Things known and unknown

1. File this under "Foods I Would Not Have Eaten Had I Known What They Were"
                                                                      
                                                          Tripe

I realized that I like the Americanized version of Pho MUCH better after I tried the real thing.  Had it not been for a good friend pointing it out to me, I would have mistaken every string of stomach parts as noodles.  I just got chills thinking about it again.  Ich.


2. Is it just me, or is NASA's Kennedy Space Center a bad location for launching space shuttles?  What's the number one reason for launch delays?  Rain.  Where does it rain 3-4 days out of the week? A peninsula with lots of jet streams and low pressure systems.  That was a really technical explanation, wasn't it?  I'm too lazy to look up the facts here, but you can trust me :)

3. Census Count--speaking of the KNOWN, this NPR story discusses the number of people who have yet to respond to the census in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, which they state is made up of young hipsters and older Hasidic Jews.  So, you may see my question coming here, but if they know what percentage of citizens haven't responded (50%), and the makeup of said citizens, then can't Brooklyn just send in an IOU for their city?  "Dear US Government, please double the population of the forms that were mailed back to you. Thanks, Brooklyn."

                                 

4. Pwned--something I did not know.  I heard them saying it on TV, like I was supposed to know the meaning. 

Then I looked it up and realized the rest of the universe is familiar with this term like yesterday's news.   I would have included an image that has the term "pwned" written on it, but most of those are of lolcats, and another cat picture on this blog might give people the wrong impression.  Oh, what the heck.

On second thought, maybe that's a puppy? Either way, it's getting pwned! 

5. Sexism in advertising--do companies know they're offending me?  Do they care?
Do you want me to buy your products?  Because I'm a woman and am the one who makes most of the decisions about how to decorate my bathroom and kitchen.  Just checking, in case you wanted to advertise to me instead of my husband who probably didn't catch what your commercial was about.

6. Do you ever watch someone rise to stardom and feel like you had something to do with it since you "knew him when?"  That's how I feel about Rondo.  Except I never really knew him, but loved him from the stands when he played for UK.  Still, I'm claiming some credit, mostly because I used to think I liked him more than anyone else did, ever.  So I win (if you were trying to compete with me).

Round Three

In light of my sudden disinterest in the Final Four, I'm going to keep this one quick here.  I'm loving all the comments from my group of witty friends and family members.  Keep the list going!

Here are a list of things that make me nervous:

1. Arms dangling out car windows. The picture here has nothing to do with that, other than when I google images for "arm out car window," these are the sorts of things I get.

2. Mountaintop removal

3. Hot soup. Images of it flying all over me, that is.

BTW, I made one of my top 5 favorite meals this week, this black bean soup recipe.

4. People who look at my forehead when talking to me

5. Moles

Just kidding.

6. The idea of Duke winning the whole thing

(And one more, because I found this website and because I hate to leave the post on a bad note: 6b. When my dog has seizures.  Isn't this dog named Norman adorable?)

 

Make your own list here--six things that make you nervous.  I'd love to hear them!

Round Two

1. Let's start with cheese.  Every conversation with me could be started with the topic of cheese.  In fact,  if you know me, we've probably talked about cheese a lot.  You personally might not be interested in talking about cheese with me, but I won't be able to read that on your face or body language because my passion for it makes me blind to others'  indifference.  Which gives me this thought: if people don't like what you have to say, is that your problem or theirs?  Feel free to discuss.

2.  I went to a new optometrist today who, I'm pleased to say, was actually quite good at helping me resolve my problems with my contacts.  She is not, however, good at making small talk with her patients.  Things I want to talk about with my eye doctor: Is eyeliner bad for my eyes? Things she likes to talk about: the healthcare bill (I can count on being destitute in 5 years), bad things that have happened to people who travel for work (something I love to hear about since THAT'S WHAT I DO) and the level of self-absorption in kids today (no offense taken, lady).

P.S. Another interesting thing about this new doctor's office?  They could figure out my prescription by having me stare at a picture of a tree.  Wah? If anyone can explain, please do.

3. Spoiler alert: for any Lost fans here who haven't watched this week's episode yet, it was AMAZING!  Not that that statement is a "spoiler," but since most of the episodes this second half of the season have been rather meh, you should know that this episode brings some major revelations.  Finally.  The eyeliner guy's acting skills really haven't been highlighted until now. Ricardo on the Canary Islands?  Fabulous.  Just fabulous.    This might be the best episode of any TV show ever in history. Ever.

 

 4. Speaking of latin cultures (I know that one's a stretch!) this new Brazilian Blowout thing is AMAZING!  And when I say "new," I mean new to the Midwest, and mainly new to me.  It has basically given me permission to do as little as possible while getting ready for work every morning.

5. I'm on the road now for work, as usual, spending yet another night at an average hotel in a (below) average town (sorry, ____field). There's only one sit-down restaurant in town, and it just happens to be a chain diner. I would like to say that my mind was playing tricks on me since I'm grossed out by diners, but I'm pretty sure the closer I got to the bottom of my salad, the more it tasted like dishwater. Dirty dishwater (is there any other kind?). Especially when I got to the bottom and saw that the lettuce was soggy in some yellow-ish liquid. But I kept eating it anyway :) Here are other complaints about traveling for work:

• Road signs that use incorrect grammar.  What's funny about this sign is that it's official, not just some quickly scribbled note by a construction crew member.  Someone along the way actually had to give this sign a thumbs-up to approve before sending it out to the streets. The other funny thing is that it's in my neighborhood, so it doesn't really count as "things that annoy me while I'm traveling."

