The Thoughts of Cory LaViska

There’s something to be said about a girl who can outshine all others without makeup, expensive dresses, or high heels. She shouldn’t be afraid to get a grass stain on her clothes every now and then. She should be graceful in her steps and careful with her priorities. Public affection should be something she anticipates, and she shouldn’t mind holding hands, being caressed, and an occasional kiss.

Not afraid to show her true colors, she should be assertive and inspiring. Creativity should flow through her every thought and act as a fingerprint to everything she does. Her curiosity should never settle. She should be anxious to learn and eager to teach.

She should be generous, never reluctant to give love, advice, and piece of mind wherever it is needed. A victim of chivalry, she should be taken by surprise when she least expects it and satisfied when she most desires it. A girl. Special. Unique. Loving. Honest. Faithful. Confident in herself, with a bit of reliance on something that makes her feel complete. She should be beautiful, but not in the way the world expects her to be.

Most importantly, she should be herself. And she will be loved.

Not to argue something trivial, but I’ve always personally used the spelling advisor.  Since adviser looked awkward, I decided to investigate.  My research indicates that the two terms are interchangeable and neither can actually be deemed incorrect.  See the web definitions of advisor and adviser.

Merriam Webster says the words are synonymous, as does the American Heritage Dictionary, the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Roget’s Thesaurus, and Princeton’s WordNet.  The Purdue Marketing Communications Editorial Style Guide insists on the spelling advisor over adviser.  The Columbia Guide to Standard American English states that “both spellings are standard”.  It does not appear that the agentive ending –er or –or has any semantic meaning in the case of either term.

Furthermore,  a Google search for advisor returns 85,100,000 pages, while a Google search for adviser only returns 21,500,000 pages.  This indicates that, at least in common usage, advisor is dominant at a ratio of four-to-one over adviser.  It is also argued that the –or version is aesthetically pleasing in comparison to the –er version.

While neither are technically correct nor incorrect, I prefer to use advisor.  *shrug*

By Cory S.N. LaViska

December 2, 2007

No carols, no bells
No cookies and tea
No ornaments hanging, not even a tree

There won’t be presents
There won’t be lights
There won’t be silly snowball fights

No Santa, no sleds
Not a single reindeer
No mistletoe hanging within a mile of here

No getting up early
No kids to be found
No toys, no laughing, not one cheerful sound

No stockings, no cocoa
Just a quiet little home
That’s what it’s like, to have Christmas alone

We made Chipotle-style burritos for Halloween, which meant that I needed to make some kickin’ pico de gallo.  So I found a recipe online, adapted it a bit, and made some awesome pico de gallo.  Here’s how I made it:

Ingredients

• 5 vine-ripe tomatoes (the good kind)
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 4 pieces of cilantro
• 1 Habenero pepper
• 1/2 sweet Vidalia onion
• ~ 2 tablespoons of lime juice

Procedure

1. Chop the tomatoes, red pepper, and onion, into tiny pieces, similar to how you would see them in a salsa.  Add to large bowl.
2. Chop the cilantro into really tiny pieces and add to bowl.
3. Chop the Habenero pepper up into really tiny pieces.  Then, chop them into even tinier pieces.  Now, chop them some more.  OK, now put them in the bowl (warning: don’t lick one of these to see how spicy they are—that’s just dumb)
4. Add the lime juice to the bowl
5. Mix thoroughly, adding salt and pepper to taste
6. Let sit refrigerated overnight.

Yields

A shit load of pico de gallo.

In the beginning of the month, my snack drawer inspired me to write a Haiku about a lonely ramen. Now, my snack drawer is empty and, once again, I have been inspired:

An empty drawer
No more snacks for me to eat
Wish I had ramen

One day, my greatness will be recognized.