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See you guys next month/week/year!
"Whoa whoa whoa...wait a minute."
Who are you?
"Blogging commissioner."
Oh. Wait, seriously?
"Yes. And according to the laws of Blogger, this isn't a full sized, regulation post. You keep this up, we'll shut you down, and wind up in blogger jail."
Alright, that's preposterous. There's no such thing --
"--As blogger jail? Of course there is. Don't be silly. See these blogging cuffs? And this blogging billy club?"
Those look like a normal pair of cuffs and a normal billy club.
"They are. Except they take you to blogger jail."
Okay, okay. Fine. I'll do this post for real. No cutting corners in an effort to save time. But only because you're annoying, and not because I fear any sort of "blogger jail".
Hello everyone! Long time no post. Again. My fault as usual. See, I'm terrible at proratizing. Thus, I end up devoting my time to things that are not the blog or running or really anything of great consequence. There's a reason for that, though. There's a reason I've been reading the same book for over a month when I should have finished it weeks ago. That reason, aside from the inclination that I may have always had ADD, is I've been spending a lot more time playing video games. It's been a long time since I've seriously played video games, and I'm at it again. Losing myself in game fantasy land and, as a result, losing my time.
See, I was pretty sure I got over video games. I continued to own and every so often play my Super Nintendo. Once every couple months I'll play the Playstation 2 my dad bought five years ago and gave up on playing. But mostly, I spent my time in other things: Work, reading, running, hanging out with friends, etc. I became an adult. A balanced, human adult.
Incorrect. Below the layers, I am, and will always be, a nerd (and/or child). The time just has to be right to strike. First, it started with me buying Half-Life 2 online for my laptop. I haven't really played games on my laptop. Given, a few hours will be lost to Plants vs. Zombies (I freakin' love that game). Mostly, I wanted the laptop for internet, music, upload photos and videos, and maybe write. Didn't care much if it was a gaming machine. But ever since Half-Life 2, I've been losing hours of time. Sometimes I forget what day it is.
Now, for Christmas, my parents decided we each get a little bit of money and buy ourselves something. My father, a few pedals for his guitar and a pedal board. My mother, one of the Rosetta Stone programs. Myself...an Xbox 360 bundle including Fable III, Halo Reach, three months of Xbox Live free, and a $60 gift card for Gamestop (Which I've used to purchase Batman Arkham City). Of the litenany of things I could have bought, I bought a new video game system. I've already spent many hours running around as Batman.
So, to answer your question (the long way) of "Where has Michael been?": Being Batman. And shooting aliends in Half-Life 2.
But, how can you blame me? The graphics look beautiful! These new games are mind numbingly awesome! And I remember when Nintendo 64 was cutting edge. Now it just looks like a bunch of blocks.
Now, to bring you up to speed. Quickly.
I turned 25 finally last Thursday. Which reminds me...Aunt Pegge? Thank you for the card. I loved it. And don't fret about it's tardiness. I do believe that I am LONG overdue on a response to a letter. If I could just simply sit my butt down and get to it. Obviously, I'm distracted by less important things. It is coming though.
Also, Chalice Press (you know, the place with the window?) has decided it's within their budget to keep me on for another six months as a temporary employee. I'm still part time, but they've bumped up the pay a bit. Great news to hear, and with that bit of news I decided I don't need Teavana. I still won't be making much money at Chalice, but I decided Teavana is no longer a place I need to be. It's like Azkaban there. You wind up there, and you're kinda stuck there. Or at least I felt stuck, and working retail in a mall is kinda soul sucking. Especially this time of year. Basically, I can no longer justify being there. If I don't plan to move up the corporate rock wall within Teavana, then I should probably stop wasting everyone's time (myself included) and find something worth while. Time to move on, move forward. Figure it out. Hopefully.
I think that's what you've missed. You should all be in the know now.
I trust everyone had a spectacular Christmas. New Year's is coming up, and I hope everyone has a great one. Also, the blog is turning two in a couple days, if I'm correct. He'll be saying "no" and running around pulling things off tables in no time.
Take care, lovely talking with you. Keep in touch. Newcomers, continue reading the blog. I plan on not disappointing. Except for the Velociraptor. I totally got everyone on that one. That was just to insure everyone would read this. Ha.
Peace.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Lovely Dark and Deep: Vibram Five-Fingers and My Quest Through Nature
Well, I developed this great habit about two months ago of posting once a week. For awhile it was working, which you can all attest to. Yet, I miss one week and then before I know it 29 days fly by and no post by me. Please, resist the urge to be angry. I know it may have been a bit lonely, but there's millions of blogs and even that Meetup site where you can get a group together to do anything you all agree on. Like doubles tennis. Pottery. Flea market shopping. Blog reading. The possibilities are certainly endless.
Right, it's been four weeks and there is more than likely some catching up to do. The question is, where to begin? We'll begin where I would like to begin. Two Tuesdays ago.
On second thought, we'll begin in another spot. There's a bit of a preface for the two Tuesdays ago affair, so bear with me as usual. Rest assured, there will be plenty to be beared.
