A different kind of twitter

This morning I was awakened by the dreaded chirping of a smoke detector with a low battery.  I did what anyone whose house is not on fire, nor is in imminent danger of being on fire, would do.  I unplugged the damn thing.  Ah, peace and quiet...*chirp*...*chirp*...I took the battery out of the smoke detector that was already unplugged and then put the empty, unplugged detector in the living room.

At last, I was able to get some much desired sleeping in time on my day off...*chirp*...*chirp*...I wrapped the wretched device in a towel and put it in my kitchen pantry.  That ought to do it.  Finally some beauty rest, 40 winks, log sawing time...*chirp*...*chirp*...what the hell kind of super-powered demon machine was this smoke detector?  Then I realized we have two in very close proximity to each other.  I mean seriously, we don't even need two in our whole apartment let alone two this close to each other:

"Hi-ho, neighbor Tim!"

Of course, it might be better said to say we "had" two smoke detectors in close proximity as they now both reside elsewhere.  Although, come to think of it, they are even closer to each other than they used to be:

 Is it ironic that they are next to hot sauce?

I'm on the fence about whether or not I am going to put them back as in my experience smoke detectors have done nothing but drain batteries and then chirp incessantly until I replace the batteries only to go through the process again.  If you want to smoke in our apartment, now's your chance.

9 Followers and Counting

Almost two weeks into the Twitter experiment and I am proud to say I have something to show for it.  Nine followers!  And if any of you nine are reading right now, thank you.  Especially my first follower "German ignacio rojas," whoever the hell you are.  Naturally when I saw that gentleman become my first new Twitter friend my prior reservations were confirmed: Twitter is pointless to a guy like me who doesn't understand it.

I theorize that people my age are not of the Twitter generation.  We do fine with Facebook and various other "check me out, I'm awesome" sights, but we don't "get" Twitter.  If there is anything to get, that is.  For one thing, why post on Twitter at all if my post can be linked to my Facebook account which my friends actually look at and comment on?  And it isn't as though everyone's fancy phone can't access Twitter, Facebook, and a million other Websites.  For me, I don't need to be on a bunch of different sights talking about my day.  One should suffice.

However, I will admit the one thing that draws me in is the 140 character gimmick.  It is fun trying to write such a brief synopsis of my thoughts.  I will also grant that if I better understood the "@" and the "#" it would be fun to talk to celebrities and pay attention to what is trending, respectively.  But in truth I feel too removed from the Twitter culture.  It seems like a more impersonal way for us to pretend we are being personal.

All that said, I am gonna stick with it at least until I get to 50 followers, and probably beyond.  I created the profile, I might as well use it.  You've suck me in again technology-based cultural movement!

I was determined to never sign up for or use Twitter. Tweets were for famous people who did truly fascinating things. What would I Tweet about? Preparing an analytic report #numbercrunchinghurtsmyhead? Watching Maddie chase a squirrel #betterthanpickingupdogpoop? I mean, sure, there's plenty of exciting things in life to announce like getting engaged, having a baby, finding a new job...but just in general? And if I were to do Twitter, I really wanted to make it worth my while. Anyone who knows me knows I can't exactly just do something a little bit; I usually attack a task with the zealotry of a sugar addict in Disney's confectionary.

It took me almost 30 minutes to pick a handle. Very self-defining that Twitter name, especially for something I had been determined not to care about *cough* *cough* Everything I wanted was taken, and, having wanted to incorporate John's nickname for me of "Boom," finally settled on KPBoom. First initial, last initial of future surname. With that accomplished, I had to think of something prolific to Tweet. It was my first, after all, and if I ended up liking this, became a celebrity, or acquired an alarming number of followers before my Tweets became truly cool, the initial Tweet was very important.

@SamuelLJackson & Bruce Willis should really do more movies together.

Yup, that was it. Enamored this week with a resurgence of Die Hard movies and watching Jeremy Irons get a beat down, it seemed appropriate. I was a Tweeter and the person who handled Samuel L Jackson's account would read my message! I felt a slight twinge of...what was that? Intrigue! What else could I Tweet? Would John and I meet our goal of 50 followers at the end of this two week challenge? Would what I wrote be relevant and interesting?

