McDonald's Mishagosh

You would think that in today's climate where Social Media abounds company would be more accommodating in handling Customer Service issues. Especially when those issues are a direct result of interactions with the staff at their stores and restaurants. Sadly, this is not the case.

Dairy Challenge: 2 Week Update

It now has been two weeks since I started my Six Week Dairy Free Challenge. It's been an eye opening few weeks. I had no idea how many common, everyday items sitting on shelves in my pantry, refrigerator and freezer contained dairy or dairy by-products.

6 Week Dairy Challenge: First Challenge

Yesterday I wrote that I decided to take on a Dairy Free Challenge to see what effects it would have on my health, energy and weight. As a 47 year old man with a history of allergies, sinus issues, digestive challenges and forty pounds of excess hanging like an albatross around my waist I wanted to be proactive with my Quality of Life.

6 Week Non Dairy Challenge

Last weekend I was visiting a friend of mine who lives in New Paltz, NY. Val has been a Vegetarian since she was in her mid twenties. She was telling me she decided to go Vegan as well. She has been Vegan since the first of the year and she swears by the results in both health and looks.

She mentioned that I should try to go Vegetarian or Vegan. I told her I love bacon too much and that I have a whole host of health issues that would probably make it impossible for me to do so. What, she asked, where my health issues?

The Soft White Underbelly of Christmas

Seeing how this Tuesday is Christmas, it is time for me to dust off my personal tradition. I originally wrote this blog in 2007 when I was starting to put my life back together again. It is the story of the worst Christmas Eve I have ever known.

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Five Minutes In Heaven

In November of 1988 I was hit by car while crossing Francis Lewis Boulevard and the Sunrise Highway. The following story is a fictionalized account of the out of body experience that I had. Some may call this a Near Death Experience, I honestly don't know how to label it.

The Not So Straight Path To Spiritual Awakening

Spiritual awakening is not a one size fits all purchase. It's not a one and done event. The universe has a way of stretching you to meet your higher self. Even if you believe you are enlightened you will find there is still more to learn and share and teach.

The Soft White Underbelly of Christmas

As this Friday is Christmas Eve it is time for my own Holiday tradition. I wrote this blog in 2007. I dust it off and post it every year to remind me of how far I have come and how grateful I am for everything and everyone in my life.

My hope is that by sharing this post you will, likewise, feel grateful for all you have in your life and that you will remember the less fortunate during this season of Peace and Love and say a little prayer.

Namaste -

Fiends and Loathers

It's been a rough stretch. Since December 2009, I have been downsized, evicted, lost a loved one and am trying to find myself again. I'm not going to lie - it's been a challenge.

Have you ever hada Tarot reading? If so, how was the experience? If not, why?

Have you ever hada Tarot reading? If so, how was the experience? If not, why?

Answer here

Five Minutes in Heaven

This evening I attended an online Birthday Bash for psychic John Edward who turned 42. John created this free event to say thank you to all the followers of his newsletter. The evening was filled with questions and answers, personal anecdotes, and of course readings. While I did not get selected to get a read from John, the evening was fun nonetheless and the energies were great.

Tough Decisions

2010 has had a lot of ups and downs so far. More downs than ups.

It started with me being laid off from the job I had for five years and having to fight to get my unemployment. I finally did start to get my compensation in April but by then the damage was done.

Private Hells

We all have our own private hells
Constructed from our fears and dreams
We blanket ourselves in darkness
And embrace each misdeed

Throwing off the covers of despair would show us the light
But the light just amplifies our own shortcomings

The choice is to stand in front of the mirror of the soul
To accept and forgive

or to remain in sweet penetrating darkness and sleep the sleep of helplessness

in dreams

She comes unbidden to my dreams
Fiery hair, beguiling eyes, mischevious smile

She says nothing but seduces with her silence
A quiet girl with a fount of passion underneath

Standing still her promises are spoken through her soul
Eternal peace and contentment can be yours

The price is losing yourself in her eyes

Never to return

[]

We can learn a lot from a duck

Did you ever watch a duck on a pond?