Back in August I finally got my money together and made my way to the nearest REI so I could throw down a few bills on a pair of those sweet Vibram Five-Finger shoes. The endevour was a borderline success. They had them of course. They had a lot of them. Yet, they didn't have a pair that would fit right for my little man feet. But, the clerk said he could order a pair of tiny midget Vibrams and ship them in a little box to my house. I agreed, gladly paid for the shoes there, and was duped into their membership (Twenty bucks a year. But seriously, it seems like a really good deal. I've only bought one thing from them since, though). A week later they came. My parents got to the box first and my mother thought perhaps one of her sisters had ordered a pair for her (apparently they were talking about these shoes the last time my mom visited them). Apparently they were too small for her feet (and she's got tiny feet. What on earth does that say about me?). My parents were about to send them back to REI chalking it up as a mistake. At this point I still have no clue that these have even arrived yet. I'm waiting patiently each day for my Vibrams so I can frolic gracefully through the forest like a deer. Finally, one day my mom calls from work and asks if I bought Vibram shoes. "Yes, and I've been waiting for about a week and a half for them." And so the mystery comes to an end. My parents didn't think I would buy them, let alone put up the money to buy them (they were $95) which was why they didn't ask immediately if I had ordered them. But I did. I got them. Now it was time to try 'em.
They were snug at first. VERY snug. See, your toes (at least my toes) are used to hanging out in one big room. The five of them are always together, hanging out and talking. "It's dark and stuffy in here, but at least we have each other." Then I slap these things on and they had a rather difficult time going into their separate compartments. Pinky-toe wouldn't leave his compadre, Ring-finger-toe. Tried to slide in the same compartment. That may have been the hardest part, getting them to be independent. But they did it. And I'm proud of them for it (although Little Pinky-toe still has some issues).
Alright. I have the Vibrams. They're snug. Not a lot of wiggle room. It's as if I put on new skin but the skin has yet to stretch itself and become less tight and more malleable. The only way to do this is to take them out.
First excursion was on my Schwinn mountain bike. I took it out to a park I've been many times before. It's about a 20 minute ride from the house and has a pretty flat paved trail. That was a pretty fun day, and really it's a whole story in and of itself, which I will keep myself from telling here. Let's just say, this trail is also by the Meramec river, there was some unexpected mud, and I haven't cleaned or ridden the bike since.
Next excursion came a few weeks later. This involved an actual run. There's another park near the house about the same distance called Cliff Cave Park (another park near the river, except this river is the Mississippi. During the spring and sometimes early summer the paved trail can get covered with quite a bit of mud and giant puddles). I come to this place often when I want to run outside. It has a 5.1 mile loop but there's only a little bit of tree cover on the trail, so I generally avoid it mid summer. Spring and fall are the best times to get a run on it. Anyway, I get the Vibrams on, grab a bottle of Propel and drive over to the park.
Now, the cool thing about the Vibrams (at least this is what I read) is that instead of hitting heel toe you're running on the balls of your feet. This gives less impact on the hips and knees, which is better for you in the long run (ha). Also, since you're running this way you're not throwing your leg forward, therefore, not hyperextending your leg. The guy at REI told me that one. Basically, it's the closest you can be to being barefoot. You just have a thin sole of rubber to protect your skin (since we don't walk barefoot anymore like our ancestors and have major calouses and hardened skin on our feet).
With all that said, I ran on the balls of my feet, which gave my calves a work out. Now, the first time you run in these you're really not supposed to run more than a mile or two. I ran about four. Let me tell you, my calves were killing me. I walked like C-3PO for three days.
Now, with that large and unnecessary preface, prologue thing finished, we can talk about two weeks ago.
I found this trail near a park called "Lone Elk Park" which is about a twenty minute drive from my house. It's west from the city on highway 44, so by the time you get that far there's more trees than buildings. Which is nice. I ran on this trail, and let me tell you it was a beast. First off, its about 7 miles one way (I didn't run that far). I ran a good portion of it though, even did some exploring to take in the scenery. It was a beautiful day. Temperature was just right. Hardly any people (Well, at first. Only saw one person going in. Coming back I saw about nine). The terrain ranges from gravel, to rocky, to smooth dirt paths, so it's great either on foot or mountain bike (which I did see a few mountain bikers). Much of what I was on was flat, but the trail does move in and out of wooded areas, and one portion has a very steep rocky trail, which is where I saw the mountain bikers. I don't know if could ever conquer terrain like that on foot, let alone bike.
Now, the only downfall to this trail is that its near a horse stable. The terrain is great for foot or bike, but there's also a nice serene area to ride horseback, which I saw a girl doing when I was making my way back. The reason this is the only con to the whole trail is that you have to avoid a lot of horse poop. And I do mean a lot. I guess it provides for an extra challenge while running. It demands a little more of your reflexes.
Once again though, I over did it. My feet were a little sore when the day was over. But the next few days I was walking like C-3PO again. Doesn't matter though. It was worth it. Maybe I could document the trail another time. I thought about it as I ran; "I should really take pictures of this place and make a blog post." I blogged (of course), but no photos. Maybe next time.
