My Favorite Recipe and a Book Worth Reading

Now some of you will find this mixture a little bizarre, but this is one of my all-time favorites which can be enjoyed at breakfast, lunch, or snack time. All you will need is a bowl full of frozen berries (blueberries or raspberries are my preferred), lightly sprinkle half a tablespoon of sugar over the berries and fill your bowl to the 3/4 mark with milk. For best results, chuck the bowl (minus the spoon) in the microwave for 18 seconds. This frozen treat will change your life. Bag of chips? No thanks, give me a bowl of this healthy and delicious any day. Shawckingly Shawsome! Please see half eaten sample below:

Don't be fooled by the fact that it has taken me an entire year to complete this book. For some reason, when it comes to reading I develop ADD or ADHD... whatever. The fact is that I have been fascinated by this book from front to back cover. Anybody who struggles to understand Muslim perspective on war and Middle Eastern conflict should read this book. Anybody who would like to to get a better grip on Jewish perspective should read this book. Anybody who is a Christian and would like to empathize with both ends of the spectrum should read this book. I give you..... Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue and Unthinkable Choices. Mosab Hassan Yousef is the son of an Hamas founding member and throughout the book explains how he went from Hamas activist, to spy for the Shin Bet, to a baptized Christian. The beauty of this book is the love, respect and understanding Mosab has for all three of the major religions.

Do yourself a favor and give both of these recommendations a try. Food for the body and food for thought. Eat up!

Ain't No Thang But a Chicken Wing

You know what is Shawsome? When a restaurant/pub has wing night.

The Great Gold Chain Debate

So I have a gold chain. I don't wear it. But it's there - sitting in my desk drawer. It looks kinda cool. It's subtle. I wouldn't wear it outside of my clothes... you know, hanging down on the outside of my crew cut sweater. I don't have a big gaudy jeweled cross dangling on it. Nope... just the chain. It isn't heavy or bulky. It is delicate. It doesn't hang down so far that it gets caught in the patch of chest hair between my pecs/moobs. Nor is it so short that it leaves an imprint around my neck. It is just the right size and weight and the sparkle to dullness ratio is spot on.

Here's the question... Should I leave it in my drawer?
Pros: Sarah won't laugh at me and call me a gangsta wannabe. I don't have to go through the 6 seconds of coldness when the chain is fastened (miniscule I know, but a factor nonetheless).
Cons: Being robbed of the manly feeling that takes over, when wearing a chain. Missing out on feeling like a Turkish playboy.

Perhaps I could cut it into a bracelet. Is that even more lame? I know regardless of my justifications for wearing a gold chain... it won't happen. I think I can accept that it just ain't cool.

Poll:
Andrew should slap that gold chain around his neck
Andrew should melt the chain into a golden ball

Highlights of the Day

1. Finally managed to start a blog. I haven't managed to find a direction for my posts at this point, but I have to say, it's been a lot of fun already. I have received positive feedback from my friends on facebook and I am currently struggling with the idea of maintaining interest. I know that I am the type of person who casually follows the people I am interested in... mainly celebrities and such. But how on earth do I convince people to keep reading and checking in on a regular basis? People, in general don't care what I am doing on a day to day basis. So I think the real challenge is finding things during everyday life that has caught my attention and I know will catch the attention of others. I suppose that is what makes an entertaining blogger - someone who can continue to draw readers day after day.

2. Went for a ride with my bro in his new Ford Ranger. Usually, this wouldn't be such a big thrill for me as we only managed to go to the Irving and back. The truck isn't the memorable part of this highlight, nor is the drive itself. The reason this makes the highlight of the day list is because it represents what my relationship with my bro has become in the past year. I would NEVER have said that my brother and I weren't close. In fact, we've always gotten along great! It just seems like over the course of the last year, he and I have been able to have a friendship in addition to a brotherhood. We are both passed the age that requires looking out for each other in terms of dangerous decisions and choices and can now focus on being buddies. I am confident that he has the brains to make good decisions on his own and therefore I don't have to monitor him as an older brother. Instead I can be confident that he is being the best person he knows how to be and as a result, we can just hang out. We've never really been the type to have deep conversations and let emotions out around one another. But one thing I know I will never forget occurred about a month ago when I decided to ask Pete to be the best man at my wedding. I had just gotten the question mark out of my mouth and Pete had already jumped out of his seat to give me a sincere and appreciative hug. He backed away with tears in his eyes and told me how much he was hoping I would ask. Really cool feeling. So in summary.... A drive in Pete's new truck allowed me to realize that I have a pretty cool brother and that IS spectacular.

