It's like riding a bike

Some musings for you all...

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I rode a bike for the first time in, oh, like 20 years on Friday (I wish that were an exaggeration). Anyway, Friday was a half day of school, so naturally we had a lot of time on our hands, so this 13 year old kid peer pressured me into it. I almost fell off- multiple times.

Story time: I hate(d) riding a bike. The only reason I really learned is because my Grandmother bribed me, telling me she would buy me a new outfit if I would learn. I rode to the court by my house, crashed into a mail box, and earned those damn turquoise jeans with zipper details and that puff paint tee. It was 1989. Now in 2010 and I would rather walk 10 miles than ride 1 on a bike.

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I love pumpkin things. My frenemy Dan made a fantastic pie on Sunday and that really reminded me of my pumpkin love. It also got me thinking about using squash as a dessert. Why do we choose pumpkin? I don't think it is even the best choice. Last summer sour cream ice cream was all the rage in the hip/foodie places and it was good, but you know what would make it better? Some zucchini. Not kidding. Zucchini actually is breaking into the baking world. It started with bread, but it is now in brownies, etc. You know what would even beat out zucchini--- beets. (See what I did there? That was just a little homophone for all you english teachers out there.) It beats me why we don't have more desserts made from delicious sweet plants. (Man, I am on a roll). Seriously folks, add enough sugar and we can take these vegetables/startches to a whole new level. It will be delicious.

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And finally, here is a picture I took of the Flatiron Building while I was in New York. Nevermind that I puked in a public trash bin right after this was snapped. Meh, the picture is great, but I won't ever shake the events surrounding it. Blah.

In Central Park

I walked into the Lincoln Triangle Barnes & Noble about eight hours late (though, I didn't know it at the time). The sign wasn't big, nor on prominent display, but when I walked in, it was all I could see. It glared right at me; as if somehow I was looking for it. As if it was there to mock just me... "R.L. Stine event at 1pm". I got there at 9pm. Had I known, my day would have gone drastically different. (Note: If you don't know who he is then well, go ahead and stop reading now because you don't deserve this blog).

But don't worry, I still live a charmed life. Take for example this treat in the park...

Walking through the park was pure fall perfection. It was 55 degrees out with puffy white clouds, and a breeze just strong enough to stir the fallen leaves. I was perfectly comfortable wearing a thick sweater and a long sleeve tshirt. I was meandering when I spotted a little disagreement between two attractive lovers. It quickly became clear the model didn't want to jump into the fountain and the photographer had a vision. He won. I grabbed my camera.

My favorite shot by far is the last one. He is happy she did it and she is happy it's over.

Outlook Good

"Solves all problems"!?!?! How could you deny such a promise? We couldn't. We went to get a reading.

And the place is exactly how you might imagine. Ostentatious, kitschy, and attached to the readers house. The TV was on, there were like 10 cars in the driveway but we knew they weren't customers and we knew there weren't 10 people in the house. There may have been 10 cats; not sure.

We had to go in one at a time. Which was scary slash professional of the Madame. And it was also quite nice because then we could lounge on the astroturf porch.

If you look closely in the next picture, you can peer past the re-assuring religious paraphernalia, and find Kami receiving her future. Excuse me, Dr. Kami.

Now, now. Everyone calm down. She wasn't creepy. She wasn't channeling the devil. She read our palms. She had surprisingly fitting insight. She wasn't over the top.

Oh, and all three of you men who read my blog because you have crushes on me... prepare, because she said I would fall in love and get married in the next 18 months.

As for everyone else: Kami and lots of money will be in either Hotlanta or Seattle soon. Wayne will have a baby, and a baby momma but not a wife. Eeeks. And Matt needs to let go of his double life, dun, dun, dun.

We did it right

Sunrise in OBX

Have you ever had something, lost it, then got it back? When it was yours again, you treasured it even more... it's like when little and a brother would steal my toy and Dad would swoop in and I'd get my fun back. Last week Hurricane Earl was an immediate threat; roaring off the coast. There was even a time when we started to move on, planning some two-bit barbecue in VA instead, thinking he had take our beach vacation away. Because of the pre-trip-trepidations we were all that much more thankful once there. I have always loved the beach, but this time I loved, loved, loved it! (yes, at least three times more). I partially attribute it to my forced gratitude, but more-so to the cast who filled the weekend. It was a perfect storm of people, weather, and the house.

Drastic measures were taken to get Earl to calm down. Ashley resorted to pillow talk. I relied on old-school bullying. Earl got out of our way quickly, leaving behind crashing warm waves and cleared skies. Phew.

Mary McMullen Living

Days were spent with a revolving schedule of kitchen-beach-pool-snack cabinet-repeat. The elevator and direct beach access made it reeeeaaaaal easy. The nights brought stars from the heavens that were just as eager to be there as we were. Space junk fell freely.

As someone else said, the worst part of the trip was having to go to sleep every night. One particular night I had a dream that someone attempted to wake me from my beach slumber to get me to go night swimming in the bio luminescent waters. Only later did I find out that actually happened. My top regret is that I wasn't lucid enough to recognize reality from dreams at that moment. And if that doesn't smack of a successful beach weekend, I don't know what does.

A special thank you to everyone who planned it and those who lived it with me.

With a floating platter of nachos in the pool and a faint scent of saltwater in the air, I got it.

P.S. I bought a new pillow the day I got back and I am in love with it. It's a quilted alternative down number from Target.

People are Good

I have all sorts of rants on this blog. I have ranted about animals, twitter, and even the President. Today I will rant about the goodness of humanity. I am in now way showcasing my sarcasm either. People are good. We are born good and we generally stay that way. We sometimes make bad decisions, choose the wrong, or otherwise screw up. As a whole, as a collective body of souls roaming the earth: we are good.

