Good Advice

*** UPDATE 11/7/2007! ***

I sent my letter off to DMA and it was returned and marked as undeliverable due to the address. I got online and the below address (updated) is the address they give for removing your name/address from their lists. They say to send $1 for verification (check/money order only) but I am going to send my letter without the dollar and see what I get.

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From the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)

To reduce the amount of junk mail you receive write to the Direct Marketing Association and have them remove you from their list.

Direct Marketing Association
Mail Preference Service
P.O. Box 282
Carmel, NY 10512.

Doing so will not only cut down on the crap in your mailbox, but it'll also help the environment out. Those are both very good things.

Not yet!

Ug. While driving on the freeway today I heard, for the first time this year, an ad with Christmas music. Can't we let Halloween pass? I've given up on the stores. They've had Christmas crap out since Labor Day. That's a battle I can't win. But come on! We shouldn't be subjected to Christmas music until the week before Thanksgiving, at most.

I still have three holidays to get through before I even consider Christmas (Halloween, Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving). And so help me, if Starbucks dumps the pumpkin lattes this year after Halloween I'll scream. I went to the one at the JFK airport last year and they had dumped pumpkin in favor of egg nog and peppermint after Halloween. I asked why and they told me to make room for the winter flavors. I asked the clerk what kind of pie was most common on Thanksgiving, and when she replied pumpkin, she got it. Don't dump the frickin' pumpkin until after Thanksgiving. Hell, I wish they wouldn't dump it at all. I'd drink it year round.

It all boils down to this: Christmas has quite a complex these days and is pushing in on other holiday's spotlight. It's got to stop. I, for one, vow to not purchase a single Christmas gift for 2007 pre-Thanksgiving. Nor will I order any non-pumpkin beverage from Starbucks pre-December 1. At least Coffee Mate gets it right. They keep their pumpkin flavor available through Christmas. That's how it should be done.

Dumbledore's what?

D left a shocker in the comments section of my last post. Dumbledore is gay! JK Rowling dropped the bombshell while reading her latest and last installment in the Harry Potter series to an audience in New York on Friday. Learn more about the announcement and Dumbledore's one time love here.

North Cackalacky

There is a lot I like about living in North Carolina, and then there are some things I don't. Not to say the tale that follows couldn't/wouldn't happen elsewhere, say, on the west coast, it just seems to exemplify some of the types around here. It also lets the stereotypes live on.

We're having a dinner party tonight with some of SpyC's co-workers and their spouses. It'll probably be a group of around nine or ten. I went shopping this morning at the local IGA in Angier to get the goods for the party. I had the following exchange with the clerk.

Clerk: "Cranberries! I've never had cranberries before. Are they like grapes?"

Me: "They're more crunchy than grapes, and they can be bitter."

Clerk: "I like cranberry juice. I've never seen these before. We must have just gotten them in."

Me: "Probably. Cranberries are just coming in to season."

Clerk: "Oh, well, I don't know any thing about them."

It's typical. Things that seem ordinary to me are rather extraordinary to the folk around here. Yep, I live in North Cackalacky. But I like it, back woods and all.

BTW, the cranberries are for a spiced apple sauce recipe from this month's Cooking Light. Our menu tonight?

Appetizer: Butternut squash and goat cheese spread over toasted baguette
Salad: Fall harvest mixed green salad with vinaigrette
Main course: marinated and grilled pork tenderloin
Sides: Cheesy potato casserole and spiced apple sauce
Dessert: pumpkin cheesecake (from Costco)

The recipe for the butternut squash dip and cheesy potato casserole are already in The Recipe Box. The recipes for the pork, salad and applesauce will be there soon.

About me

So I'm taking this art appreciation course and one of the assignments was to create a collage that represents me and my interests based on several micro cultures. (Click on image for full size.) I should have known I'd get reaction over some of the things in it as I've certainly stirred someone's pot. One of the students in the class has taken an interest in the "Keep abortion legal" button and "Impeach Bush" banner. Following is our dialogue thus far.

Him: "Your collage looks nice. I'm into politics as well. Pro choice huh? well its a baby not a choice. What exactly do you believe Bush should be impeached for? If abortion was legal when you were born and your mother had aborted you, you wouldn't be here to preach about anything much less abortion. Not to give you a hard time, its a discussion board, but great set up on the collage."

Me: "Hi Kyle. First of all, I'm not here to preach anything. Rather, I am just sharing my opinions and interests as the assignment required. Second, pro choice vs. anti choice is a fundamental difference of opinion and no amount of debate will change your mind, or mine. I doubt you and I could come up with some unique perspective on the topic to warrant a debate. I am happy to share my specific points of view and the information I have to support them in the right setting, however, I don't believe this is the time or place.

"Third, the reasons I believe Bush should be impeached are not just my own opinion and can be widely found on the Internet and various news sources. There is a laundry list of reasons, not just one, and can be easily researched. If you are not of the same opinion, that is fine. I never point fingers and say, "I'm right and you're wrong." I accept that all any of us have are our opinions. My only hope is each one of us research our opinions and that we are passionate about each. The worst thing is to have someone who can't explain why they feel the way they feel."

