Day Quote
Like sex, bathing, sleeping and drinking, the effects of food don’t last. The patterns are repeated but finite. Life is a near-death experience, and our devious minds will do anything to make it interesting.
—Jim Harrison
Safe For Now
Shew…made it. It is now 11 am. Too late to go to McDonald’s and get those delicious Sausage Breakfast Burritos, with a hash brown on the side and their so-so coffee. Extra packets of Hot Picante sauce…squeeze…bite…squeeze…bite….I know I’ve said it before, but I really love that sauce they give you with those burritos. I have been sitting here, talking myself out of driving over there for 2 hours!
Burning philosophy question of the day: Do I really “want” the burrito or do I just need something to transport the Picante sauce to my stomach? Perhaps a concrete answer can be attained…19 hours from now…whence, I will go to the McDonald’s and put it to the test. For science.
No, no, no. I had yogurt with a bit of granola and some pretzels with a Laughing Cow Cheese Triangle—actually a really product. It is one of those things that you don’t believe will actually taste good, but does. I spend money on them often. Even my kids like them. Can’t fall off the Extreme Fat Smash wagon after one day. That would be weak. The exercise part though…
What? It is rainy. Again. Cold. Again. Ridiculous. I could run around outside but I don’t want to lower my immunity defenses, and the gym is right next door to the McD’s. So you see? Nothing I can do.
After 11 now, ok, forgot. And it looks like the sun is trying to come out and harass me.
I didn’t have anything else to say at this moment, I just wanted to share my struggle with resisting McDonald’s.
And FYI for the coffee: Depends on what you like. Here’s my breakdown if it helps: Starting from BLACK. I don’t add stuff so this is pre-whatever you put in:
McDonald’s: Kind of plain, watery, with a slight cardboardy taste that they can’t seem to get rid of despite the “gourmet” label.
Dunkin’: Almost everyone’s fav. But I find it not as strong and actually pretty sweet. It has a light flavor that goes really good on the train.
Starbuck’s: Strong. Can taste groundy at times and really bitter. It prob depends on where you go, but if you want to move then this is the one for you.
7-11: Actually not bad. Nice and smooth. Not too weak or overly flavored. But they have ALOT of pots sitting on their coffee island, and it can be hard to tell which is which. I once accidentally got Irish Coffee Flavor. Smelled weird, but the taste was fine. Still, I prefer the plain.
Burger King: My favorite by far! Seriously. The BK Big Joe. It is the best of all the fast places. It has snappy adverts too. But I would go there above all the places if choice is given. Good price too. It’s strong and bold. With that “coffee” flavor that is not sweet or watery or bitter or cup tasting. It is noticeably different tasting from the others. If you have it once, you’ll want it again. And I swear, every time I have it I always say, “”Their coffee is so good. BK has the best!” But no one in my life cares anymore.
So try them and let me know what you think. Or point out someplace I didn’t put down. The above are the places that I go to. (I didn’t include Caribou because we don’t have one close enough for it to be an issue)
Have a great morning!
Cool Word of the Day!
Opportune (adjective)
Definition: Favorable to a particular purpose; Occuring at an appropriate time.
Poetry For People / The Famous Stuff
This is probably my favorite poem of all time. When someone says “poem”, it’s the one I always think of first. And judging by the rest of the world in websites and blogs, I’m not the only one. So, I know that it has been placed around here countless times, but I’m going to add it in just once more.
I have two other poems on the Icarus theme that I will be posting this week. Those might not be AS popular so it will give a fresh take on an old subject. I even did a critical literary analysis comparing the three for a college paper. Exciting stuff. Maybe if someone asks nice or begs originally, I’ll just post it on up. And if nobody says anything, I might just post it anyway.
Here it is. The one, the only:
Musée des Beaux Arts by W. H. Auden
About suffering they were never wrong,
The Old Masters: how well they understood
Its human position; how it takes place
While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along;
How, when the aged are reverently, passionately waiting
For the miraculous birth, there always must be
Children who did not specially want it to happen, skating
On a pond at the edge of the wood:
They never forgot
That even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course
Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot
Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the torturer’s horse
Scratches its innocent behind on a tree.
