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A Dozen Long Stem Artichokes


I don't get flowers. I mean obviously I don't get flowers since A) I'm not in a relationship and B ) even if I were I don't think guys recieve them that often. However, by "get" I didn't mean "recieve"; I actually meant "understand". I don't understand flowers. Oh, I get that society has attached a special significance to their reception from that special someone, and as such I would be thoroughly delighted to recieve flowers from a boyfriend. Yet, all of the pleasure would be derived from the "thought" and not actually anything intrinsically about the flowers themselves.

 

I'm hardly a "practical" kind of person, I mean perhaps to some extent, but I definitely don't have a problem with the light and frivolous things in life. In fact quite literally the frosting is my favorite part of a cake. "Austere" is just not an adjective you would apply to me. So you'd think something "pretty" and thoroughly "decorative" would indeed delight me. But no. I like nature; I like to see flowers in their natural environment, but I don't find it that appealing to cut them down, slap them in a vase of water, and leave them out on my table until they've wilted. So Friday when I stumbled upon long stem ARTICHOKES at the produce stand (Wow I really love that place!), I was completely amused. I mean here it is almost Valentine's day and they're selling "long stem artichokes". Now there's a gift that would make my day/week if I recieved them from someone special. 1) They're delicious, and one of my all time favourite foods 2)They're the perfect parody of the "long stem roses" 3) They actually show much more thought and would be much sweeter when given to me than would the roses (considering my great affection for artichokes and my general indifference toward roses). But of course no one's going to be buying them for me this Valentine's day. So I bought a few myself. Oh well maybe next year right?

 

Anyway onto the whole Valentine's day topic. I'm quite looking forward to it! I'm going to thumb my nose at Valentine's day this year. I'm going to do some of the "traditional" stuff, ALONE, and I'm going to enjoy it! I'm going to come home from work around 5:00pm. Get in a nice, hot, bubble bath (with moiturizing bath beeds :P ). Sit and soak for awhile, shave, wash my hair, and exfoliate - all the while enjoying a favourite CD. Then I'm going to get out and dry off with my favourite towel (yes I have a favourite towel; leave me alone!), then I'm going to rub lotion all over, then I'm going to fix my hair, then I'm going to get really dressed up. Then I'm headed over to a nearby city, where I plan to eat in a restaurant I've never been, and then shop for awhile in a store I've never been to. Then I think I'm going to hit a gay club or two. I mean there's no point really. I don't want anything "casual", and I'd really be hesistant to get into a relationship with only 3 months until I move, but I think a little flirting will be fun. Anyway that's my plans for this Valentine's day.

 

As for Latin, well I took the test. I got an 89.5 (highest B possible) which completely pleased and satisfied me, BUT I do think my prof. was disappointed. He put this question mark by my grade, I could just imagine him shaking his head and saying "tsk, tsk" while he did it. But oh well, I mean a B isn't THAT disappointing, heck it was quite a pleasent grade as far as I was concerned.

 

As far as Spanish, well I'm rather pleased with that. I got off to several "false starts" with it as I struggled to find the right program and regimen but now I really seem be moving along nicely. First I bought this audio course with 12 CDs and an accompanying book, which seemed pretty good but I didn't like the choices of words and phrases they were focusing on first, and it was too difficult to keep rewinding it "just a bit" to rehear something. So I returned that, and started looking for stuff online. I tried several "sample" things but didn't really find anything that promising. I think what I'm looking for is something specifically for the computer that would be an interactive program. Not just something which followed a set script but would adjust itself according to me, and something that would "quiz me". I also DID want something that had a book. So I wanted something that was audio, visual, and interactive. I also wanted something extremely comprehensive. Couldn't find this. So I ended up just checking out a bunch of stuff from the library. I got ALOT of books, some on grammer, some on useful phrases, some that look like actual spanish textbooks, and various "specialty books"; specifically about nouns or verbs or whatever. I also got several short Spanish audio courses. Anyway I definitely feel like I have enough material to keep me busy. I've also been practicing with two of my bilingual co-workers - which realy is helping the most, I mean after all what could be more "interactive" than an actual person. Anyway all in all I'd say it's going pretty well.

