Creative Non-Fiction Drabble: Clueless Concert Chicks

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Traffic was thick as usual as she directed her Saturn down Southern State Parkway.  Leaving later from work often meant the traffic was less but as it was summer there were just more cars heading out east towards the beaches.  It didn’t help that she lived in the same direction.

Her cell phone buzzed in her pocket, still on silent mode from work.  Popping in the hand’s free into her hear with one hand and flicking the cell open with the other before shifting down to second yet again due to the idiots who slowed down to a snails pace anytime they saw a cop on the side of the road.  Bonehead moves like that just added to the congestion.  “Hello,” She said into the handsfree not having looked at the caller ID, she needed her eyes on the road, needed to spot the sudden break lights ahead.

“Hey,” Her roommate said over the line,” So we’re going to the Sting concert tonight.”  Hearing the giggle of her roommate’s friend she knew who “we” referred to.  Originally the tickets were for the friend and her mother, something must have happened.  “So we’re on the train on our way and we realized something… we can’t think of a single song of his.  What does he sing?”

A shudder passed through her body, it burned that two people who had no appreciation for good music were not only going to see a musician she grew up listening to and loving but they were clueless.  Sting wasn’t just some musician, he was part of pop culture, how could anyone not know his music.  “Well you know he’s originally from The Police.”  She said rubbing her temples with one hand before shifting back up to third and then to fourth, thankful she was moving at least.  Her windows were down and the breeze was welcomed.

“Oh yeah?”  Her roommate asked and then there was a long pause.  “Yeah we don’t know any Police songs either.”

Rather then beat her head against the steering wheel she took a few deep breaths and smiled before bellowing at the top of her lungs “ROXANNE!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Immortality? Or the Couch?

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So I was listening to The WEIRD Show The feedback episode today on my drive up to CT, and it got me thinking. The question posed was, if we could cure death, if human beings would live forever baring freak accident or violence then would that mean people would be lazy and never strive to accomplish anything? If you knew you had forever, if you no longer feared mortality then would you work hard to leave something positive behind?

I don’t know.

What I do know is that my family has a long history of longevity, not only that but my family tends to have their faculties almost up till the end. I have known most of my life that my life expectancy is around 100 years. I am in no rush to have children, I never was in a rush to get married and I wonder if that has something to do with the fact that I have always known I have time to do all of that. I know a lot of people who complain to me that they are not married yet or have kids yet and I look at them thinking they are young, and I wonder now what if they just have less time then I do? Or worse yet, they think they have less time?

People think of 65 as the age to retire, my mother and father are that old and older and still going strong. My mother is trying for an executive director position and she would be perfect for it. She says her age might be a draw back to her getting the spot because people tend to retire around 65, yet my mother will be working till she no longer can. When you are good at what you do and like it why retire? What? Retire at 65 and have another 30 years to just sit around? What’s the point? My father works in a high stress field, most sea captains retire around 55 or younger, my father is 67? or so and is still going strong. He can work for quite a few more years. He keeps talking about retirement because all of his friends (who are younger then he) are retired but I know him, if he didn’t have work to return to not only would he be bored but he would be cranky as all get out.

So back to my point, does the fact that I expect to live longer make me live more for the moment? Because that is what I feel I do, I am living for the moment, I am very happy to be at the age I am at. When I was young I was concerned with making sure I had a good education and a degree that could support me. I knew I would be older longer then I would be young so I needed to take advantage while I could. Now that I am still young but older I am happy to enjoy myself now., To enjoy my freedom as an adult while slo enjoying my youth and not hurrying to get into the next stage of life, motherhood.

Now I am a married woman, not even a year married, I am almost 32 and loving where I am. I am happy to be here and not rushing to have kids. When I am ready to have kids I am sure I will want that stage of my life to last as long as it can, just as I would love this stage to last a good long while too. I’m in no rush, I don’t feel like I am missing out on anything.

Now, is that because I have a different mindset then most? Or because I feel I am on a different timeline? I don’t fear mortality? (Or is it just me being lazy?)

Healthy Recipe: Spicy Boneless Chicken Wings

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chkwingsSo you have people coming over for a game, or some sort of shindig where snacks and fatty foods are expected, but you want to watch your figure, what do you do?  Trick people into eating heathy snacks.

For the first in my series of non-healthy to healthy recipes I’m going to tell you how to make a good alternative to buffalo wings.

