Six months, same as cash!

If you were given six months to live anywhere in the United States, where would you live? Here are a few more details to clarify the situation.

1. You would be temporarily free from all current responsibilities: job, spouse, children, clubs, etc.
2. You could pursue any type of employment for this time period. (or none at all)

I have to say, that the possibilities are overwhelming.

Would I want to go home? A part of me most definitely would. I think that’s mostly because I haven’t seen them since last spring. But I can always get back home….. At some point.

The possibility of a completely new experience, excites me. Like the road trip from Michigan to Indiana, when I first found the Teen Missions brochure in Brio. A thirteen year old read, out loud, to her mother, every detail of every mission trip. I imagined visiting places like Switzerland, Poland, Great Britain and Israel. I wanted to breathe the air sweeping off the Adriatic, walk above ancient catacombs, hear unknown tongues, observe and understand cultures, and save the whole world at the same time. I wanted to be the Captain Kirk, or Captain Jean Luc Picard, of planet earth, boldly going where no 13 year old girl had gone before. That next summer I spent two months in Europe. I flew in to Frankfurt, Germany. Train hopped to Warsaw, Poland. Worked and played in that historic town. Trained south through Czech and Austria, but not before stopping at the infamous Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz. All of this ended with a debrief in Switzerland. The experience was so huge, so intense and colorful, that it only made me want more.

Although I always crave the familiar, I have a deeper craving for the new, unexperienced, and for possibility.

So where would I spend six free months? What new experience would you want? Would you even want a new experience or would you go for the comfortable?

Down on all Fours

I’m responding to Alece’s post of February 9th about favorites. I’ve always had a problem picking favorites. When I was little I would even rotate stuffed animals so nobody would feel left out. So here are a few current hits, four at a time.

Favorite Places I’ve Been

1. Vienna, Austria
2. Rijeka, Croatia
3. Budapest, Hungary
4. Warsaw, Poland

Favorite Places I Haven’t Been

1. Alece’s House
2. Ireland
3. Scotland
4. Outer Space

Favorite Movies

1. All things Mystery Science Theater (and that’s totally cheating)
2. Lord of the Rings Trilogy (again, cheating)
3. 50 First Dates
4. 13 Going on 30

Books I Try To Read At Least Once A Year

1. Lord of the Rings (that includes The Hobbit, Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and Return of the King)
2. Anne of Green Gables (all six books that I’m aware of…. I always read these after Tolkien)
3. The Ultimate Hitchhickers Guide to the Galaxy (which is cheating, since this is really five different novels)
4. The Chronicles of Narnia (cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater)

Favorite Things About the Keys

1. At least it’s not Iraq.
2. Orchids are cheap.
3. Fish is fresh.
4. At least it’s not Iraq.

Favorite Things About being Four

1. Not knowing what money means.
2. Endless freetime and knowing how to use it.
3. Noticing every detail about everything I see.
4. Being able to hide in the corner cabinet of the kitchen like it’s my own personal fort.

Favorite Jobs I’ve Had

1. Teaching Piano (2 years)
2. Directing cameras for Acquire the Fire (8 months)
3. Tutoring (1.5 years)
4. babysitting (whenever I get the chance)

Favorite Jobs to Quit

1. Talbots (3 months)
2. Bath and Body Works (2 weeks, 3 months, 6 months)
3. Brighton Theater (5 months)
4. Kaufmann’s (3 days)

So there is my list. Ask me again in 6 months and I’ll probably have a whole new set of anwers.

Breaking News! Buffalo sauce is hot!

For at least ten years now, Buffalo wings have been a part of American cuisine. We’ve already had the funny (?) commercial where the father informs the son that buffalos don’t have wings, to which the son replies, “That’s because you ate them all.”

For me, the chicken is inconsequential. I would be just as happy with several shots of that sauce.

There are restaurants who specialize in the Buffalo wing phenom, such as Buffalo Wild Wings, Miami Wings, and Quaker Steak and Lube.

Most restaurants, including Applebees, Chili’s, Big Boy, Denny’s and even McDonald’s, have hopped on the Buffalo train. (Good idea sirs.)

Until recently, Bennigans was not a part of this spicy hot clique. Efforts to maintain their authentic Irish menu have crumbled.

“Can I get you something to drink, ladies?”
“Water with lemon, please.”
“Alright, I’ll be right out with that, ladies.”

My friend Sheila and I were pleasantly surprised to see “NEW! Boneless Buffalo Wings” on the Bennigans menu. Why not?

“Here’s you’re water, ladies. Do you ladies know what you want to order?”
(Apparently, he noticed we were of the female gender, as he referred to our sex in each sentence directed at us.)
“Yes, we’d like to split an order of the boneless Buffalo wings.”
“Buffalo wings? You know they’re hot?”
This caused Sheila and I to pause. Hot buffalo wings? If he felt compelled to warn us they were hot, did this mean that they would melt our tongues off? What is this “hot buffalo wing” of which you speak?
So I inquired, “Do you mean, hotter than usual, or just “Buffalo wing” hot?”
He snickered. “Well ladies, buffalo = hot.”

(Of course he said “equals” because you can’t say “=”, but “=” conveys more distinctly the fact that he thought he was informing us of something we would not be schooled in.)

“Yes. We’ll take the wings.”
“Alright ladies.”

When he brought us “ladies” our order of Buffalo wings, the little nuggets of chicken had barely touched that fiery nectar. I could just imagine this guy going back in the kitchen.

“Yeah, there are a couple of ladies out there who ordered the wings. But I don’t think they know what they’re getting into. So light on the sauce for the ladies, okay?” (Homestar Runner fans? Read that sentence again, a la Strong Bad.)

So I waved the guy down and asked for an extra side of sauce.
“Sure! Blue Cheese dressing?”

Did I stutter! Did I ask for dressing? Do I look like a frickin sissy?!

“No. Actually, the wing sauce.”
“Oh, ok.”

So I got my extra sauce. And my eyes watered and my nose was runny, just like it should be when you are enjoying Buffalo wings.