S.A.D.

I've been pretty lonely lately, in two ways.  One: When I'm at home at night by myself.  Of course then, I'm literally alone, but it makes me feel alone in life.  It's then that I feel like I don't really mean anything to the people in my life.  I'm talking about school and work relationships.  I know there are people in my life whom I can rely on and whom I can expect to care about  me such as my family and close friends.  But I hardly get to talk to them because they are geographically distant to me, and that makes me feel emotionally distant as well.

Two: The fact that I don't have a girlfriend is really bugging me.  I always choke (metaphorically speaking) when the time comes for me to ask a girl on a date or make a move to let her know that I'm interested in her.  The other problem is that I'm a bit picky. Since my last girlfriend several years ago, there's only been three girls that I've been interested in enough to want to ask them on a date.  I feel like a girlfriend could be great for me, I need someone that I can be a man for, and I don't mean that in a sexist way, I mean to be a mature adult who happens to be male.  I also want someone who will be there to push me when I'm feeling stubborn, or can't find any motivation.  But there in lies the problem.  I want someone who will help me be a better person, but what I need is to work on myself so I can be that better person for her, before I even ask her out.  right?

S.A.D. is seasonal affective disorder.  I sorta feel like I might have that, because winter is always the worst for me, but I think it is just an obscure excuse for me because school happens to be during the winter which always brings me down, and I don't see as much sun which has affect on my mood as well.  Also, I'm going through some pretty rough times with school, not just the usual, homework and studying stuff, and that is what is bringing all of these personal problems to the surface right now.

Round 1, Fight!

Okay so this is going to be a weird one.  After watching some informative video clips about gangs.  I got to thinking about fights and assaults, etc.  Me being the non-violent type, I was thinking about what I, specifically, would do in a fight, or rather if someone attacked me.

First, assume I am able to get close to them in the fight, I would likely have a greater advantage in this situation than other because of my fighting style, which consists of wrestling techniques I learned in high school wrestling.

Second, also assume I am able to gain control of my opponent and the situation through some type of restraining hold, because that is what I would do in this situation.  I would not be throwing punches or kicks.  For me punches and kicks would be weak of character, unsuccessful and look ridiculous.

Now assuming these things, because otherwise I will have already lost the fight (and be broken and bruised and possibly on the way to the hospital), the next thing I would do is make them squirm a bit, nothing too harmful just something like grinding my knuckles, elbow or knee into their flesh so that it makes them uncomfortable.  And I would give command, telling them to stop their attempts and leave me alone.  When they finally agree, they would be released back into the wild.

This has happened to me before and I've been in situations where it escalated to this but only once or twice in all my life.   So far, that is all that is happened though, because this method usually works very well in resolving conflict, and with minimal harm to either side.  And by the way, this tactic came naturally to me when I was in these situations, I didn't have to rehearse them in my mind or think about what I would do ahead of time.  But I was thinking about what I might do if the person lied about quitting their attempts to fight, and came back at me once I released them.

Well I can tell you, I would repeat step one if possible, but instead of a command, they would now receive threat of the consequences if they continued to attack me.  The consequences being that I WILL try to seriously injure them, if they try again.  Again, this would be accompanied by a similar form of mild, child aged torture (knee, knuckle elbow, etc.).

And for the grand finally, on a third attack, I would again use my wrestling techniques to gain control of my opponent.  I would then use something like an arm bar to seriously injure their shoulder and/or dislocate it.  I assume that would render them useless against me, they would finally get the "hint," and would now be seeking medical attention.

As you can see you get a couple of chances with me and I'm not a violent person to begin with, but if provoked enough, I do get serious.  And again, this is all assuming that I can overpower my opponent.  God help me if my opponent is stronger than me or more skilled in wrestling technique than I.  Also keep in mind how I am not a violent person, I can't stress that enough.  If you know me irl, you would probably pick that up really fast.

