Look at the photo of this cinema entrance, its racially segregated. If you look, the door on ground floor says ‘White Men Only’, and the words on the staircase say ‘Colored Admission 10c’. Found it on Wikipedia. I can’t imagine living in such a society.

Weirdly though, it makes me feel nostalgic. I think its the Dr. Pepper advertisement. I used to drink lots of it when I was in an American school, now I miss it. Hmm. I am now delving deep into my childhood. Haha. Isn’t it funny how some things just spark off your memories? Here’s a list of my nostalgic items:

1. Aquafresh toothpaste
2. Beige Carpets
3. White wooden furniture
4. Orange berries
5. Those small red flowers you always play with-honeysuckle?
6. Mangoes
7. Lego (isn’t this universal?)
8. Tom & Jerry, Looney Tunes, Courage the Cowardly Dog, etc
9. Lawn mowers
10. Rabbits

Oh I seriously miss my childhood. Its funny how my brother hates his.So…what are your nostalgic items?

Voici un photo d’une entrée d’un cinema -il est séparé par la race.  Si on examine, sur la porte il dit ‘White Men Only’ et sur l’escalier ‘Colored Admission 10c’. J’ai trouvé cette photo sur Wikipedia. Je ne peux pas imaginer comment vivre dans une société comme ça.

Étrangement, je me sens nostalgique. Je pense que c’est l’annonce Dr. Pepper. J’en buvais beaucoup quand j’assistais à une école américaine. Maintenant, je rappelle ma enfance. N’est-ce pas rigolo comment des certains trucs peuvent initier tes mémoires?  Voici un liste des trucs similaires, pour moi:

1. Dentifrice d’Aquafresh
2. Des moquettes beige
3. Les meubles blanches en bois
4. Les baies oranges
5. Petits fleurs rouges – chèvrefeuille?
6. Des mangues
7. Lego (c’est universal, n’est-ce pas?)
8. Tom & Jerry, Looney Tunes, Courage the Cowardly Dog, etc
9. Des tondeuses à gazon
10. Des lapins

Alors, j’ai envie de ma enfance! C’est rigolo comment mon frère déteste sa enfance. Donc – quelles sont tes trucs nostalgiques alors?

Listening to: Richman 3oh!3

Drinking: Dr.Pepper

Finally, I thought this would never come. Last weekend I was out from Friday night till Sunday afternoon so I have alot of sleep to catch up on. Of course, I have to babysit for two hours in about…40 minutes, which will be dull but earns me a quick tenner.

This week was hell. First off I was sleep deprived.  I know that’s my own fault but it was for charity…so blame the homeless and our govt. that won’t help them. Secondly, my ex was being a paranoid jerk. Basically, we aren’t over each other which is causing problems but things seem to be sorted out…for now of course. thirdly, I spent all of this morning until lunchtime writing a theology essay. Jeez, it was soooo dull!

Anyway. I know it could have been much worse but I could have done without alot of it. At least I have a work free three days ahead of me…bring it on

love.♥.music.♫

I remember watching Say Anything with my sister when I was a kid and wondering if all men were as sweet as Lloyd Dobbler, standing outside a girl’s house with a boom box over his head. Obviously I had a rude awakening when I got to dating age and realized that high school guys were actually kinda jerks. I never got a big romantic gesture, Valentines, or even a cute note in class.

After meeting Matt in college and falling in love, I realized that those high school boys were still pretty eh, but I also learned that it doesn’t take some grand romantic gesture to be a sweet guy. It’s all the little things Matt does for me that really mean the most.

Last week I was in Wisconsin for my grandpa’s funeral. Since it was such short notice, my mom couldn’t afford to fly Matt up with me so he stayed at home while I was gone for a week. When I finally returned to Texas, I was coming down the elevator at the airport to meet him and he walked up the escalator just so he could give me a kiss and a hug a little bit earlier. He totally swept me off my feet, and with him just being his usual impatient self.

I’ve learned that guys don’t really like the big romantic gestures because most of the time they’re afraid they’ll either: A. screw it up somehow, B. embarrass themselves, C. get rejected, or D. all of the above. So honestly, the big romantic things are pretty rare, and while that means they should still be valued when they DO come along, you have to pay attention and enjoy the smaller things.

