The System 490: Feeling Adult
I’ve spoken before about the perfect PB & J in this comic. Clearly a topic close to my heart.
It’s true, I don’t know if you ever “feel like an adult”. I still feel like a big kid, and part of me hopes I always do. I still feel like telling a girl she has cooties and chasing after her anyway. You know cooties is real, right? Totally real.
Feeling like a kid is something that I think is very important to creative-types. I don’t mind responsibilities, lord knows I have plenty, but it’s the child-like moments that let you cope with stress, see things from a new perspective, and enjoy the little things. It’s something Rossmom taught me from a young age. How about you?
Oh, and that PB & J recipe? I’m going to take a lot of flak for this I’m sure, so go ahead and post your own interpretations. Here’s mine:
ROSSCOTT’S PERFECT PB&J
INGREDIENTS
2 Slices of wheat bread
1 Jar of Skippy(tm) peanut butter (I prefer chunky)
1 Jar of strawberry jam
INSTRUCTIONS
Toast the bread first. This is key. Then spread peanut butter on both pieces of bread. Less than you think, because you’re putting it on both pieces, but enough to cover it fully. Then spread the jelly on top of the peanut butter on just one piece (it’s in the middle so it doesn’t matter). This seals in the jelly so it doesn’t bleed into the bread, and makes the taste more even. If you’re feeling extra crazy, throw some banana slices in there too!
If you make it, let me know what you think! Trust me, the details are worth it.
Okay, go forth and enjoy. Get on the swing set, it was always my favorite. (Or, if you’re feeling more “adult”, go see Thor.)
May 6th, 2011 at 11:56 am
Peter Pan creamy dammit. And give me some blackberry or raspberry jam.
May 6th, 2011 at 12:11 pm
Rossmom didn’t teach me anything at a young age…
May 6th, 2011 at 12:12 pm
my wife has a PBJ everyday for lunch
May 6th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
I know EXACTLY what you mean. I feel like I got older and took on responsibilities but never “grew up”. And I don’t think I really ever want to, either. What’s the point of living life so seriously? Does life not last long enough for some, that they have to stretch out every moment in some kind of straight-laced agony? =P
I hate peanut butter, but the next time I get a jar of raw chunky almond butter I’ll have to try this. And I’m with the first commentor, blackberry or raspberry. Or blueberry! Oh, and preserves over jelly/jam if you can swing it.
May 6th, 2011 at 3:17 pm
I'm on the chunky team. Chunky is superior and will assimilate opposition.
May 6th, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Sorry.
May 6th, 2011 at 4:34 pm
Thank you!
I think your outlook is what makes you the type of person you are and. I think it's important for everyone to feel that way at least some of the time. Otherwise, who would really want to spend time w/you?
If you think you are still a kid at heart, that's what you are. I feel that way; have always felt that way. Although there are times you need to "act' like an adult, doesn't mean you still can't feel like a kid on the inside.
As for "cooties" : "It first appeared in a 1917 service dictionary. The word is thought to originate from the Austronesian languages' Polynesian, Tagalog, and Malayan word kutu, meaning lice. The term presumably having been brought to the West by Western sailors and/or soldiers who had traveled to Polynesia, the Philippines, or Malaya.
From its original meaning of head or body lice, the term seems to have evolved into a purely imaginary stand-in for anything contagious and repulsive."
May 6th, 2011 at 4:36 pm
btw, pb&j–I honestly can't comment on the best way to make it. Actually don't like pb or j. Do like the wheat bread and toasted is always delicious.
I can see the "seal" part as being very important especially if you want to take it anywhere w/o a plate.
May 6th, 2011 at 9:01 pm
Yeah, fixed that. Sorry.
May 6th, 2011 at 9:06 pm
The only things that changes is you add toys to your toys.
Get on a swing with a hand-held GPS unit to see how fast you can actually go!
PS: For Rossmom, yeah, my mom told me cooties derived from servicemen returning with crabs.
