Adventures on the High Seas

The old haggard captain eyed his crew as the scurried about the deck, the waves crashing over the deck, occasionally sweeping a sailor off of his feet.  The waves seemed chaotic and disorganized to the untrained sailors but the captain saw it all differently, each wave delivering a glimpse of the endless layers of the sea.  Some carried pain, some joy, others indifference.  Captured memories, ideas, thoughts all struggling to be released.  

This storm was not going to be easy and some of the crew may not make it out alive but the ship would make it.  And the captain had navigated these waters before - knowing what to expect.  He eyed his youngest mate who seemed gripped with fear and unknowing which way to turn next.  The young sailor's knuckles were white as he gripped the mop handle, unable to explain why he found such comfort in this object.  A wave sprang up behind him, readying to knock him to the deck.  The captain cried out, his hair whipping as he almost too nimbly sailed across the deck, securing the young mate to the center mast.  Catching the young sailor's eye, the captain barked "Hold tightly, mate.  This be one nasty storm but it will pass and there be calm seas and bright skies on the other side."

My Cup Runneth Over

And by cup I mean book shelves.  I have too many books.  There, I said it.  Cook books, history books, fiction books ... books.  The next step in my never ending battle against clutter may be donating a number of these dead trees with words on them to Good Will or a library.  I would assume, someone would want to read the Harry Potter series.  Although, by now you would think everyone would have read it. 

Over Christmas, my girlfriend got a Kindle.  She wasn't sure if she would like reading a book without real pages.  She felt that it may eliminate the satisfaction she received in flipping the pages and seeing her progress as she read.  Turns out, she loves virtual pages and the ability to always read a book one handed while sitting in bed - irrespective of its size, as the Kindle always weighs the same.

I could get a new book shelf for more books, but I have nowhere to put it.  It would likely involve me throwing away other furniture to try and squeeze it in, which just seems like a little much.  However, I could get a Kindle and store an unlimited number of books on it that would always be available to me on my virtual book shelf at amazon, and that's kind of how I view the Kindle.  Sure, it seems expensive but really not much more expensive than a good bookshelf and I totally have room for a virtual one.  Plus, when you add in the money you save for either not having to keep books in a storage unit and not having to pay for someone to move them ... ever, it becomes more cost effective.

Crap, when did I become a shill for Amazon?  I am still refusing to get one, however, until I have actually read all the books that I own which I still have yet to read.  Given my insane work hours and utter lack of free time, I figure I will not actually purchase one for two to three years and by then, ebook readers will likely have come a long way.  Until then, I am not allowed to buy any new books (you know, other than  the book  I bought for $5 last week with formerly unpublished Mark Twain pieces or travel books when we decide to go on our next trip).  Yeah, this plan is foolproof.

Are You Looking at Me?

It's freaking cold.  I don't know if any of you have noticed but here in Florida, it's in the 50s.  Freezing for those of you unfamiliar with the southern temperature scales.  I had to actually wear shoes yesterday.  I think hypothermia is going to claim me.  As I type this, my entire life is flashing before my eyes.

The guy you see above is the monkey I have in my closet.  He scares the crap out of me.  Alright, that's not really true.  He's one of the cool little guys I saw at the zoo when I went there a couple of weeks ago.  I know there's no snow and it looks very green and some of you may be thinking, that doesn't look very cold to me.  I guess you would be right, it is green and as I look out the window, I see the palm trees gently rocking in the breeze but it's a frigid breeze I tell you.

So, I have a new thing.  I am going to try and update this blog once per week.  I am not sure if it will work but I think I can do it.  It has been difficult to find the time to do all of the things I like and want to do.  Even as I sit here doing this, I know there are at least four other things that I should be doing.  But if I don't update my blog that little guy is going to leap out of my closet and attack me.

From Puerto Rico with Love

Look at the View
Originally uploaded by -J:

Some people spend Thanksgiving with family. We tend to just head to warmer climates. When you live in Florida, it can be difficult to find warmer climates, unless you decide to go to the Keys, leave the United States, or ... go to Puerto Rico.

I was excited to go for the food and while the food was delicious, when I go back, I will probably be going for much more than the food. There were a ton of beautiful panoramic scenes like this one, there was lots of walking to be done, and lots to do.