Him: "First of all, I didn't say you I was right and you were wrong. Second of all, this is a "Discussion" board, primarily used for discussion and responding to others postings. I was only interested in your opinions and wanted you to go into more detail."

Me: "Hi Kyle. I am sorry you mistook that I thought you referred to one of us as right and the other wrong. That is not the case. I was simply stating that I believe there is no right or wrong and that we're both entitled to our opinions. Also, while I appreciate your interest in discussing these topics and yes, this is a discussion board, it is a board to discuss art. I appreciate that the items I shared in my collage struck a chord with you, however, I feel delving into specifics of the collage versus the whole would step beyond the scope of this course and this board. Thank you for taking an interest in my collage."

As most who read this know me I am not one to not share or explain my opinion. I just had a feeling from the very beginning he was baiting me and I wasn't going to bite. I felt I gave a level-headed, democratic response to his posts.

Ticket whore count: 11

New comment system

I have been hesitant to change over to Blogger's comment system for sometime, mostly because I didn't want to lose access to all the old comments on my existing system. However, Enetation, my current comment provider, has been off-line for several days and has been very unreliable in the past. I bit the bullet, so to speak, and switched over to Blogger's system. If you've tried to post comments recently and couldn't, please try again. I really do enjoy the feedback and thoughts you all have to offer.

The Number 23

Have you seen this movie? Very interesting. Certainly intriguing. This is a great example of the kind of movies I like: thrillers that are mind games, not ones that are all about blood and guts. This goes along the lines of M. Night Shyamalan and movies like The Sixth Sense. Exactly what I enjoy. This was an interesting movie along those lines. Maybe not as creative, but certainly entertaining.

Beth and I returned earlier today from Philadelphia where we attended a co-worker of mine's wedding. She was married yesterday at the Dupont Country Club in Wilmington, DE, about 20 minutes from Philadelphia. Which is entertaining to me. In this part of the country you can travel between three states in about 15 minutes: New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. Try that on the west coast. We flew up yesterday morning and were back in Raleigh by noon today so it was a quick trip. We had a nice time though and will probably go back to visit and site see.

We've been trying to plan a trip to western North Carolina. We want to check out Asheville and the Blue Ridge Parkway. In the next couple of weeks the colors there should be amazing. The Biltmore Estate would certainly be a great place to take in all the fall beauty so that's another place we want to get to. Our understanding is it's about five hour's drive from Raleigh.

We've also been wanting to plan a trip to Atlanta. I had a great time visiting that city earlier in the year and would very much like to visit again. Beth is game as well as some of our friends here, so that's another road trip we need to plan. Also on that list is Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA. So many places, so little time!

My day... to share

Happy Birthday to me. Happy Birthday to me. Happy Birthday dear QQflyboy. Happy Birthday to me! Yeah!

Not only is it my birthday today, my friend Jann called to tell me she gave birth to a little baby boy this morning! Hooray! We both laughed and joked that he'd come on my birthday, and sure enough, he did! Jaxson is his name. What a cutie. I'm happy to share my day with him. Happy Birthday Jaxson!

Last day

That I'm 30. To say goodbye SpyC and I and some friends went to an Irish pub called the Hibernian, then followed it up with dessert at our favorite little patisserie Hereghty's. On the menu tonight was garlic hummus served with seasoned, toasted pita points, Strongbow cider and Shepperd's Pie. I followed that up with a buttery nipple and an Irish car bomb. Yum! At Hereghty's we enjoyed three different cakes: the Berlin, Okinawa and Philadelphia and a pumpkin tarte. All were very tasty. Those all make for one helluva birthday cake! It was a lovely, relaxed evening filled with good food, drinks and friends. Perfect.

Tomorrow, just maybe, we'll try out a place I found called the Fractured Prune, a donut shop. There you actually make your own donuts. You pick the glaze (they have 14!) and the toppings and they make them fresh for you, while you wait. Sounds great! It'll certainly be worthy of my attention on my birthday. I think I might have to try a "hole in one."

Ticket whore count: 10

Clean bill

Went to the tooth doc this morning and all is well! Hooray! I had more real food this morning, this time in the way of an apple fritter! Yum, yum, yum. Tonight we're headed to Red Lobster so I can pig out on their endless shrimp (god love it!) and cheesy biscuits. We're also headed out tomorrow night to have my real birthday dinner! So glad to be able to dump the baby food just in time for my birthday weekend. Yippee!

Ticket whore count: 9

This will sound pathetic

Do you have any idea how fricken' good a McDonald's cheesburger can be? OMG! I had two tonight and man, were they heavenly. We had thought about going to Ruby Tuesday for Sliders, since they have pretty good ones, but SpyC and I couldn't peel our asses off the sofa before it got to late for either one of us to do anything. The thought of beef, however real or fake it is from McD's, was all the motivation I needed to finally kick it in gear. REAL FOOD! I know that sounds horrible since it came from McDonald's afterall, but after eating a week's worth of mashed potatoes, pudding, yogurt, Jell-O and soup, anything would seem "real."

