Thursday, June 30, 2011

out of touch much?

this is how far removed from popular culture I am these days...

this morning, I am beseiged by the following thought, "what does it mean that I'm totally obsessed by turntable.fm?"

there are implications here, serious ones, for my IDENTITY. which, by the way is in CRISIS.

Monday, June 13, 2011

short ribs and short men part 2

ok, so it's an unauthorized title extension, but I think you'll see the add-on is apt. perhaps a disclaimer is in order, however:

despite the title to this blog entry, the contents of this post have not been approved by Fitting Into the Windy City and My Clothes. the content expressed herein do not represent the views and/or opininions of FItWC&MC.

I just hope the kerm doesn't mind me riffing on her lyrics. but ANYWAYS...

my family and I raided my brother's house this weekend. going there is like going to your favorite happy place. it doesn't matter who you are, in my brother's house, there exists something just for YOU. something that will take you to your best childhood moments, and it's all wrapped up in that happy, unconditional love package. I'm only exaggerating slightly. when we go to my brother's house, his family has new toys pulled out of storage for Henry every time, a movie selection lined up for us to choose from - to be viewed in is deluxe home theater (snacks included), a pool for our swimming pleasure, babysitting services (my niece and nephew), video games, delicious food - you name it, they're ready to furnish it. suffice it to say that once we get there, it's nearly impossible for us to tear ourselves away. the only problem is that we start to feel really guilty about lounging around in their house, having my brother and sister-in-law cook for us, and clean up after us. yes, we tidy up after ourselves, but my sister-in-law specializes in cleaning up after large meals... this weekend, I brought some Korean-cut short ribs over to marinate and grill. I had in mind a traditional marinade, but it turns out my bro's family dislikes sesame oil. that didn't matter a whit, however, because my brother is a master when it comes to whipping up a tasty 'nade. he threw together brown sugar, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, onion, juice of one orange, juice of one lemon, pepper, and oh, I don't know, probably some other stuff. whatever he did, it was great. this isn't an actual photo, but the grilled ribs looked something like this.
we devoured them with sides of rice and salad. soooo good. I'll be eating this all summer long. just what the grill ordered.

yesterday, I was indulging myself with a bit of 30 Rock re-run viewing (instant-watch Netflix, I love you). and had to explain to henry that this person
was not a "baby." he asked me in a voice that sort of said, are there REALLY toddlers out there that are THAT MATURE? I had to explain to him that no, it wasn't a "big boy," but a man that stopped growing before he got tall. and the mysteries of the world continue to reveal themselves to henry.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

I'm most likely a hologram

"There are no random events. Everything is everything else and you are all holograms, save the 500 real people. You know who you are."

Jennifer Bates, 1961-2007

Friday, June 3, 2011

brainwave

I realized this morning that I am quick on the draw with TMI. that's me, always ready to lead the conversation right into territory where most don't want to go. so what I was thinking, right after having this dawn on me was, "I'm pretty sure I wasn't ALWAYS like that." I mean to say that I know I've always sort of had the tendency to be the kind of person that was inclined to that sort of behavior, but think I've been more private in the past despite those proclivities. nowadays, my sense of decorum is pretty much gone. oh well, except at work, where I studiously hide most of my real self as much as possible!

then, believe it or not, I had yet another thought. I said to myself, "you know, I think this whole TMI-readiness came on to me only after I became a parent." but, why would that be? I have wracked my brains and I think it all comes down to vomit. since becoming a parent, I have also become largely immune to the effects of vomit. I used to be one of those people who couldn't stand to hear retching, let alone see it, smell it, partake in it, and etc. the thought of it would make me gag for reals. but now, after having been thrown up on so many times, having had to clean it up many times more, and also needfully having been sympathetic during all of that, I am, for the most part over the nauseous reaction I used to have to nausea. the breaking down of such a valuable biological barrier must lead to other breaches in one's make-up. collateral damage, so to speak. naturally, the correlation it brought me to the following hypothesis, which I am eager to test: those who do not react negatively to vomit are also in deficit in the way of filters that prevent the spillage of personal information.


by the way, I don't claim to be immune to the puke of all people (45-year old post golden trough gorging drunken puke is something I definitely want to stay away from, don't want to clean up, would not be sympathetic about, & etc.).