Much to my chagrin, we'll soon find out. I hope the dark side does have cookies because we're in it for the long haul.

Rocket ship builder, pizza expert, loves the Giants, parent.

The title of this particular entry refers to the example info one can supply about themselves when becoming a new Twitter member.  That is something I swore I would never do, but for the sake of experimentation I have done the unthinkable.  I've posted a "tweet."  Perhaps it is my attitude about the whole thing, but I prefer calling them "twats" and I feel like all tenses on Twitter should be some form of "twat."

So like I said, I've now exposed my first twat, and boy was it ever anti-climatic.  For one thing I am forced to immediately start following celebrities (and then people I actually know and might truly give a damn about what they are doing) before I can even start talking about me, me, me.  Isn't the whole point of Twitter to tell everyone about what I am doing and get all eyes on me?  Why would I look elsewhere before trying to get people to look at me?

Needless to say I was less than enamored to begin with and the initial process has done little to ingratiate me.  That being said, if you are reading this and are on Twitter, please follow me @johnpricesright.  I know it must be exciting the thought of following someone on Twitter who hates Twitter, but the current Two Weeker Kieley and I have set in front of ourselves is to try to obtain 50 followers before August 5th.  I am already following 15 people merely by signing on to Twitter.  So what are you waiting for?  Currently I have twatted about the ending of The Dark Knight Rises, so #spoileralert if you know what I'm sayin'.

Like moving to Chicago for five months before moving back to DC, this should be an interesting look at two people stepping out of their comfort zone.

Eye of the Beholder

16. What makes a person attractive, in your opinion?

See: Man in picture above. But this is a blog and John's face doesn't explain everything behind the man I love, though it covers some very nice ground.

I think this is a very interesting question to consider, as people tend to answer with basic similar responses before tacking on their own individual quirks (must like Munster cheese, would enjoy hot air balloon rides over the Appalachians, likes to do chores in the nude, etc.). Coincidentally, as someone is describing their ideal mate you learn just as much about them.

See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guinBnWWuKE

My personal opinion has retained a core nebula of attractive traits for as long as I can remember: confidence, good sense of humor, doesn't mind being a dork, likes a quiet night in with good food and a good flick, likes dogs, willing to kill large bugs and hairy arachnids. If I had to have a "type," I would say tall, dark-haired, a capable sort of man's man who doesn't wear popped collars or checkered golf shorts. And as I grew up and older, learning from relationships what I didn't want and what I did deserve, that list expanded to things like must respect me, work in equal partnership, be honest and open, willing to pursue and carryout dreams, embrace the desire to just be themselves and love another with the openness and eagerness that they want as well.

When I met John for the first time, I entered into our date with a primary acknowledgement. After having been in DC for a short while and having tried Match.com for a few months, I was tired of "okay dates" or "dates who didn't look like their pictures" or "dates who brought crickets to chirp in the background" or "dates who took my natural sunny demeanor for 'let's go back to your place and finish this wine after I awkwardly kiss you in the middle of the street'." Anyone who has tried online dating is aware of the risks: great guys, okay guys, nightmare guys. It's just like meeting in the real world except you get to read their resume first...and as some people spin quite a professional yarn, so do the romantic hopefuls of cyberspace. Sam and Becky, two of our good friends, have hatched a plan with us to launch "Rematch" at some point in the near future where Match alumni can network to pair previous flops...okay, so this isn't a serious business model, but might at least lead to Kardashian-esque reality television and a line of musky perfume.

John was going to be my last Match date. We'd had a great phone date the week prior, but meeting in person would determine if this great big experiment could offer any merit.

Well, I took one look at the smile he gave me while waiting outside the Cleveland Park metro stop and that was that. We've been together ever since. I didn't expect to meet the love of my life that chilly February night, but I discovered someone who was everything I'd spent my entire life looking for. Someone who made my heart whole and allowed me to be entirely myself. John became attractive to me in an entirely new light because yes, he was all that I wanted, though he was also more. We began to grow not just as individuals, but as a couple. Building a life together creates so many incredible new meanings and experiences that change the world around you for the better. That's pretty darn attractive.

