A "Raw" Experience

It wasn't until the past year that I started to try sushi. Just the thought of it used to make me gag. "It's just raw fish, you like fish don't you?" my friends always used to say to me. I enjoyed raw foods that were cooked, but I didn't want to assume the health risks (actually, it was mostly the risk of spitting it up in front of everyone). We were at shogun hibachi in South County commons when I finally decided to give it a try. The California roll appealed to me because it was wrapped in rice and was just more aesthetically appealing then the rest. I am not one to go by the looks of food, but in this case, I needed some reasoning to even consider trying one. To my surprise, I enjoyed the taste and the texture (texture being a major concern..if I had felt like something slimy was in my mouth I probably would have ran to the bathroom). I began to try different ones and realize that they pretty much taste the same, and they all tasted very good. Instead of getting a meal at hibachi places, I actually just get a ton of sushi. I will admit that it can make your stomach feel a little shaky, but I enjoy the taste so much that it's worth the sacrifice. I used to say I would eat anything when I'm hungry, but now I can actually say it and mean it.

Opposite Side of the Tracks

My girlfriend and I have been dating for three years. I am a suburban kid that has lived more of the city life, while she has lived in a more rural setting and spent much of her early life helping do farm work and run a turf business. I am also catholic and participate in my religion regularly, while she is a different religion and religion plays a lesser role in her life. Due to her years of working, she is used to working long days and her work is always a big part of her life. I can't work long hours (mainly because I don't have the heart to) , and I like to keep my work separate from my life outside of work. Before I met her, I would feel guilty if I didn't go out on weekends, but I've learned from her that going out every weekend isn't necessary to have a good time. She is content with just watching TV or movies all day, while I like to be more active. As much as we are different, we still manage to embrace the differences. I think that's a big part of accepting other cultures. We fulfill ourselves through learning about other cultures. Whatever qualities we don't possess may be possessed by other people, which could possibly be a result of cultural factors.

" A Little Too Close For Comfort"

It had been my first time to Six Flags New England since middle school. I was with my girlfriend and a few friends of mine on a very hot summer day (if my memory serves me right it was a Thursday) . We got there as soon as the park opened, but the lines were still extremely long. The only issue was that the lines were becoming one giant see of people. For some reason, people were standing ten feet apart from one another, which made it difficult to tell what line some people were in. Even if I moved a little bit in each direction, I would bump into somebody else. I remember looking to my right and seeing a girl talking with her friend, who I assumed was next to her...but no...she was standing literally an inch behind me and I kept bumping into her. There were other people trying to meet up with friends that had no choice but to walk through the sea of people rather than go around because that option didn't exist. Once we entered the park, the situation didn't get much better, but for a different reason. People don't know how to walk. When you see someone walking toward you, changing direction would be a smart idea. But no, let's just stay the course so we can have to dive out of each others way at the last second. The situations that are easily avoidable but aren't can be extremely aggravating.

The One Day Trip to Spain

So my girlfriend and I went to Spain Restaurant in Narragansett for our three year anniversary. This has been on ongoing tradition of ours for each of the past three years, so anything less would have been a downgrade and a let down. The place is very popular with the older crowd, and that is exactly what we saw. With the exception of a few, we were the youngest ones in there by at least thirty years. I didn't mind though, that only means it was going to be more quiet. The professionalism astonishes me more and more every time I go there. When you are done with your bread, usually there is a little bit of a mess in front of you, and they come over with a crumber to clean your eating area. I understand this is something sophisticated restaurants emphasize, but I'm not used to that kind of treatment, so for a few seconds I felt like royalty. Then they brought over the shrimp appetizer, which we had been looking forward to for weeks (which sounds sad, but it really is that good). We are on a mission to figure out the recipe to the spicy sauce that they put on it. It is easily the tastiest shrimp I've ever had. For my entree I got a chicken anazula (kind of butchered the name), which was chicken breast stuffed with ham, spinach, pine nuts, and cheese which was covered in a pink vodka like sauce. She got a sirloin steak, which was cooked perfection (at least according to my taste). We always get dessert after, but we literally had no room left, so we left unable to fulfill our sweet craving. We ended up have ice cream later in the night anyway.

