Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Got a Penny, give a Penny
| I have changed the background for the remainder of this week as Krystal Adventure goes into mourning for the loss of my dear friend, Penny. Penny's funeral is tomorrow and as much as I would like to be there, it is abundantly clear that will be impossible. There simply isn't enough time. BUt when you think about it, there never really is enough time. I am so very grateful that I did get to see Penny last Friday even if only for 30 minutes. I do need to thank Courtney for helping me to see how important that part of my trip would be. My freshman year of college, I missed seeing my grandfather before he died by only a couple of hours. I swore I would never let something like that happen to me again. Penny's funeral is tomorrow around 3pm. If you think about it tomorrow around that time, I would appreciate it if you could take a moment to pray for Penny and her family. I am lucky that the semester officially ended for me today, as normally at 3pm on a Wednesday, I am starting my third class of the day. Though I will not physically be in Macon tomorrow, I will most certainly be there in my heart. I think this may be the first time since I moved to Wilmington that I actually regret not living in Macon. I do know that Penny was sad when I left Mercer, but was very happy and exciting when I finally escaped Warner Robins. On my last trip down and back to GA I stopped to fill up my truck and buy a cold drink. My change wound up being 29¢. I told the girl "just drop all the pennies in the dish." The dish was of course, the well known "Got a penny, give a penny. Need a penny take a penny" dish. Looking back on it, it is now very easy to see. For the longest time, we've all been in need of a Penny, and we got to borrow one. But now, God needs a Penny, so it's time for us to give one back. We should just consider ourselves very very lucky for being allowed to borrow her as long as we have. |
Labels: Macon, Mercer, Warner Robins, Wilmington
Thursday, April 24, 2008
The perfect gift for the Krystal Lover in your life
| If you were watching the Krystal Coke bottle on eBay that I mentioned the other day, you probably noticed something went wrong. Tiffany gave the scoop over at Krystal-Lover Blog. Apparently eBay in their infinite wisdom waited til roughly the last minute to yank the auction because it violated some rule of theirs. The bidding had surged over the $600 mark by that point. Thanks eBay! Way to go out of your way to screw a charity auction! Anyway, Tiffany has put the bottle back up for auction again here. The bidding currently sits at $305 with about 3 1/2 days left. Sadly since the last auction was well underway, a lot of bidders now know just how high this could get, so watch for the snipers to go bananas on this one! Now if $305, or $600 (or perhaps $1000) is too rich for your blood, have I got a deal for you. Actually I did see a Kreed that went for less than $20 (plus about $20 for shipping) a few months back. Wouldn't this make a fantastic gift for the person you love that loves Krystal? You could hang this on the wall of your dining room and when you bring home a sack full, it'll feel like you're eating in the Krystal dining room. Well, back when the stores displayed the Kreed in the dining room. Why am I not bidding on this incredibly unique and valuable item? Well first of all I already have one. It is perhaps the most prized item in my vast Krystal Kollection. The second reason I am not bidding is that I wont be around when the auction ends, and I fully expect a bit of sniping. No when this auction ends, I may very well be sitting in a Krystal stuffing down a pile of Border Burgers. (Those are the Krystals you get at the last store before you enter Burgatory.) This weekend I am headed back to Macon. My itinerary is quickly getting packed as I make plans to see folks. The central reason for the trip is a banquet hosted by the Mercer Computer Science Department. Apparently they haven't yet figured out that if they keep inviting me, I keep showing up. I had hope to get to see Penny, but her surgery got delayed and is actually tomorrow morning. About the time I will be rolling out of Wilmington, she'll be rolling into the OR. It's going to be tough driving 9 hours with my fingers and toes crossed for her. While in town I will certainly be getting my fill of Krystals, and should finally be able to have a Krystal Freeze, or two (or seven?) And I hear the spicy chicks are back. And we all know the only thing better than a regular chik is a spicy chik! OK, maybe a spicy chik with RANCH! Mental note pick up some ranch dressing prior to hitting Krystal. And Doritos.) Second mental note write that down on paper because you'll forget in 10 minutes. So rather than wishing me a safe journey, I am rubber, and Penny is glue, your wishes will bounce off me and stick to her this weekend. Tonight I shall sleep as visions of Sunrisers and Cheese Krystals and Chili Cheese Fries dance in my head. After this weekend they shall all be dancing in my stomach!  |
Labels: Cheese, Chiks, Chili, Macon, Mercer, Wilmington
Let's go eye gouging, Gandhi!
