Now we can cross the Shifting Sands

[vovat]

New Year's has been pretty uneventful for me so far. bethje and I went to Atlantic City last night, and were in the car at the stroke of midnight. She had the radio on, and I thought there would be some kind of countdown on there, but there wasn't. Not on the station we had on at the appropriate time, anyway. While in Atlantic City, we mostly just walked on the Boardwalk and ate at Johnny Rockets. I always kind of liked that they have orange soda there, but unfortunately it's Fanta, which is sickeningly sweet and not very orange-flavored. There are much better orange sodas out there. I've heard the Pope likes Fanta, but I'm not so keen on it myself.

I played some of Final Fantasy V last night. I think I'm going to put FF4 aside while I concentrate on that one, since I already know what happens in 4 anyway. Maybe I'll change my mind if I get stuck in 5, though. Recently, I've made it through the Library of the Ancients, and beat the Sandworm in the Shifting Sands. I don't think I've really been using the job system to its full potential, but I did make a few changes to help out in certain battles.

For what it's worth, I don't generally make New Year's resolutions. Since someone did this meme, though, I figured I might as well follow suit.

In 2008, vovat resolves to...

Put fifty fastbacks a month into my savings account.
Give up writing.
Overcome my secret fear of ben folds.
Become a better nintendo.
Cut down on my reading.
Lose ten maps by March.

Get your own New Year's Resolutions:

Yes, apparently my New Year's resolution should be to become illiterate. I doubt I'll stick to it. {g}


And to close with a bit of New Year's trivia, I've seen it suggested a few places (here, for instance) that the reason Father Time is portrayed as Saturn is due to a confusion between Cronus (the Greek name for Saturn, and father of Zeus) and Chronos (the personification of time). Cronus carried a scythe because he was an actual harvest deity, but it later came to be associated with time causing death. Interesting, if true. Of course, since the Saturnalia fell around this time of year, I suppose it's appropriate for Saturn to show up even if he doesn't actually have anything to do with time.

Okay, that's all for now. To everyone reading, happy New Year, happy 2008, and all that rot.

Comments

[zimbra1006.livejournal.com]

Fanta is actually a lot better in Europe, in my opinion, so if the Pope's drinking Roman Fanta he might have good taste after all. :P I was really excited the first time I noticed Fanta over here after drinking it in Greece, then was horribly disappointed. Come to think of it, European Coke is better too.

my favorite orange soda is probably Sunkist, as one of the few with caffeine.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I think Orange Fanta in this country is a fairly recent replacement for whatever orange soda Coca-Cola used to make (it might have just been "Minute Maid Orange"). I also prefer Sunkist, although I didn't know it had caffeine in it. That's kind of weird for an orange soda, isn't it?

[zimbra1006.livejournal.com]

yeah, caffeine in orange drink is a rarity. It's further down the list than it would be in a lot of other sodas, but it's there. I was shocked too. Mountain Dew also made one (LiveWire) which was just okay in taste, but prized for its high caffeine content. :P I'm not sure if you can still find that anywhere or if just Code Red stuck around.

You know, I'd completely forgotten about Minute Maid Orange soda. Do they not make that anymore? My main memory associated with that is it's what I was drinking the first time I was stung by a bee.

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

You know, I'd completely forgotten about Minute Maid Orange soda. Do they not make that anymore? My main memory associated with that is it's what I was drinking the first time I was stung by a bee.

Wow, the negative associations of orange soda! I've been off orange soda completely since the time I was about six and I threw up at the amusement park after having a happy meal with cheeseburger and orange soda. I was off cheeseburgers for a few years too, but came back to those eventually. Never went off french fries though.

[zimbra1006.livejournal.com]

hehe... when I was little I ate a bunch of Mother's circus animal cookies (those pink and white ones) when I was sick, threw up completely unrelated to those (presumably), and was unable to eat them for years.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I've twice gotten sick when I ate Marie Callendar's pot pies, so even though I don't know whether they were actually what made me sick, I've been avoiding them. Myers pot pies are better anyway, but they're a regional thing.

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

I've gotten sick off Marie Callendar's pot pies too-- I don't know if they're pre-cooked properly!

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Ah, so I'm not the only one? I thought it might possibly be a coincidence, especially since the first time was in Albuquerque, and I got sick the other time I went there WITHOUT eating any pot pies. But if other people are also getting sick from them, maybe there really IS something wrong with them. I guess I should be glad I haven't tried them since that last time I got sick.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Mountain Dew also made one (LiveWire) which was just okay in taste, but prized for its high caffeine content.

Well, hey, it wouldn't be Mountain Dew otherwise, would it? {g} I think I actually liked LiveWire, but not enough to seek it out regularly or anything.

I don't know if they still make Minute Maid Orange, but since I think both Minute Maid and Fanta are Coca-Cola properties, it would seem a little redundant for them to make both. I believe Pepsi's orange soda is Orange Slice, even though they don't make the regular lemon-lime Slice anymore, as far as I know. I also remember there being an Apple Slice when I was a kid, but it didn't last very long.

[science.livejournal.com]

Fanta is Nazi Coke.