Christmas!!

 

Just as a disclaimer, please don't expect proper grammar and punctuation in this blog post, or any other future blog posts. I'll do my best with the spelling, but everything else is up in the air. Run-on sentences, incomplete sentences, numbered lists, and bullet points are all very good friends of mine, you will meet all of them very soon.

So right off the bat, I LOVE my new logo!

I can't take credit for any of the actual heavy lifting, that goes to Chat GPT!

I gave the program a few simple prompts, and it did the rest!

I asked for a "Retrowave Theme", specified the colors, and waited for the result!

This logo was the FIRST RESULT, and if I haven't said it already, I LOVE IT!

Today is Friday, December 26th, 2025.

The day after Christmas.

I just finished my podcast right before starting this, and I spoke about how the trash also deserves presents on Christmas!

Here's some GREAT gift ideas for the trash!

Pickles, Olives, Blue Cheese, Buffalo Sauce, Clams, Oysters, Lobster, Crab, Calamari, Cilantro, Sauerkraut, Avocados, Mustard, Horseradish, Shrimp, Scallops, Cucumber, Kale, Tofu, Beets, Vinegar, Sushi, Coffee, Rye Bread, Sweet & Sour Sauce, Feta Cheese, Black Licorice, and White Chocolate!

I just gave you 28 fantastic gift ideas for your garbage can on Christmas.

And you know what, why stop there?!

Go ahead and give your trash those gifts ALL YEAR ROUND!

I say I don't like Buffalo Sauce and Blue Cheese, and people ask "Well then what are you putting on your Chicken Wings?!"

First off, Chicken Wings are one of the most overhyped foods on this planet, and second, the correct answer is BARBECUE SAUCE, and RANCH!

Boom, problem solved.

"But how can you not like Pickles and Olives?!"

Listen to me very carefully, I can and will do an entire THESIS on my hatred of both of thise things in the near future.

How can I not like them?

Simple, I've tasted them.

I then look at other people and wonder why they don't immediately expel them from their mouths like I did.

Then I realize, some people have messed up taste buds.

They haven't fully developed yet.

There can be no other plausible explanation.

There's no way that some people out there are eating these things ON PURPOSE.

Cucumbers become the sacrifice for what becomes the pickle, so they need to go, plus they taste like crunchy water with seeds, I'm all set there.

Cilantro tastes like soap for some people.

For me, it tastes like Cilantro, and Cilantro tastes terrible.

It doesn't "elevate" anything, it ruins it.

Any salsa with Cilantro, ruined.

And tacos with Cilantro, ruined.

Anything with Cilantro, RUINED.

Mustard has always been second fiddle to Ketchup, and rightfully so.

"But it's low calorie"

It's also low flavor.

Seed paste. Pass.

Avocados have the same consistency of any other fruit or vegetable that has gone BAD.

My brain tells me it's mushy and rotten, and my taste buds agree.

Oysters are actual snot in a seashell.

You are slurping down actual snot from a seashell.

Don't tell me it's good.

Don't tell me "I'm missing out".

I'm not, it's snot. That rhymed.

Shrimp has the texture of something that shouldn't be eaten, so I don't eat it.

You ever notice that BLACK LINE one your piece of Shrimp before?

It's poop.

It's actual poop.

That's the digestive tract of the Shrimp.

"Yes, the dark like on the back of the Shrimp is it's digestive tract, essentially it's poop (FECES) mixed with food particles like sand and grit, and while safe to eat when cooked, (IT'S ACTUAL POOP) some people remove it for aesthetic reasons or to avoid a slightly gritty/muddy taste, especially in larger Shrimp."

I BEG YOUR FINEST PARDON?!

A GRITTY/MUDDY TASTE?!

IT'S.

ACTUAL. 

POOP.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

Lobsters and Crab are the scavengers.

The cockroaches of the sea.

Legit peasant food back in the day.

Then someone decided it was fancy.

If I wanted to eat the sea floor, I'd grab my own handful from the bottom of a fish tank.

