A couple of thoughts on Fanta Se...

So, I went up to the City Different today for work stuff, and in my short time there I made two observations:

1. A teryaki chicken bowl thing costs twice as much; and
2. It looks like they're really gearing up to put the RailRunner in.

As to the first observation, I've been aware of the "privilege of purchasing basic necessities in Santa Fe" tax for years. But seriously, eight bucks for a chicken bowl? What, was the chicken massaged before slaughter? Was it fed organic wheat and barley grown in mountain spring water? Was the teryaki sauce made from the blood of blessed virgins? Gimme a freakin' break.

Now, as to the second observation, all along the highway median into Santa Fe it looks like they're preparing for laying the track for the RailRunner. I saw concrete constructed bridge-looking things, cleared and leveled soil, etc. Now, I think it's a good idea to put it in the median, but how's the train to get between the two sides of the road? I really hope there will be some subterranean passageways a la the Gold Digger at Disneyland, replete with scary effects and rapid drop offs. Those'll wake up the commuters. Oh, and I saw a real live RailRunner train up there! Guess that's just for marketing purposes. In any event, I hope the thing gets done soon so I don't have to suffer the boring drive up anymore.

Or maybe they could do it like the bus in Spain--they dropped us off on the shoulder of eight lanes of freeway traffic, which we had to cross on foot (and jump the jersey wall in the middle) with backpacks on. Funny, in retrospect. You know, since no one got killed.

About 1 mile east of I-25 and below La Bajada hill, the Rail Runner will branch off of the existing BNSF line and onto new track which will take it up Waldo Canyon, through two box culverts (tunnels) and onto the I-25 median at the La Bajada rest stop. It will travel up the median and exit through a box culvert at the I-25/St. Francis exit onto new line into Santa Fe. The Rail Runner was in Santa Fe for a groundbreaking, Wednesday.

Santa Fe's minimum wage is way higher than albuquerque's also. Not that that jusifies the expensive chicken thing. For some reason prices are comparable to New York or even San Francisco nowadays. I was once a santa fean.