But sometimes these bullies would not let me get away so easily and would go running after me to bring me back - to test me - to see if they weren't right about me being gay or not.
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U T U R E B A R R I E R
( The
4th Novel )
Secret Technology,
Unrequited Love, Absolute Vengeance
Good afternoon. Yep, my Mom called again. This time she left a message - said Happy Birthday. I wasn't about to pick up the phone - and it all sounded good. I spoke with my sister on the phone and she said don't be lured into it.
I told her, no, not now. You know that boat you've had all this time. The one you had where you had a seat just for me to sit in ? Well ... I'm sitting in it now.
I know you wanted me to join your boat when I was younger but I guess I was just too naive to think that Mom could be healed, she could be better. I know now that is not going to happen.
So - I am sitting in the same boat you are now, perhaps even balancing it. It may have taken my half my lifetime to do so, but I'm there.
My sister was only kind and responded. Yeah, it has been a few years. But now you finally see her as I do.
I nodded, yeah, I do. So ... if she continued to call I might get some phone doohickey that prevents from doing so. I really don't know any other way to approach this.
As Kari intelligently pointed out, she (Mom) is trying to isolate me life and yes that is a HUGE warning sign for ready abuse. Not going to do it. Not going to happen. If I have to buy hardware on my phone so she can't call me - I'll do it.
I hate being negative - really about anything. But if you don't do certain things with some people - they will just steamroller right over you ...
. . .
Oh I was with Chris Sunday (11-29-20), we went to this Retro store that sold all kinds of metal and plastic figurines and spaceships and stuff, especially Star Trek and Star Wars and Chris just plucked off the cabinet Captain Kirk portrayed as William Shatner for $15 ! He handed it to me I quite simply said, "Mine."
He smiled. He said, "I'll bet you think that's worth a lot of money don't you ?"
I said, "Well I'm not so interested that in the fact that it =IS= the Kirk I like, not that new Star Trek crap, and he does come with a communicator, tricorder, =AND= phasor. How cool is that ?"
Chris replied with, "Look at the bottom of the box on the back."
So I did and sure enough it was made by a toy company only 5-years ago (2015). So what I had was a reproduction of apparently the original Star Trek figure which surely must be thousands of dollars.
I remember years ago my Dad handed me a Star Wars comic book and I was so elated telling him I'm not going to read it and maybe tomorrow we can get a dust cover for it.
That is until I looked at the barcode and saw it was completely blank ! I wasn't so much mad at Dad but curious where he got it from. He said someone at the plant (General Dynamics) was handing them out.
He had hundreds - apparently to increase interest in others for Star Wars comics. But what he handed out were not collector items.
Just comics to whet the appetite of those people who did read comics. And at the time, yeah, I read comics. But really I more read those interesting pick-your-own-path books. I still have hundreds today in storage.
And speaking of Chris, mentally we are the complete opposite of each other. While I still like teddy bears and collecting toys and stuff he sees it as a complete and utter waste of time. He is also a licensed paralegal though whereas me I'm just a good programmer and typist - and I never did really go further than that.
In fact aside from my 11-yo niece I really can't think of anyone who matches my interests - not really. When Carlos and Katy visit we do watch a cartoon on my big screen, maybe Barbie which she does like. But then I run a rated R movie for Carlos and her and me go downstairs and play with the new toys I bought for us to try out.
To add to this, recently Chris also bought for me as part of my Christmas these interesting figures called Goo-Jit-Zu which have an interesting feel to them. One I have has little metal marbles in it and when you squeeze him. He also has a silly neck that extends like a bending drinking straw and has a mouth that opens and closes.
As I have two the 2nd he gave me is interesting indeed. He is filled with some kind of material that bends if you push it REALLY hard but is solid like a brick if you thump it your finger or even bang your hand against it. It's great to squeeze and exercise your grip while you're watching a show which is what I do. This one's mouth also opens and closes.
And the prices were all over the board. I looked them up. $100 each from EBay. $50 each on Amazon. And $2.50 each at Wal-Mart, if you could find 'em. I asked Chris why the prices were all over the place.
He said likely they were a discontinued item like the Mixie-Q's I collected years ago, to some people they really want to get these crazy toys.
. . .
I had my free Birthday meal yesterday too. Went with Kay to Denny's. I went there as that is it the only place you can go to get a free meal on your Birthday without signing up some membership.
And the lady there while accepting it was my Birthday told me next year (2021) that I will be required to sign up online to do it again. So - yeah, the Last Of The Mohicans. If I want a free meal next year I am going to have to sign up online for them. Hmm ...
. . .
Thinking of the wild west, Mohicans - one show Miss Stokes (you remember my babysitter) would run on her television was Wild Wild West. I have since acquired all the episodes in high-definition the past month or so and it really wasn't until I started watching them, how handsome Robert Conrad (who plays James West) is.
If you're not familiar with the show, you might remember the movie that came out with Will Smith which I also think is quite good. But I remember being a boy and watching R Conrad being - well - the hero he was, and as young as I was I was immediately attracted to him
As Miss Stokes had me in my little corner (where I could play with the peg puzzle) I remember looking at the TV and saying, "He's so handsome."
Naturally the girls there all started laughing and hollering, "Gay gay ! Oh my god Andrew is so gay !"
At which point Miss Stokes smacked a few of them with her long wooden ruler. I was crying because while I really didn't understand, I knew they were making fun of miss. Miss Stokes came to me and said, "Don't cry Andy. They're just being mean to you. If you want to know I think he's handsome too."
Years ago ...
Yes he's very handsome but more importantly he protected people. He was sort of like Batman which I also watched and yes I was fond of Adam West and obviously William Shatner. All because they seemed to be heroes and protected people.
And I was attracted to that I guess because I was the polar opposite. Whereas they were Alpha Males I was more like Zeta (if there is such a thing) where I depended on other people to protect me - and that didn't always happen.
I mean let's take Tyler for instance. After that one terrible time at the beach where I certainly couldn't use enough soap afterwards. I told Dad I just fell in. Anyways, we sort of became friends after that. Sort of. That is he looked out for me - to make sure I wouldn't get hurt.
Anytime someone wanted to fight me, he was there for me to take it on. But the reverse was also true. As he was a growing teenager and a full year older than me, he expected me to do -favors- for him in the bathroom which as you remember he did actually pay me for, $10 every Tuesday.
Yet it's something I'm definitely not proud of today - despite his encouraging words and praising me for it, telling me how good I was at it. That sort of thing eats at your soul.
So I guess it's pretty safe to say that aside from getting beat one time in 3rd grade, I have always had people looking out for me - to make sure I did stay safe. Even Chris today looks out for me and keeps me safe.
So then I decided, okay, that's fine. Let me just accept what life has handed me and - do something I like, like collect teddy bears. All different kinds. Today I do have some very rare and expensive teddy bears, but I also have some one-of-a-kind items while I may have paid very little for today still aren't worth very much.
But I still do like them very much all the same. I'm not the kind of person that only likes things that are valuable which I think is a trap many serious collectors fall into.
Now Teepo you may be asking ? That is the one teddy bear that has survived since I was 5-years old to today. I have tried to take especially good care of him. He's wearing a little shirt today and frayed around the edges. But I still have him. Good old Teepo from those years past.
I keep him WAY up in the air on a very high cabinet where I can see him but no-one easily can take him down to look at him. I want to try keep him in as good shape as a I can as that is definitely a piece of my life's history.
