my little oasis

I was at a work thing and everyone around me was socializing and I was just 😐 waiting for my food so I could do the ol' "well, wouldja look at the time?" routine and someone mentioned Steubenville Ohio and for some reason I just blurted out, "That's where Dean Martin is from!"

First thing I said all night.

The talking did not stop, it just continued on as if I hadn't said anything, which should have been my sign to shut the actual fuck up but instead, I doubled down.

"That's...Steubenville, Dean Martin was from there!"

Then it got quiet.

Then one person said, "I did not know that," as if they were talking to a toddler who just learned what the sky was.

Oh man. I dream of a world where I have both unlimited funds and tons of time to just hit the road.

Seriously, I have these very intense daydreams sometimes where I get laid off but simultaneously come into some serious money at the same time and so I just pack up, turn off my cable for a while, pay my rent up like 6 months in advance and circumnavigate the globe.

I will say this: I had a chance to luck into a free cruise to Antarctica a few years ago, and I didn't take it because there was other stuff going on and the timing was bad. I always figured I would get there someday, just for the ice breaker story, but now this shit with the hantavirus is going on and idk, cruises to the bottom of the earth have fallen slightly down my bucket list lol.

Anyway, I would seriously hit so much of the world if I could. In my dream world where I am both rich and unemployed, I'd hit a continent and explore it until I felt confident that I've seen all I wanted to see, then on to the next.

Since that will probably never happen for me lol, here are the top 3 travel list bucket items I have left that I believe I can accomplish now that I ticked off the all 50 states one:

1. Route 66 road trip - I've done sections of the Mother Road, and have stood at both the beginning and end of the route, but have never done the entire thing in one long stretch. The original road trip! How fun would that be?

2. Prague and Poland - ever since I was a kid, I've wanted to go to Poland (grew up in a Polish American community with a lot of Polish born people and have Polish roots). Somewhere along the way, Prague got added into the mix as I think it looks like the most beautiful 1500s Europe city ever. I have always planned on hitting both in the same trip.

3. As many US National Parks as possible - I won't hit them all (some of the Alaska ones where you need a back country permit don't even appeal to me), but I have a shitload of them on my list that I haven't gotten to yet that I'm determined to get to, and I will make it happen.

Bonus: the Antartica cruise is still on the list, don't worry.

As to whether I'd go alone or not...I've always lived by the philosophy that if I wait for other people to join me, I'll never get anywhere. So I just plan and go. If people want to and are able to come, great! If not, great! I'm happy either way. I would take some people to certain places if I could get them to come, but I can also travel alone.

Tagged by @braveincafleet - thanks! Anyone who wants to do thia, take this as your sign and your tag.

1. A television series I recently enjoyed is...

It has been a while since I've actually watched a new television series. If my tv is on, its usually to watch House Hunters or Family Feud lol. I can't remember the last series that I actually watched and enjoyed enough to keep watching.

2. A meal or food that brings me the most comfort is...

Pasta, always.

Lately, I've been on a kick of eating wonton soup non-stop. I don't even like soup! I don't know why I'm suddenly wonton soup's number one fan.

At least I'm finally off the grocery store mashed potatoes kick.

3. 1-3 songs I've had on repeat lately are...

1. Perry Mason - Ozzy

2. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five (One Hand Clapping Sessions) - Wings

3. You - Lloyd ft. Lil' Wayne

4. My favorite go-to hobbies or pastimes are...

Sleeping peacefully (never happens), going for walks, watching videos or listening to podcasts about completely random shit and then trying to find ways to interject whatever dumb thing I learned into every conversation I have with people until they don't want to talk to me anymore, traveling.

5. The pets I have at home (if applicable) are...

One old man cat that I inherited after my last old man cat died because my house has become the wayward home for everyone's old man cats.

He's chill, though.

6. The app on my phone with the most screentime is...

YouTube.

7. Something that always gives me heavy nostalgia is...

Music. Anything that was playing on the radio as I was going about my life as a kid. STP's "Plush" can transport me right back to summertime at the pool (as can Smash Mouth's (All Star" and Sugar Ray's "Fly"), "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" is a time capsule right back to grade school dances, anything off Pink Floyd's "Animals" reminds me of my parents doing housework, "Stairway to Heaven" makes me think of our station wagon, so on and so forth.

8. The earliest fandom I can remember joining is...

Well, pre internet me was always in a fandom of one in my own mind for shit lol, but the first online fandom I discovered on the internet was for General Hospital and that was...interesting.

9. My zodiac sign is...

Pisces.

10. The last book I finished reading was...

"John and Paul: A Love Story in Songs" which I've had sitting on my shelf for like, a year and finally dusted off and read a couple weeks ago. It was ok.

11. My Chinese Zodiac animal is a...

Animal.

12. My opinions on ghosts & hauntings are...

I believe in ghosts but I also believe a lot of stuff that is attributed to ghosts can be explained by non-paranornal events. I am not scared of ghosts; my great grandmother always said "its not the dead you should be afraid of; its the living" and aside from that quote being fatalistic as fuck, I think it rings true. What's the worst a ghost can do, really? Hide your keys?

Anyway, I like the idea of leaving a little piece of energy behind to torment people like Zak Bagans. :)

13. A few of my all-time favorite films are...

1. Titanic

2. Jackass Number Two (more nostalgia for you)

3. Young Frankenstein

14. If I could cast an actor to play myself, it would be...

I'd be that guy who would cast myself, knowing full well I can't act to save my life.

15. I'm currently obsessed with...

I had to write a corporate article so I just wrote it myself but wrote it to look like something chat would write.

Then, just because I know they are logging how often we use chat, I ran the self written article through chat and told it to rewrite it to look more corporate.

It made no edits.