reminiscing

I love ice cream.  When I was little, my grandma would take my sister and me to Thrifty for ice cream.  I would get two scoops -- one strawberry, one cherry.  I was into the fruity flavors.  My sister was all about mint chocolate chip and cookie dough.  In the beginning, I got two scoops strawberry, but once I tasted black cherry from Gram, I was converted.  Those cylindrical scoops were amazing.

It's an Abomination

I quite like words.  I find them copacetic.  An ennui engulfs me each time I sit down with a science or math book, but a dictionary?  With a dictionary in hand, any pestiferous virago may assail me and I will be fine.

Today I discovered that Dictionary.com has a Word of the Day feature.  Today's word is abominate.  As in the Abominable Snowman.  It's a transitive verb that means "to detest intensely."  I would hate to be abominated.  I can't imagine life as a snowman, either.  It would be much too cold.  I would much rather be a sine qua non.  That was yesterday's word.  It's a noun, meaning "an indispensable thing."

a guilty confession

I have a confession to make. I suppose this confession of mine wouldn't be a guilty one if I were living in Alabama, but I'm not. So here it is: I like country music. There is just something about it. An intangible factor, if you will, that makes me happy. It could be the twang of the guitar or the dulcet crooning of the singer, but country music speaks to my heart. I want an old blue chair or a tractor (if it will make me sexy). Nothing about love makes sense. Everything gets hotter when the sun goes down.
Walking home today, She's in Love with a Boy by Trisha Yearwood came on my iPod. I had the urge to jump, to dance, to sing. I guess I didn't look that "normal" frolicing down the sidewalk because I was on the receiving end of more than one weird look, but I don't really care. Country music makes me happy.

The Volv

I drive an '88 Volvo stationwagon -- silver with black interior. It's a hot car, if you know what I mean. I greatly appreciate and think highly of the Volv. Today, however, my love grew in leaps and bounds. Mid-afternoon I left a meeting and was feeling a little miserable as I made my way across the parking. The wind was blowing, my face stung, and my throat hurt. I got to my car, fumbled with the keys to unlock the door, got inside, and... bliss. I unknowingly parked facing the sun, which transformed my humble wagon into a greenhouse. By the time I arrived, the interior had reached a wonderfully toasty temperature. Not too hot, not too cold. Amazing. The highlight of my day.

so sorry, I was planning my future

Hello faithful readers! So sorry I haven't made any posts recently -- I was in the hospital. It's nothing to worry about, I'm fine now, but it was quite an experience. I came out of the hospital a changed man. Just how have I changed? I've decided to become an acupuncturist. While my current (soon to be previous) job waiting tables pays the bills, it doesn't quite fulfill me and I've never expected to keep it after graduating. So, come May, I will be looking to continue my schooling at the Institute of Traditional Medicine in Ontario. That's right, I'm moving to Canada.
The only problem is that I'm afraid of needles. It's really an unfounded fear -- I have no horrific memories of scary hairy nurses blunting the needles before giving me my shots, but it is a fear of mine nonetheless. Because needles are a central component of acupuncture, this is a fear I must overcome. My plan? I'm learning to sew. My first project will be an apron for my girl Em (she likes to cook). Perhaps when I'm finished, I'll make a three piece suit.

...and then I found five dollars

Five dollars. It’s nothing overly impressive – good for a load of laundry, one and a half gallons of gas, or a date (at Bagelz). If you're telling a story that isn't going so well, you can throw five dollars in there to immediately redeem it. For example: "I was buying milk today, and when I got to the register I saw the gum selection and decided to buy a pack, so I got spearmint..." [the listener starts fading] "...and then I found five dollars." Upon hearing the five-dollar bit, the listener comes out of his haze, raises his eyebrows in interest, and replies, "Oh? Five dollars? Wow." Story redeemed.
Today I found five dollars.
No, really. I was walking to class, shuffling my feet through the wet leaves, and there was Mr. Lincoln, smiling up at me. The bill was a little soggy, but despite that, it occurred to me: I am living the dream! I am doing things that some people only dream about and sprinkle into their bad stories. It then occurred to me that there are lots of people living the dream, they just don’t realize it. At Starbucks, a man’s coffee has just the right amount of cream and a sprinkling of cinnamon. Commuting to work, two people watch the sun rise each morning. A second-grader convinces her parents to let her redecorate her room – with a dinosaur motif.
The conclusion of my train of thought was thus: here I am, living the dream. I should share it, write about it, create a blog! So I have. The Daily Harold, reporting news of the dream every (other) day.