Explanation of Clumps in Coffee

Just about every day I make coffee at work using the company Keurig machine. These days I prefer my coffee with a little bit of skim milk - just something to take the bitter edge off. Sometimes I'm out, so I endure the spark of purist black coffee, but if I am so prepared, the luxury of milk is where it's at. Until, that is, it starts to look like this:

What you see there is not exactly "chunks" of super old milk, one of the most horrifying experiences of the first world, but rather a coagulation of sorts, a ball. In this photo most of the ball of coagulated milk is lurking under the surface of the coffee, much like you might imagine the Loch Ness Monster. Anyway this has happened a few times, with multiple types of milk - I used to think it happened only with soy milk, not so. Interestingly, it doesn't make the coffee taste nasty - it's really just fine, except you wind up sipping in a modified fashion so as to avoid slurping up the solid oddity in the middle.

I have so many questions. Do I have to toss it immediately? K Cups are expensive! I don't want to just throw it out if I can stomach drinking around the blob. Is it harmful? I doubt it. But seriously what is going on?

After wondering about this for approximately 4 years (first time I can remember was sophomore year in college with library vanilla soy milk), finally, someone on the Internet has answered my question as to what exactly is happening:
"The clumping is not a function of fat separating, but protein clumping together in curds (curdling). Even though your milk is not 'off' yet, as milk ages, the acidity increases, and when you put into something acidic and hot (like coffee), the milk can curdle. Fresher milk will be less vulnerable." (Original here.)

User szep_ilona of chowhound.com, I thank you. Now I know. Seemingly it is safe to drink around, just gross.

Crest 3D White Professional Effects

I have had the good fortune of receiving a box from Influenster.com! Influenster.com calls itself "an exclusive community for trendsetters to share news,products, and reviews with the opportunity to be rewarded by brands." I've been nurturing my profile for several months now and am very excited to have gotten my first product trial! 

I have done Crest Whitestrips in the past, and have the benefit of experience with an earlier iteration of the product such that I can tell this version is much improved. For starters, it has Advanced Seal technology, which really makes a considerable difference in the way it grips to my teeth. Typically I get a little spitty (who doesn't) and the product slides around on my teeth, and normally it works its way back to the backs of my teeth which ruins the point altogether. I basically suck on them to keep them in place, which gradually makes it slide back. Basically I'm saying it's my fault, but it still happened. I'd adjust the strips once or twice during my 30 minute session pretty routinely, which is not awesome since it can be goopy and spitty and generally sticking fingers in your mouth is considered gauche.

The Advanced Seal technology really mitigates this issue! They really stay in place and the only fixing or poking I wind up doing throughout their wear is to get the seal away from direct contact with my gums. My gums tend to be fairly sensitive and don't love touching the whitening goop.

I have also noticed a change or upgrade to the duration of time it is suggested to wear the strips. The pamphlet suggests 5 minutes to do minor anti-yellowing, 30 minutes for a typical whitening experience, and 2 hours for an express professional job. I believe past products I've used suggest using 2 strips per day for 20-30 minutes at a time, so 40 minutes or an hour total. As far as I can tell, the suggestion to do it for 2-hours is new, and it is a fairly significant upgrade that you only have to wear 1 strip (2 total since there is 1 for top and 1 for bottom row of teeth.) So there's no goopy switching process; once you finish with the half hour or 2 hours or whatever, you're done. 

At 3 days I have already noticed an enhancement in my smile's pearly sheen, though I'm willing to attribute that to the placebo effect. One significant perk of this product is that, so far, fingers crossed, I haven't had to stop usage because of gum pain. In the past my gums had shooting pain every so often with the product that felt brain-meltingly powerful. I would try to get the strip as far from my gum as possible, but it seemed like the damage was already done, and they continued to be sensitive. I have stopped usage before the 20 days are over in the past due to this issue. So far, no pain! A little sensitivity, but nothing terrible. Hopefully nothing kicks up in the next 17 days. 

Great product so far! Thanks influenster.com! 

1-Month Free Trial of Hulu

As part of Bing's daily giveaway they have a free 1-Month trial of Hulu, they have offered a free one month trial of Hulu.

You have to go to http://holiday.discoverbing.com/#9 and sign up through the link which goes through a Facebook app. You'll receive directions to sign up at your Facebook email.
Alternatively, you could try to go directly to http://www.hulu.com/plus/bing (copy/paste or retype) and it should change the hulu page to a one month trial. According to the email there's a form to fill out - no idea what it is as I haven't done it yet.

