Current state of mind: ECSTATIC! Why? Tomorrow I will leave for sunny Texas to visit two of the most beautiful people on earth, Blythe and Meaghan (Angelina and Brad are India at the moment).

Fun will be had, the house will be brought down, the funk done dropped.

I don’t know what to wear? It’s a beach, so I guess swimming trunks. I’m not really a trunks sort of person. I suppose I’ll figure it out.

All smiles here!

I hate my nose hairs. I trim them yet they still grow back in what seems like no time at all. I’ve yet to find a trimmer that can truly get up in there and do a proper job. Special tools are needed, a certain amount of time and money needs to be invested and frankly I just don’t have enough of either.

What really gets me is how certain hairs poke out. Of course you never notice them until after you’ve had a very long conversation with somebody you find cute, and mid-conversation you excuse yourself to the restroom (you’ve been holding it because the conversation is just that good), and when you’re checking yourself out you notice the five hairs sticking straight out. You can’t go back with them out but you also can’t stuff them back in there. Plucking individuals hairs by hand is all you can do, which results in pain and in my case eye waterage. After plucking out the stray hairs I return to the date with bloodshot eyes, which gives off the impression that I’ve just been snorting coke in the bathroom. I just can’t win!

I’m embarrassed for anybody 5′5 and shorter, what a view they must have!

In my almost 25 years I have yet to find an easy way around this very troubling (and mighty embarrassing) issue. It’s like shaving, something you dread doing every morning but have no choice about it. I suppose I could go around being all hairy but that just isn’t my thing, I’d like to have sex every once in a while. Ho hum!

I’ve arrived! Well, I arrived a couple of days ago but I’ve been so busy with work and life that I haven’t had time to update the blog. What’s been going on with me? Well…

Out of excitement (and maybe a few nerves) I didn’t have a bowel movement for the first few days here. You can imagine how painful that first run was! In fact I made the run even harder by forcing myself to run up a steep hill, it was awesome (and painful).

New roommate = perfection. The house is amazing; the neighborhood is everything I ever wanted in a place to live (the only noises at night are animals); THIS PLACE IS MIGHTY KICK ASS GREAT!

I haven’t had that many celebrity encounters. I saw an actress that once dated Jason Priestly (but I can’t remember her name) and I saw the medium from that Lifetime TV show, don’t know her name either.

It’s only been a couple of days but my general perception so far is, well, this place kick’s ass!

The day couldn’t have come quicker, I can hardly believe I’m actually doing this. Tomorrow I will start anew in Los Angeles, California. The past couple of days I was a little nervous, more sad to leave my friends than anything. Today, standing here by the window at LaGuardia International Airport looking out at the sign “Welcome to New York,” the word that sums up my current state of mind is calm. The only concern I have about this move is whether I should poop now or wait until my layover in Denver. It’s nice when that’s the only thing on your mind.

As I’ve stated to friends before (and mentioned in this blog), I love Au Bon Pain. But more than just your regular street corner Au Bon Pain, the airport ones are truly the Holy Grail of the Au Bon Pain empire. They don’t serve anything that the street corners ones don’t, there’s just something about getting a wonderful iced tea before a flight that just makes me feel secure, safe in a way. Behold the power of over priced iced tea!

banana or pumpkin, and probably would go for those before the On a totally separate topic, “The New Thing Adventure” started yesterday. I spent the majority of the day packing and what not, between that and the cleaning I didn’t have much time to devote to the adventure. But lack of time wouldn’t stop me from trying something new, even if it was just a little thing. Surprisingly I had never experienced zucchini bread before, even though my mother made plenty of it during my childhood. She would always make the bread with banana or pumpkin bread, so I never really had to try some weird vegetable bread. I picked up yesterday’s slice from the Union Square Greenmarket, one of the many things that I will greatly miss. My thoughts on the vegetable bread: mighty tasty. It was sweeter than I had thought it would be. I still prefer banana or pumkin bread in mama’s kitchen, but I won’t avoid it so vehemently as I did as a child.

Okay, hopefully I’ll be able to write more in Denver during my layover. If not, expect a full report tomorrow on the day of travel and the great new adventure tonight as I attempt to find my new home all by myself. Wish me luck!

It’s no secret that I love banana’s. If you’re friends with me then you’re well aware that banana’s are one of my very favorite treats (not just favorite fruit, they’ve gone beyond being a fruit and crossed over into the realm of favorite treats). And it’s not just a regular banana that I love, I’ll eat them in any incarnation. Banana bread is lovely, banana cream pie will be the pie I dive into after my first marathon, banana chips, banana oatmeal, banana spread on toast with soy nut butter - any of these variations on the banana send my taste buds into a whirl!

This morning I thought of when my love of the banana began. My mother tells the story of my “Banana Man” days, where I would run around the house carrying banana’s shouting, “I’m Banana Man!” Just what “Banana Man” did I’m not sure, neither is she, but apparently it was special enough for me to carry on with it for hours. While playing the part of “Banana Man” I would go to town on eating banana’s, one after another, down the hatch it went. People would watch in awe as I pushed down each potassium filled goodness (nature’s very own energy bar!). After eating a bundle of them I’d stop, smile, and thank the audience for participating. Once the excitement of “Banana Man” died down I’d return to my own little world. An hour later the first sign of trouble would begin.

