America, Fuck Yeah!
In other news...i can't figure out this new layout and i wonder why every time there's a new design here, they make it harder and harder to figure read your friend's blogs. Fuck. I realize I don't comment much, but i still read.
In other news...i can't figure out this new layout and i wonder why every time there's a new design here, they make it harder and harder to figure read your friend's blogs. Fuck. I realize I don't comment much, but i still read.
Tomorrow marks 5 weeks without a cigarette. Not. one. single. one. It will also mark 5 weeks without a drink. I'm stopping drinking while i'm quitting smoking because smokes and booze is like milk and cookies.
Things i've noticed...
>Without that social lubricant, i'm not even the social moth i was before. Must figure out how to be socialize sober.
>I'm sorry to have smoked in front of so many who didn't in the past. That shit reeks.
>Now my sinuses go a bit haywire when around smoke. I guess they were just used to it before.
>I'm a lot less tolerant of drunk as hell assholes and the usual shenanigans.
>Getting up and not feeling tired and lethargic is great (not that i got massive hangovers before, but i just didn't want to do anything the next day.)
>When i work out, i recover much, much faster and i'm now setting workout goals again. I'm not going to shoot for a long distance run this time. Instead, my goal is to run up this mountain (well really long, big hill would be more accurate) without stopping and back.
>My clothes actually fit better now that i'm not drinking 5-7 liters of beer a week (and that was really only Fridays and Saturdays)
>My poker game has improved TREMENDOUSLY. It's amazing (though not surprising) how well sobriety and gambling go together.
What's my secret you ask? Wellbutrin. It's an antidepressant which counters the cravings for nicotine. Expensive, but it works for me. The not drinking thing is all me though.
Things i've noticed...
>Without that social lubricant, i'm not even the social moth i was before. Must figure out how to be socialize sober.
>I'm sorry to have smoked in front of so many who didn't in the past. That shit reeks.
>Now my sinuses go a bit haywire when around smoke. I guess they were just used to it before.
>I'm a lot less tolerant of drunk as hell assholes and the usual shenanigans.
>Getting up and not feeling tired and lethargic is great (not that i got massive hangovers before, but i just didn't want to do anything the next day.)
>When i work out, i recover much, much faster and i'm now setting workout goals again. I'm not going to shoot for a long distance run this time. Instead, my goal is to run up this mountain (well really long, big hill would be more accurate) without stopping and back.
>My clothes actually fit better now that i'm not drinking 5-7 liters of beer a week (and that was really only Fridays and Saturdays)
>My poker game has improved TREMENDOUSLY. It's amazing (though not surprising) how well sobriety and gambling go together.
What's my secret you ask? Wellbutrin. It's an antidepressant which counters the cravings for nicotine. Expensive, but it works for me. The not drinking thing is all me though.
At the rate things are going, whoever wins the election may be President of rubble. I'm not sure what the world will be like when this works itself out--however long that takes--but in the mean time, i'm sure we can console ourselves with the hope of some awesome music and great art which seems to be inspired by catastrophucks.
In an effort to quit smoking, i've also stopped drinking. I'm using Wellbutrin to help me out and it works wonders.
BUT, i've discovered that i'm much more interesting, fun, happy, personable, sociable, and tolerant of people being a jackass when i'm drunk.
QUESTION: Is this a good or bad thing? Fucked if i know....
BUT, i've discovered that i'm much more interesting, fun, happy, personable, sociable, and tolerant of people being a jackass when i'm drunk.
QUESTION: Is this a good or bad thing? Fucked if i know....
While posting in another forum in a debate on Iraq, i did a little bit of calculations and came to this conclusion:
http://zfacts.com/p/447.html
A bit of perspective on the cost of the war in Iraq.
To put it another way...by the time i'm done typing this, it will cost about another million dollars.
Or another way....if you had a stack of one dollar bills equal to the current cost of the war, it would be 37, 224 miles high or about 1.5 times the circumference of the Earth.
http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question5843.html
http://geography.about.com/library/faq/blqzcircumference.htm
Many argue that the war could cost twice that. Or more.