 

Anyway I'm now going to go and have a nice hot bath and dye my hair a rather lively (though still humanly possible) shade of red. I thought it would be fun for Valentine's Day. Besides this is the longest I've had it its natural colour in the last 3 or 4 years, so I was bound to get bored with it eventually. On the other hand it's starting to grow on me, it seems I even have natural highlights......unless that's just still left from before, but I don't think so....but maybe I guess......uhh anyway, won't matter, all gonna be red soon :P:boy:

 

Take care everyone and have a truly teriffic and awesome day! I hope everyone with a S.O. has a really amazing and romantic V-Day, and bonds even more. Everyone without a S.O. I hope you all have a great V-Day anyway and don't let it bring you down!

 

Kevin

17 Comments


Recommended Comments

Caipirinha

Posted

If anyone ever gave me long stemmed artichokes, I would be forced to have sex with them. Repeatedly. For like a month. It's obviously a fantastic, novel, idea. Not to mention the fact that (stuffed) artichokes, bar none, are my favorite food. Add to that my strange visual obsession with them (I did a complete visual study of artichokes in colored pencil as an independant study art assignment in high school. Have you ever just cut one straight in half? The texture is amazing, not to mention the range of gemtone colors that form an actual artichoke, from the emerald green exterior to an amber center to a bright amethyst heart. They're spectacular!) and you start to understand why I would blindly devote my entrie life to sexually pleasing the person who gave them to me.

 

Sorry that rant about artichokes was supposed to be neither that long nor that pornographic.

 

And as for Valentine's day my friend Cindy and I fully intend to kill about 16 pounds of chocolate and a bottle of champagne the size of France itself. Who really cares how you spend it, so long as you're having a good time right?

 

Well anyway, enjoy the favorite towel, and have a good night. :-)

 

-Luigi.

buttershots

Posted

DAISYS!! Daisys! Daisys! Daisys! LoL Try as I might, I will never understand you people of the opposite sex. Come on. Food vs. Flowers??? Yeah yeah yeah, I know I hate killing them too, but they sure do look nice on my kitchen table. :2thumbs: Flowers win everytime...although...now if we had chocolate introduced into the compitition...I think we all know that chocolate would kick some serious butt!!! :D So, I don't think I've ever eaten an artichoke? I looked up a picture on the internet and yeah, have to say I've never eaten one...but they do look like asparagus...similar taste??? lol and you guys want a dozen long stems of those things?!?!?! lol *sigh* no wonder I have no luck with guys! I'm thinking flowers and they're thinking FOOD! :rolleyes::P:D

 

Sorry for the rant. 0:) I've just been laughing so hard since I read the artichoke part Kevin. :) hehehe, but I still say DAISYS! hehehe :D I think your plans for v-day sound awsome. I have to admit the whole bubble bath dinner out shopping spree sounds like fun. I really don't have plans yet, but will probably go out and catch a movie or something with some friends. Or maybe just study b/c I'm a slacker and have an exam coming up that I am SOOOO not prepared for yet. :lmao: Big news, I know!

 

Seriously though! Congrats on your Latin exam! That's awsome!!! :2thumbs: That's really cool that your learning a new language and are apparently excelling at it. Good job. :)

 

Have a great week and a happy valentines day!

 

- Kaiten

libbonobo

Posted

Turns out that artichokes are in the daisy family Asteraceae. Did you know that, or is your mention of daisies just a coincidence?

buttershots

Posted

Turns out that artichokes are in the daisy family Asteraceae. Did you know that, or is your mention of daisies just a coincidence?

 

 

hehehe :2thumbs: Daisies are my favorite flower! I had no idea they were even related. That's so cool. Dang I'm good! :D

NaperVic

Posted

Hey Kevin! If I were your S/O, I'd send you a bunch of long stem Chocolate Roses :D . You wouldn't say no to those would you???? 0:)0:)

 

A friend and I are baking Valentines Day Sugar cookies for our BF's who don't like Chocolate. Can you believe that? Don't like Chocolate?? It's unnatural really, sick if you ask me. If I would have known that he didn't like chocolate on our first date, I'm not sure we'd still be together today. :blink::blink:

 

Anywhoooo, sounds like you have a great plan. Hope you have a great Valentines Day.

