They Double Down Dared Me

I admit it. The advertising got to me. Or, rather, the anti-advertising got to me. All those people saying that it was the first sign of the Apocalypse.

Honestly, I was perfectly fine with ignoring it, but then everyone was talking about it. Even the folks at the "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me!" blog talked about it. So you know I had no choice but to do it.

Even so, I did it surreptitiously, with no one around. I stayed in my car so no one would see me. And when I got home, I didn't even bring it into the house, but stayed outside until I could destroy the evidence.

The truth? It wasn't as bad as I expected. I didn't even feel that dirty afterward. Unfortunately, as with many clandestine things, it also wasn't as good as I'd hoped.

Maybe it was simply the thrill of doing something so wrong that got me going. Or maybe it was knowing that I would probably end up hating myself in the morning that made me wonder if it was worth it. No matter what, it had to be done. I couldn't just live through hearing about it from other people about it any more.

Yes. That's right. Today, after running a bunch of errands, I went to KFC and ordered a "Double Down Combo Meal."

I'm sure you've seen the stories, or the ads, or the "anti-ads," about the new "sandwich" from KFC. It consists of two slices of bacon and two pieces of Monterey Jack cheese slathered in "the Colonel's Sauce" and squashed between two Original Recipe Fried Chicken Breasts. That's right - there's no bun. Instead, it comes wrapped in this little envelope of paper which I guess you're supposed to use to protect your hands as you pick up the chicken to bite into it.

I couldn't get that paper wrapper to work, though (it kept sticking to the cheese and I came dangerously close to eating some of it), so I took that off and just held the two chicken breasts with the oozy goodness in my hands. And it was oozy. And it was good.

The chicken was chickeny. The cheese was cheesey. The "Colonel's Sauce" (although it sounds kind of R-rated), was appropriately spicy. The bacon was... well... it was there (probably the main weak spot in the meal - bland bacon).

I know (because I looked here before getting one) that the thing has more than 1/4 of my recommended daily calories. I know that it's got something like 32 grams of fat. (Which is why I opted for the cole slaw instead of the fries. Although, c'mon, who am I kidding if I pretend that the slaw is good for me?) People are right to point out those things. But, oddly enough, although I tend to have a squeamish stomach for many things high fat, this hasn't made me sick. (Not sure what that means, really.)

One thing I am surprised by, however, is that no one is really complaining about the sodium in the Double Down (it is listed on the website, though). It was almost inedibly salty. It was so danged salty that I've been drinking water at every chance for the past 2 hours, just to avoid a "dehydration hangover."

Would I order it again? Probably not (but, then, this was my first trip to KFC in about 8 months).

Am I glad I tried it? Heck, yeah. If nothing else, it was a whole lot more fulfilling than "Avatar" - and it cost me a lot less.

I Declare You Gotta See This!

I got this from a friend of mine, today, and I'm pretty much blown away by it, and wanted to share it. And, even better, I think I've finally figured out how to embed a video into my blog.

**Sidenote** I just saw an ad on TV for a new CD by Justin Bieber. I have no idea who that is, except that he has a CD and he looks like he might be 12. And that the morning crew on one of the radio stations I listen to laughs about the fact that one of them actually asked him if she could help him find his parents when she saw him in the hallway. (He was there for a promo tour...) Makes me think I don't have to feel so bad about not knowing him. **End Sidenote**

But, anyway... Here, hopefully, is the video I really want you to see:

Typography from Ronnie Bruce on Vimeo.

Isn't that just cool? Makes me very happy to work with words.

World Dichotomies

I ought to be working, so I'm going to keep my post short, and simply refer you to a couple of other things to look at. You have to promise me that you'll look at the other things, and then come back here and comment. Can you do that for me?

**Sidenote to my folks: To comment, you can log in as "Google ID" and then fill in your email address as the user ID, and then your password. That should allow you to leave a comment without always being anonymous.**

(Everyone say 'hi' to my folks!)

But, to the news of the day.

