Indata Valid
Sunday, November 09, 2008
SELF INDUCED ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS
In pharmacy school, you are always taught about certain "side effects" that can occur with medications, whether it be statins and rhabdo or warfarin and bleeding. Well, one of the professors we've had said something and it stuck in my mind. She said that we should try to experience some adverse drug reactions (ie "side effects") that would not harm us in the long run. Her suggestions were niacin for flushing and nitrates for the headache.
Guess what? I tried the niacin challenge: 100 mg immediate release, no food, no aspirin. I flushed all right. I flushed hardcore.
It all started about 15 minutes after taking the dose. It starts in areas of the highest blood flow, thus my face flushed first. It felt warm, prickly, and itched like you can't believe. My ears burned and the flushing spread down my neck and my nipples were next. After that, my butt and cubes went. The butt and cubes itched the worst. I ended up having to sit in a cold bath to bring the flushing down. Did I mention that the flushing made my heat sweat something fierce too? Ugh! It lasted about a total of 20-25 minutes.
So when people say that they can't tolerate niacin due to the flushing, have some empathy for them. It sucks. I would take it again if I needed to for cholesterol, but I would be damn sure to titrate up properly, take an extended release formulation, and pre-medicate with an aspirin. You can goddamned guarantee that I would try to avoid the flushing.
I kinda want to try the nitrate headache, but I am not sure how I would ever obtain any short of having a heart attack. I just want to see what patients have to go through there. However, there is one drug I never want to try out and that's orlistat (Xenical/ Alli). I do not want any of the most common side effects: oily spotting, flatus with discharge, fecal urgency, fatty/oily stool, increased defecation, and fecal incontinence. YUCK!
I would never take a drug that advises you start at home and be near a toilet. Also, who wants to a take drug whose manufacturers recommend you wear dark pants or take an extra pair of pants to work? I certainly would not want any hard gas/ sharting, especially if it's uncontrollable. I will steer clear of that shit…..literally.
PLAY THE GODDAMNED MUSIC
Katie and I went to a concert a little while back. Cobra Starship was the headliner, with Sing It Loud, Forever the Sickest Kids, and Hit the Lights as openers. Cobra Starship passed out fliers in support of vegetarianism at the concert. I don't know why bands do that or why anyone in the show business tries to be political. It is just annoying. You are not an expert on foreign policy, nutrition, or civil rights. Shut up and play your damn music. No one cares if you eat beef or not. And don't try to convince me not to eat meat.
Here's the flier they passed out after the concert was over:
SIGN OF THE TIMES
Speaking of the aforementioned concert, Katie and I were the oldest people there besides the parents that brought their kids. Damn. Way to listen to teenager music. Oh well. I guess you're only as old as you feel and act. And we have tickets for the upcoming concerts: Jason Mraz/ Lisa Hannigan and All Time Low/ The Maine/ Mayday Parade/ Every Avenue. I am sure that we will be the oldest people (minus the parents) at both of those concerts as well. *Sigh*
*Update (note that the section above was written before the concerts, and the section below was written afterwards)*
So the Jason Mraz concert was awesome and I encourage anyone out there to go see him if you can. Mr. A-Z, he's all about the wordplay. Fortunately, Katie and I were not the oldest ones at this concert. Mraz attracts a little older crowd than punk crowds, so that was nice.
The All Time Low concert was a different story. Once again, we were the oldest folks at the concert. And they used a term we were not familiar with: "circle pit." Is that like a circle jerk? I know what a circle jerk is…..but I kinda think that's not what they meant. I believe they meant a "mosh pit," but damn. Are we that far behind the times already? Seriously? I'm only 23 and I feel like I'm a generation behind. Not that I care, but jesus.
AND THE FINAL SECTION ON THE CONCERTS
At the Cobra Starship concert, there were several kids that just stood in the crowd and texted people the entire concert. Four hours of texting. I didn't see them ever rock out or even acknowledge the fact that a band was playing onstage. What a waste of $20. Why spend the money to go see a band live if you are going to stand there, staring at your phone for 4 hours? You could put their CD on at home and text people from the comfort of your couch. I don't get it.
I also don't understand the emo trend. I don't understand how every emo kid is so sad and miserable. Cheer up, losers. Life is only going to get worse from high school on. You gain responsibility, lose touch with old friends, gain weight, and lose your health. You got a whole life of shit ahead of you, so cheer up and enjoy your time in high school, you douchebags.
Also, I don't understand the skinny emo jeans. I don't know why it's fashionable for males to wear girls' jeans. Makes no sense to me. Buy jeans that fit you and are of the correct gender.
FOOD QUERIES
Do you ever notice that if you eat cucumbers, you burp cucumber for the rest of the day? It doesn't matter what else you eat, you burp cukes. You could eat horseshit and still burp cucumbers. You wouldn't think that cucumbers would come back with a vengeance since they're so mild. Not that cucumbers are an offensive taste, but it's just odd that no matter what you eat, cucumbers are what comes back for round 2.
And what makes chocolate so addicting? I feel like a girl on the rag concerning chocolate. I get on kicks where I can't get enough of the stuff. I could eat Hershey's dark chocolate bars by the pound.
SPAM
Spam is something else I don’t understand. Why the hell would I click on an email if they can't even spell Viagra right? Vigara, Vaigra, Vigra, Vriaga, and Viraga are just a few alternate spellings I get. Also, I get emails from supposed companies offering to make custom peptides for me. What in the name of hell am I going to do with a custom peptide? Seriously. Spam is so retarded. It serves no purpose. I won't ever open it so why do people bother sending it? Even if some African country is desperately seeking a direct relative of their king, I am not going to open it.
DOG BITE
Before I start this section of my blog, let me say that dachshunds are the breed responsible for the most dog bites every year. However, this was an unintentional bite from Schnitzel, so I don't think it really counts. It was partially my fault anyways.
I was playing in my backyard with the Schnitz-man. We were playing a chase and bite game. Anyways, my hand ended up in his mouth. And at that precise moment, some lovely neighbors set off some firecrackers. Schnitzel started and bit me out of panic. I started bleeding profusely and screaming in pain. Schnitzel got scared and cowered and I tried to console him while minimizing the amount of blood leaking onto his fur.
You see the tendon if you pulled the flap of skin back a bit. Gross. I bandaged it the best I could, but I thought it may need stitches. So I ended up at urgent care. And since it was dog bite, they refused to stitch it up (since it may get infected and they wanted to allow it to heal from the inside out to keep it from getting infected. I got 14 days of antibiotics (Avelox, in case you were wondering- and I got the quinolone because I can't tolerate anything with a beta-lactamase inhibitor nor can I tolerate cephalosporins or clinda). Oh, and they gave me Norco.
HAUNTED HOUSE
No, I'm not talking about Halloween here. I am talking about a for real haunted house. One that I live in. I don't really believe in ghosts, but this house has me wondering. There is something wrong with this place. Here's what I mean:
The silverware drawer rattles at night sometimes. Josh is asleep or gone when it does it, so I know it's not him. I can hear it from my bedroom, which is immediately adjacent to the kitchen. It's not prolonged or anything, just a couple quick rattles.
There are dark shapes or shadows in the corners of your vision every now and then. Then when you turn your head to focus on them, they're gone. Poof.
There are noises that I can't seem to find a explanation for. The water heater and the heater click on and off, but it's not that. It's hard to explain, but I have tried to find a reason or a source of the noises and I can never find anything.
All the kids in the neighborhood say the house is haunted. None of them know why, but they all say the same things: "the house is haunted by the lady and her dog who lived there," "how can you live in the haunted house?" and "did you know your house is haunted?"
The dryer shuts off on its own. It never does it when you are watching it or near it; it only happens when you are in the front room, outside, or out of the house. Creepy. I don't dig it. And like I said, I don't really believe in ghosts, ghouls, goblins, and all that gobbledygook. But this certainly would shake your beliefs a little.
WAL-MART STORIES
I had my retail rotation at Wal-Mart in Caldwell, which is pretty much like little San Bernardino. I should have speaka'ed the Espanol but I chose not to on the grounds that we are in America. And in America, we speaka the English and the ebonics. The rotation at Wal-Mart was awful: I was a slave for 8 hours a day, filling, counseling, and doing transfers. It was terrible. I barely received any instruction from my preceptor who decided to take a 2 week vacation during my rotation there too. Godfuckingawful experience.
Anyhow, one day there was an unattractive 35 year old Hispanic female with a kid in a stroller that I counseled on her fluconazole (for a yeast infection). I did my normal duties per usual and she pushed her kid away once I was done. Instead of leaving like a normal person, she went to the "in" window and talked with the tech there. After the woman with the nino left, the tech came over and handed me a piece of paper. What was on the paper, you might ask? Well, it was her phone number. A 35 year old Hispanic woman with a kid and a raging yeast infection gave her phone number to the tech and told the tech to tell me that she thought I was cute.
No thanks!
The other story I have from Wal-Mart is the 26 year old female cashier that passed out and I nearly had to do CPR on her.
I was in the pharmacy when one of the other cashiers came running to the pharmacy, all panicked that the one cashier had fainted while checking someone out. I went over to the register where the passed-out cashier lay. She was face-down and her face lay in a puddle of her drool. I checked for a pulse and respirations…..she had a very faint and rapid pulse with very shallow breaths. Her eyes were closed pretty tight and when I opened them, they weren't real responsive to light. The pupils were equal though. Someone had already called 911, so I was there to just make sure that she lived long enough for the EMTs to get there. I was fine with her being unconscious until the EMTs arrived, but all the other folks gathered around were freaking the hell out that she was not awake. So what did I do? I woke her up with a knuckle rub on the spine.
She came to with a start and immediately began freaking out that she was on the floor. Finally, the paramedics got there and I no longer had to care for the unconscious/ no semiconscious chick. Whew. I really thought for a few moments that I was going to have to do CPR on her.
HALLOWIENER 2008
I found a great website with Jack O'lantern patterns and carved 8 pumpkins from it. I found the Star of David elsewhere. The mice are chocolate. Here are the fruits (well actually, pumpkins are vegetables) of my labors:
WHAT EXACTLY IS A BURRITO?
So if a perro is a dog, a perrito is a little dog, a burro is a donkey, then what is a burrito? Food for thought…..literally.
In pharmacy school, you are always taught about certain "side effects" that can occur with medications, whether it be statins and rhabdo or warfarin and bleeding. Well, one of the professors we've had said something and it stuck in my mind. She said that we should try to experience some adverse drug reactions (ie "side effects") that would not harm us in the long run. Her suggestions were niacin for flushing and nitrates for the headache.
Guess what? I tried the niacin challenge: 100 mg immediate release, no food, no aspirin. I flushed all right. I flushed hardcore.
It all started about 15 minutes after taking the dose. It starts in areas of the highest blood flow, thus my face flushed first. It felt warm, prickly, and itched like you can't believe. My ears burned and the flushing spread down my neck and my nipples were next. After that, my butt and cubes went. The butt and cubes itched the worst. I ended up having to sit in a cold bath to bring the flushing down. Did I mention that the flushing made my heat sweat something fierce too? Ugh! It lasted about a total of 20-25 minutes.
So when people say that they can't tolerate niacin due to the flushing, have some empathy for them. It sucks. I would take it again if I needed to for cholesterol, but I would be damn sure to titrate up properly, take an extended release formulation, and pre-medicate with an aspirin. You can goddamned guarantee that I would try to avoid the flushing.
I kinda want to try the nitrate headache, but I am not sure how I would ever obtain any short of having a heart attack. I just want to see what patients have to go through there. However, there is one drug I never want to try out and that's orlistat (Xenical/ Alli). I do not want any of the most common side effects: oily spotting, flatus with discharge, fecal urgency, fatty/oily stool, increased defecation, and fecal incontinence. YUCK!
I would never take a drug that advises you start at home and be near a toilet. Also, who wants to a take drug whose manufacturers recommend you wear dark pants or take an extra pair of pants to work? I certainly would not want any hard gas/ sharting, especially if it's uncontrollable. I will steer clear of that shit…..literally.
PLAY THE GODDAMNED MUSIC
Katie and I went to a concert a little while back. Cobra Starship was the headliner, with Sing It Loud, Forever the Sickest Kids, and Hit the Lights as openers. Cobra Starship passed out fliers in support of vegetarianism at the concert. I don't know why bands do that or why anyone in the show business tries to be political. It is just annoying. You are not an expert on foreign policy, nutrition, or civil rights. Shut up and play your damn music. No one cares if you eat beef or not. And don't try to convince me not to eat meat.
Here's the flier they passed out after the concert was over:
And here's what's wrong with the flier: I am helping the planet by eating the cows that produce the greenhouse gases. What the fuck are vegetarians doing to help the planet? They are allowing more cows to live and fart. The lead singer of Cobra Starship was the main driving force behind the fliers and he was skinny skinny skinny. He looked nearly anorexic, but not really emo. You know why? Because the dude lacks protein in his diet. He's malnourished. Jesus Christ, we didn't rise to the top of the food chain to eat moss and molds. Come on. Be a man, eat a baby cow. Veal is delicious. Bacon makes everything better, there's nothing better than a big steak, sausage makes pizzas great, and chicken is super versatile.
Eat meat and save the planet.
SIGN OF THE TIMES
Speaking of the aforementioned concert, Katie and I were the oldest people there besides the parents that brought their kids. Damn. Way to listen to teenager music. Oh well. I guess you're only as old as you feel and act. And we have tickets for the upcoming concerts: Jason Mraz/ Lisa Hannigan and All Time Low/ The Maine/ Mayday Parade/ Every Avenue. I am sure that we will be the oldest people (minus the parents) at both of those concerts as well. *Sigh*
*Update (note that the section above was written before the concerts, and the section below was written afterwards)*
So the Jason Mraz concert was awesome and I encourage anyone out there to go see him if you can. Mr. A-Z, he's all about the wordplay. Fortunately, Katie and I were not the oldest ones at this concert. Mraz attracts a little older crowd than punk crowds, so that was nice.
The All Time Low concert was a different story. Once again, we were the oldest folks at the concert. And they used a term we were not familiar with: "circle pit." Is that like a circle jerk? I know what a circle jerk is…..but I kinda think that's not what they meant. I believe they meant a "mosh pit," but damn. Are we that far behind the times already? Seriously? I'm only 23 and I feel like I'm a generation behind. Not that I care, but jesus.
AND THE FINAL SECTION ON THE CONCERTS
At the Cobra Starship concert, there were several kids that just stood in the crowd and texted people the entire concert. Four hours of texting. I didn't see them ever rock out or even acknowledge the fact that a band was playing onstage. What a waste of $20. Why spend the money to go see a band live if you are going to stand there, staring at your phone for 4 hours? You could put their CD on at home and text people from the comfort of your couch. I don't get it.
I also don't understand the emo trend. I don't understand how every emo kid is so sad and miserable. Cheer up, losers. Life is only going to get worse from high school on. You gain responsibility, lose touch with old friends, gain weight, and lose your health. You got a whole life of shit ahead of you, so cheer up and enjoy your time in high school, you douchebags.
Also, I don't understand the skinny emo jeans. I don't know why it's fashionable for males to wear girls' jeans. Makes no sense to me. Buy jeans that fit you and are of the correct gender.
FOOD QUERIES
Do you ever notice that if you eat cucumbers, you burp cucumber for the rest of the day? It doesn't matter what else you eat, you burp cukes. You could eat horseshit and still burp cucumbers. You wouldn't think that cucumbers would come back with a vengeance since they're so mild. Not that cucumbers are an offensive taste, but it's just odd that no matter what you eat, cucumbers are what comes back for round 2.
I am by no means becoming a vegetarian, but I do eat veggie burgers and have vegetarian meals occasionally. It's just nice to have that option every now and then. However, I made the nearly fatal error of buying faux sausage patties. Those were quite possibly the grossest thing I have ever consumed. Why is it that some meat tastes can be decently imitated with veggie products and others just fall short? Veggie burgers? Pretty tasty. Veggie lasagna? Yummy. Faux sausage? Nasty shit.
