Well alright, alright, alright!  Welcome to a very special edition of #DoubleFML FatDarrellPalooza!

That’s right, we did it folks!  This is officially post number 100! 

Wow!  Back when we launched in January 2017 – this milestone seemed so far away but here we are. 

Sheesh, that’s a lot of crazy memes and goofy shirts, eh?!

Based on my 101-year-old grandaunt who’s still terrorizing the staff at her nursing home, 100 is just the beginning! 

We plan to launch secondary blogs and additional categories soon but thanks to all who’ve been a part of the journey thus far!

Oh, and if you’re confused how this milestone happened in August instead of December, we kicked things off with 2 posts per week before settling into our regular Tuesday release schedule. 

Speaking of historic milestones that happened in August instead of December, I actually purchased 2 Christmas presents the other day! 

I’ve NEVER started this early before.  My previous record was November, so I cleared that benchmark by a mile! 

Knowing me, I’ll probably still end up procrastinating the rest of my list until mid-December, but this summertime start is promising! 

Wow look at me “adulting” successfully for a change!  Before you give me too much credit for my newfound maturity though, I should probably warn you there’s a pizza fanny pack later in this post. 

No, I’m not kidding…

Anyway, I almost had to delay this 100-post celebration because the power went out and I hadn’t saved the file! 

Thankfully, I was able to recover it.  Back in the day at Rutgers, I wasn’t so lucky! 

We had a huge 24-page thesis paper due and I waited until the night before to start it. 

Everyone else in my dorm was panicked but I stayed up eating, playing spades and flirting with girls until midnight before I even started writing.

Once I got going though, I was in my zone! 

The words effortlessly flowed from my mind through the keyboard so quickly that I never stopped to save it.  I was too busy crafting my masterpiece to be slowed down. 

Class started at 11 and by 8, I was already putting the finishing touches on it. 

A few people dropped by my room the next morning to see how I was doing so I decided to show off by leaning back in my chair to proofread my masterpiece.  That’s when I accidentally kicked out the power cord to my computer and when I plugged it back in, the entire paper was gone!

I had 2 of my friends who were Computer Science majors try and recover it but after 45 minutes, I finally conceded that I’d have to rewrite it from scratch in less than an hour!

I somehow managed to complete it in enough time to drive across campus and throw it on my professor’s desk before the end of class when it was due! 

I still have no idea how I managed to pull off an A on that paper but let this be a lesson for you all.  Always make sure to “Back that Thing Up!” 

 

Yes.  That was a true story.

And yes.  I only told that story because I wanted to type “Back that Thing Up” and show off my tee!

Mission accomplished.

Oh yeah and to my niece who’s inherited my paper procrastinating tendencies, “Do as I say, not as I do LaNaya!”

Anyway, while we’re in the “Darrell’s Dumb Fashion” show-and-tell section, check this out!

Actually, that tee isn’t dumb since it’ll probably go over most people’s heads!   

ENTJ is my personality type based on The Jung Myers-Briggs test. 

Speaking of “Keepin’ it 100” right?  Very few people keep it 100 more than ENTJ’s!

If you’re unfamiliar, click here to check out this post from last year when I talked about it in greater detail.

Long story short, ENTJ’s tend to be bossy, egotistical, manipulative jerks.  So, hey, at least I have that going for me!

Coincidentally, that same description is commonly used to describe Scorpios and New Jersey natives too! 

Well, I’m all 3 so I’m apparently my own special breed of a-hole.  An a-hole unicorn.  A trifecta of d-baggery. 

Anyway, this tee combined with my Scorpio hat should at least warn people ahead of time!  Consider it a public service.

As for the “New Jersey” warning?  If you’re near the interstate, just listen for the incessant car horn… I’m sure to be close by. 

Actually, I try not to lay on the horn much anymore since it’s treated like cursing in The South.  Besides, if I honked at every terrible driver I encountered here, my battery would be dead within a week!