I for one love to get the random text at 2 in the afternoon that just says “i love you” when I’ve been having a bad day. It turns my entire day around from crappy to awesome. Or when Matt lets me have the last Dr. Pepper in the fridge. Such a gentlemen! I’ve learned not to expect amazing over-the-top romantic nights from Matt and I’m perfectly happy with that. As women we need to stop putting so much pressure on men to be romantic when just letting them be them can make us so much happier.

Face it, you’re not going to have Lloyd Dobbler standing outside your window every day trying to win you back. Or even your guy buying you flowers and cooking a romantic dinner on a random Thursday night. It’s the little things that count; they really do make me love my boyfriend a little more each day.

Whether it’s just a note left on our chalkboard in the apartment, or when he kisses me on my head when I’m still in bed and he’s off to his 8 o’clock class, the smallest gestures can really show just how much your man loves you and make you think “I have the best boyfriend EVER.”

Who needs some expensive gift when you’ve got that?

You’ve probably driven through Waco, on your way to Dallas, San Antonio, or Austin. I have the distinction of being from there. I do not like telling people this, due to the quick judgement that usually accompanies this revelation.

But that is the truth, Waco is my hometown. I was born in Hillcrest Hospital. I spent my teenage years driving down Valley Mills and going to concerts on Colcord. My family still lives there. I do not. I miss them and wish they would move, too.

Waco is a planet unto itself. As soon as you cross the Brazos River, an unexplained feeling washes over.

Most associate the place with apocalyptic cults, Baylor University, and backward thinking, which is perhaps a great combination of the previous two.

Waco has a unique distinction: it has more museums and more churches per capita than any other city in the entire world. Baptists run the town, no doubt about it. The museums are so out of reach for non-society types, so most Wacoans haven’t been. Dr Pepper is the grand exception. Everyone has been to that museum.

In Waco, you cannot drink the water. The taste is far too pungent. Rumor has it that dairy cow waste runs into the river and they can’t clean it properly. Restaurants advertise their filtered water. Tap water is a rarity, definitely not a delicacy.

This is not normal.

But then again, Waco is not normal by any means. A city the size of Waco shouldn’t have distinct boroughs. The issues of race and class should not be so raw in this era.

Never has a place wanted so greatly to be perceived as modern, yet manage to cling so vehemently to the past. You can’t reasonably have a Cotton King Pageant, celebrating the glory days of the plantation, in a city with a large African-American population. And Waco wonders why outsiders view it as twisted at times?

There are only two social classes in Waco: ridiculously rich and desperately poor. There is no in between. It’s the same way with religious thought. You are either fundamentalist or nothing at all. People of differing walks of life do not associate with each other.

Waco is not welcoming to the happy medium. Perhaps this is the reason I left. Perhaps this is the reason I don’t want to move back.

A great choice!

An incredibly fucked up and crappy choice!

My Friends Eric, Boomer, Zander, and I got invitations to test out Yolo Restaurant before they open to the public. We started off with a Spinach Dip appetizer. I liked it, and it reminded me of J. Alexanders. Only problem we found was that it was a little too liquidy. We all ordered our food. Eric got the NY Strip, Boomer got the Tuna Steak, Zander got the Strip’N'Cheese, and I got the Monterey Burger. Each meal came with a salad, two of us got ceasers, and the other two got house salads. One with Pesto Italian and the other with Oil & Vinegar. I enjoyed my salad except for the chic peas. Eric and Zander thought the ceaser was a little too tangy, and didn’t think the sun dried tomatoes fit well either. All our meals we’re pretty damn good. Boomer had one complaint, “my loaded baked potatoe isn’t very loaded”. Eric’s full in-depth review of his experience is below in HD video. Check it out, and check out the pictures.

]]> http://darrellklein.wordpress.com/2009/11/14/awaiting-return/ Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:11:04 +0000 Darrell Klein http://darrellklein.wordpress.com/2009/11/14/awaiting-return/

Photo:  Awaiting Return – Happy Hollow Farms – Mt. Juliet, Tennessee

Sitting at the local pizza joint:

“Mommy, what’s that?”

“What, this?”

“Yeah, that.”

“Dr. Pepper, honey.”

“Can I try some?”