What a truly stunning return on investment, eh?
The lives of those lost in this fiasco can, of course, never be replaced and are of unknowable value.
George Carlin died and that truly sucks... His humor and take on things will surely be missed.
This blows too:
Hell, at least i got to see some incredible hockey though thanks to the magic of the internet. But with a team this talented, i'm sure this won't be their last brush with Lord Stanley.
In other news, went to an awesome veggie dinner party in Seoul hosted by my friend Betsy who's truly a marvel of hospitality. My vegan mini curry calzones were quite the hit which was gratifying. Recipe found here with some modifications. It was pretty great times until i drunkenly fell oon some steps and managed to sprain both the top AND bottom of my foot yet somehow the ankle was fine.
I also saw the best show ever this month: Evil Dead the Musical. It was all in Korean, but i somehow think it made it awesomer, especially considering it broke the language barrier by being completely unintelligible yet i was able to follow the story. Hurray. The highlight of the day was my friend Will who dressed like a zombie for the show and actually walked around Seoul dressed that way. But my friend Alex pussied out on dressing as Ash, claiming severe hangover
TTFN.
PS--If you haven't seen this set, go now and vote. It's fan-fuckingtastic.
http://zfacts.com/p/447.html
A bit of perspective on the cost of the war in Iraq.
To put it another way...by the time i'm done typing this, it will cost about another million dollars.
Or another way....if you had a stack of one dollar bills equal to the current cost of the war, it would be 37, 224 miles high or about 1.5 times the circumference of the Earth.
http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question5843.html
http://geography.about.com/library/faq/blqzcircumference.htm
Many argue that the war could cost twice that. Or more.
What a truly stunning return on investment, eh?
The lives of those lost in this fiasco can, of course, never be replaced and are of unknowable value.
George Carlin died and that truly sucks... His humor and take on things will surely be missed.
This blows too:
Hell, at least i got to see some incredible hockey though thanks to the magic of the internet. But with a team this talented, i'm sure this won't be their last brush with Lord Stanley.
In other news, went to an awesome veggie dinner party in Seoul hosted by my friend Betsy who's truly a marvel of hospitality. My vegan mini curry calzones were quite the hit which was gratifying. Recipe found here with some modifications. It was pretty great times until i drunkenly fell oon some steps and managed to sprain both the top AND bottom of my foot yet somehow the ankle was fine.
I also saw the best show ever this month: Evil Dead the Musical. It was all in Korean, but i somehow think it made it awesomer, especially considering it broke the language barrier by being completely unintelligible yet i was able to follow the story. Hurray. The highlight of the day was my friend Will who dressed like a zombie for the show and actually walked around Seoul dressed that way. But my friend Alex pussied out on dressing as Ash, claiming severe hangover
TTFN.
PS--If you haven't seen this set, go now and vote. It's fan-fuckingtastic.
I just saw Iron Man. How ya like them apples?
It was good.
DAMN GOOD!
I've never read the comic book, so i don't know how true it is to the source, but as a movie, it was outstanding
Stan Lee has his best cameo to date as "Heff" hahaha.
Robert Downey Jr. is amazing in this. Definitely a must see.
The effects were basically seamless. Seriously. Ninety-nine percent of the time, if you didn't know that it was CG, you wouldn't know it was CG. Remarkable work there.
It was good.
DAMN GOOD!
I've never read the comic book, so i don't know how true it is to the source, but as a movie, it was outstanding
Stan Lee has his best cameo to date as "Heff" hahaha.
Robert Downey Jr. is amazing in this. Definitely a must see.
The effects were basically seamless. Seriously. Ninety-nine percent of the time, if you didn't know that it was CG, you wouldn't know it was CG. Remarkable work there.
Today, I had off so i decided to do some cooking!