. . .
I did want to explain a bit, my fascination with computers and numbers, and the price I paid for my obsession.
For today - today though I definitely feel like I have missed out on a good part of my childhood. Being so busy with numbers and programming and working on tables and charts and what have you.
I remember years ago an important decision was made - by me. Brett was there, my friend and he offered me to go this great Ice Cream Social where there would be a swimming pool and everything.
At the time I was working on the TRS-80. I had just written a program to write on to audio-cassette the word, "Andrew."
It was an expensive tape player with a tape counter on the side so I could organize my data files.
Brett was there waiting for an answer. I told him if this doesn't work, I'll go with him. If not, I need to stay and work on it some more.
He laughed, "What ? you're really going to turn down the party of the century to this - this CALCULATOR !?"
I nodded, yep, that's what's happening. So he crossed his fingers it would fail, and I crossed my fingers it wouldn't. I rewound the tape to position 50. Started running my program. I had it display a "?" and keep seeking to find data.
I hit PLAY on the player and after 2-seconds very slowly the word appeared:
ANDREW
It wasn't so much that the project worked which to me was a miracle - it was if the computer itself was calling to me, "Andrew. Andrew. Andrew." I was so - excited so - crazy in the head I guess, I cried, I had tears of joy.
Brett looked at me like I lost my goddam mind which maybe I did. Maybe. Anyways he spoke, so I guess that's a no, huh ?
I looked to him. "Brett this is bigger than you, and it's bigger than me. This is the FUTURE ! Transferring data to storage medium to keep it there and read and write from it. Imagine hundreds, no thousands of tape players all active all ready, ready to read and write data, far beyond the 4k RAM available ! To - INFINITY !"
Brett could tell a fanatic when he saw one. He sighed heavily, nodded his head. "We each have our calling. I guess yours is to be a computer nerd. Okay. I'm not gonna stop you. But I may bring some pictures back to show you what a good time we had at the party."
I nodded, "You do that. That would be fine. as for me -" And it was then I looked to the word ANDREW on the screen. The computer - calling me. "As for me - I need to work on THIS."
So, yeah, in truth I turned down a whole bunch of stuff in my youth over learning the computer - that I truly regret now. There's not much I can do about it. I mean I am pretty computer savvy, I can write basically any program at all for anything today. Type about 135wpm. But at what price ?
What price ...
. . .
I have slowed down a bit though in my obsession though. As you know I write. But today when my computer gets supremely busy working on things, I'll take a break away from it and fire up the old Super Nintendo and try out some of those interesting games on it I have yet to play as I have them all from years past.
I didn't think I'd be doing that, to have that kind of time for freedom, till I was 65 more than a good decade from now. That's fine though. It's good to relax away from the computer - especially when it's working on a bunch of stuff for me I can open later like a treasure and explore.
. . .
And this Friday (12-04-20) will be the telling !
I will indeed write a new chapter for "Dating Wyona" but I'm also going to start to get things ready and together for moving. Will buy several packing boxes, a tape gun, and get everything all put away air-tight and sealed.
I won't need to move for a year yet but it doesn't hurt to get started early. Think of it as my New Year's Resolution if you will, to get things packed both upstairs and downstairs.
. . .
And with that, let's return back to Bonnie and Clyde Dev still underway.
Janet applauded which I thought was pretty silly.
She whistled shrilly too, "Encore, encore !"
Ben looked at her and sheepishly grinned. He grabbed a towel and rubbed his own chest with it. Then positioned himself with his back to the tub leaning hard at the waist and rubbed the towel on his legs and heels all the while his butt mere inches from my face like before.
I turned to look and like before was hypnotized by the center and what I saw. It wasn't confusion, it wasn't fear it was - something within me - something stirring that had never stirred before. Some strange and a kind of alien desire I could not explain. Forbidden. Yet I was still too out of it to explore it any further.
Then fiery words entered my brain. Bullies - teasing me from years past. The first ones, obvious.
"Kiss my a*s !" "You're gay !" "You're a f****t !" "Come over here and suck my ... !" "Go stick your head in the toilet !"
I remember the first time it happened when bullies confronted me during recess. It was outside, I was just entering 3rd grade having no yet known Tyr and playing on the swing-set when they got about 6-feet ahead of me from the swing-set and started yelling.
At first they started saying all kinds of rude words I guess to get a reaction out of me, and I didn't. I was pretty sure it was my lack of knowledge for derogatory words is why I wasn't affected in the least no matter how loudly they shouted them.
Perhaps frustrated thinking I was ignoring them instead of just being ignorant - that was when they all turned around in unison to moon me.
And as I had never been mooned before nor had even seen a naked butt, that was when I felt my chest twist up in dizziness, my throat became dry, and I couldn't help but stare as they all egged me on to kiss them right there on the 'sweet' spot as they called it.
And I learned rather quickly that sitting on my seat in the swing-set and staring wide-eyed and unmoving was definitely not a good answer to the confusion I faced.
For after a half-minute of their taunting and me just staring, somebody got behind me and wanting to see how far this wretched game would go grabbed my limp arm to pull it painfully behind me.
Then someone else held the sides of my swing to glide me forward. If I jumped off now I was certain my arm would break !
As I did not fight them at all they ultimately pushed me and with great delight were beginning to force my head up the globe of the first bent over mooning bully.
That is until a teacher aware there was a disruption taking place suddenly intervened and dragged me out of the seat to haul me to the nurse's station determined I must be physically hurt or at least mentally handicapped to allow such terrible treatment.
I explained to the nurse exactly what they were going to do to me and that I really didn't want to do it.
While I may have expected her to be patient and understanding, instead she was gone in giggles and rude laughter at my utter stupidity to do anything at all but let them do, whatever it was they trying to do - which did nothing to help my already bruised and battered ego.
I started to get cross with her about her lack of professional demeanor when she suddenly shooed me out the door realizing I wasn't seriously hurt, just ... humiliated. And thoroughly from the sounds of it.
After that happened I think I was a little more accepting of the insults the bullies threw at me in the days to follow, that I really was gay and that I would suck them off just because I was as they said I was. I was certain they knew it made me feel ashamed - is why they taunted and teased me this way so often.
Why did bullies have to be so mean ? At the time I didn't understand. Today though - I did. And it was a sad reason at that.
* * *
But after a few more weeks of verbal abuse back in Elementary School, I finally had a reply ready for each of their insults:
"Kiss my a*s !" "Get away !"
"You're gay !" "I'm not gay !"
"You're a f****t !" "No I'm not !"
"Come over here and suck my ..." "You can't make me !"
"Go stick your head in the toilet !" "It don't fit !"
Yeah, probably not the best comebacks, but the best I could come up with at the time.
And after I would yell my retort then I ran away as they still laughed at me because of my weak comebacks.
I also ran away because their words - their terrible words and their vicious actions had affected me so deeply. And sometimes when they felt like it, especially if it was after school, they'd not let me get away so easily and would go running after me and bring me back - to test me - to see if they weren't right about me being gay or not.
And as I was caught by them I was dragged back into the nearest boys' bathroom where they would tell me what I needed to do be released. And it was behind those closed doors where I was quietly and methodically subjected to far worse than mere verbal insults.
And this time there were no teachers to intervene and stop them ...