Fine print is that only new subscribers are eligible and Hulu Plus will automatically renew at $7.99/mo unless you cancel prior to the end of the trial period.

Doing Squats in the Bathroom at Work

This might be the best thing I've ever come up with.

Every time I've gone to the bathroom over the past month, that I've remembered to do it, I've done 25-30 squats, or squat-and-holds. This generally works out to 75-90 a day, though I often forget so it's more like 25 per day on average. I don't often get the chance to workout, so it's nice to do this at intervals throughout the day, since 30 squats by itself is not a horrendous amount. The key is not being in the bathroom for 20 minutes and making people wonder.

In addition to the way it's gradually improving the appearance of my thighs/butt, it gets the blood pumping and MAKES ME WARM. How wonderful.

The idea is extremely simple, and probably works no matter where you work, though I have an advantage in that my office has a one-stall bathroom, so I have some liberating privacy.

The bathroom also rocks because it has a huge, brightly lit mirror that enables me to watch the angle of my back as I descend. When it comes to squats, form is key, so mirror proves very useful.

Needless to say if you did grow increasingly concerned with taking too long and making people think bad things about you, you are in control of the workout; break up the number of repetitions and get to the bathroom more often throughout the day (if you are able.)

This is not me. 

Hooray!

Be Positive.

I can't believe how easy it is to be bitchy.

I have recently joined the ranks of millions as somebody who uses public transportation to get to work. My commute is long, but it's not worth talking about; plenty of people have it as bad or worse than I do, and I'm thankful to be employed. I'm in my sixth month of this, and it's become part of the daily routine to get stuck behind a gaggle of slowpoke tourists as I bob and weave to try and navigate around them.

Slow walkers have cost me a lot of time. I feel like I could go on for days about how irritating people are on the train with their newspapers, elbows, cell phone conversations, but who wants to hear that?

I was just at the Hoboken Public Library where I got a card on my birthday, almost three months ago. I finished reading Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Thinking about my lack of reading material for the evening commute, I headed downstairs and grabbed a book from New Fiction based purely on its stately and beautiful cover.

Then I went to the checkout counter where I encountered the worst/meanest librarian who I normally see there. Most of the library clerks are awesome. Either they are sort of bookish nerds like I pretend to be, or they are young moms who probably appreciate the flex hours the HPL offers as a workplace. (I dunno.) This one lady, however, fucking hates me. I don't know why. It's not like, "oh I think she misunderstood me once and thinks I'm mean" or, "sometimes I am a bit abrupt so it makes sense," no. Let's be real, with me it's not all flowers and sunshine all the time, but I was raised to be courteous and polite, especially when it comes to interacting with strangers.

The whole scene was so perfectly choreographed it could have been directed and shot for a movie. I got called up, fished in my bag for my library card as I said, "Just checking this out." The librarian made darty eye contact, as if not sure what to do during the awkward ten seconds it took me to locate my wallet and slide the card out, then said, "Just checking out?" as if the subject had not yet been broached. "Yes," I replied, with  a just barely detectable twang of what-the-fuck in my voice.
"I was just asking," she says, with that defensive tone so commonly found in teenage girls' interactions with their mothers.
Seconds later, the book was scanned and placed back on the counter halfway between her and me. Instinctively I, idiot that I am, reached for it as she hastily slide-yanked it three inches closer to her. I laughed. The scene was comical, right? Already so many moments of miscommunication so fast. But I didn't chuckle in a delightful let's-smooth-over-the-situation way, I more snorted in a typical me style of laughter. It was a happy laugh nonetheless; I was smiling as I did it, and as I made eye contact with her to see if she saw the humor too. She didn't. I genuinely thought the movement had been a joke on her part like "bad! I'm not done yet!" but instead of joining in my giggle, she responded in the most stereotypical Jersey Shore attack dog style of responding, "am I allowed to put the due date in it?" as she opened the back cover and slid in the receipt.
I said nothing. What was to gain by saying something? Anything at this point would be insult to injury. I was thinking of words with the intentions of "lighten up," but due to statistical analysis of my own life experiences, and it having a 0% success rate of ever successfully brighten anybody's day, I decided against it.

I've been trying to think of Tony Robbins-esque principles, as in I have no idea what that lady is going through in her life. I do know in the limited amount of time I have had her presence in my life she has never been pleasant, but of course I have no clue what she goes home to. Another Tony Robbins point is the example of changing the whole situation by paying attention to an aggressor and asking them about themselves, or sharing an anecdote about your own life, something to bridge the enormous gap between the two of you. I'm not incredibly talented, nor do I have really any experience with changing the mood of the entire conversation for the better with just one line, in fact, I'm pretty talented at the opposite.

