The number five

So a few weeks ago, I realized that when I write the number five, it looks bad. I don't know what went on in my brain, but the way I've been writing it suddenly disagreed with me. It was sloppy and looked like a drunk S. 

My brain switched gears. I always started it on the top right, drawing the top of the five with a stroke to the left, then dropping it down and finishing off the number. With absolutely no planning or conscious thought, I started from the left and dropped the pen down, then picked it up and added the top line separately. 

All my handwriting is starting to change and I wonder if I'll be able to match my own signature soon.

The old cake mix

I was helping my Opa clear out some stuff in his house, and he gave me a handful of boxed cake mixes. He doesn't use those, so they went with me. Just looking at the dates, it's obvious that he doesn't use those.

This one says "Best if used by April 22 2013"

My aunt and uncle who were present at the time recoiled, the contents of that particular pantry having been stocked and subsequently forgotten by the late Joanne, and we cleaned out what we could.

I didn't throw it out. I decided to see if it was still good.

I know what you're thinking. That's gross, right? I can understand, but hear me out. You can find YouTube videos of people finding, and then eating, old food products. Tuna from 1865 was discovered and tested, finding it was still safe to eat. 

Some foods, namely fresh food like fruit, milk, etc, absolutely have a time limit on them. Your nose will tell you. But the rest of it can last much longer than the label. Heck, the date on the label is a legal requirement. If the company makes a batch, keeps it in storage for a year, and it's safe to eat a year later, they can label their foods as good for one year. If they keep it for two and it still tests good, they can say two years on the label. Most companies don't do that because storage takes up space, and who's going to keep food that long?

Oregon Freeze Dry, that's who.

They make Mountain House freeze dried foods. Great for camping, even if a little pricey. Their labels, as of this writing, say the food is good for thirty years.

Knowing this about food, especially dry food laced with preservatives, I decided to take that cake mix and put it to the test.

See that? Right where it says April 2013? And right below it was the finished product, baked in 2023.

The dry mix passed the sniff test, so I went ahead and added what it called for, while deciding on the bundt pan. It wasn't the most aromatic when baking, but it was a 'classic white', so that was to be expected.

I ate it. It was good. I survived with no side effects or other negative repercussions. Go ahead Pillsbury, tell people it's good for ten years.

Taxol

The wife finished her twelve weeks of taxol. That's the drug that makes you bald, sick, and weak. Now she's only in once every three weeks, and she'll only be on herceptin and perjeta.

She actually finished the taxol back on the 12th, but the effects are cumulative, so it lingers. After her first week off, she told me she actually felt normal again.

But not for long. There's another round of exams and whatnot before we'll know what comes next. I can imagine it'll throw another wrench in the mix.

Comparisons

Near the entrance at the gym is a beverage cooler with things like Gatorade and protein shakes. A quick scan showed me they cost three times what they should, but anything in a brightly lit glass case typically is. Then it hit me:

The gym is like the club.

The music sucks, the drinks are overpriced, and the girls aren't interested.

January at the gym

January at the gym. I was expecting vast hordes of new years resolutions overtaking the place, swarming over every piece of equipment.

There were maybe six people I didn't recognize, and four of them were gone by the end of week 1.

After some conversation, I learned that most of the new people were those that were already gym members but hadn't been there in months. The rest don't show up before dawn. Honestly I was bracing myself for the worst.

Lost a weekend

Friday I left work early. As the morning went on, I went downhill pretty quick. Got home and crashed. Saturday I went from sleeping to snacking and back to sleeping the entire day. Today? I woke up and started getting ready to go to church, but lost steam halfway through the process. The wife took the kids without asking if I was going to go. Apparently my face wasn't the right color. Did the same thing as Saturday.

When do I finally start to feel better? End of the day. Lamest weekend ever.

Out-joked

I found something funny online. I went to show it to my son.

He had already seen it. In fact, he was familiar with the entire YouTube channel, and saw the entire series alrady.

I have to step up my game.