Wow. I wrote a lot. Sorry. I didn't even get to Thanksgiving. Well, I ate a lot and watched the end of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory on ABC Family. I did some other things, but nothing involving my body getting worked over. Unless you want to count digestion. And there was a lot of that. So, I believe that wraps up November. My birthday is coming up in three weeks and Christmas is three days after that, so keep gifts in mind.
Take care. Follow your dreams. Be merry. Peace.
Right, it's been four weeks and there is more than likely some catching up to do. The question is, where to begin? We'll begin where I would like to begin. Two Tuesdays ago.
On second thought, we'll begin in another spot. There's a bit of a preface for the two Tuesdays ago affair, so bear with me as usual. Rest assured, there will be plenty to be beared.
Back in August I finally got my money together and made my way to the nearest REI so I could throw down a few bills on a pair of those sweet Vibram Five-Finger shoes. The endevour was a borderline success. They had them of course. They had a lot of them. Yet, they didn't have a pair that would fit right for my little man feet. But, the clerk said he could order a pair of tiny midget Vibrams and ship them in a little box to my house. I agreed, gladly paid for the shoes there, and was duped into their membership (Twenty bucks a year. But seriously, it seems like a really good deal. I've only bought one thing from them since, though). A week later they came. My parents got to the box first and my mother thought perhaps one of her sisters had ordered a pair for her (apparently they were talking about these shoes the last time my mom visited them). Apparently they were too small for her feet (and she's got tiny feet. What on earth does that say about me?). My parents were about to send them back to REI chalking it up as a mistake. At this point I still have no clue that these have even arrived yet. I'm waiting patiently each day for my Vibrams so I can frolic gracefully through the forest like a deer. Finally, one day my mom calls from work and asks if I bought Vibram shoes. "Yes, and I've been waiting for about a week and a half for them." And so the mystery comes to an end. My parents didn't think I would buy them, let alone put up the money to buy them (they were $95) which was why they didn't ask immediately if I had ordered them. But I did. I got them. Now it was time to try 'em.
They were snug at first. VERY snug. See, your toes (at least my toes) are used to hanging out in one big room. The five of them are always together, hanging out and talking. "It's dark and stuffy in here, but at least we have each other." Then I slap these things on and they had a rather difficult time going into their separate compartments. Pinky-toe wouldn't leave his compadre, Ring-finger-toe. Tried to slide in the same compartment. That may have been the hardest part, getting them to be independent. But they did it. And I'm proud of them for it (although Little Pinky-toe still has some issues).
Alright. I have the Vibrams. They're snug. Not a lot of wiggle room. It's as if I put on new skin but the skin has yet to stretch itself and become less tight and more malleable. The only way to do this is to take them out.
First excursion was on my Schwinn mountain bike. I took it out to a park I've been many times before. It's about a 20 minute ride from the house and has a pretty flat paved trail. That was a pretty fun day, and really it's a whole story in and of itself, which I will keep myself from telling here. Let's just say, this trail is also by the Meramec river, there was some unexpected mud, and I haven't cleaned or ridden the bike since.
Next excursion came a few weeks later. This involved an actual run. There's another park near the house about the same distance called Cliff Cave Park (another park near the river, except this river is the Mississippi. During the spring and sometimes early summer the paved trail can get covered with quite a bit of mud and giant puddles). I come to this place often when I want to run outside. It has a 5.1 mile loop but there's only a little bit of tree cover on the trail, so I generally avoid it mid summer. Spring and fall are the best times to get a run on it. Anyway, I get the Vibrams on, grab a bottle of Propel and drive over to the park.
Now, the cool thing about the Vibrams (at least this is what I read) is that instead of hitting heel toe you're running on the balls of your feet. This gives less impact on the hips and knees, which is better for you in the long run (ha). Also, since you're running this way you're not throwing your leg forward, therefore, not hyperextending your leg. The guy at REI told me that one. Basically, it's the closest you can be to being barefoot. You just have a thin sole of rubber to protect your skin (since we don't walk barefoot anymore like our ancestors and have major calouses and hardened skin on our feet).
With all that said, I ran on the balls of my feet, which gave my calves a work out. Now, the first time you run in these you're really not supposed to run more than a mile or two. I ran about four. Let me tell you, my calves were killing me. I walked like C-3PO for three days.
Now, with that large and unnecessary preface, prologue thing finished, we can talk about two weeks ago.
I found this trail near a park called "Lone Elk Park" which is about a twenty minute drive from my house. It's west from the city on highway 44, so by the time you get that far there's more trees than buildings. Which is nice. I ran on this trail, and let me tell you it was a beast. First off, its about 7 miles one way (I didn't run that far). I ran a good portion of it though, even did some exploring to take in the scenery. It was a beautiful day. Temperature was just right. Hardly any people (Well, at first. Only saw one person going in. Coming back I saw about nine). The terrain ranges from gravel, to rocky, to smooth dirt paths, so it's great either on foot or mountain bike (which I did see a few mountain bikers). Much of what I was on was flat, but the trail does move in and out of wooded areas, and one portion has a very steep rocky trail, which is where I saw the mountain bikers. I don't know if could ever conquer terrain like that on foot, let alone bike.
