Vacation for Just One Day

     My mother has never been the type of person to travel.  It was one of the reasons why she took early retirement.  As such, I never got to go anywhere special when I was a kid.  The one time we had planned on going anywhere, she flaked out the morning of the actual event because she thought I was going to overheat.  Didn't really believe her, even then, but I could do nothing about it.  Even after I got my own car, she wouldn't let me go anywhere on my own.  Okay, sometimes I would find ways of going a little out of the way when I could, but rarely anything more than a half hour away when I was doing something else.  Nothing interesting or special, but it was a good way to rebel, especially during my "lost years." Now that I technically own my own business, I literally can't afford to take long periods off.  Therefore, I am forced to just take day long shopping trips. Yesterday was one such trip that had been scheduled for a few weeks, after having been delayed due to possible bad weather on the original date.  Well, things went off bad.  I had a hard time sleeping due to a storm passing through overnight and a neighbors lights being on for well over an hour.  I woke up a few minutes later than expected, making me late in all of the things I had to do to get ready.  Not cool.  I wound up leaving at least fifteen minutes late, which I hated.  It also meant that I would probably have to forego a few spots.  At least I saw a heron in the creek as I was leaving.  That is frequently a good omen for me.  The storms weren't bad enough to cause any damage, but there was widespread fog for the first hour of driving.  The roads were fine, until the never-ending road work an hour in.  I really can't see why there is a speed reduction when the actual work is nowhere near the road.  About two hours in was the rest break.  For the first time ever, I was experiencing pain in my shoulders from having them up for so long.  Now, I can perform a unilateral overhead dumbbell shoulder press with a fifty-pound weight.  My delts can handle the work, but holding them out steady for that long was taxing me.  My back was strangely fine.  Usually, I can get sore or discomfort after so long, but not this time.  I switched over radio stations for the last hour of driving, trying to catch a morning show that was no longer available locally.  Somehow, there was only one short segment, about six to eight minutes, during that hour.  It was mostly songs and commercials.  When I could hear it locally, I thought there was more content than that.  Maybe it was their vacation?  Who knows.  My first stop, after navigating more road work and a near collision on city streets, was a book store.  Yes, I own one myself, but it is a tradition for me.  My fondest memories for these trips was always getting a comic or book and looking at it while my mother shopped, reading it in the back seat on the way home.  I always try to pick up a magazine whenever I go on one of these trips, as proof that it wasn't in vain.  However, pretty much every magazine I used to read has moved to digital.  I found one, though, that should have been found locally, but was strangely absent everywhere I looked.  I also tried to check on bargains as well as anything I wanted for my store.  Nothing.  I had to skip my second planned stop due to the slight lateness, and I went on to the mall for the real shopping to begin.  I did a quick peel at the first store before having an early lunch, before checking out the rest of the mall before I actually shopped.  Well, while there were a few stores that looked great (more on one of them next week), the only thing I picked up was a CD that I wasn't even looking for.  I finally got to the department store where I was planning on most of my shopping.  They were out of my aftershave, but I was lucky to pick it up at the other end of the mall on my way out.  I found some new pants I have been needing.  Then, I saw a great new shirt.  Yellow-orange.  On sale for $21.  My favorite higher-end brand.  Someone actually talked me out of it, and they then talked me into getting a much cheaper shirt in a style and color I really didn't like.  Why this always happens to me, I don't know.  They looked for their own things, but wound up getting nothing.  They even put something back because they were waiting in line too long and they were afraid a storm might come while we were out.  There was only a brief shower, and that was when we were almost back hours later.  Wildfire smoke, not storm clouds.  Eh.  I stopped at a supermarket for a brief look at a different spread of products from back home, where I picked up a new product that has been out for awhile but absent locally, and then it was the drive home. I stopped off for a rest and another snack (I make sure to eat every two to four hours to maintain metabolic goals), with one last stop to drop off some books at the library and print off some pages before arriving home only a half hour or so later than normal.  After all of the prep and travel, I still had to put off a few of my normal daily activities last night just to make sure I got something done close to my regular schedule.  Now, I'm back at my store, behind schedule with this post because I watched YouTube.  How anyone take more than a day off at a time, or even a week, is something I have yet to grasp.

