Shaken Not Stirred

Friday, August 28, 2009

Like Stone Soup

I was watching a cooking show a couple weeks ago where one of the challenges was to create a dish using vending machine purchases. I wondered what the frick one could create out of Andy Capp Hot Fries, beef jerky, peanuts and Butterfingers (can you tell what I buy from vending machines). So I watched as these "chefs" bought certain vending machine goodies (and by the way, I'm sure the producers stocked the vending machines with certain items of cookable flavor) and brainstormed their expertise about what could be created from MSG laden fried mish mash.

However, what I didn't anticipate was the fact that these vending machine goodies were just going to be part of the recipe. They were also given meats, vegetables, seasoning, and other kitchen pantry items. In effect, the vending machine items were just going to be incorporated into a real dish.

I automatically thought of the fairy tale about stone soup. Not sure if anyone is familiar with this story, but an old lady with a bare cupboard cons the other towns people into giving her all the ingredients for soup. She tells them that she could make a delicious meal out of water and a stone. While she stirs this concoction, she says things like "hmm, I need some carrots, I need some celery...." and these items were added to the pot by unsuspecting townspeople who scurried to find these indredients.

Well, these cooks started out with preserved mish mash, but then they added some meat, a vegetable, some seasoning...until they ending up with a five star plate of food.

It didn't turn out to be the vending machine delicacy that I had imagined could have been created.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

The Deep Crevices of My Mind

While flipping stations today, I was Rick Rolled. I couldn't believe my ears. I can't stand that song. But while I can't stand it, and it is still playing in my mind three hours later, I know some of the lyrics. I've never listened to the song in it's entirety, but yet those lyrics are bouncing between the left and right brain like a golf ball that has been dropped down a flight of stairs.

There is a lot of music that I know the lyrics to and yet I don't own the albums or even like the artists. I wouldn't be able to pick out the artists in a line up and I've never listened to more than 5 to 10 seconds of any of these songs. And yet, there it is, those verses or lyrics which are buried deep within my memory, surfacing when I hear a snippet of the song.

Does this happen to anyone else?

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Just Talk Into It

One of my friends recently got a new phone. And all he could do during lunchy was talk about it, while he was playing with it. I don't think our lunch time conversation could be considered a conversation. I basically ate by myself, while he texted and played with this gadget. Every now and then he would try to show me the things that this phone can do. He suggested that I get one, that once I had one I wouldn't be able to live without it.

I'm just not that interested in things like this. For me a phone should be functional...I should be able to dial a number and reach my friend of choice. I should also be able to hear them and they should be able to hear me. And I do use the text option when I don't want to disturb someone. If they should so desire to have a conversation with me, they'll call back and if they would just rather keep it short, text me back.

I don't want my phone to double as a MP3 player...that would just drain the battery and when I would need to use my phone as a phone, there would be no power left to place a call. Plus when I'm using my iPod, I'm running and would not want to drop/destroy my phone or be interrupted during my exercise regimen by a call.

So for me, a phone is just a gadget used to communicate with people, this is function enough for me.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

No Way To Go

While I was on the treadmill at the gym today, I saw an add for that movie Final Destiny (and it's coming at us in 3D). One of the clips showed a character getting sucked down to the bottom of a pool by a faulty drain. Ugggh!! What a way to go. Just the thought of that happening made me panic a bit...and it was just the commercial and not 3D yet.

I think that would be the worse way for me to go...drowning. Just running out of air would be the worse...any tortured way in which I couldn't breathe would be horrible. Being buried alive would be another way that I wouldn't want to go.

Reality is, I'm not ready to go yet. I still have so much left to do with my life. One of which is traveling!! I think I'm ready to venture to a far away village and just check it out, do a touristy thing (like pay way too much for a boat ride or pay triple the value for a t-shirt that shows I've marked territory somewhere else). And I still have some other stuff to do...the list is way to long to post here.

Anyway, I digress. Back to what I was writing about...the loss of air. Would not be able to go that way.

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Stewing in Sweat

I've noticed something at the gym that more than gets on my nerves. After using certain machines, I always use the disinfecting spray to wipe my exertion excretions off the seats. Not all people do this. I think they feel it's okay for other people to pick up their nasty juices. It's unnerving, not to mention gross. So I feel like I should spray before and after. What is wrong with people?

On the brighter side, I'm doing good!! Everything is going pretty well for me.

I'll write more when I'm not so pissy about sitting in other people's filth.