Freelance Consultant's Diary

  My best estimate is that I run north of 700 miles a year but despite the recommendations of companies trying to convince us to replace our shoes more often, I don't.  I have had an asics pair for over three years until last week I noticed that the cushion inside the wall had worn out and a piece of plastic insert was hurting me.  I went shopping at the DSW in Natick and bought a pair of running shoes from New Balance (model number M540SG1) for $55 and now I have used them for several days.  I like them.

Lorena has a girlfriend who works in the Dedham Legacy Place and has been telling her to check it out but it is quite a hike from Milford.  It was only today that we finally managed to motivate ourselves to do it since we had also recently checked out the Street At Chestnut Hill .  Well, we were surprised that the mall is open air and therefore, this is the perfect time to go.  At dinner time, it was in the 80s. Well, it is a usual low middle class mall but had a few good dining options like Aquitaine, Genki, and something called Wicked, which seemed like an attractive option for us, since they have artisan pizza.  If you go as a couple, try to sit in the bar area, which is more lively.  We ate the margarita pizza and I tried a beer from a Maine micro brewery. 

  For years we have bought basmati rice at Trader Joe's and while we have always picked the organic version, reports out of India (from where the rice is imported) say that the soil and water is highly contaminated with carcinogens like lead and arsenic (it is safe to assume that while the farmers may use organic fertilizers, it is doubtful if they will use filtered water).  So it maybe somewhat cleaner than the standard variety but I argued that it might be better to buy the Texmati rice (essentially American basmati grown in the US).  We picked the RiceSelect brand that cost about six bucks for 32 oz (more expensive than the imported one) but I must say that it is nothing like the basmati rice.  The grains stick and there is hardly any aroma.  Lorena now insists that we revert to the organic basmati grown in India.

Well, we heard so much about Shake Shack that we finally decided to check it out.  That also means that it was an opportunity to review the so-called The Street in the Chestnut Hill area, basically a renovated open air shopping plaza that is awesome during nice weather but I am a little skeptical during winter, particularly during the snowstorms.  Verdict on Shake Shack:   Oh sad for us (almost vegetarians), there is nothing but a mushroom burger.  We do eat fish and chicken occasionally, but then this is not the place.  So maybe one of these days when we are in a mood for some sugary treats, maybe we will stop by for frozen custard, but a meal appears unlikely.    So instead we ended up for coffee at Rosie's Bakery and Lorena was delighted to see that there is Pinkberry and Treat Cupcake Bar. New restaurants:   For those of us who like Aquitaine in South Boston but hated going there due to all the parking nightmares, well, now we know there is one in the suburbs.  There are some n