The Turkey Aftermath and the end of the semester

Well, Thanksgiving is over. I think I have finally mastered cornbread dressing. It came out perfect this year. Honestly, I think it might have had something to do with my Aunt Nancy's cornmeal. She has a farm in southern Ohio and grinds her own meal. I've made cornbread with it a few times and it was the best I'd had. I used it in the dressing this time (or rather made cornbread with it and then used THAT in the dressing) and the texture was spot on.

The meal itself at my mom's was awesome this year. I really think that our Thanksgiving meal is the best you can get. Of course, everybody says that, otherwise the phrase "Just like Mom made." would mean nothing. Still, our feast has been tweaked and perfected over the years and this year it dawned on me just how "tight" the meal is. Everything compliments eachother. A food feind like myself really appreciates that. Maybe it's lost on other people, maybe I just have food issues. Either way, I really had a great meal.

Little and I went to her folks for our second Thanksgiving feast of the day. All I can say is that I should have declined the pie at Mom's before we left. I just can't turn down Mom's pie (she does the crust from scratch). My enjoyment of Lisa's family's meal suffered due to it I am sure. I was stuffed after bite three and it was all downhill from there. My back starting hurting and by Saturday, I was in the middle of a full on back collapse that pretty much ruined my weekend. I am really too young for this shit! But, now by the following Thursday, it's gotten much better.

My motorcycle riding gear should be here tommorrow. This is the stuff that I paid over a thousand dollars for, but after reading this article - I decided that you can't put a price on pain. Some of the pics are a little hard to look at but if you read the whole article, I promise you won't think me silly for spending so much on my stuff. I got special made mesh kevlar stuff that breaths great but has the same protection (if not better in some regards) to competition grade leather. Those who know me know that me in Atlanta heat wearing full leathers would just be a suicide looking for a place to happen. I don't do heat! So, I'm hoping to post a review of the stuff once I get it.

I have final exams in a few weeks (10 days). I am not too worried about them but you always hate the thought of blowing the semester's A grade by messing up on the final. I have a solid A in both the classes I am taking this semester. I haven't done the math but I would imagine that a C on the final would probably bring my grade down to a B which I can't afford. I am 3 thousandths of a point away from getting my GPA up over a 3.0 which should allow me to sponge some money off the HOPE Scholarship program for a few semesters. Frankly, since I was not a high school student in Georgia, I always thought I couldn't receive it. We'll see if it actually happens though. Wish me luck! Dealing with a state beauracracy (too lazy to spell check that one) is always a pain in the rear.

That about sums up my week. I am sure you've enjoyed it.

The Eagle Has Landed!

So, I was out sick on tuesday this week (yesterday). What was turning out to be a crappy day, stuck sick at home actually had one little suprise. While I was snooping around Comcast's "On Demand" programming, I discovered that Cinemax's High Definition Star Wars Saga was being offered free. So, I cued up Return of the Jedi (the one I'd not seen recently) and sat back to enjoy a better picture than what was just released (after much wailing and gnashing of teeth) on DVD last fall.

About 10 minutes into the movie (right about when C3PO and R2D2 were getting ready to go into Jabba's Palace - for those fans out there) my phone rang. It was one of the secretaries who was not aware that I was not at work called me to tell me that there was a FedEx box just delivered to me (they usually do this for anything they have to sign for). Well, as soon as I heard that, all the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I knew what it was...

Mustering my strength (remember, I'm out sick), I threw on a pair of sweats and scrounged up the car keys and drove the couple blocks to my office. Now... the dilemma was to figure out how to get into the building without being seen by anyone who matters (remember, I'm out sick). Not knowing if the box had been brought to my office (nobody in my building "matters"), I had to check there first. Nope. It must still be next door at the other building where I always have stuff delivered. The problem is that to walk across the parking lot to the other building, I am in full view of office windows belonging to the people who "matter". I peaked around the corner of the building to see if their cars were parked outside. Thankfully, probably due to Divine intervention (or just the fact that it is Thanksgiving week), the "cars that matter" were not in their parking spaces. So, across the parking lot I trudged.

