One of My Favorite Games

One of my absolute favorite games to play with other people isn't a "game" per se. It's more of a funny thing that I started doing a long while ago and have grown quite fond of it. Here's how it goes:

In regular conversation, someone will become excited about a great deal that they got, how many of something there were, or how quickly they arrived somewhere. After they preface the story, he/she will ask you to guess the particular number or price. The best thing to do in this situation is to guess extremely low or high. This generally deflates the person's story, but it makes for a really, really good laugh. Here are some examples:

Scenario A
Excited Person: "Check out my new dress. Guess how much I got this for?!?!?"
You: "Three dollars."
Excited Person: (with wind out of sails) "no, it was twenty dollars."
You: (smile)

Scenario B
Excited Person: "Guess how far we rode our bikes today?"
You: "300 miles."
Excited Person: "No. Just 25."

Scenario C (this one came courtesy of my friend Dave I taught him this game, too)
Dave's Friend: "Guess how much I paid for these plates?"
Dave: "15,000 riyals."
Dave's Friend: (general look of deflation)

Now, you may be thinking "wow, this guy is a pretty big jerk." Not so. In fact, the other person usually laughs a lot too. Then you teach them the game, and they become filled with joy as well. In fact, I'm a joy spreader. Not a jerk.

Everything I love is being discontinued...

Sometimes I feel like I'm the Truman Show. You know the one where someone's life is being broadcast for all the world to see unbenounced to the person. Am I paranoid? No. My Truman Show is a bit different. It's not about relationships per se, it's about products. Call it a "Marketing Truman Show" if you will. Here's why:

There have been three products that hit the market in the last year that I have absolutely loved - in fact, I've been crazy about them. The first, and probably most prolific, is fresh spinach that comes in the easy container. I have always known salads were good for me, and I'd love to eat them, but I was never a big fan of iceberg lettuce. Introduce fresh spinach - uniform, stays fresh, tastes good. I loved it. I told numerous people about it. Just as soon as I develop an affinaty for it, boom. FDA recall. So long spinach. At least you're not Pluto.


Second product. As an unfortunate allergy sufferer (thanks Mom!) and a contact lens wearer, I always have dry eyes at some point in time. No contact solution, rewetting drops, or combination thereof seem to keep my lenses moist all day. That was until I found "MoistureLoc" by Renu. This was the product I had been waiting for (I can end a sentence in a preposition, so shush). This product was no rub, no hassle, no dryness. Amazing. I told countless people about this product as well. Turns out, Bausch & Lomb recall the entire product line because of eye infections and bacteria growth. Great. (side note: my former roommate knew of the recall a full two months before I did, and never told me about it.)

Third product. So, from time to time, my feet happen to smell. To combat this, I've used many products that you may find at your local grocery store, only to be disappointed. My fiance (girlfriend at the time) out of the good nature of her heart (or disgust...whichever) bought me some foot spray from True Blue Spa from Bath and Body works (where she used to be employed). I loved this stuff! No more foot odor, feet felt nice, worked all day! Gone. Discontinued. You can't even get the stuff on Ebay. In fact, this stuff is so elusive, that I couldn't even find a picture of it on the internet! Crazy.

In conclusion, if anyone knows something that I don't about these products, or why everything I like keeps getting taken away from me, please advice. Until then, keep on truckin'.

As Summer Comes to a Close..

It seems to be getting a little chillier every morning, which only means one thing: summer is drawing to a close. What a great summer it's been. Here are some reflections/thoughts from summer in no particular order:

1. People are generally in much better moods in the summer.
   
2. There will never be a better song about the summer months than Summertime by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince.
   
3. It's always tough to say goodbye to good friends - especially the ones that you've been through enough with to know that they are indeed good friends.
4. UDF is a saving grace for some many that call Oxford home.
5. Baseball is still the greatest game in the world, even if the only playoffs that the Red Sox will be a part of will be in Madden '07.
6. Skyline Chili is still beloved by Cincinnatians, but hated by those outside the Greater Cincinnati area, including me.
   
7. I can't think of a single greater invention/innovation in the last 10 years that brings people (especially men) together in a more meaningful way than Fantasy Football. Strategy, sports, trash talk, competition, glory... beautiful.
8. It's time we quit ignorning the correlation between gas prices and summertime. I know the laws of supply and demand. If more people drive in the summer (which they do) demand goes up. Does that mean there is a shortage of supply? Can anyone explain this? Anyone who thinks oil companies aren't laughing all the way to the bank are asleep at the wheel (no pun intended).
9. Having someone to share your life with makes everyday better.
10. Life never works out the way you planned it, but it always works out for the better.
    