We'll All Dr Pepper Float on Anyway

    Whenever I'm asked the age-old question, "Coke or Pepsi?" I always have the same answer--Dr Pepper.  It's been that way ever since I was a kid.  Sure, I would choose Pepsi if there was nothing else, but I never really liked the flavor of Coke.  Fortunately, Dr Pepper is frequently a choice at many fast food place that focus on one of the 'big two' soda, so I rarely have a huge problem.  My favorite soft drink of all time just might be Dr Pepper's Cherry Vanilla flavor.  It's just too bad that I haven't seen it in years, even if the website claims that the drink still exists.  Anyway, when news broke that Bluebell was coming out with a Dr Pepper Float flavor, I was overjoyed.  It would take a few weeks for the product to hit store shelves, so I started making plans of getting a pint to taste.  Mostly, I was making sure that I could get it at a store close enough to home to prevent major melting.  That's when I realized that only one store carried Bluebell anywhere in the area.  I could've sworn I saw it in more than one location, but I guess I was wrong.  Just last week, when I clicked on an article about the roll-out, I found out that this part of Kentucky wasn't even supposed to be part of the Bluebell distribution chain.  So, I guess that makes my usual grocery store a unicorn of great proportions.  (By the way, that store is the Pikeville Food City on Cassidy.) I planned my trip accordingly, checking that the ice cream was still in stock, getting everything else on my list first, and having someone get into the checkout line early while I picked up a pint from the back of the freezer.  I quickly rolled the cart out the car and placed the pint into a freezer bag with another cold thing (more on this later).  I drove safely but quickly back to my store to drop off a few things and pick up other stuff, and then I drove home with the air conditioner on all the way.  I rushed to put the ice cream in the freezer immediately before going back out to the car for the rest of my things.  The thin layer of frost was still on the pint, although the carton was a little squishy.  I managed to wait until after dinner to try some, as I wanted the ice cream to firm up.  The first thing I noticed when I got it out of the freezer was that there was a clear plastic window on the lid allowing you to see inside.  Odd.  Next, I had a hard time taking the lid off.  Apparently, the freezer was super-efficient in refreezing the pint.  While the Dr Pepper-flavored sherbet swirl was still a little soft, the vanilla ice cream portion was rock hard.  I could barely scoop enough out for an even halfway decent serving, but it was worth it.  The vanilla portion may have had a speck of vanilla been peeking through.  It was a standard quality vanilla, but not the star.  The sherbet was the maroon color associated with Dr Pepper and very soft.  It takes just like the soda, with a slight metallic hint as well as a slight buzz similar to that of carbonation.  Overall, the pairing did mimic the taste of an actual float.  For a second serving two days later, I left the pint on the counter a few minutes before eating.  While the sherbet was still fairly soft, the vanilla ice cream was unaffected. (Just a note on my refrigerator.  It is almost an inch shorter than me, just of the many benefits of my current place that make me feel taller than I actually am.  The freezer reaches down below my chest, causing me to have to bend down even to reach the top shelf in the main section.  The thing is fairly deep too.) While the swirling could have been more equal, I still recommend the product.  Now, I purchased another frozen product that day, Eggo Chocolatey Chip Banana Waffles.  Years ago, Eggo used to make a banana bread variety which was my all-time favorite flavor, but it has been discontinued for some time.  While similar products have been out before, this one came out quite suddenly.  Normally, I don't like chocolate for breakfast.  However, I do love the taste of chocolate and banana, which has caused me to break that rule a few times.  (Best banana and chocolate pairing--Entemann's mini banana muffins with a room temperature partially melted Hershey's kiss.)  I normally have strawberry jam with my waffles, as strawberry pairs great with both banana and chocolate, but I had my first bite without it.  The first thing I tasted was a hit of cinnamon.  Now, cinnamon is one of my least favorite flavors, just above mint and coffee.  However, I can tolerate cinnamon in small amounts.  I also could be wrong, but banana is paired with it in banana bread frequently, so who knows?  The banana flavor was subtle, but there.  The chips might only be flavored chocolate, but the did melt some in cooking.  The two flavors balanced nicely, with the strawberry jam I added going very well with each.  I've only had one serving so far, so I can't really reach a final verdict yet, but this could be put into my regular breakfast rotation if things work out.

