Fine Friday XV: Bluetooth Headphones.

I'm almost never happy with the status quo.  When I listen to music, I hate wires.  So what do I do when I want to use my phone to listen to music?  I use my Bluetooth headphones of course!  Now what I love about my headphones is the fact that they are wireless, meaning that I have no cords to get tangled, I can't accidentally pull my phone off a table by walking away, and I can answer calls and they automatically pause my music.  What I don't like though?  Sometimes I'll be walking along, and they will randomly turn off.  Of course, my phone is still playing music, but it switches to the speaker.  Not so good with my choice of music usually.  But they get great battery life, and they have a surprisingly long range.

Fine Friday XIV: Canvas shoes.

These are the culprits.

So many of you know I have an obsession with shoes.  And if you didn't know, I am obsessed with Puma El Reys.  Now, to my advantage, Puma has tons of styles of this one shoe, encompassing many different fabrics.  They come in leather, suede, plastic(ish), furs, corduroy, and canvas.  Usually the less expensive pairs are made of canvas.  But sadly, canvas scuffs extremely easily.  I love wearing canvas shoes.  There is just something so timeless and classic.  It's a durable fabric, yet once it gets dirty, it's impossible to get it clean.  I've tried Mr. Clean Magic Erasers, the washing machine, chemical shoe cleaners, but nothing seems to ever get white canvas shoes white again.  But does that stop my addiction?  No.

Fine Friday XIII: Peanut Butter.

Now, before we get started, let me explain.  I really do love peanut butter.  But it must meet the following requirements.  First, it must be smooth.  None of this chunky crap.  It's called peanut butter, not peanut 'Rocky Road'.  When was the last time you wanted chunks in your butter?  Never, that's when.  Second, none of this organic crap.  I can't be the only one that's disgusted when you have to mix your peanut butter because the oil separated.  Third, it better be on a sandwich and include either strawberry or grape jelly. (The last one is personal preference.)

Fine Friday XII: My phone's mirror screen protector.

So about a year ago I bought 3 screen protectors for my phone, but these are no ordinary screen protectors.  They are mirror screen protectors!  They act like a mirror when the screen s off, but when you turn the screen on, BAM, it's clear!  Okay, now that we've discussed the awesomeness factor, we have to look at the downsides.  Whenever I am outdoors, (not a lot), even at full brightness, it is quite difficult to see anything on the screen.  Also, it shows every single smudge, speck of dust, and fingerprint.  Not to mention the obvious fact that since it's a mirror, I constantly blind myself when it looks towards the sun.  But overall, I use them just because of how cool they are, and because I got them for $2.

Fine Friday XI: Open-book Quizzes.

So usually when a teacher says that a quiz or test is going to be open-book, most people feel relieved.  I however, feel that in much smaller amounts.  Most teachers try to keep their exams at least a bit challenging.  For example:  Once a week in my World Geography class, we have an open-book and open-note quiz.  Problem is, most questions are from the in-class discussions.  Almost never can you find the answers in the book or the notes you took (sadly, I take terrible notes).  But usually you'll find a couple questions where you find it's worth it to lug the overweight textbook up the hill to class.

Fine Friday X: Rain.

Precipitation is a gray area for me.  It can either be something delightful, or it can ruin my day.  Example: my sister and I share a car back home. Said car is extremely temperamental. If it's raining out, the battery shorts out and loses its charge. But then again, I adore the smell of fresh rain on asphalt.  You already know my feelings on more extreme forms of precipitation, but sometimes I just like to look out my window and watch it fall.  Another example: today's forecast for campus? Rain with ice pellets. Not fun, especially when you have long uncovered walks to classes.

Fine Friday IX: This Blog.

I am in a love/hate relationship with this blog.  I hate writing it, but I love seeing people's comments.  I hate coming up with topics, but I love when I find just the right one.  I really do have trouble finding the right things to post, and I feel like if I start taking suggestions that they wouldn't really reflect me.  But whatever.

P.S. You guys never comment on the stories I tell you to comment on, and it makes me sad.

Fine Friday VIII: Electronic Music.

Ever heard a really good song? Like one that is stuck in your head for a long time and has a great beat?  Yeah, me too. I don't follow traditional party lines with music.  Usually I will only like one or two songs from an artist (there are exceptions), and I use an evolving playlist.  I will listen to 2 or 3 songs on repeat until something new catches my ear.  Now to the meat of this post.   Ever heard an electronic song you liked? It seems as though I have never been able to find a good electronic song that I like that isn't 20 minutes long, or includes way too many repetitive sections.  I mean, I can like a good dubstep or trance song, but does it really need to be that long?  I think you can get your point across in around 4-5 minutes like any other artist.  Even worse?  When you find that same song that you like has a shortened version.  Success? No, its about 2 minutes long... but it's still a good song.

Fine Friday VII: Google+.

