Out of Town

We're going on a working retreat with our team in 5 minutes, and we didn't get anything written for today. We'll be back on Wednesday!

Donuts

Please help me solve one of life’s greatest mysteries: should we spell it “doughnut” or “donut”?

On the one hand, I think the first spelling is better because they’re made of dough. But that theory breaks down because they don’t always have nuts. In some ways the second spelling makes more sense, because Homer Simpson, who loves donuts, often says, “Doh!” –and he’s a nut.

The only problem with that theory is: the extra “H” in the spelling.

Therefore, I propose a spelling change to: DOHnut.

Now that that enigma has been unraveled I can get to more important matters. I hereby declare that the best DOHnuts in the world can be found at the Minnesota State Fair.

For starters, these DOHnuts come in a small bag that crackles when you put your thumb and forefinger in, thereby adding to the intrinsic classiness of the DOHnut-eating experience. They’re always hot and greasy. They’re sprinkled with sugar and melt in your mouth.

My grandma used to make sugared DOHnuts with leftover mashed potatoes. Believe it or not, they were delish.

After those tasty delights, I prefer Krispy Kreme and then Dunkin’ Donuts.

I like all varieties, including:

-Powdered
-Classic glazed
-Chocolate glazed
-Glazed jelly filled
-Powdered jelly filled
-Frosted maple
-Blueberry cake
-Long Johns
-Cinnamon with apple filling
-Custard filled
-Glazed with Veggiemite filling

Now you have two questions to respond to: how do you spell DOHnuts, and which one is your fav?

I’m a little dismayed that Troy chose this topic because now I want to get on the bus and go over to Dunkin Coffee (that’s what they call them in Madrid now) and stuff a donut or 3 in my face. And also some of their little crispy hash brown thingies because you can’t get them anywhere else in Spain. But that’s sort of off topic.

Although I will occasionally divert to eating a filled donut, I almost always stick to plain ole’ glazed. They have always been my favorite. If I can get a warm Krispy Kreme, I’m happy, but I’ll take a Dunkin’ if necessary.

My first job in North America was waitressing at a shop in Brantford, Ontario. This is quite bemusing actually, because the clear boss in Canadian donut circles is Tim Horton’s. But I didn’t work for them. I don’t think Mr. C’s is open any more. We did indeed serve MORE than donuts though. Personally, I enjoyed the apple muffins, and the beef pot pies because they had NO peas in them. Actually, it was just full of tasty beef. I would smear the top with ketchup and salt and pepper. Yummy! Oops, again, off topic.

Personally, I consider it a great accomplishment that I know how to roll fresh donuts in powdered sugar, then use the fancy filling dispenser and fill them to bursting with apple, strawberry or raspberry filling. It’s probably the most valuable job skill I have!

Back to School

I enjoy the whole “back-to-school buzz”. Normally I have to limit my exposure to the aisles of new notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers, backpacks, etc. because if I don’t I could fill a shopping cart and cause my bank balance to suffer from hunger pangs. This year has kind of snuck up on me because our kids are starting school almost two weeks earlier than they normally do. I’m not sure how prepared we are, but we’ll see I guess. This year I’ll have to pack lunches, and we won’t have school uniforms so that will be an adjustment for all of us.

When I was growing up I enjoyed school, and I was always excited about going back to school. Almost without fail I would wake up about 17 times during the night, nervous that I had overslept and was going to be late for the big day. My new outfit would be all picked out, my bag packed and all that jazz.

I think that for me, part of the thrill of going back to school was the reunion. Some of my friends would be gone for the summer months, so I was always excited to get to see them again.

I am enthused about the return to routine again. Not so much about the early mornings! Also enthused about my children not being together 24/7. I’m ready to take a break from being the referee.

Summer provides a nice break, but I’m a creature of habit so I rather enjoy the scheduled regularity of the school year. I like the “early-to-bed-early-to-rise” rhythm of the week. I also find intentional learning stimulating and enjoy seeing my kids learn new things. I even enjoy working with them on their homework.

When I was a kid, I always knew the beginning of the school year was imminent because I’d get a new pair of shoes. There’s nothing like the suggestive power of new shoes: I believed they could honestly help me run faster and jump higher.

As I got older, the first day of school provided occasion to jockey for position in the classroom based on one of two criteria:

A. Either I’d look for a good friend and sit next to them
or
B. I’d look for a pretty girl and sit next to her. Yes, I was a nerd, but I fancied myself a regular Casanova.