This abuse went on for quite some time and continued many school grades later as this particular class of bullies were getting great enjoyment out of the despicable things they had me do - and do for them - quietly - behind those closed doors.
I was 13 when Scant entered the picture and his obsession of seeing my head flushed in the toilet every week was something far better than I was being subjected to before - so I let him and in a weird way kind of embraced him - to make sure he and his own followers were the ones to dish it out.
It continued through High School - but it was acceptable - considerably more acceptable than the terrible things I was made to do back in 3rd grade.
But NOW this very moment, all of that just seemed - unnecessary somehow. I felt only utter peace and tranquility. I realized these rude and cruel words, even their hazing - would never frighten me again nor would I feel the need to lash out in reply as I have.
For things were different in me. There was a distinct change in my mentality. A kind of peace and calm I've never felt before. Not the tightness in my chest worrying about what everyone was telling me like before.
Ben looked back at me, seeing I was transfixed in staring unblinking at the center of his globe lost in very deep thoughts.
He nodded in satisfaction for a job well done, didn't press the point, stepped forward then dried the rest of himself off. After that he left the bathroom to put away the cards we were playing earlier and get dressed again.
Janet then stepped forward. Wow the smile on her face, she was so immensely pleased with what she saw. She spoke half-laughing, "Why didn't you run away ? Gay boy ! So tell me, did you get the 'what what in the butt' - "
But then Tyr suddenly leapt from her chair to reach over and punch her in the arm.
Janet looked in shock, "Oww ... hey ! What's the hell is the matter with you !?"
Tyr had been quiet all this time not just because of what she saw, but what she felt. And right now it was rock solid green ice jealousy ! For all the years she had been with me I had never shown her any sign of interest to her the way that she wanted. She had all this time attributed it to willpower - me resisting her advances.
But then today a complete stranger comes in, a musclehead of all people ! And doesn't JUST get a reaction out of me in a single hour, he goes ALL THE WAY and gets me to climax !
Bitter sand burned in Tyr's brain as tears of rejection started to trickle down her face. That was her job ! For years she hoped to sexually harass and humiliate me to the point I would break, that I would explode unexpectedly in my pants just as I did earlier today so she could really laugh long and loud at me !
Her complete victory over me and to shatter my oh so perfect 'logical' mind which she always despised !
But it never happened. For all the teasing she did, for all the mooning, flashing, and even sitting on my head and face - to humiliate the hell out of me, she never broke me, not really. Not to the level this bronze giant did. And she didn't know why !
"Get the hell out of here !" Tyr said exploding in rage and shoving against Janet. Clearly she didn't want Janet to see she was on the very verge of crying out loud now.
"But - " Janet started to say.
"Out ! O. W. T. - Out !" and pushed Janet out the door locking it behind her.
"I need to talk to Dev." she said in about the most menacing voice I had ever heard her use for me.
I’m thankful that my ex had the decency to stop calling me when I told him I didn’t want that anymore. It’s impossible for me to block calls on my flip phone, and I don’t want a smartphone for multiple reasons including financial. Even if I had that kind of money in my budget, there are other things I would rather spend it on. Number one on that list is commissioning more art for my story.
A communicator, tricorder, and phasor!!! NICE! That kinda reminds me of how I used to try and make Star Trek props that looked realistic, but I never got too far with those. I begged my parents to buy me a jumpsuit online, but they said no because jumpsuits are hard to make fit properly, so when it arrived, it would either be too tight somewhere or too loose somewhere and I wouldn’t like it as much as I thought I would and wouldn’t wind up wearing it at all in the end.
My parents did, however, get me a couple of model ships to put together. I remember the glue being super toxic and using a tiny paintbrush and spending hours painting them. I’m not sure if we still have those now, though. They would be in the attic at my parents’ place if they’re still around.
That free meal at Denny’s thing reminds me of how, when I was in university, I lived close to a Cost Plus World Market and signed up for their deals. I don’t think it was completely free, but they gave me a really nice coupon on my birthday, and I had to head down to the university’s computer lab to print it out and use it. Anyway, I love exotic chocolates, salami, and all the other interesting stuff they had there. I would stroll there after Christmas to get the 75% off or 90% off deals. I made sure to hit the 75% off stuff first in case all the good stuff was gone by the time they dropped it down to 90%. It was similar with other holidays, but of course Christmas was the biggest.
I can’t think of turning down anything in my youth that I regret, though I do feel like my writing is calling to me these days. And with a baby on the way, I feel like I’m being tugged in multiple directions. Then, I have a bunch of volunteer commitments coming up surrounding the time of the birth. It will be a balancing act for sure.
I still have a Super Nintendo for sure. We haven’t plugged it in for a few years, but I’m pretty sure it still works. Not like modern electronics that break down left and right. There’s a good chance my son will get to enjoy it.
Good luck with the move! Packing in advance is very smart. Husband and I set aside a bunch of stuff we figured we wouldn’t need in our temporary apartment, but then the pandemic hit, and we realized we’d be stuck here for longer than planned, so we asked the parental units to pull out more things for us. I asked them to dig out a decorative marble slab so I could try making sugar-free ice cream using this method: https://youtu.be/vuuWnwhm6s0 but it didn’t work at all, so I wound up stirring it every 30 minutes. It kinda worked, but the result is really hard to scoop. Also, erythritol is supposed to be only 70% as sweet as sugar, but I swear mine is way sweeter than sugar. So now I have a saucepan full of sickly sweet frozen cream taking up space in my freezer, and I’m trying to tolerate eating it since our budget really is that tight and I don’t want to waste food. I’m considering letting it melt and stirring it into coffee or something at this point.
Lol, sorry that was a major tangent, but I miss that kind of small talk with the whole pandemic thing and not seeing friends in person.
I had a little verbal abuse during middle school, but nothing like that. I think the teachers kept much better control over the students where I was. Anyway, I just started saying, “Happy” to every gay-related line of questioning my classmates thrust on me. That’s how I wound up with a nickname I still use today. I don’t reveal that info under my pen name too often, though. I figure it would tip off too many people about my private identity.
It is so satisfying seeing Tyr in that state!
Posted 3 Years Ago
1 of 1 people found this review constructive.
3 Years Ago
>> Awesome boat metaphor!
Thanks, yeah ... took too many years though. Hmm ... Hope s.. read more>> Awesome boat metaphor!
Thanks, yeah ... took too many years though. Hmm ... Hope springs eternal. I feel - I feel a little like that Star Trek episode where Mom has been hit by the spores of Omicron Ceti III, you remember, where everyone was at peace with each other.
And I'm dragging and straggling not wanting this. Wanting to keep my current life, my current ambitions, not wanting to waste away in society. So I fight her, I fight =IT= and everything it stands for. I don't want the spores - if that's where she is.
So who is to say who is in the wrong and who is in the right ? Now I know everyone who has met my Mom says that she is crazy, but couldn't it also be possible that everyone my Mom has met, HER own friends, they say that =I= am crazy. The other side of the coin.
I'm just now speaking to someone from Charter. They have informed me you can block someone on your phone with typing *60 (star sixty) on your phone. Wait a bit, then you get a nice verbal menu where you can add, delete existing, and view existing numbers currently blocked on your list. Rather nice !
I since blocked the number my Mom is calling from. That might slow her up a bit. So, Kari, you might try *60 if that'll work for you.
Regarding budget and finances. I'm blessed myself that I don't have to worry about anything like that. While I do buy my own groceries and such I get a weekly allowance I really can do anything I want with.