And what makes chocolate so addicting? I feel like a girl on the rag concerning chocolate. I get on kicks where I can't get enough of the stuff. I could eat Hershey's dark chocolate bars by the pound.
SPAM
Spam is something else I don’t understand. Why the hell would I click on an email if they can't even spell Viagra right? Vigara, Vaigra, Vigra, Vriaga, and Viraga are just a few alternate spellings I get. Also, I get emails from supposed companies offering to make custom peptides for me. What in the name of hell am I going to do with a custom peptide? Seriously. Spam is so retarded. It serves no purpose. I won't ever open it so why do people bother sending it? Even if some African country is desperately seeking a direct relative of their king, I am not going to open it.
DOG BITE
Before I start this section of my blog, let me say that dachshunds are the breed responsible for the most dog bites every year. However, this was an unintentional bite from Schnitzel, so I don't think it really counts. It was partially my fault anyways.
I was playing in my backyard with the Schnitz-man. We were playing a chase and bite game. Anyways, my hand ended up in his mouth. And at that precise moment, some lovely neighbors set off some firecrackers. Schnitzel started and bit me out of panic. I started bleeding profusely and screaming in pain. Schnitzel got scared and cowered and I tried to console him while minimizing the amount of blood leaking onto his fur.
You see the tendon if you pulled the flap of skin back a bit. Gross. I bandaged it the best I could, but I thought it may need stitches. So I ended up at urgent care. And since it was dog bite, they refused to stitch it up (since it may get infected and they wanted to allow it to heal from the inside out to keep it from getting infected. I got 14 days of antibiotics (Avelox, in case you were wondering- and I got the quinolone because I can't tolerate anything with a beta-lactamase inhibitor nor can I tolerate cephalosporins or clinda). Oh, and they gave me Norco.
The terrible part about the whole situation was this: I got bit at 2:00 PM. I had to work at Walgreens from 4:00 PM until 10:00 PM. So I worked with a bandaged hand and a Norco-riddled brain. I'm sure I was on my A-game that night. Jesus.
HAUNTED HOUSE
No, I'm not talking about Halloween here. I am talking about a for real haunted house. One that I live in. I don't really believe in ghosts, but this house has me wondering. There is something wrong with this place. Here's what I mean:
The silverware drawer rattles at night sometimes. Josh is asleep or gone when it does it, so I know it's not him. I can hear it from my bedroom, which is immediately adjacent to the kitchen. It's not prolonged or anything, just a couple quick rattles.
There are dark shapes or shadows in the corners of your vision every now and then. Then when you turn your head to focus on them, they're gone. Poof.
There are noises that I can't seem to find a explanation for. The water heater and the heater click on and off, but it's not that. It's hard to explain, but I have tried to find a reason or a source of the noises and I can never find anything.
All the kids in the neighborhood say the house is haunted. None of them know why, but they all say the same things: "the house is haunted by the lady and her dog who lived there," "how can you live in the haunted house?" and "did you know your house is haunted?"
The dryer shuts off on its own. It never does it when you are watching it or near it; it only happens when you are in the front room, outside, or out of the house. Creepy. I don't dig it. And like I said, I don't really believe in ghosts, ghouls, goblins, and all that gobbledygook. But this certainly would shake your beliefs a little.
WAL-MART STORIES
I had my retail rotation at Wal-Mart in Caldwell, which is pretty much like little San Bernardino. I should have speaka'ed the Espanol but I chose not to on the grounds that we are in America. And in America, we speaka the English and the ebonics. The rotation at Wal-Mart was awful: I was a slave for 8 hours a day, filling, counseling, and doing transfers. It was terrible. I barely received any instruction from my preceptor who decided to take a 2 week vacation during my rotation there too. Godfuckingawful experience.
Anyhow, one day there was an unattractive 35 year old Hispanic female with a kid in a stroller that I counseled on her fluconazole (for a yeast infection). I did my normal duties per usual and she pushed her kid away once I was done. Instead of leaving like a normal person, she went to the "in" window and talked with the tech there. After the woman with the nino left, the tech came over and handed me a piece of paper. What was on the paper, you might ask? Well, it was her phone number. A 35 year old Hispanic woman with a kid and a raging yeast infection gave her phone number to the tech and told the tech to tell me that she thought I was cute.
No thanks!
The other story I have from Wal-Mart is the 26 year old female cashier that passed out and I nearly had to do CPR on her.
I was in the pharmacy when one of the other cashiers came running to the pharmacy, all panicked that the one cashier had fainted while checking someone out. I went over to the register where the passed-out cashier lay. She was face-down and her face lay in a puddle of her drool. I checked for a pulse and respirations…..she had a very faint and rapid pulse with very shallow breaths. Her eyes were closed pretty tight and when I opened them, they weren't real responsive to light. The pupils were equal though. Someone had already called 911, so I was there to just make sure that she lived long enough for the EMTs to get there. I was fine with her being unconscious until the EMTs arrived, but all the other folks gathered around were freaking the hell out that she was not awake. So what did I do? I woke her up with a knuckle rub on the spine.
She came to with a start and immediately began freaking out that she was on the floor. Finally, the paramedics got there and I no longer had to care for the unconscious/ no semiconscious chick. Whew. I really thought for a few moments that I was going to have to do CPR on her.
HALLOWIENER 2008
I found a great website with Jack O'lantern patterns and carved 8 pumpkins from it. I found the Star of David elsewhere. The mice are chocolate. Here are the fruits (well actually, pumpkins are vegetables) of my labors:
WHAT EXACTLY IS A BURRITO?
So if a perro is a dog, a perrito is a little dog, a burro is a donkey, then what is a burrito? Food for thought…..literally.
MY HALF-ASSED MOVIE REVIEWS
Juno: Just a great, oddball comedy. There were some duller points, but they serve to make the funny parts that much better. 4/5 stars
Se7en: A pretty intense, but shamefully predictable movie. I knew what would happen before it did, but at least it was a good story. 3/5 stars
The Omen: A novel ending, but a terrible movie throughout. Weak acting and cheesy lines. 1/5 stars.
Déjà vu: Once again, a pretty predictable movie. I was pretty disappointed in this movie since the trailers and previews made it look awesome, but it turned out to be mediocre at best. 2/5 stars
The Mist: I am a pretty big fan of Stephen King's novels, so a film adaptation of a King novel had better be good. I'll admit that the beasties in this movie were a tad trite and underdeveloped, but the plot was great and the end was provoking. 4/5 stars.
Black Snake Moan: A movie with a meandering plot, but plenty of wtf moments and boobs. Interesting movie, to say the least. 3/5 stars.
The Bourne Ultimatum: By far the best movie of the trilogy, but the entire trilogy cannot due justice to the novels. The first two were just a disgrace to the books. 3/5 stars
The Grand: A movie with a ton of potential that just fails to deliver over and over again. There were so many golden comedy moments that almost happened but didn't. Boo. 2/5 stars.
The Exorcist II: Just dreadful. The plot was incomprehensible and there was no suspense. It wasn't scary, just stupid. This was a disgrace to the franchise. 0/5 stars
The Exorcist III: Much better than the second, but it can't compare to the first. The plot was understandable and the acting was decent. The author of the first novel actually had a role in filming this movie, so of course it was better than the second one. 3/5 stars.
THANKS FOR THANKSGIVING
When gas was super expensive, it was so hard to top off and make it an even number (sure as hell wasn't hard to hit $50 though). That was probably my least favorite thing about high gas prices besides high gas prices. I cannot tell you how happy the price decline at the pump makes me (and not just because $2.40 a gallon is better than $4.00 a gallon). I hate uneven numbers with extra cents left on them. So now my anal retentive, obsessive compulsive mind can relax a little more as I gas up.
SHOULDN'T THEY HAVE TO PASS A TEST OR SOMETHING???
You know those bumper stickers that some girls put on their cars? The ones that say "hottie" or "foxy girl" or the worst "sexy girl inside?" Yeah, I hate those. They always promise something good…and never deliver. Ever. You see the sticker and expect to see some model driving the car, but you get disappointed. It's usually a fat, ugly white trash chick that smokes with her 3 kids under the age of 3 in the car.
I think girls should have to pass a test before they are already to purchase those stickers. They should have to stand before a panel of judges and either get a "yea" or "nay" as to whether they are allowed to purchase it. They need a harsh reality check. I realize that it's important for girls to have good self esteem and that's all well and good. I agree that having self confidence is a good thing. But let's be realistic. If you're ugly, you needn't flaunt it. Thanks.
FINALLY SOME JUSTICE!!!
Katie and I went to see Jason Mraz, who is one of her favorites. As we were walking to the concert, we had to cross a fairly busy street. We waited for traffic to die down, but it just never seemed to. So we decided we were going to have to just cross the street and stop traffic for a few seconds (it was a one-way street).
We walked briskly and all the lanes stopped….except one. There was this guy in a Honda Civic who just kept going and nearly clipped us as he went by at 35 mph or so. We both shouted at him and Katie flipped him a snappy one-finger salute. And sadly enough for this guy, he had to come to a stop immediately after passing us as the next light was red and there was a line of cars. I almost went over to knock on his window and ask him where the fucking fire was, but I am so glad I didn't. Why?
Well, because the cops flipped on their lights and pulled around the corner. The dude got a ticket for going through the intersection with pedestrians in the crosswalk! Haha. Swift, brutal, monetary justice!
BANDS THAT DON'T SUCK ON THEIR NEW ALBUMS
In my last blog, I wrote about how some bands just lose their awesomeness from CD to CD. Well, here's the flip side of the coin for that argument. Here are some bands that came through on their latest release:
Hawthorne Heights Fragile Future: One of their band members died (the screamer) and they sort of followed Bayside's footsteps: they made a deeper, more emotionally involved album and they removed the screaming! Yay!
Buckcherry Black Butterfly: It may actually be better than their previous album 15 which contained the song "Crazy Bitch." This one has an awesome song called "Too Drunk…(To Fuck)." Rock on.
Seether Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces: This is a nice slap in the face to Amy Lee of Evanescence. The entire album is the lead singer verbally assaulting her. Haha. It is kinda of interesting to listen to The Open Door by Evanescence and then listen to this one right after it. You hear two sides of the same story and you know the truth lies somewhere in between.
Valencia We All Need A Reason To Believe: A much more focused and listen-able record compared to their first punk album (This Could Be A Possibility). A few rockin' songs, a few mellow songs, but all good tracks.
Anberlin New Surrender: While it may not be as good as their previous two releases (Cities is just amazing and Never Take Friendship Personal is a great ironic album), it is still very good punk music. The only complaint I have is that it is more poppy than I think Anberlin is at heart, but there are still some good rockin' tracks.
Gym Class Heroes The Quilt: I expected this album to suck just because they received so much press attention and hype over the last album. But no, this album may be even better than the previous release.
Story of the Year The Black Swan: Although nothing can match their second album (In the Wake of Determination) in the way of aggressive choruses, this CD definitely gains some melody and depth. A very good rock album.
Senses Fail Life Is Not A Waiting Room: I expected this album to be weak since they changed record companies to Drive Thru records (and Drive Thru typically sucks the life out of any good band that signs with them). Wow, was I ever wrong. \m/ (rock on in txt language)
Houston Calls The End of an Error: An up-and-coming punk band. Their first album was alright, with a few solid tracks and the rest filler. This one is just the opposite; mainly good tracks and only a couple fillers.
Trapt Only Through The Pain…: This is the same and it is not the same band that made the song "Headstrong." The same "rockness" is there, but the lyrics are better and more developed now. Very nice album.
The Classic Crime The Silver Cord: I saw that this album got a lot of negative press, but I think it follows their first album (Albatross) nicely. It's nearly identical in style. Rock out with your rooster out.
I Am Ghost Those We Leave Behind: More awesome music in the same vein as always: their self-invented epicore. The only disappointment is that the female vocals are gone in this album.
Escape The Fate This War is Ours: A completely different direction from their first EP and full album. And I must say, it was a welcome change (less screaming, more singing, less drum-slamming, more thought put into arrangements). The new singer makes the band.
Shinedown The Sound of Madness: With each album, they get better and better. Their first one was kinda weak, the second alright, and this one's pretty bitchin'.
AND NOW ONTO THE BANDS THAT DID SUCK ON THEIR LATEST ALBUM
1997 On The Run: Their first album (A Better View of the Rising Moon) was new and different. It fused male and female vocals nicely and was something new in the punk scene. They had original lyrics too. This album just sucks, plain and simple. Not good. At all. Boo on 1997. They're living in the past.
Sugarland Love on the Inside: There are a couple good songs, but they've been dwindling down since the first album (Twice the Speed of Life). That album was awesome. The second album (Enjoy the Ride) was OK, with a few hits. And this latest album is just annoying, especially the song "All I Want To Do."
Staind The Illusion of Progress: It certainly was an illusion of progress. I'd say it was a horrible regression. Repetitive lyrics and guitarwork. Boo on Aaron Lewis and boo on Staind. Try again, fellas. Go back to what worked on your best album (Break the Cycle).
Metallica Death Magnetic: They're old and tired and it sounds that way. This is a forced album from the get-go and there is one good song at most on it. This was below par but not unforeseen. The guys are just too old to rock like they used to. It's too bad. I prefer they went out on a good note, but I guess they're going to keep going down the poppy, boring road they paved with this album.
Family Force 5 Dance or Die: Definitely the biggest disappointment of the 5 CDs listed here. I had high, high, high hopes for this album because their first album actually made me want to dance a little bit (and let me say that it had to be a fricking amazing album to make me want to shake my bony little moneymaker). But no, this CD sucked. The vocals are all synthed out now, even though the singer has a decent voice for a punk band. The lyrics were simple and even more trite than the first album. It just seems like they lost their direction on this album. Hopefully they can recover on the 3rd album. Hopefully.
Music enjoyed whilst composing this masterpiece:
Juno: Just a great, oddball comedy. There were some duller points, but they serve to make the funny parts that much better. 4/5 stars
Se7en: A pretty intense, but shamefully predictable movie. I knew what would happen before it did, but at least it was a good story. 3/5 stars
The Omen: A novel ending, but a terrible movie throughout. Weak acting and cheesy lines. 1/5 stars.
Déjà vu: Once again, a pretty predictable movie. I was pretty disappointed in this movie since the trailers and previews made it look awesome, but it turned out to be mediocre at best. 2/5 stars
The Mist: I am a pretty big fan of Stephen King's novels, so a film adaptation of a King novel had better be good. I'll admit that the beasties in this movie were a tad trite and underdeveloped, but the plot was great and the end was provoking. 4/5 stars.
Black Snake Moan: A movie with a meandering plot, but plenty of wtf moments and boobs. Interesting movie, to say the least. 3/5 stars.
The Bourne Ultimatum: By far the best movie of the trilogy, but the entire trilogy cannot due justice to the novels. The first two were just a disgrace to the books. 3/5 stars
The Grand: A movie with a ton of potential that just fails to deliver over and over again. There were so many golden comedy moments that almost happened but didn't. Boo. 2/5 stars.
The Exorcist II: Just dreadful. The plot was incomprehensible and there was no suspense. It wasn't scary, just stupid. This was a disgrace to the franchise. 0/5 stars
The Exorcist III: Much better than the second, but it can't compare to the first. The plot was understandable and the acting was decent. The author of the first novel actually had a role in filming this movie, so of course it was better than the second one. 3/5 stars.
THANKS FOR THANKSGIVING
My mom decided to have Thanksgiving at our house in Redlands this year. That's all fine and good because I hate having to drive to Ventura for Thanksgiving. Call me selfish, but that drive sucks. And the family that lives there moved away from the core of the family in the Inland Empire, so it's only fitting that they should have to drive back to the IE to celebrate holidays since they left. However, there is one catch to this Thanksgiving.
My mom volunteered me to cook it. Damn. I like cooking and I love eating, but I was pretty much volunteered up to cook the meal without consultation first. Huh. Kinda sucks. Oh well.
So now I have to cook everything for my family's Thanksgiving. And my uncle Roy is very good at cooking turkeys, so I have a pretty high standard to live up to. Shucks. My aunt is good at making mashed 'taters, so there's another standard I have to meet. She's also great at casseroles. Shit. Here we go. Allrecipes.com, don't fail me now.
