT LIKE IT.

(In my defense, at the old office we worked on different floors so I only ever saw him *very* occasionally, and then I moved across town to CBS for the past 6 months. And in this place we're all on one floor, but his department's section is almost a full city block away from mine. But Jesus Christ, I should have at least said "Hi, you look familiar." You know, a year ago. 'Cause now it's awkward!)

(Also in my defense, he's never come up to me and said hi either. So either he still hasn't realized we know each other, or we're both in the same "Oh shit I've been ignoring this person for two years, I can't say hi NOW" boat, because really how many heavily pregnant purple-haired women could he know??)

Montreal bagels come in three kinds--plain, sesame seed, and poppyseed. I do not understand this fancy salt and onion crap you so-called purists talk about.

Okay, I really should pack more.

Tonight after dinner I’m going to go to a karaoke birthday party at an Indian restaurant. I suspect that I will not stay very long.

Tomorrow I will be sleeping in, yay, and then I have to run a few errands and maybe do laundry before going to a Halloween party up in Baltimore. I am much more optimistic about enjoying myself at that.

Sunday I need to begin cleaning all the things.

The water makes the bagel (and the pizza).

Really, Lush? Really? I mean, I get that you're attributing it to an actual employee but can you possibly not be aware of what you're doing here?

OTOH, you saved me some money yesterday because I realized I like my bath products with a smidge less racism.

Really, Lush? Really?

Wow. I'm suddenly very glad I'm too poor to shop there anymore.

plain, sesame seed, and poppyseed.

Fairmont have onion, caraway, and garlic too.

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St. Viateur: Whole Wheat, Flax Seed, No Seed, All Dressed and Multi Grain Bagels.

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We all wandered in at separate times and as each one of us sat down with the other Buffistas who were there, we'd bite into our sad little midwestern faux-bagel, and every single one of us said "Hey, that's not a bagel!" Every. Single. Time. Which was hilarious to the non-NYCistas there, and terribly sad for us New Yorkers who hadn't even had our damn coffee yet.

I have brought bagels to nearly every F2F since.

Of course, as a good New Yorker I tend to travel with bread products. Showing up with bagels and babkas is the way of my people.