They glide across the surface of the water effortlessly. Calmly moving without a care in the world.

What we don't see is the duck's feet pedalling quickly under the water.

It's the work we don't see that propels us forward.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Slow Cooker Black Bean Stoup

It's 22 degrees here in sunny Jacksonville, Florida and that's perfect stick to your ribs soup weather. I had a bag of dried black beans and I love black bean soup so I decided to search the web (mostly food.com and a google search) for a recipe. I didn't find any that I liked so I opened my cupboards and refrigerator and played mad scientist. It came out pretty good. Feel free to try it and let me know what you think.

Slow Cooker Black Bean Stoup

1 16oz bag dried black beans
6 cups chicken stock
1 medium yellow onion (diced)
3 cloves garlic (sliced thin)
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 carrot (shredded)
1 jalapeno (de-veined and de-seeded, diced)
3 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp Kosher salt
pepper

2 bags Boil in Bag rice
tortilla chips (for garnish)
sour cream (for garnish)

Rinse and sort black beans. Place beans in slow cooker with three cups of chicken stock. Cook on high for two hours.
Add rest of chicken stock, vegetables, spices and tomato sauce. Stir soup mixture. Continue to cook on high for four to five hours. Puree soup in batches in blender or directly in the slow cooker with an immersion blender.

Serve over rice and garnish with tortilla chips and sour cream.

Serves approximately four.

The Secret

The secret knowledge of the world is available to those who seek it
It matters not if you are a prince, pauper, beggar or thief
You need only to know how to ask your interest to pique it
You can change yourself - grow a new leaf

Alchemy is not about turning led into gold
It's not about getting rich
It's about transforming the young from the old
Soothing your soul and finding your niche

Do these things and you will find
You've become the Belle of the ball
And you will realize in your own mind -

There is no secret at all

The Jacksonville Social Tarot Club

Ever since my separation and divorce I've become a bit of a Hermit. That would be the Major Arcana card that would best represent me. I know I need to come out of my shell and socialize again. To that end I started a Tarot Meetup Group in Jacksonville. The group went public this morning and our first get together is scheduled for January 25th.

If you are anywhere near Jacksonville, FL in the afternoon that day, join us. Grab a cup of java and join the fun.

The Jacksonville Social Tarot Club

The Soft White Underbelly of Christmas

I know Christmas is a time of joy, love and family. A time of Peace on Earth and Goodwill towards Man. But there is another face to Christmas. One that is not shown on television, in Norman Rockwell portraits, or found in church pews. For many Christmas is a reminder of loss, of pain. It is a time that, by it's very family orientation; reminds people of what they lost. Or indeed, never had.

I discovered this one Christmas Eve when I was dealing with my own demons. I couldn't sleep and instead of thoughts of sugarplums dancing in my head my mind was filled with images of murder and suicide. This scared me. After throwing a bottle of pills across the room I ran outside for some fresh air.

I stepped into the cold frigid early morning. The icy rain pelting my skin. I was greeted first by the cries of my upstairs neighbor. She was shrieking. Soul ripping cries of pain, beseeching God to, "bring him back. Please bring him back." I imagined she was clutching a pillow and davening. Thinking about a son or her husband.

As I walked around my community more cries assaulted my ears. A couple fighting. A mother crying. People drowning their pain in bottles. Everywhere there was despair and emptiness. These people, who plastered smiles on their face during the daytime, were living their own private hells on Christmas Eve.

After twenty minutes or so, I returned inside to the roaring silence. Alone, in the dark and in my own misery, I said a silent prayer for those like me. For those who Christmas is not a joyous remembrance.

That night was three years ago and still I remember. I no longer can look upon the holiday season as a warm embrace. From that night on I view Christmas with a touch of melancholia. Saddened, but still grateful for what I have.

Please remember your blessings not only on Christmas Day but everyday. Be grateful for your health and happiness and family.

Celebrate the fullness of your lives. And take time to remember the silent cries of those less fortunate.

