Thursday, March 13, 2008
Ah the wonders of the internet...
I was recently shown a website where you can take photos of yourself and put them onto magazine covers, so I tried it. And got this...
Tofurky's Twisted Tale
Ah yes, vegetarian meat. Proof that there are things worse than death.
I had the unfortunate opportunity to receive a free package of both Tofurky jerky and lunch meat from a race a while back and was hesitant to open them and consume what questionable food was within. I took the jerky with me to class some days ago and it wasn't terrible, so I thought I'd try the deli slices. Big mistake.
First off, the jerky. It didn't taste that bad, just really salty. The flavor was hard to discern through all of the salt, but I think it tasted similar to jerky. The slices were a whole different story though. When I first opened it, it was like opening the Ark. A stench of Biblical proportions creeped forth and I gagged a little. The slices themselves were Italian style so the herbs only strengthened the unholy aroma. A feeling of foreboding loomed over me as I placed the unusual material upon my bread and applied a generous helping of miracle whip and mustard. Those and the cheese are the only things that prevented me from losing it midway through. Remember kids, when a strange group of runners gives you a free sample of a meat free substance that can only be referred to as food in the metaphysical sense, politely decline and run away.
On the plus side, we went to Burger Basket tonight and it was one of the best sandwiches I've ever had, so I guess that evens things out.
I had the unfortunate opportunity to receive a free package of both Tofurky jerky and lunch meat from a race a while back and was hesitant to open them and consume what questionable food was within. I took the jerky with me to class some days ago and it wasn't terrible, so I thought I'd try the deli slices. Big mistake.
First off, the jerky. It didn't taste that bad, just really salty. The flavor was hard to discern through all of the salt, but I think it tasted similar to jerky. The slices were a whole different story though. When I first opened it, it was like opening the Ark. A stench of Biblical proportions creeped forth and I gagged a little. The slices themselves were Italian style so the herbs only strengthened the unholy aroma. A feeling of foreboding loomed over me as I placed the unusual material upon my bread and applied a generous helping of miracle whip and mustard. Those and the cheese are the only things that prevented me from losing it midway through. Remember kids, when a strange group of runners gives you a free sample of a meat free substance that can only be referred to as food in the metaphysical sense, politely decline and run away.
On the plus side, we went to Burger Basket tonight and it was one of the best sandwiches I've ever had, so I guess that evens things out.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Deconstructing construction
Ha ha consistency? What's that? Yeah anyway, I'm back.
One thing that kind of bothers me is construction. I'm not what I would describe as city folk, nor would I call myself a country boy. I seem to walk the line somewhere in between. I enjoy the benefits that modern life has to offer, like electricity and hot water, but at the same time, I enjoy roughing it and being away from it all. I suppose the best thing for me would be a house that is completely modern in an area with a smallish population.
Anyway, back to the original thought, I enjoy open areas and construction mucks it all up. When we first moved into the house my parents live at now, there were fields to our right and behind us. Occasionally we would see a deer walk past the backyard and I never felt boxed in. As more people moved to the area and more houses were built, I felt cramped and everything seemed smaller. Today, there's fences all around the place and it seems more like a prison yard than a back one. Even before that, my high school used to have a nice big field right next to it, which has been replaced by a Haggen's store and a strip mall. Although I've enjoyed my fair share of shopping at the Haggen's, I missed being able to feel separated from the world at large at school. That, and all the stupid big suvs and yuppies crowding up the place. And then there's the reason I thought of this post to start with, my family's farm. The farm that has been in family for years will soon become a factory or crappy industrial lot. It hurts to think about because it's been in my family for three (almost four) generations, it's where I got my first job, learned the value of hard work and spent a significant amount of my childhood growing up. Sure, they're getting a new place, but what kind of society have we become when we want to pave over land that can be used to feed us?
There are things I like about construction, at least construction that tries to look good or be individualistic. Many buildings look interesting or unique, although today cookie cutter construction seems to be the norm in churning out the same house over and over.
In addition to eyesores that construction has wrought upon the land, there's two other factors that I feel the need to rant about for some reason. The first is time, construction takes lots of it in differing qualities. Who enjoys waiting in traffic for some guy to flip over a sign so you can crawl away in fury? It's taken over four years for ODOT to finish building an over pass near here, and they still aren't done. If time is money, then we're paying twice- from our taxes and from waiting for them to shift rocks from one side of the street to the other. The second factor is smell. Yes, smell. As you might be able to guess, breathing is important, even more so when running. The exhaust from trucks and machinery stink and take your breathe away, but not like you'd think.
I digress though, without construction, I wouldn't be living in any house that I've lived in, nor would I be able to use things like roads or stores. But, all things in moderation, and as overcrowding has shown, sometimes too much of a good thing is just plain too much. In Oregon especially, where housing has skyrocked and the roads are seemingly alway in need of repair. You can only build so much until the land will be unable to support all of those who live off of it. As much as I hate to complain, it feels good to type all that out. What do you think of construction?
One thing that kind of bothers me is construction. I'm not what I would describe as city folk, nor would I call myself a country boy. I seem to walk the line somewhere in between. I enjoy the benefits that modern life has to offer, like electricity and hot water, but at the same time, I enjoy roughing it and being away from it all. I suppose the best thing for me would be a house that is completely modern in an area with a smallish population.
Anyway, back to the original thought, I enjoy open areas and construction mucks it all up. When we first moved into the house my parents live at now, there were fields to our right and behind us. Occasionally we would see a deer walk past the backyard and I never felt boxed in. As more people moved to the area and more houses were built, I felt cramped and everything seemed smaller. Today, there's fences all around the place and it seems more like a prison yard than a back one. Even before that, my high school used to have a nice big field right next to it, which has been replaced by a Haggen's store and a strip mall. Although I've enjoyed my fair share of shopping at the Haggen's, I missed being able to feel separated from the world at large at school. That, and all the stupid big suvs and yuppies crowding up the place. And then there's the reason I thought of this post to start with, my family's farm. The farm that has been in family for years will soon become a factory or crappy industrial lot. It hurts to think about because it's been in my family for three (almost four) generations, it's where I got my first job, learned the value of hard work and spent a significant amount of my childhood growing up. Sure, they're getting a new place, but what kind of society have we become when we want to pave over land that can be used to feed us?
There are things I like about construction, at least construction that tries to look good or be individualistic. Many buildings look interesting or unique, although today cookie cutter construction seems to be the norm in churning out the same house over and over.
In addition to eyesores that construction has wrought upon the land, there's two other factors that I feel the need to rant about for some reason. The first is time, construction takes lots of it in differing qualities. Who enjoys waiting in traffic for some guy to flip over a sign so you can crawl away in fury? It's taken over four years for ODOT to finish building an over pass near here, and they still aren't done. If time is money, then we're paying twice- from our taxes and from waiting for them to shift rocks from one side of the street to the other. The second factor is smell. Yes, smell. As you might be able to guess, breathing is important, even more so when running. The exhaust from trucks and machinery stink and take your breathe away, but not like you'd think.
I digress though, without construction, I wouldn't be living in any house that I've lived in, nor would I be able to use things like roads or stores. But, all things in moderation, and as overcrowding has shown, sometimes too much of a good thing is just plain too much. In Oregon especially, where housing has skyrocked and the roads are seemingly alway in need of repair. You can only build so much until the land will be unable to support all of those who live off of it. As much as I hate to complain, it feels good to type all that out. What do you think of construction?
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