Ugh…I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.

Actually, I didn’t eat the *whole* pie, but I had two slices of Dutch Apple last night after a fantastic cookout dinner at BFFs Kay & Bob’s house. Now I got a crackin’ sugar hangover. Blaaaah. Ah, well. Back on the wagon today.

I haven’t been on a vacation in 15+ years, so I really don’t remember much. Is it normal to feel a little apprehensive six days out? Like you haven’t thought of everything, or geez I hope we saved enough money to do unexpected fun stuff? I guess I’m just itching to get on the road. Sure wish I didn’t have an all-morning meeting in Columbus on Saturday. Blerk. Life would be a dream…

All right, it’s time to get ready and go to the school house. Meetings today, yay!

Fink out, on a rainy Monday morning, ick.

Dare ya to do it. Five things we don’t know about you. Five opinions that might shock, entertain, delight, enlighten, or evoke feelings of utter ambivalence. Five items that are either personal or professional, good or not so good, silly or sublime, prideful or shameful.

Short lists reveal a lot, I think. Behold:

1. Although I think I might have mentioned this someplace before, I believe I am the only high school choir director in the United States who has never seen a single episode of “Glee.”
2. There are very few things I truly hate, but #1 on that short list is mean, inconsiderate people. (Passive-aggressives rank a close second, and Pharisees are up near the top as well.)
3. I believe that spankings do have an occasional place in the discipline framework of parenting. (If you want to open a protracted discussion on this, I’m game.)
4. I think people who say, “I don’t care what anyone thinks,” are likely hiding some issues that would indicate otherwise. If you don’t care what anyone thinks, you really shouldn’t have to say so. You just do what you do. It’s like telling the kids on the playground, “I’m really going home now! I mean it!” after not getting your way.
5. I really, really, really, really hate choir warmups. You know, the scales, the solfege, the chorales. I am going to do some experiments this fall with minimizing them.

OK, go. Regular Finkville citizens know I run this blog just as much for interaction and discourse as for blathering on about me, me, me (although I do enjoy that tasty morsel), so you know what to do. Your username and email are probably auto-saved in your browser. I also know there are readers who hide in the shadows, or who only comment once in a great while. Let’s hear from you, too.

Is it Sunday already? Could it possibly mean that in six days, we will be on the road towards the Odyssey? And me without a single plan for what to pack…

Give you two guesses. Right: food and food. Not having eaten since 5:30 Sunday night will do that to a person. It’s all I can think about. As good as Hannah’s homemade pizza was on Sunday, one-and-a-half slices just didn’t last me till now. And speaking of Hannah…

Yesterday, the two of us spoke about the possibility of her starting a blog/website about the awesome ideas she comes up with for making low-calorie, low-fat treats that taste as good as the “real thing.” She has an incredible knack for it! Anyway, while chatting in email about it, I told her to check out a couple of foodie blogs to get some design ideas. One of them was This Is Why You’re Fat. What happened was I ended up spending an hour on the site, alternately sighing and gagging.

Sighworthy, tastier bits:

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Then there were the gaggers:

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OK. Now that I’m sufficiently nauseous and no longer thinking about food, it’s time to get ready to leave. Have a dandy Tullesday — I shall return tomorrow, mayhap after having had a nice dinner this evening.

Fink, Cleveland bound

That’s me today. Why? Because I can’t eat. Fie upon those who get between me and my foodstuffs.

I have to have an endoscopy (camera down the throat) and some other tests done tomorrow in Cleveland, so I am not allowed to have anything except these tasty treats:

* Water (meh, ok)
* Apple juice (no way)
* White grape juice (check)
* Gatorade (ewww)
* Popsicles (but no red, orange or purple. Banana? Gag.)
* Clear carbonated beverages (check)
* Clear chicken or beef broth (h0Rk)
* Jell-o (big bowls of lime and lemon are already made)
* Tea or coffee, no milk or sugar (check)

So that’s my fare for the day. Scrumptious, yes? I will spend the next 24 hours dreaming of grilled cheezers and strawberries and filet mignons cooked medium rare. It’s OK, actually. I think I can live off my fat reserves for one day. I think.

I cannot leave the house today because of the meds I have to take. So please, show some Fink love and post soothing, encouraging, pithy, articulate, entertaining, silly and compendious comments for me to read. Until then, I’ll be on the couch feeling sorry for myself, until Mavis gets here to take over the job.

Fink (nom nom crunchy crunchy) out.

You can get lost at Mental Floss. (I used to have a subscription, and I regret letting it lapse. I have those mags lying around somewhere.) But beware: MF is addictive. You sit down to have a look at 8 a.m., and before you know it, it’s 10:00 and the dog’s bugging you to go out. But that’s likely just me, trivia hag that I am.

Daughter-in-law Helen recently sent me a link from CNN that drew on a Mental Floss article listing the real names of fictional characters. The only one on the list that wasn’t new to me was Barbie (we were born in the same year, you know). Very interesting about the name of the Man in the Yellow Hat from the Curious George books…I recognized it instantly — it’s Gary Ewing!

Other interesting time-wasters include:

• The Original Flavors of Nine Popular Candies
• How to Tweet Your Way Out of a Job (ouch)
• The Bizarre History of White House Pets
• Only the Creepiest Photos Ever Taken

But whatever you do, don’t click on the Amazing Fact Generator. You’ll miss dinner.

Speaking of comeuppance…

If you wear a studded bikini to a major league baseball game, then become enraged when someone notices you, and then wear Frankenstein boots out in public…

…karma may pay you a visit.

Happy Thurnsday…now get off this box and get some work done.

Photo credit: Associated Press