Inertia, part 3
September 16, 2010
Well, it’s been a little over ten months since I berated myself and bemoaned my apparent lack of motivation to accomplish my life’s big goal, moving to London, England. The Shubert Theater managed to get off its ass and begin restoration. Let’s take a look at how I’m doing.
As a result of making new friends in the Tweak Today community, some of whom live in London, I resolved during the winter that after I got my (U.S.) income tax refund in February or March, one of the things I’d do with the cash was book a trip across the pond.
Although I have previously lamented that in this down market, my mortgage traps me unless I want to take quite a hit in selling price, one positive is that the mortgage interest credit on my tax return provides for a sizable refund. Once a year, I clear up all my outstanding financial obligations (including paying my friend who floats me for Minnesota Twins baseball season tickets for the previous summer) and take my three pets in for checkups.
This year, I took care of myself first. I spent a lovely nine days in London the end of June beginning of July and hung out with my new friends. It was a good trip.They both live “in town” and I got a lot of time walking around on my own during the work day and going about the business of locals in the evenings. It gave me a good opportunity for a better-informed evaluation of how I might actually like living there. I was not dissuaded from my desires.
I figure it would still be at least a couple of years before I could make anything happen. The notion that I’ve had in my head since London won the 2012 Summer Olympics is that if I planned my arrival for soon thereafter, there might be ample more-reasonably priced living accommodations. On the other hand, if I somehow got myself there, you know, soon, maybe it would be easier for me to find a graphic design job or otherwise in the run-up.
It’s me. It will be later rather than sooner. And so far this entry is idle chat about my vacation, not a change in behavior.
What I have started doing is going through stuff around the house with an eye to downsizing before a cross-ocean move. Or because I simply have too much crap and I had houseguests. The casual observer would be hard-pressed to notice any difference, but I know the progress I made. A couple of my neighbors have much less stuff than I and have brought out the potential in their units. I want mine to be like that when I sell.
I did pass my 15-year anniversary at work and have no doubt that I’ll make it to 16 and beyond. Changing jobs wasn’t really the point of any of this, at least not until I’m looking for a job in London.
For a while I had been watching less television and doing more writing, reading, anything, but that bloom mostly faded. I still haven’t finished The Stuff of Thought, but I did manage to breeze through a romance novel in less than 24 hours this past weekend.
I don’t think there are obvious outward signs that my state of being is any different. About the best I can say is that I am quite certain that I’ll book another jaunt to London this winter when airfare is at its cheapest and I could accomplish the trip from a couple of paychecks rather than shooting my wad on high-season summer prices. I don’t need warm weather to have a good time.
On the indisputably positive side, a year and a half later I am still working out at Curves regularly. And, after the aforementioned ten months, still writing this blog.
The links, except the one about the Shubert, are all to previous blog entries which are related to one degree or another.
Playing with food
August 22, 2010
I never had my own Mr. Potato Head when I was a kid. My one clear memory of it at somebody else’s house was during a babysitting event. My parents had dropped me off at the house of some people with kids my age. I can’t remember who they were, but I do remember that they had a Mr. Potato Head, and also that we spent quite a bit of time sliding down the stairs on our bellies causing me to be covered in rug burns by the time my parents picked me up.
Today when I went to the store, I forgot to get a potato to make a real Mr. Potato Head, so instead I introduce you his cousin, Mr. Pepper Head.
Head: red bell pepper.
Hair: cilantro.
Ears: tomatillo halves.
Eyes: fresh mozzarella balls and whole peppercorns.
Nose: jalepeño pepper tip.
Mouth: yellow bell pepper slice.
Items held in place with toothpick pieces.
Not such a cheap date
August 21, 2010
Yesterday’s goal was to buy the cheapest thing on the menu. Today’s goal was to spend nothing. I failed miserably, because I didn’t have time to plan ahead. That’s a little bit of a lame excuse. I do often pack my lunch for work, but the extra whammy today was my attendance at the Twins game tonight.
So in chronological order, my FAIL went like this.