Moments later I was making a dash for my car, which I had left running with the heat on. While I like the cold just fine, today was not a day to relish in it (remember... I'm out sick). The drive home was the longest 30 second commute I've ever had. Sure, I could have opened the package at the office, but that would have been unwise as there might have been onlookers. I don't share well with others.

I get home and quickly retrieve a knife and begin to open the box, carefully, so as to not damage the precious cargo. I lean forward and sniff the box as the tape seal is broken. A faint whiff of cinnammon makes it past the tape (and my nasal congestion) and immediately those hairs on the back of my neck stand up again.



There seemed to be something wrapped up in bubble wrap... I peeled back the bubble wrap and there they were. Granny Supreme's! A whole platoon of the them! All lovingly placed in ziploc bags (the high dollar ones too - with double layers and all!) and wrapped in bubble wrap. I count 7 in total! Oh MY GAWD!



I ran to the kitchen with speed I thought not possible for someone in my condition (remember, I'm out sick!) to grab a plate. I thought of getting out the fine China as these culinary delights seemed too special for my everyday plates. However, they were wrapped up and boxed away in the closet... NOT ENOUGH TIME! It was getting serious now. I had smelled them and shortly thereafter I had seen them! I had to taste them!

As I returned with my plate, I began to remove the contents of the first Zip-Loc and placed them on the plate. My hands got all sticky from rubbing on the inside of the bag. I almost didn't want to take the time to wipe off my hands so I could take a picture, but I knew I had to record the moment for posterity. So, back to the kitchen, running (remember... I'm home sick!)to get a paper towel. I cleaned off my hands and snapped a picture. These bothersome tasks were beginning to come between me and culinary bliss!



Just as I was getting up to go back to the kitchen to get a fork (the one I'd forgotten to get during my previous two trips!) I noticed that my TV was still paused from the movie I was watching earlier (remember way back then?). I realized that the image was too good to pass up. Two of my favorite things at the same moment in time! The stars had lined up just right for today it appeared!



After realizing that there just simply was not enough time to get a fork... I mean really, who was watching me? Who would care if I ate with my hands? What did I care if I made a mess? Who'd have to clean it up? Me! So what! It only took a second to come to this conclusion, though it seemed forever in my Granny Supreme Anticipation Clouded Mind.

I picked one of them up with my right hand and took a bite. 22 years had passed since I'd last tasted a Granny's Supreme. Had I built it up too tall in my mind? Was I doomed to be let down my own romantic memories of a doughnut from yester-year? HELL NO! This was it! This was just how I'd remembered! Sugar glaze covering a cinnammon/apple filled, crumbly topped, 6 inch pastry! MY LORD IS IT GOOD! The edges get a little brown when the cook them and so there is sometimes a little crunchy baked apple-y part... this was my second bite! Sheer heaven! It dawned on me that if I waited to take another picture, it'd be too late to capture the most important moment.



Right about the time the first one was gone, I noticed a note, handwritten with three wonderful words on it.

Chris,

Enjoy!

Vince

I won't get into the details of how many I ate or how fast. But today is wednesday and they are all gone. It was one of the greatest 24 hours in the history of my taste buds.

But, after I thought about it a while, in my sugar induced haze, something else dawned on me.
Being an Army brat, I moved around A LOT growing up. I have random memories of all those various places that I've lived. Most people have lots of memories too, but most of theirs occurred at the same place on the planet (at least until they got older and moved away). When they drive to work everyday, many people pass places that they've had contact with their entire lives. Like Vince, he lives not 10 miles away from where he lived when we were in High School. He "connects" with his past almost daily, though it's doubtful he even notices. Having lived in so many places, I don't get to "connect" with my past very often. Sure, I've been back to Germany a few times since I left, but I was already 18 when I moved there. I've been back to Watertown, New York only once since I graduated from high school, for my 10 year reunion. I'll probably never get a chance to visit Fort Lee, VA or Fort Bragg, NC or Okinawa Japan. It's possible that I might never get back to San Pedro, CA either given how I love to spend my travel money going in the opposite direction.
So when something like this happens, some brief moment where I get to reconnect... it really IS special. Vince has no idea how much something like this means for someone like me. I'm sure he thought that I'd get a kick out of it and that I'd enjoy tasting a great doughnut. But for me, it's a chance to be 14 again, sitting a table at a little doughnut shop in sunny Southern California, looking at the cars go by on Western Ave, almost smelling the sea air coming off the harbor. Opening that box and eating on those things was a memory I'll cherish for a long time. What was a considerate gesture on his end turned out to be an almost emotional experience on my end. Thank you Vince! Thank you so much!