THANKS TO MY MOM, YET AGAIN
My mom has crappy genes. She has SLE (lupus) and has had 2274378293482342875 skin cancers removed. So now I have the itchy butterfly rash on my face/nose and I had a weird mole. Jesus…. But more about my mole.
It was on my right tricep. It used to be pretty small, more like a freckle. But in the last year or so, it grew and grew. Recently, it scabbed over and healed 3 or 4 times. When it was scabbed over, it was super-sensitive to touch. Since I have crappy genes, I went to the dermatologist. They punch biopsied it and stitched me up proper. I got a call 3 days later that made me feel better: it was just a benign mole that presented weird. Whew.
Anyhow, here's some more info on skin cancer if you're bored.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001442.htm
MY NEW EXERCISE GOAL
I have been working out a lot lately (weights, walking, jogging, running, biking, aerobics, jump roping, etc.). I have decided that I want to try a triathlon in the summer of 2009 sometime. I dunno why this has popped into my mind as a good idea, but it has stayed in there now for about 3 or 4 weeks. I dunno why I want to do it really. Maybe it's to prove that kids with asthma can grow up to lead normal lives. Maybe it's to get healthy and physically fit so that I don't end up like the patients I see (fat, with hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, congestive heart failure, etc.). Or maybe it's just to prove to myself that I can do it. I dunno. Maybe it's a combination of all of those explanations.
All I do know is that the swimming portion would definitely be the hardest portion for me. I am a pretty strong swimmer, but the distance may get to me. The running and the biking are coming pretty easily to me, so hopefully those won't present much of an issue.
TOPPING OFF TROUBLES
My mom volunteered me to cook it. Damn. I like cooking and I love eating, but I was pretty much volunteered up to cook the meal without consultation first. Huh. Kinda sucks. Oh well.
So now I have to cook everything for my family's Thanksgiving. And my uncle Roy is very good at cooking turkeys, so I have a pretty high standard to live up to. Shucks. My aunt is good at making mashed 'taters, so there's another standard I have to meet. She's also great at casseroles. Shit. Here we go. Allrecipes.com, don't fail me now.
THANKS TO MY MOM, YET AGAIN
My mom has crappy genes. She has SLE (lupus) and has had 2274378293482342875 skin cancers removed. So now I have the itchy butterfly rash on my face/nose and I had a weird mole. Jesus…. But more about my mole.
It was on my right tricep. It used to be pretty small, more like a freckle. But in the last year or so, it grew and grew. Recently, it scabbed over and healed 3 or 4 times. When it was scabbed over, it was super-sensitive to touch. Since I have crappy genes, I went to the dermatologist. They punch biopsied it and stitched me up proper. I got a call 3 days later that made me feel better: it was just a benign mole that presented weird. Whew.
Anyhow, here's some more info on skin cancer if you're bored.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001442.htm
MY NEW EXERCISE GOAL
I have been working out a lot lately (weights, walking, jogging, running, biking, aerobics, jump roping, etc.). I have decided that I want to try a triathlon in the summer of 2009 sometime. I dunno why this has popped into my mind as a good idea, but it has stayed in there now for about 3 or 4 weeks. I dunno why I want to do it really. Maybe it's to prove that kids with asthma can grow up to lead normal lives. Maybe it's to get healthy and physically fit so that I don't end up like the patients I see (fat, with hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, congestive heart failure, etc.). Or maybe it's just to prove to myself that I can do it. I dunno. Maybe it's a combination of all of those explanations.
All I do know is that the swimming portion would definitely be the hardest portion for me. I am a pretty strong swimmer, but the distance may get to me. The running and the biking are coming pretty easily to me, so hopefully those won't present much of an issue.
TOPPING OFF TROUBLES
When gas was super expensive, it was so hard to top off and make it an even number (sure as hell wasn't hard to hit $50 though). That was probably my least favorite thing about high gas prices besides high gas prices. I cannot tell you how happy the price decline at the pump makes me (and not just because $2.40 a gallon is better than $4.00 a gallon). I hate uneven numbers with extra cents left on them. So now my anal retentive, obsessive compulsive mind can relax a little more as I gas up.
SHOULDN'T THEY HAVE TO PASS A TEST OR SOMETHING???
You know those bumper stickers that some girls put on their cars? The ones that say "hottie" or "foxy girl" or the worst "sexy girl inside?" Yeah, I hate those. They always promise something good…and never deliver. Ever. You see the sticker and expect to see some model driving the car, but you get disappointed. It's usually a fat, ugly white trash chick that smokes with her 3 kids under the age of 3 in the car.
I think girls should have to pass a test before they are already to purchase those stickers. They should have to stand before a panel of judges and either get a "yea" or "nay" as to whether they are allowed to purchase it. They need a harsh reality check. I realize that it's important for girls to have good self esteem and that's all well and good. I agree that having self confidence is a good thing. But let's be realistic. If you're ugly, you needn't flaunt it. Thanks.
FINALLY SOME JUSTICE!!!
Katie and I went to see Jason Mraz, who is one of her favorites. As we were walking to the concert, we had to cross a fairly busy street. We waited for traffic to die down, but it just never seemed to. So we decided we were going to have to just cross the street and stop traffic for a few seconds (it was a one-way street).
We walked briskly and all the lanes stopped….except one. There was this guy in a Honda Civic who just kept going and nearly clipped us as he went by at 35 mph or so. We both shouted at him and Katie flipped him a snappy one-finger salute. And sadly enough for this guy, he had to come to a stop immediately after passing us as the next light was red and there was a line of cars. I almost went over to knock on his window and ask him where the fucking fire was, but I am so glad I didn't. Why?
Well, because the cops flipped on their lights and pulled around the corner. The dude got a ticket for going through the intersection with pedestrians in the crosswalk! Haha. Swift, brutal, monetary justice!
BANDS THAT DON'T SUCK ON THEIR NEW ALBUMS
In my last blog, I wrote about how some bands just lose their awesomeness from CD to CD. Well, here's the flip side of the coin for that argument. Here are some bands that came through on their latest release:
Hawthorne Heights Fragile Future: One of their band members died (the screamer) and they sort of followed Bayside's footsteps: they made a deeper, more emotionally involved album and they removed the screaming! Yay!
Buckcherry Black Butterfly: It may actually be better than their previous album 15 which contained the song "Crazy Bitch." This one has an awesome song called "Too Drunk…(To Fuck)." Rock on.
Seether Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces: This is a nice slap in the face to Amy Lee of Evanescence. The entire album is the lead singer verbally assaulting her. Haha. It is kinda of interesting to listen to The Open Door by Evanescence and then listen to this one right after it. You hear two sides of the same story and you know the truth lies somewhere in between.
Valencia We All Need A Reason To Believe: A much more focused and listen-able record compared to their first punk album (This Could Be A Possibility). A few rockin' songs, a few mellow songs, but all good tracks.
Anberlin New Surrender: While it may not be as good as their previous two releases (Cities is just amazing and Never Take Friendship Personal is a great ironic album), it is still very good punk music. The only complaint I have is that it is more poppy than I think Anberlin is at heart, but there are still some good rockin' tracks.
Gym Class Heroes The Quilt: I expected this album to suck just because they received so much press attention and hype over the last album. But no, this album may be even better than the previous release.
Story of the Year The Black Swan: Although nothing can match their second album (In the Wake of Determination) in the way of aggressive choruses, this CD definitely gains some melody and depth. A very good rock album.
Senses Fail Life Is Not A Waiting Room: I expected this album to be weak since they changed record companies to Drive Thru records (and Drive Thru typically sucks the life out of any good band that signs with them). Wow, was I ever wrong. \m/ (rock on in txt language)
Houston Calls The End of an Error: An up-and-coming punk band. Their first album was alright, with a few solid tracks and the rest filler. This one is just the opposite; mainly good tracks and only a couple fillers.
Trapt Only Through The Pain…: This is the same and it is not the same band that made the song "Headstrong." The same "rockness" is there, but the lyrics are better and more developed now. Very nice album.
The Classic Crime The Silver Cord: I saw that this album got a lot of negative press, but I think it follows their first album (Albatross) nicely. It's nearly identical in style. Rock out with your rooster out.
I Am Ghost Those We Leave Behind: More awesome music in the same vein as always: their self-invented epicore. The only disappointment is that the female vocals are gone in this album.
Escape The Fate This War is Ours: A completely different direction from their first EP and full album. And I must say, it was a welcome change (less screaming, more singing, less drum-slamming, more thought put into arrangements). The new singer makes the band.
Shinedown The Sound of Madness: With each album, they get better and better. Their first one was kinda weak, the second alright, and this one's pretty bitchin'.
AND NOW ONTO THE BANDS THAT DID SUCK ON THEIR LATEST ALBUM
1997 On The Run: Their first album (A Better View of the Rising Moon) was new and different. It fused male and female vocals nicely and was something new in the punk scene. They had original lyrics too. This album just sucks, plain and simple. Not good. At all. Boo on 1997. They're living in the past.
Sugarland Love on the Inside: There are a couple good songs, but they've been dwindling down since the first album (Twice the Speed of Life). That album was awesome. The second album (Enjoy the Ride) was OK, with a few hits. And this latest album is just annoying, especially the song "All I Want To Do."
Staind The Illusion of Progress: It certainly was an illusion of progress. I'd say it was a horrible regression. Repetitive lyrics and guitarwork. Boo on Aaron Lewis and boo on Staind. Try again, fellas. Go back to what worked on your best album (Break the Cycle).
Metallica Death Magnetic: They're old and tired and it sounds that way. This is a forced album from the get-go and there is one good song at most on it. This was below par but not unforeseen. The guys are just too old to rock like they used to. It's too bad. I prefer they went out on a good note, but I guess they're going to keep going down the poppy, boring road they paved with this album.
Family Force 5 Dance or Die: Definitely the biggest disappointment of the 5 CDs listed here. I had high, high, high hopes for this album because their first album actually made me want to dance a little bit (and let me say that it had to be a fricking amazing album to make me want to shake my bony little moneymaker). But no, this CD sucked. The vocals are all synthed out now, even though the singer has a decent voice for a punk band. The lyrics were simple and even more trite than the first album. It just seems like they lost their direction on this album. Hopefully they can recover on the 3rd album. Hopefully.
Music enjoyed whilst composing this masterpiece:
Thursday, July 03, 2008
MAY AND JUNE BLOG
Rotations
I have finished 1 of 7 rotations (each is 6 weeks and I am currently on my 6 week break right now). I was downtown and out in Meridian at St. Luke's. It involved the most work I have ever done in my life. I read articles, wrote papers, wrote presentations, did research on questions the doctors would have throughout the day, and wrote up hideously long notes on patients (~20 pages). I don't think I've ever worked that hard on something for school before in my life. It was pretty intense. Not to say that it was pointless work though. I think most of it was relevant, just the quantity got a little overwhelming at times. I may have gotten off at noon, but then I had meetings with my preceptor and an evening of homework (until midnight usually). Crazy stuff. I'll be glad when these things are done and I'm getting paid to work instead of paying to slave away.
I have quite awhile before I am done, but at least it's less than a year away:
And Speaking of St. Lukes…
Katie and I were playing Frisbee golf at a local park when she froze and looked at me weird. Half of her face started drooping and she said it was numb, as well as one arm. She tried to say "Oh my God, I'm having a stroke!" but it came out kinda slurred. Her symptoms only lasted about 15 seconds and she recovered completely immediately afterwards.
I was somewhat scared because it did look like she had a stroke. So we ran to the truck and took off to St. Lukes. I am pretty sure that they charge you about $200 for just breathing the vanilla scented air in the emergency department. As soon as we walked in the door, BAM! $200.
Anyhow, they diagnosed her as having a miniature TIA (transient ischemic attack). So in essence, she had a mini mini stroke. And yes there are two minis there. A TIA is a mini stroke, so a mini TIA is a mini mini stroke. A CT scan didn't reveal any deficits, nor did the MRI show any lasting signs of damage. So that's good. But now she gets aspirin 81 mg po qday x indefinite (there's the pharmacy dork in me- that's a baby aspirin by mouth once daily for life).
Der Wienerschnitzel
Everyone here knows of the ill-fated attempt at puppy ownership with Sammy, the not-so-smart but fun-loving mutant Dachshund. Well, Katie's cousin's girlfriend's parents raise miniature Dachshunds. Hmmm…
There was a litter born on April 6th, 2008. Some of them were black with brown and the others were white, grey, and black (all spotted and weird looking). I picked out the biggest black and brown male because he had the biggest, fattest, and therefore cutest head.
5 and a half weeks later, Schnitzel got to come home with me. His name is Schnitzel in honor of Wienerschnitzel, the fast food chain.
He's become quite the character in the last 7 weeks. He's now 7.5 pounds and sleeps all the way through the night (thankfully, god the first week was atrocious). He rarely has any bodily functions inside except for the occasional Purina fart. Here's a sequence of photos from when I first got him to now:
Rotations
I have finished 1 of 7 rotations (each is 6 weeks and I am currently on my 6 week break right now). I was downtown and out in Meridian at St. Luke's. It involved the most work I have ever done in my life. I read articles, wrote papers, wrote presentations, did research on questions the doctors would have throughout the day, and wrote up hideously long notes on patients (~20 pages). I don't think I've ever worked that hard on something for school before in my life. It was pretty intense. Not to say that it was pointless work though. I think most of it was relevant, just the quantity got a little overwhelming at times. I may have gotten off at noon, but then I had meetings with my preceptor and an evening of homework (until midnight usually). Crazy stuff. I'll be glad when these things are done and I'm getting paid to work instead of paying to slave away.
I have quite awhile before I am done, but at least it's less than a year away:
And Speaking of St. Lukes…
Katie and I were playing Frisbee golf at a local park when she froze and looked at me weird. Half of her face started drooping and she said it was numb, as well as one arm. She tried to say "Oh my God, I'm having a stroke!" but it came out kinda slurred. Her symptoms only lasted about 15 seconds and she recovered completely immediately afterwards.
I was somewhat scared because it did look like she had a stroke. So we ran to the truck and took off to St. Lukes. I am pretty sure that they charge you about $200 for just breathing the vanilla scented air in the emergency department. As soon as we walked in the door, BAM! $200.
Anyhow, they diagnosed her as having a miniature TIA (transient ischemic attack). So in essence, she had a mini mini stroke. And yes there are two minis there. A TIA is a mini stroke, so a mini TIA is a mini mini stroke. A CT scan didn't reveal any deficits, nor did the MRI show any lasting signs of damage. So that's good. But now she gets aspirin 81 mg po qday x indefinite (there's the pharmacy dork in me- that's a baby aspirin by mouth once daily for life).
Der Wienerschnitzel
Everyone here knows of the ill-fated attempt at puppy ownership with Sammy, the not-so-smart but fun-loving mutant Dachshund. Well, Katie's cousin's girlfriend's parents raise miniature Dachshunds. Hmmm…
There was a litter born on April 6th, 2008. Some of them were black with brown and the others were white, grey, and black (all spotted and weird looking). I picked out the biggest black and brown male because he had the biggest, fattest, and therefore cutest head.
5 and a half weeks later, Schnitzel got to come home with me. His name is Schnitzel in honor of Wienerschnitzel, the fast food chain.
He's become quite the character in the last 7 weeks. He's now 7.5 pounds and sleeps all the way through the night (thankfully, god the first week was atrocious). He rarely has any bodily functions inside except for the occasional Purina fart. Here's a sequence of photos from when I first got him to now:
And yes, I'll be keeping him away from chew bones as much as possible.
First Song Phenomenon
How many times has this happened to you? You buy a CD after hearing a good song on the radio or internet. You expect the rest of the CD to be like that one good song, but it's not. In fact, it's nothing like the song you heard on the radio. It doesn't even sound like the same band. And usually, the best song on the CD is the first track on it. Let me give you some examples of what I mean:
Gnarls Barkley: Crazy was an awesome song from the album St. Elsewhere, but the rest of the album sucked. There were no other songs like Crazy. It was just all synth-ed out shitty weirdness. Technical terminology there, mind you.