On another note, I also sit on a sales floor where there is a lot of positive reinforcement for being a dick on the phone. There is a perceived notion that power is gained when somebody bosses around the receptionist on the other end of the line so that they achieve their end and get through to somebody with deciding power. After sitting here for a while I've employed the same kind of tactic on the phone a few times at home when people act unreasonable or unwilling to help me - typically this is credit card companies. There's some truth to it, I'm not happy to admit it but I'm serious when I say that being condescending or having a tone of anger upon repeating yourself tends to yield quicker if not better results. But those are never the campaigns that last with our company - the good campaigns are built on rapport and comfort, not dickiness.


I am still definitely of the persuasion that you get more flies with honey than with vinegar, perhaps if only because it is better for you in the long run. It is not worth your or anyone else's sanity to flip out over slow walkers or incorrect fees, or whatever the matter. Yeah, it sucks. But it's a reality, and everyone's working hard. I just don't see what the problem is with smiling. Just be nice. What is the harm done to you? Smile at people. Say "thank you."

I left the library saying "have a good one" in my weak Robbins-ian attempt at shifting the mood. It was half-assed, though, since I didn't truly believe it would change anything. I'm working on my Tony Robbins.

Like Barnabas at Geneseo, stay happy! What is the point of being unhappy?

Sweet website: ImaginAwesome.com

I want to submit everything I ever drew, except I'm pretty sure it's not good enough. They make sweet graphic arts versions of submitted children's artwork.

  Yes!!!

This is way cheaper (and cooler) than FAO Schwarz's Make Your Own Monster initiative, which, don't get me wrong, would still fulfill many of my childhood fantasies. This is just free and awesome, and expands on my imagination rather than reminding me exactly how bad I am at drawing.

Realistically, I never drew anything as cool as that boat in my life, but I don't have to feel bad about it because there are tons of other images by kids who are way worse than me. Made better. Like magic.

 

This guy is nega Maddox.

IsItRaining.in/Hoboken?

The answer is Y-e-s it is raining cats and friggin dogs out there.

Storytime.
I am at work at about 3:24p.m. and realize I have yet to take lunch. I think to myself, "If I don't leave now it'll soon be too late and I'll miss my chance altogether." Needless to say that can't happen. Then a series of fairly unfortunate events happened.
3:26p.m. heading out the door w/ umbrella
3:26:08 stab my finger with umbrella, immense pain in my thumb. I stagger, attempt to catch my breath, and grab hold of the door handle to avoid crumpling into the fetal position.
3:26:42 umbrella refuses to act like a normal umbrella, sinks into deflated state
2:27 blood oozing out of my hand
3:28 arrive at Starbucks, enter seeking refuge from the rain, my now bloodied hand and stupid umbrella
3:29 leave Starbucks, not interested in drinking and/or paying for coffee right now. consider that I look like a crazy person entering and leaving so fast, don't care.
3:30:30 hesitating for a moment on the starbucks porch, fiddle with my umbrella. passerby calls "you better get yo'self a new umbrella cause that shit is BROKE," I nod in a please-take-pity-on-me way. I feel pathetic.
3:32 I visit the Hoboken CVS and see my friend Greg (or something like Greg) who is the greeter. We discuss our plans for Thanksgiving and eventually I weave it into the conversation that I have recently punctured my beautiful hand. He offers me napkins for my bloodied hand and I accept. He is too friendly to not have some kind of social disorder.
3:33-3:45 I wander around aisles of CVS considering my misfortune and what to do with the remainder of my lunch hour.
3:50 return sheepishly to work.

I want to end this with something like "if I'd only checked isitraining.in/hoboken (works for many cities) none of this would have happened," but that's not true at all. I checked it. I knew what I was getting into. I just wasn't prepared for that kind of storm. That website is generally accurate though as it updates every hour(ish.) It's good, I like it. It's for the going-outside-and-checking-is-too-hard demographic. My people.

In other news, I found out that A Muppet Family Christmas is available on YouTube, so, here you go. When you see Ms. Piggy trudging through the snow storm, that is me trudging through Hoboken not more than an hour ago. Oh, and side note, it's a shortened week! Happy Thanksgiving and more importantly HAPPY CHRISTMAS TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yaaaaaaaaay!!!