Apples and McDonalds.

The girl and I went apple picking on Sunday, as planned. Little planned called Riamede Farms. I recall going there once with my dad when I was younger. I’m not even that huge of an apple eater, but it’s more the experience that was the most enjoyable. Just being outside in the fall, and.. picking apples? It was fun. Kind of expensive per pound, but whatever. We got to pick them ourselves!

The girl also got a small pumpkin. I think I’ll drop by Wednesday night and help her carve it.

Afterwards, we wanted to eat something small, so we went by the McDonalds near where I grew up. Now, to preface, I’m a manager at a taco bell, so I suppose I have a differenc perspective than the average consumer. The voice over the speaker was clear and friendly. A plus. And. I just don’t know how else to put it: I’ve never seen so many young attractive blondes working at a McDonalds! Candi noticed it, too. This McDonalds used to be rather atrocious. I’d go there, but it just wasn’t as good as other ones.

Oh, and the food. The linchpin. I swear, my quarter-pounder looked like it should have been shot for a commercial. Same with her cheeseburgers. I’ve gotten so used to sloppy food. Everything was properly portioned. (We prefer the phrase “end to end” in my side of the industry, but I don’t think that would apply to a burger.) The bun was perfectly toasted. I mean, I HAD NO IDEA THE BUN WAS EVER TOASTED.

It was just the best McDonalds experience we’ve ever had. Which just doesn’t seem right!

We got to talking about how fast food gets a bad rap. The little box my burger came in had the nutrition facts. 510 calories. Which really isn’t much of a “full meal” for someone who needs a lot of calories like me. As Candi likes pointing out, your average meal at a chain restaurant is going to be WAY more than 500 calories. Portion sizes are freaking HUGE.

And really, just what’s so unhealthy about a McDonalds cheeseburger as compared to any burger made anywhere else? No, really? The worst part of any fast food menu is anything deep-fried. Duh.

We talked about how we don’t want our kids to like fast food or soda. But. In the big scheme, it’s not that much different from going to any restaurant. As someone who cares about his health, gotta say that eating mickey d’s once every now and then isn’t a huge deal. Besides, neither of us was aiming to “fill up”. The key is portion sizes. And all that common sense crap.

:: chomps on apple ::

No wonder I stick to bananas. Apples are a lot of work!

I’m getting really inspired about my nanowrimo novel. What started as just a little idea has really unfolded in my mind. I did some character sketching in my head at work, thinking about who the characters are, what their motivations are, and what the arching plot should be. Funny, in doing so, I think the novel won’t start where I initially thought it would. I should send out the obligatory “Hey, you’re on my mailing list” email.

Also needs to make sure Candi knows I’m going to be extremely unavailable next month with all this writing. I just get into this zone where I block everything out, and I know she’ll be upset if she’s trying to talk to me and I can’t talk back. I couldn’t do it last year, because we needed the bonding time, but I should be able to pull it off this year. Writing is important to me.

I think after the gym tomorrow, I’ll bring my journal to the diner and write out my character sketches.

Smashing Pumpkins has been my primary novel writing music. I’m hoping I can poke around my musical archives and come across something worth putting on repeat. We’ll see.