Switching over to a new domain

I’ve moved to She Frolics for a new look and an easier name to recall….

I FROLIC OVER AT SHE FROLICS… see you there.

what a tangled web of words and pus

The hippocampus is a funny thing. It’s the memory center on the sides of our brains tied into the nervous system. Currently, I am using muscular memory (which often operates independently from the hippocampus) to type fluidly. My hands are so attuned to the motions that a sentence results in my fingertips leaping ahead with the synaptic charge, missing the meat, and arriving pre-ejaculated at my final thought.

Physical memory relates to the saying, “It’s like riding a bicycle. (You never forget.)” I’d like to take concept and talk about the substance of remembering information, the actual flexing of memory itself. The flex has to become a practice. I used to be a champion speller, remembering where i goes before e except after c. The less I use my vocabulary, the more basic details of words become forgotten. The other day, I couldn’t pin down spelling “Broccoli.” My duty to myself, as a student of life, is to keep on learning.

Just writing helps put that flex to practice. Another strategy to keep on improving, while reading, is listing words I don’t know the definition of, or words that I like but never use. – Irised! Flotilla! Consolidate! Cupola! Surmise! Apparatchik! -

Thus far in this process I am pleased to be propositioned by perfectly perky terms to put some pepper in my prose. As a child, one of my favorite uttered terms was PATHETIC. If someone couldn’t give me an airplane ride or a pizza for dinner, in an exaggerated enunciation, “PA-THHHHe-TIK” was the ever-scathing scornful remark reducing the lowly being to rubble. Instead of the month-long or year-long obsessions of youth, I have the weekly fads with a particular ways of saying things.

Words, words, words. Too much fluff to get to the point. The point being… I had a literal recent brush with the verdure of Santa Monica Mountains that resulted in nothing less of a disaster. I mildly exaggerate but when sleep is forcefully paused and shrill annoyance runs amok, this is a problem.

Cue spooky classical music….. I was kissed by poison oak.

The legs became a purulent yellow, itchy, bright glaring red, not-hot mess. NSFW pictures coming up ahead if you haven’t peeked already. Mayhaps, you’re asking, “I understand how words and memory connect. What about words and poison oak?” Well, I learned the ultimate, bestest, most perfect word to describe the experience of yellow pus running down from the blister gashes dotting my shin, (a special thanks to the cyst from “A Serious Man” by the Coens) SEBACEOUS: “containing an unusual amount of oil or grease.” Go on and add it to your vocabulary repertoire. It’s been marked and placed in my head library for eternity. You can use it to describe a greasy (sebaceous) burger, America’s use of oil (these sebaceous gas-guzzling S.U.V.s) or Haley’s unshaven legs covered in pus (one hell of a drippy hairy sebaceous sight).

Sebaceous kisses thar

TIP: Wear pantaloons in the woods.

back at it with a boring review

I’ve performed the #1 facepalm of a newbie blogger according to – Life Without Pants

Yep, was successfully following a routine of posting the semi-occasional blog. Then I went and fell off the edge of the world. Sorry about that, I’ll work on my consistency. CONSISTENCY! (What a concept).

As I mentioned in the Carnimoprhismicallyvegetarianism, Eat Me post, I’m not a very good follow-througher. It’s not that I just figured it all out, but here we go!
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Quick Rewind Update on Posts Past-
• Detoxing went well, did my best to ease out of it. Back to boozing in social circumstances. But not back to excessive sugar and salt and still eating my poo-friendly veggies! Seriously, get What’s Your Poo Telling You for your bathroom readings. My roommates quote me on this- “The poo book really helps us communicate.”

• Life path dream goals are still eluding me; however, next life stage might be relocating to….. Austin, Texas. I’ll get back to you on this one.

• Still only have one pair of jeans. I don’t know how I do it, really.