No Chance in Hell

My friend, who goes by the handle jannetty81, had an insightful response to my post from yesterday that I wanted to share with everyone.  For those who haven't read yesterday's piece, you may click here.  His comment is in the blog, but also pasted below:

Ha...what a topic for a Monday night. Scarier yet...I'm so intrigued that I'm choosing to respond...and it's still Monday night?!

While you've framed the post on the idea of having/not having children, I believe your words tap into an even deeper question about life...and things and stuff. When one talks about having children and investing so greatly in another being, one may also being facing the cold, hard facts about mortality. I think your last paragraph speaks to that concept, especially. 

This post started with a question about having kids, and ended up asking several more questions. One observation that I feel comfortable sharing...we sure have entered the next phases of our lives. In fact...somehow I'm waist deep in it, already. It seems that you may be, too.

I'll also say this...I would certainly feel a deep attachment to an adopted child. Just think about it...that child was probably dealt just about the worst hand possible. But then...you came along...and gave that child a flush on the river (heh heh...I know, it's cheesy). So make no mistake about it...that gesture would be giving and altruistic. However, in some ways it is also incredibly selfish...but in a good way. That bond would be as strong as any that I could imagine. If you're looking into having children, certainly that is among the top reasons.

First of all, this topic will scare a young man to talk about any day of the week.  Secondly, not all readers are in the same place as jannetty81 and myself, but I think most everyone can relate to the dilemma.  I know some families that have had their own children as well as taken the opportunity to adopt.  Not only does it satisfy both means of raising children, but it creates a diverse family dynamic from which both sets of children can learn great things.

But enough about yesterday, on to today's questions.  Again, if you want to play along in any fashion be sure to click here for the site where we draw the questions from.

50. If you could work for anyone you choose, who would it be and why?


Anyone that has known me long enough knows that I am an unabashed wrestling fanatic, so my dream boss if I had to pick one would probably be wrestling czar Vince McMahon.  That's where my mind zoomed to immediately, but then I thought about what a workaholic anyone who runs their own company must be.  In McMahon's case I have seen numerous examples to prove that notion but in front of cameras and behind the scenes.


The fact is this is true of all the entrepreneurs I know.  From the WWE all the way down to the little kids running their lemonade stands in the summer every one of them has two things in common: dedication to and a passion for what they do.  Yes, I am passionate about wrestling.  Hell, I could even say that I am passionate about my current job at Whole Foods Market to an extent, but I think ultimately my true passion is being independent.  Thus, while it would be nice to be working underneath wrestling's God, I would feel like I was giving my life to him.

That has been the issue I have had with all of my jobs; it feels like I am doing them for someone else.  So the true answer to this question is that the person I would most like to work for is me.  What would be my business?  Well, I haven't figured that out yet, but I am working on that right now...well not right now, but in this current period of my life.  I think if I could have a business of my own that that might be a job to which I was willing to give my whole life.  Even if it ends up being just a little old lemonade stand.






That's all for today.  Be sure to check out Kieley's work as well as she is a more polished, soon to be published writer.


This one is about her mom.  I think we all can relate to many of the stories.


This one is about the best bad food and starts with a picture of McDonald's fries.  Enough said.


(Don't forget these topics are being picked at random.  Hopefully that explains (some of) our erratic musings.)

You Need a Visual

12. What is the best, most delicious food to stuff your face with?

Well, obviously, I'd rather treat you to some drool-worthy culinary awesomeness. I mean, you can be hungry, feeling like you'd eat if someone drove you to the drive-through, and then on comes Giada or Rachael and you're salivating beside the television in three days' worn pajamas. You're "Tom Hanks on an island shouting for Wilson" hysterical, "Jessie Spano on diet pills" crazy, or "Katie Holmes breaking free of Scientology with a younger body double of Mr. Vanilla Sky" excited. Because there's FOOD. It's delicious. And you want it now.