I wouldn't trade being an Army brat for anything, but sometimes I wish I could just drive down the road for a Granny's Supreme!

Buckeyes and Doughnuts!

Not only is it a great day to be an Ohio State Buckeye fan, it's also great to be "an unnamed person in the Atlanta area"

Remember the Granny's Doughnuts I mentioned in my last entry? Well, I got this note from Vince this morning...

-----------------------------------------------

Chris,
I made arrangements with the Granny's owner on Sunday to cook up an
extra batch of Granny's Supremes for 5:00am pick up for an unnamed
person in the Atlanta area.
The owner said no problem, and the Supreme's will be waiting for me
when I arrive in the morning.
Got to Granny's this morning at 5:02am and those babies were waiting
for me alright, still warm. The precious, lucious cargo was carefully
placed in (2) extra large zip locks, bubble wrapped, and boxed. Hopefully donut integrity will remain intact. Seven Supremes are headed your way. You may want to start fasting
today in preparation.
I shipped them to your work address Fed ex overnight priority. They should be delivered before 10:30am tomorrow.

I hope they are as good as you remember.

Fed ex tracking#858351953910

Enjoy,
Vince
-------------------------------------------

OH MY GOD! Songs will be sung and tales will be told I can assure you! This will be a grand day in the old Toaster household. A red banner day to be sure! For those of you who know me and my thing about Ted's Hot Dogs from Tempe/Buffalo, this is THAT BIG!

Vince just went on my all time favorite people list. I can't describe my gratitude... and I don't even have them in hand yet. I swear, my head will fall off tommorrow!

Stay tuned for full Operation Granny's Doughnuts Coverage!

A couple weeks back I tracked down an old buddy of mine named Vince. He and I were pals back in 1983-84 (freshmen in high school) when I lived in San Pedro, CA. We were both Atari 8-bit computer buffs and used to share software (back before you needed file sharing software to do such things). We were into computing before it was hip. I had always wondered what happened to him after I left and we lost touch by the end of high school.

Well, I used to make periodic searches on classmates.com or other sites to see if I could track him down but never had any luck. I googled his name and recently got a hit. His name was listed as a contributor to some pdf document put out by the public works department of Los Angeles. I spent about an hour coming up with every iteration of a possible email address for him and finally, after sending about 20 emails only to have them returned undeliverable, I sent one that never came back. A couple days later, I got a reply and it was the same Vince I had known all those years ago.

It's been great fun catching up with him and reliving some of fun we had. San Pedro is a pretty neat little microcosm of a town as far as Los Angeles goes. It's a port town and has a long history of immigrant dock workers and long shoremen. There's probably as many polish and slavs in that area as there are any other area in the country. Lots of mixed ethnicity which made for tons of great places to eat.

Well, our dicussion finally came around to my favorite doughnut place of all time. A little ma and pa joint called "Granny's Doughnuts". I used to go in there at every opportunity and order what I have since referred to as a culinary pastry perfection. This masterpiece is known to the locals as a "Granny's Supreme". It's a 5 inch or so rectangular folded doughnut pastry with a cinnamony apple pie filling topped with crumblies and slathered in a sweet glaze... I get giddy just thinking about it.

When I mentioned Granny's to Vince, it got him craving a visit (he doesn't live in San Pedro any longer but doesn't live too far). While he had fond memories of another one of their doughnuts, he seemed to remember the one I described. So this evening, I get an email from him with a couple attached pictures. I open up the first one and it's a picture of the outside of Granny's. The little stinker let his craving get the best of him... he went there. He went there tonight!



