Fruit Salad

I'm at the water company paying my bill and this is what i hear:

"well, what are you going to bring for his going away party?"

"i hear he likes fruit salad, the kind with marshmallows."

"i've got a recipe for that kind, you know, with marshmallows. it's the kind with creamy sauce."

OK, so i immediately think: who the fuck needs a recipe for fruit salad?

What if "he" doesn't like creamy sauce?

here's my recipe for fruit salad: put some damn fruit in a bowl ... apples, pineapples, orange slices, bananas, some orange juice, grapes, maybe a few walnuts... and then throw in some marshmallows. if you don't want marshmallows, don't put them in.

my aunt used to make a "creamy" fruit salad that had raisins, nuts, and celery in it.. i guess you could put marshmallows in that, too...

my whole fucking point: who needs a damn recipe to make a fruit salad? fruit, a bowl, marshmallows ... that's it.

About Church

I'm driving to work today and the sign on a church reads: "When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears."

hmm.

I'm not comforted by this. In fact, it makes me a little worried.

First, what if i'm not righteous? Who decides? What happens when the slightly left of righteous cry? Can you be right of righteous? Is the Lord ignoring sinners?

Also, it's great that the Lord hears the righteous -- but what will He do about it?

so, if i need help, i might cry out to the Lord on the off-chance that I'm righteous and that therefore, He will hear me... even though there is no assurance that if my cries warrant a listen, I'll also get a response.

AEH

she haunted my dreams...

every day, i'd go to the same lunch spot... i spied her there and saw her get the same sandwich in the same bag and then leave each day

the next week, i followed her ... she went home

on tuesday, i followed her again... home

on wednesday, i watched the window and saw that she was upstairs

i got out of my car and followed the trail of white cherry blossom body spray to the back door of her house

just inside, she had taken off her strappy summer sandals

i opened the door, picked them up... 5.5

put them down, closed the door, and back through a haze of hot summer and nervous energy

it was all a dream

but when i awoke, i felt i had learned a secret

Saving Money on Gas

Here's a little tip: live closer to where you work. why do people live away from the "city"? just move downtown or close to it and walk or bike to work.

so many of America's larger cities close down at 5 or 6 when the work day ends... why?

also, get a car that gets good mileage. 30 mpg or more. what? they don't make an SUV that does that? then stop buying SUVs until they do. It's called supply and demand. As long as consumers keep buying big, gas-guzzling cars and keep paying $4.00 a gallon for gas, gas prices will stay high.

So, drive less -- and drive fuel efficient. And tell automakers you want an SUV that gets 50MPG or better... and yes, they CAN do it...

Overheard

Just a few interesting tidbits of conversations I've heard in recent days:

1) At McDonalds: "let me tell you about that taco bell. when you order a chalupa, they don't give you enough meat. they're always skimping on the meat. now, when you go to that new one, you know, over on X road, they know how to put meat in a chalupa."

2) In the checkout lane at the grocery store: "I tanned before i was dating him and I'll keep on tanning. yeah, before we were 'together' he didn't know i tanned. when he found out, he freaked. but i'm tellin' you, i'm still tanning."



more later...

The Mission

One of my favorite movies of all time is "the Mission"

The music is great, the cinematography is outstanding. just incredible all around.

when i first watched it...over and over, i might add, i knew i was just like the Jeremy Irons character. Pure, innocent, on the right path and never wavering.

Now, I'm quite sure I've strayed from that path. that I may be much more like DeNiro than Irons. That I have to work at purity and that the darkness creeps in quite a bit.

i miss the Jeremy Irons I once was... but i have realized that you can't go back. You can't recapture innocence. It's the lesson you can only learn by experience... and by experience, you lose the innocence. Sure, i like being wiser and knowing more about the way things work... but i also crave that earlier, more pure way of viewing the world...

by the way, i think this blog is heading to be far less naughty and far more nate...

we'll see

The Neon Bible

Has anyone else out there read this book?

i started thinking about it last night and couldn't sleep.

i don't think i can read it again. not now.

just thinking of the ending makes me sad. thinking of the whole story actually causes a deep emotional response.

i first read that book when i was 19 or 20.

i think i'll go up in the attic and get it out tonight... read it and see if it makes me cry.