Mild Amusement

You know how some couples have a song? It'll be some random song that means a lot to them, and whenever one of them hears the song, it'll remind that person of the other half of that relationship. Well, I do that, too. The catch, however, is that I associate music with people that I'm not dating. I don't know why, but some combination of my memory, my penchant for finding patterns, and my sense of humor means that I will hear a song and be reminded of certain people. Now, I can understand if you think that this is weird. I have found that more often than not, though, the associations I make between the song and the person are pretty amusing. For example: The chorus of Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" reminds me of one of my sister's friends. This guy apparently did not know that a Louisville slugger  was a type of baseball bat. As a result, he was very, very confused by the part where she says she used one to trash a car. Rightfully so, my...

One of the most interesting things about being single is that people have all sorts of advice for you. For the most part, it comes from friends who only want the best for you. They figure that you'll be that much happier with a significant other, and they are merely trying to nudge you towards that. It doesn't matter if the person giving the advice is single or not, that person is ultimately trying to impart some sort of wisdom. And precisely because the advice is given with the best intentions, I don't generally mind. I usually have a joke or two about the horrors of a girlfriend, and everyone has a laugh. I may listen to the person, I may not. But I don't mind the actual act of giving advice. It's just one of those things that happens. On the other hand, there are times when my best interests are not the impetus for the advice. And funnily enough, I've seen an increase in the screwball advice lately. For example: My sister-in-law was telling me that she...

In general, I really dislike the concept of tl;dr . If you care enough to read about something, just read the darn thing. Sure, there are cases where people are overly verbose, but those are the exception, rather than the rule. Instead, tl;dr gets used as an excuse for people to avoid reading. In its most common usage, it's a form of laziness. The real world is full of nuances, and you miss out on all of that if you see the world through CliffsNotes glasses. In particular, I tend to think that you miss important details when you're constantly asking for the executive summary. You want to know why I think this? Because I learned this the hard way. My friend was in town a little while ago, and she wanted to get some people together for a meal. After a little negotiating on what would meet everyone's dietary restrictions, she settled on Samovar . Now, if you either know San Francisco or if you clicked on the link, you will notice that there are several locations with that ...

A little while back, we celebrated someone's birthday at the House of Prime Rib . I'd actually never been there before, but I was interested in trying it. My friends all warned me that they served fairly hearty portions, but I wasn't too worried. I tend to eat a lot, so I can usually clear my plate. Little did I know, this was the first step on a long, sad journey. When I got my plate, I realized that my friends weren't kidding. It was a good amount of food, although it was definitely within my means to comfortably finish it off. As is my habit, I went to work and put most of it away fairly quickly. As I was down to about a fourth of the food, though, I noticed that the food didn't taste as good any more. I don't quite know how to explain it, but I think the combination of the seasoning on the meat and the gravy was starting to get to me. I don't usually like my food seasoned too strongly, so I think my brain was starting to catch up to my stomach. I still...

You know those stalls in the middle of the passageways of malls? I am suddenly not a fan of those. On my latest trip to the mall, I was walking back to my car. I hadn't taken very long to do my shopping, so I was taking my time strolling back to my vehicle. In line with my happy-go-lucky gait, I was randomly looking over at the stalls as I walked by. I had zero intention of buying anything, so I didn't actually stop in front of any of them. Instead, I just perused the wares as I walked by. It was harmless, and it satisfied my curiosity. The very last one standing between me and my car seemed uninteresting, so I more or less ignored it. In hindsight, this piece of information may have been valuable. Still, it was done. As it was, one of the salespeople decided that my passing by the stall was not acceptable. I was well past the stall when she asked for a second of my time: Sales Person: "Excuse me, do you have a second?" Me: "Sorry, I have to run." (ye...