The new chat thread - now with bitter arguing

[DisplayofCharacter]

@Siren: Yes, I'll bring in a grill with an open flame into my dorm I wish. We aren't allowed to have candles encased in plastic with the wicks just off (in case, you know, anybody wants to use scented candles as decoration). I go to a public university, so policies are very strict. The thought was cool though, if I am visualizing what you were talking about correctly.

 

[Siren]

What open flame? I was talking about something like this and this.

 

[DisplayofCharacter]

@Siren: Ooooooh. Ironically enough, I've never seen one of those before, at least not one with the stove top. The bottom compartments are toaster ovens, I assume, and we're not allowed to have those. We aren't even allowed to have coffee makers. Its ridiculous - one fridge, one microwave per room, and that's it. Thanks for clarifying though.

 

[Siren]

@DOC: Not even coffee makers?! Dude, they suck. Hang on in there. =/

 

[DisplayofCharacter]

@Siren: Thanks . The no coffee maker thing killed me at the beginning of the semester. I love coffee and was upset at not being able to make it. The stuff in the cafeteria is awful and I can't afford the 3$ a cup at the retail establishments. I had to cut myself off - but I'm home in a week and a half, and I'll be able to make as much food and coffee as I want.

Am I whining too much?

 

[Siren]

@DOC: As far as i'm concerned, no. In my opinion whining is what keeps us healthy and those around us alive.
The idea of no coffee would kill me too, btw.

 

[DisplayofCharacter]

@Siren: Good to know. Thanks for replying - a corny thing to say, maybe, but I'm stressed out over finals and I'm complaining to anyone within earshot, it seems . The no coffee thing is biting me right now. I'm trying to stay up and finish as much work as possible, but I keep nodding off. Bleh. I don't think I could pull an all-nighter at this point, even if I tried.

 

[Siren]

@DOC: Man, i should teach you the wonders of greek instant coffee. It might save your life. I'm stressed out over exams too and occasionally i lash out to unsuspecting people who cross my internet-paths. I was trying to stay up during the day but my eyes hurt too much, guess i'll doze off in a while.

 

[DisplayofCharacter]

@Siren: Explain such wonders! I've heard greek coffee has a great reputation so I certainly am curious. I think I'm about to call it quits and see if I can get three and a half hours of sleep before class. I still have a 100 word essay to write... That's a joke... Not actually a joke, I mean, just that it amazes me that I have to do it.

 

[Siren]

@DOC: I was looking at the US Nescafe site, but it's confusing, i'm not sure if the products they give you have anything to do with the products we get here. We typically use Nescafe for it, but probably any finely ground water-soluble instant coffee will do (try at your own risk).
In short, you get a shaker: you put in it a little bit of water, some instant coffee (1-2 teaspoons), some sugar (0-4 teaspoons depending on how sweet you like your coffee), you close the shaker well, and well.. you shake it! (hold the cup while shaking, if you don't want to splatter). Then you can either drink it from the shaker, or you pour it into a glass. You fill up with water and icecubes, and you can add some milk too if you like. Add straw, place mouth on upper end of straw, and drink. Enjoy!


edit: What i just described is the famous frappé coffee (that only we know and drink). A whole (sub)culture is based on it. What DOC might know as greek coffee is something else which requires fire+skill.

 

[Hiljainen]

to have coffee you can indeed buy nescafe, a simpler way to drink it is to put a couple of spoons in a cup of hot water (plus sugar), you get a vaguely decent coffee. it's not the best, but not that bad either in case of hurry/no coffee machine

 

[Northern Lights]

Or use this: http://www.gallacoffee.co.uk/acatalog/verona-cafetiere.jpg
Much nicer than instant coffee

 

[plintus]

to have coffee you can indeed buy nescafe, a simpler way to drink it is to put a couple of spoons in a cup of hot water (plus sugar), you get a vaguely decent coffee. it's not the best, but not that bad either in case of hurry/no coffee machine

You must, like, die or something.

I'm a caffeine addict, but you can't make me drink THAT. And I'll have the strongest blackest coffee at Starbucks only if my life depends on it (like, I've GOT to make it home on Turnpike before dawn).