I have been waiting for almost a month for these two cars to park side by side in the parking lot so it would make the perfect photo. I finally got tired of waiting and photoshopped them together. (Not really, I don't know how to use photoshop, and I am sure you've long since figured out.) There is a yellow one, who doesn't like the black oneYup, there's the red, black, yellow, and white ones all in the same parking lot. It couldn't possibly be a racial thing, though, because the red car has an "End Racism" bumper sticker on it, and as we all know, applying a sticker to your car with a catchy phrase cures the problem instantly. My truck doesn't have any bumper stickers. I find an overwhelming number of bumper stickers so be rather idiotic. The good part about everyone having bumper stickers is it gives you an advantage while playing my driving game Idiots and Buttholes. For example, I was behind a car with one of those bumper stickers proclaiming the brilliance of an elementary school student. The problem was, instead of the standard "My child is..." the sticker applied to the left side of the bumper simply stated "Honor student at [insert elementary school name here]." I thought that was so funny I took a picture of it, but have long since lost that picture. Why is it funny you ask? The location of the sticker on the driver's side, and the poor wording left me with only one conclusion: The driver of the car was an honor student at his elementary school. I don't know if this speaks poorly of his school or of him directly, but if you are driving a car while you are still in elementary school, you simply can't be too bright can you? Sheesh! Obviously, he fell in the "idiot" column. In the case of these two cars, it's even easier to figure out that these two go in the "Idiot" column. These cars had bumper stickers all over their back windows. The red car has 8, the black car had 4. The problem? They are BUMPER stickers. I checked, and neither car has ANY stickers on their BUMPERS. Both proudly display stickers showing the student goes to UNC-W. So let this be a lesson to parents who want to send their kids to UNC-W. They may teach calculus, and English, and marine biology, but they apparently don't teach what a bumper and a window are. Not all bumper stickers are bad. Every post here at Krystal Adventure has copies of my beloved Krystal Bumper stickers at the bottom. There are four of them and I cycle through them. I do not put them on my truck though. Partly because I don't have spares, but also I don't want to give an unfair advantage to anyone else playing "Idiots and Buttholes." Actually, I did see one bumper sticker the other day I might contemplate putting on my truck. It simply said: Why do they call it tourist season, if we can't shoot them?. In case you didn't know it, Wilmington and neighboring Wrightsville beach have a huge influx of tourists every year that apparently brings everything to a screeching halt around here. It's the eternal problem: We want to tourists' money, but we don't want the tourists. Could we get the board of Convention and Visitor's Bureau working on a campaign where the tourists just mail us a check and stay home? Anyway, speaking of Dr. A, his truck used to have great bumper stickers. They were not meant to be funny, but they certainly got your attention. As you may have seen in my recent post and accompanying video, Dr. A likes to play with Liquid Nitrogen. So he had all sorts of warning stickers on his truck. The kind you see on the big tractor trailers hauling chemicals. I've seen people purposely walk a wide circle around his truck or pass on the available parking spot beside his truck for something a bit further away. Back to my original point, though. I know the bumper stickers are hard to read so let me give you a better picture of the black car:  In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.Yes I know Plato says that everyone will think the one eyed man is nuts, but when he's getting the best apples from the tree and not stepping in the piles of dog poop, eventually, he'll be regarded as King. Everyone will speak in awe of his "Fifth Sense." He'll have a show on the radio (cause no one will need TVs) like John Edwards. The psychic, not the failed Vice Presidential candidate, who is coincidentally from North Carolina, and apparently people here don't want him back. So Gandhi, the problem is, an eye for an eye makes one guy the King. And everyone else is stepping in dog poop. And speaking of dog poop, the second bumper sticker:  Heck if you go to Dragon Con you will quickly learn to hate without having to use your eyes. Get in the elevator on day 2. You will quickly hate the smelly people, no eyesight needed. Why don't gamers bathe? I realize lots of them WANT to believe they are witches and vampires and such, but water only hurt the Witch in Oz. Take a fricken bath, people! The hotel gives you free soap to use! So as you can see (get it? you can see!) these bumper stickers taken individually have problems, and I could stop there. But I wont. The reason why I wanted a picture of them together is so I could finally put my Symbolic Logic class to use. Go dig out your copy of Symbolic Logic by Irving M. Copi. Flip to the inside cover. What? You don't have a copy of Symbolic Logic by Irving M. Copi? Shame on you! Well, at least you can use Wikipedia. But I expect you to have your copy of Symbolic Logic by Irving M. Copi by our next class meeting! So Gandhi says "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." The red car says "If everyone was blind, no one would know who to hate." So by applying the Hypothetical Syllogism (my favorite Syllogism), we can infer that "An eye for an eye leaves no one knowing who to hate." This doesn't sound like a bad thing, now, does it? There you have it folks, all those folks who want us to get rid of hate need us to start gouging out each others eye! And remember, the last one with an eye gets to be king! Everyone else will be stepping in dog poop and eating rotten apples.  |
Labels: Wilmington
Monday, April 07, 2008
Happy birthday to us!
