"the chili button stuck"
so i'm trying this new thing in 2009....becoming a healthier person. in fact, i even made a list of all the ways i would become healthier
-spiritually
-emotionally
-physically
-financially
-relationally
-musically
and to top that, i even made some practical steps of how i'd actually accomplish those goals. for a former ENFP, this is a big deal. i say former because i'm claiming the new ESFP personality that facebook gives me 50% of the time. ESFPs just seem more grown up and mature.
and to my surprise, i actually started to follow-up on these steps. as a P, you know, this is monumental. i mean, i can brainstorm all day long, but to actually put something into practice...well, that's something to hold hands across america about.
the first step: bought an alumni rec pass so i could use the ball state gym facilities. in the 2 weeks i've only used it to play walleyball, but i think the fact that i used it at all deserves a cookie. so i made some. and ate them. and should probably go use that gym pass. in time. slow and steady.
the area i've actually been doing pretty well in is financially. to the surprise of many, i'm sure, i don't make a ton of money w/my high profile "missionary" position with campus crusade. and i'm actually on a reduced salary while i finish up raising my financial support, but up to this month i haven't been living like it. thai smile, taco bell runs, bowling, batting cages, coffee dates; these are all things i really like doing. and i do. and i picked up this pesky desire to treat people to things, as well. that came when i lived in East Asia and a fancy meal cost $3. and although the cost of living has increased about 10% for me in america, i don't let it stop me from acting like it. which isn't a bad thing, but maybe not the best thing to do every time i go out. so i've seen my savings slowly dwindle and i thought to myself, "self, maybe you should try to live on a budget". and so i made one. then i put it away and went out for dinner. but then 2009 came along and i decided to make one and actually stick by it. and i found it wasn't as hard as i thought it would be. i did have to make a lot more meals at home, but i learned that i like cooking for others even more than taking them out to eat. and then i get to impress the masses with my mad, ponderosa steakhouse cooking skills. you know...add water. ok, maybe not, but i'm not opposed.
well a good friend of mine decided to move to africa to do missions work and she planned a last hurrah with some of her closest friends. from california to south carolina, 7 people, only connected by one friend, went to louisville, ky, for a weekend of hilarity, fun, and fellowship. now, i was stoked for the weekend, but was under the impression that we'd be eating out a lot and generally spending a lot of money that weekend. but i didn't let my financial restrictions bother me. i decided i'd just buck up and make cheap choices. well it's pretty cool to see how the Lord provides, because i ended up spending $.41 of my own money the entire weekend! friday-monday, even! my friends parents paid for a few meals, provided a few others. and my sweet friend had gift certificates to restaurants and chose to share them with me! it was hard to accept the help from others, but i know how much i like to treat others, so i allowed them to treat me, this time. but my favorite, "resourceful" moment came as we were headed back to indy/muncie from louisville. i met my new friend, kate, in indy and she was kind enough to drive us to louisville and back. i told her if she drove i'd pay for gas and all the snacks we wanted if we went to speedway. last summer i had won about $100 worth of speedway gift certificates in a contest and have been conserving them so far. so monday i told her i'd treat her to a classy lunch at speedway. (yes, i am a high-roller). i was happy to see their food court has several decent options and we both went with the hot dogs from those roller grills. i noticed, next to the hot dogs were some nachos. and next to the nachos was a nacho cheese and chili dispensing machine! and like a heavenly revelation, i looked at the dog, then at the machine. back at the dog and at the machine again. lightbulb! CHILI CHEESE DOG! so with the enthusiasm of a 6yr old on christmas morning i pressed the chili button and ran my dog underneath it. and it started pouring out. and pouring out. and i thought that maybe it dispensed a pre-determined amount, but as the chili started filling up 1/3 of the basket my dog was in, i realized it was stuck. so i frantically weighed my options. pull out. no, that'd create a mess. keep going until a store clerk came to my rescue. no, they were busy. so i hit the chili button, finally unlodging it from it's "chili flood' position and laughed. the hot dog was almost completely submerged in a sea of chili. not wanting to waste anything, i squirted a little cheese on top and looked for some fritos for dipping. and honestly, i was pretty proud of my problem-solving skills in the moment. there was no waste, only good taste. and as proud as i was of my walking taco/hot dog idea, i was a little embarrassed that i was walking around with a basket of chili, so i felt the need to inform everyone around them "caution: the chili button sticks". whether they wanted to know or not, i told them.
isn't it amazing how easily our self-esteem can be brought down. too much chili. oh boy. it's like tripping over a pebble or running into a glass door. (name that reference and you get 2 friend points!)
but needless to say, i ended up staying at budget this month. i mean, except for the gym pass i bought. but that's necessary because of all the chili i ate at speedway.