There was another attached photo. He had mentioned that he had driven by Best Buy to see how many people were camped out for the new Playstation III. So, naturally, I think that it'll be a picture of the crowd. Nope... not only did this torturing evil fiend go to Granny's Doughnuts, he ordered (and I assume ate) a Granny's Supreme... and sent me a picture! ARRRRGGGG!



As if knowing that Granny's still exists wasn't bad enough. As if knowing that Vince had gone there this very night wasn't worse! Seriously though, it looks as good as I remember and I am sure he enjoyed every delicious bite - that bastard!

President Gerald Ford is a genius!

Saw this quote by old Gerald Ford today.

"If the government is big enough to give you everything you want, it is big enough to take away everything you have."

No kidding. That old Ford fella was a right good conservative. Too bad he played football for Michigan.

MUCK FIGHIGAN!

GO BUCKEYES!

Banning gay marriage
I got the following chain letter through myspace today. ..
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Gay Marriage Ban in Wisconsin
This was written by Scott Hayes:

So I've always been a good citizen. I'm a responsible driver, I work full time. I am an asset to the economy, both local and national. I don't litter or pollute. I like to say hello to strangers, and hold doors for little old ladies at walmart and sentry. I put out carved pumpkins for the kids to look at for Halloween, and I decorate for Christmas. I am fully insured, and I have a good job.

I'm a trainer at a sales facility. Every two weeks, we hire 20-40 new employees who sit through MY two week training program. The people that come through my door are your neighbors. They are your sons, your daughters. They are your Mothers and Fathers. They are your uncles, and aunts, nephews and neices. They are your best friends, and your loved ones. I am very good at my job. I strive to inspire. I yearn to 'grow' people (as my role model calls it.) After my two week coarse all of these people come to room and pay me visits, and bring me pictures, and little cards. They like me. They appreciate that I tried so hard to teach them a new skill, while my faith and trust in them never faltered.

Never once have these people to go through my room been stinted in growth because I am homosexual. Never has someone quit my class because I'm gay.

I've always held a certain faith for the people of Wisconsin. I've always had a love within my heart for this beautiful and misunderstood state that I call home.

I really thought as the day went on today, that we would rise to the occasion, that we would make history. That we would vote NO on todays amendment. Today, I thought Wisconsin would make me proud.

Today, Wisconsin passed the amendment. Today, we voted to legally provide for ignorance and discrimination.

Today, I lost my faith in Wisconsin.

I never asked to be gay you know. I fought like hell all through my teenage years to fight it. It led me to depression and drug use in my younger days. People who think that certain people wake up one day and say to themselves "Hmm... What can I do to make life more difficult?"... are very poorly informed.

I am gay and I was born that way.

I am in love with my boyfriend Chris. I have considered asking him to marry me in the future. We like to joke around with each other. I feel sick when I'm not around him. We have both agreed that we each feel more complete with the other.

We don't even flaunt our love in public. We don't tell children to do what we do.

We do not have aids. We do not sleep with many anonymous partners.

I work and am beneficial to my local economy and provide a service to society.

He strives very hard every day in classes to earn a degree. He has been on the deans list.

We are good people and we are in love. Love knows no bounds...Until now. If him and I ever want to be married, a ceremony endeared to and by so many, we have to leave the state we call home and live elsewhere.

I will take my skills and leave. He will take his degree and leave.

You know, I'm a human being. My name is Scott Hayes. I'm 23. I live in Whitewater, WI. I love my parents, and they love me. I have two cats. Their names are Maxwell and Chase Kitty.

It is now legal to discriminate me. As normal as anyone else. I now apparently am a second rate citizen. I should advertise my sexual orientation on all of my clothes so that children can walk on the other side of the street.

Today Wisconsin, you have made me feel very small. I will not feel ashamed to tell you that I shed a few tears tonight.

You have made yourselves heard. And never fear... As soon as I have the means, I will leave.

I want to be the best person I can be, and I want to contribute to life and society. I want to do a good job. I want to be nice to people.