Now, the only downfall to this trail is that its near a horse stable. The terrain is great for foot or bike, but there's also a nice serene area to ride horseback, which I saw a girl doing when I was making my way back. The reason this is the only con to the whole trail is that you have to avoid a lot of horse poop. And I do mean a lot. I guess it provides for an extra challenge while running. It demands a little more of your reflexes.
Once again though, I over did it. My feet were a little sore when the day was over. But the next few days I was walking like C-3PO again. Doesn't matter though. It was worth it. Maybe I could document the trail another time. I thought about it as I ran; "I should really take pictures of this place and make a blog post." I blogged (of course), but no photos. Maybe next time.
Wow. I wrote a lot. Sorry. I didn't even get to Thanksgiving. Well, I ate a lot and watched the end of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory on ABC Family. I did some other things, but nothing involving my body getting worked over. Unless you want to count digestion. And there was a lot of that. So, I believe that wraps up November. My birthday is coming up in three weeks and Christmas is three days after that, so keep gifts in mind.
Take care. Follow your dreams. Be merry. Peace.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Time Travel at Normal Speed.
Well, I don't know what brought you to do it, but you wound up back here. I appreciate it. It makes me think, "Oh man, I am really cool and some people think I'm both funny and a genius." Some people in this life don't really get to feel that way. Unless he/she is really pretentious and in love with him/herself. Which, the case still may be that deep down inside he/she actually feels inadequate and needs to make up for that by pretending to be funny and a genius. I don't know. I'm not a psychologist.
I'm not a lot of things. Have you figured that one out yet? Right, of course you have. Right now I'm a guy in his fuzzy pajama-jam pants and t-shirt, drinking Sakura Allure green tea (one of the new installments to the Teavana selection), and listening to Dredg's "The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion". Comfy day after Halloween.
Unsure of what to post this week, but I had a few ideas. Let's roll with one of them.
Now, as some of you may or may not know, I was once a fat kid. That thing to the left? Fat kid. Fourteen years old. Spring of eighth grade, 2001. As you can tell, I wasn't really socially conscious, either, which didn't really help my weak, adolescent self-esteem, which I can go more in depth on another time with both funny and scarring anecdotes. And my looks? I don't even think the 90's would've allowed it (and they did allow a lot). First of all, I'm wearing a ridiculous early 90's Hawaiian shirt ("But Michael, how do you know it's from the early 90's?" "Because It was once my father's and he got it when we went to Hawaii in 1991. I wore it back then because I thought Hawaiian shirts were 'in'"). I also had quite the bowl cut for many years. Glance over to exhibit B.
Exhibit B.
(The only way you can make this cuter is if you were to staple new born kittens to this child.)
Yeah, ever since I was a tot I was graced with a golden bowl atop my crown. And pinchable cheeks. Which, however you look at it, could be a blessing, or something you wish you could do away with altogether so that people wouldn't think your six years younger than you are (See "How I Spend My October" for an in depth explanation).
The point of all of this being is that, yesterday morning, at about 7 am Central Standard Time, I registered myself for the GO! St. Louis Marathon, something I've been anticipating to accomplish for about a year. Now, as you may remember, loyal followers, I did mention in "Going the Extra Mile" that this is one of my life goals. After I realized a year ago that I can run more than a couple miles at one time, I figured I could continue to add on the miles. A marathon will just be a very drawn out, two mile run. I'm excited, but mostly terrified. I may or may not die. This may be the last thing I accomplish in life. If this is so, speak with Phillip Freeman. He knows best on how to prepare my funeral. There will be a cake and everything.
But in all seriousness, I'm really excited about training and actually going through with it. A lot of the things I actually accomplished in my life that were notable I was pressured into doing. Maybe pressured isn't the right word, but I was coaxed to accomplish certain goals that weren't necessarily completely my own. This goal, though, is mine. No one told me to do it. I'm completely choosing to do it, and the reward from that feels even more special. Then again, perhaps that smiling fat kid in picture one is actually telling me to do it. "You've got this far. You've rearranged yourself so that you'll never be this again. Keep going. Keep growing." He probably doesn't care. If he were here to speak with me he would ask, "Sooo...do you get a lot of girls now?" I would then sit him down and fill him in on a lot of things. Not just girls, but his future and my past in general. But mostly about women. I need to prepare him for the things that are about to happen to him.
Now, you take all of what I said, think about it for a half hour, then just forget about it and move on with life like you normally do. But remember! Be back here next week. Surely there will be more luscious word gold to wade through.
Until then.
I'm not a lot of things. Have you figured that one out yet? Right, of course you have. Right now I'm a guy in his fuzzy pajama-jam pants and t-shirt, drinking Sakura Allure green tea (one of the new installments to the Teavana selection), and listening to Dredg's "The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion". Comfy day after Halloween.
Unsure of what to post this week, but I had a few ideas. Let's roll with one of them.
(The only way you can make this cuter is if you were to staple new born kittens to this child.)
Yeah, ever since I was a tot I was graced with a golden bowl atop my crown. And pinchable cheeks. Which, however you look at it, could be a blessing, or something you wish you could do away with altogether so that people wouldn't think your six years younger than you are (See "How I Spend My October" for an in depth explanation).