Okay, the end, the weird one is over.  Back to your regular programming, perhaps another post soon.  It depends on whether or not I've got anything cooking, and whether or not I'm cooking ideas or food :)

Red, Yellow, Green Sandwich

Cook two small sausage patties and one over easy egg. Apply cheese to sausage while it is in the pan so it begins to melt.  Meanwhile, toast the bread.  I used Colby jack cheese and sour bread, not to be confused with sourdough bread.  I wanted sourdough, but I bought the wrong kind, anyway...  When these are done put the sausage patties on one side of the toasted bread and put in an oven or toaster oven to broil, just until the cheese starts to bubble and turn brown, then remove.  While that is broiling add sliced banana peppers (Yellow), slice Roma tomato (red), and sliced avocado to the other side of the sandwich.  When the sausage side comes out of the oven, add the egg and put the sandwich together.  Wa la: red, yellow, green sandwich!

*Notes

1.  I have never tried this sandwich with hamburger but if I did I'm sure it would be delicious without the egg.

2.  Left over tomato and avocado can be made into a salsa or guacamole dip to be used with corn chips as a side dish for this sandwich.

I'm thinking about having another Stir Fryday tomorrow, if anyone will come...  but it has to be before 7pm when I work.

Ollie!

There has been a skate board in the back of my Subway for a while now.  I'm assuming that a customer left it behind or something.  My co-worker and I finished all the nightly chores and a few of the weekly and monthly chores, so we decided the only thing left to do was learn to do an Ollie.  Sorry co-worker; we suck, but I feel like, if we continue to practice, we might be able to learn it after a while... a long while.

This video is not of me.

Quiche or Egg Bake

In my family and all my life I don't think I've ever come across a quiche or egg bake that had a crust, but when I looked up how to make one online, crust was a common feature.  Weird.  Also spinach was a common ingredient, but that's not so weird to me, I'v had that before.

After I looked up online how to make quiche (here)  I decided only to take from the recipe that I needed 4 eggs and 2 cups of half and half, the rest I made up by myself.  Here goes;

Stir 4 eggs, 2 cups of half and half and various seasonings into a homogenized mixture, in a bowl.  I think I used some dried herbs like oregano, parsley, and a dash of rosemary.  I also used a bit of celery seed and a tiny bit of cayenne.  But it could be whatever you like.  Then mince or finely chop a quarter cup of precooked ham, a half cup of broccoli, a quarter cup table carrots, and about a tablespoon of shallots.  Mix these ingredients into a homogenized mixture and spread evenly in a 9x13 casserole dish.  (Measurements are guesses, since when I'm making up recipes I just go with what feels right.)  Next spread a quarter cup mixture of pepper jack and colby jack cheese.  Then, break up a few dollops of mashed potatoes (I'm gonna say three fourths cup) into the dish.  It's hard to explain how I spread the potatoes out; they were pretty evenly spread but not in a solid or flat layer.  Next pour the egg mixture over the dish and make sure everything is submerged in the liquid.  Spread another quarter cup mixture of pepper jack and colby jack cheese.

Cooking instructions are the same as in the link.  Bake in a preheated oven @ 425 for 15 minutes, then turn down to 350 and continue baking for 25 minutes.  *Note if  the top layer of cheese becomes submerged while cooking, you can add a bit more at the end of cooking, turn the oven to broil and wait for the cheese to melt before removing the dish.  But be sure not to burn the dish or leave it in too long on broil.

I discovered that this dish is more like a casserole or cheesy potatoes,  but still tastes good, especially with a side of assiago toast.

Potatoes!

Yesterday, I made a whole bunch of home made mashed potatoes.  And I'm pretty proud of myself since they taste great even though it was my first batch ever.  I used no recipe except I didn't know the proper procedure for boiling potatoes.  Well, I looked up how to do that...

*no mom, I didn't use grandma's recipe box, I used a little thing called the internets*

turns out it's just like it sounds, potatoes in water that's boiling,  but there are a few tricks to make sure everything goes smoothie.  First, make sure all the potatoes are the same size whether you are boiling them whole or you cut them up.  Put the potatoes in the pan and run cold water up to an inch over the potatoes.  Begin to boil, and wait for potatoes to go soft.  You can use salt to change the temperature and add flavor while you boil them.  To speed up the process put the lid on while the pan heats up.  But you should remove the lid when the water begins to boil.  I didn't remove the lid but it turned out fine.

