My New Sober-ific Lifestyle
Sometimes I really need to get things off my chest to prevent them from eating away at me. For example: I really hate cowboy hats. I hate them all. But I have a special loathing for ones that look brand spanking new, huge, and stiff. And their polar opposite- the beat up looking straw ones that lots of women love to wear. Now, don't go off in a tiff- please- I obviously don't mean I hate it when you wear your favorite cowboy hat! Yours is obviously the one exception I make.
For the record, since you've probably been on the edge of your seat wondering how I feel about this whole health care "debate" going on in our country: single payer universal health care is THE ONLY SOLUTION TO OUR HEALTH CARE PROBLEMS. Period. And why everyone is still fighting about it when obviously the president isn't going to actually change anything at all is a mystery I can't solve.*
I am going to have to alter my Kung Fu uniform because the largest size they carry doesn't fit me. Does this make me feel ashamed? No, I'm a well balanced completely confident person who doesn't have any size issues or shame around having to add enormous gussets to my uniform.**
So I'm on week two of my new sober-ific lifestyle where I'm sober for 5 days out of 7. Has it been hard, after all? No, but please don't congratulate me because instead of drinking my weight in beer, I am now drinking my weight in tonic water and lime with no sauce. As you must know, tonic water is like bitter soda. I love it. So no, I'm not dropping pounds and feeling fabulous at this moment. All day long I look forward to overindulging in quinine and lime and it's more important not to be a complete lush than to be thin right now. My conclusion is that it isn't the alcohol I crave, it's just having a fattening beverage to overindulge in that I can't live without. The good news: I'm not going to get malaria as bad as you all will.
At this point it's pretty clear that I'm not perimenopausal and won't be, probably forever. I'll most likely be reproductively dangerous until the day I die which really sucks. I don't want functional reproductive parts anymore. I'm done. Finito. If I could afford to I would get my tubes tied. Everyone around me is continuing to reproduce at alarming rates, why can't I just become sterile?
I'm really sad that I won't have time for much food preserving this year. I tried not to be, but I am. However, I realized that urban homesteading isn't an all or nothing proposition. The beauty of the concept is that people living in a modern context do all the things in their power to improve the quality of their lives by doing what they can for themselves even if it's something small like growing your own herbs and making your own dinner napkins. It doesn't have to mean preserving all the tomatoes you're going to use for the year. That's the ideal but if you don't have time or access to the supplies then you do what you can do like enjoy seasonal produce fresh every day. That will have to be enough.
I hate summer. I really truly do. I am going to save for summer camp starting now. I hate summer with a passion.
My kid and his good friend are bickering. They've been bickering for an hour. I would like to knock their heads together.
I read on a blog today that Jesus is going to be calling his people to the clouds now and the "stuff" that's going on in this country is "proof" that the end is here. Wow. I don't know, the same kind of bad shit has been going on since Christ first came onto the Roman and Jewish scene two thousand years ago and we've had two thousand years to wait breathlessly for everything to "end". I don't have a lot of faith in the bible's ability to predict the future (and isn't prophesying considered witchery anyway? How come it's fine for some people to do it and not fine for others to do it? And who cares when they're all wrong anyway?).
It also seems incredibly sad to me that some people live their whole lives here on earth looking forward mostly to death and the "rewards" they believe will come to them as their flesh decays or is burnt to ash. It seems like a colossal waste of the gifts that god (or in my belief- nature) gave to the earth in the first place. The joy in being alive just because it's scattered with brilliant moments. Maybe you have to want to die really bad because you are really depressed (without believing there's any reward afterwards) to truly appreciate the little things like the first cup of hot coffee every morning and tomatoes eaten fresh from the vine and laughter between friends and those brief moments of complete peace inside. There is plenty of spiritual enlightenment to be had from these little details too.
It's time to go make some food and prepare for Kung Fu class.
I'm dreaming hard of fall.
*Yes, I'm disappointed in Obama backing down so quickly on this issue. But it's hardly surprising, and in spite of the fact that I really like him, I knew he wasn't going to be able to waltz in and change the minds of ignorant America. The same America who believed Obama was Islamic.
