That Bob

Every time Bob texted me this week, I'd return a variation of Sorry Busy Work Can't Later Stressed Working Late Still No Sorry. I don't remember whether I sent him anything like that today, but while I was sorry-stressed-busy-working, a little vase of roses lowered onto my desk in front of me, then a smoothie from Panera... and there was That Bob. He was worried about me and had the day off, so he came to visit in the early afternoon and was my calm presence while I finished and sent a proposal, and my dining partner at ESPN Zone, and then my company while I worked on a report at home.

Apparently one of those texts he sent me promised he's make me feel better. And he's right, he did.

This Morning, I Saw a Gray Stray Tabby...

...the little kitty was creeping around the Educate building and I wanted to park my car and dash after him, clean him and feed him and take him home. But I know I can't do that unless I plan to keep him forever, so I just watched his lean little body from my car and hoped that there is some soft heart in the city who leaves food out for him every night.

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Matt's out of town again this week, in St. Louis. Somehow, this week has been easier than last, even though I went out with Carlos on Tuesday and had a party at work Thursday night. Carlos and I saw "The Dark Knight" which was more along the lines of the types of superhero movies I can appreciate: mysterious and bleak with imperfect characters and a realistic ending. I'll likely go see it again with Matt this weekend.

The Planit party was tolerable. The food wasn't very good, and I probably only had one glass of wine all night. I stayed until the majority of my clients had left, disentangled myself from the admirer from the office next door, and went home around 9pm. Matt got home later that night; it was probably the first night last week that I slept well.

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Last Saturday, we visited Walt's produce stand, then went to a cookout at Jeff & Lacey's. It had been a while since we've seen them, and some other old co-workers I hadn't seen in a while. Carlos, of course, was there too. Long time no see! Seeing Carlos always makes me happy. :)

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On Monday morning, I dropped Matt off at the airport and got to work about an hour early. I went home and made caponata for dinner and watched Volver and went to bed later than I should have. Last night, I went to Michael's on my way home and bought size eight circular needles for a shirt I want to knit, then started a swatch while watching Auntie Mame, finishing a dozen rows of 30 stitches each... and some pomegranate ice cream. Lovely!

Just Too Tired

It was one of those nights where it wasn't just that I had trouble falling or staying asleep, but I couldn't fall asleep. I just laid in bed with my mind swirling for hours, then read a bit, then did some puzzles, then went to the bathroom, then got a snack, then laid back in bed for a few more hours. As is often the case when this happens, I fell asleep in between the time Matt's alarm went off and my alarm followed. Thus, I didn't get to take him to the airport, and I wasn't asleep enough to hit the "snooze" button as often as I normally do, so I got up and threw on some jeans and went to work early.

The funny thing is, by the time I finished my blueberry bagel, it was time for lunch with my old boss, J. She seems to be doing well, and I'm a bit envious of her career and family and, well, activity. But that may be because I'm just too tired to fathom that in my own life right now.

I had planned to go to Whole Foods after work, but was still just too tired. I did, however, go to the library (I got some decorating books and Homeland by Barbara Kingsolver) then home, where I pattered a bit listlessly in the garden, then heated leftovers for dinner, then rearranged tables in the living room. I need some end tables. I don't think I'd like anything too structured, but I need something that can store a ton of magazines, a few books, a notebook, a pen, and have room for a glass of water on top. I'm thinking of some nesting tables from Crate & Barrel or mini trunks or drums. I like the idea of something small and round. Or not. Maybe something unexpected. Or just a better magazine rack than the basket I'm using, with a ledge for a drink. I'm starting to understand people who get sets of furniture from The Room Store, though that's never been my thing. I probably see an antiquing day in Matt's future. I don't know. I'm just too tired to think about it.

I think I'll go to bed!

In Defense of Food

As mentioned in my previous post, I just finished reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. The premise, oversimplified, is right on the cover of the book: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. It sounds simple, but when Pollan challenges you to consider how many "edible food-like substances" have made their way into grocery stores, you get an idea of how a Western diet gets in the way of your ability to "Eat food."

The first section of the book delves into the process by which our food has lost much of its integrity, how constantly shifting opinions of scientists have unintentionally divorced us from more simple traditional, healthy cooking and eating habits; food manufacturers jumped at opportunities to engineer cheaper, more artificial and addictive foods; and food marketers have thrown unimaginable amounts of money into pulling shoppers towards the middle of American grocery stores, towards brightly colored packages touting the health benefits of all of the additives inserted into foods that had been stripped of them from constant engineering. American food culture has been changing: more than once per generation, and not for the better.