I'm not paying $37,000 for a sea cockroach on a hot dog roll with butter.

People DROOL over that, I'll never understand.

Basically, unless it's fish, I'm all set with seafood.

Sushi is doing too much, I just want the fish, and I want it fully cooked.

I don't want my partially cooked fish wrapped in rice and seaweed.

I'd like my fully cooked fish with some rice on the side, add some Broccoli or Asparagus, actual GOOD vegetables, and I'm all set!

Sauerkraut = Spoiled Cabbage.

Just give me ACTUAL CABBAGE.

Coffee, no.

Tea, yes.

Give me a nice Chai.

Or the Emperor's Clouds and Mist Green tea.

A little Stevia.

A little Milk.

Some Sugar Free Vanilla Syrup.

Perfection.

Kale tastes like the bag it comes in.

Beets were never good.

Vinegar is a great cleaning agent with Baking Soda.

CLEANING, not EATING.

Black Licorice smells just like it tastes, HORRIBLE.

Rye Bread, why.

We have White Bread.

We have Wheat Bread.

We have Sourdough Bread.

We have the best bread ever, also known as Potato Bread.

We don't need Rye Bread.

I could keep going on and on about these foods, and I know Pickles are the ringleader here.

I need to save each and every one of you from Pickles.

Once your taste buds are no longer under the CORRUPTION from Pickles, they will finally TASTE THE TRUTH about the rest of those foods!

I have made it my mission in life to liberate as many people from Pickles as possible!

I won't give up on any of you!!

WE CAN'T LET THE PICKLES WIN!!

Once the Pickles fall, the rest of the House Of Cards WILL CRUMBLE!!

I just gave you 28 great gift ideas for your trash this Christmas!

YOU'RE WELCOME!!!

On that note, I'll get off my soapbox for now!

Thanks for reading this folks, until next time, Merry Christmas!!

Nostalgia!

 

Just as a disclaimer, please don't expect proper grammar and punctuation in this blog post, or any other future blog posts. I'll do my best with the spelling, but everything else is up in the air. Run-on sentences, incomplete sentences, numbered lists, and bullet points are all very good friends of mine, you will meet all of them very soon.

"At some point in your childhood, you and your friends went outside to play together for the last time, and nobody knew it."

Wow.

It's true too.

I used to go down the street to play with all of my childhood friends almost every day growing up.

We played everything as kids.

Basketball.

Soccer.

Baseball.

Football.

Hockey.

Swimming.

Ball Tag.

Freeze Tag.

Flashlight Tag.

Big Brother Sumo Crossover.

SPUD.

Capture The Flag.

Snowball Fights.

Bike Jumps.

Roller Skating at Babb's.

Going to Riverside Park.

Playing Mini Golf at Longhi's.

Four Square.

You name it, we did it.

When we weren't playing outside, we were playing whatever the latest video game that had been rented from Blockbuster.

I still have my old Blockbuster card.

Boy do I miss those days.

Not a care in the world back then.

Of course, it takes being an adult looking back on your childhood to realize how much you truly miss it.

Hindsight is 20/20 as they say.

No bills.

No job.

No true responsibilities. 

Just School.

School had Gym Class.

I loved Gym Class.

School also had homework.

Not a big fan of homework.

Then of course, there was always Summer Vacation.

Playing something down the street with all of my friends every single day.

Riding our bikes around the neighborhood.

I still remember my chrome Dyno VFR with stripped handlebars.

No cell phones when I was a kid.

I remember a world without them.

Landlines and Payphones were the standard back then.

I even remember Rotary Phones.

And answering machines.

I remember life BEFORE the internet.

I remember having to catch your favorite TV Show as it aired, or you risked missing it for months before you might catch a rerun.

Now you can pause and record anything at any time.

I remember VHS Tapes.

Having to rewind them so you didn't get charged extra when you returned the rental.

The same goes for Cassette Tapes.

Now it's all digital.

Don't get me wrong, I love how everything is streamlined and more accessible.

When it's the good stuff.

