Ten Years Ago Today

Since everyone is posting messages about 9/11, I'll tell you mine.

Ten years ago my sister woke me up early in the morning and told me to turn on the television. I was shocked and in disbelief and frightened because my parents were vacationing in Washington D.C. that day. I'm sure you've heard many people describe watching the events on TV as if it were a Hollywood movie. That's what it felt like for me. I saw the footage of the planes striking Tower 1 and 2 over and over again, and I was dumbfounded with what I saw.

I eventually heard from my parents. They were fine. They weren't even aware of what was happening at first because they had been out early in the morning visiting tourist sites. They did notice that there were a lot of ambulances and fire trucks in D.C. My mother said that when they got to the Smithsonian museum they found out because it was closed. They cut their visit short and returned home a few days later when planes began flying again. I believe this was the last time my parents flew on a plane. I could be wrong about that, but I don't recall them flying anywhere again.

Meanwhile, continuing on with my day, I went in to work. In those days, I worked as  a pop culture/entertainment news editor serving radio stations, TV stations, and news papers with our lighthearted news. It was a challenge this day to accomplish that. Interviews were canceled in the light of the events, which was totally understandable. Our managing editor was on vacation in Hawaii at the time and was difficult to reach. The newsroom did reach him, and he left it up to us to do what we thought was best. We decided to proceed with our objective, to supply our subscribers with our brand of quirky news.

In retrospect, I'm sure that none of our clients used anything we published over the next few days. That would include a story on 9/13 about a society of bald headed men that hold an annual convention of their bald-headed brethren each year. They believed the patriotic thing to do was continue on with their plans in hopes that "...the light radiating off the bald heads of the conventioneers will be a patriotic beacon for the rest of the world to see."

But this one story of mine was published the very next day. Looking back I think it is interesting that the subject matter revolves around a travel writer and his experiences with an Arabian custom of eating camel for a wedding. You can still find the article archived on an old web site here:

http://internettrash.com/news/getarticle.shtml?/news/2001/09/11/item9.html

Our news took a big shift toward terrorism topics and 9/11 forever after as did the rest of the mainstream media.

Looking back on the event itself, it seems like it was a long time ago. There are 10-year-old children who have never known what it was like to live in a world before the constant threat of terrorist attacks. And now children who were 10 years old at the time are now young adults whose impressionable years have been influenced forever. But it also seems like as a nation, in 10 years, we've made such little progress past the events. So long ago, but we are still covering the same ground over and over again.

I'm Not the Only One

It seems I'm not the only one among my friends who is dissatisfied with his living situation. Some want to move out of their apartment into another place with friends to save money. Others want to move to new locations.

I was out with friends this evening and several of us were talking about it. Someone threw out the idea of buying a complex and all of us moving in. I found the idea enthralling. It seemed like I wasn't the only one. Several seemed to get that spark of inspiration at the idea. But the reality of it is, no one will actually follow through on this.

I would though. I would love to live in a condo complex or a large multi-bedroom home with friends I like.  Then I could get out from under these trashy neighbors above me. But for some reason, people only dream about doing stuff like this rather than follow through. I'm guessing it's a money issue. Nobody wants to commit their money to it.

I'm frustrated over it.

The First Bloggin Fogger Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence

As you've seen from this blog, I like to cook. But sometimes, I like to heat.

Tonight I didn't make dinner, but I heated in the oven frozen chicken strips and sweet potato fries. And tonight I would like to present the First Bloggin Fogger Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence to Alexia Foods for their delicious Spicy Sweet Potato Julienne Fries with Chipotle Seasoning. They're spicy, but not too spicy, and full of flavor. I highly recommend you seek them out in your grocer's freezer. I found mine at VONS.

Meanwhile, the Tyson's Chicken Breast Tenders receive the tarnished seal of disapproval. With chicken tenders so bland and uninspired they should be swept away with a broom and not even given to the dog. DO NOT buy these.

Not Bert

I went to see Mary Poppins tonight with one of my coworkers, Anna, and some of her friends. Two years ago, for Halloween, Anna came to work dressed as Mary and I came as Bert.

After the show, we hung around the stage door and got the autograph of the actress who played Mary. We lingered around, taking pictures in front of a poster. As we parted, Anna and her friends were calling me Bert and saying, "Goodbye, Bert."

As I stood at the crosswalk, waiting for the light to change, a girl (maybe in her teens) who had been in earshot of us came running up and asked me, in complete sincerity, if I would sign her playbill.

I had to tell her I wasn't really in the performance; my friends were just teasing me. To which she responded, "Oh, that's embarrassing."

But deep down inside, I wish I were in the performance.

Great Value

I've let the shit collect again since the last egg shell mess. And here's what's in this goodie bag.

 Someone likes Great Value brand fruit smilies. But guess who's not smiling.

 Mardi gras beads. I wonder who flashed what to get these.

 A wide shot of the garbage, beads, paper, some orange plastic thing, and some green plastic army men.

 A long shot.

 Cigarettes from the smoking section.

 Closeup of those delicious treats.

In other news. I'm driving a Nissan MRSA while my car is being fixed at the mechanic's again! This makes four times the transmission has had to be worked on. And when I got home from work, I had a red pickup truck in my reserved spot. If you are the owner of this truck, license plate APN8112 from Arizona please come and pick up your truck.

Friday Night Dinner - Lamb Sliders and Mint Juleps

 Ground lamb with diced onion, salt, and pepper.

 Fry 'em.

 Mint Julep

Lamb sliders, cole slaw, and sweet potato

Six Month Anniversary

Today is my six month anniversary since I bought my condo. I like the inside. It's a nice size. I love the fact that I have a washer and dryer inside my place. In fact, I have to move some laundry over to the dryer as I type. I have a fireplace, although it is gas and doesn't give off much heat, it's still pretty to look at. I have a spare bedroom that I use as my office/computer room.

Yes, this place needs some work. I need new kitchen cabinets and countertops. The fireplace needs to be resurfaced. The bathroom is only half painted, and I need an electrician to move the wiring behind the wall so I can install legitimate fixtures. I'm not short on ideas. I'm just short on money.

But I look out on my balcony that that I just swept two days ago, and there is still eggshells falling between the cracks, cigarette butts, food crumbs, and a plastic toy. The kid above was making noise earlier. And all I want to know is when the market will pick up so I can sell this place and get away from the neighbors.

Yay me.