“You don’t drink soda.”

“Ok………………can I try some?”

“Ok….but you’re not going to like it…..”

*Julian takes sip of soda – makes EWWWW face*

“Blah! Mommy! That was too spicy.”

“See? I told you you wouldn’t like it.”

“What is it called again?”

“Dr. Pepper.”

“Dr. Pepper? Will it protect me from the FLU??”

I’m currently surfing webmd…I’m feeling optimistic.

These are just some of the foods sold at Walmart.

Besides breakfast, I envision a future where we can also get lunch and dinner on a stick. Reminds me of this Daily Show segment.

This can looks like it was left over from 1929, when Popeye the cartoon first appeared.

I don’t know if I should laugh or be offended. It’s nice to see some version of Asian cuisine, Chinese in particular, hitting the mainstream more and more, though.

I like clean product design, but there’s something about Walmart’s Great Value house brand that makes me question the quality. But I have no hesitation buying these, if only for the cute art.

That’s 20% more grossness, free.

This is just sad. But it’s 78 cents, so it goes straight into my cart.

Rennata Tropeano, a wonderful artist that I was introduced to via the Art Every Day Month challenge, has graciously given me an award.  This is my second blog award, and I was thrilled to receive it.  I still feel like a very baby blogger compared to the many, many experienced and excellent bloggers that I’ve come across, and all of the well-designed and established blogs out there.  So receiving a little encouragement in the form of a peer-to-peer award makes me feel like I am doing something right.

Thank you so much, Rennata, for the kind words, and I feel honored that you considered me inspiring.

I’m over the top, y’all!

Now, to officially complete my acceptance of the award, I will answer the questionnaire that accompanied it.  All answers are supposed to be one word long, but that was very difficult with items such as “Dr. Pepper” and “compost pile.”  I did my best!

1. Where is your cellphone?  floor
2. Your hair?  curly
3. Your mother?  fiery
4. Your father?  clever
5. Your favorite food?  crab
6. Your dream last night?  journeying
7. Your dream/goal?  enlightenment
8. Your favorite drink?  Dr. Pepper
9. What room are you in?  spare
10. Your hobby?  plural
11. Your fear?  rejection
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years?  grateful
13. Where were you last night?  couch
14. Something that you aren´t?  driven
15. Muffins?  blueberry
16. Wishlist item?  costume
17. Where did you grow up?  Atlanta
18. Last thing you did?  exhale
19. What are you wearing?  hoodie
20. Your TV?  non-existent
21. Your pets?  kittehs
22. Friends?  wonderful
23. Your life?  rich

24. Your mood?  calm
25. Missing someone?  no
26. Vehicle?  Honda
27. Something you´re not wearing?  bra
28. Your favorite store?  book
29. Your favorite color?  sky
30. When was the last time you laughed?  lunch
31. Last time you cried?  Tuesday
32. Your best friend?  Beauty
33. One place you go to over and over? compost pile
34. Facebook?  hiatus
35. Favorite place to eat?  Nicola’s

Now that that’s complete, all that is left is for me to pass this award on to three bloggers who’ve inspired me.  Only three?  Seriously?  This is extremely difficult for me.  There are so many of you who deserve this award.  But after due consideration, I’ve decided to pass it on to:

Cora Drew at [We] Exist to Relate

Brandi Reynolds at Welcome to The Joy Rebellion

&

Goddess Leonie Allan over at the Goddess Guidebook

You’ve all inspired me in your very different ways.  Thank you for sending out your creative energies into the world so that I could receive them.  I hope that receiving this award gives you a little lift today, maybe even makes you feel all pretty and bright and loved for a moment, like this daisy.  Not that you don’t always feel pretty and bright and loved.  Maybe you do.  Hmm…

How about prettier and brighter and more loved than ever?

Namasté, y’all.  (And see you when I get back!)

(Yep, these photographs are all mine – even though the second one is heavily edited to give it that glowy feeling.  I do think I’m getting much better at using a camera in general, though — an unexpected bonus from this whole blogging adventure.)

(And by the way, if you live in Atlanta and have never been to Nicola’s, you are missing out.  The food is inexpensive, exotic, and oh so tasty.  Make sure to go on a Friday or Saturday night so you can enjoy some spectacular belly dancing — and be prepared to dance, yourself.  It’s part of the whole cultural experience, and Nicola, himself, is likely to make sure you get involved.  Oh, and no dance experience required!)

