I was just reading up about Satanism (what better to read before bed?) and one of the essays that the founder, Anton LaVey, wrote was about psychic vampires. This is of interest since we clearly have one in the workplace. (From Wikipedia)
One of the most famous essays from The Satanic Bible, it is here that LaVey coins the term "psychic vampire". LaVey defines a psychic vampire as one who attempts to psychologically manipulate others by systematically playing the victim; for example, a person who constantly uses some minor physical flaw as an excuse for their shortcomings and a means of gaining sympathy and favor from others. LaVey believes that people who use a victim status as a means to induce guilt in others are fundamentally weak, and therefore to be shunned by Satanists. (LaVey does not imply that anyone with a flaw is automatically weak, but rather that the use of that flaw to gain sympathy and favor is weak.)
LaVey advises that such people are psychologically draining (hence the term "psychic vampire") and should be dealt with mercilessly and discarded before they are permitted to take control of the lives of vital individuals.
As a rather un-vital individual (thanks to this person), I would love to deal with him mercilessly.
Besides, Satanism is all about selfishness so if it benefits me, perhaps I should clonk him on the head and concuss him further.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
taste test
So apparently, accord to a message board post wherein a woman whines because her child will only eat chicken soup, mac and cheese, and ramen, there are different types of tasters. 1 in 4 people is a Supertaster, which means that they have too many taste buds - chili tastes hotter than for the average person, and sugar sweeter. These people, most likely women or people from Asia, Africa and South America, won't eat vegetables because they taste more bitter, for example. Therefore they also have problems with coffee, cabbage/kale/spinach, grapefruit, alcohol, soy, or anything carbonated. Apparently because of the lack of vegetables in the diet, supertasters have a higher chance of colon cancer.
On the other hand, nontasters have too few tastebuds and therefore prefer very spicy or sweet food. Therefore they are more likely to have heart problems or be obese. On top of that, alcoholics are more likely to be nontasters because they don't taste all the nuances of the beverage as a supertaster would.
To add to that, children taste more than adults do, which explains why they are so fussy. And, of course, if you're a smoker then your taste buds are even more dulled than usual, and as you age your tastebuds get less sensitive. However, the more you are exposed to something, the more you like it.
Supposedly 25% of the population are supertasters, 25% nontasters and 50% average/medium tasters. I think I'm probably a medium taster.... I don't love spicy things but I don't mind them, and I can drink alcohol and coffee. I like sweet and salty things (which could maybe make me more of a nontaster since I like to taste just eat salt and sugar). However, and this is apparently semi-common, I am mildly allergic to basil and cilantro. Anything that has them in it (tomato sauce, pizza, most Mexican food) tastes like soap and makes my throat close up. Cilantro is coriander leaves (I don't know if I've ever had coriander), which is part of the parsley family (which is a pretty non-descript herb but I don't really like the way it tastes either). Oddly enough, basil is used in many herbal medications as an allergen relief product. AND in another bizarre turn of events, basil is part of the mint family, which is something that I love (maybe because I associate mint with sweet, like in candy and gum?).
You can do a test to see what you are, as well:
All you need to perform this test is blue food coloring, cotton swabs, notebook paper hole reinforcements, and a magnifying glass. After swabbing the tip of the tongue with food coloring, place a reinforcement ring there and count the number of raised pink dots (papillae) within the ring. Fewer than 15 papillae mean you are an insensitive "non-taster", between 15 and 35 indicates an average "taster" and over 35 papillae then you are a "super-taster".
I think my tongue is just fucked up.
On the other hand, nontasters have too few tastebuds and therefore prefer very spicy or sweet food. Therefore they are more likely to have heart problems or be obese. On top of that, alcoholics are more likely to be nontasters because they don't taste all the nuances of the beverage as a supertaster would.
To add to that, children taste more than adults do, which explains why they are so fussy. And, of course, if you're a smoker then your taste buds are even more dulled than usual, and as you age your tastebuds get less sensitive. However, the more you are exposed to something, the more you like it.
