24 March 2009

Intergalactic Deb Day

Today is the first Intergalactic Deb Day ever.

I had a latte and a warm raspberry with white chocolate scone to celebrate.

One of my coworkers proclaimed today as Intergalactic Deb Day. That's all it takes. Holidays start that way, don't they?

What will tomorrow be?

Diet Experts

Someone I know explained to me today about the fine art of dieting. "It's all about calories," she said. If you want to know how to lose weight, according to her, ask a fat person. Heaven knows they've tried everything and yo yo up and down.

She explained that "studies" at one time showed that eating fiber was the way to lose weight. Everyone ate fiber. Didn't matter how much fiber. They bloated and corked themselves up with fiber, she said. If they'd asked her, she could have told them what it would happen, but the studies carried a lot of weight. Fat people carry a lot of weight, probably more than studies. We should ask fat people how to lose weight, fat people like her. And she would let us know that it is all about calories.

Doesn't matter if it's a 500 calorie lunch containing only Fritos. Those 500 calories will not make you fat, if that's all you eat. Five-hundred calories is five-hundred calories. She learned this from experience, back in her college days when she ate 500 calories of Fritos and a Three Musketeer bar everyday for lunch. She was thin. Not healthy, but thin.

Now studies tell us that it's all about calories. Next time ask a fat person, and you'll be ahead of the game.

12 March 2009

Peeking into the Single Life-style

I'm married. Happily. But I have friends who are single and lookin'. The hunt for the date life is a distant memory for me, honestly. So, wasn't I intrigued with a recent evening spent with a single, attractive girlfriend who introduced me to match.com.

Most nights, I spend with a book, a magazine, making yogurt, talkin' with the princely spouse, or netflixing. And I spend an inordinate amount of time on my realtor's site hunting for houses. The listings are endless and photos help a great deal in deciding which houses to see in person.

One night this week, keep this under your hat, I looked at petmatch.com or some site with a similar name. You put in the criteria you want, like dog or cat, f or m, big or small, etc., and it gives you photos and personality traits of potential pets that could work for you.

Looking for a date is not much different. I had a blast looking at the photos of these gentlemen who, quite frankly, should not put their photos online if they want to get a date. Granted, some are decent sorts. Though not cover-dudes, some have charming descriptions, and I'd be thinking --if I was lookin'-- that someone who can take the time to write about himself with a touch of humor and dash of humility may be worth meeting at the pub one night.

My girlfriend has done exactly that. And she pointed these fellas out to me. I had to agree, they were good choices. But they didn't last long. Too quiet, too tall, too old, too young, too married...yup, that's problem.

And then there's the moment when you actually recognize one of the eligible chaps. Someone you went to school with, someone you work with, the brother of someone you know--and the someone's a priest. Add wine, olives, and cheese to this evening and it beats looking for a house. Or a puppy.

Doodling all over

The post on this blog that gets the most hits is the one on doodling.


NPR has a story on doodling with some interesting insight.


I like to doodle. I'm a squiggle line doodler. Nothing frame worthy. I go over the letters in my notes, darkening and outlining them. Sometimes I sketch the person speaking. If the speaker catches me staring and drawing, and staring and drawing, it's a little uncomfortable. Usually the sketch is not flattering.

Now that I know, if NPR is to be believed, that doodling helps the mind concentrate on the speaker, I will doodle more freely.

Text messaging, however, during meetings or conversations leads to precisely zero comprehesion of what is being spoken in the room.