 

Take Care,

 

Vic

Guest Rob Hawes

Posted

A friend and I are baking Valentines Day Sugar cookies for our BF's who don't like Chocolate. Can you believe that? Don't like Chocolate?? It's unnatural really, sick if you ask me. If I would have known that he didn't like chocolate on our first date, I'm not sure we'd still be together today. :blink::blink:

 

I absolutely hate chocolate. Vile stuff. Makes me violently ill.

 

Artichokes are lovely though. I could live off them, though personally I'd prefer a dozen mushrooms to roses or artichokes. I'm addicted to mushrooms. Boiled, fried, stuffed or raw, I try and get them in every meal.

 

Have fun on Valentine's Day Kevin - and enjoy your flirting. Don't do anything I wouldn't do - that should leave you with plenty. And well done on the test - I would be overjoyed with a result like that. :D

NaperVic

Posted

I absolutely hate chocolate. Vile stuff. Makes me violently ill.

 

 

KEVIN!!!!!! Is he allowed to type such blasphemy in your BLOG????? :blink:

AFriendlyFace

Posted

If anyone ever gave me long stemmed artichokes, I would be forced to have sex with them. Repeatedly. For like a month. It's obviously a fantastic, novel, idea. Not to mention the fact that (stuffed) artichokes, bar none, are my favorite food. Add to that my strange visual obsession with them (I did a complete visual study of artichokes in colored pencil as an independant study art assignment in high school. Have you ever just cut one straight in half? The texture is amazing, not to mention the range of gemtone colors that form an actual artichoke, from the emerald green exterior to an amber center to a bright amethyst heart. They're spectacular!) and you start to understand why I would blindly devote my entrie life to sexually pleasing the person who gave them to me.

 

Sorry that rant about artichokes was supposed to be neither that long nor that pornographic.

 

And as for Valentine's day my friend Cindy and I fully intend to kill about 16 pounds of chocolate and a bottle of champagne the size of France itself. Who really cares how you spend it, so long as you're having a good time right?

 

Well anyway, enjoy the favorite towel, and have a good night. :-)

 

-Luigi.

Wow! Sounds like you're an even bigger artichoke fan than I am Luigi, :D

 

You're right though, I have seen them cut straight in half; they are beautiful! I've tried them most ways I can get them. I love them in any kind of food or dip. There's an especially good chicken and artichoke dish at a restaurant I frequent! MMMM. I think my favorite way to have them though is just boiled, seasoned and dipped in a mixture of vinegar and olive oil.

 

That chocolate and champagne idea sounds terrific though!!

 

Have a good time,

Kevin

AFriendlyFace

Posted

DAISYS!! Daisys! Daisys! Daisys! LoL Try as I might, I will never understand you people of the opposite sex. Come on. Food vs. Flowers??? Yeah yeah yeah, I know I hate killing them too, but they sure do look nice on my kitchen table. :2thumbs: Flowers win everytime...although...now if we had chocolate introduced into the compitition...I think we all know that chocolate would kick some serious butt!!! :D So, I don't think I've ever eaten an artichoke? I looked up a picture on the internet and yeah, have to say I've never eaten one...but they do look like asparagus...similar taste??? lol and you guys want a dozen long stems of those things?!?!?! lol *sigh* no wonder I have no luck with guys! I'm thinking flowers and they're thinking FOOD! :rolleyes::P:D

 

Sorry for the rant. 0:) I've just been laughing so hard since I read the artichoke part Kevin. :) hehehe, but I still say DAISYS! hehehe :D I think your plans for v-day sound awsome. I have to admit the whole bubble bath dinner out shopping spree sounds like fun. I really don't have plans yet, but will probably go out and catch a movie or something with some friends. Or maybe just study b/c I'm a slacker and have an exam coming up that I am SOOOO not prepared for yet. :lmao: Big news, I know!

 

Seriously though! Congrats on your Latin exam! That's awsome!!! :2thumbs: That's really cool that your learning a new language and are apparently excelling at it. Good job. :)

 

Have a great week and a happy valentines day!

