ID Cards ≠ Mark of the Beast

Texas is a bizarre place. Too many times I hear of zany yet true stories coming from that state. Most of the time I get them from a Dungeons & Dragons friend, who enjoys sharing the wonder that is Texas and the folk who live there. You can get a good summary of its problems over at Encyclopedia Dramatica, though you should be very afraid of clicking that link. It is an abyss you will fall into and never return if you look too long. And no disrespect to the intelligent folk who do happen to live there either, but it needs to be noted that some strange things happen in Texas. Foolishness is all over, yes, but Texas is my focus since something I read tonight.

My work gives two 15 minute breaks over the course of the evening, and I sometimes pick up the paper to read what’s happening in the world. The majority of the articles are rather boring, if only because I’ve become quite jaded to the plight of the world when I’m too concerned with me and those I’m connected with. So I tend to deviate to the quirky stories, which push buttons that effect me on matters of principle and logic, and did I ever find a convoluted article this night (that’s not the specific one, but close enough). Turns out a student is refusing to wear a student identification badge because it would mean accepting the Mark of the Beast. Lawyers have been brought in. Laws are going to possibly be written. Consequences were never the same.

My NaNoWriMo 2012 Failure

Back in 1999, some hipster brought a bunch of other hipsters together for a writing challenge. The goal? For each of them to complete a novel within a month (or otherwise 50,000 words, which is the standard for most printed books…apparently). Not only that, they would do this during the start of the holiday season, November, because only the most boss authors can finish a 50k document in the midst of madness. Oddly enough, some of them completed the challenge, prompting others to be as boss as them in future gatherings for the month of November. Thirteen years later, the humble number of 21 writers grew to over 200,000 today, making all of us hipsters. Yay.

While I may have embellished the history of its founding, that is otherwise the story of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo for short). I discovered this lovely concept back in 2007, and managed to meet Zombie Joe through some gatherings. I sadly don’t have as much contact with as I would like to, but we have both managed to keep tabs on and participate in NaNoWriMo when we can. And despite the fact I’ve been intense about NaNoWriMo, from then to 2011 I’ve never finished a single original 50k document. I have a total of two unfinished stories I wrote during those times I could participate, and while I thought there were more that appears to be the lot (that I can find).

40 Days & 40 Nights: Entertainment Consumption

By the time you read this, I am likely eating the chocolate covered almonds given to me as a birthday gift a week and a half ago. And I may or may not be having Nutella and a bowl of vanilla ice cream with pecan pieces thrown on top. Don’t want to go into a sugar shock or destroy my teeth any more than necessary, you know? While I may finally be able to eat chocolate again, it doesn’t mean I have to go and make myself sick. Already having a bit of that right now, and let me tell you, I look forward to not having to go to the bathroom so much. TMI, yes, so moving on.

And I did fail the challenge of not eating chocolate for this Lent. Were there any doubts it would be otherwise? I failed on three separate occasions, and all quite funny stories. My first failure was by strange mistake, one fueled by exhaustion from work. I had gotten in the habit of driving around town and exploring after buying snacks from the local Kwik Trip, and I had a craving for some peanut butter cookies. I quickly picked up a case, and over the course of the next couple days after that night munched on two cookies driving to and from work. Halfway through the container, I finally noticed the type of cookies they were via the label: white chocolate chip and macadamia nut. I honestly don’t know how I could have made the mistake, especially given they look nothing like Kwik Trip peanut butter cookies. Strangely enough, I discovered they taste similar when I eventually bought real peanut butter cookies later on (though white chocolate was slightly sweeter).