candy, candy, I see candy, everywhere I look

Thursday, November 01, 2012

The roommates were prepared for Halloween, candy poured into a cauldron, just ready for the trickertreaters. Only problem, they didn't really show up. Sure, a few hardy souls knocked on our door, but by the time I left for the gym, around 8:30 pm, we had served 8 kids. That's it. Maybe a few older kids showed up later, I don't know. But we live in a neighborhood where children exist. They just didn't happen to knock, I suppose.

I was oh so virtuous before going to the gym, and in the very act of going, what with feeling sleepy while watching the movie Hocus Pocus, which I'd never seen before. I limited myself to just one mini Baby Ruth, which I sampled because I wasn't sure what it tasted like. I was a bit less virtuous after returning from the gym, as the exercise had turned me into a ravenous creature. Two mini butterfingers may or may not have been sacrificed before the sugarlust was satiated.

Sadly, it may be playing a role in my still being awake... see if I can remedy that with the old standbye of turning out the lights.

  

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WINNINGBATTLE 11/1/2012 10:11AM

Well you are here for Thursday lol. Feel any different? Hope you don't finish off that cauldron, stay strong Report Inappropriate Comment

SIRENSONGS 11/1/2012 9:39AM

Candy is all I see everywhere too! I've succumbed to a Reese peanut butter cup and a mini Hershey bar (today). Yesterday it was some saltwater taffy and a Pep chocolate mint bar. Now that I've got the taste of sweets in my mouth, it's going to be hard to stop! :( Report Inappropriate Comment

Apparently, I don't like sparking on Thursdays

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

I've missed checking in and at least spinning the wheel on, apparently, 5 occasions over the past two months, and three of those days have been Thursdays. No explanation for it. I'm not doing anything on Thursdays that would preclude me from peeking in here for a moment, and hitting a button. Granted, I don't have internet at home at the moment, and highly suspect 3G coverage that makes checking in on the phone a slow process. But, seriously, Thursdays? Can't for the life of me figure out how that computes.

I'm mentioning this only as a result of, after over a year of using this site, finding the "Spark Summary" button that allows one to check how many points we've earned at a glance, as opposed to trawling through sparkpoints summary day by day. Somewhere along the line, I kind of flatlined in the interest I had in finding the hidden little tricks this site had to offer, or something along those lines. Maybe.

Listening to underappreciated Queen albums today, Hot Space and the Flash Gordon soundtrack. I'm a big fan of the band, but I'm not sure I've ever listened to all of Hot Space in one sitting before. Happens, I guess, with a band that has an extensive catalogue, you can be a huge fan, and not know all of what they have offered over the years. Saw a Rolling Stones show from 1978 on TV (The AXS or Palladium channel on Dish network, I can't recall which), and had a similar thought about those guys the other days, they've been doing their thing for nearly 50 years, and it would have to be a relatively obsessed fan that would be familiar with EVERYTHING they've done. FUnny thing about that show, I had to check twice to be sure which guitarist was Keith Richards...wasn't sure what he looked like with his face relatively unravaged by age/drugs/life.

  

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AHTRAP 11/1/2012 2:23AM

I'd say I'm cheating and checking in after midnight so as to get the Thursday check mark, but really, as a night owl, I often do spin the wheel after midnight. Dunno about the midweek blues theory, but it's as good as anything I've come up with! Report Inappropriate Comment

WINNINGBATTLE 10/31/2012 8:33PM

Guess your one of those who has Thursday Blues instead of Mondays, i too sometimes have midweek blues, and my normal routine i tend to throw out the door but i am getting better at it, maybe see if you can come on tomorrow and see if it makes you feel different or find out to why you don't stop by on Thursdays. Nice musicians you got there jamming in your ear :) Report Inappropriate Comment

reality is something that you rise above

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Well, that bout of reminiscing/sadness was short lived. Resulted in a trip to Burger King and to Dunkin Donuts (well, the latter was really driven by a coupon I thought expired in two days), and caused me to skip out on something I'd otherwise would have done in the evening, but I replaced it with a trip to the gym, and overdid it a bit there. Sore this morning, but beyond the crap getting me down yesterday. Was really surprised that that affected me as it did, to tell truth.

Flipping the mental coin on whether I want to take Taco Bell up on their offer of a free taco today, because of a stolen base happening in the world series. As I mentioned on a message board, the thief was a guy named Angel Pagan, who has my favorite name in baseball. Tuesday 2 pm-6 pm is when the freebie is being offered, in case you read this before 6 pm. Clever of them to limit their liability by giving stuff away while most people are at work, eh?

  

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WINNINGBATTLE 10/30/2012 7:10PM

Sometimes its easier to think where this taco will go, for women it ends up in the buttocks or the belly, think where it will end up and it will turn you off lol. Don't you wonder why subway and health joint don't usually have freebies but only samples lol. Report Inappropriate Comment

2BDYNAMIC 10/30/2012 4:46PM

so called "FREE' stuff always comes with a price!! ............ (and it has a way of turning a freebie into a muffin top that may take forever to get rid of) ........ There is tons of sadness goin on in our world right now ......... But food has never fixed it ............. (Not tryin to preach to you ............ to me too!!) ....... Report Inappropriate Comment

SHEYLANGEL22 10/30/2012 12:30PM

put the sadness aside and bring in the positive thoughts. Report Inappropriate Comment

Amazing the emotions that can be invested in objects

Monday, October 29, 2012

Gave a ring to a girl once. Got it back, when she dumped me for a guy named Jesus. (Translation: she broke off the engagement for reasons of religion.) I took the ring back to the place where it was created, and left it in their hands, on consignment, where they'd hold on to it until it sold and would give me an agreed upon price. Hasn't sold yet, and given the uncertainty in my life about whether I'll move out of state, etc., I paid that shop a visit to discuss either selling the item outright or leaving things as they are. The person I talked to there went and got the item, and I saw it, for the first time in three years. Held it for a moment, just to recall what it looked like, although, I probably could have drawn it from memory. Granted, the way I draw, it wouldn't look anything like the ring, but you get the point.