Exhaustion on a Calm River

A bunch of us were in North Conway, New Hampshire this past summer, kayaking our way down (what felt like up) a slow river. It was my first time, and quite frankly, it had been quite awhile since I had given my arms any sort of workout. This particular river was shallow towards the edges and steeper towards the middle, but that wasn't always the case. If you drifted even a little towards the shore at some parts, you were stranded on a mound of sand that you had to push yourself out of with a paddle (either that or get out of the kayak and walk it somewhere else). It was only our third mile into our adventure when my arms started to hurt, and by the fifth mile I started to feel some numbness. I had developed a great stride and was picking up speed, but compared to everyone else, it was really nothing. I began pleading with a higher power (and with myself) to muster up the strength to complete this seven mile long ride, but the inches looked like feet, and the feet started to look like miles. For the last quarter mile, I pretty much just let myself coast because I had nothing left. My triceps were on fire, and my shoulders felt like I had been doing raises for a week straight. I was so happy to be using just my legs when I got out of the kayak. Too bad I had to carry the boat up two sets of wooden stairs after that.

Hitting the Hardwood

My friend and I figured it would be slow at Mackal today since a lot of students took the three day weekend to go home. We couldn't have been more wrong. When we first arrived, the main courts were closed because of the usual track practice. We made our way over to the secondary courts, where we found an entire court to shoot around on. That was short-lived as people started to poor in. Before you knew it, our shoot around turned into a battle for the court. We finally gave in and decided to play full court (it was either that, or get off the court). It went surprisingly well, considering the level of competition was quite high in this particular instance. Now don't get me wrong, my friend and I have been playing for awhile and can hold our own on the court, but we were outmatched physically and athletically. It didn't take long to develop a rapport with these guys, which was surprising because we had such different playing styles that typically would clash. We ended up winning all the games we played and worked up quite a sweat. You always expect to learn something about yourself when you play, but its an added bonus when you understand the players around you a little better too.

Driving on the Interstate of Hell

I went home on Sunday to get some laundry done and spend a little time with my folks. It was pretty typical until my way back to URI became uncharacteristically frustrating. I could certainly understand a Monday around 4-5 being busy, but why on earth would I have to wait five minutes just to merge onto I-95 from Rt. 146 on a Sunday. Then, I attempted to get move over into the next lane on my left, but of course everyone in that lane was traveling bumper to bumper going 40 mph. For anyone that knows the area, the right lane abruptly turns into the Atwells Ave exit, which will come up quickly even if your crawling. I eventually escaped this fiasco, but I then had to watch a convoy of cars tap their breaks as the Thurbers curve approached. Hey fellow Rhode Islanders, maybe you should give this a thought: Lower your speed once, and maintain that until the I-95's most dangerous bend ends. That way, I can concentrate on the road and not have to play guessing games with your speed. Just when I thought the madness had ended, I get cut off by a Suburu wagon as I merge onto Rt. 4. They must have missed both signs that clearly indicate that the two left lanes are for Rt. 4, and the rest are for I-95. I can't remember the last time I was so thankful for my patience and good fortune.

Breaking Down Break Time

I was on my break tonight when I decided to stop in Roch's Foods on Boston Neck Rd., Narragansett, RI. After getting blown around by tough winds for about a mile, I safely pulled into a spot facing the street. I had decided that I wanted some fresh supermarket food instead of the usual Kingston Pizza or Subway. I have been in Roch's a number of times before, but to my delight, they had the large chocolate chip cookies for $1.59, which is always a fantastic treat to end break with. I took a gamble on some teriyaki roasted chicken for about $3. I also grabbed a slice of barbecue chicken pizza for $1.50. When I got back to my place of work, I dug into the roasted chicken which was pleasantly filling and tasty. The pizza was slightly dry, but pizza crust made up for any other shortfall that existed. As expected, the chocolate chip cookie was soft enough and the chocolate chips were still moist. I wasn't anything less than content the rest of my shift and I felt a little extra "pep in my step." Hopefully my boss notices that I got a little extra work done tonight!

"Homesick"

I went on my first real vacation when I was 11 years old. My family and I went to Disney World in Florida for five days and stayed at the All-Star Sports Hotel. The weather in Florida was consistently inconsistent, but the temperature still managed to stay above 70 for most of the trip. We had an amazing time and were able to visit all the major parks, but I remember Epcot being especially disappointing because the best rides were closed. When we weren't in the parks, we were usually poolside or playing some football on the miniature football field located in the middle of the hotel. My brother and I complained the whole flight back to Rhode Island.

When we got off the plane, we were greeted by rain, hail, and freezing cold weather, which was uncharacteristic for April (even for Rhode Island!). As soon as we arrived home, I started to get the chills. The drastic change in climate sent my body into a state of shock, and I spent the next week or so wrapped up in a blanket. Ever since then, the change in temperature from season to season almost always causes me to come down with a cold. Whenever that does happen, I always think of the Florida trip. I guess I'll have to keep a closer eye on the weather reports the next time I vacation.