As I’ve mentioned before, I eat cookies in bed.  I was talking about that to the Bombshell today, and I told her that I eat cookies every night before I go to bed.  If I don’t eat something then I end up waking up really hungry and cranky.  I also must have either pop or bottled water by my bedside at all times.  Back in the day I would wake up and chug a pop then instantly fall back asleep.  I’ve only known one other person who could do that.

And of course, it’s usually Golden Oreos. 

Why do I not have diabetes yet?  I have no idea.  But I’m sure it’s coming for me if I don’t change my habits.  My body is so immune to pop that I could drink Jolt at 11:00 pm, but as long as I’ve got my Tylenol PM I can fall asleep.  I’m pretty sure my blood is 50 percent Dr. Pepper too.  Like I’ve mentioned before, I keep my dentist in business.

I have never roasted a whole turkey before but with the low prices on frozen turkeys (as low as 40¢ a lb), I thought I have to try.  I have that idyllic thought of a Thanksgiving turkey sitting in the middle of the dining room table, glowing with its golden deliciousness.  Ah, what a nice thought.  Now, I wasn’t going for Norman Rockwell here, I was just trying to get the turkey cooked and not give everyone salmonella.

I had heard of cooking ham with Dr. Pepper which I know from experience is good.  (To be clear, I ate it not cooked it).  So I thought, maybe that would be good on turkey.  You never know what will come of mixing ingredients but I always want to put an original spin on things.  All the recipes I read had lemon in the turkey but I prefer orange and thought it would go better with the Dr. Pepper.

I bought a frozen turkey which I then had to defrost.  I hate defrosting but on it went.  I let it set in the refrigerator on a baking sheet for 3 days to thaw out.  Once I took it out of the refrigerator, I cut the wrapper off and sat it in a clean sink.  There was still some ice on the surface so I ran it under some cool water to get rid of that ice.  The turkey itself felt defrosted.

Remove the neck and the bag of giblets.  You can roast these along with the turkey, save them for a rainy day or just discard.  Rinse the inside and the outside of the turkey and remove any remaining feathers.  Make sure to get most of the water out and off the turkey before setting it in the roasting pan breast side up.  Once it is in the pan, use some paper towels to pat the outside of the turkey dry.  This will promote browning of the skin.  The legs should be tied together but mine came with a plastic piece that attached them.  The wings should be sort of tucked back under the bird.  The turkey will cook more evenly if it is closed in tight instead of flopping all over the place.  If there is a pop up thermometer, leave it in.  If you take it out, it will only create a big hole for all the juices to leak out of.

• 1 12 lb. turkey, prepared as described above
• 12 oz. Dr. Pepper
• 2 Navel Oranges
• 4 TBSP of melted butter
• poultry seasoning
• salt, pepper

Preheat oven to 350º.  Season the inside of the turkey with the poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper.  Pour Dr. Pepper all over the outside of the turkey and leave in the roasting pan.  Cut oranges into fourths and squeeze juice over turkey put the squeezed oranges inside of the turkey.  Pour butter all over the turkey rubbing it around to make sure everything is evenly buttered.  Season the whole turkey with poultry seasoning, salt and pepper.

Place turkey in the oven and cook for 2.5 hours for a 12 lb turkey.  Check on it at around 2 hours.  If the skin is getting too brown then you can cover the breast with a piece of aluminum foil as this should slow browning.  At 2.5 hours, remove the turkey and let it rest for 20-30 minutes before carving it.  If you carve sooner all of the juices will run out and your turkey will be dry.  To know when your turkey is done you can insert a knife between the leg and thigh and those juices should be clear not bloody.  You can also use a meat thermometer.  Inserted into the meaty part of the leg it should read 165º.  Don’t poke the turkey a lot with the meat thermometer because the juices will also run out of all those holes.  In all honesty my turkey leg was around 185º when I took it out and it was still nice and juicy so dont worry too much if your temperature is in excess of 165º.

Turkey with Dr. Pepper

I was so proud of myself.  I prepared, roasted, and even carved this turkey all by my self and it was a beauty.  Golden, crispy skin, juicy meat and all.  I think even Norman would have been proud.  This turkey definitely will not be my last.