When it's the old home movie that got converted to DVD before the VHS tape degraded forever.

When it's GPS guiding you around the traffic jam that you had no idea was waiting ahead of you.

When I can now pay for gas and groceries with my smart watch, no wallet needed.

That's some of the good stuff I'm talking about.

But with the good stuff, comes the bad stuff.

People going out to eat at a restaurant, but everyone is just looking at their phones, texting each other at the same table instead of talking.

People getting scammed of out their life savings by clicking a link in their email that they thought was legitimate.

That's some of the bad stuff.

Technonolgy, just like any other tool, is always at the mercy of the one using it, and what they decide to use it for.

That's why I miss the simpler times sometimes.

I miss old stores.

I miss Caldor.

I miss Ames.

I miss Big E's.

I miss RadioShack.

I miss Circuit City.

I'll tell you right now, if I could have the keys to a Caldor after hours, just me and the janitors, it's dimly lit, and I get to walk around for a few hours listening to music, I would put that up against ANY form of decompression that you can think of.

I enjoy walking while listening to music.

I purposely get to work an hour early so I can get my walk in.

If I get to work later than usual, and that walk gets cut short, my whole day feels "off".

Just give me my water bottle, and my earbuds, and I'm good to go.

As far as what music I'm listening to?

I'm all over the place there!

I guess you could say I like "a little bit of everything".

I'm going to put my Apple Music playlist on shuffle and see what 5 songs I get! 

1st Song - "Thriller" by Michael Jackson

2nd Song - "Blue Fields" by Nobuo Uematsu

3rd Song - "Lost In Paradise" from Jujutsu Kaisen

4th Song - "Kingdom" by Downstait

5th Song - Finger Poppin' Time" by Hank Ballard

That is a PERFECT representation of what I mean by "a little bit of everything"!

Everyone knows Thriller by Michael Jackson, it's one of the most iconic songs of all time.

But "Blue Fields"?, that's a song from the video game "Final Fantasy 8".

"Lost In Paradise" is from an anime, which is Japanese Animation.

"Kingdom" is the entrance music for WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes.

"Finger Poppin' Time" is from the opening scene in the movie "The Sandlot".

So we've got Michael Jackson, a video game, a Japanese cartoon, a WWE wrestler's theme song, and a movie scene.

If that's not "a little bit of everything", I don't know what is!

Also, fun fact, I've never purchased a record or album in my entire life.

I'll come across a song through some form of media, decide I like it, and add it to my Apple Music playlist.

But don't ask me about when a song came out, or what album it's from, because I'll have no idea.

When I hear people talking about an album they got, and how they sat down and listened to every song from start to finish, it boggles my mind.

I'll pretty much know within the first 30 seconds, or when the chorus first hits, if I'll like a song or not.

After that, I'll pass. 

I also cherry pick very much when it comes to songs I like.

A lot of times someone will be like "Oh well, if you like THIS, then you'll probably like THIS"

Sometimes I do, most of the time I don't.

I'm very particular when it comes to the music I listen to.

Just because I like certain songs by a certain artist doesn't mean I'm going to like every song that artist makes.

In fact, it's probably just going to be a handful of songs from any one artist at most.

Then a bunch of "one offs".

At the same time, I can't put my finger on what "hooks" me on a song sometimes, it's just one of those things that I'll know it when I hear it! 

With that being said, I've spent so much more time writing this than I expected, which is par for the course, so I'll just end it here!

Thanks for reading!

Until next time!

A Peek Behind The Curtain!

 

Just as a disclaimer, please don't expect proper grammar and punctuation in this blog post, or any other future blog posts. I'll do my best with the spelling, but everything else is up in the air. Run-on sentences, incomplete sentences, numbered lists, and bullet points are all very good friends of mine, you will meet all of them very soon.

I can't tell you how many times I go back and forth on how to start these blog entries!

Using the word "indecisive" doesn't do it nearly enough justice, but we'll go with that.

As this blog post title suggests, I've decided to give you all a little "Peak Behind The Curtain".

Consider this my version of "All About The Author".

