Random blurbs

I committed a bad this weekend playing the yard game koob. I accidentally hit my friend square in the forehead and made her gush blood. I felt bad. I made her scallops at her request the next day to make up for it. I was forgiven. I hope it doesn't scar.

I am really mad at the weather. There is a general consensus that there has only been one truly good weather weekend so far this summer. It will be July this weekend. 4th of July weekend. It better be nice!

I had one of the best, if not the best, barbeque sauces I have ever had a few weeks ago. I am disappointed in myself for not having even heard of it before. Gates barbeque sauce. It is very good and highly recommended.

I will scold myself to no end if I ever get a speeding ticket on the way to work. Yet I speed to work every day. I make no sense sometimes.

I accidentally bought a book at the airport that I already owned. I make no sense sometimes.

I wonder if I will ever be able to do 100 consecutive pushups.

I have heard that San Francisco sourdough bread is unique because the yeast is unique to the climate, and that the yeast is not the same if transported anywhere else. This is why I think almost all sourdough bread in MN sucks. I have not searched the internet to confirm or deny this, which surprises me.

busy busy

Mentally preparing for the next 2-3 weeks. Lots of travel prep before Canada next week and Connecticut the week after, with a wedding in-between. Friends to catch up with this weekend as well. Definitely a mix of work hard play hard! Haven't been this busy in a while. I like it.

Wiser is a better word

I hate how much people start to use the world "old" when they're 22, 23, 24... it sickens me. I sicken myself when I use it. Seriously, unless we are struck by disaster we're going to live to be 50, 60, 70... it's still relatively early in the game. There are just different phases, so to speak, and one has to look at how these new phases are exciting.

Not sure how that came up as my first thought to this post... oh yeah I just remembered! It's nearly 1 AM and I really don't feel like going to bed, but know I should, and wish I was one of those people that could be 100% after only 4, 5, or 6 hours of sleep. I generally attribute that to older people... shit, there I go again. Will my night owl tendencies ever change? I don't know. I've read some stuff on the circadian rhythm and how it is different for each person. The most interesting part of the circadian rhythm to me is that certain people are more efficient at certain types of tasks at different times of the day. So true. So why do so many in society ignore this science and demand that we follow strict cookie-cutter schedules, despite this scientific knowledge? Power? Control? Blows my mind. I fight it as much as I can, but adhere just enough to prevent risk of potentially negative consequences... blah. If I had a typical day, I would be able to wake up at my own pace, with plenty of time to eat a proper meal and exercise before going to work. I'd go to work after morning rush hour, go home after evening rush hour, and have the rest of my evening to do as I please, without feeling obligation to work out as I have already done that for the day. Couple that with my normal night owlish weekends, and I'm probably instantly 10-20% more efficient at EVERYTHING. Not even kidding. It's like I deal with jetlag every Monday.

At least it's a short week!

Canada trip next week, Connecticut the week after. Lots of stuff to get done this week... starting with bedtime now.

Let's see where this takes me

I've been doing a lot of reading of my past blog this past week. WOW have I changed since 2006. Just wow. It's as if I can read and watch myself maturing slowly over time. It was always one of the reasons in the back of my mind to keep this blog as a makeshift journal/diary to monitor this exactly... looks like it's paying dividends. I wanted to be able to go back and read this if/when I have kids so I can relate to how I behaved at their age, though this only started in my 20s. I *think* I can do this in my mind for remembering what I was like when I was 8, 12, in my teens, etc., but thinking about it more now and my perception of myself at these ages over the past few years, the view is definitely becoming more skewed. I see these "damn kids" that look so young these days, then I estimate what age they might be (which I've determined I'm horrible at), and finally then think of the dumb shit I used to do at that age. I then imagine these "damn kids" that I see doing these things that I did, and my knee-jerk reaction is to scold, scold, scold... guess I'm getting old, old, old...

So yeah I started writing this post with absolutely no idea what would come out... I just know that I've enjoyed reading some of my past posts this week and can't really determine why I ever stopped writing. I love to write creatively, and at one point thought I might become a writer when I grow up. Eh. Maybe not now... but I guess blogging fulfills a little bit of that need.

Will I finally move to the city this year, or will I wait one more? I could see either happening. I will be in the city no later than around 2 years from now for sure, it is just a matter of time and circumstance. I have a friend that just moved to Calhoun, and I saw a picture of his view. Yeah I'm jealous. But I also like my cozy underground heated parking in the winter... not so easy in the city!

I've joined a gym, and I love it. It makes me think back to high school when I could have learned more about weights and fitness... wish I would have taken that over a study hall now. Oh well, now's better than never.

Gah, I have so many different things I could write about right now, but I'll save those for another day. Guess that's all for now.

