How to drive your waiter crazy

Finally, a credible source (CNN.com) has explained to the masses just what it can be like for those of us in the foodservice industry. Everyone who eats out at a restaurant should read this article!!!

A funny thing happened on the way to Chicago...

Well, quite a few things, actually. I wish I had been able to take some pictures, but I was furiously driving a record-setting time from Bellaire to Chicago: five hours and 16 minutes. Fierce.

Anyhow, while on my drive, I saw quite a few funny things that I'd like to share.

1. A gypsy camp. I left Bellaire and followed my iPhone GPS to Kalkaska to pick up the highway. I was driving down dirt roads that I'd never seen before, and it was awesome. Lots of beautiful hills and valleys, creeks and ponds, all kinds of nature. But the best thing I saw was this gypsy camp... I came around a corner and there was a trailer home parked on the side of the road. After that, there was a cleared out section in the woods filled with run-down cars, grills, lawn furniture, and a few dogs. I've always heard stories about how there were gypsies in Northern Michigan: the kind that travel around but have a base camp and rob houses when you're at the grocery store, etc. Anyways, I honestly think I stumbled across one today, and it was pretty cool.

2. Just before passing the booming metropolis known as Cadillac, MI, I saw a turtle crossing the road. Seriously. He was almost to the berm on the left side of the road, so he was pretty much home safe. I was concerned, humored, confused, and worried all at once.

3. Down towards Grand Rapids, I passed a semi-truck with the following message inscribed in HUGE letters:

JESUS CHRIST IS LORD

Not a Swear Word

It was funny at first, but then I started thinking about who it was who was driving that truck... Where was he (she?) driving? What cargo was being carried? Maybe it was a cover-up for an illegal drug operation or a child porn ring, but I'm not really sure. It was curious, to say the least.

Don't eat a Hershey's bar any time soon...

What a way to go!

A young man recently fell to his death while at work in New Jersey, which is extremely sad and tragic... He was working at a chocolate factory and fell into a vat containing melted chocolate, which is extremely strange and wild.

Via CNN.com...

Just get her to bed!

One of the funnier (and sadder) videos I have seen in a while, via OMGblog... Hahahaha! If I was 109 years old and someone was literally shouting in my ear, I'd be pissed too!!!

Funny Blog: Texts From Last Night

Who hasn't sent a regrettable text during a night of overindulgence?  I have done it too many times to mention...  Here are a few other examples of inappropriate, funny, embarrassing, or otherwise strange texts people have sent, via a funny blog called textsfromlastnight.com.

(613): His facebook profile says he's interested in men, but i'm choosing to ignore that

(I think I've been the victim of that girl before...)

(208): I woke up this morning to the buzzer on my oven going off... I cooked fish sticks at 425 degrees for 5 hours last night. my house smells awesome

(Never done this with fish sticks, but definitely had some burned pizzas...)

(410): can you sing with all the voices of the mountain? can you paint with al the colors of the windddd

(443): wasted?

(410): im pocohantasssss

(Hahaha I honestly think I have sent this series of texts before!)

(415): I've decided that I only have enough money to either eat or drink over the next month. I'm sure you know what choice I've made.

(Obviously.)

On a serious note...

This developing story is tragic.  An 11 year old boy recently committed suicide because he was constantly bullied by kids at school for allegedly being gay.  An 11 year old. 

When I was that age, yes, I was bullied and called horrible names by kids I went to school with... It's a tragedy of our culture that the go-to name for making fun of kids who are different is "gay." I remember days when I would pray for indoor recess so that I didn't have to go out to the playground and face the older kids for fear that they would taunt and tease me...  It was quite a sad way to grow up, but I now know that it made me stronger and helped to build me into the person I am today.

That being said, it makes me so SO sad that some young children just can't escape the pain and discouragement that being bullied brings them...  

Also, I still find it shocking that, when a young boy is bullied, the antagonists often jump right to the conclusion that he is "gay" or "a fag."  Not only that, but what 11 year olds really comprehend the notion of sexuality, anyways?  I find it hard to believe that kids who don't understand long division can have such a complex ideological stereotypes against kids that they find different...

That's all for now.

Everyday Etiquette

Have you ever wondered how to shut up the Chatty Cathy next to you on a long airplane flight? Or worried that you're being greedy for the last parking spot in a crowded lot?  Here are 11 points of "Everyday Etiquette" to help you solve these dilemmas, as well as answering some other questions you haven't thought to ask before.

Personally, when I'm on an airplane, especially for a long flight, I don't really try to engage my fellow passengers in any kind of conversation, and I get annoyed when people start questioning me too much. Sometimes, if I'm feeling adventurous, I'll make up a life for myself.  I'm an opera singer flying to a concert, a student who is heading to a lecture on the opposite side of the country, or a small business owner going to check out some competition.  It's fun, try it.  You can be anything you want to be since these people are, as Tyler Durden from Fight Club said, "single-serving friends."

Image via Real Simple.