Then I added my own blend of butter, garlic, and herbs.  Meanwhile, I used the left over potato skins and deep fried them to make a cross between potato chips and homemade fries... sort of.

Today I used the potato skins in some scrambled eggs and sausage for a delicious breakfast, which I ate for a late lunch.

I also, almost had a mental break down from the stress of school, but my mom gave me a pep talk and some advice.  Thanks mom.

And I watched Inception... Ahh real life is a dream! AHhh!

Plugs

Share Buttons: So, blogger has come a long way since I joined.  The new template and design features make it so you don't really have to know any html, yet you can make your blog highly customized.  I love the new features that can be placed @ the bottom of each post:  share to popular social websites, reactions (like, dislike), and I've started using labels lately too.  Sarah, if you're reading this anymore, I stole one of your labels, because it is soo awesome.  "Is this real life?"

other plugs:
Rockstar: No, this will not help you stay up late to finish your school work or TPS reports.  I like this product, but it could do with some sort of amplifier, because multiple inserts split the signal, and in turn split the volume.

Dual USB Car Charger: This product is incredibly handy since all phones and mp3 players of every brand come with a usb cord, you can plug ANY of them into this device and plug this device into the cigarette lighter outlet to charge a your gadget in a pinch.  Usb wall chargers are more common and actually come with a lot of devices now of days.

Thermostat: This particular model has 4 modes during the day so you can have it be warm only when your getting up in the morning and while you're home during the evening.  It also has different settings for the weekend as appose to the week days.  So if you're home during most of the day on weekends, you can have it set to be a little warmer than you would usually have on week days.  My mother says it saves you more money if you set the heat @ 60 and leave it there all the time.  But that's just down right cold, and I'd have to get bundled up to go to the bathroom (5 ft from my room).  lol, no I guess it's not that bad, I lived with it all the way up until I moved out for college.

I wish I was getting paid for this, but I only posted these because I really enjoy them.

Gasping for Air

It's happened to me twice in the past couple of days. I've had it before but not so frequently.

"paralysis sufferers tend to fixate on reestablishing operation of the body" and then I come out of it kicking and punching and gasping for air. It really sucks when it happens and I'm sleeping on my stomach because sometimes a blanket or pillow gets in the way of my breathing and feel like i'm going suffocate if I can't regain control of my body soon enough. Who knows, maybe I would have if I hadn't pulled out of it. My most recent experiences, this morning and two mornings ago, were not so bad since I was sleeping on my side and back respectively.

On a side note, I've also had dreams where I'm drowning, but usually what happens there is that my body will naturally gasp for air. And even though it would probably cause me to drown in a real situation, I'm saved in the dream. Suddenly the dream adapts so that I have the magic ability to breathe under water.

wiki article

subway rap back

I was thinking about the subway rap i wrote a couple of posts ago.  here are some more lyrics:

Whoa. Stop! All I heard was "mumble"

I stood here and watched you stumble

over ur words.  The gloves are off, figuratively.

I can't take these off (*holds up hands*). Now, stick with me.

You got ur bread ur meat, then cheese.

N you can get it toasted, just say please

After that, pick your vegetables.

You'll prolly get the works if you're reputable.

Any sauce or seasoning?

Add a meal, 'cording to reasoning.

Now you're done, get gone.

You can go cry home to ur Mom.

Ways to say: "No, thank you"

Just a cooky thought I was having as I walked back from class yesterday.  There are three ways to say it in my opinion.  

1.  I respectfully decline your offer/request, but appreciate it none the less.

2.  On the contrary, it is I who am grateful to you.  

3.  Please, your gratitude is not required.  (this could be wrong, and is probably the least used version)  

Also, I note that the phrase seems to be used/pronounced as if it were one compound word such as notepad, or rattrap.  Or at least, that is how I think about the phrase.  