-spiritually
-emotionally
-physically
-financially
-relationally
-musically
and to top that, i even made some practical steps of how i'd actually accomplish those goals. for a former ENFP, this is a big deal. i say former because i'm claiming the new ESFP personality that facebook gives me 50% of the time. ESFPs just seem more grown up and mature.
and to my surprise, i actually started to follow-up on these steps. as a P, you know, this is monumental. i mean, i can brainstorm all day long, but to actually put something into practice...well, that's something to hold hands across america about.
the first step: bought an alumni rec pass so i could use the ball state gym facilities. in the 2 weeks i've only used it to play walleyball, but i think the fact that i used it at all deserves a cookie. so i made some. and ate them. and should probably go use that gym pass. in time. slow and steady.
the area i've actually been doing pretty well in is financially. to the surprise of many, i'm sure, i don't make a ton of money w/my high profile "missionary" position with campus crusade. and i'm actually on a reduced salary while i finish up raising my financial support, but up to this month i haven't been living like it. thai smile, taco bell runs, bowling, batting cages, coffee dates; these are all things i really like doing. and i do. and i picked up this pesky desire to treat people to things, as well. that came when i lived in East Asia and a fancy meal cost $3. and although the cost of living has increased about 10% for me in america, i don't let it stop me from acting like it. which isn't a bad thing, but maybe not the best thing to do every time i go out. so i've seen my savings slowly dwindle and i thought to myself, "self, maybe you should try to live on a budget". and so i made one. then i put it away and went out for dinner. but then 2009 came along and i decided to make one and actually stick by it. and i found it wasn't as hard as i thought it would be. i did have to make a lot more meals at home, but i learned that i like cooking for others even more than taking them out to eat. and then i get to impress the masses with my mad, ponderosa steakhouse cooking skills. you know...add water. ok, maybe not, but i'm not opposed.
well a good friend of mine decided to move to africa to do missions work and she planned a last hurrah with some of her closest friends. from california to south carolina, 7 people, only connected by one friend, went to louisville, ky, for a weekend of hilarity, fun, and fellowship. now, i was stoked for the weekend, but was under the impression that we'd be eating out a lot and generally spending a lot of money that weekend. but i didn't let my financial restrictions bother me. i decided i'd just buck up and make cheap choices. well it's pretty cool to see how the Lord provides, because i ended up spending $.41 of my own money the entire weekend! friday-monday, even! my friends parents paid for a few meals, provided a few others. and my sweet friend had gift certificates to restaurants and chose to share them with me! it was hard to accept the help from others, but i know how much i like to treat others, so i allowed them to treat me, this time. but my favorite, "resourceful" moment came as we were headed back to indy/muncie from louisville. i met my new friend, kate, in indy and she was kind enough to drive us to louisville and back. i told her if she drove i'd pay for gas and all the snacks we wanted if we went to speedway. last summer i had won about $100 worth of speedway gift certificates in a contest and have been conserving them so far. so monday i told her i'd treat her to a classy lunch at speedway. (yes, i am a high-roller). i was happy to see their food court has several decent options and we both went with the hot dogs from those roller grills. i noticed, next to the hot dogs were some nachos. and next to the nachos was a nacho cheese and chili dispensing machine! and like a heavenly revelation, i looked at the dog, then at the machine. back at the dog and at the machine again. lightbulb! CHILI CHEESE DOG! so with the enthusiasm of a 6yr old on christmas morning i pressed the chili button and ran my dog underneath it. and it started pouring out. and pouring out. and i thought that maybe it dispensed a pre-determined amount, but as the chili started filling up 1/3 of the basket my dog was in, i realized it was stuck. so i frantically weighed my options. pull out. no, that'd create a mess. keep going until a store clerk came to my rescue. no, they were busy. so i hit the chili button, finally unlodging it from it's "chili flood' position and laughed. the hot dog was almost completely submerged in a sea of chili. not wanting to waste anything, i squirted a little cheese on top and looked for some fritos for dipping. and honestly, i was pretty proud of my problem-solving skills in the moment. there was no waste, only good taste. and as proud as i was of my walking taco/hot dog idea, i was a little embarrassed that i was walking around with a basket of chili, so i felt the need to inform everyone around them "caution: the chili button sticks". whether they wanted to know or not, i told them.
isn't it amazing how easily our self-esteem can be brought down. too much chili. oh boy. it's like tripping over a pebble or running into a glass door. (name that reference and you get 2 friend points!)
but needless to say, i ended up staying at budget this month. i mean, except for the gym pass i bought. but that's necessary because of all the chili i ate at speedway.
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