In Brueghel’s Icarus, for instance how everything turns away
Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman may
Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry,
But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shone
As it had to on the white legs disappearing into the green
Water; and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen
Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky
Had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on.
Poetry For People / Mine and Stevie’s
Have a few things; working on; like everyone. No titles. I just never got into the habit. Maybe it will come to me after it’s out. Remember, be kind.
Cotton gray in a humid yellow room.
Denim blue crumpled in a brown corner.
Green eyes flashing, staring into the smoke of my own.
Tan against peach; skin slick with exertion; fine hairs bristling.
Pink scar that traces down the side of your body.
Loved you.
The colors we made stay much clearer than anything else;
All I recall, thinking of you now:
Silver and red, serene and raging.
Your black fury and my wishy-washy white.
Gold, gold, gold.
Bright and shining, gleaming chrome.
Individual hues that never bled into each other.
Started missing you.
Hazy and flat;
Metal days and copper veins, spilled onto the floor.
I hate to remember now since no box is big enough to hold all that we created.
Except there is no creation.
No crayon is colored deep enough
to survive in the heat of the sun.
After reading some of the things I wrote, my daughter gave it a go. I think it’s pretty good. She’s 10. No title. Here it is:
As well as you know me
Like the sky is blue
The air is fresh
And death is right around the corner
You and I will always be connected.
—Stevie F.
Back on the Fat Wagon
And it feels so good…
No, not really. Well, not that bad. Extreme Fat Smash is an awesome plan. Dr. Ian K. Smith is pretty straightforward and the plan is easy to insert into your life. Food planning and exercise. If you don’t exercise already it might be difficult to start but once you do the payoff is tremendous! I’ve talked about it for awhile; Got thru the first 2 weeks but was sidelined by events and fast food. But now is a good time, no distractions until June or so….party wise anyway. Get the book from the library first, then check it out on Amazon where you can buy it for 3 bucks. Worth the money. Give it a go and let me know.
It’s raining here now, but it was nice earlier.
6 am: Stevie and I did an hour of Jillian Michaels (Biggest Loser Trainer) workout—for beginners—but it’s also good for those who can do a little more. You can modify it with weights and more advanced exercise positions. I’m aiming for her arms by July. Then in the spirit of more healthy lifestyle choices, I went out to the forest preserve and ran an easy 4.6 miles. Took less than hour in some pretty high winds. I love how when you get out into the open field areas you can barely move forward. More calories burned! And a double workout! Technically, tomorrow is double day, but what the heck…I was going to do it tomorrow too anyway.
I’m finishing up my coffee right now and trying not to think about all those snack chips we have left over from the business fair. Delicious Frito-Lay Chili Cheese Corn Chips. MMmmm. So tasty. You could say I am a little hungry…but I’m sure the brown rice and beans for dinner will be quite filling. Then I’ll just go to bed.
No. I can tough it out. It’s just food. I went out and bought batteries for the scale and then I crazily weighed myself today. It’s not good. The numbers are wrong or something. I think the scale needs like, a two week waiting period before it weighs correctly again after you put in fresh batteries. I’m pretty sure that’s what it said on the box.
I used my Warrior playlist. Part 1 Part 2 It’s still so good; Even if I have to say so myself. You can find it under Music Lists. Or use my handy calendar widget. It really is a cool little feature. (Click on April 6, 2009 ) But I need a new one for today. Thinking about the last few days and the thoughts I’ve committed to internet.., I’ve already done hungry and sunny and fighting and rainy. I was kind of thinking sad or death. I know that isn’t inspiring so much, but it was on my list of ideas and now seems like as good a time as any. Surprisingly, the songs themselves are not all that literally “depressing”. Sadness and death are two very different subjects.
No fanfare here. List Title: “Death Comes Down“
just shy of pretty 