The crutch of a cell phone

In my mind the cell phone is the ultimate social crutch.  I'm sure everyone has seen this in action so often that it looks normal.  It is impossible to go into a club, bar, or any social venue by yourself without feeling the need to pull out your cell phone and do something.  Something could mean anything, but you just have to be on your phone LOOKING like you are communicating so that the rest of the world knows that you aren't a complete loner.  I know that there are people out there that are meeting people or coordinating plans.  However, I've met people in bars/clubs before and it doesn't take a rocket scientist.  It does not necessitate working away feverishly on your phone.  Maybe it's the only child in me, but I have no problem going to anything by myself and have done so numerous times.  It seems that just sitting around idly people watching makes people feel uncomfortable so they crutch themselves on their cell phone. 

Maybe the whole world is really meeting someone and I'm the loner just standing around watching.  If that is the case then I'm having a damn fun time along the way. 

What is that smell?

First things first...peanut gallery (you know who you are): no it's not me. 

Anyways when the HyWy left since it was now just me and I was cooking at home less I didn't realize how my garbage generation went down.  I expected a change in other things, but garbage is one of those things you don't really focus on.  So I kept using my regular large garbage bags.  Normally because we cook at home frequently we take the garbage out every few days and usually do so when it's full.  A week or two into my solo lifestyle I realized the kitchen was smelling kind of funky and it finally hit me that the garbage though not full is stankin' up the place.  An executive decision had to be made and I decided to switch to smaller bags and force myself to throw the trash out regularly (not just wait for it to fill up). 

I know it's not a big revelation, but really that's what this has been about all the little things that I haven't thought about before.  So it was pretty funny and I thought I might share it.

Spacewalking through my life

Today marks one month since the HyWy left for her trip and I was reflecting on what it has been like for me. I can definitely see some changes in how my days/weeks progress particularly with my comfort level in coming home to an empty house. However, I've also noticed another interesting aspect about my level of activity and how busy I am. I think I have already mentioned how one of the ways that I make the time pass quicker is by having visitors (overnight or just friends over for the evening). I'm also hosting some CouchSurfers now that most of my overnight visitors are done. I feel as though when the HyWy is at home she grounds me in my desire to do things whether by not wanting to do certain things or by making me aware to the fact that I'm spreading myself thin. An anology I made to a coworker was that I consider myself like an astronaut on a spacewalk with a tether that keeps me from drifting off into space. When I'm by myself I let that tether way out and I'm just drifting around doing my thing, which is not necessarily good/safe even though dodging space junk might be fun. With the HyWy around she usually draws me in a little more which is definitely better for me in the long run. For example with the CouchSurfers and visitors this weekend I had two friends over Thurs., my cousin over Fri/Sat, and then I was thinking about having some CouchSurfers on Sun/Mon. Ultimately it didn't happen with the CouchSurfers, but the HyWy would have looked at the situation and seen the more practical need for some downtime (thus pulling me in a bit). I'm sure this analogy may come across to my being kept on a leash, but that is not what I'm saying. The tether/leash just symbolizes how much I'm doing.

After rereading this post I'm laughing thinking about it and knowing that there are bound to be people who think I'm insane. HAHA!

I know this probably comes as no shock to most and it didn't really shock me either, but it's unnerving how many of the brands we use on a daily basis are owned by a handful of companies.  This all started when a few weeks ago Obama made a comment that he would have a beer with a Harvard professor and a Cambridge police chief.  At what is now being termed the beer summit Obama apparently was going to have a Bud Light and the professor a Blue Moon.  It then came out that apparently the White House only stocks "American" beers, which lead me to find out that Bud, Miller, and Coors (all supposed all-American beers) are all owned by large foreign companies.  More investigation leads me to conclude that a large majority of the products an average American uses/consumes on a daily basis come from one of the following companies: Proctor and Gamble, InBev, Nestle, Kraft, Coca Cola, and Unilever.  That's six companies that control over 1000 different brands ranging from Tide to Oreos, Fruitopia to Pringles, and Dove to Stella Artois. 

As people (at least in the Bay) are trying to eat more locally this is very scary to me.  It shows how difficult it is to truly know who you are giving your money to.  It's obviously easiest to control who you purchase from with produce, but with other products it becomes harder and harder.  I definitely feel that going forward I will take a harder look at the brands I purchase and be more aware of who they are really owned by.