Category Archives: Diversions

The stuff that didn’t fit elsewhere.

Deep-fried mystery

That was suspenseful, wasn’t it?

My brother-in-law saw a “news” report about all of the crazy, fried stuff at the fair, and Coke was on the list. There was much conjecture this weekend on the topic. How does one fry Coke? Is it frozen first? It has to be. Right?

Apparently not.

It was a bit of a let-down. It’s just funnel cake batter made with Coke. It does taste a little like Coke, but it wasn’t exactly a mind-blowing experience.

The fried Snickers bar, on the other hand, was pretty darn good. I think it was funnel cake batter again, but it was chocolatey and gooey inside. Not something I’d want to eat every day, but it might just be my fair food of choice.

Peeking out of my shell

I have a hard time meeting new people. We haven’t found a church to attend yet, and I’m staying home with Pi now, so befriending co-workers is out. I’ve been trying to talk to people around our apartment complex, but that hasn’t gone very well. I got the brush-off from the first person I tried to talk to, and the second two — a nice couple with a giant Marmaduke dog — were moving to Seattle that very day. Great timing, eh?

So I went on a blind date last night. With about 11 or 12 mommies I’d never met before. I found a mommies group online, and their calendar had a Moms Night Out scheduled.

I sat in the parking lot of the pizza place for a few minutes, working up the gumption to have dinner with a bunch of strangers. And then I went in, found the table populated with ladies and introduced myself.

I’m glad I did.

We had pizza, they were friendly, and I had a nice time. Then we went to a movie.* It was such a nice break. They have playgroups pretty regularly, and Moms Nights Out about once a month. I’m already planning to go to a scrapbooking crop in November. (I’m such a party animal.)


*”The Departed.” Holy Hannah, that was quite a movie. More violence and “language” than I normally go for, but the acting was great and I was on the edge of my seat nearly the whole time. And it was a l o n g movie, so that’s saying something.

Wax on, wax off

Rockford: You know who I think’s in line to make a big Hollywood comeback?

Nichole: Joe Pesci?

Rockford: Ralph Macchio. Mark my words. He’s going to show up in a Quentin Tarantino movie or something. If he’s not dead.

Mr. Macchio and I share a birthday, so I hope Rockford is right. But I fear he’s not, judging by his recent work. It looks like he’s still alive, though, so at least he has that going for him.