• Being a Vegetarian suits me. This time around I’m a much better cook (emphasis on MUCH) and willing to experiment. Good-bye pasta yesterday, hello tempeh cutlets on the menu tomorrow. Personal Tip- Get some recipe books like the ones I picked up: Student’s Go Vegan Cookbook and Being Vegetarian for Dummies.

• Healthcare still hasn’t passed! What…. A….Drag…. (This is a euphemism for WHAT THE FUCK!) I really need to get my preventive care on.

• For some awesome discussions on the religion front that leaves me in the dust on eloquence, go and read Jay Lake’s blog, an author whose work I just started reading and he has great discourse and thoughts on the subject. Start here and he’ll give you all the links necessary to follow.

• Still shuffling, just shuffled up and down the San Francisco hills last weekend. Pretty good exercise. Newspapers are staying intact, by the way.

• Baby bird hasn’t left the nest.

• Another thing I’ve followed through on (is a pattern developing?), there has been NO making friends with the weasel. A great thing about not popping my neck is the fact it already feels better. It’s like itching that budding poison oak bump only to get this big gash that itches even more. Ok, bad analogy there. But I really do have a bad case of poison oak. I’ll show you the pictures if you wish. Just ask.

• The fall heat dropped off in South California and got replaced by El Nino this winter. The hills are alive with the sound of rumbling devastation. Can’t hear that, so all I got to give are happy smiles at the green vegetation frothing over.

• I’ve figured out that I’m a nosy, pushy, loving bully. If you’re depressed, I’m going to smack you over on the head and not let you cry… the suicide month isn’t the right time for you to get all sad. Frankly, that just makes me paranoid.

My update hath runneth over. Be back with y’all soon, folks.

cleansing the wicked from 2009

Sunday- Today, I am Fasting.

Indeed, I am cleansing my body. January is the perfect time to do this, immediately after the gluttonous celebrations that is December joyibulations… November feasting….  October sweets…. and the all-encompassing booze… oh, the boozing.

This is my fourth time doing this over the last three years. The program I follow is Fast Track Detox by Ann Louise Gittleman. It is designed to release toxins while flushing them out, kick-start your liver function, get your digestive acids working properly, and allows your colon to expel…. well.

Let me quickly list what I am REQUIRED to have the first 7 days (all Organic)-

LiverLovingFoods:cabbagecauliflowerbrusselsproutsbroccolibroccolisprouts
GreenLeafyVegetablesandHerbs:parsleykalewatercresschardcilantrobetgreenscollards
escaroledandelionmustardgreensCitrus:orangeorjuiceoffreshlemonorlimeSulfurRich
Foods:garliconionseggsdaikonradishLiverHealers:artichokeasparagusbeetscelery
dandelionrootteawheynutritionalyeastflakesColonCaringFoods:powderedpsyllium
husksmilledorgroundflaxseedscarrotapplepearberriesOil:flaxseedoiloroliveoil
Protein:spirulinaLOTSLOTSLOTSofWater.

The last 3 days I add sauerkraut and yogurt (I salivate, for tomorrow I dollop it on top of my Delicious Morning After Fluffly Apple Flaxcakes).

No bread/carbs at all with the exception of brown rice, nil sucra.. no salt except the occasional sea salt sprinkle to neutralize the bitterness of dark greens. the sodium in vegetable broth is acceptable, too. Alas, spices are tres importante. Cinnamon is supposed to help your metabolism.. so spice away!

All of this happens over the course of 10 days not including the detox fast day. Great, huh? Don’t grimace too much for me though, there are also neutral foods I can eat that include yummies like Bell Peppers, Mushrooms, Shallots, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Olives…

It can get pretty bland if you don’t add a dash of cayenne or anything… the reason I do it  is not because of the terrific gourmets but to feel energized. This whole program teaches my body what it wants to eat. Tomorrow, the day after my fast. I am supposed to savour every bite I take.. this way while being on an empty stomach my body is trained to crave what it is given. It’s always worked.

