Graduated on Saturday. Received Alpha Beta Kappa Honors - not too shabby. Later that evening went to a graduation party at a fellow student's house (more like a mini-mansion). Good food. Legitimate dudes - they will be missed. Decided to get culinary for this celebratory soiree, whipping up a Spinach Artichoke Dip and a batch of some Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles (big respect to Isa and the Post Punk Kitchen). Both were pretty popular - especially the snickerdoodles - despite the fact that a few traditional ingredients were MIA. This did, of course, lead to some curious inquiries about my diet. Most were respectful, merely wondering what it is I eat. One individual, however, blurred the line between ignorance and insolence. I can deal with the misinformed. It comes with the territory. But disrespect is not so easily digested. Recalling the exchange I had with this individual in detail is something I don't care to do here; allow me to say that even after politely fending off a barrage of common untruths with the facts, there was still a sense of mockery about the line of questioning. Cool was kept, though. And in what was perhaps my greatest rebuttal, I let the food do the talking, as the sipper of haterade proceeded to walk a subsequent line between irony and hypocrisy amidst mouthfuls of snickerdoodle. Beef squashed.
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Been pretty lazy with reading lately. Before I was busy finishing up school. Now I'm busy looking/applying for jobs. But I'm trying to at least pick up Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates at least once a day. Josh, it needs to get back to you before the Chicago move. I will make it happen.
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I always like to post music on here. But am I being delusional in doing so? Does it ever get listened to? Well, that's not going to stop me from posting it. I'll just make it completely random, shuffling my iTunes library and seeing what happens. Here we go...
What comes up but only one of the classics. Top 5 band from the Pacific Northwest. Greatest (or maybe second greatest) metalcore album of all time. The definition of innovation in heavy music. That definition is Botch. Reunion time, guys. Show the newjacks how to harness the power of the angular riff.
I'm secure enough in my masculinity to post cute cat pictures. I'll even own up to frequenting this great blog about cats (and where they do not belong). Really though, The Murph just needed to be shown some more love on here. Because he is one of the dopest cats of all time.
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In other uber-masculine endeavors, I've elevated my game to that of 99% vegan warrior. It's been about a week or two - can't remember the exact day. Besides the slice of toast that (for whatever unnecessary reason) contains a minute bit of milk, I'm doing the thing. Maybe it's because I've been on this path for the past nine years, but I'm not finding it to be that hard. My only concern is the whole omega-3 deficiency; LNA (or ALA) not being the problem, but having to rely on inefficient conversion for EPA and DHA. If the algae DHA/EPA pills weren't so expensive, this wouldn't even be an issue. So for the time being I'm relying on the conversion, consuming about 4-6 tablespoons of ground flaxseed daily (it's rich in LNA needed for conversion and is pretty inexpensive if you buy it in bulk, grinding it yourself). After doing some math, I think I've got my omega-3 bases covered. And while flaxseed is high in fat like most nuts in seeds, the rest of my diet is so low in it that I don't have to worry about exceeding recommended intakes. Plus, I exercise often enough to put me well outside the average 2,000 - 2,500 calorie diet plan, allowing me a few extra grams. Long story short, I'm almost there. Babes won't dig it (What do you mean you can't take me to Wendy's?). But that was never the point.
If all that talk about omega-3's made no sense, I'd suggest looking it up. Even if you eat meat, you most likely aren't consuming enough fish to get the recommended levels. Your brain health depends on it.
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Watched Sling Blade for the first time in a number of years. It's an old favorite. Sort of ridiculous. But therein lies the charm. I can imagine Billy Bob Thorton seeing Forest Gump and thinking, "...what if he wasn't a wuss and had a homicidal past?" Thorton is great in the role, too. I almost forget it's him there at times. Total character immersion. No way he was breaking between takes.
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Recently discovered The Replacements. A little after-the-fact on that one. Better late than never, though. Josh, I sent you one of their albums and I haven't heard anything back yet, which means you probably aren't feeling it. You probably think they sound the Goo Goo Dolls. Whatever, dude.