Pizza Break

Tearing the can open. Pouring the excess water into the sink. Turning on the faucet, hopefully washing the liquid and therefore smell down the drain. Tearing off the top of a sardine can is the most difficult part. Finite movements of a thumb and wrist to wiggle the pre-cut metal to come lose without flinging fishy, oily-water all over the place. I have had times where the oil has flung onto my shirt and pants, or on the wall next to the sink. Somehow, no matter how hard I try to be careful, the end of the can always sticks, frustration peaks, and my flick of the wrist turns into a hopeful jerk.   Splat. Right on the pants, again.   "Dang it." As fear creeps in that I will have a subtly, fish smell on me for the entire day now. Yet, I have already put my shoes and socks on so a few specks of fish aren't enough persuasion to go back now, I am on a father/hourly-employee time table.   Why do I do it? Why would I choose to eat canned fish afte...

As I reach for another one of those sweet, Peanut-buttery candies coated in a rich, yet-smooth chocolate on the outside, I say "just one more." I am not so ignorant to believe I need it, for I know better than that. I do not even want it, what I feel is desire. A passion, unfulfilled as soon as the mind is reminded of the pleasure one chocolate candy can bring. I know how these things taste. I know their game. I know they are not going to go anywhere, yet I fear their leaving me. I fear the bag running out and I not having my fill. I believe that with just one more of these smooth, delicacies, I can finally reach a total euphoria and walk away without any sacrifice. The wrappers glow in the dark now. So much for out of sight, out of mind.  "Just one more." My rational mind already has the hand moving toward the bowl. I will allow the candy and put off the guilt because utter satisfaction might be reached this time. As I grab the ridged, shiny paper, ensu...

Thursday evening. My childhood home, Junior Year in high school. I typically don't invite people over to my house, mainly because I've been to theirs and, well, mine seemed a little less than. This was not necessarily in what we had, but how we maintained it, our standard of care. You see, just like any college male would attest to, boys can get used to some pretty filthy situations. As a child, it wasn't filth, as much as it was lack of maintenance. I could probably still fit into that shirt.  Let's do the math. Four boys, at least three dogs, three cats, maybe a bunny in someones room, a mom who worked over-nights, a father who just worked excessively, and extracurricular activities equate to a neglected home. Our house was dirty. That I will agree to. It was worn, it was beat up, it was used to the max of those support beams. Essentially, we lived. As soon as plans with classmates came to the inevitable "my house," like as a date or getting picked u...

"Dang it Jerry, you did not cook fish again?" Says the disgruntled employee with their McDonald's bag equally smelling up the lunch room.  "Sorry Melissa." A genuine response. A common topic where community lunches are as unique as the people that eat them is the smells that tag along. Now, this is not an insignificant topic and deserves the addressing. No, not dressing, it's not lunchtime yet. The smells that foods create can be a deterrent from an employee looking to make a lifestyle change. After all, there is nothing worse than finally deciding to eat the healthy versus the fast foods yet you are met with comments and sighs from your fellow coworkers. "Jenny, what is that smell?" This as Barbara knows darn well it isn't a backed-up toilet, only her broccoli. Yet Barbara might be a little jealous or a little annoyed that Jenny is taking a stand to change. Jenny is going against, the lunch-time grain and instead is choosing to co...

Standing in a group of guys, I feel like I don't belong, yet I am here. I know we are all doing something illegal, yet, I have justified this somehow. This is for some greater good, some purpose the law has not yet caught up to. At the top of the sky scraper we get the word. "Cops!"Someone yelled, one our crew maybe. I think to movies I've seen where a daring escape occurs. Where brawn from the police was no match for the wit of the "criminals." Is all I can do is stay with a broken-off smaller group as we run down the stairwell. I have no plan, I am just hoping they do. "Freeze!" I hear it before I see it. I Finish my descent down the stairs the the flat on which a few of the guys are following orders. I meet a gun to my face. I know we are caught. I know that the illegal act I was involved in has caught up to me. The next scene one of my crew members, for I cannot recall if they were a "friend" or not, is taken into an inter...

What happens when at work, the boss comes in and talks about the entire company struggling because you are no longer focused on the core beliefs of the company. However, what if in your perspective, what you do everyday, helps reinforce that belief, just in a different way. An example is when you show up to work and to support a tire company, you focus on where the company is getting their rubber plants and the soil there and how effective this soil is in terms of harvesting the rubber plant. I know absolutely nothing about tire making, however stick with me. What happens when the boss looks at the group of 5 of you and says that "we are missing the point here and are not focusing on making the best tire possible because we are spread too thin or focused on 'other' things." So, again, you listen respectfully to your boss, you pay attention to what is being said, and you feel no guilt for you are doing exactly what the boss wants, focus on making the best tire. Ho...