Ad reviews

Does anybody know any good online community type websites where a person could review and comment on advertisements?  I don't want to comment on products, just the ad itself.  Eh, probably doesn't exist.  And if it does, there would be too many people worried about the product itself or just trying to make fun of companies, brand loyalty and all that considered.  I doubt the internet community could handle seriously and objectively critiquing an advertisement.  Besides, what am I thinking, why would we want to tell the advertisers the best way to manipulate and convince ourselves.  That's like telling them our weakness and saying, "okay, give it a shot.  Now see if I can't resist."  But maybe we, as consumers, would be alright with a system like that, as long as we're smart enough to also check out customer reviews of the actual products and services, to see whether their products are worth what the ads say they are.  I guess what I'm getting at is, it is quite unpleasant to be forced to view ads all over the place when so many ads are poorly constructed or conveyed.  It's kind of like that "watching a train wreck" feeling.  It's soo horrible, but you're watching it anyway.  I was just kind of pondering ways to change that.

Confessions of a Subway Artist

so i didn't make a post during spring break even though i said i would.  There's really nothing interesting going on in my life right now, but i did want to share a couple of Subway stories.

I don't remember if I already mentioned this but I got rapped on.  You know how people post videos of themselves rapping their orders to the drive through clerk at Burger King and McDonald's.  Well, it happened to me which takes guts because we don't have a drive through and they had to actually do it to my face.  Lucky for them I was cool with it and there weren't any other customers trying to get a sandwich.  The thing is, rap is pretty fast and it's kind of like a mumbling sound when you don't know the lyrics and they start going too fast.  So I didn't get his order.  Plus as far as I could tell, he didn't really order correctly.  I think it was prolly just because he was trying to rhyme, but that's no excuse, he had plenty of time to think of a rhyme.  And he should know the proper procedure, if a sandwich he wished to procure.  Meanwhile, I wasn't witty enough to come up with this on the spot but I thought about it after they left and the following is what I came up with.  This will be my new come back rhyme in the unlikely event it ever happens again:
Whoa. Stop! All I heard was "mumble",
I stood here and watched you stumble
over your words.  let me take off my gloves it's time to rumble.
Now, can I get your order
or do you want your MOM to do it for ya?
There's more but the rest is kinda boring, and this will suffice if I can't remember the rest when the time comes, know what I mean?  Also, I've been searching YouTube for the video they made, but without success.

I'm a fight!

The combination of not having been able to add the classes I need, having to deal with all the red tape BS at the college of business undergraduate office, the horrible snow removal services in my apt. parking lot, and having to pay $90 for a lock change when the locks involved are being recycled (meaning it doesn't cost them anything but a half hour of wages) got me really worked up today.  I was mad, I was excited, and I was motivated to do some type of damage (not physically, but metaphorically).  I feel like I'm being kept down, held back and pushed in the wrong direction by "the system,"  and I'm glad for it because I haven't felt this motivated since my first year of college.  I'm gonna fight with all I got, and I won't let up, until there's nothing left, so get ready "system," get ready to be rocked!

I have a lot of work to do.

Apartment hunting

I finally got to bed last night around 6:00 and when I say 'last night' I mean this morning at 6:00.  But my potential room mates, for next fall, scheduled a meeting to look at an duplex for rent @ 10 am this morning, so I dragged myself out of bed by 9:45.  It's lucky I even woke up by then because I had my alarm set for 9:15 and somehow managed to sleep through it, I think less than four hours of sleep might have had something to do with it.  Anyway, I showed up about 10 minutes late, and got a tour of the place, and talked it over with Jake and Melissa a bit (these are the potential room mates).  It seemed kind of like a crappy place, but most of it was just because the current residents are kind of slobs, and the landlord said he was going to have the carpets shampooed before the next set of residents move in, So it should actually be a pretty good place, especially considering it has a fridge, stove, and washer/dryer.  And the price is pretty good too.  But I haven't worked out how it will be split between us three, I think I'm cool with it being split 50/50 since the two of them would only be taking up one bedroom, but if utilities are separate I might want that to be split three ways, and to whichever one of us is using the garage, I think they should maybe pay $10 of the rent as well if they are getting that privilege.  But I digress, these are all things that can be worked out later, and I don't think this is the only place we'll be looking at, so maybe we won't have a garage.