| This year, my school is celebrating it's 50th birthday. This past weekend was the official celebration and the school and the city went all out. I am constantly amazed at the relationship between Wilmington and CFCC. The school loves the city and the city REALLY loves the school. We get all sorts of perks. Students and faculty get free parking in the big parking decks downtown, which may not seem like much until you see Wilmington's parking situation. I routinely have people, upon finding out I work for CFCC, tell me "their story." And they all have one. Either they went to CFCC, or their parent or child has gone. So this birthday wasn't just a celebration of the school it was a celebration of the city that supports us. Every department was put on notice that they would so something for the celebration. We would invite the city and surrounding counties to come visit our home and see what we do. Our department decided to do a big display on "Information Technology Over The Past 50 Years." For the past 3 weeks I have kicked myself almost daily for all of the "crap" I threw away when I moved up here. It would have been PERFECT. But we made due anyway.    On Thursday as we were hooking up and testing everything out everyone in the office gathered around as we hooked the 8-track to the amp and then the speakers. Charlie Pride and Conway Twitty never sounded so good! But then we were hit with a sudden conundrum. How do you turn off the 8 track? The amp had an obvious off switch, but the 8 track only had volume and balance knobs. Turning them all the way down didn't turn it off. We scratched our heads for a while. Being computer geeks we are trained to look for an off button or off switch, a graceful and clearly marked method to turn the power off. We joke in the office because Michelle can't ever figure out if she turned the coffee pot off, since it has an "Oh" and an I on it. (All computer geeks reading this are now laughing, since it's obviously a 1 and a Zero, being binary for On and Off.) We thought about just unplugging the 8 track. The ideas was also floated,"What if we just pull the tape out?" This of course goes against EVERYTHING you are taught about computers. You never EVER just unplug stuff, for fear of damaging the equipment. I was preparing to place an emergency call to Jimmy, the only other person I know with a working 8-track. (Ahh all those afternoons in the basement playing pool and darts and listening to the Eagles on the Hi-Fi!) Melissa just grabbed the tape and yanked it. Problems solved. Those crafty 1960's engineers.  Later this week I'll show you my portion of the display, of which I am quite proud, with one small exception that makes me sick to my stomach. More on that later. While we were having all sorts of Techno-Fun in our room, next door was the OST (Office Systems Technology) Department's display. I figured I better stop by since I am technically dual appointed to CIS and OST. OST teaches all of the typing and medical transcription classes on campus and their interactive display was a timed typing test. Those who know me know I avoid typing tests. I never listened to Ms. Cope in Business Ed in Middle School. My fingers never felt comfortable on the home keys, so they ran away from home a long time ago. Now they are homeless. In fact I only type with 5 fingers: index and thumb on both hands and middle finger on the right. (Why don't I use the middle finger on my left hand? Well I save that one to show to those who critique my typing!) I have long known I type very fast but my accuracy is poor. I also have to watch my fingers while I type making "copying" very slow, but "composition" (like this blog) flows very quickly. When Jarrett and I shared an office we'd both be typing at roughly the same speed. He'd be typing the correct way and I would be typing my dysfunctional way. Thankfully in the world of computers with spell check and "autocorrect" many (but not all) of my typos are easily or automatically fixed. However, since Blogger's spell check is barely functional you have experienced first hand my poor typing. During a lull in the festivities I wandered next door and was immediately attacked by the OST folks who wanted me to take the typing test. I protested and tried to sneak my way out, but they had the exit guarded. So I sat down and got the 15 second explanation of how it works. A book was placed in front of me with two paragraphs on it. I was told to hit tab when I was ready to start the 3 minute timed test, and then type what was on the page. I took a deep breath then started typing. When I had finished, I still had like 30 seconds left so I started looking around to ask how to stop the clock. Finally they came near enough I could ask them and they explained that I was supposed to just start over at the top and keep going. So that cost me about 15-20 seconds of my time. When I was done with my practice run, my score showed up on screen: 39 words per minute with 2 errors. My two errors were that I didn't know I was supposed to hit tab before each paragraph. When the results popped up there was a long pause followed by several comments of disbelief. I was then told that when I was ready for the official timed test I was to click a button and I could get started. This time they watched me.  