As  a child, I was what the doctors referred to as "over weight." I was tall and had wide shoulders, so I didn't get the kind of medical advice in my small-town clinic as I probably should have. After all, when I joined the military and was weighed, I had to be "taped" to determine if I was healthy enough for the Air Force. At the time, I started working out, eating right, and was over my 226 lb. limit for a 6'5" individual. I was closer to 240 and therefore, overweight. As an adolescent, none these numbers mattered outside of the number on the scale. Rather than being worried about being too large, any muscle mass, or too tall, I heard one number, and my goal was to drastically reduce that number to one that I determined appropriate. After months of struggling, 174 was the number to be at. Instead of doing anything smart, talking about stuff, or trying to, "eat better," I took it 10 steps further, or rather 5 steps back and stopped eating....

If you're like me, then you love a good argument. Anytime a title says something "I am doing wrong," or "shouldn't be doing," it sparks the debater in me, for which I am no master (lol) . So, put em up because this is a doozy. Kids these days are fragile. I know this because their parents are fragile. I know parents are fragile because of the arguments witnessed in real life and on social media. Imagine, grown people expecting something in return for doing nothing at all, or that people who work harder shouldn't have more than those who don't. Or a parent telling their child they don't have to listen to authority, including the police. All true stories. Now, parenting is a difficult task, one which I have just entered the realm of. The commercials tell me there is no "right" or "wrong" to parenting, only to be there. Yes. I love that. Just show up and I get credit. Awesome! Bullying isn't just a problem in paren...

I'm not sure how many people would have known this, but Papa Murphy's Take N' Bake Pizza is like one of the most prestigious pizza companies. This, based on the always-credible Wikipedia page. Apparently, they were voted "Best Pizza Chain in America" by Restaurants and Institutions Magazine in 2003 along with a ton of other accolades, holding this week's pizza adventure to a high standard.  Here are some of the awards: Papa Murphy's won the platinum award for Consumers’ First Choice in pizza chains in 2006. Winner of Pizza Today's 2001, 2006, 2008, and 2009 Chain of the Year. Voted #1 Rated Pizza Chain for the third consecutive year, according to more than 10,500 respondents, in Zagat’s 2012 Fast-Food Survey. In 2013 QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) Magazine, recognized Papa Murphy’s with a 2013 Franchisee Satisfaction Award. In 2014 as Top Pizza Chain and was rated first for both quality and healthy food. Look, I get it. I...

Hunger has been such a critical, new-age word meant for all sorts of things. The first time I considered the use of the word outside of anything food related, was when rappers said they were "hungry." It meant success typically (money, fame, notoriety). I'm a little old-fashioned I guess because to me hunger is in relation to food and food alone. My desire for anything else isn't necessarily as powerful as hunger is. Even the pigs eat their greens. What is this uncomfortable sensation though? Like being hungry is a biological desire for nutrients aka food? To some, it means a deficient blood sugar where food help raises to a sustainable level, other people refer to hunger when they are bored and something, "sounds good." I can relate to both. I can understand hunger for stimulation and hunger for the biological components. The hunger for nutrient purposes is one I have grown more fond of. The stimulation version of hunger still lies inside, manage...

Before I started writing this, I was extremely hungry, a little agitated, and had to go to the bathroom. I figured I would get a few words down to feel a bit better about my writing progress. A blank screen is intimidating and at least this way I can say I started.   Well, as I am writing now and as the ideas and words are brought to my mind, I am realizing that the bathroom break I so desperately required, the hunger, and the agitation have all subsided in their severity. They are present and can be recalled, however they seem to be OK with where they are.   This occurrence, something we all experience, is fascinating and yet we expect each time a different response. We know that when we dwell on things, they become worse, or at least consume our thoughts. When we wallow in pain versus trying to improve the situation any way we know how, then the pain can be more severe, a situation worsening.   My bathroom break in the past has had to wait, 3, ...

I have no idea what I am doing. I run the ship, but I fear it run ashore through my negligence. I don't even know where the shore is either, I don't know what destroys ships, I don't know anything about ships. Instead I got behind the wheel, stayed there, and been driving it now for 32 years. Sure I had some help in the past and even now I'm steered clear by the Coast Guard, but I cannot count on others to always tell me I am wrong. A few times I have scraped the bottom, this did some damage, but made me aware of what to look for when approaching dangerous waters. I have ran into a few other ships, some on purpose, some on accident, with intents to get ahead of them towards a destination unknown. I have hurt some people's livelihoods I would imagine, for I will never see the totality of my effect.  While sailing in my early years, I focused on the deck, the shine on the outside, the parts passer-byers could see. I did little maintenance to the outside. I barel...