As far as I can tell, it was a very "One step forward, one step sideways" day in the world of gay news.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America made the huge decision to... well... to treat Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, Transgenders, and all the rest of us like people. I mean, really, that's what deciding not to discriminate is really all about: Treating people like people. Read a longer article here, and then go out and hug an Evangelical Lutheran!

Of course, if you're paying attention (and I'm sure you all, because I heard you all saying hello to my folks), you know that there was also some oddly not good news in the world of equal rights this week.

It seems that Cyndi Lauper (who is currently on "The Celebrity Apprentice") has been getting bashed for being an advocate for gay rights. Apparently, as part of the show, she helped some people makeover their singing careers (or maybe just their looks), and the proceeds from their songs are going to be going to a charity which promotes understanding and tolerance of other people.

But there are some folks who don't seem to like Lauper's politics (that whole "love one another" thing can be so pesky), and so they're boycotting the sales and posting some downright nasty comments online attacking her. I don't think I'm explaining this well. Go here for the full story.

Wow. All that stuff in such a little space. I guess I'll have to save my link to the Muppet version of Queen's song (which is up for a Webby award) until later this week.

It's A Dirt-y Job, and It's Great

Although we've been having a much warmer-than-usual spring, my rational side knows that I shouldn't plant things out in our yard until after around the first of May. With that in mind, yesterday I finally got around to buying some marigold seeds and potting soil so that I could get them started in the house.

In the meantime, though, I've been going out most mornings and checking the entire yard and garden. Our tulips are blooming around the yard, and the irises are going gangbusters. The clematis are starting to shoot up, and the shrubbery (a word which really has to be said with a Monty Python accent) are leafing and growing.

I'm especially excited to say that the lilac in the sheltered corner of the yard is taking off this spring. It's the second spring in the yard for the lilac (it came in during the summer of 2008, I believe), and this year it's really taking off. Most of the stalks have shot up at least 6 inches, already, and - for the first time - we have buds showing up. Yes. That's right. This year we'll have lilac blooms!

Our other excitement is that we've got a bunch of new plantings in the yard which were transplants from Missouri - brought to us by a friend of ours. We're really not sure where everything is in the yard, but I've spotted a few new lilies coming up that don't match our old ones. I can't wait to see what the spring and summer bring.

And, with that in mind, I spent some time putting marigold seeds into little fiber pots and watering them. They'll be in the basement window for the next week or two, then - depending on the weather - they'll go out into the breezeway or into the ground. Then, in about a month, we should have great blooming bunches.

In the meantime, I'll have to live with the springtime scent of the dirt.

Eye'm Not So Sure

I really wish I could say that I was busy spending this weekend with my unexpected guest from Idaho, which had caused me to not blog for a day or two.

Or... wait... I don't want to say that I wish she was stranded in Minneapolis. That's not exactly true. I really wish that she had been able to fly over to her conference in Belgium. But, on Friday, she never even left Idaho. After being assured by her airline (no naming names, but let's call it "Schmelta") she left home at 6am and drove 2 hours to the airport, where the Schmelta representative informed her that they had already rebooked her on a 6:50am flight through LA.

I know what you're thinking, because I know you're all good at math. You're thinking: She left home at 6am, and it was a 2-hour drive, so she missed that 6:50 flight. And you'd be sort of right, because she did miss the 6:50am Friday flight. But the 6:50 flight they had re-scheduled her on wasn't going to leave until TUESDAY, getting in during the afternoon on Wednesday. Why hadn't Schmelta told her this when she called in before leaving home? Yeah. We're not so sure why they didn't do that, either.

So, instead of hanging out and playing, I spent all day, yesterday, working on some freelance editing. It's a full-length manuscript. And, although it's full of interesting stories, it's also full of some huge problems. When I wrote up recommendations for the author to address before the edit, I pointed out a number of formatting things that needed to be addressed. Some of them were simple (like changing the single-spacing to double), and some was more intense (for no obvious reason, he's got all sorts of random words both bolded and italicized, which have to be addressed word by word).