The point of all of this being is that, yesterday morning, at about 7 am Central Standard Time, I registered myself for the GO! St. Louis Marathon, something I've been anticipating to accomplish for about a year. Now, as you may remember, loyal followers, I did mention in "Going the Extra Mile" that this is one of my life goals. After I realized a year ago that I can run more than a couple miles at one time, I figured I could continue to add on the miles. A marathon will just be a very drawn out, two mile run. I'm excited, but mostly terrified. I may or may not die. This may be the last thing I accomplish in life. If this is so, speak with Phillip Freeman. He knows best on how to prepare my funeral. There will be a cake and everything.
But in all seriousness, I'm really excited about training and actually going through with it. A lot of the things I actually accomplished in my life that were notable I was pressured into doing. Maybe pressured isn't the right word, but I was coaxed to accomplish certain goals that weren't necessarily completely my own. This goal, though, is mine. No one told me to do it. I'm completely choosing to do it, and the reward from that feels even more special. Then again, perhaps that smiling fat kid in picture one is actually telling me to do it. "You've got this far. You've rearranged yourself so that you'll never be this again. Keep going. Keep growing." He probably doesn't care. If he were here to speak with me he would ask, "Sooo...do you get a lot of girls now?" I would then sit him down and fill him in on a lot of things. Not just girls, but his future and my past in general. But mostly about women. I need to prepare him for the things that are about to happen to him.
Now, you take all of what I said, think about it for a half hour, then just forget about it and move on with life like you normally do. But remember! Be back here next week. Surely there will be more luscious word gold to wade through.
Until then.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
How I Spend My October: Thoughts on Wine, Fall, and Peter Weller
I would like to take this opportunity to properly apologize to Mr. Peter Weller in my post "Return of a Classic". When listing other films he participated in I forgot to mention David Cronenberg's Naked Lunch. Instead, in a frantic mess to think of a third film outside of the RoboCop franchise I listed Top of the World with Tia Carrere and Joe Pantilano. Although I'm sure Top of the World is a great film (I caught maybe five minutes of it on a Wednesday afternoon on HBO) featuring actors that you remember from one other movie but that's about it, I myself would rather be known for a 1990's film adaptation to a book from the Beat era. I know it doesn't matter. But if Pete ever happens to read this (I really respect your work, Pete. I even bothered to watch that History Channel special on French history you hosted. Top notch work Mr. Weller) I want him to see and know that fans remember only the great films he's done, rather than the mediocre ones lost in the haze of the late 90's. Then again, how many of us would want to be remembered for Buckaroo Bonzai (Maybe John Lithgow)?
On second thought, please don't read this, Pete.
I digress.
Welcome back to the blog. Hope that everyone had a great week. Mine went pretty well. The weekend was very pleasant, given the fact that I had no obligation to work under the Tea Lords. We had some great October weather here in St. Louis. On Saturday, my long time friend and collegue, Matt Lewis, and I went with his parents out to Stone Hill winery in Herman, Missouri. If you haven't been and have the means to go, I recommend it. Herman is a pretty small town about a little over an hour west of St. Louis. Very beautiful this time of year. Lots of trees and hills. Great place to stash your winery. Anyway, took a tour of the wine cellar, which wasn't as expansive as I recall. Yes, although this was my first time going to any winery since I've turned twenty-one, I did go with my parents once many years ago. Probably when I was nine or ten. All I remember was I played something like Wario World on my old gray brick Game Boy in the car on the way there and was pretty bored. Watching your parents taste wine isn't the most fascinating thing in the world when your in elementary school. But now, since I'm of age, the experience is worth the long car ride (Not much has changed, though. I still played Game Boy, The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time on my friend's 3DS, and he played on his Motorolla Xoom tablet).
When we get there, we pay a couple bucks, Matt and I get our hands stamped with "21+" since we look like children and wait in the gift shop until it's time to take the tour. We take it, get a little history about Stone Hill (Which I will not divulge in at the current moment. I haven't the time nor patience right now). Of course, at the end, we get to taste the wines. We all gather round a circular bar thing, with two older people in the middle serving wines. Now, they pull out the first wine and start pouring a little sample into each of our plastic cups. The old guy pours for first Matt's parents, then Matt, then he gets to me and pours and says something like, "Are you even old enough to drink this?"
My first thought, "You've gotta be kidding me".
I show the guy my "21+" stamp. Still, the old man is unrelenting, "Who stamped your hand?" I pull out my wallet show my ID, the guy finally believes me, we all move on with life. Matt believes he was trying to be funny. I think I should have got into a brawl with him right there. The odds were most certainly in my favor.
I've had to deal with this for years. Even before I turned twenty-one. When you're young, its frustrating because everyone who is young wants to be old. And I've been told by older people when they see my frustration, "It'll come in handy when you're older. You'll be old but still look young." The usefulness of that fact cannot come any sooner. The day I look like a twenty-one year old, it'll be great. Then I'll stop my complaining. Until then, I'd rather people not think I'm a teenager.