Supper. I had planned to stay at the office until it was time to go to the Twins game, but because I switched bags and forgot my key, I had to leave when the last other person left. That spurred my decision to check out the Town Ball Tavern within Target Field because I had plenty of time. As you would expect, the food was overpriced, but the Summit pints that I am powerless to resist at the ballpark were, at $6.75 each, 75¢ less expensive in the Tavern than on the concourse. I ordered the Twin Towns Turkey Sandwich (I think that’s what it was called), which was basically a grilled cheese and turkey sandwich, for $10.50—exorbitant, I know. I had three bargain beers as well.
At the end of the sixth inning, I could no longer take sitting in my seat, packed in on a warm and humid night with no breeze to circulate the stagnant air, so I retreated back to the Tavern where there was air conditioning and big screens and had one more bargain beer. Total beer savings, $3.00.
Post game. By game’s end, I was hungry again (stupid beer) and so popped in to Pizza Lucé on the way back to my bicycle for a delicious slice of pizza with chicken, mushrooms, and onions, $3.95. Wonderful as their beer selection is, I did resist the temptation and just had some nice, cold water.
So that was fourteen hours, two meals, and one event out of the house. Grand total: $51.45. Ouch. It’s no wonder I’m always out of money.
Cheap date, for one meal anyway
August 20, 2010
In sort of the same spirit as my recent foray to Himalayan Restaurant, tonight I visited Chai’s Thai Restaurant, which is the restaurant nearest to my home that I have never been to. The goal this time was to order the least expensive thing on the menu. I had two choices, edamame and fried tofu.
I think it’s safe to say that recently I have been on a bent to sample new and weird foods. And when I say weird, I only mean stuff that you won’t find at Applebee’s. I certainly do not mean that I think the various ethnicities that inspire the dishes are weird. On the contrary. It’s very interesting to experience new things and it’s a little bit of an adrenaline rush if you feel a little uncomfortable in the process.
I have had edamame before which is why I ordered the fried tofu. And I have had tofu many times before as well, but not in a form that was fried, or at least not the way I was imagining this would be fried tonight. Now that I think about it, I guess I was making certain assumptions because it was in the Appetizers part of the menu.
With entree items in the past, the tofu has come in inch-square cubes, browned and obviously at least sauteed, which I suppose is technically, basically, fried. For some reason I subconsciously figured that this fried tofu appetizer would somehow be crispier.
And it was. It was sliced into quarter-inch thick squares and had obviously bathed in the deep-fat-fryer for a few minutes. It was served with a spicy peanut sauce and a sweet-and-sour type glaze. The tofu itself, of course, was bland, but the sauces were quite tasty indeed. I particularly liked the peanut sauce, probably because it was thicker and stuck to the tofu squares long enough to get to my mouth, versus running off like the sweet-and-sour.
It was enough to hold me until my entree arrived—pineapple duck with bok choy and vegetables. I’m sure I’ve had duck at least once in my life but I don’t really remember, so I figured it was closer to something I had never had before than the mahi mahi green curry, which also sounded delicious but the components of which I know I’ve had before. These were the two daily specials. You can see from the menu that they have lots of delicious dishes.
The pineapple duck was quite spicy and just about right. Unfortunately, the venue was not air conditioned and this was a humid summer’s day, so it didn’t take long for me to start sweating like you do with spicy food. The lighting was also very dim, so these aren’t the greatest photos ever either.
I think maybe we need to have a standing mission to try a new restaurant monthly. This has been enjoyable.
Tasty rainbow
August 17, 2010
I’m not going to go all unicorns and glitter on you, but Friday I was treated to the best rainbow I’ve ever seen. Not because it was double—I’ve seen triple—but because of its altitude and degrees.
My office suite is on an eleventh storey corner. We have pretty good sightlines. From my desk I look to the northwest which is now right across the bow of the Target Field, the new home of the Minnesota Twins baseball team. I can see the left field upper deck from where I sit. With every day game, it is rubbed in my face that I’m stuck at work and 44,000 other people aren’t.
Probably two or three times a day otherwise, I find myself standing at the kitchen window with looks northish over the fairly new Minneapolis Public Library Central Branch (which sports a green roof and is LEED certified), and toward the Mississippi River and iconic Grain Belt Brewery sign. Minneapolis’ Federal Reserve Bank is also in view. There is some interesting public art on its grounds.
