Who do I still think I am??

This one's about a serial and not just a sandwich.

30DBC PROMPT: "Recall a monumental decision you had to make recently. On the first day (yesterday), share with us the decision you made and the outcome of your choice. Was the outcome generally good or bad? On the second day (today), you have a chance to make a different decision. If you choose to change your decision, write about how that choice would affect your life now. If you decide to stay with the decision you made, explain why."

Good afternoon, dear readers. I'm fully aware of the circumstances today's entry holds. It's the second part of the fabled "serial" portion of the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" . Well, no circumstances for me, of course, but to those out there in the running for the virtual championship belt. Otherwise, well, I realize what these serials are supposed to be about, and what you've gotta do to pull off one that really wows the judges and the competition alike, and sucks in readers like a giant, shady van tossing out free candy. I've done it before (the serial, not the van). You've gotta come strong at the finish...the climactic finale, the happy ending.

Spoiler Alert! This entry has neither of those traits. And as much as I'd love to pull off an entry that reads like you don't have to read part one in order to understand part two, well, you should've already known by now I'm too lazy to feel like pulling that off today. So here's a brief recap of yesterday: video, broken leg, disheveled Yoda, Excel, C'mon Man, judging. Got it?

I decided that rather than entering the 30DBC this month full-time, I would do the guest judging for a week. We determined (that's I, after bouncing these words off you) that it was, in fact, a good choice. But what would've happened had I not stepped in to judge this week? What if I wrote thirty straight days of legit entries? Would I have even entered at all? (I got a little cocky here, and typed the bracket and "link" expecting to easily find a YouTube clip of Wayne and Garth doing the noise I can't put any words to and moving their hands and fingers up and down before they launch into a dream sequence. The one time I need a short clip to illustrate my point, it figures that I wouldn't be able to locate the one I want. It's like they always say...live by the YouTube, die by the YouTube.)

Man...if you thought I was unprepared yesterday to judge a whole week's worth of entries, what would you call today then? 'Cuz I have no backup plan, nor a conclusion to my serial. And I don't know what to write about, either .

Here's an idea, and it's based off an old acronym we would use when I worked at the local consumer electronics company's repair shop for customers who would bring in audio/visual equipment they claimed was malfunctioning (but in reality they just didn't know what they were doing): RTFM. Only in my situation, it would look like RTFP (and that would be "Read The Effin' Prompt").

There's my out. I wouldn't choose any differently, especially knowing that I would wind up making the task even harder than it already is (which is not to say judging is hard, but it does possess a different degree of discipline than writing does). I have a tendency to stick boldly to my decisions (sometimes with full-blown conviction, and sometimes rather foolishly). At the time of choice (for lack of a better word), you have to choose with confidence and be able to soundly defend why you made whatever decisions you've made.

As it turns out, I don't have any good reason for staying with the decision I made, other than I'd been getting bored just writing entries and acting like a normal participant. I wanted to do something different. I didn't want to just donate a ton of GP's and hope one day they'd rename the whole 30DBC after me and present the winner with the Fivesixer Memorial Monthly Official Challenge Trophy (or FMMOCT, pronounced "fuhmmuct'd" for those of you spelling at home) six times a year. I also knew I wouldn't be able to do a full month of competing, but I didn't know that until after the month started.

Really though, it's because I wanted to. I don't think my life would've been that much different one way or the other, but I guess that's one of the things you don't really know about unless it actually happens the opposite way, in which case you wouldn't know that how it turned out is really what you would've wanted to happen. See what I'm sayin'? I do.

And I would've had this part done so much sooner had I actually paid attention to what the entire prompt said, rather than glossing it over and trying to think of some fancy bullshit story about why I wanted to judge, and how it would've made some crazy difference like I was doing it for the Make-A-Wish foundation http://wish.org/ or I was being paid in tacos or something. Nope. Not me. No crazy but true stories, no happy endings. Just an end. Happy July, and yay me for actually following through and judging the 30DBC for a week, and actually writing a serial prompt without complaining about it. Unheard of in these parts, I know...but sometimes the truth is stranger than the satire it's based on.

BCF PROMPT: "If a restaurant were to name something after you, what would it be? Describe it. (Bonus points if you give us a recipe!)"

