Big Brother or Big Boy--servin up the fun

Those Dutch people. They sure know how to do it.
If you are student at the University of Wageningen you know what I am talking about.

Apparently the innovative minds at UoW decided the TGIFridays down the road just wasn't cuttin' it and created their own restaurant that bears the faint scent of Big Brother.
NOTE: Sarcasm. I have no idea if the Netherlands has a TGIFridays chain.

Imagine dining at a table where cameras are trained on your plate of linguine. From within the walls of a hidden control room guys in white lab coats with clipboards are watching your every move, your every bite. It seems this campus restaurant is more along the lines of a research facility. It's a little creepy. Sure, they operate this eatery under the guise of observing dining behavior, consumer tastes and predictable patterns. And yes, thankfully the whole thing is not done surreptitiously. Before sloshing down that soft drink and salty appetizer you must first sign a release form, consenting to be watched and observed. Takers? Anyone?

This whole story just led me to a lot of procrastinating...errr... I mean thinking. Overall, this makes me a little queasy. It's how I feel about that overzealous videographer at a wedding who asks you to say a few words about the happy couple just after you crammed a shovel full of frosting smeared cake in your mouth. Eating and videography should not be combined. Crunching, munching and slurping noises should not be captured with a boom mic.

Maybe it's because I abhor most reality t.v., maybe because the Dutch kind of perplex me. Besides tulips, wooden shoes, windmills and legalized prostitution in Amsterdam...they really haven't made a name for themselves yet. Now in the future we might be able to thank the Dutch for an improved dining experience...only after hours of videotape prove that:

• Yes, some of us do talk with our mouths open



• We did take back that extra dollar bill from the tip



• Patrons are indeed responsible for trick salt shakers
  

If this important research helps you help others help us to a better overall experience eating out in the future...I guess so be it. Consider this though; beware on a whole other level of the friend who during a meal asks you to "go Dutch".

If all else fails talk about the weather

I am careful not to place too much reliance on weather trends lately. Rochester weather in general has a tendency to disappoint anyway. But if it gets to late November or December and I spot someone wearing Bermuda shorts and Birkenstocks (no socks, a.ka. "summer" Birks) and the patio tables are still lining the Park Ave restaurant...I guess I'll start to wonder what doom the impending winter will hold.

Predictability is a key feature of the seasons. I should expect that in October I have to start pulling out those cableknits and turning the dusty knob of my thermostat. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining at all. I like the fact that I can enjoy sunshine, blue skies and a string of 80 degree days. But it spoils you. For example, the forecast for this week calls for upper 60 degree - 70 degree weather. Not bad, right? Well recently I heard a friend grumbling that it was going to be "too cold to lay out." No joke. Unless I read my map and my state tax refund wrong...we do not live in Florida. Yes, Rochester NY. Land of opportunity. Oppurtunity for blizzards.

In September I was on top of things. Or so I thought. I stashed my summer outfits in rubbermaid containers up in the attic...exchanging them for a bevvy of sweaters. I soon learned my lesson...hasty wardrobe overhalls are particularly dangerous. Want to beckon weather change? Change the contents of your closet. I subsequently, trudged back up to the attic, retrieved a few relevant summer-like pieces and tried to make do with the slightly puzzling temperatures. I even left my air conditioner in the bedroom window. As irony would have it, that week the weather dropped to the 40s. The chill finally set in. My local meterologist is beginning to aggravate me...nothing against him.

So I hear, there are a few approaches to life. There are also more than a few theories about the "best way" to approach life...and which approach is best.

Appoach #1

"I want to live on an island of mango trees and happy little creatures. I do not see a reason to worry or fret about anything. I want to feel the sunshine on my face (never worrying about the ever present threat of global warming)"

This would be classified under the heading "state of denial". Some would call this approach overly idealistic.

Okay let's say the world was this way....happy mango trees, creatures and sun..
Would there still be reason for conflict?
Uh yeah... You betcha...read on...

Approach #2

"Gosh, no one has it as bad as me. I hate this island. What the hell do I want with mangos- hell, I'm allergic...and I'm getting a really bad burn from that damn yellow ball in the sky."

This would be classified under the heading of "pessimist with a penchant for passing it on"
Please SEE--- Debby Downer.

Approach #3

"I think this island has its good points. Many thousands, millions of years ago I believe it may have been an isthmus...perhaps, and therefore time has caused its change. It's quite amazing really. I'm sure that long ago there was a land bridge allowing these animals, marvelous specimens, to roam the island. And these wonderfully vitamin rich fruits....those mangos, well they must have been brought in by seeds caught in the matted fur of the primitive animals that came here. And oh, look at that sun. Do you think this magnificent star of the solar system realizes what life it gives this little microcosm?"

This would be classified under "obnoxiously intellectual". Life philosopher who theorizes and pontificates, but holds others back from just taking in an experience for what it is.

Approach #4

" I got to just get over this... so my island is flooded. So the mangos are all rotted. I should just get off my duff and just start doin' somethin'. Maybe I'll cut this useless mango tree down and build a boat...and get out of here."

This would be classified under "realist with a plan". This approach might be seen as the ideal, that person who sees what needs to be done, doesn't waste time and just gets down to it.