So I got Google+ pretty early (I'm a social network hipster).  I set up my profile, added some people I knew to my circles, and that was that.  Problem is, the amount of people I have in my circles is less than 25.  Apparently, I never realized how many of my friends on Facebook were under 18 (and thus cannot use Google+).  Another problem is that my stream never changes.  Of the 25 or so people I have in my circles, no one uses Google+.  If they do, they post the exact same things on Facebook at the same time.  But it does have some nice features.  The photo viewer is much nicer, and Hangouts are a clever idea.  But as of right now, I see no reason to switch exclusively to one or the other, so I use Facebook and Google+.  (Also my dad uses Google+, so that's a negative.)

Fine Friday VI: Coffee.

First off: one of the best, if not my favorite smells in the world is coffee.  Pretty much any type.  Even if just grounds, coffee is an amazing scent.  Now, about the taste: I can't say I love it.  I'm fine with mocha or hints of coffee flavoring, but the drink itself doesn't really mesh with my taste buds.  I will admit, I have purchased a cup of coffee once just for the reason of smelling it.  What I don't understand though, I have never seen a coffee scented air freshener.  I've seen vanilla, cinnamon, and plenty of other food flavors, but not coffee.  Someone needs to get on that.

Fine Friday V: Twitter.

To start off: I do have a twitter (@sofunnytom), if anyone really wants to follow me, but I have no idea what I will ever use it for.  If I wanted to give 140 character random messages to the world, I would just post it as a Facebook status.  What I find ridiculous is when someone posts over 50 tweets a day.  How are you supposed to sift through the crap that isn't directed at you?  I like the idea of hash tags though.  It's quite a clever idea to find and rate trends around the world.  There is one main thing I don't like about #s though.  I follow @ryanauld (Project Runway Season 9), and I have to wait until the day after the show goes on to watch it because I can't get TV working on my computer.  Everyone tweets the results before I get to watch the show!  But Twitter has made itself relevant to modern society, so that's just how it will be.  One thing people need to understand: Twitter is not a Facebook replacement or even competitor.

Fine Friday IV: Elevators.

Today's post revolves around elevators.  Some elevators are truly a dream.  For example: glass elevators in an atrium.  But then you run into elevators in parking garages, old buildings, and the worst: dorms.  Another problem I have with elevators is speed.  Luckily the ones in my dorm (27 stories) are pretty fast.  Usually the worst offenders are parking garages.  Usually if my climb is less than 5 stories, I'll just take the stairs.  Sometimes that isn't possible though (see this post).  But sometimes you step into an elevator, and it smells nice, everything is clean, and the light music puts you in a generally cheery mood.

Fine Friday III: Raisin Cookies.

So you're at a social event, and you walk over to the refreshments table.  At first glance you see a veggie tray, a fruit tray, deviled eggs (eww), and a tray of assorted cookies.  Of course you dive straight towards the cookies.  Your mind is telling you to grab the beige cookie with the black spots, because that means chocolate chip.  You grab the cookie, take a bite, and sadly...... the spots are raisins.  Now, this isn't that bad.  At least they weren't oatmeal raisin.  Raisins taste pretty good to me.  Edible, yet not delectable.

Fine Friday II: Sour Patch Kids and Fun Dip.

Welcome to another edition of Fine Friday! I'll be your host, Thomas, as we enter my mind to find something that I don't really frown upon. Today we're traveling to the land of Sour Patch Kids and Fun Dip!  Now, there is a reason that I grouped these two together.  I love the taste and tang of Sour Patch Kids, in fact, they are my favorite movie theater candy.  But after you eat even just a few, the top of your mouth and tongue are shredded to bits.  Eww.  The same goes for Fun Dip.  Probably one of my favorite candies of all time, (Razz-Apple Magic fo sho.) but either you end up destroying your tongue/mouth, or you end up eating the dipping stick just by itself and are forced to use your finger to eat the rest of the powder.  But I think the taste is worth it.

On a note totally unrelated to this blog...

It's tail was bright blue, and its body was yellow.  Pretty Legit.

I was sitting outside some building on campus today because I had an hour before my next class started, and this awesome lizard ran across the wall on the building behind me.  So I took a picture.

Fine Friday I: Hershey's Chocolate.

Have you ever had REALLY good chocolate?  Like Kinder Chocolate from Germany or Ghirardelli?  Those are my two favorite chocolates in the whole world, followed closely by Lindt.  Somewhere at about the middle of my favorite chocolate list lies Hershey's Chocolate.  While they got the taste right, there is just one problem: it makes you thirsty.  Like movie theater popcorn, your mouth gets dry and chalky, and you need to drink water with it.  So overall, I rate Hershey's as meh.

Fine Friday: Something I find Mediocre/Pleasant

As suggested by my sister, on Fridays I will write about something I either don't mind, or just find ok.  Watch for the first one later today.