OPaD: Spring could not have come one second later
Winter is OVER for me. I haven’t been able to enjoy it because of the extreme cold (-10 one week ago) and it’s been seeping into every other aspect of my life. Like how I want to go to bed (and sometimes do) at 9:30p because I am just so sick of being cold. Or how my cheeks are always windburned from walking to work. Or how all of my pants are stretched out from wearing long underwear underneath them. The pains of this winter have been incessant.
And then, spring sprung.
Sunday was a BEAUTIFUL day; I walked around Lake of the Isles and experienced the joie de vivre that Minnesotans burst with during the first signs of spring. It barely cracked 40 but I saw shorts. We are a people who are just so happy to get outside and breathe some fresh air that, nature shows one crack and we clasp on and take it for all it’s worth.
OPaD: Bridge Debris
The 35W highway bridge that spanned the Mississippi fell last July and all of this concrete has accumulated-and frozen-since.
Thoughts from Detox
Seven days ago, I started the Fast Track Detox Diet. The diet lasts for 11 days, including one-tomorrow-during which I will only be able to drink water and a cranberry juice-water-lemon-spice concoction. My diet has been restricted to vegetables and meat, with a few berries and some flaxseed to liven things up. That means no carbs, no coffee, no sugars, no alcohol, and no condiments. It’s been hard. And not in the expected way. I’ve wondered nearly every day whether it was worth it–I am eating fine, I only felt crappy for one day (probably the real kick in the gut for not having any carbs), and it is kind of a pain in the ass to make sure I eat enough of my liver-lovers or my colon-carers.
However, I embarked upon this journey out of curiosity-try anything once-and I found thoughts percolating from places I didn’t expect. Learning about myself and my relationship with food is valuable enough for me to squeeze what I can out of the final days, and so, I trudge on.
I have become much more aware of the aura of food. Its sound (damn you office neighbor, thoughtlessly crunching on your toasted baguette). Its smell, especially after the broccoli-celery-dried basil soup disaster. Its texture, through the diet’s recommendation to chew for the count of 25 in order to best break up the food and allow my body to better digest it. It’s arresting to chew for so long because, at work, I am usually cramming down my lunch to move on to something else, so my food barely grazes a tooth before it gets swallowed. And, my jaw hurt after day two. Sad.
I learned a lot about my habits when I was ripped from practically all of my routines. I miss coffee in the morning, but I’m not so tired anymore that I need it (mostly because I have been going to bed between 9 and 10p, as opposed to midnight). I miss the tradition of All Bran, banana and yogurt in the morning; that was a treat I looked forward to every day from the time I got up. I eat when I’m antsy–when I want the day to go by faster, when I’m waiting for something, or when I don’t have anything else to occupy my mind.
I realized how much alcohol is a part of my life, from stopping in at Sam’s wine tasting to getting an impromptu happy hour drink to scheduled events to coming home Friday night with nothing to do and considering the option of opening a bottle of wine. I also realized that I don’t miss it–that much. I think I’d been getting into the habit where I felt compelled to drink wildly when I turned on the faucet. I am hoping to keep a better lid on nights without a purpose other than drinking.
There are some foods I truly miss and some I realized I don’t care much about–but in general, my lust
after all food has gone away. I miss these foods, but I don’t have the unquenchable urge to run out and snack on most of them. Exceptions include: crunchy things-crackers, soy crisps, baguettes; yogurt; nuts, specifically roasted and salted almonds and cheese. Brie cheese with dried cranberries on a wheat thin.
OPaD: An OPaD Success!
One of the founding principles of OPaD was to find inspiration in daily normality. Yesterday, I was looking at my hard boiled egg yolk sitting in some tomato granules, and thought, well isn’t that interesting?
OPaD: Lunar Eclipse
I’d like to think of the outcome of this shot as artistic. But I really know that it’s crappy and that’s okay because I am photographing something that is an average of 238,855 miles from me.
At the end of the eclipse, the moon looked blue…once in a blue moon.
Also, Tim, roommate’s boyfriend, told us that Christopher Columbus was taken hostage and could not by force or reason get himself freed up. He noted on his handy lunar calendar that the lunar eclips was coming up, and tricked his captors into thinking he controlled the moon’s movement by “predicting” it the day before. Maybe I should start One Fact a day…and call them Factoids. Or, not.
OPaD: We got tagged
A dude at our office hauled in his graffiti team and painted some life into our big blank wall. And doesn’t it looks awesome!
Imperfection Exists
I have been forced into some reevaluation lately and came to the conclusion that I spend a lot of my time and energy trying to eradicate anything that isn’t perfect. For a long time I have recognized that I am a perfectionist. I’m now just becoming aware of what that means as it spills over into other aspects of my life.
I think of life as a series of chain linked events. One triggers the other, and I try to work my way down the chain to control everything that stands between where I am now and where I want to be. Too bad some things in life are out of my control. I need to start thinking of things on the “next step” range. What will happen tomorrow or the next day, not what will happen in ten years. Lots of things can change outcomes ten year down the road, so relinquishing control over these scenarios is probably best.
OPaD: It’s down to principles and determination
Lately Rage has been testing me. This naughtiness became a daily battle ever since I started giving him canned cat food. It’s like all of a sudden, since he gets to eat the chicken and tuna out of the can, he should be seated at the table with a white napkin. Seriously. I cannot cook ANYTHING, no matter how unappealing to the average cat, without Rage trying to horn in on some of it. And every time I put him back on the floor in front of his food bowl and every time he jumps back onto the counter and continues to pursue his claim. I think he just wants to win. Well you know what? I am more evolved than you! I can operate a motorized vehicle. I can balance a check book. I do not lick my own butt. So there, Rage. You lose by default.