3. I killed a mouse. Can't really elaborate here. Ummmm, glad he didn't come in my house...?

4. Began looking into accommodations in Maui. Sarah and I aren't set on Hawaii at this point, but it seems to be emerging as an early leader in the honeymoon sweepstakes. We really had our heart set on southeast Europe for a honeymoon destination when we were first engaged but since we had to delay the date of our wedding until October 13th, that option became less likely. Sarah and I both enjoy sightseeing and were hoping to mix a week of Italy's sights with a week of Crete's beaches. But by the time the middle of October rolls around, the temperature in Greece hovers between 18-22 degrees. Fantastic for sightseeing, but not so much for beachin'. Hawaii certainly offers plenty of relaxation, but is a little light on the history and architecture that Europe so proudly boasts. I can hardly remember being in Maui as a six year old, and again as a ten year old, but the thing I remember best is the smell of flowers and fruit. I have been trying to convince Sarah that Maui is a good choice for the smell alone, but I think I will need to come up with a more compelling argument than that.


I hope four posts on my first day as a blogger isn't overkill. I figure the first step in keeping people interested is by providing new material often. I hope you have enjoyed reading as much as I have enjoyed writing.

PS - If you are interested in WWII or Holocaust reading material, check out this book. True story, but written like a spy novel. SHAWSOME!!!

The Subway Monkey, The Ramada Jingle and Hall & Oates

I don't consider myself to be a marketing master by any stretch, but WHAT on EARTH were the geniuses at Subway thinking when they decided people would be more willing to eat a 6-12 inch tube of scrumptious by starring that idiot monkey in their commercials? Anybody who has already eaten a "Subway" (as labeled by my dad) is already hooked. The monkey is annoying, adds nothing to the product, successfully convinces people to change the channel whenever he screeches on your television. The monkey is not Shawsome. The opposite............ Shawful!

Next? The Ramada Jingle..... Anybody? *Do your thing, Do what your gonna do now*. This series of commercials consists of two successful businessmen playing mini golf getting a little over-excited about draining a putt. Next, while the narrator explains that Ramada will take care of your trip while you do the things you want to do, a woman is riding a mechanical bull in a bar.... Ok Ramada, who are you marketing your hotel to? Women that will go to a bar and ride a mechanical bull? That is a very specific demographic. A demographic that the local motel has pretty much locked up. Swing and a miss Ramada. Finally, in the third installment in the series of "Doing what you wanna do", a crowd of businessmen and women dance across the screen. The dance where each person holds the waist of the person in front and is being held on the waist of the person behind. Unless I'm mistaken Ramada, you would love to host a raucous crowd of party animals at your hotel. Interesting strategy, or........ a MASSIVE FAIL.

"Wow, Andrew, you are very negative tonight, please write about some Shawsome commercials to lift our spirits!"

To be honest, I was just about to publish my two bad reviews, but just before I hit the publish button, a Telus commercial came on. You know the one. Cute tropical birds, the occasional meerkat (What up Timon from Lion King) and hippos all dancing to 1 of 2 catchy Hall and Oates songs. Here's what Subway can learn from Telus: Get a real monkey OR play a boppin' 80's pop song to smash a little nostalgia at your audience. It's a good thing "Subways" are breathtaking...

2 Shawful and 1 Shawsome.

Wondering why I have used Shawsome and Shawful twice each in this post? Refer to my first post about being hilarious  :)

That should be enough for now. Time to lock it up!

Proof of My Desperate Obsession with Travel

Anybody else in the entire world consider this worth the $80 investment? I consider this to be one of my most prized possessions.

If anybody has "Shawsome" travel experiences, please feel free to share in the comments section. I would love to hear them.

The Start of Something Beautiful

Oy,

It really was only a matter of time before I decided to commit to this medium for unleashing rants and providing commentary on things that interest me. I have taken considerable time in deciding the theme of this hobby, and to be quite honest, I am such a scatterbrain that it may not be wise to limit myself to any one topic. However, travel, movies, and a couple of sports teams - namely, the Detroit Red Wings and the Boston Red Sox, are a few of my favorite topics of conversation.

Who am I? Well, if you poll all the people who like me best (no idea who they are, but my fiance Sarah would probably be a good place to start.... I hope), and ask them to provide you with their reason for Andrew appreciation, you will get a number of different answers, due to my many admirable qualities.

Quality:
1. Hilarious - To confirm this, please ask my friends Kevin Simpson or Dan Power.... Why? They laugh at everything that anyone says. So if you have extremely low standards of humor... I may make you laugh from time to time. Also, if you enjoy hearing jokes/impersonations thousands of times until they wear out their welcome, again, you will love me :)
2. Handsome - Ask Sarah. She will be honest and unbiased..............Don't ask anybody else.
3. Intelligent - uhhh, I haven't any accomplishments to suggest this quality is true. But just take my word for it.
4. ......Ok, so I only have three admirable qualities that may or may not be entirely legit.

All kidding aside, my name is Andrew Shaw and I live in Saint John, New Brunswick on the east coast of Canada. I love my family and friends, my Red Wings and Red Sox, Main Street Baptist Church, and travel shows (preferably in HD, and preferably in Europe).

I have no idea how I am to promote this blog and entice people to read, but in the end, I feel it is a selfish endeavor that will allow me to embrace my joy of writing while venting on the things I care about most.

I hope you all enjoy.

Andrew