My errors are almost exclusively due to hitting the space bar too soon or too late, or poorly timeD sHifting. Basically these are the only operations that require BOTH of my hands to work together. One hand certainly knows what the other is doing, it just doesn't care. When I finished the test there was a round of applause and I was congratulated by all of the OST instructors. I was given my complimentary certificate and I went on my way. It was only 15 minutes later I found out that I had the fastest speed so far. At that point several other instructors decided they were going to go try and beat it. Somehow I had accidentally started a competition. I guess they didn't want to answer my Yar's Revenge challenge. (Chicken! Bawk Bawk!) At the end of the day I was called back in to the OST room where I was informed I had the fastest speed in the Faculty category. There was also an under-18 category, a student category, and then a non-student category. Since I had won in my category, I got the prize: a gift card to Office Depot. (I think it's $10.) So now it is official and documented. I type like crap, but I type like crap really really fast. But lest I allow my crushing victory to go to my head I placed a call to Courtney. Courtney is a medical transcriptionist, AKA a hired gun. The faster she types the more she earns. When she types it sounds like a machine gun going off. Computer keyboards cower in fear and run and hide when she enters the room. Courtney says she doesn't know how fast she types. I suspect she may be modest. Or perhaps she's so fast she doesn't register on regulation equipment. Perhaps they need to bring in a radar gun. She offered to take a typing test if I would find her one online, but I suspect I am going to pass on that offer. I don't want to lose my prized Office Depot gift card. Yeah, I may be chicken (bawk! bawk!) but I bet I could kick her butt in Yar's Revenge! |
Labels: CFCC, Middle Ga Tech, Wilmington
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Pizza Persuit
| One of the dining experiences I have missed since moving to Wilmington is, as I call it, "Cheap Crappy Pizza." I do have to be up front by saying that the pizza is not REALLY bad, otherwise I wouldn't eat it. It's just inexpensive, and you wouldn't go bragging to your friends about having it for lunch. Back in Warner Robins we had Shakey's Pizza. Here's the link for the chain: Shakey's. And here's a few pictures I found of the Warner Robins shop. (sniffle) And for those of us who were in Macon in the late 80's and early 90's who could forget Shakey's out on Mercer U. drive. (sniffle) Ahh yes, you now understand "cheap crappy pizza." Actually as far as Shakey's in Warner Robins goes, I found it to be well worth the trip. The pizza was "cheap and crappy" but the fried chicken was always great. I regularly ate way too many fried mushrooms, and the MoJo's, oh my Lord, the MoJo's. Think THICK sliced potato chips or skins battered and fried. Get a small bowl of ranch from the salad bowl and it was deep fried heaven. It made rushing to Shakeys and back to work worth the effort, especially since you can count on the Price Is Right being on the big screen. I miss Shakey's! Once I got to Wilmington I started to look for a suitable replacement for Shakeys and was coming up empty (and hungry). Driving up and down College Rd. I couldn't help but notice the CiCi's Pizza over on the right. CiCi's is nothing new. We had them in Macon and also Warner Robins, I believe, but I had never been. I had been warned repeatedly about CiCi's. Due to their incredibly cheap kid's menu, CiCi's was apparently where parents took their kids "off leash" to eat and run rampant, like the dogs around the corner here in Empie Dog Park. It was explained very clearly to me: Do NOT go to CiCi's on the weekends or the evenings. I should only go to CiCi's when kids are in school. One tiny problem with that idea, however, was the fact I had a J-O-B. Any time the kids were in school I was at work. One person told me that the "CC" in the name stood for "Crazy Children" and another told me it was for "Concentrated Chaos." I didn't dare go against the warnings/threats, so I just never went to CiCi's. Besides I still had Shakey's. As I grew more and more hungry and more and more desperate for cheap crappy pizza, it finally occurred to me. I now have Fridays off! (I love my job!) So I started making plans for a Friday CiCi's pizza buffet extravaganza! I was walking on garlic scented clouds as I walked in the front door and was greeted loudly by the girl at the register. I don't really remember what she asked me as my eyes were wide as a large pepperoni pizza while I looked around the place. The one thing that was clearly missing, though: Kids! I got a little salad with lite ranch dressing just to make this a legitimate "meal" before I stepped up to the wall of pizza. The guy behind the counter told me "Hi! I'm Tommy. If you don't see anything you come ask me and I'll get it or make it!" I liked Tommy. I think I stacked up 6 slices of cheap crappy pizza on my first run through, and almost didn't have room on my plate for the 2 cinnamon rolls at the end of the buffet. Thankfully they were sort of stick and they held tight to the rim of my plate. I sat down at my table, took a big swig of my beverage, and raised that first delicious bite to my mouth. Then, through the front window, I saw something horrible. Not one, but two school buses had pulled into the parking lot. What appeared to be millions of children began streaming (and screaming) from the buses towards CiCi's. Apparently the field trip from a local middle school had stopped for lunch. I followed the lead of most of the others in CiCis as they ran to the buffets and stocked up a second or third plate before it was all demolished by the kids. I think made what I lovingly refer to as a "Pizza Sandwich." you take two side by side slices of pizza and fold them along the cut separating them, so it's crust on top and bottom and filling inside. This arrangement allows you to firmly grip the sandwich with both hands with minimal topping/filling loss as you shove the sandwich into your face. I find I can eat 30% more and 30% faster this way. I do need to warn you though, that you should wisely choose your two halves for your pizza sandwich. CiCis has dessert Pizza and I suspect an apple cinnamon pizza slice won't go well with the pepperoni and mushroom. But now that I say that, you know I am going to have to try it someday. But not today. Some Friday, I mean. |
Labels: Macon, Mercer, Warner Robins, Wilmington
Monday, March 31, 2008
We'll leave the light on for ya.
