Thoughts from My Visit to the Dentist

I'm not sure anyone really cares about my visit to the dentist but in case you do here are some trivialities to brighten your day.

• I wasn't ready for them to call me back today. I was just getting into the Stephen Colbert edited version of Newsweek. He makes me laugh, out loud.
• I'm not sure what part of the visit is the worst, maybe you can help me decide: (a) the prodding with sharp, silvery tools and subsequent bleeding and sensitivity (b) the awful polishing experience (c) having your mouth stretched open for an uncomfortably long period of time or (d) having the vacuum straw hit your tongue
• Since I now use an electronic toothbrush I wish they gave out replacement heads for that instead of the $.99 toothbrush, floss that lasts a week, and mini toothpaste tube.
• I miss my old hygienist in Davison, Maureen. She was the best.
• X-Rays have gotten a lot cooler over the years. Today I stood with my chin resting on a support while I bit down on some other thing all the while an x-ray machine did a 360 around my head taking pictures which were visible on the computer screen by the time I sat back down in my chair.
  

Miscellaneous Musings

• Best (immediate) thing about giving blood--snack table afterwards
• Power of branding--Addie, who is 2 and can't read, and I were looking at a piece of paper that had a company logo on it. With no hesitation Addie rolled off, "Kick-a-way" (translation=Chick-fil-A)
• I just bought an app for my iPhone that converts a voice recording to text in an email. After a few test emails there have been no mistakes in translation. Not bad for $.99.
• It's amusing to me that when I feel like life or a particular day is out of control my tendency is to clean the house. After cleaning I feel much better and in a better state of mind to take on the necessary tasks. Is that strange?
• With graduation a year away I'm already beginning to feel a sense of not being prepared enough for whatever is next.
• What should I do if I'm addicted to the show "Intervention?"
  

Awesome Collaboration: The Roots and Paul Simon

One of my favorite bands is The Roots. I have several cd's of theirs and I have seen them live once. They are now the house band on the Jimmy Fallon show and a few nights ago they backed up Paul Simon and played alongside Antibalas. I fell asleep just before they did this song so I was happy to find the video online. Enjoy the music, it doesn't get much better than this!

Recipe Thursday--Marinade on This!

About once a week I call my mom or sister or look on allrecipes.com for quick and easy marinades. Rather than calling them for the same thing all the time I thought it would be good for me to get these on paper, so to speak. Since I don't have a place for my recipes this is the venue of choice. So here are some very good marinades that don't take much prep time and use ingredients that you probably already have on hand. Just combine the ingredients and pour over the meat in a zip lock bag and refrigerate.

Good Chicken Marinade
1/4 C. vegetable oil
1/4 C. soy sauce
1/8 C. white vinegar
Garlic Powder--sprinkle

Great Pork Marinade (I used for a 1.25 lb Pork Tenderloin)
3 T. Honey
1/4 C. white vinegar
1/2 C. Worcestershire
2 T. Dry Sherry (optional)
2 T. vegetable oil
2 T. soy sauce
1/4 t. ground ginger

Another Pork Tenderloin Marinade
1/2 C. soy sauce
1/4 C. teriyaki sauce
2 T. liquid smoke flavoring
1/4 t. onion powder
1/4 t. garlic powder

A Grief Observed

I know it's probably sacrilegious to steal CS Lewis' title for the title of this post but I'm feeling dramatic this morning. You see, I'm grieving this morning. My grief was born about 4 weeks ago as I entered my local Sport Clips. On that day life as I know it changed. I entered said establishment thinking that the girl who usually cuts my hair, April, would be working since her hours usually fell during that time. I asked if April was working and was told, "No, she moved back home." What? I was stunned. She didn't even tell me. What was I supposed to do now? Didn't she know about my months-long search to find a person that could cut hair without leaving strays? I can't go back to the uncertainty that I had before finding her, didn't she even care about that? How selfish could she be?

I sit here this morning knowing that I need to get a haircut, after all it's been 4 weeks since my last. But I am paralyzed by fear of the unknown. What if they don't have a 1.5 blade? What if they don't see that the two sides of my hair grow differently? What if they round my neckline off instead of squaring it off? And, God forbid, what if they don't provide a shampoo post-haircut? Will I go on itching all day and night?

And all of this just because someone decided to move home. But the question remains, Can I find a haircut home?

A Great Article

I have just begun working my way into William Cavanaugh's Torture and Eucharist but I have a feeling that it's going to be outstanding. A few days ago I discovered the following article by Cavanaugh that examines the use of torture by the U.S. and the implications for the Church. Please take the time to read this. The article is 7 pages long with a few pages of endnotes.

The Other Journal at Mars Hill Graduate School :: Telling the Truth about Ourselves: Torture and Eucharist in the U.S. Popular Imagination by William T. Cavanaugh

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Gildner European Vacation--An Overview

I thought that before I start a series of posts on my recent European vacation it would be helpful to have an overview of the cities we visited. With the help of My Maps on Google I created a map showing the paths we took. At each city I give a small description (click on the blue balloon) of the place and other details. To see more map detail click on the plus sign on the left of the map. The tour begins in Frankfurt, Germany.


View Gildner European Vacation in a larger map