Late for the Party Again, If I Even Was Invited

    There is a term called "fear of missing out."  However, if one has already missed out on something, how can they then also fear it?  I've missed out on so many things, I can't really fall into this type of situation.  Take this example.  I've really enjoying a certain YouTube channel for a few months now, after discovering their rebroadcast on Facebook, albeit in a shortened, edited format.  When I finally saw the episodes in their original format and freshly posted, I was amazed by how innovative they were.  Sure, many of the episodes were way longer than I cared for and some of the content just wasn't my thing, but I still loved the fact that I could see them as they were intended.  Well, this past Monday, I found out that the channel was once one of YouTube's biggest subscription stars!   Years and years ago when the service first started.  Here I thought I was discovering something that was just getting ready to hit it big, when I really was just very late on the bandwagon.  I kind of knew that they had been around for awhile, but it wasn't until this week that I realized just how far behind on the trend I was.  Even if I had known about the channel when I got my MacBook five years ago (the anniversary is next week), I still would have been behind on the trend.  I used to consider myself as someone who could get ahead of a trend before it even others started to think it up, but this skill has fallen into disuse, as this latest revelation has proven.  At least I can take some consolation by believing that this stand-up comedian I follow on Facebook is a sure thing.  I might not have been among the first to notice him, but I have been an early supporter.  I really feel that this guy might be onto bigger things, even if I don't exactly line up with his views all of the time.  Still, I do feel that I have missed out on so many opportunities in my life for one reason or another.  With May and June bringing the anniversary of so many events that are  important to me, this desire to experience such things just grows.  For the last few weeks, I have been working on something to help me out with this, but I just keep putting off finishing it.  I currently plan to finish it soon, in time to start it next week.  I'm just afraid that I will mess it up like I have done with many other opportunities in my life.  It just feels so manipulative to ask for what I want, but I just don't want to miss out on anything else.  I just need to ask the right person/people for help, and then find a way to let them know what I need in a way that feels natural but not too out of place.  I just hope I will get invited this time, and that I go through with it.

Planning on Obsolescence

    Earlier this week, Apple made their yearly announcements about upcoming products.  The biggest one was about their new augmented reality headset, due out next year.  Among their other announcements were the new Mac Pro, updates to the MacBook line, and tweaks to the Watch and AirPods lines.  The new updates to their operating systems were also announced.  The new version of Apple's OS will be called "Sonoma."  I feel that Apple is soon going to run out of cool-sounding Californian geographical features to name stuff out of.  Apple already ran though so many big cats with their original naming system.  Some of the new features include the following:  in-picture framing for live presentations when you want to work on something else simultaneously, a special 'game-mode' that re-directs power from background apps so that any games will work faster, and the removal for the need to say "Hey" when one wants to use the Siri app.  This last feature will be included on iPhones and iPads as well.  Unfortunately, none of those features will work on models as old as my MacBook Pro, only newer models.  That's fine, as I wouldn't normally need any of those feature anyway.  On the other hand, it also marks the end of OS updates for me, as next year's update will probably not work on my MacBook.  I'm not even sure if I'll be able to install this update when the time comes.  While the previous update worked fine, I had to make a lot of extra room just to get enough memory for the previous update.  I was fearing I had to do worse for the current one.  Sierra I believe it is called, but I rarely pay attention to such things any more.  I just allot a good hour or so one day a few months after the update drops a click.  When I finally try to install this last update, it will surely be the last one, as the specs for it suggest that the next one won't work on my soon-to-be six year old computer.  I first got my Mac five years ago due to my online grad school classes, that I still haven't completed my degree.  Maybe this fall, or not.  That was the period when the magnetic cord connectors were replaced by c-ports, but only two.  Nowhere near the amount previous models had.  No disc reader either, rendering many functions that I would have liked to add obsolete.  These features have slowly come back in more recent models.  I feel that I will have to upgrade in the next year or so, just to make sure I can keep computing.  My iCloud storage is running close to full, and I keep being notified every few days about buying more space, something I just don't think I can manage at this time.  I delete old photos every few weeks just to make do with what I have left.  I worry about every download, if it will be the one that breaks the barrier.  I'm not looking forward to going to the Apple Store in its new location, if it doesn't move again in the interim.  It was in a somewhat high-end location with plenty around to go to as well.  Its new spot is even higher-end if possible, with pretty much nothing else around that sounds intriguing to me.  I definitely can't order on online.  That is way more money than I would like to transfer electronically, but I'll just have to see.  When I first got my MacBook, I 'knew' that I would have to get another computer one day, but it just started to affect me this past year.  I've done so much on what has become my first computer that I just hate it that I'll need to replace it soon.