| One of the first things I looked into when I moved back to North Carolina was the location of the lighthouses. I am not sure if there is a "lighthouse gene" or not, or if it is just that there have always been pictures of lighthouses around the house as long as I can remember. Either way I find that fascinating despite never really ever going near any of them. Event 4 or 5 years ago I was contemplating taking a long vacation to visit the Outer Banks of North Carolina and see the light houses. Now that I live here, there's nothing holding me back! Imagine my delight when I found that there are actually a couple of them within a short drive (or ferry ride) of me! For the record we will all agree that there are 7 lighthouses in North Carolina. Depending on how you define "Lighthouse" that number can be 8, 9, 10, 13 or even close to 20. Some of those "lighthouses" though would be extremely boring and almost impossible to visit since they're basically steel platforms a few miles offshore. Some of the lighthouses are barely standing and a few are simply the remaining foundations of long ago destroyed lighthouses. For now lets just go with the basic 7 light houses, from South to North:
I am quite fortunate in the case of Oak Island, as it has only recently been opened to the public. Up until roughly a year ago you could walk up to it but no go inside. in 2007 the US Coast Guard turned the lighthouse over to Oak Island and they now open it a couple of days a week for tours to the first level. Even better, with advance notice, you can get a tour guide to lead you to the top of the lighthouse. This past weekend a tour group fro Wilmington was going to drive to Oak Island to climb the lighthouse and then over to Southport, a neighboring touristy town. Since my mother shares my lighthouse fascination (or perhaps I inherited it from her?) she and I both went along on the trip. We rode over on the short bus (stop laughing!) and the trip took maybe an hour or so. When we unloaded from the bus you realize that you are parked right beside the lighthouse and it's absolutely huge. I guess I assumed we'd be parking a ways away and hiking to it, but it's mere feet off the road and easily accessible.   The following is the list of requirements and warnings from an email for our climb:
   You may be wondering about the white circle over my shoulder. That's not my hat blowing away in the distance. That's "Old Baldy" which will be the next lighthouse I visit. I know it doesn't look like a lighthouse. Here's a better picture, but the overcast skies just make it tough to see. If you click on the picture it may be easier to see.   |
Labels: Recipe, Wilmington
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
The Rice Chronicles (part 1)
| Everyone knows that college students have a steady diet of Ramen Noodles. It's quick and easy, and can usually be made in your dorm room in the microwave or a hot pot. I'll admit I ate my share of ramen noodles when I was in school. But once I graduated and started learning to cook, I swore I'd never eat them again. For the most part I haven't. My sister in law makes a salad with uncooked ramen noodles broken up in it. I force it down, but I don't enjoy it. What allowed me to break from the standard college fair was the discovery of rice. I'd always loved rice, but never really made it. It always seemed so much trouble. You have to get just the right amount of rice and water. Cook it at the right temperature for just the right amount of time. Ramen noodles are almost fool proof. Then one day a fraternity brother of mine, Adam, introduced me to the wonder of a rice cooker. I've lost count of how many evenings we'd spend in his dorm room cooking a big pot of rice and pigging out. I enjoyed it so much that one Christmas my parents bought me my very own rice cooker. I put many miles on that sucker and I still have it.  Once I got my very own rice cooker I had to go get the proper fixings. Sadly, most people in America really make crappy rice. It all starts with their fixation on "long grain rice." The big selling point of long grain rice is that it doesn't stick together. Who exactly decided that rice sticking together is a bad thing? The strange thing is you go through all the trouble to try and make sure it doesn't stick by using long grain rice, not stirring it while it cooks (that makes risotto, the stickiest of rice) and also the first step when it is done cooking is to "fluff" the rice. After all that trouble what is the first thing people do when they get ready to eat their rice? They put stuff on it to make it stick back together: butter or gravy. (Or they make pudding out of it, but that's another story.) I say to heck with all that, sticky rice rules, so buy short grained rice! The problem is, since the whole country has been deluded into thinking long grain rice is best it can be VERY difficult to find short grain. Most grocery stores, if they carry it at all, only carry small bags of it. A friend of mine in grad school, Chester, took me to an Oriental grocery store back in Warner Robins where I acquired a 5 pound bag of short grain rice, for almost nothing. Looking back, though, I probably should have gone for a 2 pound bag. I had every jar and plastic container I could find filled with uncooked rice and shoved into cabinets everywhere. I still have about 2 pounds left 12 years later. While I was at the store with Chester, I stocked up on the other essentials for a great rice meal that I had learned from Adam. Obviously you need Chinese sausages:  
 Finally, I gave in. After trying 3 different Asian markets in 2 cities, I decided I would have to turn to the Internet. Even then it wasn't easy to find, but I did find it. Sadly, the smallest quantity I could find was 1 pound. I suspect I'll be passing down Beef Fu in my will when I die, along with a pound or two of short grain rice. One or two items that were staples for Adam that I pass on are the Miso Soup (which tastes like water out of an aquarium) the Norri seaweed (which smells like old dead seaweed) and "Rice Seasoning" which I lovingly referred to as either "aquarium gravel" or "fish food." You can guess how that smelled. He'd also put tofu in his Miso soup, and I don't really go for tofu. It's sort of like eating the sponge sitting on the back of the kitchen sink, squishy and bland. Usually it has no flavor, but when it does you wish it didn't. So now lets just imagine: you've been studying hard all night and realize it's 2am and you are starving. Not even the pizza guy delivers this late, and you don't have change for the junk food machine in the lobby. In my next post I'll show you how to create a delicious, filling, one pot, meal that essentially cooks itself. Oh and if you're allergic to MSG, don't go anywhere near carpet shavings. The reason it's still good after 12 years is that it's been dried, seasoned and preserved better than King Tut. |