Supposedly 25% of the population are supertasters, 25% nontasters and 50% average/medium tasters. I think I'm probably a medium taster.... I don't love spicy things but I don't mind them, and I can drink alcohol and coffee. I like sweet and salty things (which could maybe make me more of a nontaster since I like to taste just eat salt and sugar). However, and this is apparently semi-common, I am mildly allergic to basil and cilantro. Anything that has them in it (tomato sauce, pizza, most Mexican food) tastes like soap and makes my throat close up. Cilantro is coriander leaves (I don't know if I've ever had coriander), which is part of the parsley family (which is a pretty non-descript herb but I don't really like the way it tastes either). Oddly enough, basil is used in many herbal medications as an allergen relief product. AND in another bizarre turn of events, basil is part of the mint family, which is something that I love (maybe because I associate mint with sweet, like in candy and gum?).
You can do a test to see what you are, as well:
All you need to perform this test is blue food coloring, cotton swabs, notebook paper hole reinforcements, and a magnifying glass. After swabbing the tip of the tongue with food coloring, place a reinforcement ring there and count the number of raised pink dots (papillae) within the ring. Fewer than 15 papillae mean you are an insensitive "non-taster", between 15 and 35 indicates an average "taster" and over 35 papillae then you are a "super-taster".
I think my tongue is just fucked up.
Friday, February 20, 2009
finally friday
Currently munching on extra-buttery popcorn with lots of powdery cheese topping, and sipping on some RC cola while listening to a mix of the Killers and kittens playing under my chair. I had a healthy supper of everything-left-in-my-cupboards (so basically random crackers, rice cakes, old dry carrots and mushrooms plus some random bread that I found) dipped in hummus, so I figured that I deserved a treat in popcorn and caramel form.
Work today was predictably awful, although it could be considered worse than most days since we were short-staffed, then even shorter-staffed and then skeletally staffed. Vagisil (which is a great nickname for him since he is both a pussy with mega problems AND his name in Russian is Vasili) was fine until he spontaneously concussed himself (???) then barged into our boss' office and pretended to faint/go blind. He SUPPOSEDLY ended up going to the hospital but since he was a) probably only hungover from his lameass show the night before and b) his girlfriend also had the day off, I think we know exactly what (who?) he did (poor girl, I would NOT want that thing hovering around me, even for the splitsecond it probably takes for him to finish). In a rare, brilliant moment of lucidity, our boss decided that he was probably faking, but it's unlikely that anything will happen to him. However, this was a refreshing change from the usual bumbling inefficiency we experience on a day to day experience - case in point: I got in trouble for being 1 minute late for work, further impeding my workday for about 2 minutes while I tried to decipher what I had done wrong (esp since my boss mumbles like Ozzy) and why I was getting told off while Vagisil sits for at least 45 mins a day, sometimes all in one chunk, and gets told nothing because he claims to know one of the CEOs of the company or something... like some 60 year old man is going to come down to our department and angrily berate everyone because some 28 year old twerp was let go because he couldn't do his job....). Anyways we were already short a person, then he "went to the hospital" and then someone else had to go work in another department, and then with 45 mins left to the day our supervisor (or whatever she is now) leaves so Stef and I were left to do everything, much like usual. I also picked up all the mail in the world which is fun to do at the last minute. On the upside, everything worked out much more smoothly without boys. Work life, at least, is better when it's all girls.
Surf the Channel is the devil, and since I have a nice computer screen that is close to my bed, I have been watching lots of TV before sleeping. This is bad because it leads to very vivid dreams, cuts into my sleeping time by at least an hour, and also means I typically now fall asleep with my glasses on and without having brushed my teeth or anything. So it's super fun to wake up at 4AM because you have to pee so badly you don't think you can make it to the bathroom and your mouth tastes like ass. But... classic TV!!! Plus a lot of the sites they link to have Chinese or Japanese subtitles so I feel like I'm getting smarter by watching. If ever I were ill in Asia, I could make that fact known by drawing the character for "doctor" and also "no" just in case they take me to like... somewhere else....
