New blog

Alright so I have once again entered one of my many phases where I need another blog. Once again it is a movie blog because - hey why not? I will essentially use this blog as an online catalog of my movie collection where I will write reviews of all the movies that I own.

Now I know exactly what you are thinking "Allen, if you own these movies that means you spent money on them and therefor you had to like them and so aren't reviews kind of pointless?" To which I say, shut your face. Clearly you forget that I own Alvin and the chipmunks, Alex & Emma, Blankman. No one likes those movies.

In a way this is a continuation of my resolution last year, except I don't have a deadline for watching them, and I don't have a particular order for them to go in, and the reviews will be longer and singularly reviewed instead of large groups of movies like I did with my resolution write-ups I stopped caring about after the letter F.

Anyway feel free to stop by Allen's Movie Stash and find out what I am watching this week.

One Month Later

Wow have I really not updated in a month? Well here is an update for you to tide you over for another month.

A lot has happened to me since I last blogged. I wet to San Francisco and got sunburned for the first time in years (not because I have magical luck that prevents me from getting burnt but rather because life as a shut-in doesn't allow for much sunlight.) I also moved out of my parents house once again, and this time for good. With that move I have also found myself in a new ward for the first time since 2005 and it is more than a little troublesome right now. I have been to baseball games and concerts. I have attempted to eat my weight in ice cream. And I have discovered what I am going to talk about with you today.

Ramenbox.

Now as the name so obviously states this is a box of ramen that you get delivered to your house for a nominal fee. But really it is so much more. As a youngish single man who can cook but refuses to cook for himself ramen has always been a mainstay in my diet. It's cheap, easy, and comes in single serving packages what is not to love (aside from the over abundance of sodium of course)? The problem with Top Ramen, the standard easily recognizable brand of Ramen that eleven times out of ten is the first thing you think of when you say ramen, is that the flavors are bland and the meal itself is lifeless. There is no real substance to the dish unless you add your own stuff.

If someone could explain to me what "Oriental" flavor is supposed to be besides racist I would love to know.

Ramenbox meanwhile completely ignores the Top Ramen Americanized version of the dish in favor of a heartier variety of asian imported ramen brands and flavors. Each brand is different and unique compared to the last. You can still add your favorite veggies or meats to your meal but there is no real need to thanks to the thicker noodles and the additional flavor packets within each package. You can get cups, bowls, larger packages with multiple servings, or the traditional single serving packages. They have quite literally everything. You can choose between two different sizes of ramenboxes the standard with 20 "slots" or the large with 40 "slots" and each package is worth 1,2, or 3 slots. I opted for the large box and tried to get a little bit of everything and as a result I got something that looked a little like this:

It was so much delicious that I didn't know where to start. But start I did. Every package that I have eaten so far has been amazing and unique. The one thing that I have noticed is that with my old cheap ramen I would find myself cooking two packages at a time to tide me over. Not with this though. No I have barely put a dent in my ramenbox because quite simply I haven't needed to. One package and I am good to go for pretty much the rest of the day, and for a guy my size with my appetite that is an INCREDIBLE thing. I have already decided that once this box gets low I am going to order it again because I am that in love with this service.

I still don't think I will ever get to the point where I will make ramen for a date, but now it isn't because I am embarrassed to purchase it, but rather I don't want to share.