Good Afternoon All,
My new digs overlook the 1/4 mile track and I can see the garden in the distance. Last week I was moved to a new building. This will likely be by residence until I depart. Day 190
Here are some the the lastest stories from afar:
12 Pound Soup
Cooking here is something that many do and few do well (myself included in the latter). Several folks will pool their resources and come up with culinary delights seldom seen outside these walls. Everything from Burritos, pizzas, stromboli and various soups. All with a sole cooking utility.....the microwave!
A few days ago a "chef" prepared tortilla soup for his group. One such group participant we'll call "Hank" to protect his identity contributed his share of ingredients with great anticpation. The Chef busted out his culinary wizardy and made his brew. I had not seen this concoction befor and waited to see the finished product ( I was not a contributor and therefore not a participant). As the soup was served it looked amazing. The bowls had a nice layer of shredded cheese melter to perfection over ortillas and chips. It reminded me of a french onion soupl all of the participatnctes slurped up the mix and seemed to enjoy the grub.
Later in the day, Hank who is weighs in at 350 plus slowly turned green and then a yellowish shade of pale. This man is large by any measuring stick and was seen repeatedly making a mad dash to the restroom. I live right by him so I was forced to witness the utter shock, eyebrowns raised and whites of eyes glaring when the moment presented itself. This sequence of events always resulted in "The Dash". I felt genuinely sorry for Hank. After each successive trip down the hall, Hanks skin color was getting more pale....ooo did I mention Hank is from south of the boarder? Yeah...even more impressive! After two days of "The Dash" and have zero intake of food or water, Hank was finally returning to the gregarious Hank we all know and love. Unfortunately his love for the chef had waned. As a joke the chef came over and asked Hank if we would like to finish the remaining soup. Hank came unglued....Here is what I heard:
Chef: Hank, wanna fish up the rest of the soup?
Hank: Look here you m..........r. I have lost 12 pounds in 2 days and my ### feels like a windsock. Get that sh.. away from me.
Chef: I will make you something good to eat.
Hank: The hell you will. Go cook for Jenny Craig's accelerated weight loss program.
And that my friends is the tale of "The 12 pound Soup"
THE BAILING BARBER
Its 3:00am and over the intercom I hear, " Emergency Count". Everyday the folks here come around and manually count everyone to insure that no one has quit and left the village. The counts happen 3-4 times at night and I have never experienced being woke up for an emergency count before.
I slip on my sunglass's as early morning bright lights and my baby blues do not go hand in hand. As I sport this unique look, the guys I live with have asked me several times if I am hungover. I guess I look awesome with shades in the early morning while parading around with "rats nest" hair.
Back to the story.......Everyone is a little miffed at having to wake up and stand there while the guards come around and being to take inventory of us. I look across the hall and see that one guy is still in bed. He is a young guy who always seems to be getting his beauty sleep but something seems odd that he would not wake up given the commands through the loudspeaker and the bright lights. Just about the time I notice that he is still under the covers the guards come in with a book that has our pictures and one by one they are making sure that we are all accounted for. When they get over to the sleeping guy the guards yells, "count time, get up". No such luck..this guy is sleeping hard. The guard then rips off the covers and an arm sways from the edge of the bed. As I watch this event unfold, I gasp and say wholly ####. The guard now stands over this mans bed and is now looking at a near perfect dummy. We are all standing there is disbelief. The man had decided to quit and leave the camp. At this point, the radios that the guards wear are going bezerk and a female guard shows up momentarily. She inspects the "dummy" and says "wow. this ones is good. Too bad the other guy did not do as good of a job or we would have probably missed this until morning"....Other guy! This dude had partner who slipped out the back door with him...
I was simply not prepared for this...I had no idea anyone would be so bold to bail. The consequences are too high. I guess with you speak Spanish, have a long sentence and have ties to foreign countries the enticement to "move on" is greater.
No word on the capture of these guys..
I have switched workout partners and I now spend an hour and a half with 3 guys who could each bench press a prius! Why the accepted me into their group? I guess they think they can build muscles on a stick man...o well....what the heck...Its not like I have a busy schedule...I workout out Monday through Friday for an hour and forty five minutes and then come back and make my "Sheridan Shake"....my creation of Peanut butter, powdered milk, chocolate powder and a touch of freeze dried coffee....I mix this with about 6 ounces of water to dissolve the ingredients and then pour ice over the top.....ahhhh....the most delicious protein shake. My concoction is catching on....Patent Pending!
Now playing on my MP3 player:
The Clash...Train in Vain
Spin Doctors...Two Princess
The Physcadelic Furs...Love my way
The Cranberries....Linger
Patrice Rushen...Forget Me Not
Garbage....I think I'm paranoid.....Reminds me of playing Rockband with the Family
Collective Soul...Gel
Collective Soul...Shine
David Bowie....Golden Years
Counting Crows....Mr. Jones
Kiss....Shout it out loud
Queen..... You're my best friend.....makes me think of my awesome bride
Swedish House Mafia........Greyhound
Shaka Kan......I don't know what I was thinking downloading this one. Please don't judge me...
Peace, Love and Until Next Time Chao!
David