That said, the end of House season 1 is calling me.
Work today was predictably awful, although it could be considered worse than most days since we were short-staffed, then even shorter-staffed and then skeletally staffed. Vagisil (which is a great nickname for him since he is both a pussy with mega problems AND his name in Russian is Vasili) was fine until he spontaneously concussed himself (???) then barged into our boss' office and pretended to faint/go blind. He SUPPOSEDLY ended up going to the hospital but since he was a) probably only hungover from his lameass show the night before and b) his girlfriend also had the day off, I think we know exactly what (who?) he did (poor girl, I would NOT want that thing hovering around me, even for the splitsecond it probably takes for him to finish). In a rare, brilliant moment of lucidity, our boss decided that he was probably faking, but it's unlikely that anything will happen to him. However, this was a refreshing change from the usual bumbling inefficiency we experience on a day to day experience - case in point: I got in trouble for being 1 minute late for work, further impeding my workday for about 2 minutes while I tried to decipher what I had done wrong (esp since my boss mumbles like Ozzy) and why I was getting told off while Vagisil sits for at least 45 mins a day, sometimes all in one chunk, and gets told nothing because he claims to know one of the CEOs of the company or something... like some 60 year old man is going to come down to our department and angrily berate everyone because some 28 year old twerp was let go because he couldn't do his job....). Anyways we were already short a person, then he "went to the hospital" and then someone else had to go work in another department, and then with 45 mins left to the day our supervisor (or whatever she is now) leaves so Stef and I were left to do everything, much like usual. I also picked up all the mail in the world which is fun to do at the last minute. On the upside, everything worked out much more smoothly without boys. Work life, at least, is better when it's all girls.
Surf the Channel is the devil, and since I have a nice computer screen that is close to my bed, I have been watching lots of TV before sleeping. This is bad because it leads to very vivid dreams, cuts into my sleeping time by at least an hour, and also means I typically now fall asleep with my glasses on and without having brushed my teeth or anything. So it's super fun to wake up at 4AM because you have to pee so badly you don't think you can make it to the bathroom and your mouth tastes like ass. But... classic TV!!! Plus a lot of the sites they link to have Chinese or Japanese subtitles so I feel like I'm getting smarter by watching. If ever I were ill in Asia, I could make that fact known by drawing the character for "doctor" and also "no" just in case they take me to like... somewhere else....
That said, the end of House season 1 is calling me.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
oh boy
Suffice it to say, today sucked. Fortunately I spent part of my lunch hour in the Body Shop enjoying some essential oil purchases, as well as a new oil burner, so now I have some delicious sandalwood floating around my head. Hopefully tonight will be a good night's sleep since I have to get up early (well, earlier than I have been getting up) to welcome a new addition to our home... A kitten!!! I think we decided on the name Echo, but knowing us we'll change the name multiple times (Piz was Runty, Crosseye, Baby, Tangerine and something else before she was Piz. And actually her name is Piznarski Tangerine, just for full effect. My other cat's name was Pebbles Elaine Adriana, because I got her when I was 8). I also like the name Pumpkin but the cat is all black and also a boy...
Anyways I don't want to go to work tomorrow. I might get arrested for Sean Connery style slapping someone. Or maybe Bale-ing out? Or better yet, pulling a Chris Brown (though not on my girlfriend... since the person in question is uglier than the midgets they hire in the circus. I am a terrible person and I'm ok with it.).
Anyways I don't want to go to work tomorrow. I might get arrested for Sean Connery style slapping someone. Or maybe Bale-ing out? Or better yet, pulling a Chris Brown (though not on my girlfriend... since the person in question is uglier than the midgets they hire in the circus. I am a terrible person and I'm ok with it.).
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