First Song Phenomenon
How many times has this happened to you? You buy a CD after hearing a good song on the radio or internet. You expect the rest of the CD to be like that one good song, but it's not. In fact, it's nothing like the song you heard on the radio. It doesn't even sound like the same band. And usually, the best song on the CD is the first track on it. Let me give you some examples of what I mean:
Gnarls Barkley: Crazy was an awesome song from the album St. Elsewhere, but the rest of the album sucked. There were no other songs like Crazy. It was just all synth-ed out shitty weirdness. Technical terminology there, mind you.
Revis: Caught in the Rain was the big single (and track #1) from this album a couple years back. The rest of Places For Breathing was atrocious. And since then, this band has dropped off the face of the Earth (thankfully).
Coldplay: Viva La Vida had high expectations from me since their albums had been getting progressively better, but I guess their awesomeness culminated in X & Y for me. There is one decent song (Violet Hill), but that's it.
Panic! At The Disco: Their first album was just a jolly rockin' good time. I figured their second album (Pretty. Odd.) would be more of the same, if not better. Nope. Nine in the Afternoon is a solid song, but the rest of the album just falls short for me. P!ATD is a punk band, but they seem to think they are more like the Beatles. *Sigh*
Chris Cornell: This is only his second release as a solo artist and he just should not be a solo artist. He needs to stick with Audioslave, Soundgarden, or Temple of the Dog. I realize those bands are gone with the wind, but he sucks by himself. There is one good song on the disc: You Know My Name. It was the theme of the newest Bond movie (Casino Royale).
Chris Cornell: This is only his second release as a solo artist and he just should not be a solo artist. He needs to stick with Audioslave, Soundgarden, or Temple of the Dog. I realize those bands are gone with the wind, but he sucks by himself. There is one good song on the disc: You Know My Name. It was the theme of the newest Bond movie (Casino Royale).
Linkin Park: Both of their first two albums were amazing. I know they have a narrow genre, but they excel at it. Their newest album (Minutes to Midnight) is just a dreadful departure from that genre. They ventured into U2 territory and U2 just blows. Really. Bono can kiss my ass. Anyhow, What I've Done is the only worthwhile song on there.
Chevelle: They are kind of a weird band, but their releases have been pretty consistent thus far. This latest time (Vena Sera) around though, I think they missed a beat. Anti-saint, the opening track, is the best track on the disc. The rest of it is just torture.
Finger Eleven: All of their albums have been great (with the exception of the track One Thing on the self-titled release, god that song sucks). I don't know what the hell happened on Them vs. You vs. Me. Paralyzer is a fun song, but the rest of the CD is whiny and pointless.
So I guess I have made my point. It's been the year for disappointing albums. Keep up the shitty work, bands.
$50 Gas Card
A few weeks back, I went to Del Taco because I was too lazy and/or tired to make my own lunch. Turns out that it was a pretty good decision. Well, not good for my waistline or cholesterol or blood pressure or risk of type 2 diabetes or etc….. But it definitely was good for my wallet and not just because I got the Del Deal.
I entered my receipt into a drawing for a $50 gas card from Shell. Thinking I had no chance of winning, I dropped my receipt into the big old bowl full of receipts (probably hundreds, maybe thousands) and put the thought of the gas card out of my mind.
A few days after that, I got a phone call from an unknown local number. I let it go to my voice message and it turned out that it was the manager of that Del Taco. I had won the $50 gas card! Whoo-hoo! I never win anything, so this was pretty exciting for me. About a week after that, I got the card in the mail. Too bad it only paid for one tank. Damn. But $50 is $50, no matter how much or how little gas it buys.
A Pet Peeve in the Pharmacy World
At Walgreens, just to cover my ass, I always ask every patient if they have questions on the prescription or if they want the pharmacist/me to go over the medication with them. The most common answer I get is "no thanks." I am totally cool with that one. I then just hit "2" on the register to denote the decline to counsel and we move on with the transaction. It's the patient's right to decline counseling and I usually don't have a problem with them refusing it. The answer that pisses me off is "I've had it before and I know what to do."
I don't know why that one angers me so much. I guess it's because it's like the patient is saying that they know everything about a medication simply because they've taken it before (like the knowledge of the drug is osmotically acquired by ingesting it). It also demeans my education and time spent in school by saying that the lay public knows everything they need to know about the drugs they take and pharmacists aren't necessary. It pisses me off that people completely disregard the helpful health care resource at their fingertips with such a flippant answer to my question.
Just because you've taken a drug for years doesn't mean you can't develop new side effects or the more appropriately named "adverse drug reactions." A patient fairly recently asked me about muscle pain. I went to the NSAID section of Walgreens with the intention of recommending ibuprofen or naproxen, but after a few more questions, I decided that wasn't such a hot idea. The patient stated that they were on simvastatin (generic Zocor) and recently had their dose doubled with the goal of lowering their LDL further. They also stated that they had started a new diet where grapefruit juice was a core part. They could not attribute the muscle pain to any physical activity either. Ummm…..perhaps at risk for rhabdomyolysis (in case you're wondering, that is a no bueno condition).
$50 Gas Card
A few weeks back, I went to Del Taco because I was too lazy and/or tired to make my own lunch. Turns out that it was a pretty good decision. Well, not good for my waistline or cholesterol or blood pressure or risk of type 2 diabetes or etc….. But it definitely was good for my wallet and not just because I got the Del Deal.
I entered my receipt into a drawing for a $50 gas card from Shell. Thinking I had no chance of winning, I dropped my receipt into the big old bowl full of receipts (probably hundreds, maybe thousands) and put the thought of the gas card out of my mind.
A few days after that, I got a phone call from an unknown local number. I let it go to my voice message and it turned out that it was the manager of that Del Taco. I had won the $50 gas card! Whoo-hoo! I never win anything, so this was pretty exciting for me. About a week after that, I got the card in the mail. Too bad it only paid for one tank. Damn. But $50 is $50, no matter how much or how little gas it buys.
A Pet Peeve in the Pharmacy World
At Walgreens, just to cover my ass, I always ask every patient if they have questions on the prescription or if they want the pharmacist/me to go over the medication with them. The most common answer I get is "no thanks." I am totally cool with that one. I then just hit "2" on the register to denote the decline to counsel and we move on with the transaction. It's the patient's right to decline counseling and I usually don't have a problem with them refusing it. The answer that pisses me off is "I've had it before and I know what to do."
I don't know why that one angers me so much. I guess it's because it's like the patient is saying that they know everything about a medication simply because they've taken it before (like the knowledge of the drug is osmotically acquired by ingesting it). It also demeans my education and time spent in school by saying that the lay public knows everything they need to know about the drugs they take and pharmacists aren't necessary. It pisses me off that people completely disregard the helpful health care resource at their fingertips with such a flippant answer to my question.
Just because you've taken a drug for years doesn't mean you can't develop new side effects or the more appropriately named "adverse drug reactions." A patient fairly recently asked me about muscle pain. I went to the NSAID section of Walgreens with the intention of recommending ibuprofen or naproxen, but after a few more questions, I decided that wasn't such a hot idea. The patient stated that they were on simvastatin (generic Zocor) and recently had their dose doubled with the goal of lowering their LDL further. They also stated that they had started a new diet where grapefruit juice was a core part. They could not attribute the muscle pain to any physical activity either. Ummm…..perhaps at risk for rhabdomyolysis (in case you're wondering, that is a no bueno condition).
So I said they should go back to their primary care provider and let them know of the muscle pain before treating it symptomatically. I never found out about the results on that patient, but I have a pretty good hunch that they were experiencing a fairly rare adverse drug event associated with statin use. Now, this patient had been on the medication for years, but they developed a new symptom and were smart enough to ask about it. They could have died from rhabdomyolysis had they continued on the drug.
So I guess that confirms my point that patients don't know everything about a drug just because they've been on it. And thus confirms my suspicions that the average layperson is retarded.
I Wish The Human GI Tract Were More Efficient
So I guess that confirms my point that patients don't know everything about a drug just because they've been on it. And thus confirms my suspicions that the average layperson is retarded.
I Wish The Human GI Tract Were More Efficient
I am an utter hedonist when it comes to food: I love eating. I eat when I am bored. I eat when I study. I eat when I watch movies, TV, and play video games. I eat when I'm hungry (duh). I even eat when I'm not hungry (just for taste). I try to cook something different once a week so that I have something different to eat. I love salty snacks and sweet snacks (salty more though). I love going to bed with a full or semi-full stomach (even though I know you're not supposed to). But there's one thing I hate about eating: gas and having to poop.
I wish we were more efficient at utilizing the food we eat so that pooping wasn't such a common occurrence. I wish we could break down fiber and turn it into something useful instead of flushing it. Instead of laying a deuce once a day or once every other day, maybe we could extend it out to once a month or something. I just hate sitting there on the throne, stinking the place up. And wiping is no picnic either. I just hate the whole scene. Nothing about taking the Cleveland Browns to the Superbowl is enjoyable except for the knowledge that it's the longest possible time until doing it again. I mean, I like living free and easy afterwards, but the experience immediately prior and during is near the top of the list of my most hated things.
Gas isn't any better than taking a duke either. Just because it's not solid doesn't exonerate it. It can still make you feel awful and stinks just as bad (if not worse). And it sneaks up on you at the most inappropriate moments. Always. You laugh and out pops a loud one. You sneeze and accidentally blow air and possibly some projectiles out both ends. You shift your ass during class or a meeting and a silent, but deadly wave sneaks up on the people around you. No one would be the wiser, except you refuse to meet their eye and you're bright red. Guilty as charged.
I wish we were more efficient at utilizing the food we eat so that pooping wasn't such a common occurrence. I wish we could break down fiber and turn it into something useful instead of flushing it. Instead of laying a deuce once a day or once every other day, maybe we could extend it out to once a month or something. I just hate sitting there on the throne, stinking the place up. And wiping is no picnic either. I just hate the whole scene. Nothing about taking the Cleveland Browns to the Superbowl is enjoyable except for the knowledge that it's the longest possible time until doing it again. I mean, I like living free and easy afterwards, but the experience immediately prior and during is near the top of the list of my most hated things.
Gas isn't any better than taking a duke either. Just because it's not solid doesn't exonerate it. It can still make you feel awful and stinks just as bad (if not worse). And it sneaks up on you at the most inappropriate moments. Always. You laugh and out pops a loud one. You sneeze and accidentally blow air and possibly some projectiles out both ends. You shift your ass during class or a meeting and a silent, but deadly wave sneaks up on the people around you. No one would be the wiser, except you refuse to meet their eye and you're bright red. Guilty as charged.
Movies
Shooter: 3.75 of 5 stars. This movie had big shoes to fill. The book was such a success in its own right that it would have been disappointing had the movie simply followed it to a "T." The movie broke away from the novel's plot here and there and definitely told a slightly different story.
Transformers: 3.75 of 5 stars. The movie had a ton of action involving robots and not that much acting from people. There were some comedic relief moments and those were entertaining. Michael Bay just needs to understand that action is not plot.
The Pursuit of Happyness: 4 of 5 stars. It was sort of slow in parts, but left you with a good feeling. And yes, "happiness" was spelled with a "y."
The Black Dahlia: 0 of 5 stars. This was one of the most disjointed movies I have ever seen. Yet it wasn't like Donnie Darko or Memento were disjointedness was the point of the movie. The acting was less than weak, I'm not sure if it was supposed to be funny or serious, and the plot was feeble at best. Just awful.
Boondock Saints: 4 of 5 stars. This is like a more modern Death Wish. It was intriguing and thought provoking to say the least. It makes it hard to draw the line between right and wrong. Willem Dafoe is a certifiable psycho in it as well.
The Departed: 3.5 of 5 stars. Jack Nicholson is pretty funny in this dark, twisted film about a crime sting complicated by betrayals and snitches. Leonardo DiCaprio doesn't die soon enough though and we're forced to put up with his lame ass for longer than necessary.
Hostel Part II: 3 of 5 stars. A fairly unique ending to the movie made it better than the original. Otherwise it's pretty much more of the same. Gore, painful scenes, and screaming galore.
Current music:
Current music:
Sunday, April 13, 2008
MARCH AND HALF OF APRIL BLOG
Scrabulous and Scramble
I have found my newest source of entertainment during class and it's on facebook (not myspace because myspace sucks). I should be paying attention in class, but it just drags. It's awful. So anyways I do other things to keep my simple brain occupied. If I don’t, then I would fall asleep. Take your pick: playing games or sound asleep.
"Apparantly, asparagus contains a sulphurous amino acid called methyl mercaptan, although there seems to be debate among scientists if there are other chemicals involved.
Serious scientific research in this field dates back to 1891, when M. Nencki tentatively identified a compound known as methanethiol as the culprit. The odor appears within an hour after eating just a few spears of the offending vegetable.
According to Allison and McWhirter (1956), the ability to produce the odor is controlled by a single autosomal (i.e., non-sex-related) dominant gene. In a sample of 115 persons, 46 were rendered fragrant by asparagus and 63 were not. (This leaves 6 mysteriously unaccounted for. Urology is an inexact science, I guess.)
In 1975 one Robert H. White, then with the chemistry department at the University of California at San Diego, found that the odor-causing chemical was not methanethiol after all. Instead, using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Bob was obviously not one to screw around), he found that the aroma was in fact caused by several S-methyl thioesters, specifically S-methyl thioacrylate and S-methyl 3-(methylthio)thiopropionate.
(Thioesters are compounds that result from the reaction of an acid with a sulfur-containing alcohol. They tend to be smelly.)
The thioacrylate recipe is:
CH2=CHC(=O)SCH3
The thiopropionate is:
CH3SCH2CH2C(=O)SCH3."
Wikipedia also states that:
"The effect of eating asparagus on one's urine has long been known. Marcel Proust claimed that asparagus "...transforms my chamber-pot into a flask of perfume." Certain constituents of asparagus are metabolized giving urine a distinctive smell due to various sulfur-containing degradation products, including various thiols, thioesters, and ammonia. Derivatives of asparagusic acid are also found in urine. The speed of onset of urine smell has been estimated to occur within 15-30 minutes of ingestion. All individuals produce the odorous compounds after eating asparagus, but that only about 40% of the population have the autosomal genes required to smell them."
So there you go. If you ever feed me asparagus and don't notice the funk after I leave the restroom, then you don't belong to that 40% of the population that is autosomal for the gene for smelling asparagus-tainted tinkly-pee.
My Current Fitness Addiction
I've been running at least 4 times a week (a couple miles at a time) since I got my personalized Nikes. They certainly have helped with the knee pain (placebo effect possibly, but whatever……no knee pain now). And I don't feel so tired after running now (not sure whether to attribute that to building endurance or the shoes).
I trimmed my toenails sometime about a week ago. Well, apparently I introduced some kind of foreign body or pathogen down there when I clipped them.
Why I Can Never Have A Beard (Permanently)
2. It's mainly red. For some reason, I grow brown or black hair everywhere else except my face. And there, for no apparent rhyme or reason at all, it's red. Thanks Mom. It's your side of the family that contributed that little gem. We all know red hair is evil (damn gingers). Damn Irish and Scottish showing through the Italian. Boo.
Both bands sounded just like their respective CDs. It was neat to see them in person. The lead singer for Paramore is short…..like maybe 5 feet tall. The lead guitarist for Paramore did a backflip while playing. The dudes for Jimmy Eat World are all pretty much seasoned veterans. They played a nice mix of old stuff and new stuff. And of course, they saved "The Middle" for the last song.
"Mowing grass in the hot heat sucks ass."
-poetry by Katie on the drive home 
Scrabulous and Scramble
I have found my newest source of entertainment during class and it's on facebook (not myspace because myspace sucks). I should be paying attention in class, but it just drags. It's awful. So anyways I do other things to keep my simple brain occupied. If I don’t, then I would fall asleep. Take your pick: playing games or sound asleep.
