2nd day!

         Man, it's the second day, and I have to say, things are definately looking up! I invested a surpirsingly small amount of time into learning just a liiittle bit of sign language, which helped a lot. I wrote down a few words (Seriously, all I really needed was 9-10 to get through the day) on a sheet of paper, memorized them surprisingly quickly, and set off to school! For this to work, you do kinda need to educate people in what the signs mean, otherwise people won't get it, but if you hold the card up with one hand, and do the sign with the other, people catch on pretty quick! You'll save yourself a lot of neckache from nodding and wagging your noggin like a bobblehead, trust me! It was absolutely wonderful to be able to express myself again, even to a small degree, even if it was just to say the simplest of phrases, "yes", "no", "good", "thank you", "Your mother is a classy lady", you know, the simple stuff! (No joke, I did actually learn the latter, it got people interested in what I was saying!)

        I can see how we can fall into addictions and stuff like that, when you have this need to let it all out, but lack the ability to do so, all you want is to scream and shove all the bottled up emotions out of you! I think this is going to give me a newfound appreciation for expression, it really is great, I would advise anyone reading this to give a sponsored silence, a go, even if it's just for a day. Raise money for charity (You can give it to my habitat fund, if you like :P), learn some sign language (not mandatory, but it helps!) and as they say, you don't realise how much you need something tell it's gone, so give it up for a day! You'll appreciate the next day just that much more. Just a few tips:

-Let people know about it beforehand, so that you don't have to explain what you're doing.
-Get permission from your workplace or school if you're doing it there
-Learn some basic sign language (the region doesn't really matter)
-Make some little cards that say what the few signs you've learned are
-Print out a little sheet explaining what you're doing and why, for those who don't know!
-Most importantly, (though this might differ depending on your type of silence) get a notepad and a good, solid pencil. There are some things you need to write down that can't be communicated by a short game of charades!
And other than that you can manage!

      This whole not talking thing led me to reading a short story by Harlan Ellison Entitled "I Have no mouth, and I must scream". It's a sci-fi/horror story that won several awards some years ago, It's dark as midnight and frightening as the grave, and more than a little worrying. To put it bluntly, the author wrote of hell. If you've read "Blue like jazz" than you'll understand what I mean when you read it. If you haven't read "Blue like jazz", you'll understand what I mean when you read it. It's not for the faint of heart, I assure you. Not safe for work, not safe for children, very deeply disturbing. It is Hell.

Eggnog!

So, it's christmas morning! That's really cool. Got everything I desired, including my skullcandy headphones! I found them highly reccomended
and told myself I'd get a pair when my fairly mediocre iPod ones ran out. But they did not break completely. They just hung around, working adequately, slightly broken but still ultimately usable. With christmas coming up, I thought I'd just get a pair for the heck of it! And they didn't dissapoint! I put on "Here I go" by Relient k, (It was a toss up between "Up and up [accoustic]" and "Here I go (demo)" but when I put the headphones in I said "Ok, here I go!" And then upon realizing what I said I had my mind made up. Guess what? That song actually has base in it! Gasp! They're really good for base, very deep, it was a bit of a change, but it was fun to mess with the EQ and actually have it make a difference! Pretty nice headphones! Couldn't hear a thing anyone else said. Blessing or curse? Maybe a bit of both. They were pretty good! I like 'em so far.

Also, MOTHERFLIPPIN' EGGNOG. My mom was searching the net for good eggnog recipies, and found one on a blog! Now I'm blogging about a blog my mom found. Blog is a fun word! Blog! blog blog blog bloo dee blah bloo blog. Anyway! She found this recipie, and although eggnog is an American thing to a large extent, this recipie genuinely tastes like eggnog. Like the eggnog you'd buy off of the shelves at your local supermarket. This is the real deal. We tried to make some last year and the recipie just produced some thin eggy monstrosity chocked full of rum. This year it's the real deal. Thick, well coloured, nutmeggy glory that it is. And not a drop of rum! "But why is the rum gone?" says Jack Sparrow, and to which I reply, "I don't know, in case you don't want to be hammered at 10 o clock on christmas morning  but still want some eggnog. Or if you abstain from alcoholic substances. Although the vanilla extract is alcohol-based. But that's just a little bit. What are you doing in my house anyway, you smelly pirate?" However, my parents do intend to add cuban rum to theirs later, and I'll probably try a little bit myself, if only because cuban rum is illegal in the states. But now I feel like I'm rebelling against Barrack, and that's not good... Anyway! Merry Christmas!

Haha, I almost forgot to post the recipie!

Eggnog, Alcohol free.

6 eggs

1 can (14 oz) (425 ml) sweetened condensed milk (they just call it "condensed milk" over here, it's allready sweetened.)

5 ml vanilla extract (1 teaspoon)

945 ml milk

160 ml heavy whipping cream

Ground nutmeg (just lash a good pinch or two, only a few grams)

1g salt

Beat eggs (heavily, the more beaten the better. I want to see bruises, people!); mix in condensed milk, vanilla, quart of milk and salt

Beat the whipping cream (not too much, otherwise it's a pain to fold in) until soft peaks form. Fold in to egg and milk mixture, sprinkle with nutmeg. Serve chilled (this bit is important. Leave it overnight in the fridge. Even though heat pumps are against nature.)

And thaaaaaaaaaaaat's eggnog! serve with a dollop of whipped cream on top, with a sprinkle of nutmeg! Nutmeg is really good in this, don't be too afraid of overdoing it!