They had some really great wines. I ended up buying a bottle of white wine called, "Vignoles". Normally I would be more into the dry red wine, but none of the wine they sampled was really like that. Even the reds were fairly sweet. Even though it's somewhat uncharacteristic for me to like a pretty sweet white wine, this one was very good and had pineapple notes. I love pineapple. I was sold. Matt on the other hand bought a bottle of the Cream Sherry, which in our opinion, had a similar taste to whiskey, without the "burns the whole way down" feeling.
After we bought our wine we decided to head back home. All in all, a pretty enjoyable Saturday. They are pretty hard to come by. A typical Saturday would involve me zoning at Teavana for seven hours, but maybe we'll get into that another time. At the moment, neither of us are truly interested in discussing it.
All right, I need to go do some other things today. Particularly showering.
Thanks for stopping by. Hopefully we'll both be back soon.
On second thought, please don't read this, Pete.
I digress.
Welcome back to the blog. Hope that everyone had a great week. Mine went pretty well. The weekend was very pleasant, given the fact that I had no obligation to work under the Tea Lords. We had some great October weather here in St. Louis. On Saturday, my long time friend and collegue, Matt Lewis, and I went with his parents out to Stone Hill winery in Herman, Missouri. If you haven't been and have the means to go, I recommend it. Herman is a pretty small town about a little over an hour west of St. Louis. Very beautiful this time of year. Lots of trees and hills. Great place to stash your winery. Anyway, took a tour of the wine cellar, which wasn't as expansive as I recall. Yes, although this was my first time going to any winery since I've turned twenty-one, I did go with my parents once many years ago. Probably when I was nine or ten. All I remember was I played something like Wario World on my old gray brick Game Boy in the car on the way there and was pretty bored. Watching your parents taste wine isn't the most fascinating thing in the world when your in elementary school. But now, since I'm of age, the experience is worth the long car ride (Not much has changed, though. I still played Game Boy, The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time on my friend's 3DS, and he played on his Motorolla Xoom tablet).
When we get there, we pay a couple bucks, Matt and I get our hands stamped with "21+" since we look like children and wait in the gift shop until it's time to take the tour. We take it, get a little history about Stone Hill (Which I will not divulge in at the current moment. I haven't the time nor patience right now). Of course, at the end, we get to taste the wines. We all gather round a circular bar thing, with two older people in the middle serving wines. Now, they pull out the first wine and start pouring a little sample into each of our plastic cups. The old guy pours for first Matt's parents, then Matt, then he gets to me and pours and says something like, "Are you even old enough to drink this?"
My first thought, "You've gotta be kidding me".
I show the guy my "21+" stamp. Still, the old man is unrelenting, "Who stamped your hand?" I pull out my wallet show my ID, the guy finally believes me, we all move on with life. Matt believes he was trying to be funny. I think I should have got into a brawl with him right there. The odds were most certainly in my favor.
I've had to deal with this for years. Even before I turned twenty-one. When you're young, its frustrating because everyone who is young wants to be old. And I've been told by older people when they see my frustration, "It'll come in handy when you're older. You'll be old but still look young." The usefulness of that fact cannot come any sooner. The day I look like a twenty-one year old, it'll be great. Then I'll stop my complaining. Until then, I'd rather people not think I'm a teenager.
They had some really great wines. I ended up buying a bottle of white wine called, "Vignoles". Normally I would be more into the dry red wine, but none of the wine they sampled was really like that. Even the reds were fairly sweet. Even though it's somewhat uncharacteristic for me to like a pretty sweet white wine, this one was very good and had pineapple notes. I love pineapple. I was sold. Matt on the other hand bought a bottle of the Cream Sherry, which in our opinion, had a similar taste to whiskey, without the "burns the whole way down" feeling.
After we bought our wine we decided to head back home. All in all, a pretty enjoyable Saturday. They are pretty hard to come by. A typical Saturday would involve me zoning at Teavana for seven hours, but maybe we'll get into that another time. At the moment, neither of us are truly interested in discussing it.
All right, I need to go do some other things today. Particularly showering.
Thanks for stopping by. Hopefully we'll both be back soon.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
More Universal Discussions
Currently listening to: Elliott Smith. From a Basement on the Hill.
Remarkable album, really. About a year ago I finally initiated my Elliott Smith fandom and purchased Roman Candle. It's pretty bare bones as far as instrumentation, which makes for nice driving music. The stuff he wrote at the end of his life is probably the best. If you ever get around to it, listen to this album or Figure 8. Not that I've been sent here by the record companies to convince you to up the sales of Elliott Smith albums. That's not what it's about. It's just fantastic music, and of course Youtube will have all of his songs. Check it out, jam out. Realize the sweet sound of Elliott and his heartfelt songwriting.
So it's the middle of the week. The slow part here, and what that means for you is more random posts about life, the universe, and everything.
What if I had wrote, "...and everyfig"? Would you have thought, "Geez, can't this guy review his own work to make sure it makes sense? What a goober!" or would you have thought, "He is going to talk about every single fig. Remarkable"?