But last Friday, it was Mother Nature who was in the spotlight. This has been a pretty hot, humid summer, and the latest stretch was approaching the end of its second week when the second of three quick-succession fronts rolled through.
Being downtown, we quite often don’t get the severe aspect of weather, but this summer we’ve definitely been getting the downpours. Friday we got another one. At one point in college I was a meteorology major. The weather still fascinates me. I look out five windows that look westish while sitting at my desk slaving away. I pay attention.
The cats and dogs had been falling for a good ten or fifteen minutes, but as with many summertime thunderstorms, the sun was poised to quickly follow on the heels of the line of clouds. I knew what was coming.
I stationed myself at the kitchen window and waited. The colored arc began to appear. I had my iPhone at the ready. I was rewarded.
People know I’m excitable anyway. So when I started shrieking “Rainbow! Rainbow!” they didn’t pay too much attention. When I modified it to, “Freaky rainbow! Come look at this! You won’t be sorry!” I got some results.
I figure there were two things at work. First as I said, we’re on the eleventh floor, higher up than my usual rainbow viewing vantage point. And second, I was watching the rain finishing, with the trailing 99% humidity. I was on the front line of rainbow formation, and I was expecting it.
But I wasn’t expecting what I was presented with.
What I first noticed was that the rainbow was low and close. So low and close that while the zenith of the arc was above the library, the ends went behind the corners of the library (look closely at the left-jutting cantilever). And when I followed the left end of the arc, it came around to the street in front of the building kitty corner to mine. It was a 135° degree rainbow. I wasn’t quite coordinated enough to get a photo of that. But other people saw it, too.
I completely understand that some of you looking at this photo are scoffing to yourself that this is just some Photoshop trickery. If I hadn’t witnessed it myself, I’d be skeptical of its authenticity, too.
I have witnesses. Also, take time to notice and appreciate the small things.
Starring as me
August 16, 2010
Who would you want to play yourself in a movie? I’m not asking who is your celebrity doppelgänger. I’m asking who would be able to channel the inner you on the big screen?
Figuring this out occupied my thoughts as I laid in bed last night waiting to fall asleep. I had initially thought that maybe Zooey Deschanel could be the one, because I love her quirkiness, but she’s also kind of wispy, and I’m not wispy. The second name that popped into my head was Janeane Garofalo. I thought that I should try to consider more possibilities but quickly realized that there was a reason why Ms. Garofalo came to mind.
I thought about what I know about her. If put under pressure to name movies she was in, all I’d be able to come up with without looking is The Truth about Cats and Dogs and that superhero one (by the way, that skull bowling ball that she used wasn’t just a prop). What I remember is that she does dorky and class clown, awkward and a little attractive, wallflower but underestimated.
I figured she’d be the one to be able to pull off portraying my type of personality in a believable way. I’m not a starlet, glamour girl type, and it was just a happy coincidence that there was a little more of a physical resemblance (beyond the dark hair) than I had realized.
Through the years there are celebrities I’ve been said to resemble. In my early twenties, it was Joan Jett and Martha Quinn. More recently, it was Mary McDonnell. I don’t really see it beyond hair color and/or style.
Back to doppelgängers. I learned of the website myheritage.com, where you can upload a photo of yourself and it will come up with celebrity look-alikes. I did it five times with different photos. I didn’t try to trick it for four of them, though when I kept getting a particular result, I did, as a last resort, give it the sunglasses photo just to test it. Naturally you have to take these things with a grain of salt. First, my matches were almost all men. I accept that. But second, some of the more outlandish matches it gave me included Prince Harry, Desmond Tutu, and Jessica Simpson. What?
I was relieved that it did return Janeane Garofalo one time (coincidentally, the same photo that I chose to use of her). And I was a little bit flattered that it gave me Gary Oldman twice, because I really like him. But who was the celebrity that it gave me all four times? James Spader. I’m not sure what to think about that!
Moon walk to the world
August 13, 2010
If we were to take a little moon pie a la monde and establish the first colony on Earth’s satellite, what would we want to have with us? It’s interesting that as each person noted their own favored item, we actually ended up with a pretty well-rounded selection of near-essentials.
