Quick Fortune

I bought some Chinese food a few weeks back and I received two fortune cookies for my effort. Personally I would have preferred at least one more, but I don't own the restaurant and I didn't specify that preference when I placed the order, so I really can't be choosy about how many fortune cookies they casually throw in the bag. Hours later, after consuming a good portion of that chinese food, I decided to eat one of the two cookies. I didn't just grab the first one I saw, I contemplated the decision and then finally carefully chose one of the cookies to eat and read. I always completely eat the cookie before I read the fortune. This is what the fortune had to tell me...

Let someone know how special they are to you. 

I posted a photo of it on Instagram, so I think I took care of letting whoever needed to know how special they were to me, know just how special they were to me through the magic of a slightly blurry photograph. Perhaps many people needed to know this, I have no idea. It's really neither here nor there at this point. You're all special to me in some sort of way that is unique to you and no one else. Well also unique to me I guess. I hope, maybe? Perhaps not. 

I opened up the other fortune cookie tonight. 

Let your hook be always cast. In the pool where you least expect it, will be fish. 

Interesting. 

I'm trying to remember the last time I was in a pool, but I'm drawing a blank. Anyway, there must have been a hell of a lot of fish in there, which is probably not all that sanitary or normal for most pools, but they must have been in there, otherwise this fortune is complete horseshit. 

And I can't believe that. 

Actually, I do remember the last time I was in a pool. It was last summer at some pool on the Northwest side of Chicago. I jumped off the high dive, which scared the crap out of me. I did it once and then decided that was good enough. Sometimes you have to take a chance and jump into the pool even though you have no interest in looking down to see what's below. I didn't want to look, but I did. I jumped anyway, mostly because I was next in line and would have looked like a complete pussy if I hung my head and walked backwards towards the ladder. But I wanted to jump, I just didn't want to look first.

I still don't want to look.

But I guess I have to. 

Chicago...At Least a Small Portion of It.

I used to see this view whenever I walked out my bedroom door onto the back porch when I lived over there on Chicago Avenue. I actually had three doors in my bedroom, not counting the closet doors. This was the only door that led to the outside though, and the only door that led to this sort of view.

I didn't attempt to photograph the skyline all too often, but obviously I did that night. Took out my camera and tripod and made the effort to find something decent through the lens. You can be the judge of whether or not I was successful.

And yes, I've manipulated this photo a bit, well quite a bit, but that's what life is all about. Manipulating things until you get it to where you want it to be. Manipulating doesn't have such a great reputation, but when you manipulate things in order to grow as a person, the meaning changes to some extent and it's not such a bad thing....assuming you're not harming anyone else. And quite frankly, all I did was jack up the contrast a bit, sharpen it, and reduce the saturation to zero, so really that's not all that much manipulation. Believe me, I've seen much worse, and I'll probably be writing about it soon enough if I decide to write a blog about what I've seen on Instagram.

Anyway, first blog of June, 2015. I've been busy. There will be more, but I thought I'd start it off with an easy one.

Toilings of Today/Ugly Rumors Rested...

I had a dream the other day. Not one of those life changing dreams like MLK had, but it was significant, as the music died that day. I was talking to one of the women who I played with on a baseball team and I was cautiously letting her know I thought it would be best if she stopped playing second base, as she couldn't catch, couldn't field and certainly couldn't throw, not that she'd need to throw, as the ball never once got anywhere near her glove. She laughed and then completely agreed with my assessment. Then she asked me if I had heard that Buddy Holly had just died. I hadn't heard. Sadness descended and overwhelmed.

I guess in that short moment before I woke up I could understand how all those folks felt back on February 3, 1959. Well they probably heard on February 4th or 5th as news didn't get around quite as quickly in those days.

I've invested more of my time the past week or so using Instagram. I like taking pictures. It's an app for sharing photos. Why has it taken me so long to embrace this technology? I don't know. Probably the same reason I resisted buying a digital camera to replace my Pentax K1000. It's odd though as I bought a digital camera long before I bought that Pentax. It wasn't my first camera though, as my Grandma Hogan bought me a cheap camera back when I was in grade school. And by cheap, I mean it was plastic and probably cost $5. I put one roll of film in it and I believe only one of the pictures may have actually turned out, though out of focus and quite uninspiring. It was the thought that counted and I always appreciated that gift, regardless of whether or not it worked. If you want to follow me on Instagram, my username is dbuban. Clever, right? I'm such a social media whore. Anyway, the internet needs more pictures of nonsense and it just so happens that I specialize in nonsense.

Speaking of nonsense, my roommate is watching another documentary show about aliens and mars and NASA and the government and conspiracies and oh Jesus...just let it end. I cannot stand this stupid shit. I could care less if they exist or not, I just hate the TV shows about the subject. Perhaps I need to stop being so judgmental about these things. Probably most things. It's a process.

File this one under roll my eyes and chuckle. The universe has quite a sense of humor sometimes. I don't read my horoscope all that often, but I happened upon a RedEye at work the other day and flipped through it and ran across the horoscope page. Here's what I found.

It just made me chuckle again.

And now, onto the rumor mill...

Now I don't know how this got started, but there's some silly rumor going around that involves me and my bike and a certain bridge on Halsted street near Archer and my face slamming into that bridge. I don't know how rumors get started or even why someone would waste their time starting them. These are things I cannot explain and certainly can't comprehend...which is probably why I can't explain them. I cannot confirm nor deny these ridiculous rumors. I also cannot confirm whether or not my body is battered and sore today. And I certainly don't know if I had to go to CVS to buy some superglue, so my roommate Alex could glue my ear back together. I don't know why these rumors spread so quickly and easily when almost no one could have possibly seen what probably never really happened. I have no idea what it feels like in that instant when you know your face is going to bash into a giant hunk of steel, but I don't imagine it feels all that good. For the person or the bridge. I have no idea who won the battle, but I imagine it was a draw. Ha! Get it? No? Drawbridge! Ha. 

Anyway, stop with the hearsay!

Also I'm fine.

Assuming the super glue actually works. 

Enjoy your evening, my friends!