I like Diet Coke.
Donna Likes Coke Zero.
If you look at the ingredient labels, both products contain the same stuff. It must be the ratio of said ingredients. So I ask you, which no-calorie Coke is the best, and why?
Bonus points if you add comments on how vile Diet Pepsi tastes.
One of the stops we made on our recent vacation was at St. Augustine. It’s the oldest city in the country, or some such thing. Honestly, history really isn’t my thing — but it was also the first time I’ve ever seen the ocean. In fact, no one in my family had ever seen the ocean, so it was very special.
First off, the ocean is salty. Yeah, yeah, I know, that’s why they call it saltwater. But really, it is salty man! It’s not like, “Martha, your potato salad has a bit too much salt.”
It’s more like, “Hey look, I put my foot in the ocean. Now I have foot jerky.” It’s that bad. But enough about that.
I’ve lived in Northern Michigan for over half my life, and I’ve seen tons of lakes, rivers, ponds, streams, springs, etc, etc. After spending one morning at the ocean, however, I don’t think inland beaches are allowed to call themselves “beaches” anymore. There’s just no comparison.
One of my favorite CDs is that “sounds of the ocean” kind that is basically a recording of the ocean. I’ve never liked the ones that interject music into the mix — I like just the ocean sound. Much like a picture of pumpkin pie isn’t anywhere near as nice as tasting pumpkin pie, those CDs don’t do the ocean justice. The depth and intricacies of the crashing waves are really indescribable. I found myself lost in a paradise that seemed, even at the time, to be cliche. I lay there on the beach, with my straw hat over my face, and drifted away. It was like feeling the vastness of space. If infinity had a voice, it would be the ocean.
Whew, we’re back. I have SOOOO much to post about, but today I’m at work. After 8 days gone, I have a lot to catch up on. See:
Wish me luck!
Whew. We’re in Georgia. It was a long, but enjoyable day. Amanda’s Day 1 log is on her site, and since it’s 11:30, and I want to go to bed — I’ll send you there. š
We’re leaving for an 8 day trip to Florida today. I’ll do my best to post from the road, but I urge you to read my daughter Amanda’s trip blog. Her teacher assigned her the task of journaling every day, and we’re posting it for her class (and the world, I guess) to see.
Stop by and check it out!
Can’t sleep. I might take some sleeping pills, but the fear there is that it’s so late I might not get up in the morning. Once midnight comes and goes, I grow leery about taking ’em.
I’ll probably go take a couple Sominex anyway. It’s not like I have to get up early tomorrow. G’night everyone.
Last weekend, we traveled to Grand Rapids for my sister’s college graduation. We really tried to be frugal, and so we bought snacks, etc. for the trip. One of the snacks was Chocolate Pop-Tarts. As all too often happens after a long trip, much of the travel fodder remained in the van.
Yesterday I plugged my cellphone into the car charger. For some reason, it didn’t go in quite right, so I looked at the connector, expecting to find some pocket lint in the way. As you probably already guessed, chocolate Pop-Tart filling was oozing from the charging port on my Razr phone. I’ve never had chocolate anything anger me quite so much.
Anyway, after about 45 minutes of scraping and wiping, if I wiggle the cable just right the phone will charge. I’m hoping the rest of the goo will wear off, but the way my luck goes, it will probably only attract dust and dirt.
And it was FRIDAY. I can’t believe Friday let me down…
I just want to share a frustration with the world. My right hip twitches. This may not seem terribly newsworthy, but my right hip is also where I clip my cellphone. I put my cellphone on vibrate, and my darn twitchy hip makes it feel like I have a call.
I just had to vent. I hope your day is twitch free.
UPDATE: It just did it again, and I grabbed my empty hip to answer the phone that wasn’t even there. Grrrrr.
I submitted another magazine article today. This one was a little more work, but just as fun. (Ok, it’s actually for a “cool projects” issue, so it was VERY fun). I really enjoy writing these articles, I hope I can find more venues to publish. I think Linux Journal will get tired of me if I keep sending them query letters. š
I haven’t started my book either. It may seem silly, but a novel is a huge undertaking, and “where to begin” is tough. It’s also a completely different mindset, since we’re talking about something so long. I think I’m going to allow my first book to be a “practice novel.” That way, if it totally sucks, I can tell myself it doesn’t matter, because it was just practice. To be honest, the idea of a practice novel isn’t really mine. Agent to the Stars was a “practice novel” that eventually got published.
Well, I have lots of books to read, so I’m going to read a few chapters, and then take a nap. Maybe I’ll try to write a couple thousand words on my novel too. Time will tell.
Last night, I found myself driving home after dark with our youngest daughter. Going for a ride in Daddy’s truck is a special treat, and apart from the loud exhaust, rusty body, and non-existent shocks, I can understand why. My old truck rocks. It’s a stick shift, and Daddy drives it kinda rough — great fun.
Anyway, the really cool part is that as we walked into the house, I thought I’d give her my “look at Venus” speech. My whole family hears it all the time, but I thought maybe I’d spark some emotion in my youngest.
It turns out I was right on the money. I called Lizzie to the front of the house, away from the porch light. I pointed up to the west, and said, “Lizzie, do you see that really bright star over there?”
“Uh huh.”
I was tickled that she said it with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. “That’s not really a star, it’s a planet, like Earth is a planet.”
“Really?!?!”
“Yep. It’s name is Venus, and it’s not as big as Earth, but it shines really bright so it looks like a star.”
“Wow, cool!”
She was actually excited about knowing it was a planet. š The coolest part was when we went inside, and Lizzie ran to Donna. “Mommy, did you know that really bright star is a planet? It’s name is Vee-Nuts!”
I love my family. š