At some point and for whatever reason, we stopped looking at whole foods and trusting in their innate complexities, and we started focusing on nutrients. Pollan cites the 1977 case where the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs issued guidelines meant to address the rise in diet-related chronic diseases. Their recommendation to reduce consumption of meat and dairy was met with so much criticism from red meat and dairy industries, that the Senator heading the committee quickly replaced their original recommendation to "choose meats, poultry and fish that will reduce saturated fat intake." Never mind that the recommendation about dairy was dropped; note that they suddenly single out a nutrient, proclaim it bad, and do not single out a food group. And the Senator was later voted out of office. Do you think any government official will stick his neck out for that subject again? (Skinny Bitch had a chapter recommending the eater "trust no one." Sounds familiar.)

So now we talk about food parts: fiber and vitamins and fats (good and bad). And science constantly shifts the winds of favor for one versus the other. Remember when margarine was supposed to be better for you than butter? Or baby formula just as good as breast milk? Just wait until science discovers another nutrient that formula has gone without for so many years. In the meantime, they are busy genetically engineering peaches to produce more and be more disease resistant, likely at the cost of taste and nutrition. Coca-Cola will probably end up with an organic, vitamin-added soda. THIS DOES NOT MAKE IT HEALTH FOOD!!

The second section is about the specific ills of the Western diet as compared to traditional diets in other parts of the world. The problem? Other parts of the world are adopting a more Western diet, and Western diseases are following. I wish there were a brake I can pull to stop it. Just a week or so ago, the New York Times had an article about the rise of the hamburger in Paris. NO!! How are we going to turn this around if other countries are following our bad lead?

Frankly, some of the above-mentioned reading is laborious (and considering my recent predilection for food-related books, repetitive), so while I do recommend this book, I will say that the third part is the must-read: getting over "Nutritionism" and escape from the Western diet. In the interest in not rewriting the book, I'll paraphrase the author's suggested rules of thumb:

• Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food. Take Twinkies... they are a cake that is incapable of rotting. EW!
• Avoid products that contain ingredients that are unfamiliar, unpronounceable, more that five in number, or are high-fructose corn syrup.
• Avoid products that make health claims. Potato chips that claim to be heart-healthy probably aren't as healthy as the carrots in the corner, which are sitting around without packaging.
• Shop out the grocery stores when you can, and in the perimeter as much as possible. Yes, my local produce guy uses Miracle Grow. But I'm eating food that was produced less than a mile from my house, and I KNOW that it's in season.
• Eat mostly plants, especially leaves.
• You are what "what you eat" eats, too. That is why I buy less meat, but invest in that which is "formerly happy."
• If you have the space, buy a freezer. Buy good stuff in bulk and freeze it.
• Eat like an omnivore. Diversity on your plate is a good thing.
• Eat well-grown food from healthy soil.
• Eat wild food when you can.
• Eat more like the French/Italians/Japanese/Indians/Greeks... not just what they eat, but how they eat it.
• Regard nontraditional foods with skepticism.
• Don't look for the magical bullet in the traditional diet. Think of cumulative goodness.
• Have a glass of wine with dinner. You don't have to tell me twice. Bring on the red!
• Pay more, eat less. Go for quality, eat slower, stop eating when you are full, not when your plate is empty.
• Eat meals. Three of them, and not in your car. It's a great way to civilize your kids.
• Do all of your eating at a table.
• Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does.
• Try not to eat alone.
• Cook and, if you can, plant a garden.

I love that the Amazon.com listing of what others bought include The Art of Simple Food (which I am slowly savoring) and that he thanked Alice Waters in his acknowledgements. I'm seeing a lot of her name in my reading, as well as Barbara Kingsolver's (I loved Animal, Vegetable, Miracle).

So there you have it, long and short. Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

The Surprise Party (and other weekend tales)

Last weekend, we were back at Aunt Shirley's, for a surprise party celebrating Grandma's 80th birthday. Besides her offspring and their families (which now totals something like thirty-three people, not including boy- and girl-friends), there was her surviving brother, sister, and sisters-in-law, and some of their families. And the majority of us were waiting on Shirley's front porch for Aunt Carol and Uncle Jimmy to bring Grandma, supposedly to pick Shirley up for dinner.

The event was quite a success: Grandma was surprised, there was tons of food and people and presents, and it was good swimming pool weather. (I didn't get in, but the kids and I took about equal pleasure in their squirting my legs with water guns, and Bob tried to soak me via a cannon-ball. Unsuccessfully.)