I made some hummus! Not just any hummus, but wicked-good hummus. I know what you're thinking: "Making hummus is no biggie." Whatever, dudes...yinz don't live in Korea. Just to get chick peas, i have to travel an hour by bus to the next big city. Also, tahini is impossible to find. It's not even in the int'l food shops (which tend to have a lot of middle eastern and indian foods) and i've looked through the best of them. So, i had to do some internets sleuthing for recipes and figured it all out.
First of all, Tahini is wicked-easy to make. Just take a bunch of sesame seeds and bake 'em in an oven for about 10 minutes at 400. Then blend with some olive oil until you get a nice spread-like consistency.
Next up is roasting the red pepper. Sounds like a sexual innuendo, but i assure you this is real! Basically, just take a red pepper and hold it over an open flam until it blackens and chars. Next, cover with a towel and let sit for 5 minutes. Then bake for 30 minutes at 400 with oil lightly drizzled on top.
Now, we've got the two hardest things to get/find/make/whatever here. To make the actual hummus, follow this recipe here. My lemon was rancid so i had to walk around for a half hour until i could actually find some quick lemon (not as good as the real deal, but beggers can't be choosers) and put in two TBSPs. I also had no fresh basil so i used dried and also added a pinch or two of parsley, some crushed red pepper and some fresh ground black pepper. All in all, it took pretty damn long to make, but ended up being pretty doggone swell.
Why would i go through all this trouble to make hummus when i don't even particularly like it? Well, back in Pittsburgh earlier this year, i had the goddamn best hummus ever! Since then i've been craving some BIG TIME. I think i've managed a pretty fair approximation of what i had back then. Now...if i only had pita. I actually found a good recipe for Pita which i plan on using, but that'll have to wait for another day.
In other news, LETS GO PENS!!!!!!! Fucking, eh! Six wins in a row in the playoffs. I don't want to jinx it, but my hope are going up for a damn good finish this year. I'm trying to start shit and do some trash talking to the only person i know from New York City, but it's not working...i don't think she gives a shit about hockey. Well, when the Pens knock off the Rangers, hopefully they'll be playing the Habs and make them the Hab Nots (muahahahaha!) and i can do some trash talking with the Candians 'round here. For those of you who think talking trash is poor form, i agree. But my version of trash talking is to come up with lame ass insults, then act like i done burned them good. So, it's like um....funny and stuff.
And finally, i went out on a coffee date with a Korean woman this weekend. It went pretty well. She's smart, attractive, speaks damn good English, loves travel (been to more places than i have!), has a Master's Degree, and.....lives at home...at 32 years of age. Now, i know in the West that's totally lame, but here in Korea, it's quite culturally acceptable for men and women to live at home until they get married and move out....however long that takes. So, she seems pretty cool and we'll see what happens from there. We're going to see Iron Man on Wednesday which should be pretty awesome. Anyways, this is waaaay toooo long so i'll ttyl mammy jammies.
I made some hummus! Not just any hummus, but wicked-good hummus. I know what you're thinking: "Making hummus is no biggie." Whatever, dudes...yinz don't live in Korea. Just to get chick peas, i have to travel an hour by bus to the next big city. Also, tahini is impossible to find. It's not even in the int'l food shops (which tend to have a lot of middle eastern and indian foods) and i've looked through the best of them. So, i had to do some internets sleuthing for recipes and figured it all out.
First of all, Tahini is wicked-easy to make. Just take a bunch of sesame seeds and bake 'em in an oven for about 10 minutes at 400. Then blend with some olive oil until you get a nice spread-like consistency.
Next up is roasting the red pepper. Sounds like a sexual innuendo, but i assure you this is real! Basically, just take a red pepper and hold it over an open flam until it blackens and chars. Next, cover with a towel and let sit for 5 minutes. Then bake for 30 minutes at 400 with oil lightly drizzled on top.