I do not wish anylonger to do these things in Wisconsin. You folks just lost yourself a darn good person.

You turned your back on me Wisconsin. After everything I've done. Even donated so much to charities, and participated in so many charitable events. You turned YOUR back on ME.

For the rest of my time here in this state, I turn MY back on YOU!

***If you agree with my words, or at least feel for me, please copy and repaste this as a new bulletin. Please put your name on the bottom, and don't change the subject line. I would really appreciate it. This isn't your average chain bulletin. The only thing that will happen if you don't repost this, is that I will lose just a bit more faith in our society. That's all. I guess my opinion doesn't matter anyway.

And please, if you don't agree, I don't need you to reply personally to me to tell me that. Your kind made your voices loud and heard today already. I know what you think of me.

Truly Disillusioned,
Scott Hayes
- rest of names snipped for space -

----------------------------------------------------

here is my reply and my thoughts on the matter - like anyone really cares... :)
--------------------------------
Sorry Bro, can't sign it :(

I support a ban on gay marriage. I do not discriminate against homosexuality but I think that state recongized marriage should be confined to what is traditionally and physically "normal". In my opinion, if you are gay, that's your business. But, you don't get "special" rights just BECAUSE you are gay. You get the same rights as the rest of us - no more, no less. The law (as well as societal tradition) states that the union of marriage is between a man and woman. Doesn't mean you can't live together in such a fashion should you choose to. It just means that it's not endorsed by the state and therefore sanctioned by taxpayer dollars.

People think that banning gay marriage is discrimination against homosexuals. I disagree. I think banning gay marriage is nothing short of a refusal to amend the current system and make exceptions for gay marriage. Like I said, basic human rights are not being infringed upon by this. Nobody is saying you can't call yourself married... you just don't get the blessing of the state...

Global Warming MY ASS

Turns out the United Nations has been doing a little number fudging to continue to make their case for the cause of global warming. So much so that they've decided to rewrite the Stefan-Boltzmann law of thermodynamics.

Click here

Looks like they are trying to justify the amount of money that gets spent on global climate research, not to mention their programs to help spread the word. Guess when you aren't doing any real credible research... you gotta come up with ways to get that federal grant money.

Here's a clue. The earth has gotten a little warmer recently. Kind of like the warm period in the middle ages that allowed Vikings to farm in Greenland (it's under permafrost now) and let Chinese ships sail all around the Artic circle without ever seeing ice.

Wanna know why? THE SUNNER IS HOTTER! Go figure! Hmmm. This batch of cookies got done quicker than the last one. Wonder why? Perhaps the cookies are changing the atmosphere inside the oven, causing green house gases to collect. We must STOP THE COOKIES!
Oh, you mean somebody turned the oven up a tad? Well, I guess that could explain it. But since I make my livelihood through the "STOP THE COOKIES" campaign, I'll just overlook that fact for now.

What a mess...

Mayhem and MerrimentI'm now in Kent Ohio for a gaming convention called Con on the Cob. It's a convention by a guy who I met at the Origins gaming convention earlier this year named Andy Hopp. He's a hilarious and friendly guy who's one of those guys who's just fun to hang out with. He's done a book for the role playing game I like called Savage Worlds. This convention is almost a who's who for Savage Worlds. The guy who created the system, Shane Hensley, is also here as well as just about everyone else who does material for the game. So whereas larger conventions like DragonCon have little to no Savage Worlds presence, this one is almost totally Savage Worlds. I'll have a chance to game with all the people who created the game which means guys who really know what they are doing. Should be a great time.

John Kerry is clueless. Totally clueless. But I guess we shouldn't expect anything more from a guy who turned his back on his fellow soldiers after Vietnam and continues to do so now. I guess saying that our troops were terrorizing innocent Iraqi women and children in the dark of night wasn't enough. Now he has to call them stupid and uneducated. Strange, 70% of the total American population have a high school diploma. 90% of military service members have a high school diploma. Seems to me that they ARE our best and brightest (not to mention BRAVEST!)... We'll except for these guys... maybe this is who Kerry was referring to: