GARBAGE NIGHT UPDATE: March, 2014

Go to YouTube video

Since we made that audio/video a couple of years ago, Mark's gotten pretty good at garbage night. He can ask for the newlywed bag back in Chinese, and they will actually return it to him. He knows to wait until the garbage truck music is really obvious before going out to stand in the heat hoping the mosquitoes don't notice him.

He's also learned:

• The old ladies will beat you to the blue kitchen waste bin. Every time. Get over it.
• Line up across the street and toss the trash bag into the moving truck left handed. Otherwise, you get cut off by that super-fast kid from up the block.
• Give big paper/plastic/metal items to the corner store owner who recycles them for cash.
• The key to good kitchen waste disposal is the "Flick & Toss." Grab the bag by the bottom, up-end it over the blue bin, flick it, and toss the empty bag into the garbage truck. Wrist technique is critical.
• Timing is everything when dumping kitchen waste if you intend to escape without someone else's leftovers all over your arm/leg/foot/shoulder.
• Keep your elbows in; that way nobody gets hurt, including you.

For Mark, the best part of garbage night is when the driver of the recycle truck waves at him on the way by. That's what really makes him feel like "a regular."