I was walking down the street to an appointment and almost walked by a promotion stand. Dr. Pepper people were out again with the new Cherry Dr. Pepper. I tried to grab one not too long ago. I don’t drink sodas and avoided the Cherry Dr. Pepper but grabbed a diet. I found out later that was not Cherry and the regular. They were handing out regular diet Dr. Pepper and promoting the Cherry ones. I managed to grab a real Diet Dr. Pepper today. I grabbed two but couldn’t give one away to a friend so was stuck with both. I was curious how a cherry root beer can taste out of a generic soda can. The color is strong and came out once the can was popped. The taste was nothing spectacular. The cherry is definitely present. The diet is also there and the rest is root beer. I read the can and found ‘natural and artifical flavors’ have done the job. I was looking for the word cherry in the list of chemicals and found a color red but no cherry. The interesting thing I found was the diet had caffeine. I thought caffeine had gone out of fashion as sugar had done when it comes to diet drinks. Apparently not and I drank it anyway without any caffeine effects. I guess it was worth a try not for drinking a new soft drink but for getting it out of my system. Once the initial experience was complicated, it had to be resolved somehow and finally I got over it. I can say it was and was not a waste of time.

*This post belongs to this week’s edition of My Life as a Cush blog and published early in World of Cush

Dr. Pepper Snapple Group was freed from the confines of Cadbury last year and has been making up for lost time. In reading about them, there are lots of things to be impressed by and cheer about. They are focused on getting R&D close to the customer. Now there’s a novel concept. With an R&D budget 20x smaller than Pepsi’s they have to get it right more often. Being close to the customer usually helps.

I was especially impressed with an idea they came up with to get kids to drink more juice. They found that parents were watering down Mott’s Apple Juice to cut back on calories. So they reduced the sugar by 40% and kept all the nutrition. Big win for everyone.

I have been a fan of Dr. Pepper for a long time and discuss one of their critical mistakes in my book, It’s Not Rocket Science: Using Marketing to Build A Sustainable Business. I love they are back in the thick of it. And, when it comes to advertising they seem to be getting some good advice. Their ad agency chief was quoted as saying, “Coke and Pepsi, all they have to do is remind you why you like the brand. Dr. Pepper has to tell you why you should drink this more.”

Mitch

On the sixth day of the ninth month, myself and H. made our way deep into Tokyo, to Waseta, home to one of Japan’s most prestigious universities. One of H.’s old schoolfriends gave us a tour of the campus, and it was very impressive indeed. A fascinating mix of old and new, with a most delightful street of shops for the students. Also, I noticed that the omnipresent Japanese vending-machines in the Waseta area stocked an unusually high amount of Dr. Pepper. Said drink being my favourite beverage, I was naturally delighted. Apparently, the drink is so rare in Tokyo that looking out for it is like some sort of minor sport. Everytime we spotted a can, we would shout, “O! DOKUTA PEPPA!” in an extremely inflected Japanese accent. If Tokyo had won the 2016 Olympic bid, who knows, we may have seen an international “Dr. Pepper Hunting” event. I digress majorly.

The nectar of the gods.

After our tour of Waseta, the three of us travelled to Omotesando, the Japanese equivalent of Paris’ Champs-Elysées; as the comparison suggests, every shop there catered for the mega-rich. Being penniless students, we could only stand and stare wide-eyed at glamourous Japanese heiresses pick out Gucci handbags worth a small African nation. We traipsed on from the marble-pillared shops of millionaires to Aoyama for a brief glimpse of a Buddhist temple, the first one I had seen on my tour. It had been beautifully constructed, but unfortunately, it was shut (or at least, so it appeared). Our next stop was another of Tokyo’s little curiosities…

The temple in the Aoyama district.