Labels: Warner Robins, Wilmington
Monday, March 24, 2008
Easter Lunch
| Upon arrival at Krystal yesterday I made my way quickly to the counter. I had noticed no signs inside or outside about the new Krystal Freezes, so I was a bit nervous. (More on that is a moment) I did however notice a sign sitting in the middle of the counter. Each word produced a small giddy little squeal as I read them from top to bottom: Cheese(squeal) Ranch(squeal) Fries(squeal) Obviously I knew what I was getting. So I placed my order. Feeling nostalgic I went with the #1 add cheese and ketchup, up sized my coke, and added chili, cheese, and ranch to my fries. I took my number and grabbed a seat. Soon my order was delivered to me in all its glory:    Now let me address the whole Krystal Freeze thing and the "BrainFreeze Challenge." The Krystal in Murrell's Inlet is a franchise store. For those that didn't know, MOST of the Krystals out there are owned by the Krystal Company. There are some that are privately owned/franchised. These franchise stores are sort of the "renegade" stores. They don't always do exactly hat Krystal does. This gives them the freedom to do the Ranch Chili Cheese Fries and other exciting things. They also have some combo meals I haven't seen anywhere else. The other side of the coin, though, is that they don't always carry the items that come out of Krystal HQ. I spoke with the manager of the store briefly about the freezes. He was at first surprised that I knew about them. Then he noticed I was wearing my brown "Krystal" t-shirt. (I didn't even realize I was wearing it.) He asked if I worked for Krystal. I pointed to the pictures of the two KLHOF members on the wall and told him I was also a member, number 22. He then wanted all the details on when I was inducted, where I was from and whereI now lived. He also agreed that Wilmington is a pretty big town not to have a Krystal. I told him "In due time." Anyway, he said they were thinking about the Krystal Freezes, but had not decided yet if they would carry them. They really wanted to see how they did at other stores before they committed to them. On the one hand I can't imagine a FROZEN fruity beverage wouldn't sell this spring and summer in Myrtle Beach. But then there's bound to be lots of seasonal snow cone, slushie, and icee vendors out there who could provide a larger flavor selection, and perhaps a cheaper price. I think if Krystal could push the fact that their are made with REAL sugar, they could lock up a section of the market no one else could access. But then I'm not the one in charge so I don't get to make the decisions. I simply told him I'd be back in a month or so and hoped he'd have them in at that time. He thanked me, shook my hand, and I was on my way. So the brain freeze challenge is on hold. Well my part of it anyway. The next time I can get to a Krystal that has them I will dig in. Currently it looks like I may be back in Macon the end of March, and I may stop by my old stomping grounds to freeze my skull. I guess, like in Murrell's Inlet, we'll just have to wait and see. |
Labels: Cheese, Chiks, Chili, Macon, Wilmington
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Funny Bunny
| Yesterday, as I prepared for my trip down to Krystal, I decided to take some company along. After all, what good is having peeps and homies if you don't take em with you? So I loaded up the truck, and grabbed my GPS. (Since Krystal wasn't in the built in maps I had to add it manually.) The GPS took me along a route I had only recently found, but there's one last turn that is not well marked and I miss it every time. Sally the GPS found it perfectly and the drive down was flawless. The weather was simply amazing as well. There should be more Krystals at the beach. I think Wilmington would be an excellent location for one. (Quick glance to see if they're watching in Chattanooga.) My recap of my lunch will follow later this week, so stay tuned. But as I was finishing up my meal my peeps were getting restless. After all there's not much of anything on the Krystal menu for peeps to eat. Krystal isn't especially "Peep-friendly." So I hatched a plan. Peeps like to party. And I knew just what we needed to get a Peep Party going!  Last one in the MilkQuake is a rotten Peep! In a strange twist, Pipsquack is now an online game very similar to the old game show "Press Your Luck." PYL is also a Jimmy favorite. "NoWhammies NoWhammies NoWhammies NoWhammies!" As I was helping my peeps into the MilkQuake the lady at the table looked on in strange fascination. Usually, people don't notice I am taking pictures until the actual shutter click and flash. Krystal was busy yesterday so I had to make due. As I loaded the peeps she just stared, but once the camera came out she broke out laughing. Little did she know she was in the presence of greatness. I do hope you are having a great Easter Sunday. I apparently have made the Bunny's Bad List this year. Instead of leaving me coal like Santa does every year, the bunny left me this:  Let's call this the Peep Short Bus.  The back of the package contains this eerie warning: EXCESSIVE CONSUMPTION MAY CAUSE STOMACH DISCOMFORT AND/OR A MILD LAXATIVE EFFECT.   While I do feel sorry for those diabetics who must survive the minefield of Easter each year, when it comes to Peeps, it's probably better to eat real peeps with an insulin chaser than to venture into the realm of Poop-producing Splenda covered Peeps. |
Labels: Wilmington
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Oh what a difference a year makes.