>> A communicator, tricorder, and phasor!!! NICE!
Well now remember the Kirk doll I have is just the same size as Barbie so the communicator, tricorder, and phasor are all made for him, not me. Now I do recall years ago when I was a kid I could buy a phasor and Star Trek belt from Skagg's Alberton's those many years ago - and they were perfectly sized for my small hands.
I remember my sister in plastic shop made the size and shape for a phasor, not the one that looks like a gun but the slender matchbox sized one that attaches to to the top. It was really neat. She also made a 3-dimensional chess-set, years ago.
What kind of jumpsuit ? Star Trek ?
>> My parents did, however, get me a couple of model ships to put together.
Now K who finally married my sister, before all that he made "spaceships" by combining models together, using bits and pieces from here and there - and sold them at the Star Trek conventions. He was so proud - and yeah, that was a really unique thing he was doing.
I remember going to the Star Trek Convention for the very first time. Electronic jewelry was all the rage then. It was a single piece of lucite that split the image of a single red LED in more than one facet. They had bracelets and necklaces. No rings as technology was not so advanced then and LEDs had JUST come out that very year.
https://youtu.be/yOtqX8r2rcE
I also saw a video-game, not Pong, it was ... Space Wars. And it was in a huge machine and cabinet. The game-play was unique for its time period. You had one ship that was a triangle and the other was a dead-ringer for the Starship Enterprise. At the time I didn't mind but I wonder now if they ever got into legal trouble for that.
But the game itself was incredible. While being an action game and precursor to Asteroids, you could actually shoot off a small section of your opponent ship and while handicapped in their movements and possibly firing, they could still fight back.
In the center was a star and you could have gravity or not, really adding to the mix of the game, because if you touched it with your ship then you would explode. The game also used no pixels, a real laser would appear on the screen to draw it all. Utterly fascinating for my youth and little brain.
Regarding glue, yep, you know just 3-days I bought some super-glue to fix up my Tinkerbell models (as the wings kept falling off) and you must be 18 now to buy super-glue. Crazy I know !
As for attics, Dad kept all the really old stuff in downstairs boxes. The boxes were interesting in that they had Fleur-De-Lis symbols on them. I guess the problem with this was that my sister and me as we got older starting poking around in the boxes and messing with what was in them. And - whatever preserving Dad had in mind was lost.
>> I love exotic chocolates, salami, and all the other interesting stuff they had there.
Ah, someone after my own heart. I have found as I've gotten older while I still do enjoy programming, writing, and trying out new Videogames, I also enjoy trying out new foods. For instance recently I was curious about crickets. That is you can buy them freeze-dried and seasoned for consumption. So I bought a bag that's arriving from vat19.com.
I asked my sister about this and she fully believes that insects are going to be our future food as we have so many of them. It may not occur in our lifetime but she says it WILL happen. And people will become accustomed to it.
It's been a long time since I entered a store specifically for markdown holiday items - except for maybe some of the candy - and even then it's for Rose. She has such a sweet tooth.
>> I feel like I’m being tugged in multiple directions.
I feel that way too at times. Working on EVE instead of Tilemaster, I really don't have time for both - so I stay with what my team wants me to work on, Eve.
>> I still have a Super Nintendo for sure. We haven’t plugged it in for a few years, but I’m pretty sure it still works.
I remember years ago when I was living with Rose that I was keenly interested in Super Nintendo. I had a Game Genie and a special prototype "magic card" I bought from Funcoland which let me load and save state my game anywhere at any place.
They sold me the card for $20 stating they really didn't know what it did as there was no manufacturer name on it. Today I'm convinced it's a custom piece of hardware someone wrote.
Also today these are very common elements, load/save state, cheats and search for cheats, for any SNES emulator.
>> Good luck with the move! Packing in advance is very smart.
I just want to have it out of the way so it's not something I didn't do at the last possible minute. I will be going through my teddy bears though - obviously I can't keep all of them as I'll be moving in from a 2-story to a 1-story.
>> Erythritol is supposed to be only 70% as sweet as sugar.
I've gained an interest in Sweet N' Low, probably not very good for me but is the only sweetener I have in my coffee. It's not that I'm even remotely diabetic which is good and no I'm not, I just like the taste of Sweet N' Low in my coffee. Always a good thing.
>> I had a little verbal abuse during middle school, but nothing like that.
Back in my time back in school bullies were a lot more active. There was little I think teachers could do except to suspend a student for the day or so. And when THAT happened there was always payback.
While I did some detestable things in the bathroom for them, ultimately I was not physically hurt. Not really. I think they knew this, that if I ever did get hurt by them, where I'm bleeding or something, then that would be the gamebreaker, that would be when I would go to a teacher and tell.
As what they were doing was more psychological damage to both me and my feelings about myself than any real physical harm. It happened so often and so consecutively that I began to wonder if I was the one really at fault. I really wondered that, and in turn never told anyone about it until I started writing my first chapter of Future Barrier, many years ago.
>> It is so satisfying seeing Tyr in that state!
This of course never happened in real life. But I sometimes wish it did, that SHE would be the one to feel some of the pain that she put me through - in this case by someone else "sweeping me off my feet" and doing the very thing she worked so many years at unsuccessfully.
Regarding your reverse harem, I see now what you are talking about. Hmm ... This may be something women like more than men - to be reading about or experiencing I mean.
I admit when I was little and got accosted by those girls back at camp, that could've been my own private harem I suppose. Yet they were lucky they didn't kill me outright in their clumsiness to smash my head against the concrete.
. . .
Friday I'll write up a new chapter for "Dating Wyona" and with only a few more chapters there we'll time travel forward to my next influences - ultimately for the final chapters - meeting Wayne for the first time and the very strong way he changed the way I looked at things regarding my sexual identity - and that which stayed with me for the rest of my life.
Once again, thanks for commenting, Kari !
3 Years Ago
Good tip to know on the blocking! I'll keep that in mind if I ever need it.
Yeah, not.. read moreGood tip to know on the blocking! I'll keep that in mind if I ever need it.
Yeah, not having to worry about finances is nice. Husband and I can survive, but he's chafing under our tight budget. I'm reaching out to friends to see if I can find a gray market buyer for my placenta. Probably not going to find a buyer, so if I don't, I'll probably see if I can donate it.
Yeah, it was a Star Trek jumpsuit I wanted.
I believe we should be eating more bugs, too. Back when I had my lovely side job and had money to spare, I went through a phase of buying crunchy insects from other countries. They came in bags like potato chips, but they all tasted a bit stale from what I remember. Anyway, currently insects are more expensive than mammal/poultry meat and fish, so I don't see the point in buying it again until the price drops below that of other sources of animal protein.
Sure thing
3 Years Ago
Phew ! Placenta ... I think there are a great many scientists out there that believe a human placent.. read morePhew ! Placenta ... I think there are a great many scientists out there that believe a human placenta has all the nutrients and vitamins to cure absolutely anything, a way of ensuring stable human life and even prolonging it. I - wouldn't even attempt to put a price on something as unusual as that.
Birth to me has always been perhaps one of the strangest things I have ever encountered in my life - and I don't think that's about to change.
As for the insects, I ordered myself some BBQ flavored crickets from Vat19.com. When they arrive will show them to my niece who will undoubtedly scream and say something, "Get that away from me !"
