As I have already revealed, I have been catching up on episodes from past seasons of “The Amazing Race” while I work out each morning. I am currently watching the season in which half the teams are previously established dating couples and half of the teams are strangers who have been paired up to experience the race as sort of one great big blind date. If you are at all familiar with “The Amazing Race,” you know that it tends to bring out the worst in people as they butt heads with their teammates and bicker about who is to blame for their team being behind the pack. But it also sometimes brings people closer together as if their relationship can withstand the stressful situations of the race then it most certainly can withstand the stressful situations of life itself.
I could not help but bawl like a baby near the end of the episode (and my workout) when one man turned to his teammate and said, “I want to promise you that every morning before I leave to work I’ll tell you I love you. I want to promise that every night before I go to sleep I’ll give you a kiss goodnight. You’ve got to promise me that you’ll make me the happiest man in the world.” And with that he got down on one knee, pulled out a ring and asked her to marry him. Hopefully she allows him to keep those promises – because something tells me he will dedicate his life to doing so – and hopefully she keeps hers as well.
After I picked myself back up off the floor (from not only the crying but also the sit-ups), I headed to Starbucks to pick up their food ministry donations and then to the post office to drop off the Radio Flyer little red wheelbarrow I had sold on eBay the day before. After that, I dropped off the food donations with the ministry organizer Karen before arriving back at home where I was finally able to enjoy breakfast – half of a big kahuna cheese steak sandwich featuring grilled onions, peppers, mushrooms, jalapeños and extra melty white American cheese from Jersey Mike’s Subs…
By the way, have you seen the latest Dignity Health “Hello Human Kindness” commercial with the father crawling into his daughter’s crib to comfort her and help her fall asleep? It asks the question, “Does being there for someone matter?” Of course it does. It is important to hold the people you love extremely close. And when you meet that person who has the power to heal you, you should never under any circumstances let them go. Moreover, I love the song that plays, with the lyrics, “You and me go together naturally. Don’t you think that we make a pretty good team.” When you find someone with whom you make a good team, it is you and that person against the world – no matter what challenges you two face.
Anyway, I digress. After breakfast, I tended to my email inbox. I followed up with the publicist for the potential Easter Egg decorating expert for Breathrough Entertainment’s Easter Special and was told that she was still waiting to hear back from him. Truth be told, I get nervous when I have yet to confirm a guest by the middle of the week but one way or another I am determined to dedicate a segment on Saturday’s show to decorating Easter Eggs. I also rescheduled an important personal appointment that I had previously scheduled for next week. I now have two important personal appointments tomorrow, making for a full – not to mention stressful – day. I decided to decompress with a cup of hot coco.
I then drove down the road to the home of family friends and neighbors Bonnie and Gary. They will be moving to Australia this summer and it was the first time I had been inside of their house since a massive yard sale they had to essentially liquidate their belongings. It was eerily empty but we still had a nice conversation as we caught one another up on various topics. Once back at home, I prepared a few more items I had sold on eBay for shipment, including some Goosebumps bookmarks, novelty cards and an old Halloween trick-or-treat bag. Later, I ate lunch – grilled corn and roasted garlic soup that I had made last week with a few meatballs added for substance…
The roasted garlic had been a little too strong for my stomach last week and proved to do even more damage now as my appetite, for some reason, has been a bit nonexistent since last weekend. Have you ever experienced that nagging feeling that you have forgotten something important but can’t quite put your finger on what that might be? I have been experiencing something like that except it is the feeling that I have been forgotten by someone important. Let’s just say roasted garlic does not help matters much. It may fend off vampires but it only makes stomachaches (and heartaches) worse.
A little later I watched “Days of Our Lives” before transitioning into my digital screener of the new Netflix war drama “Sand Castle” (my reaction is embargoed until its release on Friday, April 21). After that, I watched this week’s episodes of “24,” “Bates Motel” and “Prison Break,” all of which failed to enthuse me very much, perhaps as a result of my solemn mood. I also enjoyed a small piece of a rice crispy treat that I had gotten for free at Noodles and Company as part of a promotional offer.
You know one place that I would really love to visit? The Kuching Cat Museum in Malaysia. It’s main entrance is in the shape of a cat and it houses four galleries containing over 4,000 artifacts, including paintings and memorials related to cats. Exhibits include a mummified cat from ancient Egypt, a gallery of feline-related advertising and the five species of wild cats found in Borneo. One day I will go there and I am confident that the experience will be sweeter than honey and more beautiful than the moon. Speaking of which the moon is out and that is my cue to close my eyes and (try) to get some sleep.