And now for the tasty portion of today's entry! It's gonna be simple, 'cuz really, the prompt is simple. The restaurant wouldn't be your ordinary place of doing business by eating. It'd have to be something like http://www.broadwaydelicafeandcatering.com/, because it's no secret how much I absolutely love their sandwiches. That's correct. I don't need fancy meals or gourmet pleasures. Give me a simple sandwich where the primary ingredient is love, and I'll endorse it anywhere.

What would be on my signature sandwich? Hard salami and turkey breast piled about an inch high, some provolone and Swiss cheese on a seeded sesame roll (toasted), with lettuce, tomato and a thickly-sliced ring of onion, topped with horseradish mustard and mayonnaise (cut in half for good measure and easier handling), with a dill pickle on the side. I don't even have to specify "fresh", because everything the Broadway Deli's ever served me tasted like it was fresh...the veggies, the meats, the rolls, the cheeses, they all taste a hundred times better than if you'd purchased the same stuff from the giant grocery store around the way. They're beyond the boundaries of what your taste buds are familiar with...your taste buds will become your best buds when you're done with one of their gigantic sandwiches (made right before your watchful eyes!). And they're reasonable too...I think the last time I was there I got the combo for $8.99, which was the sandwich, a cup of their homemade soup of the day and a drink. You can't beat that...not with the price of meat at grocery stores these days. Plus, it's got my name on it. I'll take two, because I'm ok with sharing!

MUSICAL BREAK!!

Well, I couldn't get the Wayne's World clip I wanted, but I got this instead. Almost as good.

THE DAILY BOX SCORE:

45: Minutes a sketchy old man sat at the same table as I was seated at in the local library, and decided to read...wait for it...wait for it...the phone book. No joke...it's not like he was feverishly flipping through the letters, looking for a particular business or person. He was straight up chillin', workin' his eyes up and down them pages as if they held secrets he was determined to stare out of the names, addresses and phone numbers of the folks still gettin' their call on usin' ol' Ma Bell and the ill communication http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFQXDUKtb6o. No pen and paper to write things down on, and no celly to put someone on blast. It's like he did it to relax. In a room full of books...and your choice is one of the approximately 86 copies of the Cortland County yellow pages? Can I get a "looks away and shakes my damn head" emoticon, please?

Longtime readers of "Who Do I Think I Am??"  may recall me talking about a band from Buffalo named Letterset (and you can see videos I've taken of them here: http://www.youtube.com/user/naikin3/videos), the drummer of which I know and consider to be one of the best living drummers music has ever known. Josiah's got a new band, and you can find out more on Twitter by following them at @Daydreamchronic ...show your love for the 716!

Thanks to everyone who's read this month's "Invalid Item" , and especially those who kicked a few GP's into the kitty ! Too very nice of you. Don't forget to head over to the forum...your blog might be featured next month just for hittin' up the editors at the "Blogging Bliss Newsletter Forum" . Tell your friends, tell your enemies, hell, even tell your frenemies http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMnPdBzVT1E! We don't mind! It's wild! It's fun for the whole family! Do it now! (After you finish reading this, of course.)

That awkward moment when you're yawning, and it feeeeels sooooo goooood because you're in a full stretch and your jaw's so wide open that it's actually relaxed and then your neck makes a cracking sound and a pain shoots down your spine and disrupts you mid-yawn, leaving you to feel like you've got more yawn to give but you can't 'cuz your mind feels like you just had a stellar yawn? Yup, that was me while homeboy was readin' the phone book. And yes, I'm the guy who yawned 47 times typing this point up because I yawn when I see or hear the word "yawn", or see someone else yawn. I wish I could do the same thing with the word "sleep". Yeah, that'd be real nice.

Ok, that's it. Another month in the 30DBC is over, and so's this entry. On behalf of "Who do I still think I am??"  I'd like to thank the judges, the staff, the crew, the posse, the butcher, the street team, the stylist, The Fifth Dimension http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPK7ZF6jfJE, the BCF, the ego, the dictionary, the legs on her, the powers that be, the Calder Cup, the Church of The Fonz, the letter "Q", The Color Purple, this one, that one, the white one or the black one, and most importantly, you- the person behind the beautiful face watching these words on your computer screen or mobile device. We (you and I) love you all. It's been a great month. Peace, I believe we can reach the morning light, and GOODNIGHT NOW!!