I don't know where to start, but I guess the beginning would make the most sense!

I was born on October 20th, 1985, in Springfield Massachusetts.

I'm the youngest of five children.

Three older sisters, one older brother.

I grew up in the town of Southwick, Massachusetts.

I've been afraid of heights ever since I was 5 years old and went on my first roller coaster when I was too small to ride it. 

I absolutely HATE that sinking feeling you get in your stomach from big drops on a roller coaster.

The fact that people actually PURSUE that feeling is absolutely insane.

I've never flown in an airplane, and never will if I can help it.

I took a train out to Denver Colorado to visit my best friend who lived out there, it took 36 hours, I had a layover to switch trains in Chicago, I had my own sleeper car, and if he didn't move back out here, I'd be doing it again for the 3rd year in a row, just to avoid flying out there.

I added two days to the beginning and end of my time off just to allow for the travel by train.

It cost significantly more to take the sleeper train out there than to just fly there.

And guess what? I have ZERO regrets.

I absolutely loved every single second of that train ride, both there and back.

I had my own space, with a door that closes and locks.

I had my own bed to sleep in.

The motion of the train is absolutely perfect for rocking you to sleep, unless you suffer from motion sickness, which fortunately I do not, so that's not an issue for me.

The views out my window were absolutely incredible, and I had a shade that I could open and close whenever I wanted.

My sleeper car had its own attendant, so I could either have my meals in my room, or in the dining car.

The breakfasts, lunches, and dinners on the train were absolutely delicious.

When I had my layovers in Chicago, I had complimentary access to the Metropolitan First Class Lounge at no extra cost because I was in a sleeper car.

I loved every part of the trip, and there were no airplanes involved, as it should be!

I've had the same core group of friends from my childhood for 34 years.

Growing up, I thought everyone had a core group of friends from childhood in whatever neighborhood they grew up in, just like me.

I thought everyone had some of their best friends living right down the street from them.

Riding our bikes.

Going swimming.

Playing video games.

Having sleepovers.

Making forts with bedsheets.

Now we go ice skating.

We go bowling.

We play disc golf.

We play floor hockey.

We definitely still play video games.

And board games.

We just had a game night, and it was a resounding success!

I realized much later in life that a lot of people don't have a core group of friends from childhood that they still talk to.

Even if we didn't see each other for years, the next time we see each other, it's like we never missed a beat!

I'm also not a "caller", I'm most definitely a texter.

And meme sender.

Now don't get me wrong, if you call me, I'm going to answer, and I'll even talk!

But if I'm starting the communication about something, 99% of the time it's going to be through text.

Or Facebook Messenger.

Or Instagram Direct Message.

Or TikTok Inbox.

You get the idea!

Now even though I might not be a "caller", I'm most definitely a "talker".

At least, I am to the people that know me well enough.

I know that there are plenty of people who are on the outside looking in that don't think I talk.

Like, at all.

In fact, I'd say that in my over 17 1/2 years working for the TSA at Bradley Airport, 95% of all of my coworkers, both past and present, have never heard me say a single word.

Spoiler alert.......that's by design.

I'm what you like to call.........reserved.

I can be present without talking.

Just listening.

Deciding if I want to join in on a conversation.

And most of the time, at least at work, I'm all set.

I'm not one for small talk with strangers.

In fact, it's one of my biggest pet peeves of all time.

Most of my coworkers are, for all intents and purposes, strangers.

Now sure, I'll learn their names.

And their work habits.

And how they conduct themselves overall.

And then, and ONLY then, will I respond accordingly.

95% of all of them have only seen "The Quiet Guy".

Walk up to any of those 95%, and tell them you've talked to me before.

Tell them we've had a full blown conversation.

They. Won't. Believe. You.

Tell them we talk all the time!

Watch. Their. Jaws. Drop.

They think I'm a mute.

I have a public facing job.

I see and deal with thousands of people every week.

That's not an exaggeration.

I have to talk to them.

Repeatedly.

It's part of the job.

