In the know

It's always nice to be 'in the know.'

In Philly, if you asked either Wordy or myself where the best pizza was, for example, we could break it down by the type of pizza you were craving (thin crust, thick crust, etc.) and by proximity. For food it's really easy to be 'in the know' relatively quick because other people 'in the know' can help you out. Some of our 'in the know' places were:

Best falafel: Mama's
Best fries: Monk's
Best chocolate chip cookie: 4th Street Deli

But to be really 'in the know,' it takes more than just knowing where to eat. To really know a place, you need to dig a little deeper under shiny veneer of the city.

Where is the nearest post office with the least surly postal workers?

Which SEPTA ticketing person is the one I want to avoid because he/she always messes up my Zone 3 Off Peak Roundtrip ticket?

If I dropped an air conditioner on my foot, which hospitals should I avoid if I want to keep my foot?

Where can I park for as long as I want and not have to worry about being ticketed?

These are the types of questions that a person 'in the know' could answer without blinking an eye.

Yesterday, we drove into Christchurch to take The Squidd to the Adventure Aquarium (which we have a season pass to) and we parked in a spot (by design!) avoiding the meter charge. We then navigated through the city avoiding the touron attractions and we checked on the exchange rate of the US dollar. After the aquarium, we drove directly back home (and not listening to our spiritual leader...the GPS) avoiding all the potential log jams.

I am not sure if we are completely 'in the know' yet (I had a sharp reminder not knowing that there was some important rugby game at 7PM in which the stores were jacked with people buying crisps and beer at 6PM when all I wanted to buy was a can of beans), but yesterday was 'good as gold.'