The "What's She Gonna Order?" Game

I have been spending a considerable amount of time (and money) at this coffee/bagel/sandwich place about a block from my apartment. The atmosphere is relaxed, the coffee does its job, and the food is quite tasty. But the best part . . . the employees like to have fun :)

I like to keep things interesting, you know? And I think food orders are boring.
"Wheat bagel toasted and a small coffee." Boring. So, I have been mixing it up lately. The friendly staff at this place like to play what i call the "What's She Gonna Order?" Game. It's quite simple, actually. I look at the menu, pick out my top 2-3 choices, and start asking the employee questions.

"A, B, or C?" I ask.
"A."
"OK, monkey or iguana?"
"Iguana."
"OK, blue, red, or orange?"
"Orange."
"OK, if you could go to Italy or Scotland, which would you pick?"
"Scotland."
"Ok. A, iguana, orange, and Scotland. That means I'm getting a blueberry bagel with lite cream cheese, and a medium hazelnut coffee."



This is actually quite fun. Each option is (obviously) pre-assigned a choice. A, B, and C were bagel options, the animals were with/without cream cheese, the colors were related to coffee flavors, and the countries were what size coffee I would get. I find that this makes the whole ordering process much more fun and exciting. Also, the employees love it when I come in -- suddenly everyone is standing behind the register, waiting for me to start asking.

I enjoy bringing random fun into unexpected moments. I'm gonna have to start doing fun stuff like this all the time!

The Summer is Over . . .

...and classes have begun.



This is the pile of books sitting on my desk, awaiting my attention. I am taking four Philosophy courses -- Nature Mind and Science, Philosophy of Religion, Continental Philosophy, and Ancient Greek Philosophy. And I'm finishing up my major with one last Psychology course -- Sensation and Perception.

In other words, a whole buttload of reading and writing is ahead of me.

So far, it looks like a lot of my course material will either overlap or complement each other. For example, my Sensation and perception class will begin by covering the Ancient Greek philosophers' theories about matter and mind, looking at Aristotle and some other dead guys, who will also be covered in my Ancient Greek class. Nature Mind and Science will definitely overlap with Sensation and Perception. And several of the authors we are covering in my Continental Philosophy course will certainly be covered in Philosophy of Religion, like Soren Kierkegaard. So, that will be nice.

By the way, my Continental Philosophy professor is the cutest little lady ever! She is short and old and small, from London, with wispy gray hair and circular glasses perched on her nose. She has the sweetest accent ever, and is incredibly soft spoken. In class today, all i wanted her to do was say "crumpets" or "not at all" or "bloody hell" (thanks for the suggestion, Adrian!) or something equally cute and british.

Now, for a real Jackpot!, allow me to tell you the story of the Phone Of Doom. About a year ago, i purchased a new cell phone (because my old flip phone had BROKEN COMPLETELY IN HALF) and was greatly enjoying the conveniences of a functioning phone. I do not have a land line at home, so my cell phone is my only connection to the world. Well, last Thursday, my phone became possessed by an evil demon seeking to destroy me. Every single time I either recieved or made a phone call, the phone would immediately shut off. Not just drop the call, but actually power off. I would then have to turn the phone back on, only to watch it turn off again all by itself, that evil little demon doing its best to drive me nuts. I struggled with this Phone Of Doom for a full day, hoping the demon would excise itself, before I gave in and called the lovely (but slow) insurance people for a new phone. I got the same response from the three customer service reps to whom I told the sordid details of this phone havoc: "Oh, wow, that's really strange. Huh."

I waited and waited, and finally when I came home from my classes this afternoon, there it was! My new phone, waiting for me! This is the Phone of Freedom! I am now Free! Jackpot! The Phone of Doom will be returning to its maker tomorrow, and I can't wait to be rid of that evil. For tonight, I am just trying to keep the Phone of Freedom a good distance away from the corruptive evil spirits of the Phone of Doom. I hope demons aren't contagious, because if i have to go through this ordeal again ... someone will not make it out alive.

Why Boating Rocks

My dad bought his first speedboat when I was only a few months old. So, I have always been a boating girl. There is something really special about going boating. I remember when I was younger, still living with my parents, we would go every Sunday morning in the summer. Dad would wake us up at the asscrack of dawn, that time when it's still kind of chilly and wet even though it's july, and we'd pile into the car and drive to the launch. When Emily and I were old enough, we would help mom hold the boat in the water while dad parked the truck and trailer. There is something really cool about being on a boat. You don't go that fast -- only about 30-40mph, which isn't that impressive when you're in a car. But, when you're going that speed on the open river, with the wind in your hair and the water splashing your face, it feels . . . so fast, it's almost a little nerve-racking.

Of course, another fun thing about boat trips is that you never know what will happen. Like that time we were anchored and some other stupid boat full of stupid idiots came too close and their prop actually cut the rope attaching our boat to our anchor. We lost the anchor, and so had to drive home, and my dad had to buy a new anchor. (Which, I must add, is called "The Super Hooker" -- I kid you not, I am so serious, it's acutally called that!)

Or when we used to bring our old dog, Chauncey, on the boat, and she would just barely wait until dad slowed down to anchor before she jumped off the back. Sometimes, she couldn't even wait that long. And once . . . she did fall off the boat, once. But we rescued her. :)

Or that time we were peacefully anchored in a little cove, and these giant freaky swan beasts were honking all over the place. Watch out for swans -- those things are agressive and dangerous!

Or that time my mom's huge nerdy straw hat blew off in the wind as we were driving, and we turned around and used a giant pole with a hook on the end to make a heroic rescue.

Or that time when we hadn't even launched -- I was on the dock, holding the boat, and my dad turned the key to start the engine, and all we heard was "clickclickclick." Yes, the battery was dead. The look on my dad's face . . . I thought he was going to cry. Or have a stroke. We ended up pulling his truck into the river and using his truck to jump start the boat, which was in the water.

Or that time when I was really young and was playing on the baot while my dad went for a walk on the beach. I must have accidentally hit the little switch that trims the motor up, because by the time my dad got back on the boat, the trim motor had burned out and died. For years, we drove that boat without a proper trim :)



Yeah, boating rocks.