| It's now solidly into March and we've just passed midterms at school. I realize no one is shocked when I say I am not like most people. Most folks have big parties on their birthdays and use New Years Even as a time of reflection (and also as an excuse to have a big party). I don't make a big deal out of New Years, but my birthday is a time of reflection and self evaluation. I try and take that time to look at where I've been, where I am, and where I am going. This year, while looking back on the past year I almost cannot believe where I am compared to where I was last year. In fact March of last year was a month of great "flux." My job had gotten as bad as I felt it could ever get. I was desperately clawing to find a way out. Then suddenly in a period of roughly 2 weeks everything started changing faster than I cold keep up with. In a span of 2 weeks I had to job interviews, 3 road trips, and a lot of decisions. Saturday I went to Jacksonville for hockey and to visit Courtney. Sunday I drove home. Monday I drove to Brunswick for an ETB concert. Tuesday I drove home. Thursday I left work and immediately drove 9 hours to Wilmington. My job interview was at 10:30am on Friday morning, and I left immediately afterwards for the 9 hour drive home. I look back on where I was and where I am now and honestly can't put into words what I feel. But perhaps pictures can help. When I was working on the base, my classroom had no windows, which didn't help with temperatures rising to 80+ some days. If you were lucky enough to find a window it usually had a grand view of a bland Cold-War era airplane hangar. Really not the most inspiring and uplifting sights to see. In my new job (on Mondays and Wednesdays) I can look out the classroom windows and see the river. I can walk to the end of the hall, where we have an open stairwell and here is what I see:I am five floors up and a block off the river. Any time I see the view I have to catch my breath, not from the heights but from the sheer beauty. Koincidence isn't THIS good, and I am not THIS lucky. The only way I can make sense of this in my own head is that I have been brought to this point in my life and in this place simply by the blessing of God. But that then leaves me wondering "Why?" I know I don't deserve this. I have never really been a model person. The best I can come up with is there's something in my future. I must be a domino in the sequence of someone else's life. I can't imagine what or when, so I guess I just have to wait, and do the best I can, and keep my eyes open, and live. And the best word I can used to describe that is "faith."  |
Labels: Wilmington
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Beggin' for a piece of that bubble?
Mix-a-Lot's in troubleFor I too have recently been craving a taste of Bubble. And I have Heidi to thank for helping cure my craving. Now before I get Heidi in trouble, or she punches me in the mouth, I need to explain. About a month ago, while prowling the Internet for recipes, I stumbled upon something called "Bubble Tea." Basically to make bubble tea, also called "boba," you need to get your hands on some monster tapioca pearls. It is at this point that most folks will stop reading. I had no idea how many people on Earth don't like tapioca. I happen to love tapioca pudding, cold or warm, but especially warm. It's yummy and fun. So rather than the tapioca pearls scaring me off, they lured me in. Since I don't drink coffee or tea of any kind, including the various Asian teas, I sort of lost interest after the part about the tapioca pearls. When we had finished eating our Korean barbecue, Heidi then wanted to go visit a local Korean Bakery called Shilla Bakery. Since I really had no idea there was such a thing I figured it would be interesting to see. On the way over she mentioned they made bubble tea, and I got excited. I figured if the Korean barbecue didn't kill me, then a little bubble tea wouldn't either. Shilla bakery was amazing. Just inside the front door are shelves upon shelves of Korean baked good. Personally the thought of a green bean pastry doesn't do much for me, but they seemed to be selling well. After a few minutes looking over the pastry selection it was time to get down to boba business. While scanning the menu I noticed that, in addition to coffee and tea types of drinks they also made very fruity drinks. The first one to catch my eye was "Sour Green Apple." I am a sucker for sour green apple flavored stuff. Green Jolly Ranchers and Midori sours are tops on the list. Oh I was hooked. We placed our order and went to grab a table that had luckily opened just as we started to look. The placed was packed even at 10 at night. After a few minutes our number was called and we went to retrieve our beverages. Heidi got a mocha type of drink. Mine was a neon green frozen Slurpee looking concoction with black tapioca pearls in the bottom. The pearls are about the size of a small grape. You also quickly notice the straw. It's huge. You could easily get your little finger stuck in the end of the straw. It has to be that big so you can slurp the tapioca up the straw along with your drink. Once I got back to Wilmington, I decided I simply HAD to find a place near here to get Bubble Tea. While we don't have nearly the Asian population of DC, I figured if bubble tea was as popular as I had been reading there simply had to be a place. Lucky for me, there is one place: "Pop Taste Bubble Tea Hut" in the Independence mall, just around the corner. I have already been once so I could get a few pictures (and of course get another sour green apple bubble tea!)    I also saw that in addition to the boba they also have "jelly cubes" instead. I can only assume the jelly cubes would hold up better in the frozen drinks. I guess I'll just have to experiment. I suspect there's a few more trips to Pop Taste in my future. I would ask the lady behind the counter, but it is clear she doesn't really speak any English. So the bottom line, here, is for you to go out, find some Bubble Tea, and give it a try! It's way yummy! I mean even Sir Mix-A-Lot has been begging for some. You will, too! |
Labels: Recipe, Wilmington
Monday, February 04, 2008
Paul has cute little dogs.