Those same 95% probably think I just hold up signs instead of speaking.

I love it.

It's hilarious.

But it works to my advantage.

"But if you don't like small talking with strangers, how do you make friends?"

As I said before, I've had a core group of friends from childhood, so that's the base.

That's the foundation upon which everything else is built.

If they vouch for someone, that's all I need.

As far as others who have "crossed the threshold," it's really quite simple.

Commonality.

For coworkers, we're in the same foxhole taking grenades, and some of them have shown that they're just as battle-hardened as I am.

For classmates in school, it was always a common interest in something that sparked a deep conversation, and the rest of the story wrote itself.  

My circle might be small, but it still has openings.

You just have to find them.

Everyone has their parameters.

Everyone has what they will and will not engage with.

Discernment is key.

If you're sarcastic like me, you've got a good chance.

If you can make me laugh, you've got a good chance.

If we share the same disdain for something, I'm already getting ready to tell you about stuff.

If you can actually listen, instead of just waiting to speak, we're on the same wavelength.

If you're a fan of pro wrestling, you go straight to the front of the line!

But at this stage of my life, if I'm making any new friends, it's because they're friends of friends that I already have.

It's much easier that way, you get a natural introduction, and nothing is forced, that's how it should be in my opinion.

I also don't give out the whole "come and talk to me" vibe.

I also don't think I fit into the traditional "introvert" or "extrovert" classification.

I can display all the signs of an extrovert around people I know.

I can display all the signs of an introvert around people I don't know.

But I can also fill in every single shade of gray between those two extremes!

Extroverts usually start with an "empty battery" that they fill with social interactions.

Once they're at home, that battery starts to drain, so they NEED to go fill it again.

Introverts usually start with a "full battery" that gets drained with social interactions.

Once they're home, that battery starts to fill up again, so they CAN go back out.

I don't need either of those things.

I can be perfectly fine in a social situation for as long as I want, no battery that needs to be filled.

I can also be perfectly fine at home, watching something on TV or listening to music, but not because I need to recharge from being away from home.

If I want to go to the store, or go walk around the mall, or go bowling, I don't have to force myself to do it.

I just looked it up.

I'm an Ambivert!

"Ambiverts can adapt their social behavior to situations, enjoying solitude at times and social engagement at others, making them flexible and often excellent communicators, listeners, and team players who build trust easily. They can speak up when needed and listen attentively, balancing talking and listening in conversations. They connect well with both introverts and extroverts because they understand both perspectives."

That's......me!

It's nice to put a name on it!

With that being said, I think it's time to wrap this one up!

Thanks for reading, until next time folks!

Game Nights Are The Best Nights!

 

Just as a disclaimer, please don't expect proper grammar and punctuation in this blog post, or any other future blog posts. I'll do my best with the spelling, but everything else is up in the air. Run-on sentences, incomplete sentences, numbered lists, and bullet points are all very good friends of mine, you will meet all of them very soon.

As the title suggests, I'm a pretty big fan of game nights!

Catchphrase.

Mad Gab.

Blank Slate.

Scattergories.

I could go on forever.

Game Night is the chance to meet up with friends, eat some food, and play some games!

It's also the chance to DESTROY YOUR COMPETITION!!

You see, I'm just a TAD bit competitive.

So when a Game Night happens, of course there's a time to play, laugh, and catch up!

And then, there's a time to LOCK IN.

The trick is to make that transition as seamless as possible.

That way you can keep up the conversation, maybe insert some witty lines here and there.

Meanwhile, you've locked in.

If the game involves a question being asked, you can't even hear what anyone else is saying.

All you can hear is the clock ticking afterwards, and your sole focus is on the answer.

Sometimes the answer just comes to you right away.

Other times, it's on the tip of your tongue.

The clock is still ticking.

All eyes are on you.

Your pulse increases.

That's my comfort zone.

I WANT that pressure.

I WANT to deliver in "crunch time" when it matters the most.

Take the game of Catchphrase for example.

It's one of my all time favorite games.