This weekend was mainly a quiet one at home. We patronized the local produce stand (where I got a sack full of goodies for $7.75), staked up our Early Girl tomato plant (which is now bigger than I am!), visited Matt's mother and grandmother (and ended up being there too late to go to Carlos' surprise party, for which I'm now grateful considering how late he was to it!), did laundry, Matt packed for his trip to Kansas, and I finished reading In Defense of Food.

I've been a bit high strung lately, and am hoping for a peaceful week. I'll do my usual Whole Foods trip tomorrow after work, go to the movies with Carlos on Tuesday, spend Wednesday evening knitting, reading, or watching one of the Netflix films I have at home. Thursday is the Planit happy hour, and I hope to leave early to retrieve Matt from the airport. Then, TGIF... I'm already ready for it!

Three Days for the Fourth!

Thank the heavens, a three-day weekend. I really needed it. Friday morning, Matt made perfect little pancakes for breakfast, and we sat outside and ate and chatted and relaxed. I puttered around the garden a bit and he downloaded some iTunes, then we headed to my aunt's Dunkirk home, to visit family and float in her pool. Bob and I settled in some of her floats, each put our feet on the other's float, and drifted around. (Matt didn't get a picture, so you'll have to settle for one of my cousin, Matt, Bob, and mom:

We had some food and wrapped things up just as it was beginning to rain. The lightening was pretty amazing, but it made me glad mom was safely in the car with us! (She doesn't like storms.) Back at her house, she handed over Grandma's copy of Audition, and we trudged across the street to Grandma's, so Matt and I could pick up the Sleep Number bed she didn't want anymore. (We are eventually going to redo the guest room. Especially if we are going to have Stine and Marc visit!) On the way home, Matt and I saw some fireworks, but didn't stop. Instead, we watched the fireflies give their own show in the back yard.

Saturday, I let Matt sleep in while I curled up with the book. Matt made breakfast (a poached egg, bread with smashed avacado and fresh cilantro on top, and slices of peach) and -- bless his heart -- did the laundry while I read a bit more. We took a little outing to Target where I purchased three pairs of shorts ALL ABOVE THE KNEE. This is a big moment for me that started this morning, when I took a pair of capris and had Matt cut them into shorts because I only had one other decent pair. Matt bought some more khakis and polos for work.

We peeked into Michael's where I keep coveting the same two books (Weekend Knitting and One Skein, the latter which I told him I want delivered with a bag of sale yarn from Woolworks), then moved on to Best Buy. We also went to the B&N at the Avenue, where Matt and I got frozen lemonade drinks and shared a treat. I looked for good books to add to my ongoing "must read" list, but found out had read or marked down pretty much everything in the best sellers section. Then to Ann Taylor Loft, where I got an orange tank to wear to an upcoming Planit happy hour. (And a blue tank. And another shirt.)

At that point, Matt was heading to watch the UFC thing with his cousin and some friends, so I picked myself a salad from the back yard and went back to reading my book. (When he got home after 1am, I was in bed, still reading.)

Sunday was a quiet day. I had some cereal for breakfast and read while Matt packed for a quick jaunt to Pennsylvania. We sat at the table for a bit and chatted, then I sent him off to the Orioles game with a coworker, from where he'd head to the airport. Ed and Steve popped in a for a bit to learn how to use one of our digital cameras, which I am letting them borrow. Heaven knows what kind of pictures we're going to see when the camera comes back! My only regret in letting them borrow the camera is that when Matt is gone, I usually use the self-timer to take a picture of myself when I'm ready for work, and I send it to him in the evenings. I know he'll miss that, but at least this will be a shorter trip. In the meantime, I have sweet-sweet kittens and tomato plants. And work tomorrow. Yuck!

Audition

I try to force myself to read one non-fiction book for every fiction book, partially as not to allow my brain to atrophy. I admit that this is a habit I picked up during my shameless chick-lit phase. But equally shameless is my fondness for bios and autobiographies. Instead of going for something to expand my mind, I go for (let’s face it) gossip.

I think part of it is a long-standing, innate curiosity about the famous, infamous, and anyone else who managed to put their lives on the bestseller lists. Long before pinkisthenewblog, I’ve devoured everything from Mommie Dearest to Elvis and Me, to books on Sinatra, Monroe, and Hepburn. So when I heard Barbara Walters was writing a memoir, I added it to the must-read list. Especially because it would have to include at least SOME celebrity dish! And I wasn’t disappointed. The book is long (nearly 600 pages!), but I read it in about two days. There you have it.