Any self-proclaimed Japanophile will have heard of Harajuku. Hell, even Gwen Stefani sings about it. Harajuku is famous for its ‘cosplayers’, those wacky young teenagers who dress up as their favourite anime or video-game characters and parade about a small plaza every Sunday morning, posing, singing and performing. I’m positive the more reserved Tokyo-ite (Tokyon? Man of Tokyo? Tokyopolitan?) gives the place a wide berth, but it positively teems with tourists cramming to take pictures of men dressed in demon costumes and girls in ridiculously skimpy tutus. There was a surprisingly old chap dressed up as some sort of crippled rapper who walked around in circles beat-boxing, pausing every few seconds to hack up his lungs and occasionally answer his phone. ‘Disturbing’ would have perhaps been the most appropriate adjective.

Harajuku cosplayers.

The beat-boxer. Locking up your children is advised.

We must have arrived on a particularly conservative Sunday, as there weren’t many about, but I do encourage anyone reading this to Google Image ‘Harajuku cosplay’ and see what I mean. My photos don’t really do the best ones any justice.

The following day, the original trio was reunited, plus another of H.’s schoolfriends, a self-confessed otaku (geek). Fitting, then, that we were to make our way into my version of Heaven on Earth, the embodiment of man’s technological might – Akihabara. I consider myself a geek. I’d just like to get that off my chest. Any readers who will never return because of this announcement, know that I still love you, despite your decision. I love games. I’ve been playing them since I was 4 years old; I blame my Granddad for that, plus, all the other indirect consequences, such as lessened respect, inability to play sports with any real prowess and controller-related arthritis that will probably hit me when I’m 30. Apart from the video-games aspect of my geekery comes married a love for all things fantastical and obscure. Who’s that elf in The Lord of the Rings? Legolas, son of Thranduil, you petty mortal. Where does that minor alien species in Star Wars come from? Byss, you imbecile!

Akihabara is known as ‘Electric Town’ – any gadget you care to name exists there, and is for sale at (usually) an extremely fair price. Blu-ray player? Sure. Talking washing-machine? Probably. Any DVD that has ever been made ever!? Assuredly. Simply being there – in its aura – nearly turned this godless heathen religious.

Oh yes.

Apart from an undeniable love for flat-screen televisions, netbooks and cutesy game characters, one thing the Japanese seem to have virtually no scruples about is porn. There is lots of it. We’re not talking EE-cup, stiletto heels, peroxide blonde porn, either. Comic book porn or hentai (literally meaning ‘pervert’ or ‘perversion’ in the lingo) is the standard fare. One particularly massive comic store we visited had seven floors, five of which – I kid you not – were dedicated to all sorts of erotica. I mean,  there’s having a good time, and there’s going too far. Regardless, I’m sure Kleenex makes a killing in Japan.

There was plenty more where that came from.

Undoubtedly, the best part of our visit to Akihabara was the ‘maid cafe’. If I had been 15 years of age on my visit to Tokyo, it would have been akin to non-physical sex. The males that stumble upon this post will no doubt share my enthusiasm. And who wouldn’t? What honest, virile man would turn down the opportunity to have drinks poured for him by a beautiful Japanese waitress, dressed in a ridiculously suggestive French-maid outfit? Despite feeling a little sleazy for having gone (and with three other men), it was a fun experience. Of course, there was nothing remotely sexual about it. There were families there (though this, to me, defeats the purpose) and even getting a damn photo with the girls cost the upwards of €5, so unfortunately, I have none to share.

Ordering a drink was a double-edged sword, really. On the one had, we got to ogle an attractive Japanese woman and feel less predatory, whilst on the other, we were made to meow (yes, meow) to indicate when we wanted her to stop pouring out the milk for our iced-coffees. As I’ve said before, the Japanese just take it in their stride. H.’s friend meowed complete with appropriate gesturing, whilst myself and D. mumbled a half-hearted ‘meuh…’ and trailed off into silence. We all felt rather special, until we saw the same maid repeat the process with an equally as enamoured table of young adults. With hearts momentarily broken, we asked for the bill and were given custom plastic membership cards. Unfortunately, the maid misheard my name rather tragically, and so forevermore I will be ‘Duck-sama’, upon a hypothetical second visit. Should I return for the 2000th time, I shall be in receipt of a Black Card, with, as the pamphlet said, ‘unknown’ privileges. No prizes, ladies and gentlemen, no prizes.

More Akihabara cityscape.

And so, Akihabara came to a close. I reluctantly left the beeping gizmos behind, but I was about to experience something slightly more profound: traditional Japan.

