As part of the ongoing effort to find something I’m willing to pack for lunch, Wendi’s been buying some different flavors of the Campbell’s Chunky soups. It’s a great idea: Big can, pull-tab top, no water to add. I pack a can, a bowl, a spoon and some crackers and viola! As long as I’m near a microwave I’m set, right?

We started off with a couple of the chowders, most notably the Old Fashioned Potato Ham and the Baked Potato with Cheddar and Bacon Bits. Yum, good eatin’.

Today was the debut… and finale… of a new flavor in the cupboard. Chicken Broccoli Cheese and Potato. Based on the track record of Chunky soups so far, this seemed a no-brainer. Chicken and cheese in a potato soup? I could stand a little broccoli to get some chicken soup, right?

So I popped the top, poured full the bowl, covered appropriately for the microwave and keyed in the cooking time. After the two-minute stir I began to worry, as “cleaning” the spoon left my tastebuds a bit underwhelmed. When I pulled the bowl out and uncovered it after the last minute of cooking I knew something was horribly wrong.

The odor that greeted my nose as the steam fled the bowl was that of fresh vomit.

Let me state that again for effect.

A fresh can of Chunky soup smelled, when cooked, as though someone had barfed in my bowl.

Because I usually frown on wasting food, I still dipped my spoon in for a taste. My taste buds refused to veto the judgement of my olfactory passages. It didn’t taste bad, but it also didn’t taste good.

And so, into the conveniently-located toilet it went. Yay for my office being right across the hall from the restrooms. I am left with a sleeve of saltines as my sole lunch option, and with the scent of spew in the air that’s not much of an option yet. I’ll be drinking a lot of water, and I’ll be leaving the server room door open for a while. (You wouldn’t believe the gale-force winds out of that room. My office will smell like good old stale computer-room air in mere minutes.)

Don’t let this story deter you from trying the fine chowders, but steer way clear of Chicken Broccoli Cheese and Potato. This public service message brought to you by the letters M, T and V and by the numbers 0 and 1.

(Hint: It’s an anagram of sorts.)
Campbell’s Chunky

Heh. Styrofoam peanuts.

“It’s like they took a bit of a movie, put it in a box and filled the rest of the box with styrofoam peanuts. This scene, for instance, is a styrofoam peanut.” – Mystery Science Theater 3000, The Screaming Skull

And no, that quote probably isn’t exact. I’ll redact this post later, maybe, once I’ve got the wording straight. Anyway, on with the day’s events:

• Department Head meetings are now on Tuesdays. Still at 8:00 in the bloody damned morning, though. Needless to say I got up too bloody damned early today. Oh yeah, and the Summer 2002 ratings were released today. This is information only interesting to other radio people, I’m afraid.
  
• Mari wants a weblog/journal/thing. I’ve set one up for her, but you can’t see it yet. We’re waiting for DNS to get set up, then I’ll make some sort of big announcement. For the record, it’s running Movable Type. MT’s neat and all, but I don’t see myself switching this site any time soon. I’ve got far too much time and effort invested in Monaural Jerk, which I still think is a better system for techies like myself.
  
• In related news, I now know how to enable those Trackback things you’ve probably seen popping up all over the blogosphere. They’ll probably appear as if by magic at some point in the next couple of days on a greyduck.net near you. Stay tuned.
  
• A diet consisting solely of hot cocoa and Ritz crackers, coupled with sleep deprivation. This is the answer to the question, “Why are you so incoherent this evening, Karel?” Now stop asking me silly questions.
  
• This is damned funny. Note to self, add The People’s Republic of Seabrook to the Blogs of Note…
  
• Last and probably least, I spent a part of the day poking around on DeviantArt. I even posted a journal entry on my profile. Mostly, though, I was there to grab a bunch of cool new anime wallpapers. If you ask nicely, I’ll show them to you.
  

I’d like to start by thanking Mari and Doug for making a fun night of my second chance to see Spirited Away. Thanks! Much laughing and joking and banana taffy was enjoyed. Mari loves banana taffy, you know.

That’s not what this entry is about, however.

As part of the “good hard look into the depths of my soul” I’ve been engaged in for the past couple of years, I’ve noticed a trend. I’m not sure if it’s something everyone experiences, or if I’m just a weirdo. Here it is: Highs are almost always followed by lows.

Not terribly profound, you say? Maybe it isn’t, but being aware of this fact is helping me learn to cope with my sudden freak depressions. The other helping factor, of course, is my determination not to wallow. I hate being a pathetic wallowing lump. (I was told recently how awfully unattractive that is. The fastest way to get my attention is to appeal to my overdeveloped vain streak…)

My current situation is a bit like this: I had a wonderful time Monday night and Wednesday night, first with Wendi and the kids and Amy and her son at the movie, then with Mari and Doug at the movie. Now that the anticipation of moviegoing with friends is gone, the emotional pendulum has swung over and I’m feeling listless, moody and a bit depressed. Now, however, I can recognize why this is happening and try not let it get ahead of me. Hooray!

I may not be perfect, but I’m working on dealing with the worst of my weaknesses. Isn’t that what it’s all about? “To strive, to seek… and not to yield.”

On a whim, I checked nausicaa.net to see if any Portland OR showtimes had been added for the latest Miyazaki film to reach the USA. Imagine my surprise when I see that it’s playing the Regal Fox Tower 10 (downtown Portland, right next to Pioneer Courthouse Square) starting this very day!

(And payday isn’t until Tuesday. Grrr.)

Go see this film. I insist. Even better, hook up with me mid-week for a big group viewing. Yeah! “Spirited Away.” A couple of hours filled with joyous Miyazaki anime goodness. You know you want to.

For those of you (all two of you) who noticed that my iMood hasn’t changed in a while… no, it’s not laziness. I really have been ill the entire time, and there’s no end in sight.

I’ve got one of those damned annoying colds that never really knocks you out flat but also never goes away. I’m constantly wavering between a state of dazed functionality and feverish misery, punctuated by sniffles, sneezes and the occasional coughing fit.

Why yes, I have always been the sickly child. Had I been born a plains-dwelling grazing animal, I’d have been culled from the herd by natural selection a long time ago. Bah.

Starve a cold, feed a fever, my ass. What do you do when your cold includes a fever? Stupid homily anyway.