Have You Ever Played This Game?

I played a great game tonight and I'm sure you've played it too. If you're anything like me when you grocery shop, you use the "start at the first aisle and go up and down each aisle" strategy. While this strategy has a great number of benefits (i.e., cover a lot of ground quickly, able to recognize things you'd otherwise forget, exercise), it does, however, have a few setbacks - namely, running alongside someone else who has the exact same strategy as you.

So, I'm in the grocery store tonight, and I begin at the first aisle. I scurry down the lengthy line of shelving, make a turn to go down to the next aisle, and run into a woman going to the next aisle. I smile half-heartedly and continue about my business. I quickly move into the next aisle, only to be confronted by the same woman. I now have a choice: do I acknowledg her with another smile, ignore her, strike up coversation, say something witty... I don't know. So I opted for the ignorning strategy. I continue onto what becomes a 30 minute game of weaving in and out of aisles and meeting somewhere in the middle with my new friend. It was almost as if we were involved in an intricate dance within the aisles. Sometimes she would lead, other times I would (this of course means that I would arrive in the next aisle before her). It was all the elegance that one such Kroger could handle.

Now here's my question: Is there some sort of social ettiquette that I should have adhered to in this situation?

Get In, Hang On, and Get Out!

Prompted by some feedback about this blog (e.g., "what the heck is this thing about?", "it doesn't make any sense") I figured I would try to explain its purpose a bit more. I thought about writing something clever to explain it, but I stumbled across this picture. What a beautiful juxtaposition. God loves you, but this particular piece of land, well, it's mine. And I don't love you, so stay out. Why you may ask? Because you lie.

This is a place for me to explore contradictions in life - whatever that turns out to be. It's a good way for me to process things. And a way to keep track of interesting things I read.
This weekend should be a good one. Erica is taking me to a Dwight Yoakam concert. Should be an evening of some great hick-a-billa rock and the all too common "out-of-place" concert experience that I regularly find myself in. Usually, about 1% of the population at concerts I attend are within 2 years of my age. I suspect that Bingo-Rama of Dayton may experience a dip in the megapot coverall this Saturday due to Dwight's concert.

Stuff I read:

• I was reading a summarative report on the future of state universities by the Kellogg Commission today and stumbled upon something that struck a cord with me. The topic was the fundamental mission of colleges/universities. Many past presidents had carefully selected declarations about higher education's mission ripe with buzzwords. These were all pretty interesting, but none of this was what struck me. They interviewed a group of students (imagine that?!?!) about what the mission of their institutions should be. One student responded, "The mindset should be about getting in, hanging on, and getting out." I love it.
  

• Eleven years after their high school graduation, only about 55% of those who ever entered a two-or four-year institution had obtained an education credential of any kind (i.e., certificate, degree).

So you're a little bit older...

Well, I finally turned the big 25 yesterday. This was a great birthday for me as I am right where I need to be. I have a great family, loving fiance, awesome friends, a great job, and a sense of peace that only comes along with following a greater plan. It was hard to be away from my family for my birthday, but they sent me a package full of goodies that I opened with Erica. Erica also made me a birthday cake, which was fantastic. We also went to Fiesta Charra for dinner, which was a lot of fun. I could eat there everday. Chimichanga Me anyone? As Erica would probably tell you, I probably don't need anymore weird/strange ideas to occupy my time!


I came upon this in my readings today. I wonder why these were the top 10 most searched words on dictionary.com? I think the #1 is because of President Bush. Any thoughts?

The 10 words queried most frequently by users of Merriam-Webster's online dictionary in 2005:
1. integrity
2. refugee
3. contempt
4. filibuster
5. insipid
6. tsunami
7. pandemic
8. conclave
9. levee
10. inept

Thoughts... and more reasons to hate Wal-Mart

Hello there. This post is developed almost entirely to Wal-Mart. I fell in love with this picture on the right, and thought I'd share it with all of you along with some more reasons to hate Wal-Mart.

• When asked whether they are in the top 1 percrent of income, 20 percent of Americans said yes, and 19% more said they expected to be in their lifetime.

Reasons to hate Wal-Mart seem to be as abundant as long-haired Mac users these days. Here are a few that you may not already know:

• Wal-Mart has an annual turnover rate of 50%.
• When you think you are buying cheap at Wal-Mart, remember that you are paying in taxes for cheap prices (e.g., with no health care, most employees rely on emergency room care for their families).
  
• Talk amongst co-workers at Wal-Mart that does not directly relate to work is called "stealing time" from the company.

In recapitulation, don't shop at Wal-Mart, and remember the poor. The end.