Sunday, January 25, 2009

25 Things


I’m exhausted.  Yeah, I know, that statement isn’t exactly the grabber that I should be writing to pull you into this post.  When I first began writing this blog, I promised myself that I would write about beautiful food, sharing food with friends and nourishing loved ones, about life in Seattle and how food has become a large part of how I experience the world.  I promised myself I would inspire others to believe in food and life, never write anything that I wouldn’t enjoy reading myself, and last but not least, never misrepresent my world. 

When you write for others, there is a strong pull to focus on the positive (who wants to read a downer?) and cherry-pick the details of your day.  On the days I’m feeling down, sometimes writing a positive post pulls me right up into feeling full of smiles again.  The words may act as inspiration, as salve, or as a way to make myself laugh when I don’t have my family around to nudge me into guffaws of outrageousness.

So in an effort at full disclosure – I’m tired.  But hey, I’m still cookin’.  Last night I made a killer spicy orange tofu dish that my faithful friend Orli and Mark just loved (I'll post it soon, promise.)  Despite my fatigue, yesterday I read completely through my current issue of Vegetarian Times and earmarked more than a few recipes to try out (all adventurous, of course, as my resolution still stands.) 

I may be a little down, but not out.  This past week of clinicals pushed my mind and body to the limit.  So now I find myself on a Sunday night with many things still left undone.  Over a quick dinner of soba and noodles with peanut sauce (Mark’s favorite, as you know) I was lamenting my To Do List.  “I still have to call my folks, and a few friends, make a lunch for tomorrow, and post a blog!” I whined.  Mark looked at me with playfulness “Well, I’ll do it for you – I can write about Melba Toast”.  Great, that will be just great. 

My Mark. So helpful.

So to save you from profound musings on Melba Toast, I give you 25 things.  I was tagged on Facebook this week to post 25 random things about myself.  With a focus on food, and in an effort at full disclosure, here goes.

25 Things

  1. I like whole wheat pita bread stuffed with ripe honeydew and crunchy salted peanut butter.
  2. My dream vacation is to spend a few months cycling across Europe.  All day, on my road bike cycling for miles, stopping to camp some nights in small villages with good food and cheap wine.
  3. I spent almost a year as a flight attendant before starting grad school, just so I could travel.  It didn’t really work.  I spent most of my time ‘on call’ and grounded.  I was the only flight attendant at the company who didn’t eat McDonald’s and smoke Marlboros for breakfast.
  4. I push myself too hard sometimes.  I’m my worst critic and a perfectionist, but I’m learning to accept myself and my faults, and take comfort in them.
  5. I get frustrated about being 30 and not having a career yet.  I get upset when my life doesn’t look exactly the way I want it to. 
  6. I grew up Catholic, but I would now describe myself as more of a Buddhist. 
  7. The two professions that I would be other than a clinical dietitian?  A doctor or a chef.  A clinical dietitian is a blend of the two, I think.
  8. Otherwise, I’d be a professional food writer. 
  9. I miss my family like crazy every day, and wonder if I’ll ever stop missing them like I still do after 2 years of living in Seattle.
  10. I’m a terrible escapist. I’ll run off into adventure, hide in a book, or dream and dream about traveling.  I’m a Pisces and I think we’re supposed to be good at that.
  11. I eat organic Lundberg rice cakes like they’re crack.  I leave little rice cake crumbs all around the house.
  12. In a former life I was a Spanish Flamenco dancer.  How else can I explain my penchant for Spanish, my ability to dance to anything latin, and my deep guttural voice (not to mention the part of me that is dark and stormy with a touch of melodrama?) 
  13. I don’t like candy.  But I do like dark chocolate and genuine licorice, made with molasses.  Do those count?
  14. I get all choked up at the end of every episode of Grey’s Anatomy.  It’s really just my outlet to cry.  As if I should feel less embarrassed to cry at a TV show than about real life.
  15. I reminisce about living in Chicago way too much.
  16. Self-reinvention is only positive if your new outside still matches your inside.  You can’t change who you are at the core.
  17. I don’t believe death to be a terrible thing.  The way we view death is what is terrible.
  18. That said, I want to live a long life and drink many bottles of good wine with good friends before I kick it.
  19. Every day I remind myself how lucky I am to be living.  My legs pedal the bicycle.  My heart loves.  My hands feel the cold air.
  20. I don’t dance enough.  I feel best when I crank up U2 and twirl around. 
  21. I love coffee with cream and sugar.  I love espresso.  Caffeine makes me crazy, so I have to be careful. 
  22. Being light, feeling lighthearted has never come easily to me.  I was a serious child, and spent most of my life feeling very heavy and serious and worried.  It took a long time to unlearn that. 
  23. This blog is the result of letting go, not being afraid to give everything I’ve got to the world.
  24. I am very thankful for Mark.  He’s my sunshine.
  25. The reason I’m here, why I’ve gone through all I have in this life, is so that I may help others to heal.

2 comments:

Regina said...

You are beautiful. I think sometimes it is a shame that We (the siblings) were not all the same age at the same time. What would life have been like as quintuplets? Maybe I would have known for longer how much we are all alike. I can relate to so many things on your list of facts... I'm beginning to unlearn feeling heavy all of the time.

You should look up "belly dancing" on youtube and try out the video lessons. I'm obsessed with it. My new dream is to be a really good belly dancer. It's a fantastic workout, too.

Also, Melba Toast smells like old people's couches.

Love,
your little sis

Sus said...

ooh, whole wheat pita bread stuffed with ripe honeydew and crunchy salted peanut butter. gimme some of that, girl.

Regina: I love Melba toast.