BlakeAtwood.com

I visited my cousin this past weekend. We got to talking. It got late. We came up with some of the following. If you’re offended by any of them, those were probably his ideas…

• I Surrender Some
• Mediocre Grace
• Blessed Insurance
• I Sit in Bemusement
• Above Most
• All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Political Clout
• Be Still My Soul
  (but not so still I fall asleep… again)
• Blessed Be Your Name
  (when the Cowboys win)
• Fiend of God
• Great is My Faithfulness
• Look at Me! Here I Am To Worship!
• How Can I Keep from Sinning
  (tomorrow)
• Oh Crappy Day
• It’s All About Me
• Your Grace is Almost Nearly Enough Most of the Time
• I Need Thee Every Few Years or So
• Come Just As You Are
  (as long as you’re not too messed up)
• Come Just As We Hope You Become
• Today is the Day
  (for a short sermon)
• My Redeemer Lives
  (in a land far, far away)
• Shout to the Lord
  (because He certainly hasn’t heard me lately)

This is all, of course, meant in jest.

Feel free to add your own in the comments, now newly renovated so you can login with your Facebook, Twitter, or OpenID credentials.

In an effort to not be too entirely downcast, dour, and depressing with some of the things finding their ways through my fingertips to your screen, I present to you THINGS I’M GRATEFUL FOR, henceforth to be known as TIGF, not to be confused with TGIF (which I am, in fact, thankful for, even though mine is actually TGITh, but that sounds like I have a lisp, which I don’t… not that there’s anything wrong with that).

Anywaysth. Onward.

TIGF #1 : Catfish Tuesdays
(Note: The ranking is not by priority, it’s by date recorded, and as this is the first TIGF, it gets to be #1. However, if ranked by priority, it’d probably be in the top ten.)

Catfish Tuesdays began as a mild addiction to a warm, friendly, delightful, and delicious place known as Catfish Parlour. When a co-worker and myself started finding ourselves there on a weekly basis, it became an institution. As a recent observer of Catfish Tuesday, I noted how my salivary glands started to sweat as soon as the thought of Catfish Tuesday entered my mind, an irrepressible Pavlovian response.

What’s so great about Catfish Tuesday? Oh, where to begin…

• The food, of course.
• The express line at lunch, wherein myself and my cohort-in-catfish-consumption will readily sneak by (and possibly make fun of) any rookies who can’t figure out the complexities of the express line.
• The buffet-style nature of the side dishes
• The service
• The old country ambiance
• The leglamp. Yes, the leglamp. Even though I’m not allowed to sit facing the leglamp (for fear of “temptation”), we still always sit in its vicinity. If you don’t know what the leglamp is, that’s probably all for the better. That way, you won’t be “tempted.”
• The corn fritters, what we’ve affectionately dubbed “critters.” This is actually the reason that Catfish Tuesdays are on Tuesday. It’s the only day the corn fritters are offered at lunch. Surprisingly, it took us a good few months to figure this out, despite the fact that it’s noted on their menu.
• The bad jokes printed on their receipts, to which we devote entirely too much brain power to. For example, today’s was “Why are circles so smart?” I thought I had the answer (and I still think it’s a good answer): Because they’ve been around forever. However, that was wrong. The correct answer is: Because they have 360 degrees. Butt, every now and then a good one rears its head: “What happened when the butcher backed into his meat grinder?” Answer: “He got a little behind in his work.”

These are the things that make Catfish Tuesdays great. What makes them awesome is the time I get to spend with a good friend, talking about life and work and faith. Feel free to join us any Tuesday; just know that we’ll probably make fun of you if you don’t know about the express line.

So, do you have a weekly dining obsession? If so, do share. And while you don’t have to be as detailed, you do have to relate why it’s a weekly haunt for you.

…the promised update isn’t coming today, but, there’s this, a nephew that cracks me up. I just wish the cameraman wouldn’t have been laughing so hysterically and going all Bourne Identity with the cinematography.

I’m starting to write more, as in things that other people may actually want to read. This is a good step. More news on that front to come, hopefully, in the next week or so.

In coming to grips with the need to make writing a habit, I’m to the place in my life where I can start blogging more regularly, sharing both personal stories as well as the things I find in life or on the internet that amuse, startle, or confound me.

I desired this post to be more of a personal update; however, it’s not going to be because I spent roughly the last two or three hours updating this website. Ironically, you wouldn’t be able to tell just looking at it, but there was a lot of backend work that needed to be done. It took a mysql upgrade, some gzipping of exported wordpress posts, and some prayer. But things seem back to normal, and I needed to get this site up to par if I’m going to make more use of it.

Speaking of backend work, a co-worker and myself have a weekly habit of eating at the Catfish Parlour (be sure to go on Tuesdays for the corn fritters and any day for the leg lamp). They have incredibly bad jokes on all of their receipts, which, college-educated as we are, are often able to deduce. Today’s had us stumped: What happened when the butcher fell into the meat grinder?

Aside from being a horrendous image (that made me think of Steve Buscemi), we just didn’t get it and had to ask for the answer: He got a little behind in his work…

Additionally, since this is turning into a funny post, I saw this a few weeks back. I’m glad to see the Muppets are staying with the times:

Finally, don’t watch this if you’re easily offended by bad takes of hymns or spiritual songs. Otherwise, in my research (no, really) at the church today I ran across this gem:

So, apparently today was funnier than I gave it credit for.

Tomorrow, words from the heart, or as close as I can get to there.

A buddy of mine, @rothenflue on Twitter and eleven72 guy, made this with his kids. It’s getting me prepped to go see Avatar.