Seriously, you know that game at the county fair where a pool is filled with rubber duckies and kids just reach in to grab one?  There’s no skill involved, and everyone wins?  Well, I imagine that’s how licenses are distributed here in Georgia…

“You know that game at the county fair where a pool is filled with rubber duckies and kids just reach in to grab one?  There’s no skill is involved, and everyone wins?  Well, I imagine that’s how licenses are distributed here in Georgia…” – Fat Darrell

Don’t get me wrong though, Georgia is great!  Every state has its quirks, so you take the good with the bad.

I’m obviously biased since I spent most of my life in New Jersey, but Atlanta is a really cool city!  I live slightly north of the tourist attractions in Gwinnett County. 

Fun facts:  Gwinnett County has one of the most diverse populations in the country and ranks as one of the best places to live in America for under $40,000! 

Hmm, maybe that’s why so many people keep moving here.  Perhaps I shouldn’t brag about this area so much.  Traffic is already terrible, and my rent keeps going up due to increased demand. 

So, um, yeah… never mind about all that before, I was just kidding!  Stay home, we’re full!

I still need to head back to NJ soon though.  If for nothing else, I’d like an authentic slice of pizza!  It’s been awhile…

Oh yeah, that reminds me – the pizza fanny pack.  Enjoy!

 

Like the shirt says, “the pizza made me do it” since this was clearly an impulse buy. 

Ha, I haven’t worn this outside yet and would only do so ironically!

I know people claim these are coming back in style, but I have no intention of being at the forefront of that movement! 

They were convenient back in the day though!  I used to stash my Chapstick, gum and money in there.  I even squeezed my Sony Discman in there a few times.  It was great! 

I’m silently rooting for them to make a full comeback.  Oh, but look what I spotted at the Sears I told you about last week! 

These hip-hop Looney Tunes shirts are SO 90’s!  These are the shirts I was referring to in my 90’s fashion show post!

Since this Sears location is closing, I wasn’t sure if it was a new shirt or if they found it in their old inventory but either way, I regret that I didn’t buy it! 

It’s sad to see another major retail store close.  It’s not the entire chain yet but that may be the next step.  Amazon is taking out all the competition!  Every store from my childhood will be gone soon!

 

Hopefully it’s still there next time I drop by that mall.  If so, I’ll see if that shirt is still on the rack! 

Hmm, I also need to get the price of that camel… (see last post for context)

Check out what I was able to find though! 

That’s right y’all, DJ Khaled has officially “remixed” Prosupps energy drinks to create his own flavor, VIBES Hyde Power Potion! 

Although Power Potion is available in other flavors and he endorses the entire line, VIBES is the only one formulated by Dj Khaled at this point.  Of course, I didn’t figure that out until after taking these photos last week…

Whoops.

This new offering is available exclusively at The Vitamin Shoppe and boasts a mighty impressive nutrition label once you get past the artificial flavors and sucralose.

There’s no fat, no sugar, no carbs, no artificial colors or dyes, B vitamins (energy), BCAA’s (muscle growth and recovery), C0Q10 (heart health), L-Carnitine and L-Tartrate (metabolism) and around 350 mg of caffeine (TURN UP!).

Wow, they really packed this drink with nutrients!  Those are impressive stats!

As for the taste?  I really enjoyed the Cherry Cola flavor so let’s see how this VIBES Berry Colada compares!

The Verdict:  I like it!  Berry Colada is the perfect description.  It literally tastes like a carbonated pina colada with berries in it!  You can actually taste each unique flavor.  I’m impressed!  Obviously, if you’re not a pineapple and coconut fan, stick to the other flavors but the entire line has impressed me so far. 

Hopefully ProSupps can find a way to eliminate the artificial flavors but as far as energy drinks go, this is head and shoulders above most of the competition. 

Do you have a fitness question, goal or accomplishment you’d like to share?  Tell us in the comments below! 

On the opposite end of the health spectrum, I also had to try this mac and cheese bagel from Einstein Bagels! 

