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Saturday, December 24, 2011
Location: Everywhere
Task #9

I really liked this task. I may have made it a little too easy on myself, but I picked Christmas Eve to attempt turning off my phone for an entire day. I started at midnight on Friday. Leaving Bar Louie at about 10 minutes  to 12, I got a few last texts and facebook peeks out of my system, then switched my little Motorola Charm off by the time the date officially turned to 12/24/11.

It was hard to turn it off before I went to bed. I like to troll the internet right before I fall asleep at night, and after having a couple beers, there were a few more random texts I probably wanted to send (or at least have the option to send).

When I first woke up in the morning it wasn't so bad. The pleasant buzz was long since slept off, and I had a few things to take care of for Christams Eve. Mid day though I found myself itching to check facebook and my fantasy scores.

Now Jess says that this is cheating ,  I have to disagree since  the task was to turn my PHONE off, but I went on my computer and quickly checked my respective accounts. And that was it. I signed off the computer, shut it down and didn't check it the rest of the day.

You know that naked feeling you get when your phone dies or you forget it at home? And all you can think about it, "What if someone calls" or "What if I have a bunch of texts that I am missing and people are freaking out that I am not responding?" Well by the end of the night, nothing remained of that feeling. I stopped thinking those thoughts by the time everyone showed up for Christmas Eve.  I do have to say I was a little relieved though when I finally decided I better turn my phone on the next day that I didn't have a missed text from a friend I was worried about. I didnt want her to think I was ignoring her.

 But aside from that I found out on Christams Day that I liked much better having the phone off.  I wasn't constantly checking facebook, stale with the same statuses from the last time I checked a minute earlier. I wasn't checking Fantasy football to see that I still didn't have any players playing since the game didn't start for several hours, and I wasn't checking my empty inbox hoping I'd missed something.

I think leaving it off, or at least put away in my purse, is something I am going to try to keep up with. I feel so much more relaxed not glued to it, more free. Before I was obsessed with being obligated to respond to messages and calls instantaneously, but now it doesn't seem so serious.

I reccomend anyone with a phone addiction to give it a shot. You'll be surprised how good it feels.

Baked Clams

Saturday, December 24, 2011
Location: My Parent's House
Task #30

Well, I survived. About all I can say for the baked clams is that they didn't kill me. Maria lied.  They weren't delicious. They were bitter and chewy and I have no idea why anyone would ever eat more than one. Once you know how terrible they taste, why go back for more?

But my cousins and Jess all got a kick out of watching me try the clams, after practically psyching me out altogether. My Uncle told me not to chew it at all, just scrape the shell and swallow. Clearly that didn't happen. There was way too much crap in that shell not to chew. They all promised you couldn't actually taste the clam part, because of all the breading, and I couldnt tell you whether or not that was true. It all tasted terrible. One bite was enough, I saw no reason to eat the rest of it. I simply starred it down, the grimy shell, as I ate the rest of my more edible food.

But I did it, and sometimes I'm right. Sometimes I don't have to try something to know I don't like it.  In this case though, it helped me accomplish task # 30 - try a new food on Christmas Eve.  I just won't ever try them again.

Kirin, Daisy Cutter, and Something German

Friday, December 23, 2011
Location: Bar Louie
Task #4

Nelly and I went to Bar Luie Friday night with the goal in mind to try a new beer - task # 4. When the waitress came to the table we asked if they had beers on tap that weren't on the menu. I asked if she had something "odd" to try, and Nelly asked if there were any locally brewed beers. The woman looked at us like we were crazy, new to drinking, and since we were in a hotel bar she probably assumed we were from out of town. She must have really been confused when she asked for our I.D.'s and discovered we were both from Illinois. But she gave us a run down of some of the brews on tap, asked us what we normally drank, what we liked in a beer and offered to bring us a couple samples before we ordered.

She cam back with three samples: Daisy Cutter - locally brewed and her recommendation, Kirin - a Japanese beer, and something German that I couldn't tell you the name of or spell if my life depended on it. We sampled the Kirin first. It wasn't so bad, it had a bit of a sweet after taste, the German one was a little bitter I think, but mostly blah tasting, and the Daisy Cutter, well let's just say I have no idea why she'd be recommending that to people with taste buds. Unless you like the taste of Pine Sol or liquid bleach, Daisy Cutter is probably not for you. I have never tasted a beer I liked less and both Nelly and I nearly spit it across the table. Needless to say, that was not the drink we opted to order.

We both ended up ordering the Kirin, which after 3 glasses I discovered I really liked. They went down smooth while we chatted and laughed away. And if given the option, I would definitely order it again.

Task #4 - Check!