You know the feeling after someone makes a comment or something happens, meaningless or shocking, and the stars suddenly align, a light bulb comes on and you think ... it all makes sense. I can see clearly now!
This happened recently. Sadly, it wasn't substantial -- i.e. the meaning of life or the secret to an boundless amount of wealth -- but it made me wonder ... think McFly, think ... is there anything, perhaps a beverage or hobby or activity, you keep consuming or taking part in only to remember, within a couple minutes or sips, you don't enjoy this certain something. That's not to say you hate it but you definitely don't enjoy it enough to keep coming back again and again with regularity.
I.e. for whatever reason, I often order a Blue Moon while out on the town. I never gave it a second thought until recently, when my better half randomly riddled me this, "Do you like Blue Moon?" For whatever reason, I considered the question in lieu of responding with a gut-reaction. I realized I don't enjoy it enough -- it's a big bucket of OK.
Just as Dion and the Belmonts did, I wonder why.
Blue moon,
You saw me standing alone,
Without a dream in my heart,
Without a love of my own.
Maybe part of me, somewhere deep down, wants to like Blue Moon. There's something idyllic about sipping Blue Moon from a wide-mouth glass with an orange slice floating on the creamy, white foam like a child letting a lazy river carry him down current on a hot summer day. The sun beats down as I sip my Blue Moon, penetrating my darkening skin while rolling waves lure me like a sirens lullaby.
I want to like Blue Moon ... doesn't this sound so nice? So, maybe it has to do with my love for summer and the familiar equation: Blue Moon + Orange Slice = Summer. However, it's not that easy. It's never that easy. It's something much bigger.
We unconsciously seek what is familiar because it brings comfort, especially with quick decisions like ordering a drink at a bar or channel surfing. Yeah, you could chat with someone about your favorite alcoholic beverage or TV show but, when it comes to you at the bar, being asked by some over-worked bartender, "What'll it be?" ... well, you pick something familiar. Quick draw! Impulse time! Brain freeze! That damn Blue Moon. You've got more important things on your mind, bigger priorities than an alcoholic beverage (which, ironically, is used to briefly forget about said priorities). Also, let's be honest, you can't remember the new beer you wanted to try or the liquor that sounded so delicious because you've got too many things on your mind day-to-day.
Blue Moon. Two words I've heard repeated in advertisements and by friends. Two words I've seen scrawled across chalk boards at trendy bars, on signs used to lure people in to the dark and cool establishments to beat the heat with booze -- a diuretic.
As Albert Einstein said, "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
I'm not one of those wackjobs who crave disappointment, so ... what's the frequency Kenneth? Obviously we the people need to patiently order what we want because we're spending our hard earned American sweaty-ass dollars!
What do I like to drink? It's as simple as that! Come to think of it, I'm a big flavored vodka and tonic fan. So take that Blue Moon! (Picture the flavored vodka bottle sitting proudly next to a devastated and embarrassed bottle of Blue Moon, packing its little Blue Moon bags with oranges and headed for the door. Off to disappoint another person, in some other town.)
However, I can't get past this idea of me ordering the same shit over and over again like an impulsive robot. Do you do the same thing, do things in your life over and over again simply for the comfort of routine? Why?
Were you the baby in your family, maybe the youngest of three or more? You're important but your odds of happiness are hampered by your percentage -- i.e. in a family of six people, I was only averaging a 16.67% of importance and that's on a GOOD day! Youngest of four kids, so that's a 25% average hampered because by the time I came around, my parents were exhausted from raising my pain-in-the-ass siblings, so ... yeah. Magic 8-ball: Don't Count On It.
So, you learn to go with the flow. I can be happy eating most things, doing most things, going most places. But am I really happy or just complacent? This, in turn, leaks into your adolescence, young adulthood, until you wake up one day as an adult and find out you don't know jack and have been ordering Blue Moon for years -- perhaps this also has to do with the fact I'd drank shitty hooch for years as an underage, co-ed booze-hound and never took the time to realize I can now buy good booze, whatever booze I want, free from the fear of fake IDs and the po-po. Say it with me now, No More Milwaukee's Best! Then again, at least I know when I buy Blue Moon the experience will be OK. What if I try something new and the booze is awful?
Anyway, with adolescents today, there are major problems with self-esteem. This ties in with our nature as human beings -- we want to be accepted, we want people to like us. There's a balance involved between wanting approval and seeking approval. Perhaps you listen to certain types of music or watch certain films you know a certain someone or group enjoy so you belong. It's good to be open to new ideas and experiences but, again, there's a balance.
Then again, we live (well at least I do) in a country of ME. Americans are bred to get what they want, when they want. So, if this is the case, perhaps people have too many choices. One company comes out with a new beverage and it becomes popular so what do the other companies do? Scurry to come out with something equally appealing or better. Jump on the craze of the week! Like the bacon craze, the barbecue craze, the gooey frappe craze, the lowest calorie beer craze, which has become the lowest calorie hard liquor craze, blah blah blah.
Although, we typically order what's familiar, what we've heard over and over again on television or seen constantly in glossy magazines ads. Perhaps we try something new when it's endorsed by a friend or celebrity. They keep whispering sweet nothings in your ear enough for you to go out and spend your money.
Whatever the case, it's all relative. Everything is connected. Bottom line, no more Blue Moon.
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