**You knew that was a lie before you even finished reading it, didn't you. Of course I feel ashamed!!
For the record, since you've probably been on the edge of your seat wondering how I feel about this whole health care "debate" going on in our country: single payer universal health care is THE ONLY SOLUTION TO OUR HEALTH CARE PROBLEMS. Period. And why everyone is still fighting about it when obviously the president isn't going to actually change anything at all is a mystery I can't solve.*
I am going to have to alter my Kung Fu uniform because the largest size they carry doesn't fit me. Does this make me feel ashamed? No, I'm a well balanced completely confident person who doesn't have any size issues or shame around having to add enormous gussets to my uniform.**
So I'm on week two of my new sober-ific lifestyle where I'm sober for 5 days out of 7. Has it been hard, after all? No, but please don't congratulate me because instead of drinking my weight in beer, I am now drinking my weight in tonic water and lime with no sauce. As you must know, tonic water is like bitter soda. I love it. So no, I'm not dropping pounds and feeling fabulous at this moment. All day long I look forward to overindulging in quinine and lime and it's more important not to be a complete lush than to be thin right now. My conclusion is that it isn't the alcohol I crave, it's just having a fattening beverage to overindulge in that I can't live without. The good news: I'm not going to get malaria as bad as you all will.
At this point it's pretty clear that I'm not perimenopausal and won't be, probably forever. I'll most likely be reproductively dangerous until the day I die which really sucks. I don't want functional reproductive parts anymore. I'm done. Finito. If I could afford to I would get my tubes tied. Everyone around me is continuing to reproduce at alarming rates, why can't I just become sterile?
I'm really sad that I won't have time for much food preserving this year. I tried not to be, but I am. However, I realized that urban homesteading isn't an all or nothing proposition. The beauty of the concept is that people living in a modern context do all the things in their power to improve the quality of their lives by doing what they can for themselves even if it's something small like growing your own herbs and making your own dinner napkins. It doesn't have to mean preserving all the tomatoes you're going to use for the year. That's the ideal but if you don't have time or access to the supplies then you do what you can do like enjoy seasonal produce fresh every day. That will have to be enough.
I hate summer. I really truly do. I am going to save for summer camp starting now. I hate summer with a passion.
My kid and his good friend are bickering. They've been bickering for an hour. I would like to knock their heads together.
I read on a blog today that Jesus is going to be calling his people to the clouds now and the "stuff" that's going on in this country is "proof" that the end is here. Wow. I don't know, the same kind of bad shit has been going on since Christ first came onto the Roman and Jewish scene two thousand years ago and we've had two thousand years to wait breathlessly for everything to "end". I don't have a lot of faith in the bible's ability to predict the future (and isn't prophesying considered witchery anyway? How come it's fine for some people to do it and not fine for others to do it? And who cares when they're all wrong anyway?).
It also seems incredibly sad to me that some people live their whole lives here on earth looking forward mostly to death and the "rewards" they believe will come to them as their flesh decays or is burnt to ash. It seems like a colossal waste of the gifts that god (or in my belief- nature) gave to the earth in the first place. The joy in being alive just because it's scattered with brilliant moments. Maybe you have to want to die really bad because you are really depressed (without believing there's any reward afterwards) to truly appreciate the little things like the first cup of hot coffee every morning and tomatoes eaten fresh from the vine and laughter between friends and those brief moments of complete peace inside. There is plenty of spiritual enlightenment to be had from these little details too.
It's time to go make some food and prepare for Kung Fu class.
I'm dreaming hard of fall.
*Yes, I'm disappointed in Obama backing down so quickly on this issue. But it's hardly surprising, and in spite of the fact that I really like him, I knew he wasn't going to be able to waltz in and change the minds of ignorant America. The same America who believed Obama was Islamic.
**You knew that was a lie before you even finished reading it, didn't you. Of course I feel ashamed!!
Comments (11)
Is it sardonic? Sarcastic? I don't know but I had a little laugh my dear. I totally feel your kung fu outfit pain. Especially when it comes time to buckle my fat rear into an airplane seat.
I know you wrote this for me. "Yours is obviously the one exception I make." Not that I wear a cowboy hat, just that I can almost imagine how you might say that. Hilarious.
Posted by pam | August 20, 2009 3:30 PM
Posted on August 20, 2009 15:30
Oh man- the last flight I took i was hideously aware of my oversized ass squishing over my seat and threatening to touch tushes with the other passengers. Hey- I still have to watch your interview but you and Monica and Elizabeth and Alex are so effing wonderfully cute and funny and just the BEST!!!!!! I'll watch your spot next. I love the outfit you're wearing, by the way.
I TOTALLY wrote that just for you Pam!!!!!
Posted by angelina | August 20, 2009 3:45 PM
Posted on August 20, 2009 15:45
Yeah, I knew you lied. Something like that often knocks your self esteem so hard you're not quite sure how you ended up on the floor.
Coming from a country that has always had universal healthcare in my lifetime I find it hard to imagine any other system. The idea that people could loose their financial security by becoming sick or have to make a choice between a doctors visit or food/rent just blows my mind. The healthcare debate in America is just bewildering to anyone who has experienced another system, then again I imagine it is pretty bewildering to those within that can imagine another way.