My own answer was fresh food. I do my best to stay away from processed junk and I’m not sure that freeze-dried rations wouldn’t just send me over the moon, so to speak. I love my steak, I love my grilled veggies, and I love salad, lots and lots of salad. I weighed these things against other things that I love, such as music, my computer/the internet, my pets, beer, and so on. Really, my answer should have been drinking water, because more than all those other things and the things yet to be noted, I love feeling hydrated.
So, what else would we take with us?
After taking care of his own need for SPAM, @jackcomrie thoughtfully added a grill on which I could prepare said steaks and veggies. And I’d be happy to cook for everyone. I know it’s grueling to work your way up through the ranks, but I bet I’d be a good restaurant chef. It was probably mere coincidence that there was red wine on the grill leaf. I do really like a good Sonoma zinfandel with my beef. Or Bell’s Oberon beer.
@a_noob took care of a couple of things. He brought the beer so I didn’t have to. And then he decided what the hey, bring the whole damned Honor Oak pub and our friend @rabbitdan. To that I say huzzah! Because the pub is the perfect place to go with your friends, and reluctant as I am to admit it, in the end I do like having people to do things with every now and then. On the moon you’d probably get bored a lot and be glad there were others to do things with.
And one of those things I like to do with someone who is my friend, @merendis brought along—a lover! Really, if you were establishing a colony on a previously unoccupied celestial body, there’d end up being a whole lot of loving going on between all sorts of interesting pairings, appropriate and not appropriate.
When you were hanging out in your moon quarters having some quiet time, you’d want some comforts of home. That would include scratching your furry sweetie’s ears (@thedigitalghost) while surfing the internet (@discomeg2) via satellite and downloading the latest best-sellers (@stephie) and syncing it all via your laptop (@jenaissance).
Of course to run it all, you’d need some sort of power, which @philos-phobos thought to provide, and you wouldn’t want to overlook some basic creature comforts such as water (the elixir of life and universal solvent, thanks to @cigee25). With those spacesuits, you’d probably quickly develop a huge appreciation for the right kind of toilet paper. I am currently stuck with twelve double rolls of a kind I don’t like. It’s only six dollars or so, but I can’t bring myself to bale on it. I will very much more appreciate the other kind when I go back to it.
Let’s not forget aesthetics. @saxchik is taking care of the decorating with some color stimulation. Even with all these other fantastic things we’re bringing along, we might still go crazy if all the walls were moon-ash grey. Three cheers for the color spectrum.
If all else failed, I suppose we’d be quite happy for those freeze-dried rations. @mandy716 and @chaomancer are skipping over the meat and going right to the pudding. And that’s okay. Because as the first moon colony, we would almost certainly experience some insanity, and if a little dish of ice cream, freeze-dried though it might be, was enough to assuage you, well, that would be perfectly acceptable.
Sunglass badass
August 11, 2010
If I were a U.S. Marshall, this is what I’d look like—at least if I played one on USA Network. I only had these on for a couple of minutes (basically long enough to snap the photo), but for those two minutes I channeled my inner Mary Shannon and felt like a complete badass.
I’ve worn eyeglasses since I was seven and so just never got into the habit of wearing sunglasses. Even for the many years that I wore contact lenses I didn’t have an overly-developed need to put on the shades, though I did do my little part to support the industry. I suppose I could get prescription sunglasses but it has never seemed like even a low priority in my financial world.
This scene happened on my recent vacation in London. My friend Spiros suddenly suggested that he, our other friend Dan, and I try on each other’s glasses. Dan and I have eyeglasses, Spiros had sunglasses. I have quite poor vision and so Dan’s glasses didn’t help much and conversely, my Coke bottle prescription must have seemed dizzying. Not to mention the bifocals aspect.
When I put on the sunglasses I couldn’t see a thing. Not only was my vision uncorrected, it was uncorrected and darkened. But I wouldn’t have needed to see a thing because I suddenly looked like a badass. Anyone I encountered would just run from me in terror and it wouldn’t matter that I couldn’t actually see them—they wouldn’t know that. I’d just turn my face in the direction of the sound of their footsteps or voice, and maybe straighten my posture to a more menacing stature, and any would-be confronter would turn around and flee like a tiny bunny flashing the whitetail danger sign.