Heh - will see ... And I got all my Christmas shopping done save my Godfather. Pretty sure he wants a good wallet. Maybe this Wednesday I can go see him, take a few photos of it, then return to Wal-Mart and buy a brand new one.
I ran into a bit of a "schedule conflict" today as Scruffy the janitor from Futurama would say. I want to work on the new "Dating Wyona" chapter but I'm also supposed to be coding today.
Let me work on the code first, take a bit of a break in the middle of the day to work on the chapter, then return back to coding and work on that till it's time for bed. Best I can do.
And yeah it is odd that edible insects are actually expensive to purchase compared to hot dogs and heads of cabbage which I think are much more difficult to produce. With a cricket you can use a drying machine like you make dried fruit with, season the little bugger once he's desiccated, drop it in a plastic bag, repeat 11 more times - and then sell the bag for something reasonable like $1 instead of $3.75 as they are now.
I think it was listed in the bible Matthew 3:4 that John the Baptist ate wild locusts and honey. The belief is the reason was simple, they were ordinary cheap food that you could find anywhere in that day and age and easily obtainable.
3 Years Ago
I tend not to spend money on Christmas gifts. I have some soap-making supplies in the attic back at .. read moreI tend not to spend money on Christmas gifts. I have some soap-making supplies in the attic back at my parents' place that I've used the last few years to make pretty Christmas soaps. I don't have the energy for it this year, though. Trying to get Husband to get the rest of the baby stuff his cousin gave us down from the attic and bring it to our apartment is hard enough. Then, even if I got him to bring down the soap-making supplies, spending that much time on my feet messing with them and straining my back to pour the soap into molds doesn't sound like fun with the huge placenta and fetus I'm carrying around. I've got some sciatica, and that's getting worse the bigger I get, so I'd rather not mess with the soap again until after I've expelled that extra stuff from my body.
I made a bunch of soap for our wedding too, and that was a lot of work, but people loved it. We had a tropical theme, so I used lots of bright colors and fun scents.
I would love to try locusts sometime for that very reason. I've heard they're bigger than crickets and quite delicious, too. Anyway, if I read about it, I want to eat it!
3 Years Ago
>> I tend not to spend money on Christmas gifts.
Well the money for me arrives every .. read more>> I tend not to spend money on Christmas gifts.
Well the money for me arrives every week and sometimes I just can't think of anything do with it - so I save it for just such an occasion. People's birthdays and Christmas, for Rose add Valentine's Day.
Regarding you making soap, that's something my sister did. In addition to making Stained-Glass windows and selling both goat's milk and chicken eggs from her farm.
Having never been pregnant myself I cannot imagine the hardship and difficulty it must be to. I'm surprised someone hasn't sold a thing called, "Now guys you can experience childbirth just like your wife !" and have them strap on a large canister for their chest filled with heavy water they have to wear every day. :)
Your soaps sound really nice. Do you have an ETSY or anything for your previously made soap for sale ?
As for the insects, I don't mind them being dried and dessicated, it's the eating of them raw and WET that might turn mine and really anyone else's stomach. But these I ordered from Vat19.com , I think they're going to be nothing short of delicious.
And you're a bit like me but I do draw the line on a few things. I don't like Pralines, Divinity, German Chocolate cake, any cake with nuts in it, any ice-cream with nuts in it, and of course Fruitcakes. As for nuts themselves I am quite fond of raw walnuts seasoned or plain. They are quite the treat for me. Just can't tolerate the other stuff.
Here's hoping that when they did sell locusts years ago they fried them and try to dry them out so they wouldn't squish when you bit in to them. Eww ! :)
3 Years Ago
No, I tried to sell some beadwork years ago, and I never got very far with it. Trying to sell stuff .. read moreNo, I tried to sell some beadwork years ago, and I never got very far with it. Trying to sell stuff online is a big headache, and I'd rather not bother unless I find myself completely desperate. It might be nice to have a partner who would manage the selling, photographing the items, creating listings, and all that.
I could imagine locusts being honey-roasted like peanuts. I'm looking into trying that soon. I found some sugar-free imitation honey on Amazon that's pretty cheap, and I got a huge load of nuts from Smart Foodservice on Instacart. Smart Foodservice seems like a wholesale or restaurant supply store. I like buying things in large quantities to save money, and I enjoy having certain staples well-stocked. However, I wanted about 6-8 pounds of chuck roast, and the smallest piece of meat the shopper found was 23 pounds. Then the shopper told me that the price per pound in the store was actually a bit lower than the price listed on the website, so I decided to go ahead and say yes to it. We'll have to chop it up into thirds and freeze it, but we have enough space in our freezer for it at the moment. I'm going to keep this in mind for next time I place an order from that store. Great prices, but gotta make sure you have the fridge/freezer space for the stuff. Now if they'd had the ham I wanted in stock, I would have been in trouble. I also got a beautiful chunk of parmesan cheese. It's more expensive than the typical mozzarella, cheddar, or pepper jack cheese we buy, but it's not too bad when you account for the relative price per pound. Eating it makes me want wine to have it with, though. Husband really took a fancy to it as well.
3 Years Ago
>> It might be nice to have a partner who would manage the selling, photographing the items, creatin.. read more>> It might be nice to have a partner who would manage the selling, photographing the items, creating listings, and all that.
I guess I'm blessed my sister managed to do it all on her own, Kari. Y'know it's funny. Dad was a self-made man and philanthropist. He brought himself up by himself as a teenager, no parents. Got a $300/hr job as a Ph.D. My sister, started her own farm and a little website to sell her homemade items and farm food.
Me ? No, never. I'm always reliant on others to help me through life. Maybe Dad is to blame, I don't know. I DO know that he seemed happiest when I always went to him with any problems I had. He was always happiest when I relied on him to teach me something new, incredible, and educational. I miss that ... I miss him, terribly ...
>> I could imagine locusts being honey-roasted like peanuts. I'm looking into trying that soon.
Only if they're dessicated. Then I might really be interested.
>> I got a huge load of nuts from Smart Foodservice on Instacart. Smart Foodservice seems like a wholesale or restaurant supply store.
That sparked my interest. I brought them up online and I don't see a way to have them ship me anything though - despite them asking for my home address. I'm not sure how to have them send me stuff. They do have a good price on nuts and I would be interested in buying from them at the prices they have which is better than Wal-Mart.
>> I also got a beautiful chunk of parmesan cheese. It's more expensive than the typical mozzarella, cheddar, or pepper jack cheese we buy, but it's not too bad when you account for the relative price per pound.
All that good food you were mentioning. As long as it's DEAD like I like my hamburgers, I'm always open to trying new things.
I think being reliant on others is fine, especially when other people enjoy taking care of others.read moreI think being reliant on others is fine, especially when other people enjoy taking care of others.
I think that if you wanted to shop at Smart Foodservice in person, you'd need a wholesale license or a membership like Costco. However, doing it through Instacart seems like no problem. Instacart probably has some sort of special card their shoppers carry that allows them to shop there.
One of my friends had a wedding that was a big camping trip. They rented out a summer camp with an industrial kitchen, and all the guests were assigned to cook for one meal and clean up after one meal. My friends dropped into a wholesale store to get food on their way up to the camp. They apparently just approached another shopper and asked to borrow their wholesale number. I think that any expenses recorded under a wholesale number probably get deducted as a business expense or something, so the person letting my friends borrow their wholesale number probably got something out of it, too. Whoever let my friends borrow their wholesale number was committing tax fraud I suppose, but I have to say it was a very unique and fun wedding!
