Punketta D.'s Profile

I had been wearing my "weekly disposable" soft contact lenses for so long they were practically frayed at the edges, so I finally started the process of looking for Optometrists that took my vision plan (VSP).  Based on some of the reviews on here, I was prepared to have a Clockwork Orange experience, but I totally lucked out by picking Dr. Segool.

They asked if I needed a appointment for new contacts, and got me in as soon as I could schedule it - no blindness or bleeding eyeballs necessary!

They did a full check-up for Rx, peripheral vision, glaucoma/cataracts, including this cool machine that takes a picture of your retina.  Dr Segool took the time to explain the various images and patiently answered all of my questions.

They have a lot of contact Rxs on-site (I needed to order mine, but they got to my house in under a week) and they told me about a rebate program for $100 off if I ordered a year's worth.

They also have a good-looking selection of fashion frames, if you were looking for glasses.

Overall, excellent service form the office staff, really professional and friendly service from the doctor and they take VSP.  Dr. Segool is my optometrist from now on.

Don't be fooled by the photo on this site, there is no walk-up counter window anymore!  You have to go inside and wait in line (at least, the line was only inside when I went, not out the door and around the block).  Then you will wait in a line, which moves relatively quickly due to the guy whose job is to keep herding people forward (rather than standing still to stare at them constructing your sandwich).  You will choose one of the three (ok, technically four) filler options - veggie, chicken, beef, or chicken&beef.  You will choose large or small (note to the lighter appetites - the small is still HUGE, I got lunch and dinner out of it).  This was one delicious, spicy sandwich and I'd go back in a heartbeat.  I agree that the cheese wasn't needed.  There are a few indoor seats that weren't filled when I went (early spring)

Auto repairs are kind of like the relationships you get into after graduating from high school and move away from home.

There you are in a brand new city with your car and not much else. You are alone in a new place with new people, running on fumes and Cup 'o Noodles. Occasionally, the regular maintenance slips a bit.  

At some point, it happens. There's an accident or you have some sort of breakdown. Vulnerable, you don't know anyone to ask for help...that is, until you are introduced to Toyota of Woburn.

They seem nice, sweet, almost too good to be true. They listen to your problems, return phone messages and seem to know exactly what they're talking about.  For months, maybe even years, everything seems fine. You hear all sorts of horror stories from friends about the horrible interactions they've had with auto repair shops.  Tales of being so royally screwed over, it was a long time before they can think of trusting again.  

You think to yourself how lucky you are, how blessed because things have been GREAT with Woburn Toyota and you start thinking they're the ONE for you.   Like, they really get you and they are so nice and they listen to you and maybe this will be forever.  Plus, you swear you've never had your oil changed better.

Then, something changes.  You open up to them about something that's been bothering you.  They brush off your concerns, thinking they know better than you what's wrong. They do what they think needs to be done, ignoring what you want.  Then they expect you to thank them for making an effort, even though you they haven't helped at all and have in fact added to your problems.

You feel betrayed, and tell them so. Not only were they not listening when you were pouring your heart out to them but they refuse to admit that they may have hurt you. You fight, and it's drawn-out and painful and you swear you'll never trust anyone ever again.

Maybe when the hurt has faded, I'll once again be able to smile when I think of those fabulous quickie lube jobs.  But I'll never trust them again for a major commitment.

A few years ago, I lived in Medford and worked in Watertown. This location is the post office closest to my work, so I would always bring my complicated-to-mail stuff here - the kind you can't just drop in a mailbox.  (I manage a band, and when their EP was ready I was mailing tons of packages to record labels and magazines in the US and Europe.)  

Here's a little foreign postage training - For every foreign package, you need to fill out this green form stating the to and from addresses and the description and value of the contents, to make sure you aren't sending diamonds or anything that will upset a foreign economy. One piece of the form gets stuck on the package and stamped by the Post Office rep, along with the postage. The other half is ripped off and the customer keeps it.  Basically, each package has a few different steps to it, not including actually paying for the stuff.  It's a pain in the ass.  It truly, truly is. I thank the stars for the invention of electronic press kits so I never again have to experience something like this, something that's been poisoning my soul.

I usually dealt with this one super nice clerk, middle age guy with a grey mustache, who was great. He was actually the one who originally explained the process to me (above). I tried to do everything I could to make the process go as smoothly as possible - everything was filled out that could be filled out in advance, etc. It was a pain, and I'd have ten to fifteen pieces of mail sometimes, but no one ever said going to or working at the post office was a good time.   We exchanged pleasantries, he stamped and printed and tore and stamped again until all the packages were done, then I'd pay and leave.  No hard feelings.  

If I had only ever gotten this guy, this place would have five stars - easy.  But then came attack of the day ruining sourpuss jerkface.

