Memory and Food

Memory and food go hand in hand. I associate certain foods with certain specific memories, or with certain points in my life.

• Kit Kats: Even though I have eaten Kit Kats on numerous occasions over the years, I tend to associate these candies with my grandmother. Back in the 1990s, when my grandmother still owned her house and lived by herself after my grandfather died (so we're talking from 1990 to 1996 or 1997), I would spend all or part of the weekend with her. I know that my brother must have spent the weekend at our grandmother's house with me sometimes, but I just tend to remember being there, by myself, with her. In any event, I just remember going to my grandmother's house on a Friday after school or on a Saturday with a change of clothes and some books, and hanging out. 
• Reese's Peanut Butter Cups: I've always associated these candies with Halloween. When my brother and I dressed up and went out trick or treating as kids, we'd always go to our mother's friend M's house and neighborhood. We'd go around the block and ring the doorbells and collect candy and then we'd go back to M's house and eat pizza and sort out our loot. I always loved the Peanut Butter Cups. I'd trade my brother for them, and then I'd unwrap one, like a gift, and eat around the edges first, getting chocolate all of my fingers before finally eating the center in one or two bites.
• Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream: I think that this was the first every Ben and Jerry's flavor that I remember eating, so it has a special place in my heart. :) I love the pieces of cherry, the chunks of chocolate, and the ice cream flavor.
• Veggie Burgers: When my oldest cousin graduated from high school two years ago, I went to her graduation party. My aunt made veggie burgers, using a recipe that she got from a magazine. They were pretty good, and I've made them a few times since for Adrian and me.
• Chili Cheese Fries: There was a bar, down the street and around the corner from my first apartment after college, that made pretty good chili cheese fries. I'd go there a few times a month, and although I didn't order the chili cheese fries every time, I'd order them pretty often. The bar has closed since I moved away, and I heard that it had been replaced by a Mexican restaurant. I still think of their Chili Cheese Fries occasionally with a fond, nostalgic smile.

These are three photos that I took around my neighborhood. The top two are of flowering trees across the street from my street. They line the sidewalk on the same side of the street as the church. The last photo is of  a clutch of dandelions that were blooming. I like dandelions, even though they are considered weeds.

NHL playoffs

The NHL playoffs are in full swing, and I am currently sitting in my living room, watching the Minnesota Wild / Chicago Blackhawks game. The Penguins and Islanders played against one another earlier today, and the Penguins won 5-4. The Canucks are playing the Sharks tonight at 10pm, and the Senators are playing the Canadiens tonight at 7pm.

One game that I am excited about is the Bruins/Maple Leafs game tomorrow night at 7pm.

If there is one thing that moving to Boston has done for me, it's this: this town, this particular sports culture, has made me an ice hockey fan. I didn't care about sports of any stripe all that much when I was in high school. I think that going to a college that didn't have a football team (BU got rid of their football program back in the 1990's) while I was there, but did have an active and strong ice hockey program, helped a lot. :)

I think that this is why I have never understood the appeal of college football. I mean, from a social aspect - going to the games with friends, and standing around in the parking lot at a tail gating party, or in someone's gritty living room drinking warm beer from red plastic cups - then yeah, I can see why it's appealing. But from the P.O.V. of the sport itself? I just don't find anything really interesting about the game of football itself. The only football game I've ever really cared about is the Superbowl if the New England Patriots are playing.

Summer Movies

Now that it is May, we're getting into what I refer to as Summer Movie Season. I saw Iron Man 3 last night with my boyfriend, our roommate, and a friend of mine. I enjoyed it. I definitely think that it's worth seeing, but don't see it in 3D or in an IMAX theater. My person opinion is that 3D/IMAX movies are over-rated, and you will be perfectly fine seeing the movie in regular digital. Plus, I think that the entertainment industry touts the whole idea of 3D, IMAX movies as a way to make more money.

Anyway.

Movies I am looking forward to seeing this summer are:

MAY: 

• "Star Trek: Into Darkness": The latest Star Trek offering by producer/director J. J. Abrams.
• "Epic": Animated film.
• "After Earth": Science fiction film starring Will Smith and his son. Based on previews I have seen, it looks like the plot is going to be along the lines of "Humanity has abandoned Earth, and has relocated to space stations and other planets in the Solar System or in other solar systems, and Will Smith's character and his son's character go to Earth for unknown reasons and their ship crash lands and they are the only survivors and they have to figure out how to get to a homing beacon and turn it on before they die of exposure, starvation, dehydration, or by becoming a snack for a local predator."

JUNE:

• "Much Ado About Nothing": Film adaptation of one of Shakespeare's movies. Directed by Joss Whedon
• "Man of Steel": Superman movie.
• "World War Z": Film adaptation of a book by the same name by Max Brooks. I LOVE World War Z (the book). I've read it twice now, and yes, I think that it is just as good the second time around as the first time.

 JULY: 

• "Despicable Me 2": Sequel to 2010's Despicable Me. Enjoyed the first film. Thought it was cute. Here's hoping that the sequel is as good.
• "The Wolverine": Once again Hugh Jackman reprises his role as Logan / Wolverine. I think I will be seeing this film more because Adrian wants to see it, and I think that Hugh Jackman is both physically attractive and a bit of a bad ass than because I genuinely like the X-Men comics/universe.

SEPTEMBER:

• "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2" : Saw Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (the first film), when it came out a few years ago. And yes, these two films are based on the children's book of the same name.

 I found the below link on AOL.com today. (AOL.com is the default homepage of Mozilla Firefox on my home computer.)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/01/tennessee-safe-unlocked-treasures-discovered_n_3195237.html?icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl3|sec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D307702

From the sound of things, a Reddit user who goes by the handle "evilenglish" was helping his family clear out and clean his grandparents' house in Tennessee (they were preparing it for sale), when he discovered a secret, hidden safe in in a closet below a staircase.

The safe contained money, pocket watches, boxes of jewelry, and dozens of collectible coins.

I just thought that this was a neat story. :)

Just Another Night in Sardine City

I shift positions
Going into child's pose
From downward facing dog
Annoyed at myself
That I can't maintain this position
For the full count.
Yoga is hard.
It's not something that I think
I can do by myself
I need a group setting to practice.
I like this class
Despite the smallness of the room
Fingers almost touching
Faces dangerously close
To flailing feet
The instructor's voice is soothing
Not British nor New Zealand
Possibly South African
Or Australian
In origin
The accent adds a cadence
To her words.
Finally the standing posses
Tree pose
Warriors 1, 2, and 3
Pigeon pose
I wiggle my toes
My left knee twinges
Tight hamstrings
Are the bane
Of my existence.
I like trying the shoulder stand pose
Even though
I end up toppling over
Losing my balance
More often than not.
My inner five year old
Leaves feeling satisfied.

I wrote this poem last month. Some friends of mine sometimes get together to read poetry that they've written, or poems by others that they like. I've attended a few meetings, but hadn't read anything yet. I decided to write something for the April Fool's Day (April 1st) meeting, and this poem was the result. :)