As many of you may know, I am in Europe for a business trip.

Oktoberfest 2010 was absolutely a once in a lifetime experience (this was the 200th year). Can you believe they actually had a non-alcohol beer option? Pretty tasty too! And the Devil's Wheel ride (game?) is a MUST!! Oktoberfest may become a yearly event for me.



So far I have been to Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. What an adventure! Once I return back home and have time I will post a few more pictures. :)

Beers

MGD 64

64 calories
2 g carbohydrates
2.8% alcohol


It’s right on the bottle: Only 64 calories. And it claims the number one spot over Beck’s Premier Light because it’s a little lower in alcohol content. And that’s the politically correct choice, right?




Michelob Ultra

95 calories
3 g carbohydrates
4.2% alcohol



Michelob was one of the first to market a “low-carb” beer. But here’s a secret: Almost all the low-calorie brews are relatively close in carb count. (Sam Adams Light and Yuengling Lager Light are the notable exceptions.) Just look at the label. Which is exactly what you should be doing for anything you eat and drink.


Guinness Draught

126 calories
10 g carbohydrates
4% alcohol


Perhaps the most surprising beer on this list. The great taste of Guinness but with a calorie-count in the range of a light beer.

30 Roses

Empathy

Empathy = relating to and understanding another person's feelings.

Going on stage

Burning Man

Burning Man was again awesome! For anyone who hasn't been, look into it. It can be whatever you want it to be. For many it is a week-long party. For me it is a healing retreat.




Since I am nearby, I will be dancing at the Wild Orchid again September 8th-18th. :)

Kegels

These women recommend doing kegel exercises by pushing ice out of the vagina.



My comment was: "Lol, I also used to shoot items across the room! However, the act of pushing out like that actually weakens your pelvic muscles. It's a cool trick but important to do a lot of additional proper kegels to compensate. Proper kegels are pulling up and in--like when you have to pee and are holding it (before using the bathroom, not while stopping midstream--it's different)."


This woman gave good advice:

Don't Drown Your Food

Vampires Suck

When it comes to love movies--I enjoy the traditional boy/girl not vampire/prey. Which is why I watched the first Twilight movie but not the rest.

This movie is a comedy, though, so I may go see it:



(Yes, I have a warped sense of humor. This is a VERY MILD example.)

1 year = no alcohol

It has now been a FULL YEAR since I quit drinking!!
My life has changed dramatically.
All for the best!


I'd love for someone to buy me this shirt. *wink*

Undress Yourself - Madonna Parody

4 year relationships

I've been searching for my life partner--someone who will be "Mr. Right" forever. Is this just an illusion? Many people only stay together for life because they have children or financial ties and not because they are happily in love.
This isn't encouraging.

"Four years after getting married, about 10% are as happy as when they first got married--90% are not. Twenty to thirty years later it continues to go down." -- This Emotional Life, part 1.

My longest relationship was four years and my average is three.

If I change my outlook on relationships to just sharing a wonderful few years with someone before moving on, would that be so bad? Could it be healthier?

Tolerance would be lower, enjoyment higher. Expectations would change.
Accepting that relationships are meant to be temporary creates happier times together and less stress. No more sticking it out super-gluing a failing relationship. No disrespect. Relationships would be complimentary. People wouldn't allow themselves or their partner to fall apart. No compromising of yourself for your partner. When the relationship is no longer synergistic, breaking up would be logical and wouldn't cause hard feelings. Both people move on in whatever way that continues making them happy and remain friends.

With this adapted foundation, flourishing relationships may even have long term possibilities. Hmmmm, I will have to give this some more serious thought.

Duck Face

Why do some women do this?!?       *sigh*



A perfect example is Bri Baby on Myspace. She's totally hot...but almost all of her pics have the Duck Face pose. :-(     She'd be so much prettier with a smile.


For what it's worth, this applies to just about everyone. Your pics are your pics. Smile! Look friendly and attractive! Don't embarrass yourself or others.

Have you heard the Mel Gibson tapes yet?

Here's the link: http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2010/07/exclusive-audio-listen-all-mel-gibson-tapes-here

From listening to them it is clear that Mel is abusive and unbalanced. However, I do believe that we are only hearing snippets because Oksana is pushing his buttons and getting him to the breaking point. That is no excuse for Mel, though. A real man won't act that way.