The only difference is that this time around there’s no meat for me. I can’t eat the beans or nuts that offer a decent replacement to that loss so in a cup of water I mix in Blue-Green Algae (brand- Spirulina). Let me say… the stuff isn’t that pleasant, but it is necessary, so I go forth with dark green war paint dribbling down my mouth corners and pinch my nose. How hard is 11 days anyway, really, people!

I mixed the algae in a bowl of cabbage soup and let me repeat what I said on twitter – it turned into a color-tint of WTF.

As for the FAST day- I drink water and Cranberry Miracle Juice (a concoction of pure cranberry juice, orange juice, water, and nutmeg/cinnamon/cloves). I drink 8 oz of each, alternating every hour. Needless to say, there’s a lot of visits to the WC. Ever had pure cranberry juice? That’s heavy stuff right there, I dare you to drink it straight up, however, on the sensible side, I recommend you add a small amount to a cup, fill it up with water, and you have your super antioxidant drink.

Due to the lowered calories and low-carb diet, I can’t do heavy exercise. I cheated a bit with some hard hikes but.. hey (a 4 pound loss is nice).

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Information notwithstanding, my feelings about this whole experience, I shall share.

*I like the fact that I have a really good excuse for not buckling to various situations of peer pressure.. I’m weak.

*Portions are a lot less and I am a little more hungry in between meals than the last two detoxes due to not including protein (I would recommend ALG try to do another book for Vegetarians, Spirulina = Protein replacement but not BULK replacement. K?)

*Immediately after eating, I get a lot of physical highs, it’s odd. Like my body is floating.

*I crave the simple things, like a morning toast with my eggs.

*I love smoothies, I look forward to these as desserts (a cup of berries, vanilla whey, flaxseed oil, cranberry juice, some water).

*The beginning felt slow… I swear time is going faster now, scientific foundations shall be thwarted.

*All this feeling great about my food intake inspired me to get out a lot more, went hiking three times in a week and had a night out, dancing, as well.

*I’m excited that I lost 4 pounds already. The day of the Fast is supposed to be the highest amount of weight loss, though. I’m ready to jump back into the gym and sweat when this is over especially since I’ll definitely be taking in more portions.

*I’m also doing this with my boyfriend and we’ve been excellent supporters for each other. Happy it makes me that I can live a similar lifestyle with the person I’m around the most.

Fasting day is awesome. There’s no food prep or dishes to be washed. Now, I’m going to go see Sherlock Holmes in the theater. This day is supposed to be a day of rest and reflections. Btw, I’m not hungry.

Gandhi said – “What the eyes are for the outer world, fasts are for the inner.”

not the fault of the dream but the dreamer

The past’s been mentioned and so has the now. What shall be of tomorrow? Some of us have the next year planned, a ten-year outline, or some time structured towards a final destination. These plans can be based on the reality of restrictions, others can be based on impossible dreams. Only the impossible isn’t always so, as long as you take baby steps.

Poke at me and ask “What of your dreams?
Am you on some journey towards achieving a passion?”

Alas, I am free-floating in a gravity-filled space. Heavy with a dreamless destination.

I’ve spied some gaudy shirts that mention midgets, computers, WOW, and tits as hard-on motivations… while you can put these on some people’s lists mine doesn’t include my own B.A. degree as one of them. Over a year ago, I graduated and have been sitting on my ass ever since (except for the occasional shuffles down the driveway).

Every Christmas, my mother gifts a new ornament in our stockings. Last year was a fitting selection. My boyfriend, who already has marvelous dreams of his own got “Believe.” My brother, whom is married and had an one year old daughter at the time, received “Love.” My mother whom knows me well and hopes that I open my heart to more possibilities and desires, bestowed upon me, “Dream.” Still, there are no signs of R.E.M. motions these days.

Sure, I have dreams of traveling, living well, seeing new things, marveling about them, seeing the successes of others, but what of methods of achieving these and contributing to society. Time will tell.