 

This may be old news to many of you, but I’ve never been to this restaurant before. 

I only went to buy bagels for a few friends to brighten their day but as I perused the menu, there it was.  BAM!  Macaroni and cheese baked into a bagel?  What?!

I’m trying to cut down a bit for several upcoming fitness projects, so I hadn’t planned to buy anything for myself.  However, the manager said the mac and cheese would soon be replaced with pumpkin spice for the fall. 

Whoa.  No way was I going to let it disappear without at least trying one first!  So, here we are.

My initial fear was that the mac and cheese would overpower the bagel or would be better in concept than execution.  My fears were compounded when the manager recommended Honey Almond cream cheese to go with it but I decided o trust his judgement and I’m glad I did!

The Verdict:  It was incredible!  The mac and cheese only appears on one side of the bagel so unlike most ENTJ’s, it’s a team player. 

The honey almond cream cheese was also the perfect choice as it really pulled the flavors together.  Only weirdos who mix their foods like I do will get this analogy so the rest of you can feel free to skip ahead to the next paragraph.  For the weirdos who are still with me, have you ever placed a little mac and cheese on top of a biscuit covered in honey at KFC or Popeyes?  Well, it’s like that, but with chewier bread!  Whoa.

Einstein bagels had several other interesting menu options I’d like try.  This was the “gateway bagel” so now I’m hooked. 

If you have a location nearby, I highly recommend checking out the mac and cheese bagel before it’s pumpkin spice everything next month!

Do you have another food item, restaurant or recipe we should try?  Tell us in the comments below!  Also make sure to join our Facebook foodie group, Phenomnomnomenal, by clicking here!

If you’re a regular here or know me personally, you can probably guess that 350 mg of caffeine has me even more energized than usual!  I know, scary eh?  I’ll definitely need to take a few of these on my next road trip!

With that said, I’d better go workout or something to burn this off!  Maestro, cue the music!

 

Today’s Soundtrack

100 – The Game ft Drake

Dinero – Jennifer Lopez ft. Cardi B and DJ Khaled

Plain Jane (remix) – A$AP Ferg ft. Nicki Minaj

How Do You Feel Right Now – Axwell ft. Ingrosso

Bun Up the Dance –  Dillon Francis & Skrillex

Glory – John Legend ft. Common (from the Selma soundtrack)

Do you have another song that fits today’s themes or that’s just so great we should check it out anyway?  Tell us about it in the comments below!

If you didn’t understand the relevance of the song from the Selma soundtrack, it’s in celebration of the 55^th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s historic “I have a dream” speech on 8/28!

Despite the attempts of extremists, politicians and the media to divide us, I remain hopeful that we’ll someday look past our differences to finally make this dream a reality. 

If you make a genuine attempt to interact with other races and cultures without allowing stereotypes and past experiences to cloud your vision, you’ll realize we have more in common than it might appear on the surface. 

At the end of the day dearly beloved, aren’t we all just gathered here to get through this thing called life?  Sorry, I stole that line from Prince…but it’s true though.

Anyway, one thing that unites us all is food!  Everyone has to eat, right? 

With that said, here are the “foodie holidays” that occur between this and next post!

Whoa, International Bacon Day, eh?  You KNOW I’m celebrating that one!  Hmm, that’s also convenient they paired it with National Grits for Breakfast Day.  Well played “foodie committee”…well played.

You know what else unites us?  The comments section! 

So um yeah, if you enjoyed this post, show me some love and post your thoughts below!  Also follow me on social media by clicking the logos on the side panel!

Anyway, that about does it for this week.  Wow, it’s crazy to think that it’ll be September when post 101 drops!  Man this year feels like it’s flying by!  Life is short, make it epic.

Thanks again for dropping by and thanks for your support through the first 100 posts!  If I’ve made you smile at least once along the way, then it’s all worthwhile.  Here’s to the next 100!

Until next time my friends, May the Fork be With You…

-Darrell

“Be a voice, not an echo…”