Morning Pleasures

It has been a horribly long time since I last wrote a post.  I am very sorry.  I have not had time for any pleasure writing in the last couple of weeks due to the bondage of school.  It's times like these that I wish I lived in a Utopian government where after working six hours in the morning, I would be allowed to pursue and immerse myself in my passions... not the passions of Machiavelli, Martin Luther, and Albrecht Durer. 

My family and I have always marvelled over how amazing it is that the stuff that our bodies need to survive tastes good.  I love food. I mean doesn't everyone?  Food just makes me happy.  Right now, I am especially looking forward to the rotisserie chicken awaiting me on my kitchen table.  If I could eat for a living, I would.  I really envy food critiques.   There is a plethora of food in this world.  To name every single dish known to man, would be impossible.  Therefore, I'm going to provide you with a sampling of three of the very best breakfast foods.  

1. "I want pancakes. Who wants pancakes? With butter, maple syrup, what!?"  - Gus from the TV Series Psych

Picture this.  It's 7:30 on a Saturday morning,  You were up late the night before, and now instead of sleeping in, you have to get up and ride in the car for forty-five minutes to get to dance class.  You trudge down the stairs, struggling to keep your heavy lids open.  Then, as you step into the kitchen, something amazing happens, waiting for you on the table is a stack of perfectly fluffy pancakes, the syrup cascading down the sides, the butter just starting to melt... problems solved.  Your fork cuts through the many layers of fluffiness, your mouth waters, and then you are chewing what seems to you to be a cloud of perfection.  Summary; Pancakes make everything better.

2. Banana Bread and Coffee. 

I'm not going to pretend to be a coffee fanatic.  I have known and loved many coffee fanatics; people who announce it to the world with triumph when they drink their coffee black and people who base their entire blogs on coffee (Love you stef :)).  While I may not be that crazy about coffee, I definitely enjoy a good cup of joe.  Banana bread is the perfect go-along with coffee.  It's sweet and dense, filled with nuts and sometimes chocolate, making a perfect start to any day.

3. "Eaggle Bagel" Sandwich....with bacon!

This has long been a favoite in our house.  We like to cook the eggs over-easy so that when you bite into the crunchy, sesame seed covered bagel, the yoke squirts out and makes a sticky, but delicious mess.  The trick is to not let the yoke squirt on you and your clothes.  I remember eating this at my grandmother's house when we were visiting once.  I was sitting at my grandma's old wood kitchen table, just as I have been doing for as long as I can remember.  My great-grandma was sitting across from me and we were talking about various subjects.  As I bit into my sandwich, my great-grandmother started giggling and pointing at my shirt.  I looked down and saw yellow egg-yoke, sprayed all over my sleeves.  It's best to eat this before you are showered and dressed in the morning. 

Those are my three favorite breakfast foods.  Yah, very startchy, but hey, at least I had some meat in there!  A nice, tall class of orange juice is also a great way to top off any breakfast meal.  Oh great, now I have a serious orange juice craving!

The Big Silver Ball

Tonight, families across the world will huddle together, either around their TV sets or in Times Square, to watch a big, bright, electric ball fall to the ground.  Lovers will kiss, children will grin, and babies who don't want to be awake will probably cry.  Toasts will be made with champagne and sparkling cider and New Year's Resolutions will be written in long lists, only to be forgotten once February rolls around.  The world will celebrate as it only does on New Years and we will look back at the year that we have just survived.   

But why a ball?  Why do we drop a large, electric, crystal ball from the top of a pole to the bottom each year?  I did alot of internet searching to answer this question.  Thanks to Wikipedia I found the answer. In the early 1900's, the New York Times paper moved into what was at the time called Long Grace square.  The newspaper company pursuaded the city to rename the square what it is now called today; Time's Square.  In order to celebrate the name change, the newspaper's owner, Adolf Ochs (now that's an interesting name) decided to hold a big fireworks display on New Year's eve.  These fireworks went off every year for four years until Adolf decided that fireworks weren't big enough.  So, he made a big wooden ball covered with lightbulbs and stuck it atop of a pole ontop of his Newspaper building.  The ball made its debut in 1907.  Originally, the ball dropped the second after the new year which I find interesting.  The New York Times eventually moved out of Time's Square, but the practice and the name of the square stuck.  We have had five more balls since that first ball.  The one that we have now is coated in waterhouse crystals. 

Every year, a special guest accompanied by the mayor, gets to press the button that will "drop the ball." It is a purely ceremonial event, however, because the pressing of the button does absolutely nothing.  The ball is timed to drop at a precise time with or without the button.  In the past, Muhammad Ali, Bill and Hillarly Clinton, and even specially chosen high school students have gotten a chance to push the button.  This year, after preforming live, Lady Gaga will get a chance to pok 'er face into the button  (sorry, I couldn't resist).  I'm thinking it's going to be a very interesting year.

This year, we have experienced earthquakes, weddings, celebrity divorces, and tragic deaths.  People have cried and people have laughed.  The kardashians have continued to gain popularity for reasons that I will never understand, a new reality show with Simon cowell has entered the TV world, Psych has continued for another season (yah!), and Apple has continued to dazzle us with new inventions.  We have seen shootings, new laws, and continued protests in Egypt.  The biggest surprise of all this year is that the world did not end.  Instead it still continues the way that it has for thousands of years.