What you need:

  1. boneless chicken breast
  2. fiber one cereal
  3. franks red hot buffalo sauce
  4. poultry seasoning
  5. eggbeaters
  6. skim milk
  7. lite or fate free blue cheese dressing (optional)
  8. carrots and/or celery (optional)

Prepare:

Cut the chicken into strips, dunk into a mixture of eggbeaters and skim milk.
take some fiber one cereal and put it into a belnder alone, turn the blender on until the cereal is a powder, breadcrumb like texture.  Put crushed fiber one into a plastic bag, sprinkle in some poultry seasoning in the fiber one and mix it up.
place moistened chicken into bag and shake up, remove and place on a baking sheet

Cook:

bake on 350 for 15-20 minutes or until center of chicken is cooked. (varies depending on size of chicken pieces

Finishing:

put cooked chicken into a bowl and pout franks red hot sauce on it.  Mix it up till all of the chicken is coated in the sauce
put chicken on a tray with celery and/or carrots for presentation and serve with lite/low fat blue cheese (or ranch) dressing.  (I suggest avoiding the Walden Farms 0 calorie blue cheese dressing as it tastes awful, but their ranch is good)

PS: I didn’t enter quantities as this recipe can be made for 1-100 people, how ever many as you need, simply buy the right amount of chicken per person and adjust each measurement accordingly, I normally cook by eye.

TIPS:

  • Don’t tell anyone how you made the wings till after they eat it if ever.  People will make up their minds they don’t like something if they know its good for them
  • 1/2 cup of fiber one cereal uncrushed per ever 2 chicken breast should coat well
  • Add lots of carrots/celery to the presentation so you can alternate as you snack between vegies and chicken, helps with the snacky feeling that comes during get togethers.

Debt

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Yesterday I read a twitter from a young woman lamenting that she was still a teen and in debt and this got me thinking about debt and the current state of the economy. Everyone is crying about debt, upset at how things have turned out and yet it is clear that many people (not all) have made a lot of bad choices.

A few years ago SOMEONE asked me how I manage on such a small income (at the time she and I made the same and she still lived at home while I had been out of the house since I was 19). I told her that if she followed my practices not only could she pull herself out of debt but that she could be buying a house not long after. If she and I had the same going in but she had less NEEDed finances then she would have no trouble saving. She was interested and I started with the rules.

  1. get rid of all your credit cards (always have one for emergencies but NEVER use it)
  2. only spend what you have, if you don’t have the money you can’t spend
  3. write down everything you purchase, everything.
  4. remove your monthly expenses ahead of anything else, rent, phone, student loans, other debts already made. You only get to spend the left overs.

She then asked me about shopping, and clothes and when I explained how being careful with your washing means you don’t need to buy new clothes every season she just started shaking her head. She couldn’t follow my rules, couldn’t live without shopping or credit cards.

Three years later, everyone including SOMEONE is singing a different tune. It’s no longer about who your wearing or what your driving, it’s about paying your bills. Now the push is to spend less, be green and to be less extravagant. My way of thinking is much more accepted. Retail Therapy is now a dirty word. People are finally realizing they don’t need the latest dohicky. Of course we still spend, and people aren’t living as monks but has improved tons.

I admit it, I have debts, but all of my debts work for me. My car was financed, my interest rate is lower then the rate of inflation, so I have paid less for the car over the years then I would have if I bought it out right. My student loans give me good credit and help me out at the end of the year with taxes as all the interest I do pay is a write off. My wedding costs were low in comparison and put on a line of credit, paid most of it off and the interest is very low and being paid off monthly. Debt isn’t evil, it helps give you credit and helps you in the future, getting buried under it is evil. When you’re spending you need to think “Is this NEEDed? And will I regret it next year while I’m still paying it off?”

Tips:

  • don’t buy lunch, brown bag it
    the food will be better and healthier also
  • don’t drop 100 bucks at the club on drinks
    drinks at a club and bar are way over priced, if you must drink, prime at home before you get to the club
  • movies are fun but costly, only see movies that seeing them in the theatre makes a difference
    skip the drinks and popcorn too, look for daytime showings or half price nights
  • coupons, coupons, coupons
    don’t feel embarrassed, feel empowered when you whip those bad boys out at the cash register
  • AAA
    got a AAA or CAA card? You’ll be amazed how many places give you a discount with that. I use mind for 10 percent off dinner all the time
  • REBATES!
    most electronics have mail in rebates, that’s free money, don’t forget to submit those
  • bring back your cans
    you paid the deposit, why not get that money back? Do you like throwing nickels in the trash?
  • Walk instead of driving
    short trips and walking distance, why not walk?
  • brew your own coffee
    why spend 3 bucks for a five minutes of coffee
  • second hand stores are your friend
  • bring your old games in for cash
  • buy used games & movies
  • buy in bulk
    group up with your friends, a family of three doesn’t need 18 chicken breasts, but you can split up those big packages among families.
  • save your MPG
  • cancel satellite radio and start downloading podcasts
    half the shows on satellite are available for download anyways, why pay for it

Do you have more tips? make them known in the comments section of this post.