Narcissists look like men, have penises, do "man chores", yet are only a shell. They believe normal rules do not apply to them and are incapable of having feelings for anyone else. Shockingly 5% of men are narcissists--that's 1 out of every 20! Mel isn't a man; he's a narcissist who cannot see beyond himself. He doesn't even know what he's missing. Sad..

Twitter?

Okay I'm going to give in and start tweeting. Today I contacted Twitter to start the process of having the www.twitter.com/trixieracer account turned over to me. Since I've never used Twitter before and this will be new for me, please be patient as I learn how it all works. :-)

Hunter S. Thompson's birthday

Hunter Stockton Thompson
July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005

"Young people of America, awake from your slumber of indolence and harken to the call of the future! Do you realize that you are rapidly becoming a doomed generation? Do you realize that the fate of the world and of generations to come rests on your shoulders? ...Oh ignorant youth, the world is not a joyous place. The time has come for you to dispense with the frivolous pleasures of childhood and get down to honest toil until you are sixty-five. Then and only then can you relax and collect your social security and live happily until the time of your death."

Signed Fearfully and Disgustingly Yours,
John J. Righteous Hypocrite

What kind of a life are you creating for yourself?

Life is what we make it. When bad things happen, we can sulk about how bad our life situation is or we can take control and create the best possible life. Either way, the bad thing has happened. You are in control of your future.



Do you want happiness? Than claim it!

For iphone fans

...


For all the geeks out there:

Happy Independence Day!

A year ago I celebrated July 4th by taking back my life and becoming independent. It was the best move I could have possibly made. Levels of independence: sexual, financial, emotional. I don't need anyone else in my life. I am comfortable in my own skin and am happy by myself. If I decide to allow someone in to share my life with me, that person will have to be very special and deserving.

"Alice"

Recently I have been looking at websites that I shouldn't. Not only did I fall off the wagon in this regard, it ran over me and took a picture. (No, you CAN'T see the picture! :-p)

So, I'll admit, tonight I was looking at escort ads... I've been celibate for so long now, I figured it couldn't hurt to check out some hot girls. With my history of hiring ladies, this is a slippery slope... But a smart man once told me that "We never do anything that we can't rationalize." I was being bad and knew it.

It just happened that I was lingering over a specific ad when I noticed someone posted a response comment:

Many of us felt inadequate, unworthy, alone, and afraid. Our insides never matched what we saw on the outsides of others.

Early on, we came to feel disconnected -- from parents, from peers, from ourselves. We tuned out with fantasy and masturbation. We plugged in by drinking in the pictures, the images, and pursuing the objects of our fantasies. We lusted and wanted to be lusted after.

We became true addicts: sex with self, promiscuity, adultery, dependency relationships, and more fantasy. We got it through the eyes; we bought it, we sold it, we traded it, we gave it away. We were addicted to the intrigue, the tease, the forbidden. The only way we knew to be free of it was to do it. "Please connect with me and make me whole!" we cried with outstretched arms. Lusting after the Big Fix, we gave away our power to others.

This produced guilt, self-hatred, remorse, emptiness, and pain, and we were driven ever inward, away from reality, away from love, lost inside ourselves.

Our habit made true intimacy impossible. We could never know real union with another because we were addicted to the unreal. We went for the "chemistry," the connection that had the magic, because it by-passed intimacy and true union. Fantasy corrupted the real; lust killed love.

First addicts, then love cripples, we took from others to fill up what was lacking in ourselves. Conning ourselves time and again that the next one would save us, we were really losing our lives.

Wow, what a slap in the face reminder! In case you don't recognize it, it is from Sexaholics Anonymous. I have been to a few dozen meetings--SA, AA, NA, OA. Next month marks one year completely sober from alcohol and drugs. Since I removed the triggers from my life, it's been easy. I've been telling myself that by remaining sober for a whole year would be proof that I can keep myself in check. My long term goal was never to quit forever, but to regain control of my life. After I achieve this goal I will likely indulge in an Ireland/Amsterdam vacation to celebrate. >;-)    

Unlike drugs and alcohol, giving up sex hasn't been as simple. Sex is a normal part of life; intimacy is too. I have refrained from both of these since last year. Considering I've been working in an adult environment, this is much harder than you can possibly imagine. And by my web use lately, it is apparent that full abstinence may not be the best solution for my sex addiction. But if not that, what?