Playing catch up

I'm falling behind on my Jane Eyre-zombie fanfiction series (as well as my novel outlining) as I was busy the last two weeks.  Hopefully, I'll finish the first chapter/episode this week.

About a week and a half ago, Dad and I headed to the annual Wings over Gillespie air show at Gillespie Field in El Cajon, CA.  To know more about this little airport, go to the Wikipedia article here.  Basically, they had some really cool flyovers with WWII and Vietnam era military aircraft.  One of my favorites was the B-17 flying fortress.  I even got to "tour" one.  The guy ahead of us in the tour used to be an actual WWII B-17 pilot who wanted to sit in the cockpit for old times' sake.  According to his wife, he was in college at the time and didn't want to join the army for that reason so after he graduated, he joined the Air Force and flew the B-17.  After they helped him out of the plane, I thanked him for his service to this great nation of ours.  These are a few of the pictures that I took of the B-17.

A couple of days ago, I made my annual pilgrimage to the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar, CA.  I had a blast and I'm going back on the 14th for the "Taste of the Fair."  As long as I don't eat too much, I should be okay.  However, I could not pass up taking a picture of a fast food kiosk (one of many) at this year's fair.  And it's there EVERY YEAR.

I'm trying hard not to laugh at the ridiculousness of the name of the kiosk.  It also gives everyone the impression that most Americans are fat (and that is true, unfortunately).  You do have to admit that the "Stuffie Pocket" sounds good.  There's also tons of deep fried delicacies such as fried oreos, frogs' legs, ice cream, bacon, Kool-Aid, butter, etc.  It's a heart attack just waiting to happen.  I tried the frogs' legs one year and they tasted really weird.  I also sampled the oreos and the ice cream last year and they were quite good but too sweet.  One year, the fair offered, and I kid you not, FRIED RATTLESNAKE.  Yes, you heard me, FRIED RATTLESNAKE.  More specifically, it was fried Western Diamondback.  Dad and I had some that year and it tasted like shrimp without the seafood flavor.  I liked it but my dad thought it wasn't that big of a deal. 

I went for a 4-5 mile walk this afternoon and on the way home, I spotted this little critter crawling on a wooden fence.

It's amazing how God creates animals.  It pays to stop and see the beauty in God's creation, especially to take a picture of this caterpillar crawling along a wooden fence.  It's as if someone painted this little guy in those patterns.  Sooner or later, it will blossom into a beautiful butterfly.

I am now reading George Eliot's Middlemarch.  I'm up to the point where Fred Vincy is trying to get himself out of debt and Dorothea's conversation with Will Ladislaw, Mr. Casaubon's cousin.  It's a great read and I'm looking forward to reading further into it.

It's time to brush my teeth and head to bed.  Fin.

Breakfast, mayonnaise, and picky eating

This morning, my dad and I decided to stop at IHOP for breakfast before we went to work.  I really like IHOP because you can order anything from the menu at any time (like Denny's).  So, I ordered from the lunch menu because nothing from the breakfast menu really excites me (except maybe oatmeal or whole grain blueberry pancakes, but I wasn't in the mood for either).

I ordered the half-club sandwich with a cup of fruit (approx. 290 calories, according to the menu) and it wasn't the second time I've ordered this dish; I had ordered it on a previous visit and I liked the sandwich but there was no cheese in it.  This time around, there was cheese in my sandwich.  It was really good after one bite and then I realized that someone had put mayo in my sandwich.  Now, I know some people wouldn't think this would be a big deal because some people normally like mayo in their sandwiches, but I do not like mayo, except in making tuna salad or if it's some specialty sandwich that includes pesto mayo. 

However, I thought that, with the addtion of a touch of mayo, my sandwich tasted good.  Still, I would not be ordering mayo with my sandwiches at Subway anytime soon because of the added caloric value.  I can't remember how long ago my hatred of mayonnaise had started but, for some reason, as a child, I developed a distate for the stuff as well as balongna.  But I am a picky eater.  I don't like eggs, salad dressing in my salad (preferably in a sandwich with lots of veggies and lunch meat to "absorb" it), beef stroganoff, fettucine alfredo (the last time I had it, it made me gag), potato salad, and other things.  According to my dad, I used to love eggs as a little kid but for some reason, stopped liking them all of a sudden.  I don't know; maybe my taste buds are weird.

Fin.


P.S. If you'd like to drop me a line about this blog, email me at theshannifesto@gmail.com.