• Being allergic to hotel sheets and having to bring a sleep sack with me.  MAJOR annoying.

• Creepy pictures of kids in the hotel elevator.  Not only is this an annoyingly obvious attempt by marketing to make me think this hotel brings adorableness, but these two kids clearly do not like each other.

  


6. There has been a major lull this week with nothing but NIT games to watch. Yawnsville. During this break in NCAA tournament play, I'm guessing because of built-up anticipation and angst, fans of opposing teams who don't like each other are funneling that energy into trash talking on message boards. And I shouldn't even say it's between fans of opposing teams,  since it's also coming from fans whose teams will NEVER play each other again this season. Something every crazy ranter will type at some point is "IMO," which cracks me up because they're saying, "Hey, your team is made up of criminals, but that's just my honest opinion."  Thank you for being so humble!

Round One

It's that time of year again, and all I can think about is college basketball! I'm keeping my eye on every game while trying to pretend that I'm not really missing out on the first signs of spring. And in between games, I calm my anticipation by browsing anything and everything under the sun, to convince myself I'm not single-minded, and also perhaps to buffer the crash I'll experience in April when I come down off my high. But no matter how hard I try, my thoughts ALWAYS return to March Madness and all the joy it brings me! Everything is 6° of college basketball! Here are a list of loves that have made valiant attempts to keep me preoccupied...

1. Even though the weather is finally warmed up and (literally) the snow just melted, I'm still constantly dreaming about my upcoming trip to the beach. While it's still a couple weeks away, I started packing my bags already because I'm convinced that will help me get there sooner. My almost-translucent skin is about to experience a major shock, but I am ready for some serious downtime. Speaking of sunscreen, last year I tried Burt's Bees Chemical-free sunscreen and found it to be rather pasty. Does anyone have other suggestions? I appreciate this post from greenlivingideas.com, that there is no such thing as a "natural" sunscreen protector, since they all contain chemicals. But I am choosing to vacation at the beach, not the shaded rain forest, so I need some practical tips here, people!

2. Exercise is a must for me this time of year. After indulging in comfort foods for the winter, I have some major "baggage" to take care of. Saddlebags, to be precise. (Is that a surprise for anyone thinking they were reading a man's blog here?) I discovered that my cable company offers free workout videos, and I got hooked on Jillian Michaels 30-Day Shred. I mean HOOKED! I am having conflicting feelings of wanting to punch her and hug her at the same time. Her workouts are so intense, but delightfully short (20 minutes) AND they work! I think for the first time in my life I actually have a semblance of what could be a 4-pack. I can feel myself getting toned in muscles that have been dormant for, well, a lifetime. Now if only my cellulite would take a break on the production end. Any suggestions of how to get rid of that, anyone?

3. I love fashion and the time suckers that are fashion blogs. I love seeing what movie stars are wearing and browsing magazines and catalogs. I order a lot of clothes online because I abhor the mall, but why do I always think the clothes on the models will look the same on me? I was thinking, how great would it be if you had a computer program that, after entering your measurements, you could click on any model on any website and have their body morph into yours? Then you would see that (obviously) your cellulite is not going to be covered in those bikini bottoms, no matter how "full coverage" they are. If only you could apply the same kind of trickery to determining the comfort of a shoe. I purchased sandals from jcrew.com for $98, only to discover that they're horribly rigid and probably should have come with bandaids.

Then last week, I was in the electronics department of WalMart and my eye caught a pair of sandals in the next aisle that look so similar in style, and cuter! Guess how much? $10. And they're uber comfy. I'm going to be returning my jcrew pair asap. Can you guess the bargain pair in the picture below? BTW, I'm glad I have friends who will neither judge me for my wonky toes, shopping at WalMart (I really needed an adaptor!) nor wearing $10 shoes :)

4. Work keeps me busy, of course, and working in the mental health field keeps things interesting. I have decided that mental health practitioners are, as a whole, judgmental. I suppose you have to be when you're making a diagnosis--it does require "clinical judgment." But I'm also finding that once you're seasoned in the field, it becomes second nature to start diagnosing just about everyone. I've overheard my colleagues making "diagnoses" based on a person's posture (too comfortable=narcissistic), an involuntary face twitch (definitely can't trust them), and irresponsibility (borderline personality disorder, anyone?). It's enough to make anyone paranoid, i.e. me, when I'm trying to get comfortable in my chair during staff meetings. FYI, for those interested, you can check out the upcoming revisions to DSM-V (the future of psychiatric diagnosis) here.

5. I've now been to three (or four?) Avett Brothers concerts. This folk-rock band, with their scruffy beards, obvious on-stage passion, and baritone/falsetto harmony, stirs my heart like no other. One of my favorite songs, Paranoia in Bb Minor, is strongly supported by the banjo playing of currently shorter-bearded brother, Scott Avett. The song is my favorite kind of bluegrass music.

6. If there's one thing I like to watch as much as a college basketball game, it's seeing the players dancing! Kentucky Wildcats, residing in the home of the Bluegrass state, have been an exciting team to watch this month! The players have been entertaining me on youtube for their dancing almost as much as the (too) personal hotel dance routines of West Virginia's Mountaineers. With the almost-certain elite eight matchup aside, if there were to be a dance-off, who do you think would win? BTW, if anyone has other dancing videos of remaining teams, I'd love to see them!