it's freaking cold

I have made a decision that if it is less than 20 degrees when I leave in the morning, I can take the subway. It means I don't get as much excercise, but it does give me the opportunity to observe my fellow Philadelphians. Since my iPod is currently out of commission (I think my cat ate through the earbud wires, and I haven't had a chance to get new ones), I have to stare at people to pass the time on the subway ride.

Today I saw a kid- maybe 16 or 17- chewing on a coffee stirrer. He had another one tucked in his hat. Reserve, maybe? Gum isn't good enough?

This reminded me of one of my favorite Nick Carter moments. During the press blitz for Black and Blue, Backstreet did one of those things where they sit in a room and reporters come in and interview them. I've got about 15 versions of this interview from different sources, where the boys are all wearing the same thing and looking increasingly more bored.

During all of them, Nick in chewing on a straw. Evidently he has an oral fixation. In one of the later interviews, Nick is sitting back in his chair, not answering questions, probably not even listening. At one point, he takes the straw out of his mouth, considers it intently, then decides there is more chewing to be done there and resumes chewing. Did he not realize he was on camera, or did he just not care?