I remember the first time I attended a school that involved changing classrooms for each period and using lockers. Compared to primary school, junior high felt huge; and, compared to junior high, high school felt gi-normous, so I was nervous: “What if I don’t make it to class on time? What if I get lost?” I remember walking quickly through the hallways, heart beating rapidly, eyes focused only on what was in front of me so as to get to my locker and to the next class without incident.

Public Transportation

Living in Europe these past ten years, I’ve grown accustomed to public transportation. It is now officially my preferred method of transport, apart from walking. In some ways, we’ve gotten spoiled now, because it drives me crazy how you have to drive everywhere in North America.

There is one minor drawback, however, to most public transport systems. It forces you to classify people into one of two categories: runners or non-runners. I’ll explain: about 50 percent of the time a bus or train pulls up to the platform at such a moment as to make it feasible for you to run and catch it, or—if you simply walk—you’ll miss it by less than a second, forcing you to wait for the next one to come (which can sometimes be up to 20 minutes—in the case of some busses—and sometimes even an hour in the case of some trains).

You can guess I’m of the “running” persuasion, while Heather is of the “I’d-prefer-to-be-slower-than-a-slug-on-barbiturates” persuasion.

Last night, we had this discussion with a pair of friends that are married. He, interestingly enough, aligns himself with the wiser of the two sides (that is, the “if-I-miss-this-train-my-life-is-over” side), while his wife sides with my wife.

Out of curiosity, which tendency do you lean towards? Run for it (because, yes, life is to be lived like a competition) or just keep walking (because, yes, it’s fun to see your spouse frustrated no end)?

I am a complete convert to public transportation, but that is mostly because I started using it here in Spain, where it is much more developed than any place I have ever lived before. I did experience random pockets of it while I was growing up; taking the bus to the downtown part of Quito because it was a nightmare to drive/park there, taking the subway around Toronto when we visited my Grandparents there.

Even though we own a car, we use public transportation in Madrid probably 95% of the time. Madrid has an amazing system of metro (subways) and bus. I love the freedom, the low cost, and the knowledge that we’re doing our part to lessen our impact on the environment.

I prefer the bus to metro. Even if it takes longer, I love to ride around and look at beautiful Madrid. Dark tunnels, not so much. Plus, I can deal with a crowded bus much better than I can deal with a crowded metro. If I have to be smashed up against strangers, I really prefer to be able to look past them and see something other than a dark wall.

I almost cannot cope if the metro stops in the middle of the tunnel between stops and sits there. It makes me claustrophobic, paranoid and jittery. Me no likey.

Also, unless there is no avoiding it (like there is no chance I’ll be on time unless I do) I do not run for buses or trains.

Naps

I am not aware of any time in my life that I did not dig naps. Maybe when I was a kid, but I doubt it. Even in high school, Sunday afternoons in my house involved naps for my parents and I. My brother was not a big fan, but that worked out OK as he got older because he would make pie on Sunday afternoon. Definitely a win-win situation.

Anyway, I love naps. I used to require at least a 2-hour time-slot for a nap. Anything less and I would just end up feeling cheated. Or I would spend the whole time wondering if I really had enough time to get a decent amount of sleep. Because oh no, I don’t waste time worrying about ridiculous things.

Lately, I have learned to accept and even grow to love power naps into my life. Maybe it’s my age, but a 20 minute snooze where I am more in la-la land than really sleeping can be remarkably restorative.

Here is the deal though, I must be at least 90% horizontal for a nap to happen. The couch works, my bed works, the hammocks on the balcony work. Sitting up does not work. Please make a note.

And now if you’ll excuse me, I have time for a power nap before company comes!

When I take naps, I tend to take “power” naps. I lay down and “close my eyes” (that’s the expression I use) for 15-20 minutes and then get back up again. It’s pretty rare for me to take a nap of greater duration than one hour. It’s a funny thing, though, because usually I have to be feeling pretty drowsy to lay down and snooze, but by the time I actually put my head on the pillow I catch my second wind, or when I actually lay down, my mind starts racing with all the things I need to do which makes me unable to rest peacefully.

Chances are, if a nap lasts an hour or longer, it’s because I just lay down on the couch and doze off. The act of actually going to a bed to nap revives my energy.

My nap-taking quotient also tends to come and go in a seasonal fashion. Seems like I will go for months without taking a single nap and then, wham, all of a sudden I’m feeling generally tuckered out and will feel like I need one every day for a period of 6-8 weeks. Today happens to be one of those days I feel like taking a nap. In fact, a couple hours ago I said I was going to take one but then I got going on other stuff and the nap got lost in the shuffle.