Beer

Beer is the new water, according to the Boston Globe. And I quote, "Early last month, medical researchers at Spain's University of Granada called a press conference to announce their findings on the thirst-quenching properties of beer. In a study, 25 university students, after exhausting themselves on a treadmill in 104-degree heat, had been given either water or Spanish lager to drink. According to the University of Granada team, it was the beer that, by a slender margin, proved more effective at rehydrating the students, thanks to its bubbles, salts, and carbohydrates.

VICTORYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

Article at http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2007/12/30/the_new_new_things_of_2007/

Christmas Break

Are there five more boring days in the world than Dec. 26-30? If you're like me, you wake up at noon, eat cereal, watch a movie, convince one of your family members that you need to go spend a gift certificate, do that, realize it only took 45 minutes (Fuck!), watch another movie, and then because you and your twin brother are so bored, you go out drinking at a bar. Then you get home at midnight, drink another beer and watch reruns of Scrubs, go to bed at 3am, and do it all again the next day. Sometimes you go out to a movie instead of a to a bar. Other days you throw in a family game of Monopoly or Risk. It's all just stalling for time until you get to go back to school.

Some of you are freshmen or sophomores and you still have high school friends who you hang out with. But if you're like me, you live in Charlotte, NC and the only people you know are kids whose parents have forced them to hang out with you because the parents are friends with your mom. We call those "play dates."

Me: "Really mom? You set us up on another play date where we are forced to pretend we like some kid we met for the first time and then be interested in demolition derbies, deer hunting, and the Appalachian State Mountaineers? Thanks!!"
Mom: "You guys can try to have a positive attitude on this."
Me: "When have you known either of us to have positive attitudes?"

This happens all too often.

You ask me how I survived a whole summer here? I spent lots of time at my job, I spent about two or three hours each night running and going to the gym, and I drank a glass of a wine (or three) each night. It helped.

So these five days are pretty much a Purgatory until I get to ascend into the Heaven that is driving up to DC to drink for three days with my older brother and his friends. Don't ask me how that can be compared to Heaven. It's just gotta be better than hanging out in Charlotte. We're leaving tomorrow and staying through Tuesday, when I'll be driving back down to Charlotte to resume the aforementioned fast-lane lifestyle until I head back up to Boston for early return.

And your next response:

Puzzled Reader: "Bloom, why don't you just drive up to Boston after DC rather than spending the next week in Charlotte."
Me: "Well for some odd reason, my family likes it when I come home, which I can only assume to be because misery loves company."
Puzzled Reader: "Dude, sucks man."

- Bloom

Merry Movies and Chinese Food Day

So I figured that while I'm sitting here adding Puff Daddy and The Family's single of "Been Around the World" and "It's All About the Benjamins" (Rock Version) to my iTunes, I'd update the inquiring readers of this blog about my Christmas (as we Christians refer to December 25, you heathens).

Loot:
- Dunkin Donuts gift card ($40), Dunkin Donuts ground coffee (12-pound bag), and new coffee maker (my parents are not helping my caffeine addiction)
- Season 5 of "24" (I got this for my birthday -- my mom is losing it)
- A New Balance winter running shirt (will come in handy for my three-mile training runs during early return)
- An Abercrombie & Fitch sweatshirt thingy. As you can see, this is definitely my style, except mine is orange and says "-CC->" -- that's why my mom bought it (this thing smells awful)
- Boys of Summer (should be good)
- Stephen Colbert's new book (we'll see)
- An Olympus voice recorder that has a computer adapter -- pretty sweet

And the highlight of the gift giving -- my dad presented my twin brother with a ball signed by Chase Utley that the Phillies sent us. They sent it to us because my dad asked them to give him a ball after my brother dropped a game-breaking pinch-hit two-out grand slam that literally hit him and bounced onto the field. I wrote a column about it back in the day and my dad sent it to the Phillies as proof that my brother deserved the ball. They thought it was a great idea and agreed.

This goes down in Bloom lore of great presents along with when my twin brother and I convinced a staffer at our congressman's office to send my mom (an INCREDIBLY ardent Democrat) a birthday card from President Bush (an official birthday card sent by the White House). She was pissed. Good times.

Merry Christmas all. Except you heathens out there.

- Bloom

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (or Hanukkah)

Time to start posting again.

We're having a Christmas movie marathon tomorrow at Bromfield, so for all of you that read this blog, come on over around 6pm and join myself and Sam for some holiday fun. We're not making cookies. We might drink beer though. It won't be wintery-flavored.

On tap:

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
A Christmas Story
It's A Wonderful Life

I love all of these movies. You should too.

- Bloom