When I start talking about eating at one of the many hot dog places around Wilmington, it is only a matter of time before my father with bring up Paul's Place. Sure enough, it's only a few miles from where my office is on North Campus, and I'd driven half way to Pauls on many occasions. There's an Andy's Cheesesteaks just north of campus, and if you drive past it you'll run into Paul's Place. Well as long as you don't blink. Paul's is very small, unassuming, and competely in the middle of nowhere:   Prior to making the drive up, I of course hit the Web Site to get the scoop. It's worth taking a moment to go see the site and read the history. Everyone talks endlessly about the relish at Paul's. It's apparently a love it or hate it type of thing. (I hated it!) This past Friday I went in to get some work done. I don't normally work on Fridays but it's so quite on campus I get a lot done! I decided to try and blend in like the natives and went with their 3 dog combo, BUT I only got one with relish. The other two I got chili, since the relish is supposed to be a chili alternative.  The relish dog is in the middle.  Looking around the place one of the things you just can't miss are the millions of jars of pickled, jellied, jammed, peppered, and sauced items   As you step up to the counter you can look down and see the hot dogs in the hot water right below you. They literally assemble your dogs within arm's reach. They place them on big squares of tissue paper and place them on your tray. Then you get your cup to go get your own drink. This is when you may notice one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. Since moving to eastern NC (the birthplace of Pepsi Cola) from Georgia (the birthplace of Coke) I have fallen repeatedly into the Coke/Pepsi conundrum. The first week or so everywhere I went I would order a Pepsi and be asked if Coke was ok. So then I'd ask for a coke and occasion get asked if Pepsi is OK. Frankly, you cannot win. I'd say there's an even Coke to Pepsi ratio here. Often it's a mad dash to scan the menu or look for the drink fountains to see if you are in a Coke or Pepsi place. As I walked in to Pauls I quickly saw the Pepsi fountains to the left of the counter. So I ordered a medium Pepsi with my lunch. But as I turned to my right to find a seat I saw Coke fountain to the right end of the counter. I then had to turn completely around to make sure I hadn't mis read something. I hadn't. Paul goes both ways, apparently. This is the only time I have EVER seen a place with both Pepsi products AND Coke products. Next time I go back I will certainly get a picture. I haven't figured out exactly where to stand to get them both in the same shot. While the cola wars is currently a cold war situation (get it? Cold Cola war?) I suspect Paul's would be the perfect spot for a taste-off. Lts face it, when they hand you your cup it's 3 steps to a Coke and 3 steps to a Pepsi. Come to think of it you also have the opportunity to "cross the streams" by mixing Coke AND Pepsi in the same cup at the same time. Oh yes, my next trip to Paul's will be an enlightening and entertaining experience for sure! But please, hold the relish. |
Labels: Cheese, Chili, Onions, Wilmington
Saturday, February 02, 2008
The Bee tries to beat the K
| Many years ago when the first Applebees opened in Conyers, it was a great hangout. Lovingly referred to as "The Bee." Then a few years later, a Chili's opened across the street and was immediatly dubbed "Gary's Olde Town Tavern." (If you don't get the joke, you need to watch more Cheers.) I have always been fond of Applebees. When I lived in Macon, there was an Applebees just down the hill from me. Made it easy to stop by on Monday for "Steak Night." Buy a steak and get your first drink free. Sounds like a good deal to me! Unfortunately I had a girlfriend who started working there, met her next boyfriend who tended bar there, and more or less ruined it for me. Thankfully they opened like 3 others Applebees in Macon so I could still get Steak Night. When I moved to Wilmington I didn't see any Applebees. I found it strange for such a big city to be without Your Neighborhood Bar and Grill. Then one day I found it, stuffed in between a Lowes and the Wal Mart. Not at all easy to get to, to say the least. A few months back I made my way up to see if there was anything new going on at the Bee and to my surprise, there was. It appears Applebees is trying to hop on the Mini Burger Express. You might recall that in my last week in Macon I reviewed Rudy Tuesday's mini burgers. I figured it would only be fair to put the Bee to the test. On the menu you'll actually find the "Mini Bacon Cheeseburgers" offered as both an appetizer as well as a full fledged burger dinner.  While we're on the topic of confusing things. Maybe someone can explain to my why, when I go to the Applebees Web Page and click on the "Investors" link in the top center, I am taken to IHOP's Investor Relations page?!?! (Go quick, they may fix it someday.) Is Applebees or IHOP trying to tell us something?   In a strange twist of alphabetical irony, I am going to have to give The Bee a Cee. I awarded bonus points because the onion rings were especially tasty and Krystal let us down this year with no Vidalia Onion Rings OR Onion Petals. The bacon was also a nice plus. But frankly the burger was weak and the bun a disappointment. Given The Bee and Ruby T's attempts, what I think we are slowly dicovering is that the Small Hot Steamed Square burger is an "everyman" kind of burger. When you try to "Glam it up" and make it "high class," you ruin it. Lets face it, when you are going for a tasty delicious mini hamburger and the hostess seats you and hands you silverware wrapped in a cloth napkin, you're so far out of touch with reality, you'll never get back to a good burger. And no, I have no intentions of going to try any mini burgers at Chili's. And yes they have them: BIG MOUTH BITES*That sneaky old Gary is always up to something and I don't want to fall victim to his trickery. |
Labels: Bacon, Cheese, Conyers, Macon, Onions, Wilmington
