Friends

What defines a "friend"?

“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” - Anon

It's been said, "It takes years to build up trust, and just seconds to destroy it", but a true friend is one who loves without condition.

We have Such a Friend. May we be such friends.

Some excitement

Check out my other blog for some recent adventures.

Quote of the day

I just stole this from another friend's site: "God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing." - C.S. Lewis

It's a pretty elementary concept, but also one that's so easy to forget. Well, here's a reminder.

Anecdote of the day

I went to Panera Bread for lunch today. (Here I go talking about food again.) I hadn’t been there in a while, and a nice sandwich and salad sounded good. (It was.) I was wearing a dark green, three-button suit, sporting one of my best ties, and stylishly listening to “Till We Have Faces” on my iPod. After picking up my food, I went outside to enjoy lunch, some beautiful weather, and a good book.

Several other patrons were also enjoying lunch outside, and, no doubt, were impressed by my professional appearance. As I was finishing my meal, Psyche was brought into the world under rather sad circumstances. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t realize the extent of the King’s anger. I rose from my seat and walked toward the door, on my way to return my plate and get a refill on my iced tea. Just as I reached for the door handle, however, the favored young page boy suddenly slipped in a puddle of blood and was immediately stabbed to death by the King! I was aghast and, in a state of shock, immediately dropped a full cup of ice on the mat directly outside the main entrance. Of course, “slip and fall” immediately came to mind, so I tried kicking the ice out of the way, but that wrinkled the mat. Then I opened the door and it got stuck on the mat and wouldn’t shut.
At that point, I wasn’t feeling so suave.

One last thought

For edifying reading that's not about me - or food - well, not as much - I recommend this blog. Said (or not said) blogger is building a large international readership empire. It's amazing. And big. Did I say that already?

Interesting observation

Maybe I shouldn't point this out, but I like food. Yeah, I do. I like it. I enjoy the textures, the flavors, the bite. I enjoy the rush that comes with eating unique things - especially if they're tasty. I guess food has a high priority in my life (probably higher than it should have). This revelation came to me as I was reading my most recent blog entries. Of the last six entries, five of them deal with food, and they're making me hungry.

A happy report

I am happy to report that the New York-style cheesesteak shop previously maligned by yours truly on this here truly blog, is now open on Tuesdays! I discovered this when I went over there last Tuesday with Quinton, not remembering my prior bad experience (even though it was the only other time I'd tried to go there!) until I pulled into the parking lot. Happily, as previously stated, it was in fact open, and though from the looks of things we may have been the only customers that evening, the sandwiches were in fact very good.

Recent events

I'm here to beg forgiveness from my regular blog readers, and to blog more about recent events. Unfortunately, from the best recent event, the OBCL alumni association meeting in Anaheim, I have no photos. And I find it immensely difficult to write without pictures. Thus, I end up taking corny quizzes and posting things about frappuccinos. You have to admit, that mocha frap really does look inviting. How could one see that and NOT blog about it?

If I had some pictures from the meeting, and the events that followed, I'd say something smart about how wonderful it was to see old - strike that - young friends again, take midday Sam's Club runs to negotiate sandwich prices, and name watermelons (though I don't recall being consulted on the naming part). Or I might mention that the meeting itself went shockingly smoothly. (I think, though I cannot definitely confirm this, as I was preoccupied with a slideshow much of the time.) I would probably also say something about my grand dive off the Huntington Beach Pier, which most people missed (including myself), or that huge sea mackerel I watched one of the pier fishermen reel in. Hey, maybe not having pictures isn't so bad after all.

Well, I'm off to work . . . until next time! (Hopefully I won't be fully bald or gray by then.) (For the record, I do intend to post some pictures of recent travels over on lifescolors.blogspot.com, hopefully including some from this trip, if they ever come through.) (Also for the record, I do have a penchant for parentheses.) (That last comment was probably superfluous.)

I'm a Frappuccino?

Ok, so this is cheesy, but I think the description is pretty stinkin' accurate. Unfortunately for the quizmakers, I rarely drink the mocha frap, preferring what one of my favorite baristas refers to as a "manly" drink, the venti iced Americano with room, occassionally with an extra shot.

Mocha Frappuccino

Hyper and driven, you'll take your caffeine any way you can get it. Frappuccinos are good, but you'd probably chew coffee beans in a crunch!

Surfer's ear

No, I found a lot of shoes and flip flops on the beach, lots of rocks, sand, and sea shells, but no ears. I guess I'm fortunate in that respect.

There's nothing else quite like a roaring sea, an ocean breeze, soft sand between one's toes, and salty algae sloshing around in the head. Memories are made of things like these. They're probably erased by them, too. After being violently twisted and shaken in a wave like a sadly fated rag doll last night, and having ocean water forcibly infused into my head (through my nose and out my ears, I am quite certain), the thought occurred to me (this was encouraging) that . . . er, it'll come to me again. I hope. I call this water-and-junk infusion "surfer's ear." It's sort of like "swimmer's ear," but with a lot more living stuff and less chlorine. Now I can hear the ocean anywhere I go - even back in Sacramento - just by shaking my head!

As a side note, the vicious fish didn't bother me. I drink garlic and beet juice pretty regularly to keep insects and man-eating fish and wildlife away. It works!