Sunburn

A note about the picture in the last post: I have a random, killer sunburn right now. Last Saturday I went to the NC State football game (Go Pack!). I had a blast and loved watching the game. Special thanks to Katie for the ticket!

However, I was totally unprepared for the sun and got a wicked sunburn. I'm not so much sun-kissed as sun-groped. Best of all, I have a definitive outline of where my sunglasses were (people say it looks like I've been skiing). In addition to my face, I have two burnt arms and a burnt neck. I'm not even exaggerating – it's been the kind of sunburn where random people point it out to me (I'm talking to you, bagger at the grocery store – and you, coworker who can't stop laughing). Oh well – at least I'm sporting my Wolfpack red!

The Four-Drink Challenge

I went to Red Robin for dinner the other night and ordered a Peachy Keen drink (some combo of Sprite, peach syrup, and peaches). When our waiter, Jordan, brought it out, he mentioned that I could get refills of any of Red Robin's four bottomless beverages. He jokingly said that I could try them all. I decided, "Game on, Jordan." (Not that it was a game – Jordan was willing to go along with it, for which I tipped him well.)

Here's my review:
1. Peachy Keen: My 2nd favorite. The Red Robin in Apex makes a better one. Sorry, Cary.
2. Blueberry Pomegranate Limeade: Jordan's favorite, but a little too tart for me. Dixie had to drink most of it so that we could move on to drink #3.
3. Very Berry Raspberry Limeade: At this point, I realized that I don't like limeade that much.
4. Freckled Lemonade: This is a strawberry lemonade and probably my favorite. I held it for last so that I could end on a good note :)

I enjoyed my sampler, but I must admit that I didn't feel so good later that night. Shockingly, perhaps 4 beverages in one sitting isn't such a great idea. (Yes, I really drink with my finger out like that. I don't know why.)

Impulse Buy?

Stores seem to love lining checkout aisles with little last-minute purchases. Candy, magazines, etc. Imagine my surprise at this "impulse" item in the checkout line at the Dollar Tree.

Is someone going to wait in line and think, "I really could use some glue sticks - I just ran out. And oh yeah, am I pregnant?"

Wild Kingdom

Occasionally, it seems as if my apartment is in the midst of a bit of a jungle. My roommate, Dixie, and I refer to this phenomenon as "Wild Kingdom." The wildlife has included spiders, slugs, and ants. Plus, there was the night of the dreaded sidewalk millipedes. Let me tell you - those prehistoric-looking critters can definitely make good time. It must be all the legs ;)

There are also quite a few earthworms. They normally come out when it rains, but the other night, I was quite shocked to see this guy wriggling his way across the concrete. He had to be a foot long. I used my flip-flop for a scale comparison in the picture.

In attempting to find out how long earthworms can grow, I came across this website: http://yucky.discovery.com/flash/worm/pg000216.html. I was drawn to the fact that the domain name is "yucky discovery." Upon further investigation, I found a little interview with Eddie Earthworm. Here's a sample of what it's like (note: I'm leaving the punctuation, spelling, etc. as it appears on the site):

Dateline: Dirt with Eddie the Earthworm

Wendell: We're here doing a worm in the dirt interview with Eddie the Earthworm. Eddie, what do you want to say to the folks at home today?
Eddie: Wendell, we worms have gotten a bum rap. We don't get no respect. So what if we're slimey? Our mucous keeps us moist -- so we can breathe through our skin! So what if we eat leaves and dirt -- that's our hamburger and fries! Does that give people the right to call us yucky? OR to scream when they see us?

Small World at the Cracker Barrel

In celebration of having the day off, Dixie and I went out to breakfast this morning. This is notable in that I am not a fan of getting up early. However, I am a fan of food, so it worked out.

When I walked up to the hostess to put my name in, I was totally thrown for a loop when I saw my last name already written down on the list. Sure enough, she called out, "Enzor, party of 2" while I stood there. [Insert creepy music.]

PS - I watched the other Enzors come up and had no idea who they were. If I was more on my game and less dumbfounded, I would've said hi.

PPS - Breakfast was okay, but the real highlight for me was getting down to just 2 pegs on the little peg game they have on the table. According to the scoring system, I am "purty smart." It's better than my normal score of "eg-no-ra-mus."

Archeology and Cosmetology

This past week, I went to two fun events: a lecture on the Dead Sea Scrolls and a Mary Kay party. Did you ever think you would see those two items in the same sentence? I know - it's exciting! So what do these two things have in common? Aside from the obvious connection (me), I found two little nuggets of wisdom reiterated at them.

My friend Jessica hosted a Mary Kay party on Tuesday. During the shindig, we tried out different types of makeup and skin care products. At the end of the evening, the Mary Kay consultant had us do a little "compliment circle." Okay, that's not the exact term, but it works. We focused on each person one at a time and said what we thought looked good on her. Of course, the goal is that we'll love hearing everyone compliment the blush/mascara/foundation and will buy stuff ;) But it reminded me of the importance of giving people compliments. I often think to myself, "She has such great taste," or "He is always so nice and says hello," but I don't always say it. It's nice to hear good things, so I'm going to try and do that a little more frequently.

Later I went to a lecture on the Dead Sea Scrolls at the North Carolina Museum of Science. The museum is currently exhibiting some of the scrolls and is featuring a lecture series on related topics. Wednesday's topic was "Israel at the Time of the Dead Sea Scrolls: The Historical Background of the Scrolls." I was lucky to make it in; the lecture was so popular that they created an extra session of it. Aside: I love going to little lectures like this. It's fascinating to hear people talk deeply about their niche knowledge, and I enjoy gleaning knowledge about different fields. I'm feeling the need to put in a longer plug about the importance of liberal arts education here, but I will refrain :)

Anyhoo - one of the points Dr. Schiffman made was that when reading the scrolls, we should keep in mind that we only have a small knowledge of things. There's a wider context that the scrolls may not address. So rather than read a scroll and treat it as if it tells us everything, we need to remember that it may be leaving out assumed common knowledge, be biased, be incomplete, etc. It's a good point that can be extended beyond historical interpretation and literary criticism. Sometimes we don't have the full story.

Filling the Void

The Olympics are over, and now my life is empty.

Okay, that's not entirely true, but in the area of television watching, it is indeed much smaller. I'm used to watching the Olympics every night or at least having the option of watching them. It feels weird to not mock Bob Costas, watch emotional athlete spotlights, check in on the latest Mary Carillo travelogue, and immerse myself in sports about which I know nothing (but with which I will soon become a self-appointed authority and comment about the size of splashes in diving, the necessity of bowing in gymnastics, and rules about synchronized swimming).

For those looking to relive the fun, check out this article for highlights, this gallery for pics, and this piece if you need a Phelps fix.

I noticed that MSN had an article yesterday talking about how the coverage of the Beijing Olympics has transformed viewing events and getting info from the web. They then tried a plug for their upcoming coverage of the Democratic National Convention and encouraged people to stay tuned to it as well.

It was an odd little segue. Is Bob Costas going to be a presenter? Is Mary Carillo going to do spotlights on Denver? Will Barack be getting 8 gold medals? That's what I thought. But don't worry, MSN - I'll catch the highlights.