Recycled Myspace Blog (2)- The To-Go Box

Here's another installment of an older post from my earlier blogging days on MySpace. Enjoy!

The To-Go Box (originally published on MySpace June 1, 2007)

Often times when I attend a sit-down restaurant I do not finish my entire meal due mostly in part the massive quantities of food I am served.

When my waitress comes for the second to last time to bring me the check she also asks me the most difficult question I have to answer during the whole dining experience.

"Would you like a to-go box for the rest of that?"

Most people probably answer with a quick yes or no answer, but it is much more complicated than that for me.

The to-go box requires me to do so many things and it's such a burden that, more often than not, I am not willing to bear.

Once I commit to the to-go box I have committed to:
-remembering to take the to-go box home
-remembering to take the to-go box out of my car and into my home
-putting the to-go box in the refrigerator
-remembering in the near future that when I'm hungry, the to-go box is waiting for me
-reheating the food inside the to-go box
-and finally, eating whatever little remains of the food I ate 24-72 hours ago.

9 times out of 10 the reheated meal doesn't taste anywhere close to the satisfaction you felt at the restaurant and just the look of the cold food as you take it out of the fridge before you put it in the microwave is enough to make you want to throw it out right there.

Speaking of throwing it out, I would say this is actually what happens to the majority of to-go boxes I've encountered. Take yesterday afternoon for example:

I have a delicious meal at California Pizza Kitchen (CPK). The waitress was cute, the food was yummy, I had great conversation with my friends while dining. All was well until I accepted the to-go box. The lunch time to-go box is the worst kind of them all because it adds 2 more steps to the whole process: Refrigerating at work, and remembering it's in there when you leave work.

Yesterday I did neither.

When I came in this morning, my CPK pizza was still there, waiting for me, on my desk, as cold and clammy as ever. The fate of the food and the to-go box that bore it was bleak my friends. As I type this now it is in my trash can waiting to begin its slow journey that is decomposition.

So what's the point you may ask?

The point is, to me, the to-go box is more trouble than it's worth. For me the chance of the food inside it ever reaching my lips again is about the same odds as me winning the lottery. It's not only a hassle for the waitress to bring it to you, but takes up space in your fridge, and most likely will just be tossed out like the trash it is in 3 days.

So next time you're asked if you want to take the rest of that home with you ask your self: Is it really worth it?

Riddle Me This

When I was in college, downloading music was just coming to fruition and we all know that back then, there was only one place to go to do it: Napster.

It was the coolest thing ever. Any song you wanted was a click and 20 seconds away and best of all, it didn't cost you a penny.

But September 24th, 2001, Napster was shut down due to legal struggles with the RIAA and the days of uninhibited downloading had come to an end - or had they?

Apparently not.

Shortly after Napsters demise I found Kazaa and Morpheus, two services which had popped up and filled the void in the free download world. They were ok but filled with annoying ads and had a high risk of infecting your computer with some sort of sickness.

But now, in 2008, we have Limewire.

To me, Limewire is every bit as good as Napster ever was. No ads, any song you could want is there, and best of all, all free.

So how is it my friends that 7 years after Napsters end I can still get any song I want online any time I want it without paying a penny?

A mystery to me.

Coed Softball Recap : 8/15/08

Drunken Clams Rout TALX in Season Opener 21-5

By Kevin Mueller

CREVE COEUR – A change of venues, a change of players, and a change of the team name may be insignificant details for the Drunken Clams, but after Friday’s blowout of TALX one thing is for certain: change is good.

Returning from last year, Jen, TJ, Kevin, Cara, Cody, Caryn, and Julie provided the foundation and making their softball debuts with the Clams were John, Margaret, and Gabe. This new group meshed well from the first pitch until the final out, playing solid defense and consistent offense throughout the game.

After falling behind quickly 2-0 in the top of the 1st, this new team did something last years group was unable to do all of last season: they responded, and responded big. Sending 18 players to the plate* in the bottom of the 1st, the Drunken Clams scored 13 runs* on 13 base hits* and a walk and never looked back.

After the Clams were held scoreless in the 2nd, TALX cut the lead to 13-3, but that was as close as this contest ever was. The 3rd inning saw TALX post two more tallies on the score sheet but were matched with two from the home team in the bottom half of the frame.

Heading into the 4th inning leading by 10, Cody pitched a scoreless top half of the inning, practically ensuring the Clams the victory, but there were more fireworks to come.

After Julie’s second walk of the game, and singles by John and Jen, Kevin stepped up to the plate for the fourth time in the game, this time with the bases loaded. Although he was 2 for 3 on the night already, no one, including Kevin himself, could believe what happened next.

A 2-2 pitch was tossed toward home and Kevin got every bit of it, sending the ball way out into left, well over the head of the fielder, and deep into the fenceless outfield. Although the TALX player moved quickly to recover the ball, Kevin was running hard out of the gate, and was right on the Jen’s heels as he crossed home plate, giving the Drunken Clams their first ever Grand Slam and 1st homerun of the 2008 season.

With the score now 24-5, the next batter, Margaret, lined a single into the outfield. This brought up Gabe who was already 3 for 3 on the night. But he wasn’t done either. Going a perfect 4 for 4, he launched a pitch to the opposite field and touched them all, the second homerun of the inning. This one would prove to be the final blow however, as after 3 innings, a team up by 15 is awarded the victory.

