Comic sneak peek!

I have a real treat for the readers of this blog.  It's a sneak peek of the new comic, coming out sometime in 2015!

Keep checking this blog or the Baby Wants A Bottle web comic to find out how Timmy is going to handle this tragic news!  You can now also subscribe to this blog via e-mail on the sidebar.

New Year's Sucker

I'm one of those people who starts feeling all motivated just because the year part of the date changes. I want to eat healthy, get fit, draw a comic, volunteer, invest my money, clean my house, clean your house, meditate daily, make a game, drink more water, pet a dog, etc.

It's nice feeling that way but my motivation wanes after a few weeks.  If the year changed about once a month I'd be set.

I'm going to go buy some vegetables now because 2015 Mike does a lot of nutritious home cooking.

Happy New Year!

Cuzco

I am in Cuzco, a city in Peru.

Wherever I travel, I like getting to know about the local culture. For example, I can tell you that cuzqueños really enjoy paintings, massages, and photos involving traditionally dressed women with llamas. Or maybe they just enjoy offering those things to people like me, because they do it a lot.

One of my favourite things about Peru so far has been ordering food from a Spanish menu and having no idea what I will get. So far it has worked out really well. My guidebook has convinced me to stop doing this once I get to Iquitos, where they serve endangered animals as well as things like worms, fish intestines, and ants.

Photo courtesy of Ian Carvell

Lima

In the few weeks leading up to my trip to Lima (the city in Peru, not the municipality in Ohio, 116 km north of Dayton, pop. 38339), I learned a little bit of Spanish.

I used Rosetta Stone, which is great when you actually want to learn a language but isn't ideal if you just want some basics for a short trip.

The people of Lima, or limeños, are nice but their patience wears thin when you say things like "the car is red." This is doubly true when the car isn't actually red but is some colour you can't say in Spanish. I've found the best solution is to only hail taxis in colours that I am familiar with, so that the driver and I can have a nice discussion in which I tell him (it's always a him) the colour of the car, he responds with many quickly spoken words I can't understand, and I say gracias.

This brings us to another problem: because I can't speak Spanish and because it's a safe choice, I say thanks way too often. I am given a restaurant bill. Gracias. It gets taken away. Gracias. I am given change. Gracias. I am on my way out the door. Gracias. I can only hope that I am not having exchanges such as:

- You smell like a dirty animal.
- Gracias.

or

- Say gracias one more time and I will kill you.
- Gracias.

Exit row

On the way to Houston I was given the privilege of sitting in the exit row of the airplane. But with great legroom comes great responsibility. My aislemates and I were tasked with, in case of emergency, saving lives.

I didn't bother reading the safety sheet before I confidently asserted that yes, of course I could perform the duties expected of me. In fact, although I didn't share this with the flight attendant, I was pretty sure I would be the best exit row helper of all.

"How many lives have you saved so far, Tony?" I would smugly ask the person beside me (who was named Tony) as we helped survivors jump onto the rubber slide and out of the burning wreck that was our plane. I would direct his attention toward the blackboard used to tally our saves, which would have three times the number of tick marks beneath my name than beneath his.

But, of course, number of saves isn't all there is to being a successful exit row helper. There is also a matter of comfort. I don't just want my fellow passengers to survive, I want them to have a great time doing it. If that ride down the rubber slide isn't both thrilling and comfortable, I haven't done my job.

Sadly, nothing catastrophic happened during the flight and we landed at the George Bush Intercontinental airport without me having been given the chance to show what I am capable of. Maybe next time.

A new endeavour

Hello there.  I have started a web comic!  There's a banner and everything.

It is located here: http://babywantsabottle.com

Not geese. Cheese.

I'm not normally one to make New Year's resolutions.  They usually don't work out.  But I'd like to give one a shot this year: eat less cheese.

It is said that Americans eat an average of 2 pounds of cheese per person per day.  Per day.  That's an astonishing figure.  And in Utah that number is even higher.  This can't be good for you.

So here's what I propose: any time I have the opportunity to eat cheese I won't do it, with the following exceptions:

1. If I am splitting a pizza with friends.

2. If I am at somebody's house and they are serving cheesy food.

3. If I am in SF then I get to eat one Patxi's pizza even if I'm alone.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.