Scrabulous and Scramble are my newest internet game addictions. They're bigger addictions than Zuma, Caramba, or Cubis. Granted they are stimulating games and they force your mind to work and work quickly, but I probably should focus on drugs and doses and diseases….since the health of the public depends on me learning. Eh…
eBay-aholism
eBay-aholism
I hit 2,000 in feedback a few weeks back. I really never thought I'd get over 1,000 when I started my eBay account back on November 15 of 2004. As of right now, it's already at 2,063 (99.9% positive). Not much else to say on this topic, other than the fact that I have spent countless hours pursuing eBay endeavors when I probably could have been doing something more constructive. But what the hell…..it's fun.
Distinctive Odors…
So I have been eating a lot of veggies and fruits lately in an effort to lose some fat and get ripped. Among my dietary choices has been a lot of asparagus dishes. And much to my dismay, I am among the population of people that has smelly urine after eating asparagus. And since I am naturally inquisitive like the little kid about to stick a fork in the electric socket, I wanted to find out why asparagus makes my sterile golden filtrate smell like ammonia.
Distinctive Odors…
So I have been eating a lot of veggies and fruits lately in an effort to lose some fat and get ripped. Among my dietary choices has been a lot of asparagus dishes. And much to my dismay, I am among the population of people that has smelly urine after eating asparagus. And since I am naturally inquisitive like the little kid about to stick a fork in the electric socket, I wanted to find out why asparagus makes my sterile golden filtrate smell like ammonia.
So according to wikianswers (I wouldn't dare source this in a formal paper or presentation, thank you very much):
"Apparantly, asparagus contains a sulphurous amino acid called methyl mercaptan, although there seems to be debate among scientists if there are other chemicals involved.
Serious scientific research in this field dates back to 1891, when M. Nencki tentatively identified a compound known as methanethiol as the culprit. The odor appears within an hour after eating just a few spears of the offending vegetable.
According to Allison and McWhirter (1956), the ability to produce the odor is controlled by a single autosomal (i.e., non-sex-related) dominant gene. In a sample of 115 persons, 46 were rendered fragrant by asparagus and 63 were not. (This leaves 6 mysteriously unaccounted for. Urology is an inexact science, I guess.)
In 1975 one Robert H. White, then with the chemistry department at the University of California at San Diego, found that the odor-causing chemical was not methanethiol after all. Instead, using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Bob was obviously not one to screw around), he found that the aroma was in fact caused by several S-methyl thioesters, specifically S-methyl thioacrylate and S-methyl 3-(methylthio)thiopropionate.
(Thioesters are compounds that result from the reaction of an acid with a sulfur-containing alcohol. They tend to be smelly.)
The thioacrylate recipe is:
CH2=CHC(=O)SCH3
The thiopropionate is:
CH3SCH2CH2C(=O)SCH3."
Wikipedia also states that:
"The effect of eating asparagus on one's urine has long been known. Marcel Proust claimed that asparagus "...transforms my chamber-pot into a flask of perfume." Certain constituents of asparagus are metabolized giving urine a distinctive smell due to various sulfur-containing degradation products, including various thiols, thioesters, and ammonia. Derivatives of asparagusic acid are also found in urine. The speed of onset of urine smell has been estimated to occur within 15-30 minutes of ingestion. All individuals produce the odorous compounds after eating asparagus, but that only about 40% of the population have the autosomal genes required to smell them."
So there you go. If you ever feed me asparagus and don't notice the funk after I leave the restroom, then you don't belong to that 40% of the population that is autosomal for the gene for smelling asparagus-tainted tinkly-pee.
My Current Fitness Addiction
I've been running at least 4 times a week (a couple miles at a time) since I got my personalized Nikes. They certainly have helped with the knee pain (placebo effect possibly, but whatever……no knee pain now). And I don't feel so tired after running now (not sure whether to attribute that to building endurance or the shoes).
I trimmed my toenails sometime about a week ago. Well, apparently I introduced some kind of foreign body or pathogen down there when I clipped them.
Shit, I hope we don't have to amputate that sucker. That thing hurts like the dickens. I haven't been able to run properly for a few days now. I look like a special kid when I run with a hurt toe….as opposed to usual….which probably just looks like a guy trying to outrun a wedgie.
Movie Reviews
Movie Reviews
The Exorcist: I had already read the book for this one, so I pretty much expected the movie fall far short of the book. I was pleasantly surprised. This is one case where the movie was actually as good as the book. The novel was more graphic and explicit about certain portions, but I didn't really care to see those portions in the movie anyways. I mean, who wants to see a pre-pubescent girl shove a crucifix where the sun don't shine? I don't, but I guess that's why I am not a perverted pedophile. 4.5 stars out of 5.
Resident Evil- Extinction: I think the originality of the series has worn off. I enjoyed the first couple, but this one just seemed repetitive and predictable. I felt like I knew the punchlines, the action sequences, and the plot turns before they happened. I mean, I can appreciate the effort that went into the movie, but it just didn't bring anything new to the table. 2.5 stars out of 5.
American Psycho: I almost feel like I missed something in this movie. I felt confused and wondering "WTF?" at the end. It kinda reminded me of the way you feel after you watch Donnie Darko or Memento the first time. Now I want to see this movie again and see what all I missed the first time. Christian Bale is intense. 4 stars out of 5.
Cars: I am not a huge Owen Wilson fan, either seeing his ugly crooked nose or hearing his annoying voice. But I gotta say, this was still a good movie. Funny stuff and good music/ good musicians. 4 stars out of 5.
Ratatouille: This one started off pretty slowly. I think it would have lost my interest if I were a little kid. I managed to tough it out and it did get better as it went on. I can't see my little cousin Christine making it through this flick though. 3.5 stars out of 5.
Horton Hears A Who: I like both Jim Carrey and Steve Carell, so I had high expectations for this movie….and for the most part, they were met. There are some pretty funny moments and pretty much anything the little blue rat/mouse thing says is hi-larious. 4 stars out of 5.
Elektra: It was on TV and I was bored….so I figured why not. I should not have wasted my time on it. Just awful….no plot, poor action scenes, and pathetic acting. ½ star out of 5.
One Size Fits All My Ass (And It Wouldn't Fit That Either, Since I Have No Ass)
Two weeks ago, I pretty much hit critical mass on socks. I had a few pairs of dark socks for work, but I utterly lacked any normal white socks for day-to-day wear. So I bought some socks at Mervyn's.
I wear shoe size 7 or 8 or somewhere in between (depending on each company). Socks unfortunately only come in one size for men: fucking huge. Seriously, they make socks that "fit sizes 7-13." Bullshit, I say!
You cannot have a sock that would fit me and fit Uncle Kenny. I am 5'9" and he is 6'4". There is no way in hell we could wear the same sock. It's just not physically possible. There needs to be a little bit more diversification in sock size. I mean, we don't make shoes that fit sizes 7-13. So why the hell do we make socks that are supposed to fit elves and Shaq without making distinct sizes? Damn.
The only reason I really bitch is because I look like a homo when I wear socks that look like this:
Two weeks ago, I pretty much hit critical mass on socks. I had a few pairs of dark socks for work, but I utterly lacked any normal white socks for day-to-day wear. So I bought some socks at Mervyn's.
I wear shoe size 7 or 8 or somewhere in between (depending on each company). Socks unfortunately only come in one size for men: fucking huge. Seriously, they make socks that "fit sizes 7-13." Bullshit, I say!
You cannot have a sock that would fit me and fit Uncle Kenny. I am 5'9" and he is 6'4". There is no way in hell we could wear the same sock. It's just not physically possible. There needs to be a little bit more diversification in sock size. I mean, we don't make shoes that fit sizes 7-13. So why the hell do we make socks that are supposed to fit elves and Shaq without making distinct sizes? Damn.
The only reason I really bitch is because I look like a homo when I wear socks that look like this:
Yeah. Homoerotic. I can't help the fact that I have baby feet. My mom is 5'10" or 5'11" and wears size 6 in women's (which is about 4.5 in mens…..or boys, I should say). I wish clothing manufacturers could cater a little more to the pedal challenged folks such as myself.
Why I Can Never Have A Beard (Permanently)
I have tried to grow out a beard a few times now and I've pretty much decided that facial hair is not for me for a few reasons:
1. It itches as bad as I remember chicken pox itching. I can't stand it. I have tried exfoliating and moisturizing daily and I've even tried Benadryl along with hydrocortisone. It's a no-go. I end up scratching my face until it's raw. And if I were to do anything which might produce perspiration (say like change the channel or peel an orange), then it just itches like crazy.
1. It itches as bad as I remember chicken pox itching. I can't stand it. I have tried exfoliating and moisturizing daily and I've even tried Benadryl along with hydrocortisone. It's a no-go. I end up scratching my face until it's raw. And if I were to do anything which might produce perspiration (say like change the channel or peel an orange), then it just itches like crazy.
2. It's mainly red. For some reason, I grow brown or black hair everywhere else except my face. And there, for no apparent rhyme or reason at all, it's red. Thanks Mom. It's your side of the family that contributed that little gem. We all know red hair is evil (damn gingers). Damn Irish and Scottish showing through the Italian. Boo.
3. I kinda look like a child molester. I like the 2 day no shave look (except for the mustache….that HAS to be shaven daily), but if I let it go for more than that, it just turns into Chester the Molester.
I even tried to do some research online to find out why beards itch so badly, but I've come up empty-handed. I guess my face is just meant to be bare.
But for those people out there that think they can handle the beard and the itching, here's a website for you:
www.beards.org
I Didn’t Know It Was An Actual Condition…
Since I have been trying to make healthier culinary choices, I have noticed something that occurs nearly every night. During the day, I eat healthy stuff (fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean meats, spinach, spinach, and more spinach). But at night, right about 10 or 11 PM each night, I get a huge craving for fried or fatty foods. I want fat and carbs galore.
I started wondering if I was the only one out there that experienced this. So I googled some stuff and here’s what I came up with:
Night Eating Syndrome per MSN health-
“The fact that you mention you eat foods at night that you would “never eat during the day” indicates that you may, indeed, not be eating enough, and your body goes to bed craving calories to restock energy supplies. Many of the foods you avoid are OK, and even necessary, for you to eat. In fact, you seem to be chopping most carbs from your diet. A highly active person needs EXTRA carbs, so going low-carb is a bad move. Avoiding dairy may mean that you are not taking in enough calcium, unless you are making a concerted attempt to supplement or eat calcium-rich veggies like kale and nuts such as almonds. But chances are, if you are not eating enough calories, you are low in many essential vitamins and minerals. At the very least, you are likely to feel chronically fatigued and be at a higher risk of injuries.”
Or go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_eating_syndrome and read all about it too. Kind of interesting. I do like falling asleep with food in my stomach…it helps me sleep. I cannot sleep if I’m hungry. I know it’s not good for you to eat right before bed, but I seriously fall asleep better and sleep deeper if I have food in there. Perhaps it’s due to serotonin and its effects or perhaps I am now just a creature of habit.
Lamb?
I even tried to do some research online to find out why beards itch so badly, but I've come up empty-handed. I guess my face is just meant to be bare.
But for those people out there that think they can handle the beard and the itching, here's a website for you:
www.beards.org
I Didn’t Know It Was An Actual Condition…
Since I have been trying to make healthier culinary choices, I have noticed something that occurs nearly every night. During the day, I eat healthy stuff (fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean meats, spinach, spinach, and more spinach). But at night, right about 10 or 11 PM each night, I get a huge craving for fried or fatty foods. I want fat and carbs galore.
I started wondering if I was the only one out there that experienced this. So I googled some stuff and here’s what I came up with:
Night Eating Syndrome per MSN health-
“The fact that you mention you eat foods at night that you would “never eat during the day” indicates that you may, indeed, not be eating enough, and your body goes to bed craving calories to restock energy supplies. Many of the foods you avoid are OK, and even necessary, for you to eat. In fact, you seem to be chopping most carbs from your diet. A highly active person needs EXTRA carbs, so going low-carb is a bad move. Avoiding dairy may mean that you are not taking in enough calcium, unless you are making a concerted attempt to supplement or eat calcium-rich veggies like kale and nuts such as almonds. But chances are, if you are not eating enough calories, you are low in many essential vitamins and minerals. At the very least, you are likely to feel chronically fatigued and be at a higher risk of injuries.”
Or go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_eating_syndrome and read all about it too. Kind of interesting. I do like falling asleep with food in my stomach…it helps me sleep. I cannot sleep if I’m hungry. I know it’s not good for you to eat right before bed, but I seriously fall asleep better and sleep deeper if I have food in there. Perhaps it’s due to serotonin and its effects or perhaps I am now just a creature of habit.
Lamb?
I don’t eat fish or really any seafood but shrimp. I like beef just fine and chicken is good. Pork is tasty and so is turkey. But lamb, well, it’s kinda in a category by itself. That stuff must have been sent down by the gods themselves. It tastes similar to beef, but better. It’s very lean and the fat is even edible. I highly encourage you to get some lamb chops and grill them. Seriously. That stuff is great.
Chapstick Dependence And Addiction
I know that I have touched on my problems with Chapstick before (losing them and/or putting them through the wash). And I've written about how I can never finish a stick before it vanishes.
Chapstick Dependence And Addiction
I know that I have touched on my problems with Chapstick before (losing them and/or putting them through the wash). And I've written about how I can never finish a stick before it vanishes.
I don't think I've covered the physiological dependence that develops from using Chapstick. Once you start using, you can't stop. It's like crack for your lips. Seriously. One use and you're hooked. Without it, your lips feel dry and unprotected. Then you lick them to try to keep them from drying out, which of course makes them dry out even faster. It's just a vicious cycle that can be relieved by one thing and one thing only: Chapstick/ crack.
But it's much deeper than just a physical dependence: there is a certain psychological component as well. I do get pleasure from having nice, moisturized lips and I disdain having dry, unprotected lips. In fact, if I forget to throw a Chapstick in my pocket before heading out the door in the morning, it's going to be a bad day. I'll be chapped and thinking about it all day long until I get home (at which point I slather that stuff on like it's going out of style).
Hopelessly addicted.
Jimmy Eat World And Paramore
Katie and I went to Pocatello (April 11th thru 13th) to see Paramore and Jimmy Eat World play at Holt Arena. Not the most acoustically enhanced arena, but it got the job done. We stood pretty close to the stage, but stayed clear of the mosh pits. And yes, the lily white kids from Pocatello got their mosh on to the sounds of J.E.W. and Paramore.
But it's much deeper than just a physical dependence: there is a certain psychological component as well. I do get pleasure from having nice, moisturized lips and I disdain having dry, unprotected lips. In fact, if I forget to throw a Chapstick in my pocket before heading out the door in the morning, it's going to be a bad day. I'll be chapped and thinking about it all day long until I get home (at which point I slather that stuff on like it's going out of style).
Hopelessly addicted.
Jimmy Eat World And Paramore
Katie and I went to Pocatello (April 11th thru 13th) to see Paramore and Jimmy Eat World play at Holt Arena. Not the most acoustically enhanced arena, but it got the job done. We stood pretty close to the stage, but stayed clear of the mosh pits. And yes, the lily white kids from Pocatello got their mosh on to the sounds of J.E.W. and Paramore.
Both bands sounded just like their respective CDs. It was neat to see them in person. The lead singer for Paramore is short…..like maybe 5 feet tall. The lead guitarist for Paramore did a backflip while playing. The dudes for Jimmy Eat World are all pretty much seasoned veterans. They played a nice mix of old stuff and new stuff. And of course, they saved "The Middle" for the last song.
"Mowing grass in the hot heat sucks ass."
-poetry by Katie on the drive home
Current music:
Monday, February 25, 2008
JANUARY AND FEBRUARY BLOG
I KNOW, I KNOW…
I know I am over a month late. If I were a female, that would be a problem (or blessing, depending on how you look at fetuses- right now, they are evil to me). I apologize, but all I can say is that I was extremely busy for the last month. There were so many tests (all of which I never got above a “C” on) and other projects to do. I barely had time to see much of Katie. :(
I’ve been working at Walgreens 1 or 2 days a week. For awhile there, I was pulling 4 days a week. That sucked. I had no time except to go home and sleep. I couldn’t handle that anymore, so on one day when I was figured to work, I just pulled an Office Space-esque move. I walked in and told the pharmacy (I worked at 2 different Walgreens at the time) that I wouldn’t be working that day or any other day for that store. My grades were suffering and I needed to give up my hours at that store. So now I have no excuse for shitty grades. But at least I don’t have to work 4 days a week and go to school 5 days a week.