My adaption of The Red Wheelbarrow
by William Carlos Williams

So much depends

upon

a leaping childlike

wonder

tickling that bright

desire

in the plumbing

of the heart

Rub the lamp and wish me back my pants

What you eat, your environment, your genes, and your friends are very good indicators of the type of a person. What you wear according to Stacy London and Clinton Kelly, encompass and showcase to the world your very being! Yes! Clothes, how I love thee.

I can be an Eskimo, or a bohemianfreakin’hippie, or a professional hipster, or the occasional gansta. I say what you DO with your clothes is an excellent embodiment of who you are as well.

I’m from Fife, WA.
I live in “Southland”, CA.
And I deserted my pants.

I own one pair of jeans (left behind); the other has a busted zipper (unwearable, also left behind). The hazards of living in balmy weather have shown their cards just in time for a northern winter wonderland vacation. In Seattle, I am a sun-spoiled, ill-clothed, and scatter-brained russian/turkish Genie-In-Training.

G.I.T

Wonderland for a G.I.T. in love

Carnimorphismicallyvegetarianism, eat me

Before I sit down to write, my tendency is to chew on a topic idea that has been just merely cooked up the same day. As it is, today’s topic is FOOD. When I started yelahasinyello.wordpress.com, I was at a loss about what exactly I’d want to be discussing.

Now… now, on a daily basis, there isn’t much bustle (alas, don’t cast me aside as a bore. I promise you, this is just a phase). Due to the lackadaisical manner of my life, I’m leaning in the direction of using this blog as a platform for launching my opinions. Hmm– while I do my arbitrary chin stroke, I am arriving at my own conclusion that I need to construct a clear image for myself, what exactly it is that I believe in before I sprout my deepest feelings to the world as well as my daily going-abouts. The stances I take morph, contort, twist, and, occasionally, straighten over time.

An example of this goes back to 2005, April 9th. With no pomp and circumstance, on this date, I announced I was phasing out MEAT. I dug into one of my old journals and am happy to bring a part of an entry here with the simple act of copy-and-paste—

“What is wrong with “tree huggers”? From what I see, when people use that term it doesn’t necessarily seem to bring about a cheerful tone. It’s more of a mockery. Here’s my question, why? When we think of tree huggers, do you come up with the image of people shrouded in forest green colors and a head covered in dreads? Is it because their concept of living is so far from our own materialistic world? Or is it because of our cynicism? Are we collectively saying with our daily behavior and distain of tree huggers, “You god damn liberals can’t change the way we live. This is our society, THE society.” 



A lot of you might scoff at what I’m about to share. I’ve only spent a few weeks studying Environmental Science and the last two days contemplating a life change. I dare you to call me a tree hugger. I’ll carry the term proudly and you may mock me or join me or say nothing. The decision I’ve arrived at is a change to my diet: removing meat. I would have groaned a few weeks ago and said– those damn vegetarians, don’t they know we’re carnivorous! But, it’s not as simple as, oh we can’t kill animals– they’re living beings, too! Quite frankly, I’m still an avid meat lover and my taste buds are damning me…. but it’s the impact that the beef industry has on the environment. For every burger we take a bite out of, we consume 11 bathtubs full of water. This water comes from what the cows drink, the water used to grow grain to feed the cows, the water used to grind up the meat in the factories. You think oil’s in trouble? Try fresh water too.



