Rubber Bands

my body tensed, muscles and sinew tightening
each entity pulling me in the direction i must go
until i cannot move, i'm just suspended in space
i cannot relax without fear of falling
i clench my jaw and grind my teeth
the friction provides relief, lets off the steam
to pull away requires a strength i do not have
i'm tired of fighting rubber bands

Top 5 songs I am most likely to be caught jamming out to in my car

#5 Doobie Brothers- What a fool believes


#4 Peter Gabriel- In your eyes


#3 The Cars- Just what I needed


#2 Phil Collins- In the air tonight


#1 Don Henley- The boys of summer

Don Henley - Boys Of Summer by jpdc11

I liked you better

I liked you better naive,
during those rebellious years when we tried to distance ourselves from everything our parents represented.
We would stop the machine. We would change the pattern.

I liked you better when you had stars in your eyes.
We plotted our futures with such enthusiasm that we would change the world.
We explored abandoned buildings looking for something worth keeping from a place long forgotten.
We found beauty in what had been left behind, because we were left behind.

I liked you better when your wore your heart on your sleeve,
before the years of hurt piled on like bricks on a crooked foundation creating a viewpoint distorted.
We had no questions about what we believed. We knew.

I liked you better when you were real.
We did not pretend that we were okay, but wore our wounds like a badge of honor.
We had survived. We were not giving up easily. We were not going down without a fight.

Japan's Triple Threat

I have to admit, when I first heard about the earthquake in Japan, I didn't really pay much attention. I figured, this is Japan. If anyone can survive a quake, it's Japan. They're prepared. And I went along with my normal day totally calloused to the reality of the destruction.

The next time I turned on the news, maybe a day later, and heard about the tsunami. Even the word brings up sick feelings of the devastation of the Christmas 2004 tsunami that hit Indonesia. But again, I thought, Japan will survive. Indonesia is a poor country with poor citizens and poor construction. Japan is a modern day natioin with state-of-the-art arcitecture. Surely man's best can survive nature.

I was totally unprepared for the slew of images and video that have now surfaced showing the level of devastation. Reports that half a town, 9,000 people, are still missing in one area. An email from Aticus describing the scene in Tokyo, and how scarce daily necessities are now becoming. And now, nuclear threat. I'm not even quite sure what that means. I'm 27 years old and when Chernobyl occurred I was sheltered from the existance of it. I had a vague understanding of it taking place, but I had to google it to see what exactly happened. What did it mean then? What does it mean now?

I want to help, but how? Can donating money help the most effectively? It cannot put lives back together. It does not help undo the damage done. Nothing can. It feels so fruitless, like spitting into the ocean. Afterall, Japan is not a poor country. It is not a lack of resources that caused this. It was the perfect storm.

Red Room Tapas Restaurant Raleigh

It's half priced Tapas night, so I'm out at the Red Room on Glenwood. Decided to go for an early dinner tonight and the five-o-clock crowd is nonexistant. This is my second time dining at the Red Room, the first time being a big dissapointment. By the atmosphere you would think the quality of food to be superb; low lighting with black and red accents and uptown feel.

Appetizer:
Crab & Manchego Dip- with sweet and salty beet and yucca chips

The dip itself was delicious, just the right amount of savory and creamy. The only downside was the size, way too small. The two of us finished it in less than five minutes. The beet chips were good but reminded me of something dumped out of a vegetible chip bag. The yucca chips were chewy and a bit stale tasting, but at least they looked like the kitchen made them.

Main Dish:
Corriander Crusted Tuna- with avocado salad and roasted tomato vineagrette

The presentation looked fantastic, however, the first thing I noticed was artichoke. Hmmm. The description seemed to totally neglect this detail. Infact, most of the "avocado salad" was actually artichoke. Typo? Also, the tuna was seered, which I was fine with (I'm a huge fan), but not in the description.
After I gave fiance the chokes, it was pretty good. Not a whole lot of flavor, but the tuna was good quality. I recommend it, especially if you like artichoke.

Wild Mushroom Empanada- topped with sofrito

Finally, an empanada without pork! The presentation was nothing to write home about. Two empanada's stacked with "sofrito", which amounts to tomato sauce and parmesian shreds. Regardless, it looks fairly appetizing. The dough of the empanada was raw in the middle, the mushrooms were chewy to the point I couldn't cut them, and the sauce was horribly bland. I could make better "empanadas" with a tube of pilsbury rolls and a jar of ragu.

Dessert:
Red Room's Famous Fried Banana- stuffed with chocolate and served with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream

Looks as good as it sounds. The bananas were stuffed with chocolate, fried, and cut to look like a sushi roll. It was like a little taste of heaven. Must get.

Drink:
Raspberry Green Tea Sangria-white wine blended with Absolute Raspberri, fresh raspberries, and house brewed green tea

This was quite possibly the most refreshing drink I've ever had. Accented with a lemon slice, it was picture perfect. I can't wait to go back and try some of their other Sangrias to see if they are as delicious.


Overall, it was a pretty good dining experience this time. However, I still wouldn't pay full price. This is a 'specials night' only joint.