A Blue Bell Dilemma

If you live in my state, you know about Blue Bell Ice Cream. It's great, and you can't get it many other places. I love Blue Bell, and always have. In high school I would eat a bowl every night. If we were out, my mom would give me money and I would drive to the store at 9 or 10 at night to buy some. I know it's sad, but it's really good ice cream.

Still not convinced how much I love it? Living in the Middle East for two years without Blue Bell, or much good ice cream at all, was a sacrifice for me. So much so that when we went on a business trip to Dubai and I mentioned that I heard you could buy Blue Bell there, our boss guaranteed me that we would track some down. No complaints here. So after a three hour cab ride, two grocery stores (one called "Safest Way"), and having to buy spoons in the grocery store, we had our Blue Bell. The funny part is that when we returned to our hotel our cab driver said "The grocery store you found the ice cream at is right by your hotel." Oh well, he got a good fare out of it. Here's the pic that documents our Blue Bell excursion.

So maybe now you're getting an idea of how much I like this stuff. So, on occasion, I buy a half gallon of Dutch Chocolate Blue Bell at the grocery store. In order to make my investment last I only have it once a day and I put it in a small coffee cup. That helps it last longer and decreases my caloric and fat intake. Not that that I care that much when it comes to Blue Bell.

This weekend I bought a half gallon and with any luck can enjoy it for about a week and a half. So here's my dilemma (sorry, long build-up), my husband has been wanting to eat some too. He's not the ice cream lover that I am and chocolate usually isn't his first choice. So I'm confused. Of course I've been sharing with him because I love him and it's just ice cream (right?). But it's not easy. It's my own special treat that I like to enjoy myself. When I want to share an ice cream experience with him, we go to Marble Slab (one of the first places we went while dating). I want my Blue Bell to myself. How selfish is that? I guess I can justify buying it more often if he's eating it too. That's the bright side. What's a Blue Bell addict to do?

Are we more connected?

When we returned to the US I was anxious to start new relationships and get to know people. Though I quickly noticed that people weren't as willing to talk and engage in relationships as they seemed to be in the Middle East. I don't say this as a criticism, simply a cultural observation.

I noticed that more and more people participated in everyday activities with ipod headphones on or a blue tooth thingy on their ear. People were not only disconnected, but were purposely showing on the outside that they wanted to disconnected and didn't have time to interact with those around them. They only had time to interact with what was in their ears.

I was excited to grab a copy of my favorite magazine when I got back. As I was reading there was an article about awkward situations. One situation was how to let the talkative person working-out next to you know that you really didn't want to talk, just work out. I was pretty upset at that, as I see the gym as a great place to try and get to know people.

I've also entered the blogging world and am a lurker on about 15 friends and acquaintances blogs. I realized I know more about some of my friends than I have in years. Which at first blush seems great, and it is, but I realized I use that as a substitute for a relationship where I show care and concern and genuine interest (I'm not dogging blogging, just making observations about my blogging habits).

So with all these ways to stay more connected (email, cell phone, portable music, songs, TV, sermons, and blogs) are we really more connected to each other or more connected to technology and ourselves? And how on earth are we supposed to meet new people and get to know them, if our world only pushes us to be more disconnected?

CDK and I are on a quest to develop relationships, real relationships; ones where honesty, accountability, and real-life are shared. It's not easy, but we think it's worth it. These relationships may be contrary to our culture, but they are the very essence of the culture Christ lived in and created.

Work on a Saturday?

Yes, that's where I am. And though I should be working to catch-up (after all that's why I'm here), I'm blogging about it instead. Why? Because it stinks and I want some sympathy. And I want my boss to know how dedicated I am! Not that he reads this (but I made sure to send him an email, so if he looks at the date, he'll know I was here:).

I've had several projects the past couple of weeks that have eaten every last bit of my time and I haven't been able to get my "real" work done. Couple that with some serious distraction and lack of motivation (because I dislike the all-consuming projects), it's been hard to push through. I came to work today to clear some things off my desk and literally clean up my office. Almost every space has a stack (or 2, or 3, or 4) of paper on it. Including the two chairs for others to sit in. It's not pretty.

Oh, well, my theory, Saturday kind of stinks because I came work, but at least Monday will be a little better, since I'll feel somewhat caught-up. Oh, and it's nice to play music loud in my office and sing, since no one else is here!