One might think nearly four years of space would be enough to see that ring, even touch it for a second, without affecting me greatly. And you'd be right, depending on what your definition of 'greatly' is. The next person I talked to after leaving the shop asked me if I was sad today. I asked him why he asked me that, whether I just looked sad. He pointed to my Detroit Tigers hat, which was a very reasonable point, as my baseball team just got swept out of the World Series last night. For some reason, I mentioned the visit to the jeweler to this complete stranger, not something I'm wont to do. And now, I'm telling you, too, another thing that, usually, I wouldn't be doing. But, you know, that guy was right, I am a bit sad today. And a bit mad, recall the near 5 years spent on that relationship, and the fact that another near 4 years later...

But what's the point, eh? Let sleeping dogs be bygones, I should. But sometimes, in the best (worst?) Halloween tradition, the undead emotions rise and grab you as you go about, no matter how many lifetimes ago they seem to be from.

  

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BEECHNUT13 10/31/2012 7:39AM

I'm married, and I STILL get a bit wistful about some exes.... And sorry about the Tigers... I thought we had a shot, but it seems like whenever we get anywhere, we choke. :( Report Inappropriate Comment

EMMAEKAY 10/29/2012 9:49PM

When my first fiance cheated on me, I attached the ring to an M-80 and blew it to kingdom come. Sometimes, you just have to lock the past where it belongs: in the past. Get an emotional-shotgun and take those undead emotions DOWN! :D Report Inappropriate Comment

JANETTEB553 10/29/2012 5:57PM

If you can get to the point of seeing that those 5 years helped shape who you are now and that that is ok. That is how life is how we grow. Best wishes for the next 5 years. Bitterness only sours the one holding on to it.... I Know... Report Inappropriate Comment

LINWASH23 10/29/2012 5:56PM

Wow, what a said blog. I know better days are ahead for you because you are not afraid to share your story. I hope you all the best. Report Inappropriate Comment

Made some bloody chicken last night

Thursday, October 25, 2012

And no, I'm not being British, swearing about a bird. Rather, my friend Ian holds what he calls Odd Tuesday potlucks, a more or less biweekly opportunity to get together and eat and laugh with friends. The event goes on hiatus during the summertime, and as I've known Ian only a few months, this was the first such event I've made it to.

The night before, I'd grabbed chicken thighs at the store, with the intention of prepping something fowl. I also happened to buy a bottle of V8, the low sodium variety, for drinking purposes. These were two unrelated events. On Wednesday (another mutual friends' band played their debut show Tuesday, hence the relocation of Odd Tuesday to a Wednesday. As an aside, this band's name is Danny Glover and the Lethal Weapons. The lead singer/guitarist's name actually is Danny Glover) as I was deboning and deskinning the chicken, I came across one thigh that was a bit, well, bloody. Maybe the farm didn't quite properly exsanguinate this bird, I don't know, but whatever the reason, the veins in this bit of chicken were still red.

The reason this matter to the story is because if the way I cook...basically I just make crap up. Start with chicken, and open up the cupboard to see what I can try. Yesterday, I had a vague idea of cooking the chicken in a soup, maybe cream of mushroom or something, and then spicing it up. But I saw that bloody bit of chicken, and I thought "Bloody Chicken!" So I went over to the liquor cabinet, and grabbed vodka, hit the refrigerator for the V8 I'd bought the night before, and a marinade was born. We didn't have any Tabasco, so I made do with Sriracha. Worcestershire sauce didn't happen, either, but it wasn't really missed. Ended up sauteeing half a sweet onion before cooking the chicken, adding more vodka and V8 to the pan, and the final result was decent enough. Got a few compliments on it at the potluck, which was nice..they must have liked the final product more than I did!

That is the fun thing about cooking for me, though, the fact that I don't always know what I'm going to get. Sometimes it works, and I've got something to try again (should take a stab at the cinnamon amaretto glazed pork chop again soon!), and sometimes it fails, an experiment gone badly. I do wish I had more conventional abilities in the kitchen, as I'd be the last to claim that I'm any sort of decent cook...but I am capable of turning out a decent tasting product, and having a bit of fun along the way, and that's good enough for me.

  

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LAURIE5658 10/26/2012 10:02AM

My mind was all over the place with the bloody chicken from wanting to vomit a little in my mouth due to the bloody vein to drooling with the V-8 and vodka. This recipe offers a little bit of everything for everyone! Report Inappropriate Comment

GOOSIEMOON 10/25/2012 10:50AM

Love your creativity! Report Inappropriate Comment

1CRAZYDOG 10/25/2012 8:10AM

Interesting! I love playing with my food as well. Report Inappropriate Comment

DMF2012 10/25/2012 5:11AM

Love it! What a great idea - I might have to give it a try. Thanks for sharing! Report Inappropriate Comment