This isn’t something temporary; something I’ll be all gung-ho for the first month and then change back to my habits. I have always thought vegetarians were annoying myself. “God, they won’t eat the chicken I just cooked; now I gotta find something that tastes good AND gives them protein….” or, “those vegetarians don’t appreciate fine cooking and the meaning of real food”… but it’s a way to preserve life on this planet and I’m finally inclined to agree with vegetarians. Giving up meat is a small exchange for the earth and posterity. It’s going to be extremely difficult for me. With my dependence upon meat, quitting meat will be akin to quitting cigarettes (I would imagine)! I’m going to go cold turkey. What I ask of you is please don’t torture me by waving a double quarter-pounder with cheese in my face; you might end up missing a hand. I have yet to tell my family. This will be interesting, my mother doesn’t eat red meat but my dad is red everything. I’m actually only removing red meat for the time being. I’ll only be reducing chicken and fish– I hardly ever have seafood, anyhow. I CANNOT remove dairy from my diet. It is impossible for me at this point. One step at a time, if I fail once.. I’ll still persist. When it becomes a habit and I’m used to it, I’ll move on to no white meat.. then on to dairy. Let’s see where all of this goes. One day I’ll own chickens and a milk-cow. There– I’ll be able to support myself and not the industry.”

Heh, welcome to me, aged 20. Well, well, Haley. It looks like it’s the time for the half-a-decade review. I successfully followed my new set of personal dietary habits for about three years, give or take. I’m told by my boyfriend of nearly 4 years that a part of the reason he (carnivore) liked me (herbivore) was because I had a stance and the ability to follow through…. We both have eaten our words (lexivore) since. Him on the part of loving me even though I really am not that much of a follow-througher. Me on the part that I ATE MEAT again. I do want to say I don’t eat it as much as I did when I was young. This giving up was part- getting the short end of a stick whenever eating over at someone else’s house, part eating out at restaurants that only had Caesar salad as their best vegetarian option, and part being unable to save money and split meals with my boyfriend whom I ended up living with for six months.

In 2005, I was inspired by my Environmental Science class. In nearly 2010, I am again inspired by this wonderful book “Eating Animals” by Jonathan Safran Foer. He went on his own three year investigation into the meat industry. The book didn’t necessarily tell me anything new about the awfulness of the industry, I always knew the Factory Farm industry was profit-driven and was turning animals into commodity instead of beasts filled with pain-receptors. I had given up on myself saying that I can’t change anything as an individual. What my Environmental Science class failed to instill was the awareness that I ought pass on my influence and bring this discussion to the dinner table. This book asks me to turn the tables on to you and ask you to reconsider why are you eating with a blindfold over your feelings? Pick up the book and tell me if you still feel the same about that piece of chicken on your plate that’s just been dipped in fecal soup.

I do it because our children need a better world, livestock is now the number one pollutant, beating transportation. I do it because I knew years ago that the water and grain usage to feed animals is proportionally ridiculous, we’ll get more out of the earth tilling it. I do it because these animals deserve “a good life and an easy death.” I do it because the genetic dysfunction of fowl and hogs gives viruses better pathways to humans. Factory Farming, an abomination. Trawling the ocean floors for shrimp and killing 145 other species as bycatch, no, thank you. I’m a VEGETARIAN again. Every once in a while, I realize that the younger me was right, the dream of innocence need not be one. I release myself from the guilt of eating MEAT. Thanks for the reminder, Vingt ans Haley, and many thanks to Mr. Foer.

I’m back in the fray, darling, bless my heart.

Head over to http://farmsanctuary.org/ and sign the petition if you’d like to help reduce cruelty against farm hogs. AND READ THE BOOK!

my health is your concern

On Twitter, I asked for a blog assignment and got this from “@jcopacetic- @i_frolic ok. Topic 1. Why a Public Option is better than the medicare buy-in”

Let me see what I can do for you- Mr. Jcopacetic

Politics are generally not my cup of tea, but I do vote.
I read the newspaper every other day and watch State of Union addresses. CNN.com is my homepage.
I’m a Democrat of the liberal side.
Evangelists creep me out.
Bush pissed me off.
I considered re-locating to Canada during the re-elect. (I’m thankful I got to at least live in Australia for six months during that reign. Bush’s buddy Prime Minister, John Howard, got voted out while I was there, whew.)
Socialism doesn’t sound so bad when it means everyone gets taken care of.
I support free day-care and healthcare for all.