The day two stars disappeared

One day, I walked in with about ten of these things to mail. It was later than I'd usually go, maybe 20 minutes to 5 when I got to the counter. I stood in line with my almost-ready-to-go-out-just-needs-some-stamps-and- postage packages. Instead of my nice clerk, I got some guy I had never seen there before. Tall skinny middle age guy with white hair, puckered sourpuss face, and miserable attitude

He did one of my packages, loudly sighing and then muttering under his breath. Taking as long to do one step as my "nice" post office guy (or any since, actually) took to do two, by the way.  Then he sees that I have ten more packages, all with custom forms, and goes ballistic.

This next part is paraphrased, and I have to admit I totally snapped at some point during this exchange, he made me so mad.

Sourpuss tells me that he won't process the rest of my packages.  I am taken aback.  Won't process them why?  He says that because the return address labels show I have a PO Box in Medford, that that's where I have to mail these packages.  I tell him that doesn't make sense, why on earth would I have to mail them from Medford? He says it the rules.  I tell him I've never heard that rule before at any other post office I've ever taken these to.   He insists. I tell him I'll mail the next batch in Medford, but that I'd appreciate if he would finish processing my packages so they can be mailed out today.   He refuses. I tell him I can't get to Medford before it closes, and that since I stood in line to  just like everyone else I'd appreciate the same service. He tells me he will not help me, and mutters something along the lines of me 'not knowing what I'm talking about' and that I'm 'being difficult'.

I EXPLODED.  I have NEVER yelled at someone serving me in a customer service capacity before.  Yelling included something about never being treated so poorly before, that I'd be calling to report his behavior, calling him a lazy jerk (probably laced with quite a few expletives, which I'm not proud of).

I flung the payment for the one package he processed, grabbed my unfinshed packages and slammed out of there.

This is probably three years ago, and I am still so mad about this I still occasionally fantasize about that dickhead being afflicted with painful hemorrhoids or bitten by rabid dogs.

I have been back since, and it was just my "nice" clerk there.  Maybe they finally realized that customer service wasn't dickhead's forte.  Or he pissed off the wrong person.

By the way, I asked at several other post offices if they'd ever heard of any rules about where you were supposed to mail stuff from if you had a post office box, and none of them had ever heard of that.  Several laughed out loud.  

So yeah, white haired guy from the Watertown Post office at 587 Mount Auburn St - you sucked two stars out of this otherwise wonderful Post Office.  I hope you are proud of yourself.

Went to Church for the first time last night for a live show.  It is a decent medium-small venue, two nice pool tables and a darker shade of interior design.  I never went to the Linwood (which used to be on the site of Church), so I can't compare past to present.  

I reviewed from a few different viewpoints - general info, of interest to bands, of interest to attendees

The basics - The venue is easy to find driving and walking.  There's a bunch of garages around there, and Church has a small lot behind it with free parking (as long as there isn't a Red Sox game at Fenway). Free, close parking makes me happy!  Venue is 21+.  Bathroom (women's) is a two staller, one regular, one wider. Pretty decent lighting, soap and air hand-dryer.  Premium liquor drinks are pricey, well drinks are more reasonable. The Seven Deadly Sins cocktails are $10 of delicious (mmm..Envy!) .  They take credit cards.

Info for bands -  Nick (the booking guy) was a pleasure to work with leading up to the event.  Prompt, professional responses to email inquiries, including unprompted info regarding load-in times, guest list, etc - are pretty rare in this biz, but they are always appreciated!  

The other Church staff was really great, and they take care of the bands pretty well.  Bands get any door over $200, a couple drink tickets each worth a beer or well drink and a ticket good for one 1/2 price item from the bar menu. (Which I didn't take advantage of.)  

The sound guy (Frankie?) was very nice and let me mess with the stage lighting a bit during the set.  Bands take note, though, when you play at Church you only get a line check, and then only right before you go on.  This is better than no line check, but something to consider if you have electronic stuff happening and need to adjust monitor and house levels in addition to backing tracks, instruments and vocals.  We were told there couldn't be a sound check because of the restaurant next door, I wonder if we had whined louder if we could have changed their mind- there's no need to crank it, just let me set up and check things? To ensure if I sound horribly bad it's not right before I perform for an audience?  

The lighting consists of 8 Par cans aimed at the stage - 4 red, 2 blue, 2 pink.  The sound guy has his hands full with the sound, so there's no "lighting guy", be sure to bring your own (or a friend that will push some buttons for you).

There is a green room directly off of stage left that's a pretty good size. Narrow but long, with a platform at the same level as the stage, it's good for keeping gear out of the way, and you can't see the room from the audience.  There's a door into the crowd pit, but it closes for use with costume changes, etc.  

If you want a certain mood/theme for the night, bring your own music for in-between sets on CD.

The tables in the venue aren't that great for merch display (little itty bitty ones).  Bring a table if you need lots of space, maybe some way to light it.  You don't want to mess up the venue with tape or tacks, so if you want to display shirts bring a rack or other display stand.

The venue reminds me of TT the Bear's a bit - the area right in front of the stage is pretty big and great when you have a bunch of fans crowding the stage, but which can look really lonely if the audience decides to finish their game of pool, watch the game of pool, watch the game on the TVs set up around the place or sit at the bar.