How many of those things did he address? Let me put it this way: NONE.

After spending 10 hours (I almost typed "years") on it, yesterday (and I had already done the massive formatting previously), I'm still less than halfway through. By the time I gave up, I had taken a couple of small breaks (about 45 minutes for a trip to the Post Office and Grocery store), and my eyes were beginning to burn.

Waking up this morning, my eyes were still burning and itching. I was about ready to blame this on the editing. Or the volcanic ash. But then I found out that we're in a "Very High Pollen" alert for trees right now.

Even so, I think I'll blame the ash and editing. After all, pollen is so mundane.

Think Clean (Air) Thoughts

Have you seen in the news how there are volcanoes erupting in Iceland? Apparently, along with causing flooding (because of rapidly-melting ice and snow), the ash clouds are disrupting flights all over Europe.

Well, here's the thing. Christopher and I were talking about travel, yesterday, and I was thinking "Wow. It's a good thing that we're not trying to fly to or from Europe, right now." I was seriously thinking that I feel bad for anyone getting trapped because of the ash grounding flights all over the place. And I was also feeling incredibly relieved that I didn't know anyone in that predicament.

Then I got a phone call this evening from a friend of mine who lives in Idaho. She was making pasta (yes, from scratch) while we were on the phone, and was calling to say that she has a layover in Minneapolis tomorrow. Sounds pretty good so far, right?

Her layover is a three-hour stop prior to flying to Amsterdam on her way to an international journalism conference in Brussels. Okay. Yeah. Not so very good at this point.

Of course, now that there's pretty much just one airline that goes over there from anywhere other than the Coasts, she's spent tons of time trying to get through to Delta. Delta, being the customer service powerhouses they are, told her that her flight isn't urgent enough (after all, it's not until 10 tomorrow morning), and then they hung up on her.

So... Until mid-afternoon tomorrow, I won't know whether she'll simply be "visit adjacent" or stranded in Minneapolis for a few days until she can find a flight either to Amsterdam, or back to Idaho. Of course, I'd love to see her, but I know that she'd really prefer to be in Belgium, instead of Minnesota.

Which is why I'm asking everyone to think clean (air) thoughts. If we can all focus positive energy, possibly we'll be able to get enough of the ash cleared out that she'll make it to Brussels. Let's hope.

Mid-week Malaise

This has been one of those very strange weeks. Weeks when time seems to go oh-so-slowly for about 12 hours, and then fastaslightning for the other 12. Actually, more precisely, it seems to be alternating between those two about every 3 hours.

The past three workdays, I've thought, at about 1pm, "Gee, this day has been really busy, it's flying by" only to look at the clock two hours later to find it's actually only been 30 minutes.

At least I've known which day of the week it was all week. I haven't had any of those days when I get to work thinking "Great. It's already Thursday!" only to find that it's Monday or anything.

On the other hand, tonight when I'd been working for a while and thought it was about 10:30, it was only 9:30 (Hurrah! Extra time!). Then, when I sat down to write this at what I thought was about 10:30, I realized it's actually 11:30 at night. How did I lose not one, not two - but three - hours?

(See, I'm going for three because I started work around 8:30. And now it's 11:30. That's three hours. And, well, it also just looks so much more dramatic with both the comma AND the two dashes, doesn't it?)

Okay. Yes. I spent the past 30 minutes or so writing a cover letter. And the 30 minutes before that re-working my resume. And the hour or two prior to that working on other job-search-related items. But that doesn't explain where all of the time went.

Oh. Wait. Yes, it does. But, anyway, what was I talking about...?

It's been nice out. We've had some rain. Our tulips are blooming, as are our irises. The grass is green. The willow tree and lilac are leafing out. Spring is springing all over the place.

And I'm kind of afraid I'm going to miss it, at the rate my days have been going.

Yeah. That's where the malaise comes from. I knew I'd get to my point eventually.