Homesickness

I've never been prone to homesickness, but I have to admit that I've been feeling a yearning of a certain sort for home recently. Funny thing is, even though I miss my friends and would love to talk to them, I totally forget to. All the time. Seriously, I don't know why I forget all the time. I tell myself after I receive a text or a missed call that I'll call them back later, when I'm not so busy(I greatly prefer talking to someone to texting). Then I just never get around to it. It's not that I'm too busy or anything. I seriously want to talk to these people, but I just don't. What the hell, yeah? Well, my resolution this week is to handle this; call up the poor folks I've been neglecting and have a nice long chat with each of them. That'll brighten up our day.

Have a great one,

Tory

Pondering Armrest Politics

Ok, I admit, the leprechaun plot caption was just to get your attention, but stick around anyway :)

Well folks, lets be honest here. Though most of us would like to think that our lives are governed by free will, and that we are independent. Neither of these statements are true. Most of our interactions are governed by rigid, unspoken social rules which are taught to use through observing others as we grow up. This is evident whenever we are in a situation which we don't consciously know the correct action for. I'm going to talk about of a situation we've all been in multiple time before, and I'll list the things that you, I and everyone else did (and continue to do).

The Situation: sitting next to a stranger. Between the two of is a single armrest. Seemingly, only one of you can have that extra measure of comfort that comes with having the shared armrest.

Options:

A: Put your arm there first, and keep it there, in case the person next to you decides on option C(see below)

B: Give it up to the other person; Why even try?

C: Engage in a game of cutthroat armrest chess. Snatch it when the other person reaches for popcorn, discover that he reclaimed it as you were stretching. Repeat the process. If this option is chosen, I can guarantee that even if that armrest changes possession 20 times over the course of the movie, flight or whatever, neither of you will speak to the other regarding the armrest. It's an unspoken rule, closer to a law, really. You will both leave where ever you were with a deep feeling of resentment toward the other person, and will proceed to complain to your friends about him/her.

D. The thing where you kind of share a armrest, but no one is really satisfied. One persons elbow goes on the back half, while the other persons forearm rests on the front.

E: Most people will never have to experience the freakiness that is option E. Option E is not so much a option(read: Choice) as a surreal experience that you have been sucked into.

Examples of E type incidents :

1. http://youtube.com/watch?v=k1MHY_AFNAM

2. Having someone choose the urinal next to you when there are 5 other urinals not being used.

3. Someone completely circumvents the list of options for the armchair situation, and does something odd instead, like puting his hand on the other persons leg when the other person holds onto teh armrest(I know someone who has done this), or having a stranger ignore the generally obeyed concept of persona space and put their arm over yours when you have the armrest(this has been done to me)

4. Or my personal favorite, someone spontaniously break into song. Not just a singing it quietly to themselves either, I mean full blown musical theatre in public(This has happened to me).

This is a pretty good example of it - "Food court musical" (My favorite part is when the janitor arrives)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkYZ6rbPU2M


Anyways, I'm finishing this up after I started it a while ago, so I forget what my original purpose to writing this was. I'm pretty sure it was well thought out and even possible interesting.

Oh well, See you folks later

Tory

I just saw this and I had to put it up. I almost cried when I read this. I mean, it says "LOOK AT THIS DOG!" for crying out loud.

UFC 82

Disclaimer: I know that a lot of you probably aren't into mixed martial arts, so you can just skip over this post if you feel like it. Rest assured that I did the same to some of your posts too :).

Well, I watched UFC 82: Pride of a champion earlier tonight at my friends place, so I guess I'll talk about that for a bit. Keep in mind that my focus kind of tends to jump all over the place, so don't expect this blog to be mma (mixed martial arts) focused. But if you read my previous posts, I guess you wouldn't really expect that anyway.

Anyway, UFC champion Anderson Silva continued his dance of devastation(I mean the guy literally dances after he kicks the crap out of opponent) through the middleweight ranks of the UFC. His latest victim was top middleweight Dan Henderson, former Olympic wrestler and top middleweight(and light heavyweight). Henderson is the only person to simultaneously possess championship belts in 2 different weight divisions( light heavyweight:205 pounds and middleweight:185 pounds). Silva submitted Henderson via rear naked choke with less than ten seconds left in the 2nd round. I believe it was a dominating performance by Silva. Henderson did however control the first round, but caused next to no damage to Silva as he controlled him on the ground. In the 2nd however, Silva forced a takedown from Henderson with a knee delivered from the clinch. Hurt, Henderson shot in, but Silva countered it and took top position. Henderson then gave up his back while Silva locked in a body triangle, solidifying his position while peppering Henderson with punches. He then locked in the classic rear naked choke. Now, at this point I was saying, "Dan ain't done yet", and as I predicted, Henderson peeled the arm of Silva off of the back of his head, loosening the choke. Silva then switched to a gable grip version of the rear naked choke, and I knew Dan was done.
Well, in summation, Anderson Silva just dismantled one of the best fighters in the sport. I have no idea who can beat him at 185 at the moment.