3 Years Ago
>> I think being reliant on others is fine, especially when other people enjoy taking care of others.. read more>> I think being reliant on others is fine, especially when other people enjoy taking care of others.
Well my G/F believe it or not is actually a licensed caretaker combination dominatrix so I think that's how we originally clicked. :)
>> I think that if you wanted to shop at Smart Foodservice in person, you'd need a wholesale license or a membership like Costco. However, doing it through Instacart seems like no problem. Instacart probably has some sort of special card their shoppers carry that allows them to shop there.
I couldn't figure it out, not easily. I was just hoping to nip in there, buy maybe $10 of peanuts, have it shipped here - and likely not buy anything else from them after that. It seems they are specialized for true food companies with licenses - so I'll just use Vending Nut Co and Wal-Mart, that's fine.
>> Whoever let my friends borrow their wholesale number was committing tax fraud I suppose, but I have to say it was a very unique and fun wedding!
That's very sneaky ! I'm glad it all worked out.
I've got Teresa from the government to handle all my finances and bills and paperwork, I just get a weekly allowance every Friday to buy toys and electronic stuff with which is fine with me.
And YES ! Today I write up a new chapter, what happens when Tyr lowers the boom on Dev.
I’m thankful that my ex had the decency to stop calling me when I told him I didn’t want that anymore. It’s impossible for me to block calls on my flip phone, and I don’t want a smartphone for multiple reasons including financial. Even if I had that kind of money in my budget, there are other things I would rather spend it on. Number one on that list is commissioning more art for my story.
A communicator, tricorder, and phasor!!! NICE! That kinda reminds me of how I used to try and make Star Trek props that looked realistic, but I never got too far with those. I begged my parents to buy me a jumpsuit online, but they said no because jumpsuits are hard to make fit properly, so when it arrived, it would either be too tight somewhere or too loose somewhere and I wouldn’t like it as much as I thought I would and wouldn’t wind up wearing it at all in the end.
My parents did, however, get me a couple of model ships to put together. I remember the glue being super toxic and using a tiny paintbrush and spending hours painting them. I’m not sure if we still have those now, though. They would be in the attic at my parents’ place if they’re still around.
That free meal at Denny’s thing reminds me of how, when I was in university, I lived close to a Cost Plus World Market and signed up for their deals. I don’t think it was completely free, but they gave me a really nice coupon on my birthday, and I had to head down to the university’s computer lab to print it out and use it. Anyway, I love exotic chocolates, salami, and all the other interesting stuff they had there. I would stroll there after Christmas to get the 75% off or 90% off deals. I made sure to hit the 75% off stuff first in case all the good stuff was gone by the time they dropped it down to 90%. It was similar with other holidays, but of course Christmas was the biggest.
I can’t think of turning down anything in my youth that I regret, though I do feel like my writing is calling to me these days. And with a baby on the way, I feel like I’m being tugged in multiple directions. Then, I have a bunch of volunteer commitments coming up surrounding the time of the birth. It will be a balancing act for sure.
I still have a Super Nintendo for sure. We haven’t plugged it in for a few years, but I’m pretty sure it still works. Not like modern electronics that break down left and right. There’s a good chance my son will get to enjoy it.
Good luck with the move! Packing in advance is very smart. Husband and I set aside a bunch of stuff we figured we wouldn’t need in our temporary apartment, but then the pandemic hit, and we realized we’d be stuck here for longer than planned, so we asked the parental units to pull out more things for us. I asked them to dig out a decorative marble slab so I could try making sugar-free ice cream using this method: https://youtu.be/vuuWnwhm6s0 but it didn’t work at all, so I wound up stirring it every 30 minutes. It kinda worked, but the result is really hard to scoop. Also, erythritol is supposed to be only 70% as sweet as sugar, but I swear mine is way sweeter than sugar. So now I have a saucepan full of sickly sweet frozen cream taking up space in my freezer, and I’m trying to tolerate eating it since our budget really is that tight and I don’t want to waste food. I’m considering letting it melt and stirring it into coffee or something at this point.
Lol, sorry that was a major tangent, but I miss that kind of small talk with the whole pandemic thing and not seeing friends in person.
I had a little verbal abuse during middle school, but nothing like that. I think the teachers kept much better control over the students where I was. Anyway, I just started saying, “Happy” to every gay-related line of questioning my classmates thrust on me. That’s how I wound up with a nickname I still use today. I don’t reveal that info under my pen name too often, though. I figure it would tip off too many people about my private identity.
It is so satisfying seeing Tyr in that state!
Posted 3 Years Ago
1 of 1 people found this review constructive.
3 Years Ago
>> Awesome boat metaphor!
Thanks, yeah ... took too many years though. Hmm ... Hope s.. read more>> Awesome boat metaphor!
Thanks, yeah ... took too many years though. Hmm ... Hope springs eternal. I feel - I feel a little like that Star Trek episode where Mom has been hit by the spores of Omicron Ceti III, you remember, where everyone was at peace with each other.
And I'm dragging and straggling not wanting this. Wanting to keep my current life, my current ambitions, not wanting to waste away in society. So I fight her, I fight =IT= and everything it stands for. I don't want the spores - if that's where she is.
So who is to say who is in the wrong and who is in the right ? Now I know everyone who has met my Mom says that she is crazy, but couldn't it also be possible that everyone my Mom has met, HER own friends, they say that =I= am crazy. The other side of the coin.
I'm just now speaking to someone from Charter. They have informed me you can block someone on your phone with typing *60 (star sixty) on your phone. Wait a bit, then you get a nice verbal menu where you can add, delete existing, and view existing numbers currently blocked on your list. Rather nice !
I since blocked the number my Mom is calling from. That might slow her up a bit. So, Kari, you might try *60 if that'll work for you.
Regarding budget and finances. I'm blessed myself that I don't have to worry about anything like that. While I do buy my own groceries and such I get a weekly allowance I really can do anything I want with.
>> A communicator, tricorder, and phasor!!! NICE!
Well now remember the Kirk doll I have is just the same size as Barbie so the communicator, tricorder, and phasor are all made for him, not me. Now I do recall years ago when I was a kid I could buy a phasor and Star Trek belt from Skagg's Alberton's those many years ago - and they were perfectly sized for my small hands.
I remember my sister in plastic shop made the size and shape for a phasor, not the one that looks like a gun but the slender matchbox sized one that attaches to to the top. It was really neat. She also made a 3-dimensional chess-set, years ago.
What kind of jumpsuit ? Star Trek ?
>> My parents did, however, get me a couple of model ships to put together.
Now K who finally married my sister, before all that he made "spaceships" by combining models together, using bits and pieces from here and there - and sold them at the Star Trek conventions. He was so proud - and yeah, that was a really unique thing he was doing.
I remember going to the Star Trek Convention for the very first time. Electronic jewelry was all the rage then. It was a single piece of lucite that split the image of a single red LED in more than one facet. They had bracelets and necklaces. No rings as technology was not so advanced then and LEDs had JUST come out that very year.
https://youtu.be/yOtqX8r2rcE
I also saw a video-game, not Pong, it was ... Space Wars. And it was in a huge machine and cabinet. The game-play was unique for its time period. You had one ship that was a triangle and the other was a dead-ringer for the Starship Enterprise. At the time I didn't mind but I wonder now if they ever got into legal trouble for that.