It is kind of amazing how much is packed onto that little island. It has its own rain forest, temperate forests, caves, rum factory, forts, beautiful ocean views, bio luminescent bays, and coffee. And that doesn't even cover all of it. Plus, I didn't have to go through customs once. Brilliant!

Absence

"You've been quiet for a while," she said, nudging him expectantly.

"Mmm," he said absentmindedly. He seemed to be struggling with the puzzle pieces in his hands. "I've been working on this thing here."

"Don't stick your tongue out like that."

"I thought it made me look more youthful and fun."

"It makes you look juvenile."

"It doesn't sound very attractive when you put it that way."

"So, what happened to your friend?"

"We stopped being friends."

"That's not fun." She began picking up various pieces of the puzzle, trying to fit them together.

"No, I would say it is the furthest thing from fun."

"Why would you both do that?" she asked as she fit another piece into place.

"I don't think it was intentional. I stopped trusting her and I just do not think I was ever able to start doing so again. This likely led to amplified reactions on my part."

"That sounds so sad." A timer went off somewhere and she went to retrieve cookies from the oven.

"It is sad in some respects but at the same time, she was often not very nice to me and we had drifted apart quite a bit. There was just too much pain and too many injuries. The relationship was already in intensive care. It required a lot of attention and we did not probably give it the attention it needed. We were both very busy with different things. It was probably far easier for her to just go be friends with someone else. Someone requiring less effort."

She returned with a plate full of cookies, placing them on the table between them. "I wish this story had a happier ending. I liked her. She seemed nice. Cookie?"

"Well, it was not a complete tragedy; she did get married. I believe I read once that all comedies end with a wedding."

Listen Up

The radio informed me today that there is some sort of belief that is starting to gain traction that walking while either listening to your mp3 player, talking on your cell phone, or texting your friends can be a distraction. I have no doubt that the latter is true, as it is very hard to both look at your cell phone as you type and pay attention to the traffic, but I question the first two. Granted, I imagine it does matter how loud you listen to your music. If you listen too loudly, you aren't going to hear the ambient noise around you. However, I also wonder what is to explain all the people out there that don't do any of these activities yet still seem incapable of navigating traffic.

It seems every single time I go through parking lots, there are people walking down the middle of the lanes reserved for automotives. Because, after all, it's not like there are cars in parking lots, right? Parking lots are built for pedestrians - so that they can spread out and meander and walk three to four abreast. That's safe, right?

Would the limited number of peopler that were involved in some sort of accident while listening to their mp3 player or talking on their cell phones have avoided the incident if they had been walking or running sans auditory technology? One of the people the news story talked about to support their position was walking down the middle of train tracks. Another person failed to notice the bus coming at her. Sure, you could say it was the technology but I see people without any technilogical devices to their ears behave this way nearly every single time I drive through a parking lot. Maybe it's just a complete lack of common sense. However, we can't say that there are just dumb people out there can we? We have to say that they are "distracted." That sounds so much nicer; it implies that these people are otherwise quite bright - if only this damn technology had not distracted them. However, I question its validity, maybe not in every case but certainly in quite a few.

I suppose if the issue really is a problem, the government has an interest in protecting the poor folks having to contend with these technology fiends (as well as the fiends themselves, I guess). However, what about all the other folks? Is there a way we can legislate to eliminate stupid?

I am Middle Eastern?

This past week or two, the food I have been making has taken a decidedly Middle Eastern direction, as I have been perfecting hummus and tabbouleh recipes. Growing up, I was taught you are what you eatbut if that's the case, I am beginning to doubt my heritage.

For the past few months, i have been trying to see how many meals I could comfortably eliminate meat from. There's no vegetarian or higher purpose to this goal. (Perish the thought - a life without bacon is simply not one I want to live.) It's more a matter that I am exceedingly lazy and I do not feel like I consume enough vegetables each day. There are two choices, as I see it, to rectify this. First, I could cook more vegetable side items, which is ok but, again, I am lazy. Second, I could simply make the vegetables the entire main course or an interagal part of it. Well, that's how it all started but now it has sort of become a goal. What healthy thing can I make from vegetables? Does fried eggplant count as healthy?

I seem to know how to do lots of things with meat, but now I want to branch out and do more with vegetables. I have to do something to keep myself busy other than working all the time, and clearly, blogging is so not one of those things. Did you see me post twice last week? Me neither and I am not sure this week looks much better. However, I have added two new recipes to my repretoire and as long as I am eating, things cannot be that bad, right?