Back after over a year....

Yeah so I forgot I had this thing. Lot of stuff over the past year, too much for right now.

Leave for the Kentucky Derby in a few days, so that has consumed most of my brain during non-peak hours lately.

I'll get to one thing, a request for a recipe...

Jalapeno Mac 'n' Cheese
(Not for those on a diet!)

Jalapeno Mac and Cheese

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
1/2 pound cream cheese
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
1/2 pound Cheddar cheese
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup sliced jalapenos (chop after removing from jar) (Ortega brand is good, some have weird flavors)
1/2 cup jalapeno juice (from jar)
4-8 tablespoons Panko bread crumbs (must be Panko! very important!)
1 pound elbow macaroni pasta

-In a saucepan melt butter.

-Add cream cheese and mix until blended.

-Add heavy cream and whisk.

-Add jalapeno juice and whisk.

-Mix in cheddar, stirring until cheddar is completely melted.

-Mix in sliced jalapenos.

-Add salt, Tony C's and flour.

-Continue whisking until all ingredients are completely incorporated.

-Spray loaf pan (13” x 9”) with pan coating.

-Layer pan with cooked macaroni.

-Spoon in mixture, stir around until well blendedd.

-Dust top with desired amount of bread crumbs.

-Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.

-Uncover and bake another 30 minutes or until browned to desired color.

New Orleans - Chicago - Japan part 1

Longest and one of the best trips ever!

17 days, non-stop action. Five cities. 9 flights. Several taxis. Lots of subway rides. Huge food variety. New people.

Days 1-6: New Orleans.

Got in very late day one as I had a connecting flight, so didn't even have time to go out. BOO

Day two, did some work and then bee-lined to Bourbon Street. HOLY shit, what a gong show! Bars, restaurants, and shops, with liquor everywhere, including on the street, the only other place I've found with this rule besides Vegas. Well I pretty much just walked up and down a few times to people watch, then settled on the bar that serves the Hand Grenades. A fruity melony drink that pretty much is a hand grenade in liquid form... I looked up the alcohol content later and it's pretty much five drinks' worth of alcohol. Not something to have multiples of! Made friends with the bartender and said I'd meet her out the next night.

Day three, work all day. Evening solo, went and met up with the bartender for a drink. Redheaded British girl, very nice, cute, fun to talk to. Relatively early night.

Day four, work all day. Oh crap, I think I'm getting sick. Please don't be getting sick, not at the beginning of this long trip... Evening solo, found some good N'awlins food again and called it a night.

Day five, work all day. I really think I might be getting sick, crap. Low-key evening, to bed early.

Day six, transition day to city two, Baton Rouge. But not without some last-minute exploring in New Orleans during the day. Hit up a really nice cajun restaurant for the New Orleans sampler platter, then tried one of the best sweet foods I've ever had, French Beignets, or French doughnuts. They're square mildly sweet breads deep-fried with mounds of powdered sugar on tip, and you get some cafe au lait to go with them perfectly. Mmm. Mmmmmm. After that, headed to Baton Rouge and called it an early night.

Day seven, Baton Rouge. Work all day. I'm definitely sick, which sucks. Hit up the pharmacy for dayquillish medicines. Early night.

Day eight, Baton Rouge. Work all day. Evening I get to run next to the Mississippi River, probably the only decent view here. Otherwise it's concrete jungle, with nothing much to do. Also, everything just seems so laid back and slow, something I'm not used to and don't think I'm fond of. I think I want out of here. Another early night, and this cold is really sucking. I get to bed very early.

Day nine, Baton Rouge, and transition day to Chicago to meet up with friends from Madison. Work half day, then get ready to take sucky connection from New Orleans to Houston to Chicago. Get to Houston, and have one hour to make the connection. A long wait to de-plane, a long walk through a few terminals, and a bus shuttle to another terminal, I miss my connection. This is not happening. It's also spring break, and they say there are no more flights guaranteed to Chicago until Tuesday. F me. I don't get on either of the two remaining standbys. Goodbye Friday night. I finally go to one last kiosk to check if there are any seats, and she says no... I've been polite, and all of a sudden she says, oh wait... and she finds me a first class seat the next day! Joy. Doesn't make up for missing a Friday night that I've been looking forward to for months, but helps. I sleep in a crappy airport hotel and look forward to first class and one night in Chicago.

Day ten, Houston airport. I eat lunch at the airport and begin to try to catch up with my friends in Chicago with some liquid lunch on the side. Plane gets there in time and I still can't believe I'm in first class. Bonus, I'm sitting next to a good-looking woman. And there's free drinks, which I take advantage of.