From Wednesday

Oh man, it's four o'clock, was I supposed to work today.  Wait, yea I was, but what time?  Hope it wasn't at four... Calls work. "Yea, when do I work?  Oh, good, it's 5."

Quick now, get in the shower.
gotta be to work in less than an hour.
get to work, there's money and power.

While I'm at work I'm having fun,
be a long time before I'm done.

friends? Yes.  family? No
now my shift's up and I've got to go

get home; homework?
that'd be a first since the first semester.
better catch up or you'll get left here.
gettin' late, time for bed, check the dresser

I guess the laundry, I forgot
clothes to wear, I have not.

I'm going to do some laundry tomorrow
meanwhile, see if my roomates have some socks to borrow.... haha

That was pretty much my day since I woke up at noon and didn't do much before work, except I won't be borrowing anyone's socks.  Nice night all.

Stupid Html

I changed my blog to a new template so that my Blog archive would appear differently, but I can't get the color and themes that I had in the other one back I can't get the LJdionasddf oasdnlk aoljdsf....  Ugh I WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING.  

lol


-----------Edit-----------

Everything seems to be in order except one thing: I'd like for the header "smoothie revolution"  to always be red whether I'm hovering over it as a link, or it is a visited link.

2 posts in 1 day?

Seems like every time I step foot in the College Of Businesses Undergraduate Office I come back with a ridiculous story:

So I go to the College of Business to attend a class which I thought was from 3:10 to 4:00.  I managed to miss all the classes last week because on Monday I had another class at the same time, Wednesday I don't remember why, but I missed class, and Friday I was helping Kelvin move into his new apt. and I let time get away from me before I knew it it was half way through the class.  Since I have another class conflicting with the Monday time slot for this class, I need to get switched to a new section, but I was going to attend this class anyway to try and catch up from the first week.  I got there around 3:05 and there were less than 10 people in a giant lecture hall which is supposed to be full to the brim for this section of the class.  I think, 'maybe everyone in this class likes showing up at the last minute', but when 3:20 rolled around and the population of the room had changed by one, I decided to double check my schedule.  I walked over to the computer lab in which there was basically a mess of people in and decided not to wait around for that.  I still haven't checked to see what time the class was supposed to be.  I decided instead to stroll over to the Undergraduate Office to get some things cleared up, like for instance possibly getting switched to another section of the course and getting them to stop sending me emails telling me I can't take more than three 300 level courses in the College of Business if I'm not a Business major.  I already went through this last semester, and got the permission slip filled out and submitted.  After I told them about this I was referred to a more experienced staff member who knew what I was talking about, although she still ended up having to confer with an advisor in the back about my situation.

Back up a minute.  You need three 300 level courses to complete a minor but 6 of the credits (2 of the classes) need to be a C or higher.  I have taken three of the courses.  I mistakenly thought that I had one class at C or higher and that I only needed this one last course at a C to achieve the minor, but it turns out I actually need two more because I got C-'s all the way across.  And to make things more complicated they are only going to allow me to retake classes I've already taken, so they're still asking me to drop my MGMT 370 course.  They want me to come in tomorrow when there are more advisors available for me to see if I can't get added to any of the already full, non-accepting sections of the classes I've already taken.  Sounds hopeful, not. The lady told me that they were taking walk-ins from 10-12 and 2-3, but I know this to be a lie from my experience last year.  When they say they're taking walk-ins until 12 it means that they'll be gone for lunch and unavailable by at least 11:30 if not by 11:15.  And the cherry on top of the day was this:  While leaving I asked the lady at the front desk for an add/drop slip, mind you I already had one (from there earlier), but I figured by the time this was all said and done I'd need two maybe three to get things straightened out.  I had the add/drop slip in my hand when the lady I talked to from the back of the office calls out that I can't have one since I'm not from the College of Business, so I had to give that one back.

Unbelievable.  Not one thing can move in that system of broken cogs and gears, it is all entirely broken in my opinion.  But fear not, because I will succeed, and I will do what it takes to make this broken machine they call a "College of Business" work for me.  One idea I had was to add a Double Major in Business, which would allow me to take the classes I need, and then I could just drop the Double Major when I've made my minor requirements.  Or if I go to the actual class room while class is being attended I may be able to get the teachers to sign off on my add slip therefore bypassing the broken system but still achieving the requirements.  I will try the latter first, but if that doesn't work, I'm going to have to get drastic.