Now your question might be where do I see myself in the grand scheme of this brief run-down? I guess the answer is all of them. To be honest with myself and my experience, I've seen myself using all of these approaches at least for small amounts of time. Situations arise sometimes that bring out the best and the worst in all of us. To truly be honest with ourselves we must admit that moods as well as circumstances sometimes influence our unique approaches to life. Can we say we are entirely an optimist? Entirely a pessimist? Or are we a combination of both?

Three years of almost constant medical upheaval (many more if you count B.C. Before Cancer)
can really lead you on a roller coaster. I guess what I'm really trying to say is that just like anyone I have good days and I have bad days. Glass half-full or empty? Do I sit on the bleachers or make waves in the pool?

I woke up this morning and forgot what day it was. Yes, I knew it was Sunday but until my computer loaded up and the date *September 30* popped up on the screen I had forgotten. Three years ago today at a little after 4 pm my world changed forever.

My diagnosis of cancer, now referred to as my first diagnosis of cancer was branded into my memory forever. The date itself has been a looming specter creeping onto my calender marking that one more year has passed since what I knew as normal disappeared. But as I opened my eyes and turned over in bed this morning I didn't know it was that day, nor had I gone to bed 8 hrs previous dreading it.
Could this be the best sign- that life is starting to normalize. The day is still one I will remember for the rest of my life but it does not define or interpret the meaning of my life. Explain this fact to someone who has not been a survivor of any serious chronic illness...it never leaves your lifestyle, yet it never diminishes your capacity to feel joy. It does not have to be the forefront of your thoughts but the impression it leaves on you is lasting. And it is a gift.

This Friday's Light the Night for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society was great!
My team, Leah's Line-Up raised more than $2,000 for blood cancer patients. My special un-credited caregiver, Lucy, the chocloate lab joined us for the walk.

For those of you who know Lucy the pup came into my family's life as a direct result of my diagnosis with Hodgkins Lymphoma April 2006. I call her my "magic medicine", the "anti-chemo" and I credit her with saving my spirit. It was wonderful to find out she could join my band of supporters, providing she was leashed.
She's no longer a pup...and I'm no longer hairless, frail and being riddled with caustic drugs. Life has gone on. Poor dog...with all those people there she didn't get enough special TLC from her Leah. Awww, so today I will take Lucy to Dog Shangri-La at Ellison Park. Not a bad way to spend a day, eh?

Nostalgia is just a way of compensating for really crappy pop-culture

In the 1980s I was livin the high life.
I loved to chew Hubba Bubba Pink Lemonade bubble gum while riding my Pink Huffy Sweet Thunder bicycle (with the ultra cool extra cushiony luxury seat) up and down the driveway.
Back then things were really cookin'. I was sportin an ultra cool girl mullet. I wore a telephone cord belt and I had one of those three tiered skirts. The Fisher Price radio with attached mic was blasting the Bangles and Genesis and I sang to every song. Thankfully, by the early 90s the mullet was long gone and life went on. But if you ask me any line of Manic Monday I can still recite it. Impressive huh, I was eight years old when that song came out?

I missed the whole 80s coming of age thing, the teen scene. I was too busy throwing Barbie pool parties during the better part of the 80s. At least the movies showed me I was missing out on some real good times. Wax on Wax off... Who didn't envy Elizabeth Shue rollerskating around with Ralph Maccio (Daniel Son) in the Karate Kid, ya know? And Sixteen Candles.... Hello? It doesn't get any better than Jake Ryan!

But anyway, by the time the 90s rolled around...I realized I'd missed the boat. The teenaged guy getting the most attention wore suspenders, red oversized glasses and snorted heartily. His name was Steve Urkel.

Then when Joey Lawrence danced around in a wife beater and a flannel around his waist singing Nothin' My Love Can't Fix for ya Baby...it was grounds for despair. Triple threat, he was not.

Right then and there the teen idol should have been declared DOA. Granted Urkel later spiffed up and became Stef-fffan but I digress...this was what we had to work with in the early 90s....a whole lotta nothin.

Were there any decent teen idols in the 90s? Am I missing anyone? Please comment if you think I have unfairly assessed the hunk quotient of an entire decade.

Clean scan!


Yes, this is a very good thing.

Insomnia's effects on a worried brain

Today is the day I should get my scan results. And yes this post if it registers correctly was made at 3:35 AM.
I am worried. So there. Every now and then a little worry is okay to admit, right?
But I will distract myself with some rambling...the kind of rambling one does to avoid thinking about serious life altering scenarios.

Ponderable Questions

• Do you think Leona Helmsley's dog has a crystal chandellier in the dog house?
• How the hell do they attach Britney's hair extensions -wasn't the girl bald just 5 months ago?
• Do telemarketers accept calls from other telemarketers?
• Can you get workers comp from a papercut if it becomes infected and disables you?
• No solicitors. Are girl scouts peddling those cute yummy cookies considered solicitors?
• There is no i in team...who comes up with this bull?

Just saying...

• West Nile virus really isn't that exotic if your Egyptian.
• The pet rock, doggie steps, spray on hair...modern marvels!
• The inventor of the Flowbee was in cahoots with the developer of the Mullet hairstyle.
• You're a roadie. The rock life is in your blood. Now...imagine your next assignment is a Hanson show.
• The running man...ahhhh I miss this dance move.
• The beret...this could have made a comeback. Great job, Monica Lewinsky!

Alright, now I'm just going to try to get some sleep...I have successfully distracted myself.