]]> http://3chordsaday.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/pop-a-top-jim-ed-brown/ Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:25:41 +0000 3chordsaday http://3chordsaday.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/pop-a-top-jim-ed-brown/ http://sleepdeprivedcaffeineaddictedlonelystranger.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/should-i-sleep-or-stay-awake-through-another-endless-routine/ Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:13:28 +0000 sleepdeprivedcaffeineaddictedlonelystranger http://sleepdeprivedcaffeineaddictedlonelystranger.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/should-i-sleep-or-stay-awake-through-another-endless-routine/

So…I’m awake…again. I was kinda hoping to fall asleep at a reasonable time tonight but that didn’t happen. I should blame myself and my weakness but I have to say part of the fault lies on my roommates R & J who kept me from my XBox all day. I’m not angry about it, I just need time most days to sink into another world. It’s either that or I pick up smoking and I hate the smell plus I can’t afford it. Really though, the fault lies on me because instead of going to bed after the 9 o’ clock showing of Dexter I decided to stay awake and play L4D. I don’t regret it, let me just put that out. I just know that tomorrow/today at work I will be severely regretting it.

On the note of work, I think I am gonna sound like an idiot yet again when I speak to Chief. I had to write him an email on Friday and I rushed it, not providing nearly enough information, so I could get out of work at the same time as everyone else. I should have stayed 10 minutes late and just wrote a decent email explaining the situation that will be resolved today at work.

Anyways, tonight I do not feel like making another long post so I will leave with this. Dawn: When men of reason go to bed.

Sleep well & be well,

-SDCALS

Know what else I love? I’ll tell you:

Blizzards from Dairy Queen: Specifically, the Snickers one and the Banana Creme Pie one. Oh. My. God. Delicious.

“Cougar Town”: Another crazy funny TV show! I strongly suggest you get caught up on all the previous episodes and then continue watching weekly.

“Entertainment Weekly”: How anybody does without this magazine is beyond me. I love knowing about all things to come in movies, TV, books, and more.

Rolls from Texas Roadhouse: These rolls are a gift from God, I’m sure of it. Even better, is a late-night run to the Roadhouse for a couple dozen rolls – Best midnight snack ever. (Dr. Pepper sold separately, but a must.)

Breakfast in bed: I think this one goes without saying. And yet, here I am, saying it…

Suffice it to say, these things will make your life better. Take my advice. You’ll be glad you did. And as they say at Chik-Fil-A, “My pleasure.”

Corny, yes?

Well I’ll say this much, I am sleepless and I do live around Seattle so it’s not as strange as you might think. I hate this town though. Dark, looming clouds constantly pelt the ground with freezing rain only to break briefly, temporarily relieving us of this overcast existence. The people themselves remain cheery but statistics claim this area to be the suicide capital of the country. I neither care nor want to take the time to prove this but even if it’s not entirely true, few can claim this place is good for the soul. The summer months are wonderful. Beauty is everywhere. The sunshine is so relentless sometimes that one almost wishes for the fall and winter months only to remember the dreariness of it all.

Anyways, I’m awake late at night once again. For some it is already morning but for me I am just now contemplating how I will attempt to fall asleep. I have to be up at noon for an appointment in the afternoon which is plenty of sleep if I go to bed now but I still have this inability to get a good amount of sleep be it a wake up call at 5:30 or noon.

I want to be like Hank Moody. If you didn’t know, he is the main character of the Showtime show Californication. He is an womanizing asshole who doesn’t apologize and always speaks his mind. I want every part of that. I don’t want to be the nice guy who never has anything go for him. I don’t want to be stuck with the affection of an overweight and overbearing girl who is so starved for attention that she latches on to me despite my lack of interest. And yes, I do not want to be with a fat girl. There, I said it. No offense to any of you out there, many of you are wonderful people and a good deal of my female friends are overweight. However, I don’t find you sexually appealing in any way, shape, or form. I want a girl that works out, has a fantastic body and knows it. I want beautiful. I don’t just want to settle for cute. I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder and my standards for beauty are different than most but I don’t think it is asking for too much to have the girl next door or a southern bell who looks amazing in a skirt. I’m shallow and horny on the outside like almost everyone else in the world. Inside however I just want to be with someone I love. However, if you can’t find a balance between the two in your relationships they are almost always doomed to failure.

