New Foods

I am a super taster. What that means is that I have an overabundance of taste buds that make lots of stuff taste bad to me. I also am one of those people that can taste bitter. I learned this in the 7th grade with a rather memorable lab and a piece of paper on the back of my tongue. I've heard that those people typically do not like vegetables. As a vegetarian and a person aiming to have a more healthy diet, this is a significant frustration. For instance, cooked carrots have been known to make me gag, and I only begrudgingly eat broccoli. Hence am I teaching myself to enjoy new foods.

I grew up a very picky eater, it was a long time before I could enjoy cuts of meat like steak. I think I had scarcely learned to eat pork chops before I went vegetarian. Mexican and Chinese food were also among my dislikes at an early age. I have just now learned to enjoy mashed and baked potatoes and am trying to learn olives. So far, I have realized that they are very "intense", but I do enjoy certain green olives with the pits. I still do not like apples (but only in their raw form), mushrooms (in any form), and yogurt. Those dislikes all seem to be texture based, since I like applesauce, will eat things made with cream of mushroom soup, and can't say I dislike the flavors of yogurt. Someday, I hope that my taste will change to the point where I can enjoy carrots and broccoli too.

Several Loves Together as One

Mike as Morrissey in MST3k. Featuring a song written at a time in Morrissey's life when he was very very sad, breakfast.

Did I mention that I cried? Morrissey is very very sad, no doubt, but thats what makes him great, in my eyes. He rocks out without so well without ever shouting or screaming, and when you're feeling depressed, you can always count on him being there, in your MP3 or CD player, feeling even worse. No, its not wrong not to always be glad, and please, tell me more.

What Was This About Anyway?

We use a Microsoft instant messaging program at work different from MSN Messenger. Its got some cute emoticons, doesn't convert links, and allows one to save conversations as email or files if desired. Most of the time, my conversations are pretty inconsequencial, but every now and then, I need to save something. Well, today, while cleaning out my inbox, I came across this little gem:

______________________________________________
From: Me
Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2008 10:32 AM
To: Me
Subject: Conversation with Trevor

Trevor [9:54 AM]:
  ok cool
Trevor [9:54 AM]:
  there should be a contact in that email I sent
Trevor [9:54 AM]:
  he might want you to open a ticket, in which case you would need to call the help desk
Trevor [9:55 AM]:
  if you need further assistance, or would like me to come by sometime and walk you through it, simply let me know.
Me [9:56 AM]:
  thank you

Talk about a record needing context - why on earth did that necessitate saving?

"Loafing oafs in all-night chemists"

British Airways is awesome. They had On Demand in every seat even in coach. And on there, under essential albums, they had Morrissey's Vauxhall and I, an album I own but hadn't heard in a long time.

It was amazing.

I forgot all about this album, I forgot about Speedway, I forgot about Why Don't You Find Out for Yourself, but mostly, I forgot about the opening track, Now My Heart is Full. I don't quite understand it, it reminds me of a suicide note, but a contented one. That probably doesn't make sense to those not on happy pills with side effects that list "suicidal tendencies."

I love Morrissey.

Incredible

I logged into my pseudonym gmail account, where I keep all my political crap. I realized I hadn't read Alternet since last week, and I realized that I hadn't missed it, at all. Instead, I read about why Africa is the way it is, watched some dazzling historical fiction about England's defeat of the Spanish Armada, watched some really attractive reenactors make the Great Wall in China, learned about Muslims in Spain, reveled in the differences of Spanish culture, and began to really read my old Chinese history text. When I got off the train in Lafayette, I was sobered to see 4000
4000
on the hill. While I was gone, 10 young, healthy people died in Iraq.

Life Before Yawning

I just spent a few days in Spain, where it is rude to yawn in public. I know I yawn a lot, as a side effect of my medication, but never before was I so acutely aware of just how much I yawned. I'd yawn several times in the course of a few minutes. I think I've mastered masking my yawns as large inhalations, but still, I wonder, what was life like before yawning?

The 80's are Back

They're back in a big big way, on the heads of Spanish men everywhere, if everywhere is within the borders of Spain. While there, I saw lots of boys with rat-tails, men with full out mullets, and even a guy (white) with jerry-(geri?)curls on the metro. One guy in the Cordoba train station had a dreadlock mullet, I'm so not kidding.