I am not a badass. I handed back the sunglasses and returned to the security of my -9.0 lenses.
A kernel of purpose
August 9, 2010
It was bound to happen eventually. It was finally going to be the blog entry in which I pondered the meaning of life (doing so without God’s aid, since I don’t believe in that*). And once again I am spared answering the bigger question.
I don’t know what the serious answer is to the bigger question. Maybe if I did, I’d feel more fulfilled in my life. There are probably several actions to take with outcomes to experience that would make me feel more fulfilled. But I continue to coast along not really seeking out anything through soul searching or other means.
Certainly there are things that give my life a drop of meaning in the small, immediate scope—the three wonderful creatures I live with, bowling, karaoke, my favorite beers, my online social life, my dab of a real social life. But I basically go to work, live paycheck to paycheck, and don’t push hard or at all for anything different.
Today I took it upon myself to be proactive with my neighbor cat Nick who is under my care for the upcoming week. This upcoming week we are also to have some of the hottest, most humid weather of the summer. Nick doesn’t have air conditioning. When I went up to his place to get the lowdown on his care, it was a hot day. It was miserable in his apartment.
So I brought Nick downstairs to mine. I have air conditioning and I’m not afraid to use it. Just ask the electric company. I weighed his physical comfort against the mental stress of being plopped into a strange environment that includes my two cats and rabbit. My conclusion was that while he may be used to being hot, he’s used to being hot when Ruth is there to monitor his health. I’m not there. I decided that I didn’t want to risk his expiring from heatstroke on my watch.
Okay so on the one hand I’m still being selfish because I don’t want the guilt from a dead cat. But I also genuinely don’t want him to be uncomfortable. I feel a little bit like my caretaking of Nick is giving me just a kernel more purpose for a few days. Nick seems to be appreciative.
I’ll take what I can get.
*No disrespect to those who believe in God. It’s just not for me.
It???s not a purse, it???s a bag
August 7, 2010
I don’t carry a purse. If someone calls it that, I correct them. If it straps over two shoulders and rests on my back, it’s not a purse, it’s a bag. Quite often it’s not even a bag, it’s just my wallet. Quite often it’s not my wallet, it’s the little take-out insert that holds cash, the drivers license, and a couple of cards. Frequently it’s just my drivers license and cash or a card in my back pocket.
The wallet holds all the necessaries, clockwise from upper left: the wallet with my transit stored value card; gum; cherry Carmex (which, incidentally, I was leery about getting but the store was out of plain and it turns out the cherry adds a nice little accent to things such as coffee and Diet Coke); cards (car insurance, dental insurance, health insurance, HSA VISA card, business card, $20 Marshall’s gift card, frequent buyer card for Robbin’s brand of rabbit pellets); wallet insert (driver’s license, cash, VISA check card, Dunn Bros Coffee customer loyalty card).
My most-often toted bag is my giant leather backpack which usually goes to work with me. It carries my lunchbox, wallet, iPod, umbrella, anything. It is well-worn and a few years ago I tried unsuccessfully to find a replacement. Then people kept complimenting its rugged demeanor and calling it cool so I stopped searching.
Next is my mini-backpack. That goes to bowling with me and in it you will find my Nalgene bottle with 200mL ice frozen in the bottom and filled with water, my iPod, and my wallet.
When I went to London recently, I did give in and buy this green pouch. I wanted something big enough to put my passport in, and it turns out it was also quite happy to carry a large water bottle. Since my return, I’ve found that it’s handy for wallet, iPhone, and keys when I go to work out and don’t have any pockets. I imagine that when I have to start wearing a jacket again in the fall, it will lay unused for the most part. I confess I’m surprised by how much I like this thing. Maybe because it’s green. Even so, I can’t bring myself to call it a purse. Purses are bigger and have make-up and stuff in them. I don’t carry that around with me; Carmex is the closest I get to that. Purse is too girlie for me.
Even when I’m carrying one of my bags, the iPhone rides around in my back pocket.
Kelly’s Unnecessary Blog 