But the game itself was incredible. While being an action game and precursor to Asteroids, you could actually shoot off a small section of your opponent ship and while handicapped in their movements and possibly firing, they could still fight back.
In the center was a star and you could have gravity or not, really adding to the mix of the game, because if you touched it with your ship then you would explode. The game also used no pixels, a real laser would appear on the screen to draw it all. Utterly fascinating for my youth and little brain.
Regarding glue, yep, you know just 3-days I bought some super-glue to fix up my Tinkerbell models (as the wings kept falling off) and you must be 18 now to buy super-glue. Crazy I know !
As for attics, Dad kept all the really old stuff in downstairs boxes. The boxes were interesting in that they had Fleur-De-Lis symbols on them. I guess the problem with this was that my sister and me as we got older starting poking around in the boxes and messing with what was in them. And - whatever preserving Dad had in mind was lost.
>> I love exotic chocolates, salami, and all the other interesting stuff they had there.
Ah, someone after my own heart. I have found as I've gotten older while I still do enjoy programming, writing, and trying out new Videogames, I also enjoy trying out new foods. For instance recently I was curious about crickets. That is you can buy them freeze-dried and seasoned for consumption. So I bought a bag that's arriving from vat19.com.
I asked my sister about this and she fully believes that insects are going to be our future food as we have so many of them. It may not occur in our lifetime but she says it WILL happen. And people will become accustomed to it.
It's been a long time since I entered a store specifically for markdown holiday items - except for maybe some of the candy - and even then it's for Rose. She has such a sweet tooth.
>> I feel like I’m being tugged in multiple directions.
I feel that way too at times. Working on EVE instead of Tilemaster, I really don't have time for both - so I stay with what my team wants me to work on, Eve.
>> I still have a Super Nintendo for sure. We haven’t plugged it in for a few years, but I’m pretty sure it still works.
I remember years ago when I was living with Rose that I was keenly interested in Super Nintendo. I had a Game Genie and a special prototype "magic card" I bought from Funcoland which let me load and save state my game anywhere at any place.
They sold me the card for $20 stating they really didn't know what it did as there was no manufacturer name on it. Today I'm convinced it's a custom piece of hardware someone wrote.
Also today these are very common elements, load/save state, cheats and search for cheats, for any SNES emulator.
>> Good luck with the move! Packing in advance is very smart.
I just want to have it out of the way so it's not something I didn't do at the last possible minute. I will be going through my teddy bears though - obviously I can't keep all of them as I'll be moving in from a 2-story to a 1-story.
>> Erythritol is supposed to be only 70% as sweet as sugar.
I've gained an interest in Sweet N' Low, probably not very good for me but is the only sweetener I have in my coffee. It's not that I'm even remotely diabetic which is good and no I'm not, I just like the taste of Sweet N' Low in my coffee. Always a good thing.
>> I had a little verbal abuse during middle school, but nothing like that.
Back in my time back in school bullies were a lot more active. There was little I think teachers could do except to suspend a student for the day or so. And when THAT happened there was always payback.
While I did some detestable things in the bathroom for them, ultimately I was not physically hurt. Not really. I think they knew this, that if I ever did get hurt by them, where I'm bleeding or something, then that would be the gamebreaker, that would be when I would go to a teacher and tell.
As what they were doing was more psychological damage to both me and my feelings about myself than any real physical harm. It happened so often and so consecutively that I began to wonder if I was the one really at fault. I really wondered that, and in turn never told anyone about it until I started writing my first chapter of Future Barrier, many years ago.
>> It is so satisfying seeing Tyr in that state!
This of course never happened in real life. But I sometimes wish it did, that SHE would be the one to feel some of the pain that she put me through - in this case by someone else "sweeping me off my feet" and doing the very thing she worked so many years at unsuccessfully.
Regarding your reverse harem, I see now what you are talking about. Hmm ... This may be something women like more than men - to be reading about or experiencing I mean.
I admit when I was little and got accosted by those girls back at camp, that could've been my own private harem I suppose. Yet they were lucky they didn't kill me outright in their clumsiness to smash my head against the concrete.
. . .
Friday I'll write up a new chapter for "Dating Wyona" and with only a few more chapters there we'll time travel forward to my next influences - ultimately for the final chapters - meeting Wayne for the first time and the very strong way he changed the way I looked at things regarding my sexual identity - and that which stayed with me for the rest of my life.
Once again, thanks for commenting, Kari !
3 Years Ago
Good tip to know on the blocking! I'll keep that in mind if I ever need it.
Yeah, not.. read moreGood tip to know on the blocking! I'll keep that in mind if I ever need it.
Yeah, not having to worry about finances is nice. Husband and I can survive, but he's chafing under our tight budget. I'm reaching out to friends to see if I can find a gray market buyer for my placenta. Probably not going to find a buyer, so if I don't, I'll probably see if I can donate it.
Yeah, it was a Star Trek jumpsuit I wanted.
I believe we should be eating more bugs, too. Back when I had my lovely side job and had money to spare, I went through a phase of buying crunchy insects from other countries. They came in bags like potato chips, but they all tasted a bit stale from what I remember. Anyway, currently insects are more expensive than mammal/poultry meat and fish, so I don't see the point in buying it again until the price drops below that of other sources of animal protein.
Sure thing
3 Years Ago
Phew ! Placenta ... I think there are a great many scientists out there that believe a human placent.. read morePhew ! Placenta ... I think there are a great many scientists out there that believe a human placenta has all the nutrients and vitamins to cure absolutely anything, a way of ensuring stable human life and even prolonging it. I - wouldn't even attempt to put a price on something as unusual as that.
Birth to me has always been perhaps one of the strangest things I have ever encountered in my life - and I don't think that's about to change.
As for the insects, I ordered myself some BBQ flavored crickets from Vat19.com. When they arrive will show them to my niece who will undoubtedly scream and say something, "Get that away from me !"
Heh - will see ... And I got all my Christmas shopping done save my Godfather. Pretty sure he wants a good wallet. Maybe this Wednesday I can go see him, take a few photos of it, then return to Wal-Mart and buy a brand new one.
I ran into a bit of a "schedule conflict" today as Scruffy the janitor from Futurama would say. I want to work on the new "Dating Wyona" chapter but I'm also supposed to be coding today.
Let me work on the code first, take a bit of a break in the middle of the day to work on the chapter, then return back to coding and work on that till it's time for bed. Best I can do.
And yeah it is odd that edible insects are actually expensive to purchase compared to hot dogs and heads of cabbage which I think are much more difficult to produce. With a cricket you can use a drying machine like you make dried fruit with, season the little bugger once he's desiccated, drop it in a plastic bag, repeat 11 more times - and then sell the bag for something reasonable like $1 instead of $3.75 as they are now.
I think it was listed in the bible Matthew 3:4 that John the Baptist ate wild locusts and honey. The belief is the reason was simple, they were ordinary cheap food that you could find anywhere in that day and age and easily obtainable.