There is still that other class from the College of Design that I'm going to go to and try and add tomorrow, and I bet you anything that I'll be able to get the add slip signed and submitted by the end of the day even though I don't have the prerequisite for the course.

And I just have to say:  Hagen Das has the awesomest pineapple coconut ice cream.

Lots to do today

I'm heading out the door as soon as I get done with this post.  I'm going to go and reserve a digital camera for the weekend so I can make the first episode of Cooking With Skittles then I'm making a trip to the key maker, subway, the bank.  Then I'm going to try and squeeze in a hair cut, then I have class from 3-4.  After that, Kelvin and I are going to the gym, then were coming back to my apt. to hang out and then I will finish the night by cleaning my room... and maybe I will grocery shopping with my room mate later tonight since that is the only time he is free today.

---------Edit---------

The key maker didn't order the right blank, that is to say he got the right kind but the wrong size, so it will be yet another week before I can get a key made for myself.

Spring '10 Schedule

The spring Schedule isn't quite worked out yet, but I'll try and come back and edit this when I get it all straightened out.

Monday

3:10-4 pm: MGMT 370 (for now)

3:30-6 pm: AFAM 350

6:10-9 pm: MGMT 370 (trying to switch to this time slot from the earlier one)

Tuesday

2:10-3:30 pm: MGMT 370 (another possible time slot for this class)

3:40-5 pm: Arch 334

Wednesday

3:10-4 pm: MGMT 370 (for now)

Thursday

2:10-3:30 pm: MGMT 370 (another possible time slot for this class)

3:40-5 pm: Arch 334
6:30-9 pm: Fin 301?

Friday

3:10-4 pm: MGMT 370 (for now)

I sometimes work 1 or 2 nights during the week, but because of my schedule it'll probably just be Wednesday and Friday. I also usually work on pretty much all nights of the weekend unless I ask to have it off.

Forgotten Singles

So what have I been up to lately? This is what:

-Had a few good Christmases (the immediate family one, mom's side & dad's side)

-one more to go though (extended family; mom's side but w/ second cousins, great aunts, etc.)

-Got Crunked for New Years with Greg and couldn't stand alcohol the next day because of it

-Started working out over the break, not because of a New Year's (or a Smoothie) Resolution but just because I could and my mom paid for the membership for Dec. and Jan. For me. But now, I think I will actually try to keep up a work out routine. yay me

-Plotting on how to cheat the system (taking classes I'm not supposed to be eligible for)

-Dropping the ball with my schedules (between work and school)

-Feeling very mellow for the past two days

-catching up on the youtube subscriptions that I missed while not having the internet over the break

-Plotting about videos I might put on my vlog if I ever started one, one idea is like "literal video version" only mine (for this one song) is literal lyrics version. Another is to copy the viral videos made about superman or spiderman secretly attending class in a large lecture at my school and then having to run 0ff to save somebody quite interuptingly during the class. And then of course the most of my videos would be about cooking because I think I would be the best at making those, and there are almost endless possibilities for new videos in that category... that I could also achieve. I would probably start up another blog here with this account and embed the youtube videos there.

-Wondering if I'll be able to find No Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and The Wizard of Oz at my local video store, because I am convinced that my room mate should see them

-and watching youtube music videos of singles or one hit wonders like priscilla renea had "Dollhouse" but then she disappeared, and although new radicals had a number of pretty popular songs I like to think that their "You get what you Give" was kind of their one hit wonder. Also, where's that one kid named Asher Roth? He had "I love college" but I haven't heard anything from him since. And what about that girl named Adele, the only thing anybody seems to give her credit for is "Chasing Pavement." And thus the title for this blog post. I mean, I feel like I have to write down a list of all the short lived and Forgotten Singles and put them on a playlist so I can pay my respects to those artists, who we the public, used, abused and then did away with so quickly. I MUST REMEMBER THE SINGLES.