Five minute fiction

From LiveJournal's Writer's Block: What should cheese go on, and what should cheese NOT go on?

Cheese is a very ubiquitous food. It can be found in almost every country around the world, and it comes in a multitude of varieties. It's usually yellowish in colour, but it ranges from pale, almost-white yellow to deep oranges. This range of colour makes it an excellent topping for many types of foods: salads are always more appealing with two or more types of cheese on top. Plus, cheese has a nice taste that hides the blandness of lettuce.

Hamburgers are frequently topped with cheese - this, of course, makes a hamburger into a cheeseburger. Chicken burgers, however, should not be covered in cheese. While chicken can, in some forms, benefit from a cheesy partner (mmm... chicken parmesan...), it generally doesn't play well with cheese. Ham, in sandwich form, is a classic cheese partner, while other pork products aren't as favoured.

Most vegetables go well with cheese, either in slice form or in sauce form. Anyone who has been to a fondue restaurant knows this well. Fruit, however, is not as compatible. Some fruits, like grapes, may be happy living on the same plate as cheese, but this usually occurs at wine-and-cheese functions, and is not recommended for daily pairings.

Cheese and chocolate are a definite no. That is not something that anyone should attempt.

Habit forming...

They say it takes 21 days to form a habit. I'm not entirely sure who 'they' are, or how they came to this conclusion. However, if you Google "days to form a habit," you'll find an awful lot of websites that tell you that it will take 21 days to form a habit. A few claim it's 30 days, and some say 28.

Whatever. In any case, be it 21, 28, or 30 days, I think that I have blogged consistantly enough for it to be a habit. I blog at the same time every night (more or less), at least relative to the time I go to bed. At first, it was a novelty, and I loved it. After a few days, blogging felt like a chore, but I slogged through. Now, it's about as much of my routine as putting on pyjamas. (Yes, I wear pyjamas to bed. And I spell 'pyjamas' with a Y. I'm Canadian, I spell funny - get over it.) I think I need to start flossing my teeth as regularly as I blog. My dentist would like that.

So now that this comes more naturally (timing-wise, if not idea-wise), I've been thinking about other habits I could form. And before you go suggesting it, no, I don't want to form a drug habit. Besides, from what I've seen and heard, you don't have to waste 21 days to form that one.

I could incorporate daily knitting into my schedule. I do craft a lot, but not during the week. I think I'm just too tired after working all day. Perhaps a napping habit would be beneficial. A nap is always a good idea, isn't it?

The problem with habit-formation is that it actually takes effort to form any worthwhile habit, and, well, I'm kind of lazy.

I think I'll just be proud of my blogging habit for a while longer.

Yarn is wonderful

I bought more yarn today. Anyone who has seen my yarn collection may be wondering why I could possibly think that I need more. Someday, I will post a photo of my yarn collection, but only after I finish a few more projects and use up some of it - I don't think it will all fit into one photo.

I've got so many projects on the go right now... I feel a need to inventory them. Feel free to make requests or comments. I work best with a deadline ;)

- Toque for James
- Yellow/white baby blanket for Joy
- Red seat cover for my car
- Poncho for Jonathan
- Purple sparkly dice bag (anyone interested?)
- Pink/white granny square blanket (twin-size, anyone interested?)
- Purple/pink/white wave blanket for me
- Purple/blue/white baby blanket (for whoever's next!)
- Blue sweater for me
- Rainbow i-cord that has no purpose whatsoever except looking cool
- Brown/gold shawl (anyone interested?)
- A multitude of plot bunnies for NaNo sales
- Weekly greeting cards for my sisters
- Warhammer miniatures to paint (lots and lots and lots)

Huh. It doesn't look that bad. I must have forgotten some! But now that I see the list, I feel that I must start getting things done and proving to the world that I can finish stuff! I think the car seat cover will get done first - I almost burned the skin off of my back the last time I tried to drive! Darn vinyl/pleather seats!

Hockey!

