The well keeled

I've a (relatively) new found stability, I can look back on parts of my life, events, what I would, even in the recent past, have called 'mistakes', and I have more (and this may sound strange) compassion for myself, or my past self and how I either did well or did not. Now. Success and failure are no longer polar opposites...

The phrase example, "The glass half ______" (full or empty) is just a way of describing an object from two different perspectives. Don't read into it! Optimist/Pessimist shmessamist... One could just say, "Look, there is 4oz. of water in that 8oz. glass."  My mind immediately thinks,"That is really more than half of what will likely be poured into that glass anyway." And, "Who would ever put 8oz of water into an 8oz. glass? That is an accident waiting to happen..."  In reality we would fill it to just beneath the rim, so as not to spill it, or just negate the worry and just use a larger glass.  [I know that is just not the point, I realize this and continue to have rambling thoughts]  So when the class looked to be half full, one has to then think, "Are we thinking measuring cup here? Cuz, if I were to "fill" that glass, it would not be filled to the 8oz rim.  In order to have our "full" glass of water and still be able to pick it up and carry it without spilling.  Metaphor schmetaphor, I am a man of logic and reasoning... Bwah hah ha ahhhah! Yeah, right. {says the little voices in the back of my metaphorical head}

Next memory comes... Many of the glasses in Europe, in restaurants, bars, etc., have little serving marks, so you know exactly how much should be in the glass as a serving, and you know that the next person will get the same amount/serving.  Your mind is settled, as you pay for your 200ml (quite small by American standards) sized glass of CocaCola or Almdudler soda and if it is filled to the line, that reads 200ml, and know you are getting what you payed for. 

Next memory... The amount of ice in beverages sold (what used to be nearly everywhere) where you get a cup FULL of ice and some drink to fill the space in between, a 32oz cup that is 25oz of ice and 7oz of actual drink. This is the case unless you count the melt water that eventually comes from the ice (I am guessing here, is < or = 18oz. of water) (As the volume of ice is always more than that of liquid water, you really are getting very little for your money, unless you count the 'value' of a slightly heavier plastic "collector cup" emblazoned with some blockbuster movie character, or you go some place that just hands you a certain size cup ('the honor system') that you can fill with any proportion of drink and ice... )

I will admit that soda no longer excites me, I am non-plussed by the excessively sweet taste and the residue that becomes phleghm in the back of my mouth/throat (Sorry, that is neither Kosher nor a pleasant image. Why?  It's all thanks to High Fructose Corn Syrup) Yet I always adopt an old yiddish man's accent (a la Billy Crystal) as I try to clea' my troat! Achem! [Note: this is not always done aloud, but at least in my mind's eye...]

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Some part of what I responded to a friend's post: [can be read with any accent...]

Funny, one has plans and dreams, yet I have been alone much of my life, I might feel like an artist, an oil painter, that finds himself stranded on an island and there is no canvas, no oil or brushes... So I must find other media and ways to channel my creativity, express or relate my vision as I continue to survive.

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