Write Back, Period! "Verrrry Interesting..."

Okay, so it's been established that I'm grossly overdo in regards to my posting. I did hope to make up for lost time during my week off, but you know how that is, best laid plans and all of that jazz. In fact, those of you who remember my posting from a weeks ago will recall that I was sick at the time. Yeah, well I'm sick again which is rare, even for me. So what I'm going to do right here is attempt to go back, way back. Back into time. Maybe not so far back, but since I have yet to answer two different Tell It To Me Tuesday questions, I decided to lump them together in one big post now. I also realize that there was no Tell It To Me Tuesday question for this week. I figured why kick a girl while she's already down, no?

The first question was...What are your thoughts on life outside of Earth? Do you believe in aliens? If so, what do you think when you think about them?...

For me, it all comes down to one word, believe. I'd like to believe there is intelligent life outside our planet. Do I personally have any proof? No, but then again there are a lot of things I haven't seen for myself that I believe in, too. For example, there's the fact that Tom Cruise is really a gay man or that God really exists, just not necessarily in that order.

I'd like to believe that there is life outside our planet because it makes life interesting. I don't know if any life outside our planet is nearly as exciting as the movies makes it out to be, but it's fun to wonder and in that wonderment, create any reality we want. I somehow think that if we had the answer for certain we'd all be worse off for it. It might let us down. It would certainly disappoint people like Steven Spielberg. I do so wish that they were all like E.T. though.

I guess it all boils down to the fact that I have a hard time believing that there isn't a reason to believe. Imagining that we are the only intelligent beings in the whole galaxy just seems so far-fetched. Maybe it's even outside our galaxy, who knows? But the fact that someone, or some "thing" somewhere might be wondering the smae thing is exciting, too.

Now on to question number two...What's the strangest food(s) you've ever eaten?

Unintentionally there is somewhat of a common, quirky theme in these two questions. If only I had dined with an alien, now that would be unique in itself. Then again, maybe I already have. How would I really know?

Anyway, when it comes to food, I am no stranger to experimentation. I don't like people who say they don't like this or that, when in actuality they've never really tried...this or that. Another term my students over misuse is that they say they are allergic to things they haven't tried or things they have tried, but haven't liked. I try to explain to them that there's an important distinction to be made between people who can't say drink milk because they'll break out into hives versus someone who doesn't drink milk because they don't like white foods.

But when I say I like to try a lot of different foods I should clarify. One of my favorite things to do is try foods that come from different places. When I first went to Epcot Center in Florida I was so excited about the trip for that reason alone. I thought it would be so cool to "visit" each country and try a bit of their food, too. I didn't realize at the time that even Epcot had many limitations in this area, but I digress.

Since then I've discovered that cities are the best melting pots of different kinds of authentic culture. For instance, you can have Mexican food at Taco Bell, or you can have Mexican food at an authentic, Mexican restaurant. As anyone who has had both will tell you, they are entirely different experiences. When you've had good food of any culture and you compare it to the bad, only then do you really know. It's just like the words to the Facts of Life theme once said, "You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and then you have...the perfect bite." No, that can't be right.

Anyway, it is within those given cultures that I've probably tried some interesting foods that I wouldn't try otherwise. In Japanese culture I love to eat sushi which when you think about it sounds disgusting, but it's actually really delicious to those of us who've ventured out and actually tried it. It's not even that unusual anymore. I can't even tell you all the different types of sushi I tried, but I'm glad I did. The other most unusual food I can remember trying was at an Indian restaurant in Philadelphia. My boyfriend ordered frog's legs just for the hell of it, and I had to try them because they were on his plate. I can honestly say that everything you've heard about frogs are true...they really do taste like chicken! Drier, chewier chicken, but chicken all the same.

Although I do try a lot of different foods, more than the average bear anyway, I do have some limitations. For example, I have no interest in knowingly eating any bugs or random body parts like brains or stomachs. Notice I said the word "knowingly". That's because I do realize that unbeknownst to myself I may very well have tried something, or will try something, that I wouldn't want to. I acknowledge this because I, like many of you, go out to eat. Like it or not, when you go out to eat, you really are at the mercy of the chef in the back. Sure you may order the chicken, but do you really know that what you ordered was chicken? It's a scary, sometimes disgusting thought that I don't like to dwell on too much.

All I'm saying really is that when it comes to foods, and even aliens for that matter, there's a motto to remember, "Never say Never".