Now, we've got the two hardest things to get/find/make/whatever here. To make the actual hummus, follow this recipe here. My lemon was rancid so i had to walk around for a half hour until i could actually find some quick lemon (not as good as the real deal, but beggers can't be choosers) and put in two TBSPs. I also had no fresh basil so i used dried and also added a pinch or two of parsley, some crushed red pepper and some fresh ground black pepper. All in all, it took pretty damn long to make, but ended up being pretty doggone swell.
Why would i go through all this trouble to make hummus when i don't even particularly like it? Well, back in Pittsburgh earlier this year, i had the goddamn best hummus ever! Since then i've been craving some BIG TIME. I think i've managed a pretty fair approximation of what i had back then. Now...if i only had pita. I actually found a good recipe for Pita which i plan on using, but that'll have to wait for another day.
In other news, LETS GO PENS!!!!!!! Fucking, eh! Six wins in a row in the playoffs. I don't want to jinx it, but my hope are going up for a damn good finish this year. I'm trying to start shit and do some trash talking to the only person i know from New York City, but it's not working...i don't think she gives a shit about hockey. Well, when the Pens knock off the Rangers, hopefully they'll be playing the Habs and make them the Hab Nots (muahahahaha!) and i can do some trash talking with the Candians 'round here. For those of you who think talking trash is poor form, i agree. But my version of trash talking is to come up with lame ass insults, then act like i done burned them good. So, it's like um....funny and stuff.
And finally, i went out on a coffee date with a Korean woman this weekend. It went pretty well. She's smart, attractive, speaks damn good English, loves travel (been to more places than i have!), has a Master's Degree, and.....lives at home...at 32 years of age. Now, i know in the West that's totally lame, but here in Korea, it's quite culturally acceptable for men and women to live at home until they get married and move out....however long that takes. So, she seems pretty cool and we'll see what happens from there. We're going to see Iron Man on Wednesday which should be pretty awesome. Anyways, this is waaaay toooo long so i'll ttyl mammy jammies.
"The doors of Dark Places Hospital were open. Not the actual doors, most of which were closed, but the doors to Hell which are much harder to close because they're abstract doors and therefore lacking door handles."
Loves me some Garth Marangie's Dark Places
In another news....um, not a whole helluva lot's going on. Kinda hurt my knee a bit which really pisses me off as i was doing so good with running. Instead, i'm staying off of it and doing abs, back and lots of walking. Walking blows because it's boring. Not running blows because i was on a wicked pace to be running over 4.5 miles by now....now i won't be able to get back on track while the weather's cool enough for it to be fun to run. Hopefully it'll be ok after taking a month off from running and realizing i'm going to have to not push myself as hard. Not running also blows because it's a much better workout in a shorter time.
Speaking of which....it's WALKING time. Ugh....so boring.
Loves me some Garth Marangie's Dark Places
In another news....um, not a whole helluva lot's going on. Kinda hurt my knee a bit which really pisses me off as i was doing so good with running. Instead, i'm staying off of it and doing abs, back and lots of walking. Walking blows because it's boring. Not running blows because i was on a wicked pace to be running over 4.5 miles by now....now i won't be able to get back on track while the weather's cool enough for it to be fun to run. Hopefully it'll be ok after taking a month off from running and realizing i'm going to have to not push myself as hard. Not running also blows because it's a much better workout in a shorter time.
Speaking of which....it's WALKING time. Ugh....so boring.
Fantastic 4: The Rise of the Silver Surfer is a LOT better than i thought it would be. I wouldn't call it good, but it's fun and watchable.
In other news....
Back in Korea for another year it looks like. Seems to be going pretty well so far.
St. Paddy's day was a bit of a blur... Shouldn't it always be that way though?
Goodbye cigarettes; hello Zyban. I figured out that i couldn't quit smoking on my own so i enlisted the help of chemicals. People tell me this is the first step on the way to recovery from addiction (admitting you have a problem and can't solve it yourself) and while i know that intellectually, it didn't occur to me until other people said it that it was what i was doing. It seems to be working pretty damn well for mee so far. I totally don't want a cigarette unless i'm realllly drunk and even then it's only a few. The only side affects are nasty little headaches if i forget to take a pill; a general feeling of happiness and well being; and wicked-awesome dreams. The only thing i'm worried about is what happens once i stop taking them....