Personal Experience
Insurance companies really baffle me when it comes to declining healthcare to these who need it most because it costs them too much. I just get so much “duh” out of that. When illness strikes, that’s when we need help the most. Money should never be a deciding factor in these things.

Just out of college, I’m too old to be under my parent’s policy. Unemployed- thus, I have no cash for my own policy. I’m pretty much insurance-less. This healthcare issue very much applies to me.

I know I am acquiring more and more health problems the older I become- my left shoulder gives me pains, I have a hole in the last of my molars, my eye-sight is probably getting worse, and I self-diagnosed myself as having carpal tunnel in both of my wrists.

I absolutely hate hospitals. I grew up having surgeries- one for a polyp in my nasal cavity and twice for cochlear implant surgeries. I got a needle stuck wrong in me and ever since often have dizzy spells at the sight of blood.. but I KNOW I need to go and dealing with paperwork and insurance only deters me further. I KNOW I have to go to prevent health problems but I can’t and that only makes the emergency rooms worse when these health issues come to head at the worst peak.

Now- to get to the point, the combination of politics and the medical field is a nasty one. Especially with Insurance companies out there for money, and not for healthcare. Everybody’s lives are at stake and this democracy is filled with experts and non-experts with every kind of opinion. Let me add my own.

Define Public Option
from
nationaljournal.com : The public option proposed by some Democrats makes a public health insurance plan available in health insurance exchanges or gateways, alongside private plans, for some uninsured Americans.

The plan : The federal government creates a public insurance plan some uninsured citizens can opt for over private insurers. Since the government has more leverage than private industry when negotiating with hospitals and doctors and can get lower rates, the plan would likely be the cheapest option out there.

Define Medicare Buy-In
Basically it’s an expansion of the current Medicare to a younger age, 55-64.

The Debate
I checked out what is now IN the healthcare bill for sure- and it’s long… long…
mostly, it just looks like more money going into prevention, intervention, children’s health, modernizing the system, making things more effective… it’s a look towards universal healthcare but not true reform. Public Option and Medicare buy-in are both not listed and are still being debated over by the Senate. Visit www.whitehouse.gov for the long list of what’s in the bill and the budget.

The current debate is along the lines of taking Public Option out and replacing it with Medicare Buy-In. It is disappointing that a healthcare reform really isn’t happening. We need something more radical than just an expansion of Medicare. What about ME? I ask.

So, why do I think Public Option is better? It’s a bigger reform than an expansion of just one age group. It’ll impact the insurance companies that have been ripping us off for a long time as well. If people want private insurance, go ahead. Why do people argue against government care? The ones that want more specialized care can keep it if it’s within their means.

I’m not very educated in these matters and my opinion is not full of expertise but something has to change. Something way bigger. Obama will not relent until there is universal healthcare, these nay-sayers better believe they’re only putting off the inevitable.

Not a very flowery blog, but I might as well stick to what I know.

a post in which I hope doesn’t anger but encourages questions

Here I am again, alas I am not continuing the previous to-be-continued blot but am here for an entirely different reason which I will get to very shortly-

Ever since I joined Shelfari, a FaceBook for bookworms, it’s really upped the speed at which I finish a book. What a novel idea, making lists and checking them off! I polished off Anansi Boys (Neil Gaiman, what a guy) today and am halfway through Sophie’s World. (So far it’s excellent and it’s a beautiful weaving of story/parallelogram of the history of philosophy.)

This brings me to the delicate topics of philosophy and religion. I will generally tell people, no, I’m not religious and try to stay away from any fanatics. Fanatics can be nice but I generally nod and say, I see. It’s so difficult to be politically correct, but I can say that humans have really fucked up their ability to co-exist with the continuous pursuing of their own set of beliefs in spite of so many variations.

