Friday, January 09, 2009

A Sweet Vacation

I’m getting ready to set my annual Groundhog’s Day resolutions, and I think I’ll go off sugar for a month. I did this once before, and it was interesting.
It’s easy to get into the habit of having a candy bar at 10:00 a.m. and a root beer with lunch, then wolfing down a generous share of some gooey dessert that someone brings into work and leaves on the counter. Before you know it you’re up to twenty tablespoons of sugar a day.
Once you go off sugar for a month, it’s fun to then drink a root beer. It’s like drinking a bottle of maple syrup. And Hershey bars are awful.
So, misery loves company. I’m looking for volunteers to have a sugar-free February with me.
Those who survive the month sugar free are entitled to eat whatever they want on March 1.

Allowed: fresh fruit, sugar-free gum, one diet drink a day maximum, one glass of fruit juice a day, water, milk, prime rib
Not allowed: Candy, sodas, desserts

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Seaing the World

After Christmas we went to Sea World in San Diego, home of Shameau . . . Shamoo . . . Shamu . . . trained killer whales. One of the first attractions you encounter there is at an attraction called “Humans Standing in Line for Tickets.” We were standing in a line, and I sensed that the line next to us was moving. It was glacial speed, but there was movement. Then, after many minutes I realized that we were standing in one of two lines going to one ticket booth. And our line had people with infants in strollers, and these adults were paying attention to their infants (infants who couldn’t care less about trained killer whales), so naturally these adults were 1) oblivious to the fact that the other line was the only one moving and 2) blocking our view of the ticket booth situation. We eventually got tickets and went in.
We had a good time. We paid lots of money for Italian food for lunch, but after a week of places like McDonalds, it was worth every penny. I recommend the place.
We saw the killer whales, and I have two questions: 1) How do you stand on a killer whale’s nose without slipping off? 2) Why would you stand on a killer whale’s nose and not jump off . . . immediately? Sea World made me appreciate my own job.