Short post, because I was watching the final game of the Stanley Cup tonight. Go hockey! Go Jets! (Yes, I know that the Jets have been gone for, like, ten years. I don't care. Go Jets!)

My favourite part of tonight's game? In the third period, when Detroit got their third goal against Pittsburgh. I can't recall who made the shot on goal, but EVERYONE thought that the goalie (Marc-Andre Fleury) had the puck. EVERYONE. It turns out, he didn't. The puck slid between his knees and stopped before crossing the goal line. However. He got knocked backwards and landed, butt-first, on the puck. On the edge of the puck. This sent the puck flying into the goal, and Detroit got the point. I loved it!

Bubbles

I didn't know what to write about for tonight's blog, so I asked Shane for a suggestion. His topic? Bubbles.



Bubbles. What a crazy topic! The first thing I think of when I think of bubbles is that little dude from Finding Nemo. You know, the one named Bubbles? The yellow guy who got so excited when the bubbles would come out of the treasure chest.
This guy.

Anyways, I started thinking that it would be really cool to be so excited about something that everyone else finds mundane. Then I realized that most people probably get excited about something that other people think is boring or weird. D&D is a good example - gamers love it, and get really into it, but everyone else thinks we're kind of crazy.

I get excited about weird things, like finding a set of number labels that I could use to identify all the bankers boxes that I use to pack every time I move. Or finding more bankers boxes at a great price. Or finding earring-sized jewelry boxes and matching cotton-y inserts. Or huge rolls of bubble wrap. Or pretty much anything I found in the U-line shipping supply catalog. Boxes and ribbons and paper and pens and the like really, really, really make me happy. For my birthday last year, Shane gave me a bunch of office supplies, including pushpins, CD holders, a box of pens, and a crapload of magnets. It was probably one of the best birthday presents ever! Most other people would have been very disappointed, but I loved it.

So there we go. A post (partly) about bubbles. And Bubbles. And bubble wrap.

I'm not dead!

I kind of felt like I might be when I woke up this morning... Heat exhaustion is no fun at all! So to help everyone else out there avoid the same fate that befell me, here's a top ten list: Top Ten Ways to Get Out of Helping Someone Move

10. Swear that you're allergic to the chemicals in their new carpets or paint, and that simply being within a hundred yards of the new place will cause you to go into anaphylactic shock.

9. Tell them that you would love to, but you have to wash your hair; one strand at a time, because it's time for your annual hair-care weekend.

8. Offer to help, then stack the biggest box of books you can find on top of the smallest box labeled 'fragile' - trust me, they won't ask you back!

7. Show up wearing high heels and a mini skirt. Especially if you're a man.

6. Offer to send three friends in your place, and hire three old ladies from the nursing home down the street to pose as your friends.

5. Claim that the olives told you that you're not supposed to lift anything heavier than a sandwich for the next 24 hours, then smash the olives. (Trust me, after four hours of hauling boxes and furniture in 90 degree weather with no AC, the olives will be talking to someone!)

4. Fake a broken leg. Go all out and visit an emergency room and ask them to put a cast on, just for the day. Show up for work the next day without the cast, and talk about your miracle healing powers.

3. Show up acting drunk. Nobody wants a drunk person hauling their personal items up and down stairs. More importantly, nobody wants to haul a drunk person up or down stairs after hauling all of their personal items around!

2. Claim that the medication you're taking makes you sensitive to temperature, while wearing a sweater and carrying an ice pack.

And the number one way to get out of helping someone move... JUST SAY NO! (Hey, it's supposed to work for drugs, right? Moving involves just as much peer pressure!)

Manditory blog

I'm tired and sore and cranky. I helped Jason move today, but his A/C was out. We packed and moved in very hot weather, and I think everyone involved has heatstroke. I'm not sure I'll make it to work tomorrow, that's how dizzy and nauseous I am at the moment. Please forgive the half-assed blog - I couldn't bear to break my streak of posting. I promise, tomorrow will be longer, if not better.

EDIT: I just realized this has been my 50th consecutive blog post. I'm sad that it wasn't better.