It's been a long weekend, readers, but rewarding in some respects. On Thursday nights I get together with a group from church to have dinner and Bible study. It's called Pulse and mainly consists of twenty-something graduates who are now making it as young professionals in the world. Every so often we get together to do some outreach and this last Saturday we went to a little park off of Locust and 14th to cook and serve breakfast to the homeless who live around there. Although getting up at 4:30 am to get ready and make it there by 6 is not my favorite thing, seeing people getting loved and fed is well worth it. We had over a hundred people come to line up and eat the fresh bacon and eggs we grilled right there on little camper grills. We also cut up some fruit and handed out juice and water. It's wonderful to see their joy and to know that this is exactly what Christ was doing all those years ago: serving those who are left to the side and forgotten and making them feel they are worth the time and work.
Rest of the weekend consisted of a lot of Teavana. Which is always a lovely experience. There I'm serving a different sort of people, people with money with my goal being to help them drop some more money. Gotta love retail.
We do have some new tea stuff, which I guess is cool. I'm not going to buy it. Except for "Slimful Chocolate Decadence" oolong tea. I hate the name, but the tea is so good. They should call it, "Mounds Bar Tea". "Slimful Chocolate Decadence" is a name you give some food product women would eat (No misogynist). Seriously though, first it has the word, "Slimful". Already, it's saying, "Hey, you there! You fat? Feel fat? You won't after this!" Next it has chocolate. We all know that chocolate is catnip for women. Finally, "Decadence". That sounds like, "Oooh, your doing something your not supposed to (but enjoying it), but it's okay because we preceded this entire statement with 'Slimful'". My mom bought cereal last week. She bought "Special K Granola". I'm already confused about my masculinity due to the foods I'm eating.
Dear Teavana,
Stop selling to just women on this one and call "Slimful Chocolate Decadence" "Mounds Bar Fun". Everyone loves fun. Name someone who does not love fun. Okay, that person sucks, name someone else. Good. Copyright infringement with "Mounds Bar" from Mars Bar company? Fine. Call it, "Tropical Chocolate Mountain Race". See, I threw in race to slip in that, "You won't be fat if you drink this". Genius. Take care Tea Lords,
XOXO
Michael Lee
No more word on the elevators or bathroom stalls. I let you know as further news breaks.
And I think we're done for the day. Thanks for coming and hanging out. See you about the same time next week.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
My Window. Mine.
All right, so as all of my followers (you know who you are) know, I am working part time in an office at a publishing company. I also mentioned the fact that, never in my working experience have I had the opportunity to have a window. I've been caged up in many jobs (namely the call center and Teavana), but this is quite the break through. Not only do I have my own little room in suite 670, but I also have a very large window which allows for a lot of natural light. So I can sun on the window sill for about an hour in the morning like a lizard. Anyway, here's a snapshot out of that window.
Mostly just a nice view of construction at the moment. To the right there's a little park. There's some sort of strange steel orb atop the building at the top right. I would like to know what that is for (Gladitorial cage matches?). Anyway, I'm happy and thankful to have it. Hopefully one day I'll be able to have an office for a salaried job.
Also, haunted floor number five strikes again (See, "Quick Catch-up in My Pajama-jams"). As my boss and I were leaving on Monday, the elevator stops right on floor five. Doors open, but no one is there. I will figure out this mystery...
(As well as the mystery of those stalls)
Have a great Wednesday.
Mostly just a nice view of construction at the moment. To the right there's a little park. There's some sort of strange steel orb atop the building at the top right. I would like to know what that is for (Gladitorial cage matches?). Anyway, I'm happy and thankful to have it. Hopefully one day I'll be able to have an office for a salaried job.
Also, haunted floor number five strikes again (See, "Quick Catch-up in My Pajama-jams"). As my boss and I were leaving on Monday, the elevator stops right on floor five. Doors open, but no one is there. I will figure out this mystery...
(As well as the mystery of those stalls)
Have a great Wednesday.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Why Is It Called October? Does That Mean Eight "Bers"? What's a "Ber"?
I came home after work today to a weird smell. It was everywhere in the house. I knew it had to be coming from the kitchen, but even as I walked down the hallway toward my room the smell was still strong, clutching onto dear life to my nosehair-smell-receptors, or whatever you call those things that make the brain think it's smelling (I'm not a biologist. Leave me alone). Well, as it turns out, the smell was that of my father making deviled eggs, something I've never been into, and something he's made maybe three times since we've known one another (which is nearly 25 years). That's when I think to myself, "Ah, that's why the entire house smells faintly of farts". But not offensive farts mind you, like dainty farts, ones you can deal with for a little bit, but if they linger too long it becomes rather unpleasant. These were hanging around for too long. So I grabbed six sticks of incense. So far I think I've made a big push in the smell war. My room has a force field of incense, and when I went to the bathroom down the hall to throw some garbage away I noticed my incense smoke there too. Success.
Hi everyone! How's everyone's week so far? You say it's only Monday? You say it's Columbus Day?
....
COLUMBUS DAY???!!