Vegas Vacation - An Embee Williams Adventure

I awoke groggily, uncertian of the day or time. Hazy sunshine drifted through the dingy vertical blinds hanging on the window. Somewhere a siren sounded. I groaned and tried to rise. I looked down at my hand. It was pink and fuzzy and held a half filled bottle of Jack Daniels. What? In fact I was wearing a pink bunny suit!! Ears and all!! What did I do last night?

I remember arriving in Vegas and checking into my hotel. I walked the strip. Did some gambling. Took in some clubs. Bunny suit? Why would I be wearing a bunny suit?

I got out of bed and tripped over something on the floor. Cursing, I twisted to see what I fell over. It was a girl. A girl dressed in a skimpy silver bangled outfit and high heels. Oh my God, it was a hooker! There's a hooker asleep on my floor and I'm in a fucking bunny suit.

"Okay, remain calm." I grabbed the hooker's shoulder and gave a shake. She didn't stir. She must've been doing some really good stuff, I thought. "C'mon ... uhh," shit,. what was her name. "'Uhhh.. mam. Please wake up. You have got to go. I'll pay you for your time." But what I got for my money I don't remember.

The prostitute still didn't move. It was then I saw a small trickle of blood coming from her nose and mouth. "Oh shit! The bitch is dead. Oh Shit!" I started pacing. I heard the police siren again, closer this time. Were they coming for me? Fuck!!

"I've got to get out of here." I glanced around to take inventory of the room. My watch, wallet, car keys and cell phone were on the dresser, the dead hooker was on the floor. There were two glasses filled with melted ice and amber liquid on the nightstand next to the bed. A roach smoldered in the ashtry. I walked over, picked it up and sniffed. I don't smoke pot, I thought. Shrugging, I took a hit off the still lit joint and continued to take stock of the situation.

"Okay, Embee think. You have got to get out of here before the cops get here or the cleaning crew comes for the room. I need time to think." I snapped my fingers. The Do Not Disturb sign! I searched frantically for it. It was nowhere to be found. Finally, I opened the door and saw it hanging from knob. A maid turned from the down the hall. "Can I get you anything sir?"
"No thank you. I'm fine.
"Okay, I'll come to clean the room soon."
"No hurry," I blurted out. "I mean I'm relaxing and enjoying my vacation. Would you happen to know the time."
"9:30."
"Thanks." I slipped back into the room.

How was I going to get out of a hotel with a dead hooker without being seen? How did the hooker end up dead on my floor anyway!! One thing at at a time. How to get out? I sat on the bed and thought. I took a swig from the warm whiskey and thought. I took another hit from the joint and thought. I had it!

I grabbed my luggage, leaving one bag in the room. I opened the door and glanced up and down the hallway. No one. Good. I turned back into the room and looked at the hooker on the floor, "I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere."

I waited through an interminably long elevator ride to reach the lobby and walked to the front desk. "Leaving us so soon, Mr. Williams?" The too chipper clerk asked.
"Yes, I've got to cut my vacation short. Emergency back home."
"Well, we hope to see you back at The Beaches Casino on your next visit."
"Thank you." I handed the clerk my credit card and paid for the room.
The clerk asked for the room key. I started to hand it to him and said, "Oh I forgot a bag. Let me go back to the room, grab it and I drop off the key on my way to the garage."
"I can call a bellhop for you, sir." The damn clerk smiled.
"No! Uhh, no thank you. I could go back upstairs." I turned and started for the elevator.

I propped the dead hooker up on my hip and threw her arm around my neck. "God, dead people weigh a ton.." I started back down the hall. The couple in room 1405 were leaving their room. "Morning!" they loudly greeted me. "Great morning, ain't it."
"Morning," I whispered. "it would be a nice day except for the hangover. My friend here," I nodded toward the dead hooker I was dragging down the hall, "is still sufferring."
"Yeah," the business man next door ageed. "She looks dead on her feet."
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Will Embee make it out of the hotel with the dead hooker? Who killed her? And why is he wearing a pink bunny suit? These questions and others will be answered in the next installment of Vegas Vacation - An Embee Williams Adventure!!