I’ll just get straight to my qualms…

The big religions of the world (you know who you are) can be separated into basically two different sources – one Indo-European and the other Semitic. One pursuing the rebirth of life and the other Armageddon. My issue with this, they all basically came from the same source and can’t all be right, can they? Maybe they can be right based in terms of faith and spirituality (some people would fall to despair without some buoy or expectations beyond “this is it”), to which I say, go for it, to each their own, however, do not be fooled into thinking that whatever teaching is the end-all, be-all.

What I am trying to say is that they’re all myths and stories, penned by Man. The Bible and every other set of writing is stuff of legend… the Greatest Story Ever Told? How about the Greatest Lie Ever Told? I do not mean to turn down the teachings of compassion, kindness, brotherhood and all that yadda. Someone told me once that if there was no religion then man could not live peacefully (……….. do I really have to mention the Crusades?). I think religion used wisely is the same as not firing a gun. It’s how the tool is used by the wielder. Sometimes the person is bad, sometimes they’re not.

I believe I’m a good person and I have never needed any religion to tell me what was wrong or right. Conscience comes with being human, as long as there is kindness around you. I can’t say what I follow one way or another… I prefer to eliminate what I don’t and keep it at that. What I can say is I am very interested in being a meditative and an aware person. Humanist? I am a wanna-be at least.

______________________________________________

I probably am all over the place now but I want to share something that pertains in a very curious way to me– From Sophie’s World

“…the most important of the senses for Indo-Europeans was sight. How important hearing was to the Semitic cultures is just as interesting. It is no accident that the Jewish creed begins with the words: ‘Hear, O Israel!’ In the Old Testament we read how people ‘heard’ the word of the Lord, and the Jewish prophets usually began their sermons with the words: ‘Thus spake Jehovah (God.)’ ‘Hearing’ the word of God is also emphasized in Christanity. The religious ceremonies of Christanity, Judaism, Islam are all characterized by reading aloud or ‘reciting.’ “

I found that compelling because I am deaf and I had a friend of mine of the same ilk tell me (paraphrasing here)—- dude, this lady came up to me once and apologized. I asked her why and she told me that I could never hear the word of God.—

That really hit me in the weirdest way. Hearing the word of the Lord, to some people, has become more important than looking at others in a humane way. That’s pretty twisted.

_____________________________________________________

What’s the point is a question I often ask myself and I want to find one even though I’ve cursed myself with skepticism. To keep myself from becoming a pitiful nihilist, I’d like to look at everything with WONDER instead. Help me out?

do the shuffle past the roses

The life of an unemployed college grad is glamorous. Days are spent waking up just in time for a lunch of breakfast. Before that magic happens, I shuffle outside, sometimes in an over-sized tee, or my striped peejs and a tank-top, sometimes in socks or my flip-flops when the sun shines, which is more often than not. I shuffle outside with a mission to pick up the neatly wrapped newspaper.

I digress to briefly expound upon a rather amusing story that happened at the beginning of my lease here. When my house-mates and I started subscribing to the L.A. Times, I was diligent in filling out the crossword puzzles, which is not so much the case now but I proceeded to be able to complete the Monday, Tuesday, and the occasional Wednesday.. then the rest of the week the clues just narrowed their focus and filled with useless neat tidbits information, I am not. As my house-mates were working people, they’d leave the house early, one in a Mini-Cooper and the other in a distinguished Mitsubishi convertible. One off to install windows so people could look out of their houses and the other to listen, sign, and interpret classes. Wonderful people, innit? Some mornings, I would pick up a neatly tied wad of paper, and other mornings, to my puzzlement, the same paper would be shredded all to hell. My thoughts were along the line of, “My, what crazy animals are out there.” This would happen on and off and I finally told my roommate, Mitsubishi, gee, there’s some raccoon or stray dog out there that goes around post-witching hour destroying the pleasures of the front cover headlines. Abashed, she said “Grr, grr?” Sheepish and a Homer Simpson, D’oh. A college grad with critical thinking skills? There’s a reason I shuffle about down the driveway, day in, day out.

A digress became TO BE CONTINUED…