“Mom, my tummy hurts,” I would say as my stomach spoke to me. I would spend the rest of the afternoon in the bathroom, my super powers diminished by the weakness of my stomach.

You’re probably wondering why my mother didn’t stop me from eating a bundle of banana’s? I’m not sure, but I have a feeling that it was more than likely a way to get me out of her hair for the rest of the day. The performance of “Banana Man” lasted for an hour, but the trips to the bathroom lasted the rest of the day. I was sidelined, which gave her more time to deal with my other siblings. Smart lady.

Of course being the idiot that I was, I always went back and did “Banana Man” again, eating another bundle of banana’s and spending another day on the toilet. I was really dumb, or just an over eater (did I just find my root for over eating, my therapist is going to be so proud of me!).

Amazingly my love of banana’s persisted into adulthood. I guess a good thing never dies. At least now I don’t eat a bundle of banana’s in the span of an hour. I pace it through out the day of course. But who knows, “Banana Man” just might make a comeback one day.

What sort of superhero would I be? I thought about it during my morning run. While running I often listen to audio books, it keeps me concentrated and makes the miles go by much faster. Currently I’m listening to The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson, part memoir about his years spent in Des Moines, Iowa and part fantasy about his adventures as his alter-ego, the Thunderbolt Kid.

Growing up I never really fantasized about being a superhero or possessing special powers. I suppose I thought it would be cool to fly like Superman, but mostly I just wanted to wear his tights. Batman was appealing only because of who he was in real life, Bruce Wayne, millionaire bachelor with a hint of flamboyancy to his step. As puberty set in I vividly remembering wishing I had the power to see through walls and clothing, just so I could sneak a peak at whomever I fancied. Along the same lines I had hoped for the power to freeze time, however not for the purposes of saving a life or stopping a tragic situation, no I would freeze time so I could 1) stake revenge on my enemies by pantsing them in public or 2) so that I could get up close and personal to the guys I found attractive. But when I thought about the possibilities of having special powers I quickly wrote it off, I mean it could never really happen anyway, right?

From what I gather there really are only two elements that make a great superhero, their name and their special power. I would insist on the word “Mighty” coming before any other name. Not “Mighty Scott,” that’s just bland and would give away my true identity (unless I had a kick ass costume that hid my face). “Mighty Man” is cool, very masculine, but doesn’t really represent me. I think I would have to say “Mighty Dude” is the winner, it includes “Mighty” and “Dude” is more real to my true personality.

Most importantly, what would my special power be? I feel that my special power should have something to do with my name. “Mighty” brings about images of manly men, men in charge of every situation, men like Superman, Batman, President Dwight Eisenhower (okay, maybe Eisenhower doesn’t fit, but he popped into my head when I first thought of “Mighty”). The word “Dude” brings about images of comfortable clothing like linen pants and gives off the general feeling of relaxation. What could the special power be for a manly, yet relaxed, superhero be?

I conferred with a couple friends, just to brainstorm some ideas. The beautiful Chadwick (check out his blog) would posses the power of invisibility and flight. I like the idea of being able to be invisible, but I’m too much of a showman, I need the attention of others to feel complete. Bryan would emit a siren song beam from his mouth that would heal people, which I love (especially the idea of healing people), but I don’t have the best set of teeth in the world so I would much rather have as little attention as possible focused on my mouth.

My friend Missy, who is currently reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon, mentioned an idea that struck me as marvelous. In the book, Tom (aka The Escapist) possesses a golden key, which makes him apart of the League of the Golden Key. The key saves people from all sorts of suppression - emotional, physical, mental- and those that travel with the possessor of the key are also set free. The idea of freeing people really struck me as genius. What sort of power could I create based on the idea of freeing people that would also mesh with the name “Mighty Dude”?

I got it! I would be “Mighty Dude - the Calmer.” People in my presence, no matter how evil, sad or repressed they are, would immediately feel a sense of calm. I would free them from their mental woes. The costume would consist of a beige colored mask (everyone knows that beige is a soothing color), a white collared shirt and beige drawstring linen pants. I guess a cape would be cool too, just for the superhero effect. In a way I would sort of be a therapist, however people wouldn’t have to tell me their problems, just my presence would take care of everything. “Mighty Dude - the Calmer,” prepare yourself for relaxation!

Oh yeah, and I guess I would throw in the ability to see through clothes, you never really grow out of wanting to look at naked people.

I think I now understand why my friend Chadwick makes fun of me for owning a pair of Croc’s.

I’ve mentioned my love of my morning super large (yet not quite Big Gulp esque) Au Bon Pain iced tea before, it seriously makes me happy. However this morning my cup o’ tea has a hint of coffee to it. I can’t be too certain because I put the blue sugar in it (it’s not Equal, it’s Au Bon Pain Equal, but who calls it by it’s actual name anyway, it’s the blue sugar or the pink sugar). Of course I’m still going to drink it, I’m getting the full $1.94 out of it. Word.
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Leave it to Blythe to come up with yet another fantabulous idea (check out her BAT Blog, you’ll love it). Each day for 24 days she did something new leading up to her 24th birthday. I thought that that idea was just too great not to add on to, so starting June 16 I will begin my own “New Thing Adventure.” Each day for 25 days I will do something that I have never done before. It might be extreme like getting a new tattoo or as simple as trying a new restaurant. I’m totally open to suggestions so please offer em up.

Naturally I will update the blog with each day’s newness.