Thoughts of a Canary

Have you ever noticed that someone at a get-together will always ask where someone connected to you is? For some reason it is ingrained in the casual conversation formula. It is most apparent when you have a significant other. "Where's betty at?" "She's right over there ten feet away from us, actually." In a less awkward instance that person won't actually be there and you can give her whereabouts to the person: "She's actually in Montana shepherding mountain goats." I find the latter instance is much more conducive to further conversation, as the former readily gives way to an awkward and prolonged pause. I brought that thought up to my co-worker at the bank as we were toiling away aka standing outside the branch's door desperately waiting for someone, anyone to approach us. There are times where I get a little over-eager and almost shout a jaunty "GOOD MORNING!" to someone rapidly passing by almost out of earshot. Th...

"We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.  We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.  We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to years."  Now that the World Cup fanaticism has run its course, I thought it apropos to share my feelings about the event as a whole.  By my rough estimates it seems as though about 90% of Americans couldn't care less about soccer as a sport. I am no soccer fan myself, and I believe the last game I watched all the way through was when I was about 8 and the women's team won the gold on penalty kicks. The World Cup is like the Olympics; it's not about the sport, it's about America playing on an international stage against the best teams other countries can field. This patriotic fervor is even more pronounced in the World Cup because we are usually so bad compared to a lot of other countries' teams.  During this past World Cu...

Change the proportions of the salads and pancakes, bro There are many times in a man's life when he stumbles upon a life-changing epiphany. For some it is of a religious nature. For some it is of a day-to-day variety.  For myself, I recently made a sojourn into Front Royal in order to partake of the fine cuisine of Jalisco's gourmet Mexican cuisine. I ordered some lunch special involving some random mix of enchiladas, tamales, tacos, etc. When it arrived, I took a few bites and settled down into eating mode.  Eating mode is when you no longer think about what you're doing or what you are eating. It is really quite the phenomenon if you think about it. I stopped eating for long enough to audibly say "what am I putting inside of me," and then went back to it. The leftovers were even more questionable in the nature of what specific ingredients they contained to the naked eye, but plebs can't be choosers. I have been thinking about that day a lot. ...

For Casi Before I started this blog, a few people told me that I should write a book.  I was very tickled by the idea, and very honored by the suggestion. Four months into this blog, not a soul has told me that I should write a book. I am very thankful for the incredulity, and very humbled by the silence. In all seriousness, thank you all for your kind words about T.O.C. Most of those comments are "Hey I read your blog!"with very little to follow regarding what was read and if it was intelligible or not, but I take what I can get.  The most concrete result of my writing has been certain persons saying "It is what it is" or "Don't take this the wrong way but..." with staunch regularity and transparent mirth.  You know who you are. Writing this blog has been incredibly beneficial to me in helping me to get to know myself. To give an example, it was during my writing that I realized that I eat approximately 150 lbs of cottage cheese in a y...