Killer Comfort Food

I saw the Asian version of Anton Chigurh this evening while I was in the check-out line at the grocery store, and I almost soiled myself. He purchased two very large cases of beer and some ice-cream.






Not only is he a badass, he's also a Ralph's
Club cardholder who eats Rocky Road right
out of the tub!

School Ties

This June will mark the tenth anniversary of my high-school graduation and, therefore, the impending doom of my high-school reunion, and here's why I'm not even a tiny bit excited...

First of all, I went to high school in a really small town, one I like to call Pleasantville-With-Color. Kids who grow up in PWC may go far and wide for college or work, but inevitably, they come back by their mid-20s and settle within a fifteen-mile radius of their childhood homes. Naturally, this means that on a random trip to the local shopping mall, odds are pretty good that I'll run into someone from good ol' PWC High, and frankly, this has been enough for me. Chance run-ins generally turn into, "What have you been up to all these years? Where are you working now? Do you still keep in touch with so-and-so? Blah, blah, blah." You know, the things you might discuss at, oh, I don't know, a high-school reunion?

Honestly, I don't really see the point of going. I've made sure to stay in touch with my closest friends from grade school, and knowing what the rest of PWC's Class of '98 has been doing over the last decade probably won't change my life in any significant way. Besides, it's not like half the world isn't on MySpace or Facebook. If I really want to know what you're up to, I can find out on any given night from the comfort and privacy of my own home. No ten-year waiting period required! Imagine that.

Having said all that, I must admit that part of me is a little curious about what the reunion might be like. It's one thing to use the internet to find people, but to actually see them in the flesh, to talk to them face-to-face and see how they've changed, can be a purer and more unique experience -- one that isn't tarnished by cliched, superficial Friendster profiles. ("My favorite movies are 'Bad Boys,' 'Friday,' 'Bad Boys 2,' 'Next Friday,' 'The Fast and the Furious,' and 'Friday After Next.' My hobbies are drinkin' and pimpin', fo' sho'." Riiiiight.)

On second thought, maybe I'm not so curious after all.

It's About Time!

I generally like to give myself a two-week grace period on New Years' resolutions. What this means is that on the first of every January, I make a set of promises to myself for the year, and by the 15th, I have to be well on my way to fulfilling them.

As such, my year got off to a fairly good start. I've been hitting the gym pretty regularly (mostly running and swimming), started learning French, began a journal (the pen-and-paper kind... remember pen and paper?), and even started reading about agile software development in my spare time. Fun stuff.

But my biggest feat so far this year? Learning to knit. This is something I have been attempting to do off and on for the last year and a half, with the help of Knitting for Dummies. I've found that it is really difficult and frustrating to learn how to knit from a book, and have repeatedly given up in the past as a result. But at the beginning of 2008, I embarked on a relentless pursuit of knowledge and -- voila! -- I can finally purl. (You see how I snuck some French into that last sentence? Pretty slick, eh?) My scarf is a little over a foot long so far. I try to add a few rows to it every night. I think I have about two feet to go, given my size. (This is one of those rare instances where I'm actually okay with being short.)

Yes, 2008 has been treating me well so far. Oh, and I'm finally back on this thing. Just in time to meet that two-week mark. We'll see how long I keep it up this time. Until my next post: bon soir, mes amis!