Views from the audience-

The initial impression of the place is kind of clusterf*ckey due to the placement of the door staff (cover-taker and ID checker) two feet away from the corner of the bar.  There's also a little bar alcove to the side there, so there are a ton of people loitering around this very small area. People trying to give the nice lady cash to get their stamp and show ID are fighting for space with folks standing at the bar, or those trying to get outside to smoke butts.  

There are two red felt pool tables in really nice shape. One fun hazing  ritual is trying to move between stage and bar areas. Vicious pool cue ends, meet my squishy guts. Dodge, parry, turn.

Also wobbly tables = spilled drink causes hallucinations of evaporating money.  I spilled at least $1.50 down my arm, great.

There are a bunch of out-of-the-way spots to settle in for a drink, pretty good for catching up with an old friend or (I suppose) flirting with a new one.  

I'd go to shows there again and it would be a cool space for a DJ/dance event or show.   I recommend checking it out.  
Calendar of events http://www.myspace.com...
Website http://www.churchofbos...

We ordered food from Sushi Cafe as take out, so perhaps the five minutes of travel time was five too many, but I wasn't impressed.  It wasn't bad (horrible) or bad (spoiled), but it wasn't anything special.  The seaweed wrapper of the maki I ordered was too chewy/tough and I hate having to pick seaweed out of my back teeth. The miso soup was decent but unremarkable.  The real turn-off was the Agedashi Tofu (fried bean curd served with tempura sauce). Other sushi places have set up this sort of thing as nuggets of tofu with the outside golden-fried and the inside fluffy and light.  These turned out to be mushy, white blobules coated with a thin, pale, membranous skin that cemented the failure of the frying attempt.  I know they try to keep things healthy and all, but drop that stuff in some grease and fry it up! These tofu abortions were served with tempura sauce, which is somehow not soy sauce, it's tempura sauce. Will someone tell me what exactly the difference is again?  

Anyway, I'm not feelin' this place. Even though I'd like to support a local business and it's close to my house, I'll be picking up my next sushi fix from some other place.  Dang.

I was recommended to this dentist by a coworker that used to be a hygenist there.  He, and all the staff, are FANTASTIC! I went there after 5 years of missing regular cleanings, and I was terrified. Everyone was really nice, no lectures or anything.  *which is what I got from my mother when I told her how long it had been*

The office isn't very fancy, but everything works. Dr. Lombardo himself is a really cool guy, very laid back.  If you are looking for a new dentist, go here!

I went with my ma and pa to check out this place, which is up the street from my house. We went at about 1pm on a Sunday and there was only one other party there.  Over the hour we were there, it filled up a bit, but as one of the first parties for the lunch crowd, the first few meat offerings were all cuts from the outside. (Like other Brazilian BBQ places, staff carries skewers of various meat items around from table to table, and the slices of the roasts are cut from the outside, but the inside cuts are generally more my speed.) We sat there long enough and ate so much that we eventually got to the "choice" cuts from the inside of the roast.  

The buffet was incredible, with the typical potato salad, etc, but there was a great Brazilian chicken salad, black beans with pork, some sort of beef stew-type item. All delicious.

The meat offerings that I remember were: Brazilian sausages, Kielbasa, Lamb, Beef, Chicken wrapped in Bacon, Pork  and Chicken Hearts.

The chicken hearts were a bit overdone, which was a bit disappointing, but the lamb was incredible! I'm not usually a fan of lamb, but this was tender and without that gamy taste that it oftentimes has (which is the reason I don't like it).  

My other favorite was the Pork, which (once we got to the inside cuts) was juicy and tender and slightly spicy?  I don't know  with what, but it was goooood.

The service was good, quick and friendly - almost too quick!  There's a doohickey on the table with one green end and one red end, which you're supposed to flip to indicate you want the food to keep coming or stop for the moment.  The adorable skewer-carriers ignored the red on our table to continue to offer us more and more meat. I kept eating, but I felt slightly guilty about it. They also have grilled garlic bread. Narm narm narm.

Anyway, I'd go back.  The food was really good and the price ($15.95 for the buffet for lunch, I think $21.95 for dinner) was reasonable considering how much freakin' food I ate.  The only reason I gave 4 instead of 5 was the weird parking situation (street only), the overcooked hearts and the initial cuts that were all from the outside.  

I will be going back!

I'd encourage you to check out their website, but it's not in English.  :)
http://www.churrascari.../

I love this place for the tasty food, quick and cheap!  There's not really any atmosphere (it's way too small), so no romantic dinners probably.  When I went (weekend dinnertime) to pick up the place was packed!  

It's a nice place to go for a mixed crowd, and by that I mean vegetarians and carnivores that eat together.

Every time I go I get the summer rolls and the BUNBO HUE
(Spicy beef lemon grass vermicelli soup). It totals around ten bucks! Once I got their Dacbiet which had some really odd assortments of animal pieces that was almost too much for this meat eater.  I prefer to be able to identify what part of the body a meat thing is from.

There's only street parking, but supposedly they deliver.

http://www.pho1woburn.com/