Back in the saddle

Hallo Spaceboy!

Well...I am back in a city called Roswell, New Mexico. Yes, only two flights and a three hour drive from the civilized world of Philadelphia. I don't usually make New Year's resolutions as a rule, but I have decided to not make fun of Roswell too much this semester.

As I get to know more people in this town, and have friends to hang out with who are from the area, I have realized just how cruel I can be. For example:

I will try my best this year not to make fun of Walmart. I will not comment on the fact that the most crowded day of the month there is the day wellfare checks come out. I realize that is not nice (though really...you don't wanna go there the day those checks come out. People are on marked-down prices like Oprah on a ham). I will try also not to make fun of anybody while I am with them in a Walmart, by making snide comments about why I wouldn't buy things like a $2,500 TV at Wallmart, or why I would buy brand name paint for a dollar more opposed to the Wallmart brand. I realize that is just shallow and elitest. I'm sure that if you bought a TV at the Wallmart for $2,500 it would work just fine (but if you have that kinda scratch for a telly...why are ya shopping at the Wallmart?).

I will try not to make fun of the lack of cuisine offered in this megacity. Mexican food is great. I love Mexican food. Green Chiles are the food of the gods. Everything should have green chiles on it not matter if you are at a Mexican, Italian or even Thai restaurant.

I will try to keep my snobbery about what constitutes 'expensive' restaurants to myself. I realize now that $4.99 for dinner is not cheap. It's reasonable. And those unreasonable places that have meals priced in the $9.99-$18.99 range are just out of their minds. Sorry Pasta Cafe. Do you know how many tacos you can buy for $18.99!?!?!?

I will try not to whistle old Speghetti Western sounds when a tumbleweed rolls across the road in front of me. I realize now that that could be viewed as obnoxious and that the tumbleweed is a national treasure that we should treasure (although...when I drove in from Albuquerque, it was so windy in Roswell that the dust made it very difficult to see and the tumble weed were out of control. I literally got hit by at least ten of those things from my car to my door. Mad Max...you got nothin on us!).

I will try not to stress out about creatures that shoul only be found in nightmares and on hallow's eve but can be found in your bathtub. If the children of this town are not affraid, why should I be? Of course the children of this town seem to already versed in how to make a flamethrower in the likely event they do see one of these nastys in their tub. I will try to make friends with the local inhabitants of the land...the tarantulas, scorpions and snakes. Because let's face it, why shouldn't we be friends with things you need an antidote for?

Oh, I could go on forever making resolutions, but I don't want to make any promises I won't keep (and I need more ammo for next year), so I will stop there. I should mention that when I got home I found no such creature walking around my place, though I suspect they will be back. That is why I have been practicing the Hulk stomp pictured.

Happy New Year to all and to all a good fright.