 

- Kaiten

Hey Kaiten,

 

Yep. Now you know what guys really want: sex, nudity, beer, sports??? NO: ARTICHOKES! :P:boy: Some guys are just better at hiding it than others :P Anyway you should definitely try them. No I don't find they taste like asparagus; I like them much better!

 

Good luck with your studying! Though if I get a vote I'd say take the night off and catch the movie; or go to an early feature then study ;) .........lol but then I'm something of a slacker myself. I'm sure you'll do great.

 

Take care, and have an awesome day!

Kevin

 

Turns out that artichokes are in the daisy family Asteraceae. Did you know that, or is your mention of daisies just a coincidence?

Thanks Libbonobo, I think I did read that a few years ago.

 

Turns out that artichokes are in the daisy family Asteraceae. Did you know that, or is your mention of daisies just a coincidence?

hehehe :2thumbs: Daisies are my favorite flower! I had no idea they were even related. That's so cool. Dang I'm good! :D

 

See another reason to try them!

AFriendlyFace

Posted

Hey Kevin! If I were your S/O, I'd send you a bunch of long stem Chocolate Roses :D . You wouldn't say no to those would you???? 0:)0:)

 

A friend and I are baking Valentines Day Sugar cookies for our BF's who don't like Chocolate. Can you believe that? Don't like Chocolate?? It's unnatural really, sick if you ask me. If I would have known that he didn't like chocolate on our first date, I'm not sure we'd still be together today. :blink::blink:

 

Anywhoooo, sounds like you have a great plan. Hope you have a great Valentines Day.

 

Take Care,

 

Vic

Hey Vic!

 

LOL I most certainly would not object to long stem chocolate roses! In fact I saw an ad for those awhile back too and thought "now that would make me happy!"

 

***gasp*** your boyfriend doesn't like chocolate?!? :o:huh::mellow: Is he sure? I mean maybe it's just a phase or something? :P

 

Well shocking for sure, but I guess no one's perfect. Besides on the bright side I guess that means whenever anyone gives you guys anything chocolatey...... :D

 

You know the first time I ever tried a sugar cookie I was a small child at school, and they gave them to us with our lunch in the cafateria. I can still remember picking it up; looking at it; and then exclaiming:

"Geez how cheap, they could have at least put a little chocolate in it!"

It's really sweet of you guys to make them sugar cookies though. HMMM, a thought just occured to me, maybe you could trick your boyfriend into liking chocolate. My mom tells the story of how my dad always claimed not to like turnips; so one day she made some, served them to him as potatoes and didn't say anything. After he was done eating he said:

"wow how did you get these potatoes so good?!? They're the best I've ever had."

At which time mom revealed the truth and dad had to admit he liked turnips.

 

Anyway just a thought....I guess it would be tough to sneak chocolate into sugar cookies unnoticed though.

 

Anyway have an awesome Valentine's day, Vic, and take care,

Kevin

AFriendlyFace

Posted

I absolutely hate chocolate. Vile stuff. Makes me violently ill.

 

 

KEVIN!!!!!! Is he allowed to type such blasphemy in your BLOG????? :blink:

Most certainly not! :angry: ........but I guess I can let him off with a warning this time. Especially since the madness is probably due to a chocolate deficency. ;)

 

 

Artichokes are lovely though. I could live off them, though personally I'd prefer a dozen mushrooms to roses or artichokes. I'm addicted to mushrooms. Boiled, fried, stuffed or raw, I try and get them in every meal.

 

Have fun on Valentine's Day Kevin - and enjoy your flirting. Don't do anything I wouldn't do - that should leave you with plenty. And well done on the test - I would be overjoyed with a result like that. :D

Hey Rob,

 

Yep I agree with you about mushrooms! I love the things! Actually the only way I don't like them that much is fried. But then I don't like many fried foods. I'll eat them, and a few of my other foods fried, but I'm always thinking "man what a waste". And fried food often makes me sick. The one exception is french fries and fried chicken (boneless). Those rock!