The goal is simple, you select a category on a little handheld electronic device, and then a word shows up on the device, related to the category you just chose, and a timer starts ticking.

Your goal is to get your teammates to guess the word, BUT, you can't say any part of the word, you can't say any words that rhyme with it, and you can't say the first letter of the word.

Everyone sits in a circle, and every other person in that circle is on the same team.

That way the person to your left and your right can make sure you're following those rules.

If you can get your team to correctly guess the word, you then pass the device to the person next to you who is on the other team while pressing the "next" button to give them a new word, and now they need to try to get their team to guess that new word.

Meanwhile, that timer has still been ticking this whole time.

Whatever team is holding the device when the time goes off loses the round, and the other team gets a point.

The first team to 7 points wins the game!

And you also never know when the timer is going to go off.

It could be 30 seconds, or 40, or 50, or 60.

The timer changes every time, that way someone can't wait until the last second to get their team to guess the word, and then pass it off right before the timer goes off.

It gets really hectic, really fast, and I love every single second.

That's because I'm one of the best clue givers that you will ever meet.

I can spoon feed anyone exactly what they need to hear in order to correctly say the word that I need them to say.

A lot of people get overwhelmed with the timer going off, especially if the word is someone or something that they don't know.

You're allowed to "skip" to a different word just once, but after that, no matter what the word is, that's the one you need to get your team to guess.

The problem is, a lot of people don't break things down to their simplest form.

All you need your team to do is to SAY the word or words that are on the screen.

Maybe it's "Jerry Rice", but you don't know who that is.

That's where most people freeze.

It's not someone that they know, so they don't know how to describe him.

But the thing is, you don't NEED to know who he is, you just need your team to say the words!

So just break it down!

I would say "Two Words"

"First Word"

"Popular cartoon with a Cat & Mouse, Tom and....."

Hopefully someone says "Jerry!"

Bingo.

"Second Word"

"A popular Chinese food dish, Pork Fried......"

"Rice!!"

BINGO, NOW SAY THOSE TWO WORDS TOGETHER!

"Jerry Rice!!"

Boom. Now pass the device to the other team.

You got your team to guess correctly, even though you didn't even know who Jerry Rice was.

And as I just demonstrated, you didn't need to.

However, in the moment, a lot of people freak out, say "I don't know who this is", and just let the timer run out.

Break. It. Down!

Now if it's a word that you've never even seen before, and you don't even know how to pronounce it, let alone what it is, that's a different story.

If you're not a tea drinker, and you see the word "Chamomile", and you've already used your skip, so you're stuck with that word, then that's just unfortunate.

HOWEVER, someone on your team might still be able to figure it out if you just keep talking it out even though you don't know what it is.

I've seen MANY words get guessed correctly even though the person giving the clues had no idea how to try and describe it, but they just kept thinking out loud, and something clicked enough for one of their teammates to figure it out before time ran out!

I still remember correctly guessing "Pat Sajak" and "Bats In The Belfry" at the absolute last second because the person trying to give clues just kept talking it out.

Needless to say, I love Catchphrase!

But there's SO MANY GAMES.

That's just ONE.

Mad Gab is another favorite of mine.

It's a phonetic game.

You'll see words on a card that make NO sense at first.

But when you read them out loud, even though it might sound like absolute gibberish, you're actually saying a word or phrase, and then either you figure it out, or someone on your team does, and you say the word or phrase and get a point!

The goal is to try and get as many points as you can before time runs out!

The slogan of the game is "It's not what you SAY, it's what you HEAR"

That's why I tell people that even if it sounds like absolute nonsense, just keep saying it out loud, so your teammates can hear it.

A lot of people just murmur the "gibberish" to themselves, when most of the time, a teammate will hear the what sounds like "gibberish" to you, but they actually hear the word or phrase, and then they guess it correctly!

Game Nights are always a good time, and the fact that I've got a Game Night coming up is what inspired this blog!

With that being said, I think I'm going to end this blog right here!

Thanks to anyone who took the time to read all about why I love Game Nights!

Until next time!