The best coffeee in Philly is La Colombe on 19th... well, taste varies (I'm talking about regula coffee, not your fancy shtuffs), but it's averagely excelent.

Well, I dump cream into it and sugar subs, so yeah, it usually tastes good. Starbucks block away made me sick - I can't finish their coffee.

 

[Hiljainen]

he has only a microwave...try to get, like, a good coffee out of it.

 

[plintus]

he has only a microwave...try to get, like, a good coffee out of it.

There's always, like, a good caffeine source (Red Bull), but I guess you'd, like, settle, for less, like "Oh my Gawd, this Nescafe is so HAWT!"

Time to get a cup of steaming-hot La Colombe by the way - second all-nighter in a row.

 

[hyena]

people overseas mistake suspicious beverages for coffee. there's only one item worth of this name, and it's straightforward espresso prepared with a moka, or with a proper espresso machine. this said, i concur with hiljainen that if you only have a microwave you have to make do.

 

[Dark_Silence]

DOC:
what, all the equipment in teh kitchen is dead and the university doesnt replace them?! no one has ever try to complain or something? having decent food is important, it is really unacceptable that a place where students live all the time has no working cooking accomodations...
and the rules suck... i dont even see why you are not allowed to have the things you said in your room...

 

[DisplayofCharacter]

@Siren: I don't know how good the instant coffee (at least, that's what we call it) is over there, but its hit or miss here. I've had decent, and I've had terrible - some of the worst coffee I've ever had. Still, I'll check it out. I really didn't think about going that route. The whole shaker thing is cool though - stuff like that I find interesting. My reference to greek coffee was a variation on espresso, I believe, which does involve "fire+skill," neither of which I have.

@Plintus: Go to a Wawa or something, that's what I did because coffee is cheap there and usually good, if not mediocre. I'll check out that place on 19th next time I'm in Philly. What street is it adjacent to (like, non-numeric)?

@DS: I thought about that. I guess they don't replace it because, now that I think of it, I can't remember a time when anyone else has been interested in cooking. I don't know if the kids are too lazy, and there are a few dining alternatives that I have eschewed because they are too expensive for me right now and don't make a lot of sense - like an on-campus Diner (it is New Jersey...). There are plenty of places to eat, just not plenty of places to really cook or make your own. We have other, more relevant problems, such as: lack of sufficiently hot water for showers (warm at best), the washer on our floor is busted, the elevators are constantly broken (I live on the twelfth floor of a sixteen story building, the tallest and largest dorm on campus, I believe). All this stuff can be avoided by some creativity, but it shows where the priorities are.

The reason the rules suck is because I go to a state school. The have many rules simply to cover themselves from being sued. Anything remotely close to a fire hazard is not allowed, anything more dangerous than say, a hair dryer. It can be frustrating, but I get returns elsewhere. The staff is pretty good for the money I'm paying, and I get decent financial aid. Its just situational.

 

[plintus]

@Plintus: Go to a Wawa or something, that's what I did because coffee is cheap there and usually good, if not mediocre. I'll check out that place on 19th next time I'm in Philly. What street is it adjacent to (like, non-numeric)?

Walnut, right across from Rittenhouse Park.

WaWa coffee is an abomination.

Dorms are usually strict about that anywhere, not just cuz it's a state school (like others don't care about it!), you can always rent on your own, as prices for housing provided by school are most likely a rip-off.

 

[Siren]

@DOC: We have many variations of coffee noone has ever heard before, for example cappuccino freddo and espresso freddo (freddo = cold). The coffee Hiljainen described is also quite popular here, but with some variation (aka beating) that makes it decent (and cafeterias usually make it much better than i can do it at home, with a nice foam). Since we tend to have a lot of instant coffee (EVERYONE drinks frappe in the summer), i take it that the quality of the instant coffee we get is pretty good. The "greek" coffee you were probably talking about is nothing like an espresso, it's very different, and it's often called "turkish" coffee too.
Oh, and if you want to obscure the taste of horrible coffee, just add milk and sugar.

@hyena: espresso is the only coffee i dislike, it's absolutely horrible.