My goodness, I nearly forgot! I suppose there's still time to buy my Columbus Day gift (a nose hair trimmer, a bag of raisins, a copy of the Constitution, and hand sanitizer, wrapped neatly and placed in a hand made basket, then set on a stranger's doorstep). Have the children already had their Columbus Day activities? You know, "Bag the Raccoon"? I remember some good times with "Bag the Raccoon". Oh! And "Mayo Slosh". Precious memories.
But seriously, I never really understood Columbus Day. My parents were always off because it's always been some sort of "government holiday". Preposterous. Some Portugese, Spanish guy happened to show up in the Carribean and ruined the lives of millions of Native Americans for something like 400 years. "Hey, white people, check out these weirdos!" Dude didn't even show up in the States. And school never gave us the day off. All my life, never had Columbus day off. My parents always did. I realized this injustice at about ten. I told my parents how insanely ridiculous the holiday is. I mean, I don't even care what the stupid holiday means, just so long as I get to sleep in half the day and then play N64 for the rest of the day. Fine by me. That, good people, should be the true tradition of Columbus Day.
Columbus Day...You can go hang out with Groundhog Day, St. Patrick's Day, and Flag Day. You dork.
Speaking of holidays, Halloween is coming up, and I do love Halloween. You get to dress up as your favorite whatever (but don't dress as Bob Dylan. Nobody will know or care who you are), the weather is fantastic, there's apple cider (actually fall should be known as, "The Great Apple Massacre". Apple can't catch a break. He's smashed repeatedly; he's juiced; he's baked into pies. That in and of itself is horrifying. We shouldn't worry about the beef industry, think about your dear pal Apple. Literally, he's mutalated. How many apples you peal this week? I knew it. But you didn't care, because Apple can't speak. Apple CAN'T speak.), and most of all...there's terrible 80's horror movies on TV.
Now, let it be known 90's will always be my favorite decade (Tied with the 1960's), but the 80's do have some of the most ridiculous horror movies ever, making them quite possibly the best. Evil Dead II, Day of the Dead, Return of the Living Dead, Nightmare on Elm Street, Critters, Child's Play, Re-Animator...the list goes on. These movies are absolutely fantastic to watch, and coincidentaly enough, my Windows Media Player is on shuffle and just happened to turn on the Gorrilaz song with the Day of the Dead sound byte at the beginning ("M1A1").
Well, thanks for spending your time on the blog. Appreciate the visit. You're always welcome, no matter your race or nationality or sex (I'm not like that punk Columbus).
Have a great week. Peel an apple and pop in Gremlins for me.
Hi everyone! How's everyone's week so far? You say it's only Monday? You say it's Columbus Day?
....
COLUMBUS DAY???!!
My goodness, I nearly forgot! I suppose there's still time to buy my Columbus Day gift (a nose hair trimmer, a bag of raisins, a copy of the Constitution, and hand sanitizer, wrapped neatly and placed in a hand made basket, then set on a stranger's doorstep). Have the children already had their Columbus Day activities? You know, "Bag the Raccoon"? I remember some good times with "Bag the Raccoon". Oh! And "Mayo Slosh". Precious memories.
But seriously, I never really understood Columbus Day. My parents were always off because it's always been some sort of "government holiday". Preposterous. Some Portugese, Spanish guy happened to show up in the Carribean and ruined the lives of millions of Native Americans for something like 400 years. "Hey, white people, check out these weirdos!" Dude didn't even show up in the States. And school never gave us the day off. All my life, never had Columbus day off. My parents always did. I realized this injustice at about ten. I told my parents how insanely ridiculous the holiday is. I mean, I don't even care what the stupid holiday means, just so long as I get to sleep in half the day and then play N64 for the rest of the day. Fine by me. That, good people, should be the true tradition of Columbus Day.
Columbus Day...You can go hang out with Groundhog Day, St. Patrick's Day, and Flag Day. You dork.
Speaking of holidays, Halloween is coming up, and I do love Halloween. You get to dress up as your favorite whatever (but don't dress as Bob Dylan. Nobody will know or care who you are), the weather is fantastic, there's apple cider (actually fall should be known as, "The Great Apple Massacre". Apple can't catch a break. He's smashed repeatedly; he's juiced; he's baked into pies. That in and of itself is horrifying. We shouldn't worry about the beef industry, think about your dear pal Apple. Literally, he's mutalated. How many apples you peal this week? I knew it. But you didn't care, because Apple can't speak. Apple CAN'T speak.), and most of all...there's terrible 80's horror movies on TV.
Now, let it be known 90's will always be my favorite decade (Tied with the 1960's), but the 80's do have some of the most ridiculous horror movies ever, making them quite possibly the best. Evil Dead II, Day of the Dead, Return of the Living Dead, Nightmare on Elm Street, Critters, Child's Play, Re-Animator...the list goes on. These movies are absolutely fantastic to watch, and coincidentaly enough, my Windows Media Player is on shuffle and just happened to turn on the Gorrilaz song with the Day of the Dead sound byte at the beginning ("M1A1").
Well, thanks for spending your time on the blog. Appreciate the visit. You're always welcome, no matter your race or nationality or sex (I'm not like that punk Columbus).
Have a great week. Peel an apple and pop in Gremlins for me.
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