6x6

At long last, someone's sent me a new game of Tag! No "6 Random Things," no "100 Good Things," no "7 Things You Probably Didn't Want to Know," no "15 Things I'd Really Rather Not Tell You" (get real - if I'm blogging it, I don't mind telling you)... Kidcessory Haven, one of several new friends I've met as a result of the ridiculousness that is the CPSIA, has tagged me in the 6x6 game. The rules are simple (as they must be, if one expects fellow bloggers to actually follow them): Choose the 6th image out of your 6th picture folder from your computer and blog it. Then tag 6 more people to do the same.

Well, it sounded simple - until I realized that the 6th picture folder contains Webcam photos (and before you get too excited at the prospect of obscenely candid photos of me, there weren't six shots in that folder!) So now what? I clicked on the next folder, assuming that the rule means "out of your 6th picture folder that HAS six pictures in it." The next folder had one screenshot. Now, the dilemma: Move that into the previous folder and call it the sixth? But no. No, the previous folder would still have only five photos, none of them worth blogging about. (Oh, get your mind out of the gutter. They really are your typical, self-conscious, "gee, I have a Webcam, hello world, ain't this nifty?" photos - embarrassing, but not titillating.)

So now we're down to the seventh folder, technically, but it's the sixth folder containing six or more pictures. Here you go:

Mmmm...caviar! Happy New Year! This stuff didn't last long. Carr's Table Water Crackers and caviar, a New Year's Eve Tradition. Don't give me that, "Ewwww, fish eggs?" crap. I'll bet 90% of the people who say that eat chicken eggs. For the first time, it occurs to me to wonder: Why are fish okay, but fish eggs not? Why are chickens and their eggs okay? Why are frog legs okay, but their eggs - ewwwwwwww? (Anybody ever tried them?)

I've loved caviar since I was little. I'm not sure when I first tasted it, but I remember eating it aboard the S.S. United States, when I was five. We dined on some odd delicacies: caviar, turtle soup, oxtail soup, kangaroo tail soup... Our waiter, Jose, asked me, "Do you really like this stuff?"

I had to think about that for a second. "No, but I love the look on the grown-ups faces when I order it and eat it."

That was the beginning of a lifetime of acquired tastes. I grew to love caviar, frog legs, turtle soup, ostrich burgers - I have an adventurous palate and I figure if it's not going to kill me, it's worth a try. My dad and I used to stand in my grandmother's kitchen and eat caviar from a spoon. Salty, fishy goodness - we like anchovies, too.

I haven't outgrown that childish glee in watching the shocked looks on the faces of the culinary cowards who prefer to stick to chicken, beef, pork, and potatoes. I've even been known to pop Vanda orchids into my mouth and moan as if they were the most sumptuous things I'd ever tasted, just to savor the look on dinner companions' faces.  (They taste a little bit like watermelon rinds.)

Oh, and that Webcam photo? Fine. Here:

Satisfied? Look, it's been a long day, okay? I haven't brushed my hair in twelve hours. I'm not wearing makeup. And my Webcam turns everything a weird orangy yellow. You could probably run the fingerprints on my glasses through AFIS. But hey...hi.

Now, who to tag for the next round of 6x6?

Rena Jones

Ramblin' On

Home Is Where The Cars Parked

ApronStrings

Lion's Ima

How to be a Woman..?

This should be fun. Ready? Go.

bodybugg® Display: I Can See Clearly Now

I was up .5 lbs this morning; instead of getting discouraged, I let it spur me to action: I went to the gym, bought the bodybugg® display unit, and worked out. 24 Hour Fitness has independent dealer Elizabeth Sherman to thank for the sale - she played around with one for a few days before answering my question about whether I would also be required to have the Web site subscription to make it work. Then she followed up with me on Twitter. And I would have bought it from her, for all the trouble she went to, but she said that with shipping and handling, I might as well get it locally if I could. I've heard of good customer service - but good customer service for someone who's not a customer and not likely to be one any time soon? Unheard of. Elizabeth Sherman ROCKS. 24 Hour Fitness, if you're reading this, give the woman a bonus or something.

I set up the new display unit while paying for it. I was pretty sure it would work when I read, "Hello Holly." (You do need to use the Web to set up a program and enter your personal details; the dealer or trainer should help you do that, and it's included with the purchase if you buy direct or through an authorized dealer.) Glancing at the display now and then, I learned something interesting during my workout. I don't reach my peak calorie burn until well into (almost at the tail end of) my workout. I got up to 5.0 calories/minute, but that was not a steady rate by any means. The interesting thing is, 20 minutes after leaving the gym, while doing nothing but standing, my rate was up to 5.1-5.2 calories/minute! It rose slowly to peak at 5.2, and is only just now - 30 minute later, beginning to drop. Exercise really does keep working for you for a little while.