Surrendering only 5 runs though 4 innings, Cody picked up his first win as a co-ed recreational softball pitcher, striking out two batters in the process, and never giving up more than two runs in an inning.

* Designates team records

Game Notes: 9 out of 10 Clams scored runs. A deer was grazing in left field from the 2nd inning on, but did not prove to be a factor in the game. This was the Clams second team win dating back to last season when they did not have a team name. John was 5 for 5 in the game and is batting 1.000 along with Gabe.

NEXT GAME: 8/22/08 vs. The Hanging Chads @ 9:30 pm

Redemption

Let me start this one out by saying that I'm not a gambler. I've been to the casino probably a dozen times since I've been 21 (5 years). Having said that I have definitely have a game of choice when I do go and that is blackjack.

Why blackjack? It's simple really, I feel like I have the most control and the best shot at coming out ahead. Roulette is all chance, so are slots, and I to this day have no idea what the hell is going on in that craps game.

So blackjack it is.

Another thing you need to know about me to fully comprehend this story: I'm extremely competitive. I hate to lose. Doesn't matter if its be in a friendly game of Scattergories or a medium risk game of "21".

So when I go to the casino I don't want to walk out that door a loser, which is a dangerous thing (and the reason I don't go all that often).

So this afternoon I head to Harrah's with my friend Allison. I walk in the door with $40 and promised myself that was all I was willing to lose today. After a nice lunch I head right to my faithful game and sit down at a table.

Things start out well. I turn my $40 into about $60 but then go on to lose about 8 hands in a row which is extremely rare. So I'm out after only 20 minutes. Allison has about $10 she plays in some nickel slot as I sit and watch, contemplating my failure. She spends about 7 minutes and slowly and systematically watches her $1o turn into $0.

But during this time I've already made up my mind. I'm winning my money back, which means another trip to the ATM, and a betrayal of my self-promise to only gamble $40.

I'm determined, however, and remember, I hate to lose.

I pull out $60 this time and head back to blackjack but at a different table this time.

I quickly regret though as my decision as my $60 turns into $40, then $20, then $10.

Heartbroken and desperate I bet my final $10 but instead of walking away at this point disappointed and dejected something else happens. I win. My $10 doubles to $20 and I begin a great roll of blackjack. A sequence of luck and skill combine to save my afternoon and take me from one hand away from misery to cashing in one black chip to the cashier, which for those non-gamblers, is $100.

Now before you say wow, what a day for Kev at the casino let's remember I started with 40 and lost it, then got 60 out from the ATM for a total of $100 and a cashed out with, yep, $100. So I didn't win anything today. But in my opinion, if you don't lose any money at the boat, you are most certainly a winner.

Driving home I found it hard to wipe the smile off my face. I cheated fate and won, which doesn't happen very often. I was so happy I stopped off at DQ for a Peanut Buster Parfait and boy was it delicious.

Under Attack

At approximately 6:40 pm today the Kingdom of Kevin was ambushed by blogspot spammers. My defenses were weak, they smelt a weakness and exploited it.

After catching wind of the siege I fortified the Kingdom by turning on word verification for comments.

Sorry, but it had to be done.

You are now reading in a spam-free environment (hopefully).

Recycled Myspace Blog (1) - Formalities

I was just perusing my MySpace page, which really mostly just exists in case random people would like to know what I'm up to now-a-days, but while on there I remembered that before I started blogging here, I used to write there. These are like the before-he-was-famous blogs, the b-sides if you will. Since most of you guys that read this don't have MySpace I thought I'd post some of the highlights of those blogs here. I'll still be mixing in new stuff when I think of something but until then:

Formalities - originally posted 12/14/2006 on MySpace

Just recently we had our work Christmas party which reminded me of a lot of the little things about life I can't stand.

I brought a friend of mine I don't work with to this gathering and immediately realized the Pandora's box I had opened.

Introductions.

I hate introducing myself to other people, let alone people I know to people they don't. I don't know why I loathe it so but I think the biggest reason is that I know that no matter how I introduce person A to person B they will never remember their name. It really is just one of life's formalities and I hate to do it.

Every person I saw at this party I had to say "Hi! This is my friend Colleen" and she would say something like "Nice to meet you." and this viscous cycle would repeat itself time and time again.

This leads me to my second point I want to make and that is, once the introductions have passed you are now required to engage in some forced conversation with people you know and some you don't and it is the most obligatory and dull conversation there is. And they all end they the same way which is something like, "Ok, have a good night." Or "Have fun."

Small talk isn't for me. To be honest, when forced I'm terrible at it and maybe that's why I can't stand it. But when relaxed in a small group setting I am a great conversationalist but I wouldn't call my talk small. It's usually something observational that I find interesting and hopefully other people do to.

And a side note; at this party there were two sets of silverware, one for the mail course and one for the dessert. I swear that these two forks and knives were IDENTICAL but I know I heard someone remark, "I can't believe 'so and so' is using their dessert fork for their meal.

Who cares? It's kitchenware. Its job is to get food from point A (the plate) to point B (your mouth). However 'so-and-so' wants to get it their is a choice I leave to them and I don't judge people based on how they do it.

Just another worthless formality I had to endure at the company party...