On the good side of things our spring seems to be hitting early and fast.. I hope your fall will too.
Kind Regards
Belinda
Posted by simply.belinda | August 20, 2009 6:20 PM
Posted on August 20, 2009 18:20
love tonic. interestingly, so does my child. she snags the little bottles and finishes them up. did you know that tonic has more calories than coke? weird, huh?
PS i have a run of the mill small digital camera, but sometimes i get lucky. :)
Posted by magpie | August 20, 2009 6:43 PM
Posted on August 20, 2009 18:43
For me, having the drink or drinks or very much about the ritual of it, just as having coffee every morning is a ritual that I must have so I understand the exchange from booze to a fattening non-alcoholic drink. In my opinion...I say do what nurtures your soul and having any sort of drink is something to look forward to.
About the xtian blog and the whole looking forward to death and life in the clouds...A HUH! I hate thinking about death(do it often)and it caused me great anxiety to grow up in the church that constantly preached something was wrong with me for not looking forward to my own death. And OMFG, just as I typed those words I felt a huge rush of THATS IT rush over me! I think I just made what the professionals call a breakthrough! Wow, ok, I'm going to have to stop and think about this but I just wanted to add that I hate cowboy hats too! Well, really anything cowboy/cowgirl ish.
Posted by Kathy | August 20, 2009 9:37 PM
Posted on August 20, 2009 21:37
just wanted to add that I always felt inadequate to the xtians who were all about wanting to go home to Jesus and that there must be something wrong with me because I didn't. I always knew I wasn't one of them. It truly is one of the last legal forms of abuse. But seriously, thank you for this post because it just opened up something in me that perhaps now can finally find a place of peace from all of it.
Posted by Kathy | August 20, 2009 9:42 PM
Posted on August 20, 2009 21:42
and the god awful pink, sparkly, fake cowboy hats girls wear on hen nights, what are they thinking?!
Alcohol - I drink more than I should but some days it's a prop I have to have so hats off to you only drinking 2 days a week.
Posted by French Knots | August 21, 2009 1:52 PM
Posted on August 21, 2009 13:52
Well, at least you won't need a National Health Care system for treatment of malaria. :)
Here's a great link about "Civilized Medicine" that I thought you would appreciate.
http://foreignparts.typepad.com/foreign_parts/2009/08/%C3%A0-aimer-getting-sick-part-two.html
Posted by Loulou | August 21, 2009 3:44 PM
Posted on August 21, 2009 15:44
Simply Belinda- I didn't realize Australia had universal health care too- yes, I've had to make those scary decisions here and it's hard.
Magpie- your little run of the mill camera takes great pictures! I didn't know tonic water had as many calories as coke but I knew it was full of sugar like regular soda and very fattening. I love tonic water with lime! Max doesn't care for it. I think you're daughter has sophisticated taste!
Kathy- I'm glad to have opened something up for you and not just made you flaming mad- I know how strongly you feel about that. It's a lot more emotional for you because of your past experiences than it is for me to talk about Christian beliefs.
Jo- oh man- I'm not going to be able to get sparkly pink cowboy hats out of my head for days now!!! I don't think I've seen this phenomenon. As for the drinking, I think you are more moderate when you drink than I am. So drinking every day of the week isn't a bad thing if you're only having 2 or 3 drinks but I was drinking more than that every night. Eventually I think I'd like to be able to drink more nights but fewer drinks- but for now I'm doing what works.
LouLou- that's so funny you sent me that link- I actually read that blog for work yesterday(I work for Blogher) and I thought that was a really great breakdown of comparative costs of health care between France and the US. I know one Frenchman who hates the French government and doesn't think the healthcare there is great but I've heard more good things about it. I want what France has got!
Posted by angelina | August 21, 2009 4:27 PM
Posted on August 21, 2009 16:27
Well, I wouldn't get flaming mad-annoyed perhaps but not at what you say. I should just shrug off their craziness and not let it get to me.
Posted by Kathy | August 21, 2009 10:48 PM
Posted on August 21, 2009 22:48
Oh, but I totally understand and frankly, even though I didn't have to go through indoctrination personally (my mother actually forbade it, telling me that I couldn't join any religion until I was 18 years old- which I think is awfully wise) I still get flaming mad too, you know that. I get frustrated and angry at many aspects of Christianity too. The whole gay issue makes me breath fire...but for you it hits much closer to home.
Posted by angelina | August 21, 2009 10:56 PM
Posted on August 21, 2009 22:56