Its The Parents Fault

I would say in the past 6 months I have seen an increasing number of things in the news about parents and their outrage for McDonalds. First, I think that they are being singled out. Really if you look at all fast food and even some sit down type restaurants, then McDonalds really isnt even the worst of them.

So some months ago Happy Meals were banned in San Francisco. Ok well they werent completely banned but there were a number of restrictions placed on meals that come with toys. So now fruit and/or vegies have to be included. Then I read a few weeks ago that there is a petition with 500+ signatures that is trying to ban Ronald McDonald from advertisements as well as being featured in the restaurants. All this is to effectively diminish McDonalds ability to market their products to kids. These parents and organizations are trying to curb the every skyrocketing child obesity that is taking over the US.

I find this all to be quite absurd. I have rather fond memories of having my birthday parties at McDonalds when I was younger, where Ronald himself would make an appearance. Why should kids be completely deprived of such an experience? I mean if trends like this continue then who would the Ronald McDonald house representative be? Just another corporate suit.

Basically it seems to me that Parents are not doing their job. Its the parents job to raise their kids and if they cant say no to fast food, hours of video games or time spent in front of the computer, then clearly they are to blame. I grew up with fast food however it was a treat. It wasnt something I could simply demand from my parents. I also played a number of sports growing up and was always outside riding around on my bike or playing other activities with friends. It seems like the era of building forts or playing kickball with the neighborhood kids is slowly diminishing. Of course its fun to sit with friends and play video games, but its the job of the parents to monitor and regulate that kind of activity.

There were times when I was growing up that I had to do a certain amount of pushups or sit ups so I could watch tv or play nintendo. On nice sunny weekend days I would pretty much be banned from the house and be sent outside to enjoy the good weather. Its the little things like this that can help kids stay in better shape. Saying no to fast food, candy, etc also helps. Parents should stop laying blame and take the responsibility of raising their kids.

Tim - Your Birthday Clue

Well Tim is that time a year again when you age another year. Now that you will officially be moving out of your 20s I m pretty sure its safe to say you are old balls. Just think...you have your midlife crisis to look forward...so that means a little red sports car cause you are finding the need to make up for things that just dont work as well as they used too. Anyways, the two letters you seek are as followed....well one is the noise pirates make and also the 3rd letter in the word pirates. And the second i sounds like see and is the third letter of the alphabet.

Happy huntings

Goals

So I ve recently had friends ask me if I have set any goals for the year. Please do not confuse this with a new years resolution...as stated in a previous entry....I hate those things.

When this question was presented to me I didnt really have a good answer I suppose. So here it is.

Goal 1 - Get a job

Goal 2 - Make a new list of goals

fin

So why only 2 goals. Well basically my life cannot move from the post graduation purgatory in which it currently resides. Any plans that I have require me to take focus off of getting a job unless it is enhancing skills to get a job. But the enhancement of skills goes into goal 1.

I know that once this goal has been reached, my new list will include a plethora of new goals on which can be separated into person and professional. I am looking forward to this day. Until then goal number 1 remains my priority.

Closure and Change

Well 2010 is over and done with. I d say by far the worst year that I have been on this planet. Started off with a battle with immigration, followed by an unexpected death in the family, continued with 10 weeks of activation with a jobcenter and was pretty much completed by the longest stint on unemployment in my entire life (since i have started working).

I will say I had a great Christmas here in Denmark. Had dinner with a good friend and his family. I ve spent a couple holidays with them before and they are great people that I enjoy being around. New years was fun too. Simple but delicious dinner with a couple friends then went to a party in the city where I was able to see the whole Copenhagen skyline at midnight when the entire city erupted with fireworks. It was an amazing sight.

My horoscope, which I dont ever look at or put much if any belief into, says this year is supposed to be a good year for employment opportunities as well as for my love life. Hmm that seems to be a ridiculous coincidence. But perhaps I m believing a bit that perhaps it was true. I have already been invited to an interview this year. Pretty excited because this year for me is focused on change. After an absolutely dismal year last year I am determined to get the most out of this one and try and change my stars. I sort of started in the last couple of months last year so dont get it twisted...this is not a new years resolution. I dont do those, I think they are load of crap. I took a course and started studying for some certifications that can make me a bit more valuable in the job market. I ve also been working more with programs that I find fun and interesting which also have use in a work setting. On top of this I ve been to the gym more releasing those wonderful endorphins and have begun to be less lazy with meal preparation.

I cant believe that I will go another year being unemployed so I am preparing myself and staying excited about work opportunities. With nearly 200 applications sent out the numbers game is on the verge of shifting to my favor. Otherwise I m planning on traveling a bit this year with a Mediterranean cruise, another surf trip to Morocco and a visit home to the US tentatively schedule. I also really want to visit some of my friends around Europe which is long overdue. I think this year there are big things in the works and this post graduation purgatory that I ve been stuck in will finally end.

Creature of Habit

Living outside of my home country has really made me look at things that I just dont want to live without. Moreover I ve thought about the things that I really like and have grown up with and will probably like the rest of my life.

So Coast soap is the one that comes to mind. I love Coast, as the commercials say or at least used to its "the eye opener". I always had it as a kid and I remember the commercials of people having their alarms go off and then looking really tired, but as soon as they got in the shower the picked up their bar of Coast, smelled it and then had a huge refreshed look on their face. I also think that it was a manly soap. Most the commercials that I remember seeing were with men and then after the got out of the shower the wife or girlfriend would come into the scene. It was like if I use this soap then I m a man. Considering I was so young clearly my aim was to be more manly. Funny how that marketing has still stuck with me all these years.

Crest toothpaste as well. Of course I m a Crest user because my parents were coast users when I was younger. I became accustom to the taste and seeing the name on the tube etc. When I was little too they had the commercials with the stars with faces and they were singing and it was for their kids toothpaste. I remember it smelling like bubble gum and tasting so delicious when I brushed that I once squeezed a big portion into my mouth and tried to eat it. That didnt taste so good but I mean it was just so amazing. There were a few years in middle school and early high school when my parents switched to Arm and Hammer toothpaste and also Mentadent but I hated it. It wasnt Crest. Once I got a job I started buying my own toothpaste and got back to the good stuff. Today I have it sent to me because I cant buy it in Denmark. They have the 5x longer lasting stuff now....and I tell you what...it really does last longer. Despite colgate being so popular my heart will always be with coast.

Hanes Classics is also something that I have become religious about. I hate to wear any other undershirts or boxer briefs. They are just so comfortable. To be fair I havent really tried many other kinds but I figure why change a good thing. They are reasonably priced and last a long time. And hey...if they are good enough for MJ they are good enough for me.

There are other things I m sure I could sit and think about but I think the example I ve given are pretty good. Its kinda funny how with some things we are so resistant to change and others it doesnt matter. Also its amazing how much influence our youth has on things we use as we get older. This is why marketing is so interesting. I mean my parents made me a lifetime customer of a product and I ll probably do the same to my kids one day too.

Thanksgiving

Well I cooked Thanksgiving for 10 of my friends this past week. I cooked 2 turkeys, one at my place and the other at a friends. In order to get the other turkey to my place I double bagged it and biked it in the snow to my place...then dumped it out onto a serving tray. Both were delicious thats for sure. I also made mashed potatoes corn, green beans, stuffing, rolls and then 2 pumpkin pies for desert along with an apple dish. It was sort of like crustless apple pie and then put over ice cream. It was a feast thats for sure.

All in all it was about 10 hours of cooking. Its not something I plan on doing again for another few years. I may have a smaller version but definitely not for 10 people.

The end of Movember

Well I did it.....bearded out for the month of November.