Change...

Baseball season is here. So is summer... almost. Yesterday was our official kick-off to summer, or I guess I should say "First Pitch". All the fellas from the old days at school were together for the first time in a long time. There were a few faces missing, but it was still good to hang together.

Burgers on the grill, Braves beating the Cubbies on the big-screen, and a Sweetwater 420 in hand... Everything just seemed right. In a word: PRODIGIOUS

Makes me think... what is it about certain foods or meals that make you feel a certain way, or completely change the way you view your surroundings and environment?

Burgers, hot dogs, baked-beans, potato salad, chips = Relaxed, lazy, summer, baseball, outdoor, content, complete, flip-flops

Pizza and Coke = Young, video games, football, sleepover, basement, game-room, sweatpants

Steak, salad, baked potato = Adult, professional, dressy, valet

Taco bell, Mc D's, Wendys = College, late-night, cheap,

I'm not knocking any of those, I love them all. It's not an identity crisis to one day want to feel young and lazy, and the next to feel grown up and productive. It's variety. No one wants to feel stuck in a mold or a rut of being and doing the exact same thing every day. We all want the feeling of new, exciting, adventurous, dangerous... I'm not proposing that switching from your steak and potato to Taco Bell is off-the-charts exciting and adventurous, but it could be dangerous.

I personally love change. I get bored with the same old same old. Say that ten times... "Same old, same old, same old..." Starts to sound weird.

I digress.

Embrace change and unusual things. Order something off the menu you have never had before. Go to your favorite Mexican restaurant, close your eyes, and pick a number off the menu. I ended up with a chile relleno. Don't even look at the menu actually. Order a #7 and don't ask what it is. Just start eating it. You will be surprised! On second thought... Don't go to your favorite Mexican restaurant, find one you've never heard of or seen and give it a try.

Buy a ticket to MARTA (Atlanta's public transit) or the subway system near you. Hop on at the nearest station with a book and your iPod and ride the different lines for a few hours. You will see some interesting stuff, hear some good music, and maybe learn something new.

Skip sleeping in on Saturday and go hiking somewhere. Find a trail, follow a stream, wade knee-deep. You will feel like a kid again. Of course, I still am a kid, and I don't want that to change. Ever.

Before I go, I almost forgot to ask... What is your favorite food/meal to eat and where does it "take you"? Burgers = summer? Taco-bell = college?