Chastise me if you must. I will try to be a better blogger in the future.
EVE 6 IS BACK!!!
I’m sure you’re probably thinking “who the hell is Eve 6 and why should I care?” Well, I don’t really care if you care. And you probably don’t care that I don’t care that you don’t care. Etc.
Anyhow, they happen to be one of my top 5 bands. They have had a couple radio songs (“Inside Out” and “Here’s to the Night”), but really, all of their music is excellent. They had a falling out and the lead singer was arrested for streaking through a hotel room at 4:00 AM drunk off his ass. But now, they’re back together and recording new music. This makes Rico happy.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=159005921
Check them out if you want. Or don’t. I don’t care.
MOVIE REVIEWS
I Am Legend
Greg was pretty amped for this movie. The previews made it look pretty awesome too. And I pretty much like most of Will Smith’s movies. And maybe I had too high of expectations of this movie. Don’t get me wrong- I liked it alright. It’s just that I felt like there was a lot of the movie left unexplored, a lot of plot left open, and a lot of information left out. I would give it 3 stars out of 5.
When A Stranger Calls
Another horror movie remake (along with The Omen and The Messengers) that fails to measure up to the original. Boo. I was fairly disappointed in this one. There never was an explanation of who the bad guy was and the movie just ends in a bizarre manner. Not a great film, let’s just say that. 1.5 stars out of 5.
Vacancy
I was a little surprised when I found myself actually jumping a few times during this one. Also, I was surprised that Luke Wilson was able to act seriously. Just doesn’t seem like his cup of tea. Anyhow, this was a decent movie. Beats the hell out of When A Stranger Calls. 3.5 stars out of 5.
The Messengers
Weak, weak, weak acting. Dylan McDermott is a homo. Probably one of the weakest movies I have seen in awhile. Some movies should just not be re-made and this was one of them. The special effects weren't bad, just predictable. 1 star out of 5.
The Devil’s Rejects
This is actually part 2, the follow-up to House of 1000 Corpses. And yes, this is the Rob Zombie movie with an evil clown and his murderous family. This one had a much more developed plot than House of 1000 Corpses and the budget was obviously higher. The filming style is different than most movies. Instead of using gross sounds and screams and such, Mr. Zombie utilizes odd juxtapositions of cheery music and gory scenes. Very strange, but it works. 4 stars out of 5.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
Once again, I think my high hopes kinda let me down on this movie. I did think it was pretty funny and there were some great moments, but I think I just hyped it up too much in my mind. Plus, Jessica Biel’s ass looked bizarre in the movie. 3 stars out of 5.
FADS OF 2007
#3 Guitar Hero/ Rock Band
I admit it. I participated in this fad. It’s a fun game. And who doesn’t like pretending they’re a rock star (or at least musically coordinated)? I suck at the drumming though. It’s impossible for me. I have no rhythm. I can’t even finish a song as the drummer. I haven’t really gone for the singing yet. I think I will probably just stick with the guitar and preferably the bass. If you know me, you know I suck at all things musical. Burning CDs is another matter entirely. I kick ass at that.
#2 Baggin’ on Britney
It was a national pastime this last year. Not that she didn’t bring it on herself; she did. Her life was like an episode of Cops featuring white trash. It’s just that I got damn tired of hearing about Britney and her relapses. Jesus. I honestly just don’t care. She's just one person struggling through life. There are plenty more white trash whores out there. And really, she's not a very good singer. Listen to Amy Lee of Evanesence or Christina Aguilera, then listen to Britney. Hear a difference? Thought so.
#1 i-Everything
It was en vogue to slap an “i” in front of everything electronic this last year. Every stereo and everything relating to an iPod or iPhone had a goddamn little “i” in front of it. Just because something had an “i,” it meant it was cool. Not. The manufacturers should be a little more original and come up with new ideas and not just ride on the coattails of Apple. I know Apple is awesome and all (bleh), but seriously, just use a different letter.
CRUISE
In January, a large group of pharmacy dorks went on a 6 day, 5 night cruise to Mexico from San Diego. Here’s the synopsis of that trip:
San Diego: We stayed the night in San Diego so that we were fresh for the boarding the next morning. After having dinner with Greg at California Pizza Kitchen, we had planned on going out and seeing the San Diego nightlife……however, we had sat in the hot tub for about an hour earlier on in the day and the quantity of food combined with the darkness in the room and the comfort of the beds put us all to sleep.
This is Dave and me standing in front of the Star of India on the docks at San Diego.
Cabo San Lucas: a couple friends and I rented ATVs and got turned loose on a beach after a 20 minute ride in. We had an hour of free play in the white sand and then had a 20 minute ride out. Ginger kid Chris high-centered his ATV, I had one that stalled quite a few times due to a low idle setting, and the other guy we went with was really good at riding. Fun times. I may have to purchase an ATV once I graduate. My $30,000 signing bonus with Walgreens is already getting split about 12 ways (big TV, new car, ATV, down payment on a house, savings, etc.). We’ll see.
Dave, me, and Kyle on the tender (the little ferryboat takes you from the cruise ship to land and back).
Me, Kyle, and Chris prior to ATV-ing. This is the last time we were clean for the entire day.
Kyle doing a donut. He is pretty slick on an ATV.
Chris getting brave (using one hand) as he came over a hill.
The mighty Pacific.
Chris and Kyle riding towards me.
The coastline and the beach where we rode the ATVs.
Me being a huge dork.
Chris hi-centered his ATV.
I will have you know that I took this while driving my ATV.
Chris is a dirty boy.
We had to pay to have the iguana in a picture. He weighed more than he looked. Kyle was pretty damn jazzed about being in this photo. Haha.
Some friends got to hold baby lions. We saw an iguana. Not a fair trade-off.
Chris standing with a federale.
On Board: We went to various shows, dress-up dinners, many other meals, and made many trips to the casino. Also, we had an hour of power for $10 (all you can drink). It was murder for several members of the group (especially the Asian dude Dave- he just can’t hold his alcohol).
We had an excellent view of a wall in our stateroom.
Me in the atrium of the ship.
Dave won $13….which he quickly put back into the sluts….er…slots.
Funship Freddie came around and got his picture made with us. I'm sure he/she hates his/her life.
Dave and Josh at dinner. They're classy.
Do you know how hard it is to putt with a rubber head and shitty ball on a swaying deck with 40 mph gusts?
They each ate $80 worth of lobster at this meal.
A portion of the group at dinner.
Quite possibly the worst pour of all time. Nice one, Josh.
There was always a new creation waiting in the stateroom for us each night. Those workers were clever with the towel folding. The comedian on board showed us how to make a penis to leave for the workers. Haha.
I believe immediately prior to this picture was an "OH SNAP!" moment.
Dave did a lot of sinning aboard the ship, so here he is trying to atone for it.
That water was frickin' cold and salty (they just pumped ocean water up).
Violated that rule every morning.
Kind of an impressive talent? Kind of? Not really?
The beginning of the end for Dave.
Dave was the life of the party….for 45 minutes of 60.
Dave looking a little worse for the wear.
None of us in this picture puked that night. Excellent.
Not sure where his shoes went.
The hour of power group.
Dave prayed to porcelain god after this picture.
Chris and Kyle love one another.
Notice Chris did not bother to put his drink down.
Piercings.
I put this in Kyle's bed and Chris and I got him to think that the maids left it for him. He was impressed by their balls.
Probably my favorite picture of the trip.
Josh with some lesbians (seriously).
Who doesn't want to lick Dave?
Kyle, Chris, Josh, and I right before dinner (you were supposed to dress nicely- I was pretty much of the few to follow rules).
At dinner with Ms. Brown.
No idea...
Part of the group again.
Ensenada: This is the little bastard brother to Cabo San Lucas. We went to La Bufadora (the blowhole) and a shopping district. We also tried to go to a strip club….but the club only had the D+ team out (think fatties, C-sections, botched tummy tucks, amputees and so forth). It was a Thursday afternoon and the girls were fat and uncoordinated. Not a good time there. I believe the locals would have said "no buenas."
Who wants some?
Kyle, Josh, and Dave standing next to La Bufadora as it blows.
A couple of New York whores from out cruise ship got in trouble with la policia.
Are the quotes necessary? I think Mexico could have quotes around it ("Mexico").
San Diego: We made it back, safe and sound. All in all, it was a great trip and definitely something I’d be willing to do again. Throughout the entirety of the trip, the ship was a-rocking. There were some seasick folks. I didn’t have a problem (never have been seasick actually). The first day was the worst for people though- it was rough, people weren’t used to it, and I don’t think anyone was prepared for it. I expected it to be a lot smoother ride (since the boat is huge and has stabilizers).
A retard didn't tie his mattress down very well (I-15 north).
PROOF THAT LDS = A BUSINESS
I just find it hard to believe in the validity of a religion that sprung up 200 years ago. That's a tough pill to swallow, as our professors would say. Anyhow, check out this article I found in The Press Enterprise (Riverside, California newspaper). I just can't believe how much Mormonism resembles a business.
STEERING CLEAR OF FOOT LOCKER FROM NOW ON
For Christmas, I received a $25 gift card to Foot Locker from an uncle I rarely see. And since I have been suffering from knee pain recently (which I am sure comes from the running I have started), I figured I could use the gift card for new Nike Shox so that my knee pain could be prevented by having proper running shoes.
I went to the Foot Locker website and kinda narrowed down my choices to a couple lines of Shox in a couple different color schemes. Once I had my picks in my mind, I went to the Boise Mall to try them on. I found the Shox I wanted, but they didn't seem to have my size on the shelf. I waved to a worker and asked if they had the model I wanted in 7.5 or 7 (yes, I know I have baby feet- it's cool). He disappeared for minutes on end and finally reemerged empty-handed. That's never a good sign. He said that Foot Locker does not typically carry sizes that small in store and that I should try Champs Sporting Goods, which is conveniently located inside the Boise Mall and is owned by Foot Locker.
I wandered on down to Champs and picked out my desired model of Nike Shox again. The chump at Champ's went into the storeroom to see if they had my size in stock, but I got the same result: nothing. The chump also suggested I try to order them online since they have a wider selection and larger inventory online.
Discouraged but not defeated (yet), I drove back home. I searched on Foot Locker's site and finally narrowed the search down to the shoe I definitely wanted. It was going to be $140 shipped. So I typed in all my info (name, address, credit card info, etc.). At the end of the process, I had to put in the gift card number. However, the website kept rejecting my card number (saying that it was an invalid number). After a few tries, the website was sick of having me get rejected and it gave me a phone number to call and check on the status of the card.
I called and played along with the automated system only to find out that the card did indeed have $25 on it. Weird shit going on…..
I found another phone number online where I could order the shoes. I called it and it took about 15 minutes to place my order. I had to give the item number, the credit card number, address, and so forth. The last thing the customer service lady asked for was the gift card number. I relayed it to her, then she asked for the PIN.
There was no PIN number.
I informed her of this and there was silence on the line for a second.
"I'm sorry, sir. That must be an older gift card. If it doesn't have a PIN, then it has to be used in-store," she apologized.
Son of a bitch.
I was furious. I cancelled my order immediately when I found out about that. I decided right there on the spot that Foot Locker was not going to get a goddamned dime of my money. I put the gift card on eBay and it sold for $22. Better than nothing.
I still wanted the Nike Shox though, so I just went to the Nike website and designed my Nike Shox with a personalized color scheme and put "Plick 22" on them. The price (shipped to my door with step-by-step tracking) was $130. IT WAS CHEAPER TO ORDER DIRECTLY FROM NIKE!!!
So anyways, it took awhile to get the shoes due to the increase in number of special orders after Christmas. They probably came from a little sweatshop (check out the shipping info below):
Katie asked if I felt bad that a poor little Vietnamese kid with bloodied stumps of fingers made my shoes in a sweatshop. I'd only feel bad if the kid got blood on my shoes. I paid good money for those things.
But anyhow, here is what my new shoes look like:
PAPAYA SUCKS
Katie and I bought a papaya since neither one of us had ever tried the fruit outside of a blend fruit drink. She spent a good 5 minutes cutting it up according to directions online. And then we sat down to eat it. I think this may have been one of the least tasteful things I have ever consumed in my life.
It's not that it had a bad flavor or texture. It had a texture similar to mango, but there was zero taste. Zilch. Completely and utterly devoid of all flavor. It was gross to eat Styrofoam. I nearly gagged as I neared the end of my first piece. I couldn't do it. We had to throw it out. L
BUT IT NEVER SNOWS IN BOISE…
Yeah, someone told me that it never really snows or sticks in Boise. This year was a freak year then. It snowed almost every day for 3 weeks in January and February. And it stuck for weeks. Sucked. I mean, it made good sledding conditions, but it made driving anywhere hell.
Here are some wintery pictures for you.
Katie and I have gone sledding a couple times. The above was a result of a wipeout the first time. I pretty much rolled the entirety of the hill.
But just in case you don't believe me about the shittiness of driving in the snow, perhaps you should take a peek at the picture below. That is a Chevy Trailblazer that went off the road (which has a 35 mph speed limit and a decent sized curb) and crashed through a fence. Josh and I saw this on the way to class a few weeks back. Crazy stuff.
The other day, Josh and I saw a four year old drive a Cadillac into a parked Subaru station wagon in a driveway. That was pretty crazy too.
SHIPPING SNAFU
I had an issue getting Rock Band delivered to me. Check the below shipping itinerary and see if you can the problems there:
MY UNINTENTIONAL FAUX PAS
I mentioned in my last blog that I had to get a filling. Well, in the two months since then, I have gotten that filling. And here's the story for that:
The dentist numbed my mouth and may have been a little over-zealous in that endeavor (although, I'd rather be over-anesthetized than under). He went to work and completed the filling in less than 15 minutes. Well, the anesthetic lasts for hours. And I had to go to work.
I went into work, knowing that patients were going to think I had suffered a stroke. The entire right side of my face was paralyzed. I couldn't move that side of my mouth, my cheek didn't move, and my eyelid was a little slow on that side. I got some strange looks from customers, so I felt like I should explain my shortcoming.
I was working the drive-thru when a guy came in and dropped off a script for 3 meds. I didn't really look up at the dude since we were pretty busy and I was focusing on typing the script. He must have mistaken my paralyzed look for quizzical, because he proceeded to tell me that he had just been diagnosed with Bell's palsy earlier that day.
I took a close look at the guy and half of his face was slumped downwards. He matched me, except mine was temporary as in hours and his was temporary as in months. I think he may have thought I was mimicking him. I felt pretty bad after that guy left.
Current music:
I KNOW, I KNOW…
I know I am over a month late. If I were a female, that would be a problem (or blessing, depending on how you look at fetuses- right now, they are evil to me). I apologize, but all I can say is that I was extremely busy for the last month. There were so many tests (all of which I never got above a “C” on) and other projects to do. I barely had time to see much of Katie. :(
I’ve been working at Walgreens 1 or 2 days a week. For awhile there, I was pulling 4 days a week. That sucked. I had no time except to go home and sleep. I couldn’t handle that anymore, so on one day when I was figured to work, I just pulled an Office Space-esque move. I walked in and told the pharmacy (I worked at 2 different Walgreens at the time) that I wouldn’t be working that day or any other day for that store. My grades were suffering and I needed to give up my hours at that store. So now I have no excuse for shitty grades. But at least I don’t have to work 4 days a week and go to school 5 days a week.
Chastise me if you must. I will try to be a better blogger in the future.
EVE 6 IS BACK!!!
I’m sure you’re probably thinking “who the hell is Eve 6 and why should I care?” Well, I don’t really care if you care. And you probably don’t care that I don’t care that you don’t care. Etc.
Anyhow, they happen to be one of my top 5 bands. They have had a couple radio songs (“Inside Out” and “Here’s to the Night”), but really, all of their music is excellent. They had a falling out and the lead singer was arrested for streaking through a hotel room at 4:00 AM drunk off his ass. But now, they’re back together and recording new music. This makes Rico happy.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=159005921
Check them out if you want. Or don’t. I don’t care.