3 Years Ago
I tend not to spend money on Christmas gifts. I have some soap-making supplies in the attic back at .. read moreI tend not to spend money on Christmas gifts. I have some soap-making supplies in the attic back at my parents' place that I've used the last few years to make pretty Christmas soaps. I don't have the energy for it this year, though. Trying to get Husband to get the rest of the baby stuff his cousin gave us down from the attic and bring it to our apartment is hard enough. Then, even if I got him to bring down the soap-making supplies, spending that much time on my feet messing with them and straining my back to pour the soap into molds doesn't sound like fun with the huge placenta and fetus I'm carrying around. I've got some sciatica, and that's getting worse the bigger I get, so I'd rather not mess with the soap again until after I've expelled that extra stuff from my body.
I made a bunch of soap for our wedding too, and that was a lot of work, but people loved it. We had a tropical theme, so I used lots of bright colors and fun scents.
I would love to try locusts sometime for that very reason. I've heard they're bigger than crickets and quite delicious, too. Anyway, if I read about it, I want to eat it!
3 Years Ago
>> I tend not to spend money on Christmas gifts.
Well the money for me arrives every .. read more>> I tend not to spend money on Christmas gifts.
Well the money for me arrives every week and sometimes I just can't think of anything do with it - so I save it for just such an occasion. People's birthdays and Christmas, for Rose add Valentine's Day.
Regarding you making soap, that's something my sister did. In addition to making Stained-Glass windows and selling both goat's milk and chicken eggs from her farm.
Having never been pregnant myself I cannot imagine the hardship and difficulty it must be to. I'm surprised someone hasn't sold a thing called, "Now guys you can experience childbirth just like your wife !" and have them strap on a large canister for their chest filled with heavy water they have to wear every day. :)
Your soaps sound really nice. Do you have an ETSY or anything for your previously made soap for sale ?
As for the insects, I don't mind them being dried and dessicated, it's the eating of them raw and WET that might turn mine and really anyone else's stomach. But these I ordered from Vat19.com , I think they're going to be nothing short of delicious.
And you're a bit like me but I do draw the line on a few things. I don't like Pralines, Divinity, German Chocolate cake, any cake with nuts in it, any ice-cream with nuts in it, and of course Fruitcakes. As for nuts themselves I am quite fond of raw walnuts seasoned or plain. They are quite the treat for me. Just can't tolerate the other stuff.
Here's hoping that when they did sell locusts years ago they fried them and try to dry them out so they wouldn't squish when you bit in to them. Eww ! :)
3 Years Ago
No, I tried to sell some beadwork years ago, and I never got very far with it. Trying to sell stuff .. read moreNo, I tried to sell some beadwork years ago, and I never got very far with it. Trying to sell stuff online is a big headache, and I'd rather not bother unless I find myself completely desperate. It might be nice to have a partner who would manage the selling, photographing the items, creating listings, and all that.
I could imagine locusts being honey-roasted like peanuts. I'm looking into trying that soon. I found some sugar-free imitation honey on Amazon that's pretty cheap, and I got a huge load of nuts from Smart Foodservice on Instacart. Smart Foodservice seems like a wholesale or restaurant supply store. I like buying things in large quantities to save money, and I enjoy having certain staples well-stocked. However, I wanted about 6-8 pounds of chuck roast, and the smallest piece of meat the shopper found was 23 pounds. Then the shopper told me that the price per pound in the store was actually a bit lower than the price listed on the website, so I decided to go ahead and say yes to it. We'll have to chop it up into thirds and freeze it, but we have enough space in our freezer for it at the moment. I'm going to keep this in mind for next time I place an order from that store. Great prices, but gotta make sure you have the fridge/freezer space for the stuff. Now if they'd had the ham I wanted in stock, I would have been in trouble. I also got a beautiful chunk of parmesan cheese. It's more expensive than the typical mozzarella, cheddar, or pepper jack cheese we buy, but it's not too bad when you account for the relative price per pound. Eating it makes me want wine to have it with, though. Husband really took a fancy to it as well.
3 Years Ago
>> It might be nice to have a partner who would manage the selling, photographing the items, creatin.. read more>> It might be nice to have a partner who would manage the selling, photographing the items, creating listings, and all that.
I guess I'm blessed my sister managed to do it all on her own, Kari. Y'know it's funny. Dad was a self-made man and philanthropist. He brought himself up by himself as a teenager, no parents. Got a $300/hr job as a Ph.D. My sister, started her own farm and a little website to sell her homemade items and farm food.
Me ? No, never. I'm always reliant on others to help me through life. Maybe Dad is to blame, I don't know. I DO know that he seemed happiest when I always went to him with any problems I had. He was always happiest when I relied on him to teach me something new, incredible, and educational. I miss that ... I miss him, terribly ...
>> I could imagine locusts being honey-roasted like peanuts. I'm looking into trying that soon.
Only if they're dessicated. Then I might really be interested.
>> I got a huge load of nuts from Smart Foodservice on Instacart. Smart Foodservice seems like a wholesale or restaurant supply store.
That sparked my interest. I brought them up online and I don't see a way to have them ship me anything though - despite them asking for my home address. I'm not sure how to have them send me stuff. They do have a good price on nuts and I would be interested in buying from them at the prices they have which is better than Wal-Mart.
>> I also got a beautiful chunk of parmesan cheese. It's more expensive than the typical mozzarella, cheddar, or pepper jack cheese we buy, but it's not too bad when you account for the relative price per pound.
All that good food you were mentioning. As long as it's DEAD like I like my hamburgers, I'm always open to trying new things.
I think being reliant on others is fine, especially when other people enjoy taking care of others.read moreI think being reliant on others is fine, especially when other people enjoy taking care of others.
I think that if you wanted to shop at Smart Foodservice in person, you'd need a wholesale license or a membership like Costco. However, doing it through Instacart seems like no problem. Instacart probably has some sort of special card their shoppers carry that allows them to shop there.
One of my friends had a wedding that was a big camping trip. They rented out a summer camp with an industrial kitchen, and all the guests were assigned to cook for one meal and clean up after one meal. My friends dropped into a wholesale store to get food on their way up to the camp. They apparently just approached another shopper and asked to borrow their wholesale number. I think that any expenses recorded under a wholesale number probably get deducted as a business expense or something, so the person letting my friends borrow their wholesale number probably got something out of it, too. Whoever let my friends borrow their wholesale number was committing tax fraud I suppose, but I have to say it was a very unique and fun wedding!
3 Years Ago
>> I think being reliant on others is fine, especially when other people enjoy taking care of others.. read more>> I think being reliant on others is fine, especially when other people enjoy taking care of others.
Well my G/F believe it or not is actually a licensed caretaker combination dominatrix so I think that's how we originally clicked. :)
>> I think that if you wanted to shop at Smart Foodservice in person, you'd need a wholesale license or a membership like Costco. However, doing it through Instacart seems like no problem. Instacart probably has some sort of special card their shoppers carry that allows them to shop there.
I couldn't figure it out, not easily. I was just hoping to nip in there, buy maybe $10 of peanuts, have it shipped here - and likely not buy anything else from them after that. It seems they are specialized for true food companies with licenses - so I'll just use Vending Nut Co and Wal-Mart, that's fine.
>> Whoever let my friends borrow their wholesale number was committing tax fraud I suppose, but I have to say it was a very unique and fun wedding!
That's very sneaky ! I'm glad it all worked out.
I've got Teresa from the government to handle all my finances and bills and paperwork, I just get a weekly allowance every Friday to buy toys and electronic stuff with which is fine with me.
And YES ! Today I write up a new chapter, what happens when Tyr lowers the boom on Dev.