Going home for a month was pretty grand. Good ol' recharging the batteries/catching up with friends/seeing family is always a hectic treat.
While home I:
1) Saw my cute-as-hell niece (and actually made it to her b-day party)
2) Met my itty bitty baby nephew
3) Witnessed the complete and irreversible ending of two of my oldest friends' friendship with each other (I mean seriously, who the hell abandons a friend after they attempt suicide?)
4) Confirmed my commitment to come back in November to be the best man at my best friend's wedding
A) Got a wicked hot date for the wedding
5) Went to a bar which had the Girls Gone Wild Party Bus parked outside
A) Realized that girls don't get that wild in Pittsburgh
a) Honestly though...we left before midnight so maybe they got wilder
6) Saw my grandma for the first time iin 4 or 5 years
A) Heard the delightfully old biggotted comment of: "All i knew about Bloomberg was that he was a Jew, so i didn't pay any attention to him."
B) Did I mention she's like 85? Old people say some whack shizzle
7) I'm sure i could think of something else to put in here, but I think i should join my coworkers for happy hour which they'll invariably be at on a Friday
Tomorrow is the Seoul Veggie Club's Pot Luck Dinner Party which i'll eagerly be attending though i'm not entirely sure what i'll be making yet
This is the best update i've had in month. Wow...it's just flows right off the fingertips. Anyways, peace out mammy jammies and I hope you're all doing swell.
In other news....
Back in Korea for another year it looks like. Seems to be going pretty well so far.
St. Paddy's day was a bit of a blur... Shouldn't it always be that way though?
Goodbye cigarettes; hello Zyban. I figured out that i couldn't quit smoking on my own so i enlisted the help of chemicals. People tell me this is the first step on the way to recovery from addiction (admitting you have a problem and can't solve it yourself) and while i know that intellectually, it didn't occur to me until other people said it that it was what i was doing. It seems to be working pretty damn well for mee so far. I totally don't want a cigarette unless i'm realllly drunk and even then it's only a few. The only side affects are nasty little headaches if i forget to take a pill; a general feeling of happiness and well being; and wicked-awesome dreams. The only thing i'm worried about is what happens once i stop taking them....
Going home for a month was pretty grand. Good ol' recharging the batteries/catching up with friends/seeing family is always a hectic treat.
While home I:
1) Saw my cute-as-hell niece (and actually made it to her b-day party)
2) Met my itty bitty baby nephew
3) Witnessed the complete and irreversible ending of two of my oldest friends' friendship with each other (I mean seriously, who the hell abandons a friend after they attempt suicide?)
4) Confirmed my commitment to come back in November to be the best man at my best friend's wedding
A) Got a wicked hot date for the wedding
5) Went to a bar which had the Girls Gone Wild Party Bus parked outside
A) Realized that girls don't get that wild in Pittsburgh
a) Honestly though...we left before midnight so maybe they got wilder
6) Saw my grandma for the first time iin 4 or 5 years
A) Heard the delightfully old biggotted comment of: "All i knew about Bloomberg was that he was a Jew, so i didn't pay any attention to him."
B) Did I mention she's like 85? Old people say some whack shizzle
7) I'm sure i could think of something else to put in here, but I think i should join my coworkers for happy hour which they'll invariably be at on a Friday
Tomorrow is the Seoul Veggie Club's Pot Luck Dinner Party which i'll eagerly be attending though i'm not entirely sure what i'll be making yet
This is the best update i've had in month. Wow...it's just flows right off the fingertips. Anyways, peace out mammy jammies and I hope you're all doing swell.
Looks like Saturday, I'll be volunteering to clean up an oil spill that happened off the West Coast here in Korea. Should be interesting.
