creature of habit

I have a predisposition to getting hooked on certain foods for extended periods of time.

It's not as bad these days as it used to be - like my freshman year at Gordon, when all I EVER wanted to eat was chicken salad wraps; or when I spent a semester in Seattle, and all I EVER ate was Jamba Juice (Razzmatazz w/ OJ) and bubble tea (orange w/ extra boba please). Sarah and Sarah will remember these times clearly, I am sure. Or - remember my Spritetastic year? It was like, I swear, a whole year when all I drank was Spritetastic, a recipe of my own invention, combining Sprite, cranberry juice, and apple juice. I remember one day in the dining hall when I was feeling kind of grumpy and out of sorts, and Sarah Fait looks at me and goes, "Sam, have you had any Spritetastic today? Go get some, it always makes you feel better." And she was right, I pepped up immediately.

Last winter I went through a phase where all I wanted to eat was Fiber One bars and iced lattes. That was a bad time. Possibly better for me, though, than my Coke and Cheez-it fetish of the previous fall.

There are certain things that I just know I can't have in my house - like Oreos - because I just WILL NOT STOP eating them until they're gone.

These are the things I'm eating now: Cherry Coke Zero, herb & garlic goat cheese with crackers, blueberries (on sale at Shaw's but still expensive - I've probably spent $20 on blueberries in the past week and a half), and these really delicious cookies that are like mint Milanos, but better.

I get to leave work in 13 minutes and I can't wait to go home and finish off my pint of blueberries. :)

12 Things You Must Know Before You Die

A few months ago there was a trend on Facebook where people were writing "notes" called 25 Things You Didn't Know About Me (or something like that...I forget). I read quite a few of them and secretly wanted to do one myself, but felt that in order to maintain my "too cool for school image," I had to refrain.

However, tonight I can't fall asleep and the urge has overtaken me, so here goes. These are in no particular order (though I'm saving the best for last) and there's only 12...quality over quantity, that's my motto.

-- When I get to work each day, the first website I go to (after Gmail) is always failblog.org.
-- I am an excellent whistler and I credit this skill largely to my years of playing flute in my middle school band.
-- Every summer when I was a child, my mom would make homemade grape juice, and I drank so much of it that my teeth were stained purple. I still love grape juice and could go for some now.
-- I get so excited when I walk into a library that my heart starts beating faster and sometimes I sweat.
-- My parents are both extremely picky eaters, and as a result, I never had the opportunity to try many common foods until I went away to college. These include: tuna, guacamole, brie, or anything of the Asian persuasion (Thai, Indian, Sushi, etc.).
-- However, there were many foods that were common in our house that a lot of people would consider gross, including: red beet eggs, scrapple, venison, sauerkraut, sweet bologna, and COPIOUS amounts of velveeta.
-- The summer between my freshman and sophomore years of college, I worked for a tractor trailer parts distributor, and my boss's name was Fats Kraybill. And yes, he was alarmingly overweight.
-- Almost everything I know about history I learned from Wikipedia. I never took American history in high school.
-- Ever since the first time I saw The Little Mermaid, I've wanted red hair. This led to an ill-fated home dying attempt in 9th grade, and I had purple hair for a few months. I was looking a little more "Ursula" than "Ariel" I believe.
-- I've always had a problem holding in my farts when I laugh, and this has resulted in MANY awkward moments. For a while when I was young, my mom tried daily to get me to take Beano.
-- I love coming up with nicknames for my family and friends (and sometimes enemies). Marzipan Griffendor, Cats, Retainers Josh...just a few classics.

Finally, I'll leave you with this last fact because I know it's going to leave a great mental image for you:
-- I will only sleep in my birthday suit. I refuse to wear any kind of pajamas to bed -- I absolutely hate it. Sometimes this gets to be a problem, like when camping or sharing a room with my sister, but I just despise pajamas. It makes me feel like I'm trapped and tangled up. Ugh. And since I'm writing this post in bed right now...you know what that means. ;)