Sometimes Bad Is Bad

I was so thrilled. OK I was still pretty sick, too. Photo by: Suna

Across the street, a neon sign

“All you can eat for a dollar ninety nine

Our soul stew is the baddest in the land”

But one dollar’s worth was all that I could stand

—Huey Lewis

I have made it through a full week at work now. For the last two days, I have felt pretty good, even though I finished the antibiotics and have cut back on the decongestants and cough syrup. Maybe I am finally over this thing. Man, it sucked.

I am still running behind on all of my personal writing and reading, but I am starting to catch up. I thought I would take this opportunity to note that I have joined Library Thing—an online community about books. I am starting to list the books I have read and write a short review of each of them. If I work at it diligently, I may have the job finished by the time I die.

Suna posted earlier this week about TubaBoy’s birthday, so I won’t go into too much detail here. We went to a local chain, Z Tejas Southwestern Grill, another company that thinks web visitors all want to see a prolonged, annoying flash intro rather than content.

If you like nouveau cuisine in a loud environment, this is the place for you. They try some weird experiments, but—on the whole—the food was good. The tables were comfortable and the lighting was intimate. There was something about the vaguely coleslaw-like food product that accompanied my mushroom enchiladas, and the ambient noise left my ears ringing. But the most important factor was that both kids seemed to like the place and their food. I can’t remember that happening before.

Friday’s Feast

Appetizer: What is your favorite beverage?

Like Suna, I must list more than one:

• Water
• Pepsi One
• Jack on the rocks
• Sangria wine

Soup: Name three things that are on your computer desk, either at home or at work.

I don’t really have a computer desk where I am comfortable working for long at home, and my desk at work is very Spartan because I am a short-term contractor there. At home, I mostly work with a portable in my lap. So I will list three things that I see from the couch:

1. The TV
2. The street outside, lined with front lawns and trees.
3. The media collection

Salad: On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how honest do you think you are?

8. I am not nearly as honest as I aspire to be, especially with myself. I do value honesty and I try to be honest, even when it is not in my immediate (or long-term) self interest. But actually putting my ideals into practice remains a challenge sometimes.

Main Course: If you could change the name of one city in the world, what would you rename it and why?

I never really thought about it. I get kinda irritated when they change the names of cities. It brings about that whole Prince thing. You know—the city formerly known as Stalingrad, which was formerly known as St. Petersburg.

Dessert: What stresses you out? What calms you down?

• Stressors: Not being able to do what I want or as well as I think I should.
• Destressors: Downtime with family and friends. Sleep, when I’m not too stressed to sleep.

Yule Party

I work my job all the way to the weekend

Call all my buddies, ask where you been

Let’s get together somewhere, seven o’clock

Wanna pop a top, pop a top

Wann go, wanna roll, wanna rock it

—Phil Vassar

Cosmopolitans are yummy.

Photo Source: Swank Martini Company

Today was the last working day before the Holiday Break at ALE. After work, Suna and I went to a non-ALE event at a former co-worker’s house. It turns out that she is a neighbor and only lives a few blocks away.

It was a really pleasant time, thanks in part to the fact that she makes really excellent Cosmopolitans. I never got her exact recipe, but she told me later that she doubled the alcohol in one of the standard recipes.

There were a lot of old friends whom I had not seen in a while. There were also a couple of people with whom I keep in contact, as much as The Hermit keeps in contact with anyone. And I met another German person whom I had only heard about before—actually I think she is authentic instead of descended like me.

The excitement of the party came when the firetrucks, ambulance, and police flew past. Something had happened several houses down, but we never did find out what. Suna was just relieved that it was next door to one of Beccano’s teachers, not there. When we cleared out (a little later than the party was scheduled to dissolve, only one fire truck remained.

Friday’s Feast

The official Friday’s Feast was off for the holidays, but Sam made up her own:

Appetizer: What is your first thought upon waking in the morning?

I don’t usually have a thought first think in the morning. After grumph, my initial inclination is to reach for Suna. Then I realize how badly I have to pee.

Salad: Of all of the “alternative” therapies available, which is the one you have most trouble believing actually works?

Hmmm…all of them? I don’t put much stock in mainstream therapies either. Good health comes from the balance of mind, body, and soul. Anything that fails to address all three is suspect in my book.

The current cover of my favorite mag.

Photo Source: Shop Notes

Main Course: Name something that you never told your childhood friends because, at the time, you were totally embarrassed about but now are not so afraid of.

I know this sounds like the W defense, but I really can’t think of anything. I find hiding things to be more trouble than it’s worth. I may not always volunteer information, but I have tried to live transparently. When I peed my pants, I didn’t tell everyone, but I didn’t do a Nixon either. If you want to know something about me, ask.

Dessert: If you could subscribe to one magazine and only one, what would it be? (It can be out of print if you need it to be.) And do you subscribe to it now?

The only magazine to which I currently subscribe is Science News, and it is a leftover I will renew because Suna likes it. I also like to read the subscriber-only articles on the web. I’m not a magazine person.

That said, the magazine I really want to subscribe to is Shop Notes.