Odds & Ends: Ice, Traveling, Repeating Oneself, YouTube

Thoughts while trying to get to sleep last night:

• I'm always torn over whether or not to get ice when I buy a fountain pop. On one hand, I prefer not to dilute the flavour of, say, my Dr. Pepper with a handful of ice cubes that will eventually water down the drink. On the other hand, no ice means that I have to plow through an oversized Dr. P in ten minutes or less, lest it get all warm and gross.
• I generally resent people who travel a lot, particularly overseas. I mean, I'm not a jerk about it, but it's there on some level. It's not necessarily a matter of being jealous -- often I wouldn't care to go to the places they're going. It stems more from the fact that I feel very protective of my own city and country, and almost take it as a sign of disrespect that these travelers are constantly trying to get away from it.
• When I'm talking to someone and they have to ask me to repeat myself a couple times, I feel really embarrassed, like I'm speaking way too low or mumbling. But when I have to ask someone to repeat themselves multiple times, I feel equally embarrassed, like they're speaking at a standard volume and my hearing is just awful. I should let myself off the hook in one situation or the other, right? But which??
• I don't really get people who can spend hours at a time on YouTube, clicking from one video to another. I mean, if there's a specific focus to their browsing (say they're watching performance videos for '60s songs and keep seeing related videos that look good), I sort of understand it. But random meme-ish videos? Ugh. Whenever someone links me to a video like this, I assume it will suck until it proves otherwise. This is why I didn't watch Double Rainbow until about a week after it blew up.
  
• Things I don't do nearly as much anymore that were a huge part of my formative years: Watch movies, go to live shows, chat on MSN.
  

Odds & Ends: Caller ID, Polls, Kissing, Formspring, Mario, Headlines

Thoughts while sitting in boredom for hours at the hospital today:

• My cell phone has had caller ID on it for years. When I get a call, I KNOW who it is 90% of the time. Why do I still always answer with "hello?"
• I love online polls that provide three choices: Yes, No, and Undecided. Undecided somehow always has about 10% of the vote. What kind of person wants the world to know that they have absolutely no opinion on a given subject? Do they love answering polls that much? Can't they just click "View Results"??
• Years of watching TV and movie makeouts has made me really curious about what I look like while kissing. I suppose it doesn't matter, since generally no one is watching me. But even in the absence of an audience, I think I'd still feel embarrassed if I was as bad as some actors and actresses are.
  
• Formsprings seem like they should be more exciting than they are. They remind me of a porn film without nudity. The promise of anonymous questions makes it seem like you'll get some really juicy stuff, but I, for one, would feel dirty asking juicy questions just because I can maintain anonymity. And why would the recipient feel obligated to answer stuff like that anyway? I guess the harmless questions that get posed are still sort of amusing, but why not just ask those in ACTUAL conversation? If there's no nudity, why not make it a ACTUAL film instead of a porno, you know?
• A good nickname for Mario (of the Mario Bros.) would be "The Round Mound of Ground Pound."
• Headline on CP24 today: "Pakistani cricket player and Indian tennis star wed." I wonder how that cricket dude feels knowing that he's a mere player, while his new wife is a star.
  

Odds & Ends: Peanuts, Subway, Greetings, Tumblr

Thoughts while taking the TTC today:

• Peanuts are one of the most frustrating foods. What a mess. When I'm eating them at sporting events, I have to throw the shells a little further under my seat, rather than just dropping them straight down, so I'm not constantly stepping on them -- the feeling of those shells under my feet is really unpleasant.
• When I'm in subway stations, I always stand as far away from the tracks and as close to the walls as possible. That way no one can get "position" on me, if they wanted to push me onto the tracks. This is one of my biggest concerns in life.
• I've been thinking lately that I'd like to start greeting girls with a half-hug and peck on the cheek. This would make me feel at least 25% classier. I feel like establishing a consistent greeting would be difficult though, especially one that involved kissing people's faces. It's hard enough now, attempting to figure out whether or not to greet girls with hugs.
• I don't like Tumblr. I know it's the hot new blogging medium, but the way it's set up to accentuate link- and photo-sharing drives me crazy. Confession: I'm about 50% less inclined to consistently read a Tumblr blog than I am one on Wordpress or Typepad or Blogger.