I finally get to Chicago, grab a cab, and get to my destination around 6 PM. The first friends I meet up with are one bringing another one back to the hotel to retire him for the night, as he is already done. HA. I finally get out to my friends who are still well ahead of me despite my efforts. Good times ensue. 3 AM rolls around and there are only 3 of us left standing. We go back to the hotel and they retire. I'm not ready to retire. I go outside and make new friends. I get in at 7 AM, grab two hours of sleep, and get ready to go to Japan!

Day 11, pretty much all travel. After two quick hours of sleep, I get to the airport for the longest flight of my life, 13 hours non-stop to Japan. My biggest fear is getting stuck to someone fat or smelly... I pray and pray and pray, and... phew. Skinny white dude, not stinky. All is well. I sleep on and off during the flight, and catch a horrible Clive Owens movie. I want those two hours of my life back. Anyways, I finally get there... and its the next day in the evening with the time zone jump-ahead.

Day 12, in Japan. I take an airport bus to the subway to get to my hotel. I get off the subway, and realize I did not print out a map. Shit. I hope some people can talk English and help me out. I'm 0 for about 13 when I finally find someone that has a map and points out where I should go. Of course, it's the opposite direction of the way I was heading, so I lug myself to the hotel, check in, and realize how small Japanese living quarters really are. I'm relatively small, and it's small for me. Can't image what it would be like to be any larger in a place like this... I'm ready to crash when my work colleagues call and want to meet for dinner. I say yes. We go up and around and down around a million floors and turns and finally find a place. I'm a zombie, but make conversation and get through the night.

Days 12-17 to come, but for now I require rest. I've learned how much jet lag sucks... four hours of sleep the past four nights ain't cool. Good to be back though.

Random thoughts

Holy crap, Grooveshark. Internet-based jukebox with an interface like iTunes... you make the playlist and it finds a source somewhere on the internet. I'm stunned. And extremely happy I found this.

My obsessiveness has cost me several hours in the past week... I usually buy a book at the airport to keep me not bored during my flights... my problem comes when the book is so good that I have to finish it even after I'm off the plane. This is extremely time-consuming. Saturday night/Sunday morning I was up until almost 6 because I couldn't put a book down. I reached a point where I was literally yawning every five seconds and couldn't keep up with the flow of yawn-associated tears. Pretty sick if you ask me.

I wish I had never tried 5 Hour Energy.

I moronically ordered a bathroom scale from a brand I didn't know. Curves. A gym for those with weight a bit above average... and for women. At least that's what I was told. I'm going to need some paint thinner or acetone.

I've only been home since Friday and I already miss traveling. I need new luggage. Some hot new luggage.

My eyes are bad. I'm going to try to find time to get them checked out this week before my upcoming trips. I've been saying that for the past few years. Damn I'm stupidly stubborn.

I used to take beef over chicken any day. For the past several months, chicken > beef. Not sure why.

I really really hate smelly people. It actually makes me angry when they invade my space. UGH.

I have this bad habit of buying temporary tattoos whenever I see those stupid quarter machines. I have like 10 of them sitting in a pile next to me right now. They come out every once in a while in the summer when I'm being stupid or silly with my friends on the weekend on the beach or something but other than that, why, why do I buy them? Is it for the half-joking, silly anticipation of actually using them? I'd have to default to saying so right now as I can't think of any other reason...

Current song: Miley Cyrus, Party in the USA. Thanks Grooveshark.

Worked out in the AM for the first time in I don't know how long. Really felt I needed to have a Rocky week after Seattle. I actually got the Rocky week going on Saturday... feels good. Probably why I'm still peppy at midnight and blogging.

I have started meeting awesome people from all over the world, and I'm starting to miss them all. It's awesome and sucks all at the same time. At least there's facebook. And I have people to see when I travel to their homelands now too. Sweet.

I fear that I'm fearful of commitment. I'm not saying I am for sure but it's definitely possible... I see a lot of my friends dropping everything and trying to buy a house right now so they can get the $8000 stimulus credit before April or something. Might make sense monetarily, especially if you were in a position to look already. But for me, I want something just right. I'm going to be that realtor's nightmare that looks at 100 places. It's going to be where I live for years, for crying out loud! I've thought of starting to draw pictures of my dream house/place in my spare time. I'm not talking about a huge mansion that would be worth millions, I'm more imagining something around here, probably in the city, within my budget, that would amaze myself. And with that would amaze others. Something I'd come home to and truly be in awe every day for the next several decades. It's possible. I'm creative, damn it. Wouldn't be your run of the mill house. Wouldn't be off the wall crazy. Would be modern, slick and shiny in a lot of places. A large, large kitchen. Balcony with a grill. One or two pieces out of the ordinary... I don't know what, but unique items.

Wow, where did all of that come from? Oh yeah, I only got four hours of sleep last night. I must be loopy tired.