MOVIE REVIEWS
I Am Legend
Greg was pretty amped for this movie. The previews made it look pretty awesome too. And I pretty much like most of Will Smith’s movies. And maybe I had too high of expectations of this movie. Don’t get me wrong- I liked it alright. It’s just that I felt like there was a lot of the movie left unexplored, a lot of plot left open, and a lot of information left out. I would give it 3 stars out of 5.
When A Stranger Calls
Another horror movie remake (along with The Omen and The Messengers) that fails to measure up to the original. Boo. I was fairly disappointed in this one. There never was an explanation of who the bad guy was and the movie just ends in a bizarre manner. Not a great film, let’s just say that. 1.5 stars out of 5.
Vacancy
I was a little surprised when I found myself actually jumping a few times during this one. Also, I was surprised that Luke Wilson was able to act seriously. Just doesn’t seem like his cup of tea. Anyhow, this was a decent movie. Beats the hell out of When A Stranger Calls. 3.5 stars out of 5.
The Messengers
Weak, weak, weak acting. Dylan McDermott is a homo. Probably one of the weakest movies I have seen in awhile. Some movies should just not be re-made and this was one of them. The special effects weren't bad, just predictable. 1 star out of 5.
The Devil’s Rejects
This is actually part 2, the follow-up to House of 1000 Corpses. And yes, this is the Rob Zombie movie with an evil clown and his murderous family. This one had a much more developed plot than House of 1000 Corpses and the budget was obviously higher. The filming style is different than most movies. Instead of using gross sounds and screams and such, Mr. Zombie utilizes odd juxtapositions of cheery music and gory scenes. Very strange, but it works. 4 stars out of 5.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
Once again, I think my high hopes kinda let me down on this movie. I did think it was pretty funny and there were some great moments, but I think I just hyped it up too much in my mind. Plus, Jessica Biel’s ass looked bizarre in the movie. 3 stars out of 5.
FADS OF 2007
#3 Guitar Hero/ Rock Band
I admit it. I participated in this fad. It’s a fun game. And who doesn’t like pretending they’re a rock star (or at least musically coordinated)? I suck at the drumming though. It’s impossible for me. I have no rhythm. I can’t even finish a song as the drummer. I haven’t really gone for the singing yet. I think I will probably just stick with the guitar and preferably the bass. If you know me, you know I suck at all things musical. Burning CDs is another matter entirely. I kick ass at that.
#2 Baggin’ on Britney
It was a national pastime this last year. Not that she didn’t bring it on herself; she did. Her life was like an episode of Cops featuring white trash. It’s just that I got damn tired of hearing about Britney and her relapses. Jesus. I honestly just don’t care. She's just one person struggling through life. There are plenty more white trash whores out there. And really, she's not a very good singer. Listen to Amy Lee of Evanesence or Christina Aguilera, then listen to Britney. Hear a difference? Thought so.
#1 i-Everything
It was en vogue to slap an “i” in front of everything electronic this last year. Every stereo and everything relating to an iPod or iPhone had a goddamn little “i” in front of it. Just because something had an “i,” it meant it was cool. Not. The manufacturers should be a little more original and come up with new ideas and not just ride on the coattails of Apple. I know Apple is awesome and all (bleh), but seriously, just use a different letter.
CRUISE
In January, a large group of pharmacy dorks went on a 6 day, 5 night cruise to Mexico from San Diego. Here’s the synopsis of that trip:
San Diego: We stayed the night in San Diego so that we were fresh for the boarding the next morning. After having dinner with Greg at California Pizza Kitchen, we had planned on going out and seeing the San Diego nightlife……however, we had sat in the hot tub for about an hour earlier on in the day and the quantity of food combined with the darkness in the room and the comfort of the beds put us all to sleep.
This is Dave and me standing in front of the Star of India on the docks at San Diego.
Cabo San Lucas: a couple friends and I rented ATVs and got turned loose on a beach after a 20 minute ride in. We had an hour of free play in the white sand and then had a 20 minute ride out. Ginger kid Chris high-centered his ATV, I had one that stalled quite a few times due to a low idle setting, and the other guy we went with was really good at riding. Fun times. I may have to purchase an ATV once I graduate. My $30,000 signing bonus with Walgreens is already getting split about 12 ways (big TV, new car, ATV, down payment on a house, savings, etc.). We’ll see.
Dave, me, and Kyle on the tender (the little ferryboat takes you from the cruise ship to land and back).
Me, Kyle, and Chris prior to ATV-ing. This is the last time we were clean for the entire day.
Kyle doing a donut. He is pretty slick on an ATV.
Chris getting brave (using one hand) as he came over a hill.
The mighty Pacific.
Chris and Kyle riding towards me.
The coastline and the beach where we rode the ATVs.
Me being a huge dork.
Chris hi-centered his ATV.
I will have you know that I took this while driving my ATV.
Chris is a dirty boy.
We had to pay to have the iguana in a picture. He weighed more than he looked. Kyle was pretty damn jazzed about being in this photo. Haha.
Some friends got to hold baby lions. We saw an iguana. Not a fair trade-off.
Chris standing with a federale.
On Board: We went to various shows, dress-up dinners, many other meals, and made many trips to the casino. Also, we had an hour of power for $10 (all you can drink). It was murder for several members of the group (especially the Asian dude Dave- he just can’t hold his alcohol).
We had an excellent view of a wall in our stateroom.
Me in the atrium of the ship.
Dave won $13….which he quickly put back into the sluts….er…slots.
Funship Freddie came around and got his picture made with us. I'm sure he/she hates his/her life.
Dave and Josh at dinner. They're classy.
Do you know how hard it is to putt with a rubber head and shitty ball on a swaying deck with 40 mph gusts?
They each ate $80 worth of lobster at this meal.
A portion of the group at dinner.
Quite possibly the worst pour of all time. Nice one, Josh.
There was always a new creation waiting in the stateroom for us each night. Those workers were clever with the towel folding. The comedian on board showed us how to make a penis to leave for the workers. Haha.
I believe immediately prior to this picture was an "OH SNAP!" moment.
Dave did a lot of sinning aboard the ship, so here he is trying to atone for it.
That water was frickin' cold and salty (they just pumped ocean water up).
Violated that rule every morning.
Kind of an impressive talent? Kind of? Not really?
The beginning of the end for Dave.
Dave was the life of the party….for 45 minutes of 60.
Dave looking a little worse for the wear.
None of us in this picture puked that night. Excellent.
Not sure where his shoes went.
The hour of power group.
Dave prayed to porcelain god after this picture.
Chris and Kyle love one another.
Notice Chris did not bother to put his drink down.
Piercings.
I put this in Kyle's bed and Chris and I got him to think that the maids left it for him. He was impressed by their balls.
Probably my favorite picture of the trip.
Josh with some lesbians (seriously).
Who doesn't want to lick Dave?
Kyle, Chris, Josh, and I right before dinner (you were supposed to dress nicely- I was pretty much of the few to follow rules).
At dinner with Ms. Brown.
No idea...
Part of the group again.
Ensenada: This is the little bastard brother to Cabo San Lucas. We went to La Bufadora (the blowhole) and a shopping district. We also tried to go to a strip club….but the club only had the D+ team out (think fatties, C-sections, botched tummy tucks, amputees and so forth). It was a Thursday afternoon and the girls were fat and uncoordinated. Not a good time there. I believe the locals would have said "no buenas."
Who wants some?
Kyle, Josh, and Dave standing next to La Bufadora as it blows.
A couple of New York whores from out cruise ship got in trouble with la policia.
Are the quotes necessary? I think Mexico could have quotes around it ("Mexico").
San Diego: We made it back, safe and sound. All in all, it was a great trip and definitely something I’d be willing to do again. Throughout the entirety of the trip, the ship was a-rocking. There were some seasick folks. I didn’t have a problem (never have been seasick actually). The first day was the worst for people though- it was rough, people weren’t used to it, and I don’t think anyone was prepared for it. I expected it to be a lot smoother ride (since the boat is huge and has stabilizers).
A retard didn't tie his mattress down very well (I-15 north).
PROOF THAT LDS = A BUSINESS
I just find it hard to believe in the validity of a religion that sprung up 200 years ago. That's a tough pill to swallow, as our professors would say. Anyhow, check out this article I found in The Press Enterprise (Riverside, California newspaper). I just can't believe how much Mormonism resembles a business.
STEERING CLEAR OF FOOT LOCKER FROM NOW ON
For Christmas, I received a $25 gift card to Foot Locker from an uncle I rarely see. And since I have been suffering from knee pain recently (which I am sure comes from the running I have started), I figured I could use the gift card for new Nike Shox so that my knee pain could be prevented by having proper running shoes.
I went to the Foot Locker website and kinda narrowed down my choices to a couple lines of Shox in a couple different color schemes. Once I had my picks in my mind, I went to the Boise Mall to try them on. I found the Shox I wanted, but they didn't seem to have my size on the shelf. I waved to a worker and asked if they had the model I wanted in 7.5 or 7 (yes, I know I have baby feet- it's cool). He disappeared for minutes on end and finally reemerged empty-handed. That's never a good sign. He said that Foot Locker does not typically carry sizes that small in store and that I should try Champs Sporting Goods, which is conveniently located inside the Boise Mall and is owned by Foot Locker.
I wandered on down to Champs and picked out my desired model of Nike Shox again. The chump at Champ's went into the storeroom to see if they had my size in stock, but I got the same result: nothing. The chump also suggested I try to order them online since they have a wider selection and larger inventory online.
Discouraged but not defeated (yet), I drove back home. I searched on Foot Locker's site and finally narrowed the search down to the shoe I definitely wanted. It was going to be $140 shipped. So I typed in all my info (name, address, credit card info, etc.). At the end of the process, I had to put in the gift card number. However, the website kept rejecting my card number (saying that it was an invalid number). After a few tries, the website was sick of having me get rejected and it gave me a phone number to call and check on the status of the card.
I called and played along with the automated system only to find out that the card did indeed have $25 on it. Weird shit going on…..
I found another phone number online where I could order the shoes. I called it and it took about 15 minutes to place my order. I had to give the item number, the credit card number, address, and so forth. The last thing the customer service lady asked for was the gift card number. I relayed it to her, then she asked for the PIN.
There was no PIN number.
I informed her of this and there was silence on the line for a second.
"I'm sorry, sir. That must be an older gift card. If it doesn't have a PIN, then it has to be used in-store," she apologized.
Son of a bitch.
I was furious. I cancelled my order immediately when I found out about that. I decided right there on the spot that Foot Locker was not going to get a goddamned dime of my money. I put the gift card on eBay and it sold for $22. Better than nothing.
I still wanted the Nike Shox though, so I just went to the Nike website and designed my Nike Shox with a personalized color scheme and put "Plick 22" on them. The price (shipped to my door with step-by-step tracking) was $130. IT WAS CHEAPER TO ORDER DIRECTLY FROM NIKE!!!
So anyways, it took awhile to get the shoes due to the increase in number of special orders after Christmas. They probably came from a little sweatshop (check out the shipping info below):
Katie asked if I felt bad that a poor little Vietnamese kid with bloodied stumps of fingers made my shoes in a sweatshop. I'd only feel bad if the kid got blood on my shoes. I paid good money for those things.
But anyhow, here is what my new shoes look like:
PAPAYA SUCKS
Katie and I bought a papaya since neither one of us had ever tried the fruit outside of a blend fruit drink. She spent a good 5 minutes cutting it up according to directions online. And then we sat down to eat it. I think this may have been one of the least tasteful things I have ever consumed in my life.
It's not that it had a bad flavor or texture. It had a texture similar to mango, but there was zero taste. Zilch. Completely and utterly devoid of all flavor. It was gross to eat Styrofoam. I nearly gagged as I neared the end of my first piece. I couldn't do it. We had to throw it out. L
BUT IT NEVER SNOWS IN BOISE…
Yeah, someone told me that it never really snows or sticks in Boise. This year was a freak year then. It snowed almost every day for 3 weeks in January and February. And it stuck for weeks. Sucked. I mean, it made good sledding conditions, but it made driving anywhere hell.
Here are some wintery pictures for you.
Katie and I have gone sledding a couple times. The above was a result of a wipeout the first time. I pretty much rolled the entirety of the hill.
But just in case you don't believe me about the shittiness of driving in the snow, perhaps you should take a peek at the picture below. That is a Chevy Trailblazer that went off the road (which has a 35 mph speed limit and a decent sized curb) and crashed through a fence. Josh and I saw this on the way to class a few weeks back. Crazy stuff.
The other day, Josh and I saw a four year old drive a Cadillac into a parked Subaru station wagon in a driveway. That was pretty crazy too.
SHIPPING SNAFU
I had an issue getting Rock Band delivered to me. Check the below shipping itinerary and see if you can the problems there:
MY UNINTENTIONAL FAUX PAS
I mentioned in my last blog that I had to get a filling. Well, in the two months since then, I have gotten that filling. And here's the story for that:
The dentist numbed my mouth and may have been a little over-zealous in that endeavor (although, I'd rather be over-anesthetized than under). He went to work and completed the filling in less than 15 minutes. Well, the anesthetic lasts for hours. And I had to go to work.
I went into work, knowing that patients were going to think I had suffered a stroke. The entire right side of my face was paralyzed. I couldn't move that side of my mouth, my cheek didn't move, and my eyelid was a little slow on that side. I got some strange looks from customers, so I felt like I should explain my shortcoming.
I was working the drive-thru when a guy came in and dropped off a script for 3 meds. I didn't really look up at the dude since we were pretty busy and I was focusing on typing the script. He must have mistaken my paralyzed look for quizzical, because he proceeded to tell me that he had just been diagnosed with Bell's palsy earlier that day.
I took a close look at the guy and half of his face was slumped downwards. He matched me, except mine was temporary as in hours and his was temporary as in months. I think he may have thought I was mimicking him. I felt pretty bad after that guy left.
Current music:
Sunday, December 23, 2007
December Blog
Carnival Cruise
This is my last year of pharmacy class (yay!) and then my rotations (basically internships) start in May. So my last chance to have fun before starting real work is now and my block of time off in July 2008 (which will be spent at Carlsbad for beach week). I am going on a cruise to Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada from San Diego with a bunch of pharmacy dorks from Boise.
It starts out of San Diego on the 7th of January and goes to the said places, then hits San Diego again on the 12th. After that, I fly back to Boise on the 13th. Going to be a whirlwind trip this Christmas near the end.
Below is a picture of the boat I’ll be on (Carnival’s Elation):
I want to take a bunch of pictures and videos, so hopefully my camera cooperates. Maybe the January blog will have the end results on it.
TV Networks Are Getting Desperate
I cannot believe that American Gladiator is making a comeback. That was such a trashy show back in the day. But I guess on account of the writer's strike, it is going to make a comeback. Those damn networks must be down to the bottom of the barrel trying to scrape up the last remaining ideas.
On the bright side, good riddance to shit like Desperate Housewives and Friday Night Lights. Maybe the writers will never work again. One can hope, I suppose.
ExpressJet
So there is a new-ish airline out there called ExpressJet (www.xjet.com). It has no layovers and no middle seats. All of its planes are small enough that you either are on the aisle or at the window. I had never heard of it until the last couple times I flew. Not that it's a great airline (which it's not), but it is very nice never having a layover. I hated having to wait around in Salt Lake City for my connecting flight. Now I can fly directly from Boise to Ontario and back. The amenities are few and far between. The planes are pretty much tin cans with engines. The fares are cheap though, compared to their competitors.
Movies
You probably won’t care to read an in-depth review of each one, so I’ll give you a quick description and a rating.