 

I hope you have an awesome Valentine's day too! Take care,

Kevin

Guest Rob Hawes

Posted

Most certainly not! :angry: ........but I guess I can let him off with a warning this time. Especially since the madness is probably due to a chocolate deficency. ;)

 

How very rude!!! I can assure you my madness has nothing to do with a lack of chocolate. It is caused entirely by those evil hamsters beaming crazy-rays into my head through my toaster. :P :wacko:

 

Yep I agree with you about mushrooms! I love the things! Actually the only way I don't like them that much is fried. But then I don't like many fried foods. I'll eat them, and a few of my other foods fried, but I'm always thinking "man what a waste". And fried food often makes me sick. The one exception is french fries and fried chicken (boneless). Those rock!

 

I hope you have an awesome Valentine's day too! Take care,

Kevin

 

Most fried food makes me ill too - the only exception is mushrooms. I can eat them any way they come. I'm afraid I'm not with you on the chicken - I'm one of those irritating vegetarian types. I will say that fried chicken is the only meat I miss sometimes though.

buttershots

Posted

Hey! How'd the hair turn out???? Shocking shade of red yet??? :o:D

 

Happy Pre-V-Day!!! :sheep:

 

- Kaiten

AFriendlyFace

Posted

How very rude!!! I can assure you my madness has nothing to do with a lack of chocolate. It is caused entirely by those evil hamsters beaming crazy-rays into my head through my toaster. :P :wacko:

LOL :lmao:

 

Most fried food makes me ill too - the only exception is mushrooms. I can eat them any way they come. I'm afraid I'm not with you on the chicken - I'm one of those irritating vegetarian types. I will say that fried chicken is the only meat I miss sometimes though.

I've often thought about going vegetarian since I'm really not that big a meat person anyway. Like today I didn't happen to have meat. The only things that stop me are fish and chicken; I really do like those. I don't eat pork at all. Beef and other types of meat I'll eat but while they're usually "pretty good" and never "crave" them. It's funny the other day I walked by a restaurant which was advertizing it's steak and showed a picture of french fries on the plate with it as a side order. The person I was with said "wow doesn't that look great!" - talking about the steak. I immediately responded "Yeah!" then started laughing as I realized I was referring to the french fries. For me the side order (and desert) almost always outshine the meaty entre'

AFriendlyFace

Posted

Hey! How'd the hair turn out???? Shocking shade of red yet??? :o:D

 

Happy Pre-V-Day!!! :sheep:

 

- Kaiten

Hey Kaiten!

 

Thanks for asking. It turned out a much darker, deeper shade of red than I expected. In the past when I've had it red it was usually a blondish sorta red. This is RED. But I really like it! I've even seen people with this colour naturally so it's not that odd; in fact that cute red-haired guy I mentioned in one of my earlier blogs had hair similar in colour. I also rather like the way it looks with my eyes (which are kinda a medium dark blue). Definitely like the way it turned out :)

 

Happy V-day for real :D:2thumbs:

Kevin

Tim1001

Posted

YAY for the red hair :2thumbs:

this is the first time in a LONG time ive had a "natural" shade of red on my head, i usually go with a burgundy or wine color...

never tried an artichoke...

i slept VDday off, so o well :P , all though your plans did sound nice, and chocolate is teh YAY :2thumbs:

AFriendlyFace

Posted

YAY for the red hair :2thumbs:

this is the first time in a LONG time ive had a "natural" shade of red on my head, i usually go with a burgundy or wine color...

never tried an artichoke...

i slept VDday off, so o well :P , all though your plans did sound nice, and chocolate is teh YAY :2thumbs:

Hey Tim :)

 

Thanks, yeah I really like it. Unfortunately it's already starting to fade out but apparently thats also making it look more natural. Today some lady stopped me and said "I know you probably get this alot but are there alot of redheads in your family?" lol

 

You should DEFINITELY try an artichoke! ;)

 

Yep I did have a great time, I almost cancelled out on myself because I didn't feel like going out at the last min. But I went anyway and had a good time :)

 

Anyway nothing wrong with catching up on your sleep!

 

Have an awesome day and take care :)

 

Kevin

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