May 6th, 2011 at 9:32 pm
Way to capture the gestalt of being in your mid to late 20s. I still have a strong urge to call boys I like 'craphead' then pass them notes in class… and yet we're allowed to rent cars, vote and watch any TV show we want! I mean, I ate a pint of Ben & Jerry's for breakfast yesterday. Something is wrong / awesome about this picture.
May 7th, 2011 at 7:26 pm
I am totally the epitome of "grown-up" – married, mother, homeowner – and yet I still giggle at the words "adult" and "fart." How did this all happen to us? When did our own parents start feeling grown up? Or is grown-up an external concept (ie: we look at others and consider them grown-up but never internally)?
May 7th, 2011 at 7:28 pm
PS: 10 points to MarvelGirl for "gestalt" – I love when anyone uses fancy words appropriately and ironically.
May 8th, 2011 at 12:23 am
You can't teach everyone, and you've already taught 60% of the fairly reasonable people who use the internet.
May 8th, 2011 at 12:25 am
Hey, we're almost at #500…
What is with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? I thought it was horrible.
May 8th, 2011 at 1:45 pm
Well, 10 points to you for using "ironically" appropriately.
My points will either be invested in an annuities-based 401k, or blown this weekend on cupcakes and friendship bracelets.
May 8th, 2011 at 9:32 pm
I vote you go with the cupcakes, and turn them into cupcake sandwiches. =P
May 9th, 2011 at 1:00 am
Why, thank you!
May 9th, 2011 at 1:01 am
Well, then obviously your Mother is very smart!
May 9th, 2011 at 9:27 am
I feel my recipe is better:
I'm with you on the skippy, but I'm a grape jelly guy.
Put half the jar of jelly in a bowl with half the jar of peanut butter. Then put the remaining jelly from the jar into the peanut butter jar. Then empty the bowl into the empty jar. You now have to jars of peanutbutter/jelly. Add honey. Not a lot, start small. Blend both jars. Taste, add honey if needed.
You now have two jars of peanutbutterjellyhoney that cuts sandwich making time in half, and guarantees the perfect mixed bite EVERY TIME.
I can't explain why, but when you really mix the peanut butter and jelly together, it just tastes better than putting them next to each other. Also, Honey. Enough said.
You can have a peanutbutterjellyhoney sandwich in like, 30 seconds. At any time. Hopefully this won't drive you mad.
May 9th, 2011 at 12:42 pm
Good recipe, one minor thing to add/own preference: homemade strawberry jam. Requires: pectin a bunch of glass jars and as many fresh strawberries as you can get your hands on, mash strawberries (like potatoes), add pectin to bowl (one package does about four 350ml jars). Divide into jars, deposit jars in freezer (wax paper and an elastic band works just as well if you run out of caps), use as needed.
May 9th, 2011 at 3:50 pm
Thank you! My husband and I argue about the proper way to make a PB&J; he insists on jellying the piece without the peanut butter. But when you do that, not only does your bread get soggy, but the flavors don't get all mixed in together!
May 9th, 2011 at 11:58 pm
Creamy? Heresy! It must be crunchy.
May 10th, 2011 at 12:05 am
being an adult just a total pain in the a**, trust me.
peanut butter? that's give my throat sore… (but i still eat it like there's no tomorrow…)
May 11th, 2011 at 4:40 pm
We are almost at 500! Something special is on the way.
May 18th, 2011 at 9:04 am
It's peanut butter jelly time?
August 13th, 2011 at 7:38 pm
Yep, imo you are grown up when people around you start treating you as an adult.
'primitive' cultures (without exception, so that should be a hint) got this whole adult/grown up business figured out. At a certain age/stage of your development, you went through some sort of ceremony. Kid goes in, adult comes out.
No uncertainty, everyone knows that s/he is now an adult, carries adult responsibilities etc.
Seems like a good thing to me, but hey, who's asking me, right?