Today has been a breakthrough for me in the food department: an English muffin for breakfast and cheeseburgers for dinner! Right on. Tomorrow we have plans to visit a patisserie we've fallen in love with here called Hereghty's for lunch and yummies. We may go to dinner with Sofakitty tomorrow night. Saturday we'll be having dinner with other friends for my birthday. Hooray. No Zurich for me afterall this weekend, but that's ok. I can go another time. I'd rather not be that far from home quite yet. I will be headed to Paris on Tuesday... that's soon enough.

I turn 31 Sunday! Yikes. But that's ok. Since I'm back in school with a real chance of finishing this time, I'm finally coming to terms with my age and the fact I'm still working on my bachelor's. Hey, never too late. Happy Birthday to me, albeit a couple of days early, and a very lovely evening to you! I'll be headed to the tooth doc bright and early tomorrow morning to get a progress report. Hope all is well.

Baby steps, donut chasers and ticket whores

I ate my first real food today! Real = English muffin. Real = chewing. Everything up until now has been soft and/or liquid food. If I didn't lose a few pounds this past week, I'll be pissed. I had an assignment for class that required me to record my caloric intake for three days. I did the assignment over the past three days and my average was 1,143 calories per day -- less than half of what is recommended. It was a baby step for me today and I'm excited about it. My birthday is Sunday and I'm looking forward to going out to dinner with friends. I want to be able to eat real food, not this baby crap.

I didn't mention on here yet (and for no particular reason) that I got a speeding ticket a couple of weeks ago. I was ticketed for doing 56 in a 45 MPH zone, however, I was right at the 55 mark. So close, in fact, that by the time the donut chaser pulled me over I was well inside the 55 zone. I nearly offered him a gift card to Dunkin Donuts, but he wasn't very friendly and I felt he was undeserving. Yes, I was doing 56 in a 45, but come on! I was so close. Bastard. Well, I was told the tidal wave would come and today it did: eight! Count them eight mailers from attorneys offering to represent me. Luckily for me I have an attorney on retainer, who is prepaid, and already handling the ticket. Yeah! It won't cost me a penny more. Fingers crossed... I think my chances are good to get it dropped! I'll let you know what happens.

BTW

One breath could kill anything... even a cockroach.

Maybe not

I may have averted disaster here, when it comes to my wisdom teeth, as things back there seemed to have calmed down. After visiting the dentist the other day I thought I was going to be up shit's creek. Even though the doc told me I should be fine, the whole area hurt worse then than after the surgery itself. And then the area bleed for 24 hours. I really haven't had a lot of pain with the whole surgery, and the pain I've had has been manageable. Despite the little setback, it hasn't been a terrible experience.

The worst part about it? I'm dying to eat real food. I've had plenty of Jell-O and pudding, along with some mashed potatoes, soup, yogurt and Slim Fast shakes. I've also had two chocolate milk shakes and a smoothie from Baskin Robbins (those are the highlights!). I'm not necessarily tired of it all, but I'm dying to eat a salad and a big 'ol, fat, juicy cheeseburger. Yum. And I'm also craving a taco. Go figure. My next appointment with the doc is Friday. Hopefully he'll have good news to share.

In the meantime, the swelling is finally subsiding. I can close my mouth without effort and I'm beginning to be able to smile again. It looks funny, but I'm getting there. Lately my other teeth have been sore. I'm supposed to be flying to Zurich this weekend, but I'm questioning whether or not I should. I'm not worried about pain, but I'm worried about the bleeding picking up again and trying to serve passengers. Not pretty. And should there be complications, who wants to be four thousand miles from their surgeon? I guess I'll wait and see. The doc may have some insight on that for me on Friday. Until then... more soup (french onion!) and maybe another milk shake. Yeah!

Setback?

I just got back from the dentist and have a mouth full of gauze, again. It appears I had a "liver clot" forming in my mouth. Sounds disgusting, right? Yes, it was, and then some. The Doc explained there was a small incision in the wound that continued to bleed causing the clot that formed to balloon out. The thing was covering one of the teeth I still have and was just gnarly. I was worried I was headed for dry socket, but doc says not necessarily so.

In fact, he explained the fix was quick and simple, but warned if it happens again they may have to re-open the wound and fix it up. I'm not up for that! I went to the dentist with no pain today and now my right side is killing me all over again. They sucked the liver clot out and irrigated the wound with some minty wash stuff. And then packed the hell out of it with gauze. It hurts as bad as it did the day I came home. In fact, probably more. I was medicated then before the Novocaine wore off. Not so this time. I didn't have the benefits of Novocaine and am still reeling from the pain. I was trying not to take a Loritab, but I think I'm giving in. The Motrin just isn't cutting it. I'll keep you posted.

Speaking of setbacks, I just saw on CNN Britney was ordered to hand her kids over to KFed Wednesday until further order of the court. Ah, she must have failed one of her drug tests. Idiot.