I don’t know. Maybe I just need to give up on love, hell, on sex for a good amount of time. Apparently things just find their way to you when you stop looking. I doubt it but we’ll have to take a leap of faith in that regard.

Sleep well,

SDCALS

“A flock of sheep that leisurely pass by
One after one; the sound of rain, and bees
Murmuring; the fall of rivers, winds and seas,
Smooth fields, white sheets of water, and pure sky -
I’ve thought of all by turns, and still I lie
Sleepless…”

Yet another night where I lie awake. I feel the need to create an IV of Dr. Pepper, inject it directly into my body, and stay away constantly. I’ve heard though that they have developed a pill/operation (not too informed on the particulars) that can deprive the body of sleep except for an hour a day. If that were to occur I believe I would jump at the chance to get it. It’s not necessarily that I have so much to do in a given day but really that I just take so long to fall asleep and when I do it is either poor rest or too much rest. I have some sort of inability to function like a normal human being.

So work was fantastic this week. I’ll just toss this out there. I’m in the military so occasionally I have to stay on board my boat for 24 hours. Let me tell you, it is one of the most soul sucking events you could possibly attend and I willingly accepted it when I joined. It’s not even just a simple 4 hour watch and chill in front of a TV after that anymore. No, they want me to work from 0730-2200. I’m sorry but I am not only extremely lazy but also a bit of an asshole so I refuse to work that much unless I am paid extra. And thus I seem to find myself in trouble regularly.

On to another subject. I moved into a new place recently. I have 2 roommates who happened to be married. One is in the military with me, we’ll call him R, and the other is just a civilian girl, who we’ll refer to as J from now on. Well, R & J have been having some problems lately. Correction, they have been having problems for quite sometime. Married for a couple of years now, shortly after our previous deployment J got a good paying job. It was her first and with the money she made on top of what R makes from the military she still managed to get them into debt. Yes, she’s a bit of a spender. I love her, don’t get me wrong but she has got to be one of the most emotional people I have ever met. First she was sad and miserable for doing that to R. Then she was angry at him for giving her a limit on what she was allowed to spend every month. Now, she’s doing better in that regard but she’s fighting with him about some other random subject. I hate to see it happen but I don’t see myself having roommates this time next year. Unless something happens so that makes a dramatic change for the better they will most likely end up divorced. They already separated for a brief period so she could pursue her job.  I just don’t know what to do though. I want to help but it is just one of those situations where I think my existence serves the sole purpose of keeping people together. Seriously, I believe that if I were not in this house right now they would probably fight constantly over stupid stuff until finally both of them could no longer stand one another.

Alright, now onto our last subject. My love life happens to be the bane of my existence. I can’t find a girl that I want to date who would want to date me. Obviously the extreme shyness and inability to be confident in myself prevents finding those types of girls but I am seriously tired of only having big girls like me. No offense to those out there who have alittle more than a few extra pounds. Many of you are wonderful people but I have a solid and secure belief that attraction in the first few months of a relationship, and even throughout it, are key. Sex, love, attraction, stable income, etc. are all necessary things to have in a relationship for it to last a long time. Sadly, I can’t find anyone that meets my growing exceedingly higher standards. I am slightly interested in a girl I work with though, we’ll call her P. Well P and I get along pretty well but unfortunately she’s dating a guy who she is absolutely in love with. I’d love to find a reason to break it off but the nice guy in me would rather just see her happy.

Anyways, I am going to try and get some sleep. Typing all of the crap actually made me a little tired. Hope everyone has a good weekend if I don’t write for awhile again.

-SDCALS

Why is it that in movies and TV shows, families make such a big deal about eating breakfast, but they never eat? They make this huge spread of pancakes, eggs, fruits, juices, and more – it looks delicious! But half the time, the kids never even sit down. Maybe they grab something, maybe they don’t and they run out the door in a rush! What a waste. Every now and then, the parents force the kids to sit, but they still don’t get much eating done. Food still goes to waste…

I’ll admit I hardly ever eat breakfast, but I don’t make it and leave it on the table! I just grab my foam cup of ice and fill it with cold Dr. Pepper. Believe me, not a drop of my “breakfast” goes to waste.