the problem with appliances, as i see it anyway, is that each one seems to have a single defining neat feature. each model of the same product with a helpful quirk that at the very least you can show off to people who come round to solicit things, as your friends will soon realize they should no longer stop by for that very reason. but to get something to do everything you would like it to, you have to have seven refrigerators and eighty-three television sets. if they would start combining the bonuses, um, well they'd probably lose money because one would do everything. oh well.

also, say what you will regarding reasons why macintosh computers are better than ones that derived from ibm, as i think i've heard the lot of them, but you cannot convince me. if you tell me that they are better for art, i will tell you software has a large impact there. if you tell me they are more user-friendly, i will wonder how you can use one and not the other to such an extent that reason starts to carry weight. and it is just a testament to stupidity of the consumer. if you make something look bright and colorful, despite making it impossible to share data from without purchasing extras [first imac version at least, if not new one too], you will be inundated with orders. i liken the whole thing to haute couture. sure the handmade yak intestine scarf looks good on the model for whom it was personally crafted as he or she strolls the catwalk, but six thousand is a bit much to drop on an impractical item.

what is the deal with quilted toilet paper? [see: bathroom tissue, or whatever you call it.] in my limited experience it seems similar to other soft brands. and to be quite honest, i don't quite fancy the idea of using an actual quilt, nor does it seem that it would be very effective. but enough of that.

i may have actually posited this before, and if so i must again. i was wondering if the fried chicken chain popeye's was/is sponsored by the catholic church. why?, you may wonder. well it seems a bit convenient that it is 'pope yes chicken'. every bucket is a vote for the papacy it seems.

i think there is a problem of people too narrowly defining themselves. using one thing to define themselves, and then never straying from it. i admit that i want something i can be so passionate about that i could use it alone to define me. but if i find this pursuit, i want to keep it in its place. i am glad when people i know find something that works for them. i only worry when it becomes so large a thing that there is little time for anything else. just something i was thinking yesterday.

so we, and by we, i mean someone quite specific and myself, were sitting in a deli on late saturday evening, noshing [appropriately enough]. she, on a tasty veggie sandwich, and i on eggs and potato pancakes. enjoying our meal, the company [each other], and the conversation. i had just had a bite of eggs and decided it was time to get some ketchup for my potatoes. as anyone who uses heinz knows, it is often a good idea to shake it before use, if for no other reason than to dislodge it from its position a bit, as it is rather thick. [and if you use hunts, please, keep it to yourself..] so i grab the bottle and proceed to do just that, shake it. this should have gone unnoticed, except that the lid was apparently not screwed on very well. so as you might surmise, the cap quits the bottle, as do a sizeable amount of its contents. they land on the table and my hand. no problem. but also my shorts, shirt, neck, and chin. luckily i was wearing a red shirt, but it didn't strike me as that big of a plus at the time. so i am reeking and dripping of tomato pur�e and must clean myself with our napkins and a trip to the men's room. i cannot prove that no one else in the place [it wasn't full, as it was late evening] saw the events, but i can say that if they did, they were quiet about it. i'd have combusted holding it in, were it to have happened a few tables over. everyone held it in, that is, except for the lovely young lady just across the table. and rightly so. she had a ringside seat for the bout, and getting to hear her laugh was a much-needed good side to that situation. i'm glad i got none on her out of the whole mess. i just wish i had been similarly spared as well.

i have a bittersweet relationship with the idea and actuality of missing someone. [meaning: longing to be in their presence, and not, them diving out of the way of your speeding auto as you attempt to run them down.] because missing her of course means i want to be in her presence. a simple cure, [well in theory anyway], but it shows the situation in which i miss her isn't ideal. it can be made much better. and at the same time, missing her constantly reiterates how important she is to me, and how much she means to me, and how great she is. so it seems to have its benefits as well as its drawbacks. except i already knew all of that. it is good to be reminded just so i never take them for granted, those things i mean, but i think i would rather be reminded in much smaller doses. and i don't think i'll ever embrace the idea of missing as a good thing. i can get my head around it in the hypothetical, but not so much the actuality of it.

i think the letters x and o are appropriate here. for someone anyway.

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"love will be our fortress
when all else comes undone.." -j.k.