11 Questions from Once in a Blue Spoon!

Last week, my friend Taylor who runs an awesome blog full of delicious recipes, passed on the Liebster Blog Award to me. Instead of trying to summarize what it is, I'm just gonna quote Taylor on what the Liebster is: "the Liebster Award is kinda like blogger chain mail minus the supposed horrible consequences if you don’t pass it on." It's a fun way to get to know other bloggers and what makes them tick. These are the rules:

1. You state 11 facts about yourself.
2. You answer 11 questions from the person who sent it to you.
3. You pass it along to 11 other bloggers with 11 questions of your own.

And seriously, check out her blog--I get hungry every time she posts a new recipe.

 

 

11 Facts About Me

 

 

1. I once gave advice to an NFL player.

2. I start hallucinating when I spend over 24 hours without sleep.

3. I once taught an ex-con a little bit about how the internet works.

4. Although I can't play piano anymore, I once could, and I had the same professor as Michel Camilo.

5. I once got on a horse when I was a kid, and it tried to run away with me.

6. I co-wrote a rap when I was 8 years-old and it included the line "I went to the kitchen, to get some chicken".

7. I once had chocolate milk with ketchup just to see what it tasted like.

8. I want to write at least one poetry book, one novel, and one nonfiction book before I die.

9. I once interviewed Jeff Dunham.

10. I came out of my mother's womb upside down.

11. I just got into American University for an MFA program(woo!). Also, MFA programs are harder to get into than law school.

 

11 Questions from Once in a Blue Spoon

 

1. Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging in order to get in the habit of writing regularly. As as result, I've written about things I didn't even know I was interested in until now.

 

2. What's your favorite TV show?

Right now, Breaking Bad. All time, possibly The Sopranos.

 

3. What's your favorite food?

I love pub food. Sometimes, there's just nothing as good as pub burger with a Guinness or a Magner's.

 

4. If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Germany--I really wanna catch a football game there.

 

5. What's the first thing you ever remember cooking?

When I was a kid, my brothers and I would make something my parents called "toast". It was essentially bread with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon baked in the oven. Delicious.

 

6. If you could have any super power, what would it be?

Flight.

 

7. What's your favorite book?

I think "The Outsider" by Richard Wright.

 

8. What's your job or where did you go to school?

Unemployed, Gettysburg College.

 

9. Sweet or salty?

Both combined.

 

10. Which band/artist would write the soundtrack of your life?

The Verve.

 

11. Favorite drink (alcoholic or non, your choice)?

Jagerbomb.

 

11 Blogs

 

I don't really have regular contact with too many blogs so I'm gonna cheat here and only include two blogs written by good friends.

 

1. Working Title - My friend Xavier's tech blog.

2. Musings from a Not-So-Tortured Soul - My friend Morgan's blog on music and life.

 

11 Questions for You

 

1. What artist/band has affected your life the most?

2. What is your dream job?

3. What are two truths and a lie about you?

4. Why do you blog?

5. Until what age do you wanna live?

6. What does your dream home look like?

7. What's your favorite sport and why?

8. If you could visit one place for a day, what place would that be?

9. What would you do if you had a million dollars?

10. What is your biggest weakness?

11. Why did the chicken cross the road?







Memories of Christmas Past

Christmas is all about cliches so forgive the lack of originality in the title. I originally scrapped the idea of a Christmas post, but my friend and talented blogger encouraged me to follow through. A little over a year ago, I wrote a paper for my medieval drama class about the true meaning of Christmas as seen through several modern and medieval works of art. I talked about how most contemporary representations of Christmas are based on the materialistic idea of gift-giving, the gluttony of the feast, and the lack of regard for the Baby Jesus and the rest of Christianity. Although I firmly believe that this is the "true" Christmas, it is not the Christmas I experienced growing up. And I'm sure many of you would agree.

I grew up in a somewhat secular household, but Christmas was still celebrated here. The 24th always consisted of a big dinner at my grandparents' house that included cousins, uncles, aunts, grand-uncles, grand-aunts, and other relatives. It was a way of getting the entire family together in celebration of...well...family I guess. The dinner would always include large plates of moro(a combination of rice and beans), pastel en hoja(boiled dough with a mixture of ground beef and victuals), honey-glazed pork, wine, and a large turkey turkey with stuffing. It would be a way for adults to enjoy wine, liqueurs, and good conversation, and for kids to have one last night of anticipation capped off by fireworks before the big day.

This is how I remember them.

The next day was pure joy. We would wake up and check out the extensive collection of gifts of all sizes and colors under the tree before ripping them open. I could never get enough toys, but I hated clothes more than anything(ironically enough, it's the other way around now). From Toy Story toys, basketball hoops, Nintendo 64 games, bicycles, baseball cards, and cash, there was no way to disappoint me as a kid back then. Sure, I didn't get every single item from my absurdly long Christmas list, but kids only feel their worth in the world through stuff and entertainment. And affection I guess.

But it's different now. The holiday does not have that magical aura anymore--if this was 1997, I'd be playing Donkey Kong on my Game Boy Pocket right now. Christmas will never be as great as it was back then, and that makes me sad, but it still reminds me. It always puts things into perspective and brings back a little bit of that ecstasy back. I sometimes feel like the Grinch, overwhelmed by food and family and just the general spirit of it all, but it's the long-lasting tradition and the memories created by it that make me look forward to it every year. I warned you at the beginning that Christmas was cheesy so there's no other way to explain it (sorry). But after it's over, there's nothing left to do but move on to normalcy again, and try to bring back some of that joy with you.