Halloween II: decent follow-up to the original. 3.5 out of 5 stars
Halloween III: Season of the Witch: completely unrelated to Michael Myers. Just dreadful. 0.5 out of 5 stars
Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers: back to form and on the original plot lines. 3.5 out of 5 stars
Halloween V: The Revenge of Michael Myers: weak sequel to IV. 2.5 out of 5 stars
Halloween VI: The Curse of Michael Myers: nice way to end the ‘real’ Halloween series. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later: decent movie, but lame that they wanted to make more money by making an irrelevant sequel. Jamie Lee Curtis' character should have been dead before the movie started (according to the original plotlines). 2.5 out of 5 stars.
Halloween Resurrection: nice premise for the movie (following H20), still not along the original plot lines though. 3 out 5 stars.
Wolf Creek: Australian movie and hard as hell to understand what they say, but intense nonetheless. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Resident Evil: not a huge fan of video games (ie. Silent Hill) being turned into movies, but this was decent. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Resident Evil Apocalypse: nice overlap with previous movie. 4 out of 5 stars.
The Hills Have Eyes 2: weaker plot than the original, but gorier and more suspenseful. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Turistas: a trite horror movie idea turned into a new one. Better than Hostel. Too bad the main actor looks like Johhny Knoxville, so it's hard to take him seriously. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
The Return: disjointed, not scary, weak acting, and why the hell did they dye Sarah Michelle Gellar's hair dark? 2 out of 5 stars.
Congrats to Katie
Nice job on graduating, babe! Wish I were done too. Can’t wait until the day when I no longer have to go to class like you. Can’t wait to get paid instead of paying $7,000+ a semester. Sheezus. Sign-on bonus, here I come.
My First Cavity Ever!!!
I went to the dentist last week since I hadn’t been in about 7 months. They poked around and did their normal shit. At the end of the appointment, I thought I was free. But then the dentist looks at me and tells me that I need to make a return appointment so that he can fill my cavity. WTF?!?!
I've never had a cavity before, so this is a new experience for me. Not one I wanted to have, but what the hell. I guess most people have fillings, so now I will be one of the majority.
My Self-Cauterization
I went to the doctor's the other day for refills on my heartburn med and to get my nose cauterized (I am getting nosebleeds again). The doctor was actually an NP (nurse practitioner) and she had never done a cauterization. She went and got the kit, then led me to the mirror and had me do it.
Never again.
That shit hurts. I've had it done before, so I knew what to expect. It made my eyes water, my nose run, and it made me sneeze uncontrollably last time. This time was no different, except that I did it to myself. I had to rub the cotton swab with the silver nitrate on it on my septum, trying to chemically burn the blood vessels out. Sucked ass. So yeah, if you ever get the chance to cauterize your own nose, politely decline and have the professionals do it. And if your doctor hasn't ever done it, let someone who has do it. Don't try it yourself. Hard to torture yourself like that.
My Roomba Still Kicks Ass
I still think my Roomba is awesome. I use it about once a week. It may not clean every little corner perfectly, but it sure does a decent job and prolongs the time between manual vacuumings. Is niiiiiiice.
Flat Iron Steaks and Why I Won't Eat Anything Else
I have been gorging myself on flat iron steaks recently. Let's just say that it's my favorite cut of beef. I never was a huge steak eater before. I like meat well-done and by the time you get a steak well-done, it's not moist anymore. Well, the flat iron is. Mmmmm... It's the only steak I've ever had where it stayed moist, no matter how long you cook it.
Restaurants, particularly upscale, have recently begun serving flat iron steaks on their menus. Especially popular are flat irons from Wagyu beef, as a way for chefs to offer more affordable and profitable dishes featuringWagyu or Kobe beef."
Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah (those are the only two real holidays) 
1. You draw numbers. You pick and open presents in succession. 1 goes first and gets to steal in the end.
2. When it's your turn, you either open a present or steal someone else's present.
3. If you have a present stolen, you can open a new present or steal someone else's (but not the one you just lost).
4. A present can be stolen 3 times before it is locked to the person left with it.
5. Don't ever end up with a S'more maker.
I got a $30 Best Buy gift card for it. I usually do the gift card thing, but end up putting the gift card in a big box with a rock in it to throw the person off when they are choosing to open a new gift. Last year, I gave a Petsmart gift card (since everyone in the family has cats) in a huge box. This year, I put the Best Buy card in a hand-made papier mache reindeer:
X-mas Failure
So I was 0 for 3 on the 1st three gifts Katie opened from me on X-mas. I got her a brown Fossil belt (wrong size). Note to all the people who may purchase a Fossil belt online: their sizing runs small. I got her a personalized picture frame for graduation (they put the wrong year on it). Apparently, 2009 is the new 2008. I got her intimate apparel (wrong size). I guess I just goofed up on that one. Damnit.
Meaning in Shaving?
I dream about shaving at least once a week. No kidding. I can never remember anything else from the dream, except for the simple fact that at some point during the dream, I was shaving my face.
To dream that someone is shaving your leg, represents a lost of your independence. You are relying on others to get you through some difficult times. You need to build up your self-confidence and self-esteem.
To see someone shaving in your dream, indicates that there is some conflict in your self-image. Perhaps what you portray or project does not match who you really are inside.
I don't know how anyone could actually know the aforementioned things or how you could scientifically prove them, but what the hell. People read their horoscope and don't believe a word of it.
I know I've mentioned the shaving thing before, but I just think it's weird that shaving is my recurrent dream. Why couldn't it be a foursome with Jessica Alba, Maria Sharapova, and Katie, bodyboarding a huge wave, or winning the largest lottery in history? Why shaving? Weird. I'm lame. Apparently, shaving the best thing my mind can come up with when I am asleep. My unconscious mind is as lame as my conscious mind. Poop.
Random Trivia (No cheating and looking it up! I will put the answer in the comments in a few days)
What does "bolshevik" actually mean in Russian?
Hint: the phrase is used somewhere else in this blog entry
Current music:
Carnival Cruise
This is my last year of pharmacy class (yay!) and then my rotations (basically internships) start in May. So my last chance to have fun before starting real work is now and my block of time off in July 2008 (which will be spent at Carlsbad for beach week). I am going on a cruise to Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada from San Diego with a bunch of pharmacy dorks from Boise.
It starts out of San Diego on the 7th of January and goes to the said places, then hits San Diego again on the 12th. After that, I fly back to Boise on the 13th. Going to be a whirlwind trip this Christmas near the end.
Below is a picture of the boat I’ll be on (Carnival’s Elation):
I want to take a bunch of pictures and videos, so hopefully my camera cooperates. Maybe the January blog will have the end results on it.
TV Networks Are Getting Desperate
I cannot believe that American Gladiator is making a comeback. That was such a trashy show back in the day. But I guess on account of the writer's strike, it is going to make a comeback. Those damn networks must be down to the bottom of the barrel trying to scrape up the last remaining ideas.
On the bright side, good riddance to shit like Desperate Housewives and Friday Night Lights. Maybe the writers will never work again. One can hope, I suppose.
ExpressJet
So there is a new-ish airline out there called ExpressJet (www.xjet.com). It has no layovers and no middle seats. All of its planes are small enough that you either are on the aisle or at the window. I had never heard of it until the last couple times I flew. Not that it's a great airline (which it's not), but it is very nice never having a layover. I hated having to wait around in Salt Lake City for my connecting flight. Now I can fly directly from Boise to Ontario and back. The amenities are few and far between. The planes are pretty much tin cans with engines. The fares are cheap though, compared to their competitors.
Movies
You probably won’t care to read an in-depth review of each one, so I’ll give you a quick description and a rating.
Halloween II: decent follow-up to the original. 3.5 out of 5 stars
Halloween III: Season of the Witch: completely unrelated to Michael Myers. Just dreadful. 0.5 out of 5 stars
Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers: back to form and on the original plot lines. 3.5 out of 5 stars
Halloween V: The Revenge of Michael Myers: weak sequel to IV. 2.5 out of 5 stars
Halloween VI: The Curse of Michael Myers: nice way to end the ‘real’ Halloween series. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later: decent movie, but lame that they wanted to make more money by making an irrelevant sequel. Jamie Lee Curtis' character should have been dead before the movie started (according to the original plotlines). 2.5 out of 5 stars.
Halloween Resurrection: nice premise for the movie (following H20), still not along the original plot lines though. 3 out 5 stars.
Wolf Creek: Australian movie and hard as hell to understand what they say, but intense nonetheless. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Resident Evil: not a huge fan of video games (ie. Silent Hill) being turned into movies, but this was decent. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Resident Evil Apocalypse: nice overlap with previous movie. 4 out of 5 stars.
The Hills Have Eyes 2: weaker plot than the original, but gorier and more suspenseful. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Turistas: a trite horror movie idea turned into a new one. Better than Hostel. Too bad the main actor looks like Johhny Knoxville, so it's hard to take him seriously. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
The Return: disjointed, not scary, weak acting, and why the hell did they dye Sarah Michelle Gellar's hair dark? 2 out of 5 stars.
Congrats to Katie
Nice job on graduating, babe! Wish I were done too. Can’t wait until the day when I no longer have to go to class like you. Can’t wait to get paid instead of paying $7,000+ a semester. Sheezus. Sign-on bonus, here I come.
My First Cavity Ever!!!
I went to the dentist last week since I hadn’t been in about 7 months. They poked around and did their normal shit. At the end of the appointment, I thought I was free. But then the dentist looks at me and tells me that I need to make a return appointment so that he can fill my cavity. WTF?!?!
I've never had a cavity before, so this is a new experience for me. Not one I wanted to have, but what the hell. I guess most people have fillings, so now I will be one of the majority.
My Self-Cauterization
I went to the doctor's the other day for refills on my heartburn med and to get my nose cauterized (I am getting nosebleeds again). The doctor was actually an NP (nurse practitioner) and she had never done a cauterization. She went and got the kit, then led me to the mirror and had me do it.
Never again.
That shit hurts. I've had it done before, so I knew what to expect. It made my eyes water, my nose run, and it made me sneeze uncontrollably last time. This time was no different, except that I did it to myself. I had to rub the cotton swab with the silver nitrate on it on my septum, trying to chemically burn the blood vessels out. Sucked ass. So yeah, if you ever get the chance to cauterize your own nose, politely decline and have the professionals do it. And if your doctor hasn't ever done it, let someone who has do it. Don't try it yourself. Hard to torture yourself like that.
My Roomba Still Kicks Ass
I still think my Roomba is awesome. I use it about once a week. It may not clean every little corner perfectly, but it sure does a decent job and prolongs the time between manual vacuumings. Is niiiiiiice.
Flat Iron Steaks and Why I Won't Eat Anything Else
I have been gorging myself on flat iron steaks recently. Let's just say that it's my favorite cut of beef. I never was a huge steak eater before. I like meat well-done and by the time you get a steak well-done, it's not moist anymore. Well, the flat iron is. Mmmmm... It's the only steak I've ever had where it stayed moist, no matter how long you cook it.
Here's what www.wikipedia.org has to say about the flat iron steak:
"The Flat Iron Steak is a cut of steak from the shoulder of a steer. The steak was created by researchers at the University of Florida and University of Nebraska during the course of a study of undervalued cuts of beef. The study also found that this specific cut is the second most tender cut of beef, after the tenderloin. The major initial barrier to the flat iron steak was the large band of connective tissue running down the center of the steak, which led people to assume that the cut in general must be tough. Removing the connective tissue, however, leads to a steak that is often described as having both the tenderness of a rib eye or strip steak while still having the full-flavored character of a sirloin or skirt steak. Whole, this muscle is known as Infraspinatus, and one may see this displayed in some butcher shops and meat markets as a "top blade" roast. Steaks that are cross cut from this muscle are called top blade steaks or patio steaks. As a whole cut of meat it usually weighs around 2 to 3 lbs, is located adjacent to the heart of the shoulder clod, under the seven bone. The entire top blade usually yields 4 steaks, between 8 to 12oz. each.
"The Flat Iron Steak is a cut of steak from the shoulder of a steer. The steak was created by researchers at the University of Florida and University of Nebraska during the course of a study of undervalued cuts of beef. The study also found that this specific cut is the second most tender cut of beef, after the tenderloin. The major initial barrier to the flat iron steak was the large band of connective tissue running down the center of the steak, which led people to assume that the cut in general must be tough. Removing the connective tissue, however, leads to a steak that is often described as having both the tenderness of a rib eye or strip steak while still having the full-flavored character of a sirloin or skirt steak. Whole, this muscle is known as Infraspinatus, and one may see this displayed in some butcher shops and meat markets as a "top blade" roast. Steaks that are cross cut from this muscle are called top blade steaks or patio steaks. As a whole cut of meat it usually weighs around 2 to 3 lbs, is located adjacent to the heart of the shoulder clod, under the seven bone. The entire top blade usually yields 4 steaks, between 8 to 12oz. each.
Restaurants, particularly upscale, have recently begun serving flat iron steaks on their menus. Especially popular are flat irons from Wagyu beef, as a way for chefs to offer more affordable and profitable dishes featuring
As Tony the Tiger would say, they're grrreat.
Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah (those are the only two real holidays)
No tip-top Tet, solemn dignified Ramadan, or kwazy Kwanzaa for me. Just the normal holidays. We are going to be going to Ventura for Christmas. The deal is the same this year as it has been for awhile. No gifts are given (the kids get gifts and I get the occasional check/card full of cash). But we do the gift exchange thing. $30 limit, has to be something that everyone or nearly everyone can use. The rules are pretty easy:
1. You draw numbers. You pick and open presents in succession. 1 goes first and gets to steal in the end.
2. When it's your turn, you either open a present or steal someone else's present.
3. If you have a present stolen, you can open a new present or steal someone else's (but not the one you just lost).
4. A present can be stolen 3 times before it is locked to the person left with it.
5. Don't ever end up with a S'more maker.
I got a $30 Best Buy gift card for it. I usually do the gift card thing, but end up putting the gift card in a big box with a rock in it to throw the person off when they are choosing to open a new gift. Last year, I gave a Petsmart gift card (since everyone in the family has cats) in a huge box. This year, I put the Best Buy card in a hand-made papier mache reindeer:
X-mas Failure
So I was 0 for 3 on the 1st three gifts Katie opened from me on X-mas. I got her a brown Fossil belt (wrong size). Note to all the people who may purchase a Fossil belt online: their sizing runs small. I got her a personalized picture frame for graduation (they put the wrong year on it). Apparently, 2009 is the new 2008. I got her intimate apparel (wrong size). I guess I just goofed up on that one. Damnit.
Meaning in Shaving?
I dream about shaving at least once a week. No kidding. I can never remember anything else from the dream, except for the simple fact that at some point during the dream, I was shaving my face.
Here's what www.dreammoods.com had to say about shaving in dreams (not that I believe a goddamn word of it):
"Shaving:
To dream that you are shaving, suggests that you are making a minor life-changing decision. Some aspect of your daily routine is being altered. Alternatively, it may represent your severe attitude or self-punishment.
"Shaving:
To dream that you are shaving, suggests that you are making a minor life-changing decision. Some aspect of your daily routine is being altered. Alternatively, it may represent your severe attitude or self-punishment.
To dream that someone is shaving your leg, represents a lost of your independence. You are relying on others to get you through some difficult times. You need to build up your self-confidence and self-esteem.
To see someone shaving in your dream, indicates that there is some conflict in your self-image. Perhaps what you portray or project does not match who you really are inside.
To dream that you are shaving your head, indicates a desire that you want to reveal more of yourself. If you leave some hair on your head, then it suggests that you are not completely prepared to let others see who you really are. You are afraid what people might think. The few clumps of your hair serves as some sort of safety net."
I don't know how anyone could actually know the aforementioned things or how you could scientifically prove them, but what the hell. People read their horoscope and don't believe a word of it.
I know I've mentioned the shaving thing before, but I just think it's weird that shaving is my recurrent dream. Why couldn't it be a foursome with Jessica Alba, Maria Sharapova, and Katie, bodyboarding a huge wave, or winning the largest lottery in history? Why shaving? Weird. I'm lame. Apparently, shaving the best thing my mind can come up with when I am asleep. My unconscious mind is as lame as my conscious mind. Poop.
Random Trivia (No cheating and looking it up! I will put the answer in the comments in a few days)
What does "bolshevik" actually mean in Russian?
Hint: the phrase is used somewhere else in this blog entry
Current music:
