My mom has the weirdest fear. Most people laugh or just simply don't believe it, but it's true. Although a lover of tomatoes and spaghetti sauce, my mom is afraid of ketchup. I have never met anyone else that feels the same way as my mom. Most people seem to think that ketchup is a delicious topper for all sorts of things... burgers, hotdogs, fries, eggs, heck I've even heard of people eating it with bagels and pizza!
Oh and it's not just the taste that my mom despises, she can't even look at it without becoming nauseous. Usually my mom just asks the server to take it away from the table if it's sitting there. Sometimes she even constructs a make-shift barricade with other items on the table so that she doesn't have to look at it. Now if someone at the table is eating it that's an entirely different story. In that case, she makes faces like she just ate something sour and looks away.
This summer, my mom and I decided to take a break from shopping in the city and have lunch at the RL Grill. Now I usually never order cheeseburgers when I am out to eat, but the RL Grill has the most fabulous burgers that I have ever tasted. I choose to order the burger, and as soon as it comes I notice that there is no ketchup that came along with it. As I motion the server over to ask if he could please bring some, I notice that my mom has already strategically moved the small cup of ketchup that came with my burger to the complete opposite end of the table without me noticing. Now, seriously?
Some people grow out of their fears, but unfortunately I don't think that my mom will ever get over this one!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Adelaide
Addy was a present. I didn't find her under the tree on Christmas morning or running around with a bow on her head on my birthday. I was given Addy when I arrived home from the hospital during my sophomore year of high school.
My body had taken enough. I collapsed. Starving myself and working out excessively had finally gotten to me. Around the end of sixth grade (I know what you're thinking... SIXTH GRADE? Yes, sixth grade.), I decided that I wanted to be skinny. This decision came very close to ending my life. My friends would all comment on how I was so much taller than them, yet I wore the smallest size of clothing out of any of them. At school during lunch or out to eat on weekends, they'd always ask me, "Why aren't you eating?" Of course, I was just "never hungry" or had "just eaten." This vicious cycle finally came to an end when I crashed and admitted that I really needed help.
After being in the hospital for two weeks, I was allowed to go home, but under very strict conditions. I had to consume a certain number of calories per day at minimum and see my doctor once a week. Addy is a symbol of hope to me. The day I came home from the hospital, I weighed only a hundred pounds, and Addy only weighed three pounds. We were both weak together, and would gain strength together. Addy is always there for me and can brighten any day. We grew together and share something together. I don't know what I'd do without her in my life.
My body had taken enough. I collapsed. Starving myself and working out excessively had finally gotten to me. Around the end of sixth grade (I know what you're thinking... SIXTH GRADE? Yes, sixth grade.), I decided that I wanted to be skinny. This decision came very close to ending my life. My friends would all comment on how I was so much taller than them, yet I wore the smallest size of clothing out of any of them. At school during lunch or out to eat on weekends, they'd always ask me, "Why aren't you eating?" Of course, I was just "never hungry" or had "just eaten." This vicious cycle finally came to an end when I crashed and admitted that I really needed help.
After being in the hospital for two weeks, I was allowed to go home, but under very strict conditions. I had to consume a certain number of calories per day at minimum and see my doctor once a week. Addy is a symbol of hope to me. The day I came home from the hospital, I weighed only a hundred pounds, and Addy only weighed three pounds. We were both weak together, and would gain strength together. Addy is always there for me and can brighten any day. We grew together and share something together. I don't know what I'd do without her in my life.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Just the Thought Gives Me Nightmares
You know that feeling when your stomach is churning, full of butterflies? You may get sweaty palms or start shaking. For some reason you just have never been so scared. Well this is how I feel when the subject of cannibalism comes up. Either reading about it, watching a movie about it it, or just hearing about it, to me there is simply no worse thing. Cannibals are undoubtedly horrifying. The prospect that they could sum up the nerve to kill and eat human flesh, one of their own kind, is just proposterous. When I was browsing CNN.com's recently published news articles, I was astonished to find a current case dealing with a man on trial for cannibalism in London, England.
"A British chef who killed a man with a knife and cooked and ate his flesh was sentenced Monday to minimum of 30 years in prison."
That is the first sentence in the article. What the heck? Now I can see the sentencing to a minimum of 30 years in prison part, but the beginning of that sentence... a chef KILLED a MAN with a KNIFE and COOKED and ATE his FLESH? How much more disgusting can we get here? Back to the 30 years sentence... is that long enough? I couldn't even imagine a justifiable sentence for such an act.
While the two were on a weekend getaway at the chef, Morley's house in Leeds, it seems that Morley just decided that it was a good idea to kill his guest, Oldfield. "Morley slit Oldfield's throat as he lay in his bed, stabbed him repeatedly and cooked some of his flesh." Morley defended himself in court by saying, "he had been provoked when Oldfield unexpectedly initiated sexual contact after the pair watched "Brokeback Mountain," a film about two cowboys who try to conceal an affair."
To me this is just plain ridiculous. If Morley's claim was really true, there should have been no need for him to kill and then eat Oldfield. There is absolutely no reasoning to justify these actions.
Cannibalism is a sickening thing. Just imagine if it was happening in a species besides humans. Would it be okay for a squirrel to eat his or her squirrel friend of family member just because they were bored or wanted some chow? Absolutely not.
CNN.com
Cannibal chef jailed for 30 years
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/10/20/uk.chef.cannibal.ap/index.html
"A British chef who killed a man with a knife and cooked and ate his flesh was sentenced Monday to minimum of 30 years in prison."
That is the first sentence in the article. What the heck? Now I can see the sentencing to a minimum of 30 years in prison part, but the beginning of that sentence... a chef KILLED a MAN with a KNIFE and COOKED and ATE his FLESH? How much more disgusting can we get here? Back to the 30 years sentence... is that long enough? I couldn't even imagine a justifiable sentence for such an act.
While the two were on a weekend getaway at the chef, Morley's house in Leeds, it seems that Morley just decided that it was a good idea to kill his guest, Oldfield. "Morley slit Oldfield's throat as he lay in his bed, stabbed him repeatedly and cooked some of his flesh." Morley defended himself in court by saying, "he had been provoked when Oldfield unexpectedly initiated sexual contact after the pair watched "Brokeback Mountain," a film about two cowboys who try to conceal an affair."
To me this is just plain ridiculous. If Morley's claim was really true, there should have been no need for him to kill and then eat Oldfield. There is absolutely no reasoning to justify these actions.
Cannibalism is a sickening thing. Just imagine if it was happening in a species besides humans. Would it be okay for a squirrel to eat his or her squirrel friend of family member just because they were bored or wanted some chow? Absolutely not.
CNN.com
Cannibal chef jailed for 30 years
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/10/20/uk.chef.cannibal.ap/index.html
The Economy and Food
After reading a fellow classmate's post on the current American economic situation, I was motivated to look a bit more into it for myself. I stumbled across an interesting article that put a certain component of economics in an easier way to understand. It wasn't talking about the stock market, but it was talking about our economy's situation having an affect on the prices of food.
In the article, "Falling oil prices? Food won't necessarily follow," they use the term "sticky" prices to describe how prices on goods are rising and staying high, "although the rationale for the price hikes--such as soaring oil prices-- is gone." To me, this definitely seems like the food industry is trying to take advantage of the consumer to get ahead of their losses. However in the article it is stated that the only thing that usually can lower a price hike is demand decreasing on the item, and a substantial demand decrease is not likely. According to Lars Perner, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business, "Companies also tend to price their products based on what their competitors are charging and not necessarily on what it costs to make them." I find this very interesting, because it seems almost if the companies making certain products aren't even looking at America's economy when trying to find a price point that is ideal for their product that both appeals to the consumer and reaps a benefit for the producer.
This leaves me thinking what the relation even is between food prices and the economy right now. What do you think? I am finding it to be a puzzling situation.
CNN.com/US
Falling oil prices? Food won't necessarily follow
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/10/19/sticky.prices.ap/index.html
In the article, "Falling oil prices? Food won't necessarily follow," they use the term "sticky" prices to describe how prices on goods are rising and staying high, "although the rationale for the price hikes--such as soaring oil prices-- is gone." To me, this definitely seems like the food industry is trying to take advantage of the consumer to get ahead of their losses. However in the article it is stated that the only thing that usually can lower a price hike is demand decreasing on the item, and a substantial demand decrease is not likely. According to Lars Perner, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business, "Companies also tend to price their products based on what their competitors are charging and not necessarily on what it costs to make them." I find this very interesting, because it seems almost if the companies making certain products aren't even looking at America's economy when trying to find a price point that is ideal for their product that both appeals to the consumer and reaps a benefit for the producer.
This leaves me thinking what the relation even is between food prices and the economy right now. What do you think? I am finding it to be a puzzling situation.
CNN.com/US
Falling oil prices? Food won't necessarily follow
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/10/19/sticky.prices.ap/index.html
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Paris or Bust
How could you not love Paris? Between the beautiful city, the fabulous shopping, and the exquisite food, what could go wrong? Well I have an answer for you... the increasing strength of the euro. Dining is a tradition all over Europe, especially in France. The French are known for never failing to provide both magnificent presentation and exquisite flavor in their dishes. According to Jean Guillaume, restaurant owner in a Paris hot spot, dining out for lunch in France has traditionally consisted of having "a main course, dessert, coffee, and a bottle of wine." Parisians have lately been seen ditching the wine for need I say it... tap water. This might be a result of the recently elected French president, who has been encouraging a pretty significant change in the French culture... limiting lunchtime. How dare he Americanize a Parisian tradition? Well the euro is strong and the dollar is weak. Surprisingly, this does not look so hot for the European economy. When the euro increases in value compared to the dollar, travel from the U.S. to Europe has been seen to go down significantly. So forget savoring a croissant while viewing the Eiffel Tower. This year's Christmas card picture is going to have to be in front of the "slightly smaller" version in Orlando's Epcot.
Article: French restaurants hit by economic gloom
from CNN.com
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/09/24/france.restaurants.closing/index.html
Article: French restaurants hit by economic gloom
from CNN.com
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/09/24/france.restaurants.closing/index.html
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Come Down From Your Throne, T.V. Watcher
At 7 o'clock on Monday nights my entire residence hall seems to freak out. Forget that huge exam that's at 8 A.M. tomorrow or that email you need to send to a professor... all minds are tuned to channel 8. Gossip Girl is on. I don't watch T.V. I never have been into it and don't think that I ever will be. I must just not understand the thrill that some individuals feel when that certain time of day rolls around. All of a sudden, the remote turns into the watcher's magical wand as they gracefully lunge to the couch and perch upon their throne, giving commands to the television. Being involved in a life or a story that doesn't really exist has always struck me as peculiar. Anyways if you're looking for me on Monday nights, I'd try the gym or the library, because I will not be planted in front of the television.
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