I used to watch 20/20 when Hugh Downs was still hosting, and really enjoyed her interviews, as well as her celeb-packed specials. It was fun to get the “scoop” on so many of the interviews I missed by reading the book. I especially love the part where she met the Dalai Lama, and he told her the purpose of life is to be happy, and advised warmheartedness and compassion as the best ways to be happy. How simple and lovely is that?

Conversely, the theme of guilt ran heavy through the book, from not doing enough to help her parents and disabled sister, to that tricky work/children balance so many women have to face. Walters also expressed a lot of insecurity, and the feeling that she always had to prove herself (hence the title) and boy, did she. She has been a major part of the golden age of television.

Personal trivia I didn’t know include the mental handicap of her sister, Jackie, and that her daughter (also Jackie) is adopted. She seemed to have quite a difficult time with her daughter… I suppose in those days, one would never know what is going on behind closed doors. What a different world it must have been. She also dated Ed Brooke, the first African-American voted to the Senate. Who was married. And a republican from Massachusetts, no less.

One thing I didn’t expect was the friendship between her and Roy Cohn, the powerful Anti-Communist lawyer who helped McCarthy put the Rosenbergs to death. Perhaps it was Karma that he was a closeted homosexual and died relatively young from AIDS. Both of which he denied, to the grave. If you haven’t already seen Angels in America, you should check it out. A large part of the plot is Cohn (played by Al Pacino) being haunted by the spirit of Ethel Rosenberg (played by a barely recognizable Meryl Streep). Walters admits the portrayal is pretty accurate. I understand Cohn wrote an autobiography. I should check that out…

Preacher

I finally read the three graphic novels 'Los lent me. And I actually liked them! They were about religion, sex, family, drugs, feminism, politics, vampirism and ethics. The protagonist, Jesse Custer, is a small-town preacher who get possessed by the spawn of an angel and a demon, and sets off to find God (who had lest his post for whatever reason). The other main characters (and Jesse's travel companions) are his gun-toting girlfriend, Tulip and an Irish vampire, Cassidy. Notably, the last pages of the third book addressed Cassidy's love for his adopted hometown of New York City. And being an older comic, the Twin Towers featured prominently in the artwork.

Jesse's ethics are a sticky point in the series. He had once made his way in the world through high-end auto theft, and was still up for the occasional spin in "borrowed" wheels. Yet he takes issue with Cassidy's occassional snack, and often struggled with the idea of doing the "right thing." I imagine this is supposed to parallel with the idea of the good/evil spirit that had possessed him, and it will be interesting to see how this develops in later stories. The theme is best summed by the advice Jesse's father gave him: Be a good guy, 'cause there's way too many of the bad.

If this were made into a movie, it would likely have a similar feel to Sin City... Weird, artsy stuff! And 'Los and I had fun "casting" the movie version. I think we decided on Hugh Jackman for Preacher, Charlize Theron for Tulip and Billy Idol for Cassidy. I may have to start doing this with my other books!

WALL*E

OMG, luff!

The year is 2700 and Earth is uninhabited except for a cockroach (of course) and WALL*E, a robot programmed to clean up the planet by compacting and stacking cubes of trash. The world's population had boarded a spaceship and had been living in ignorant bliss, relying on technology to care for their every need.

But over the 700 years he's been working, WALL*E had developed a daily routine, a personality, and a sense of curious wonder. And had maybe gotten a little lonely. One day, he finally gets some company. EVE (I love this: Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) is deposited on Earth. WALL*E falls for immediately, but it takes EVE a little time to warm up to him. And when she finds what she is looking for and returns to the ship, WALL*E follows her... all the way across the galaxy.

This is probably my favorite PIXAR movie. For one thing, the movie had very little dialogue, especially at the beginning. And yet, you are fully engaged in the movie. Also, WALL*E and EVE are made of very basic shapes: a box and an oval, but you can feel everything WALL*E is feeling...it is amazing how expressive they made a box with arms and binocular eyes!

And, there were a lot of blatent social messages. Though I told 'Los that there should have been a public service announcement after the movie to drive home the messages to those who may not have "gotten it"... Don't consume so much! Don't create so much trash! Don't rely so much on technology for everything! Don't forget to look around and appreciate your surroundings! Connect with the people around you! Take care of the Earth! And don't let anything stop you in the quest for true love.