Innards

You can download free hour-long daily yoga classes from Yoga Today (either as a iTunes video podcast or through some other windows-based player).

A potentially bad habit I've developed lately: buying things online. I don't like to go out shopping much, but I do get a nasty little thrill out of buying little trinkets online. Individually, they don't cost that much: $12 here, $20 there. But of course it adds up...but I just love coming home to little packages (little presents!) of blood orange vinegar, organic cotton underwear, extra-fancy hand-rolled jasmine-scented tea...

On another note: I've been in an unusally good mood the past couple of days, for no good reason. I wonder what is accounting for it -- getting enough sleep? my new extra-healthy diet of salads and more salads? perhaps the lovely weather we're having? I'm not quite sure, but I'm feeling so giddy right now I feel like jumping out of my seat (or maybe that's just the coffee).

Wordsmith.org's word of the day:

prelapsarian (pree-lap-SAYR-ee-uhn) adjective

Relating to any innocent or carefree period in the past.

So, bone up on your pirate-speaking skills with the talk-like-a-pirate translater.

Arrr!

Since I'm thinking about living on a boat, I'm starting to apply for jobs in coastal cities. Although, since I've hardly been anywhere in life, I feel a bit clueless here. So far, I've been exploring Jacksonville and Miami. But does anyone have any suggestions? (Need not be in Florida -- I'm willing to consider almost anywhere in the country, except the deep south. NOT DAYTONA!)

I've had very little sleep the past couple of nights -- I have a hard time getting to sleep, and then when I DO get to sleep, I wake up several times during the night to little noises and whatnot. And the more this happens, the more anxious I get about getting and staying asleep, so the LESS likely I do. Ugh.

Last night, at 3:30 in the morning, I wake up to some strange noises coming outside my place. I peek out the window to see some kids (presumably college kids) DANCING in the driveway right outside my apartment. DANCING. To loud music. Right outside my bedroom window. WTF?!

Is that just obnoxious, or am I getting cranky and old?

I thought if I'm serious about this sailboat thing, I ought to begin my research. And as I read the introduction, I began to get increasingly excited and intimidated. The introduction began as a warning from personal experience about all the things that can go wrong with your boat: e.g.: the author ended up having to rewire the boat's electrical entire electrical system; due to the boat's moisture one side of his clothing was perpetually wrinkled; the septic tank is located very near the living quarters, and in the summer things can start to smell (Does just the bathroom smell like poop? The whole boat?! Not sure).

I worry about my mechanical and plumbing abilities (or lack thereof -- I have to call my landlord when just my sink is clogged; I'm intimidated by merely hanging things on my wall). I worry about the potential expense. And while I'm prepared for living in cramped and potentially uncomfortable quarters, and even giving up most of my possessions, I really don't know if I could handle living in a place that smelled like poop.

This hasn't too much deterred me from the prospect of living on a sailboat -- I'm still quite excited about it, and have faith in my ability to learn quickly, if I need to. And everyone I've mentioned this to has been suprisingly supportive (I worried that most everyone would think I was nuts).

We'll see in the coming weeks what my research portends for the fulfillment of my new dream.

After seriously considering buying and living on a sailboat, a very weird shift has occurred in me. Suddenly (although, now I'm wondering if it was really so sudden), I don't desire a significant other in my life. For the first time since prepubescence I feel oddly comfortable with the idea of being alone.

Not completely alone of course -- I couldn't live without close friends, family, and ocassional sex (I hope!) --- but, the idea of a radically unconventional life has made very possible the option of being personally fulfilled without a romantic relationship.

Although, I wonder if this shift hasn't been occurring for longer than a mere few days: a few years ago, if I pictured my life five or ten years down the road, I always pictured it in a sweet little house with a husband and perhaps a child. I always figured somewhere down the line I would find someone I could share my life with. The idea of not finding someone terrified me. But lately (say, the last year or so), when I pictured my life 5 or 10 years down the road, I pictured it alone...with my cats. And...not a sad or pathetic alone, but a content alone.

And the idea of living on a boat has solidified that picture even more. I can picture 15 or 20 years down the line...being alone, and not being lonely.

This is very different for me -- I'm used to being quite a dependent person, yearning for a fairly conventional family life. And while I respected the independent, self-sufficient woman, I never pictured myself as one.

Perhaps this perspective is only temporary -- after all, seeing things a bit differently for a few days hardly justifies throwing out the prospect of something I've wanted ever since...ever --- but even a glimpse of this new life shows me how radically I could possibly transform myself.

It's quite liberating. For the first time in my adult life I'm not interested in finding a man. It's okay to be alone.

It's okay to be alone.

A visit from my dad over the weekend (my "biological" one, not my "legal" one) has prompted some new (and re-inspired some old) nautical goals. He loves to dive, and the idea of getting certified and planning diving trips with him has rekindled my desire to get diving certification. This, in turn, prompted some further interest in learning to sail, and I have spend part of this morning doing soe quick research into sailing courses.

It looks like basic scuba and sailing courses will cost me $400-600 a pop, so I've decided to work towards saving up for (1) scuba diving certification and then (2) basic sailing certification.

I'm excited -- it feels good to have something fun to look forward to again (I've missed out on having that the past several months).

BentoTV: learn how to make sweet little bento lunches. This girl is abolutely adorable.

I've tried making hummus twice.  First time: garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, a couple garlic cloves, paprika.  It came out WAY too garlicky - it tasted like I was biting into raw garlic.  Yuck.  Second time: garbonzo beans, lemon juice, garlic powder, tahini.  This came out okay, but a little bland.  

Any suggestions?

technorati tags:recipes, hummus

Blogged with Flock

He got out last night, and took off like a shot when he got sight of the "neighborhood bully" cat.  He's been gone ever since.  I slept with the window open last night, and put out some cat food for him, but nada a word.

He's done this before, and always comes back,  but why must he worry me so?

technorati tags:personal, cats

Blogged with Flock

I have a temp job...for now. Amin assistant. $10/hour. Did I mention that I hate answering phones...and filing? Did I mention I have a Master's degree (soon to be PhD...hopefully), and I am answering the phones and filing...for $10/hour?

Sigh. Somebody shoot me.

Primarily due to this woman's blog Have you ever seen such beautiful food? Apart from the moral reasons for adopting such a lifestyle (which, though compelling, have thus far not overcome my ardent love of cheese), these elegant recipes have appealed to my aesthetic sense, which has, for the bulk of my adult life, been drawn to simplicity. And here you have one of the simplest diets: healthy, uncomplicated, unpretentious and unprocessed food.

So, I'll try this for a while (though I say "mostly" vegan because any all-or-nothing type of diet will set me up for disaster once I inevitably fall off the wagon). I invested in a rice-cooker and pressure-cooker, and look forward to being that much more healthy (as soon as I stop doing stupid stuff like eating an obscene amount of cashews as a snack. What was I thinking?).

Yesterday I received my iPod+Nike Sport Kit, along with the shoes. Ecstatic, my long-awaited package prompted a newly-inspired effort to run more consistently -- so I just took it out for a test run/walk. For my 32 minute run:

• miles: 2.37


• average pace: 13'30''


• calories burned: 285

Here's the screenshot of my nikeplus.com-synced workout (click for a bigger version). (And see that steep dip at the end? Bastard hills!):