I was home in California recently and my parents and I visited the wonderous land of Costco. We went about our shopping and we got a treat at the food court on the way out. This adventure lasted at least an hour. When then returned home, unpacked our treasures that we never even knew we needed and/or wanted, and then my mom noticed she didn't have her purse. We had trampled all over that store. You have all been in Costco and found something so exciting that you lose your wits. You drop everything and you investigate your find. That purse could be anywhere.

En route back to the store, I called to see if someone had turned it in. They had not. I had all the hope in the world that the purse would be sitting alone in a cart somewhere in the lot. Or sitting on a shelf next to the food processors waiting for my mom to come pick it back up. My parents were less hopeful. They claimed if someone saw it, they would take it, spend all the money and go wild. WHAT? No way. First of all, they would have to be proactive. They would have to find the purse. They would have to take the time to steal it unnoticed. They would have to then purchase things hoping not to get caught. Even more than I think people are good, I think them to be lazy.

Sure enough, the purse was turned into the food court people; everything inside. I bet they didn't even open it to see if there was money in there. They turned it in because had they lost their purse, they would want someone to do the same.

People are living their lives just like you and me. Trying to live a good life. Trying to have fun. Trying to be happy. Being a criminal is not easy. Especially being a criminal who is not caught.

I have met tons of people. Some who have come to Jesus, some who hate religion. All sorts of people with all sorts of different morals. But the bottom line is most have morals. I may not agree with the level of guilt they associate with certain actions. But overall I don't know any thieves. No rapists. No murderers.

I work with all sorts of law-breakers. Even the ones in juvenile hall are good kids. They might fight, they may sell drugs, they may do drugs but they aren't evil. Most people are nice and helpful. And if they aren't, they can quickly get to that point with a little help. People like to feel good.

I am not saying everything is lolipops and roses and we should walk around being gullible and susceptible to being victims of crime. What I am saying is this: generally, people are good.

I don't eat meat

I needed a snack. Something salty. Something crunchy. I was standing in the basement of my office building and that's when it happened.... I, a pescatarian, purchased BEEF FLAVORED POTATO CHIPS. Specifically "Baby Back Rib" flavor ruffles. Now, that's just gross. I don't love potatoes, I don't even eat meat (just fish, and I know what you are thinking, no, its not meat, we will get to that). Curiosity got the best of me. I had to know what the hell the chips were about. They tasted like bbq flavor, with liquid smoke flavor and maybe a hint of meat? I don't know for certain. It has been more than five years since I have had a rib. I knew the chip contained no meat, but it tasted like what I remember ribs to taste like. I ate the whole bag and didn't regret it.

People oft ask why I don't eat meat. It started as me cutting out red meat to reduce my fat intake. That worked. Then I decided all mammals must go. And now, nothing but fish. Why? Because the thought of digesting flesh of another animal is disgusting to me. I mean, it walks around, like you and me and then it dies and I eat that? It's like eating human, but just one degree less creepy. Grab your arm. Flex. Now think of a cow walking around. Ick. Killing is not the issue. I have no moral objections to killing an animal for my gain. I have a shoe and purse collection that would make you weep of joy. So, why don't I eat meat? It isn't just one thing. Its a lot of reasons. Detailed below are the various leading reasons why.

It's better for the environment.
I've been saying this for years… and now other people are too: cows emit far worse gases then cars do and more. Seriously. According the the WorldWatch Institute: livestock contributes 18% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, even higher than the GHG emissions from transportation. As part of this figure they produce 37% of methane, which has more than 20 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. And if that weren't enough to be concerned about, their manure emits nitrous oxide, 65% of world totals. "A University of Chicago study examined the average American diet and found that all the various energy inputs and livestock emissions involved in its production pump an extra 1.5 tons of CO2 into the air over the course of a year, which would be avoided by a vegetarian diet. Thus, the researchers found, cutting out meat would do more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions than trading in a gas guzzler for a hybrid car." http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448/index.html

Women who eat red meat are twice as likely to develop breast cancer
The risk increased with the amount of red meat consumed, with those who ate more than 1 1/2 servings a day of beef, lamb or pork having nearly double the risk of hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer compared with those who ate three or fewer servings per week. A serving is roughly equivalent to a single hamburger or hot dog. Now before you say "EVERYTHING CAUSES CANCER"... let me just say, most things change your cancer chances by a percent or two. This is 35% higher risk. That is HUGE.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/13/AR2006111300824.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070407174018.htm

Health Reasons

I am no picture of health. I make tons of bad choices (rib flavored ruffles anyone?), but this choice is easy for me. So why not make the good choice here?

Spiritual Beliefs

My religion teaches of "Flesh of beasts and of the fowls of the air... are to be used sparingly. And it is pleasing unto me [God] that they should not be used..." I am in now way close to the whole ideal. I strive for it, I fail continually. I have had a hard time with this one. But, one thing I can do, one thing I don't mind doing is following the meat thing. I am sure it would also be pleasing unto Him if I stopped eating so many Doritos and Snickers, but why not do what I can?

What it all boils down to

I can do whatever I want. Oh, and peanut butter is my favorite food.

*a note on fish: they don't use the muscle the same way as we do. they move their vertebrae, and thus, they move. their "meat" is really just an extension of the fish- like milk is to a cow. like a snake - i guess i would be ok eating a snake, but they don't even taste good. (and yes, i know, i tried them before).

How to celebrate your freedoms the right way.

Prologue

I am spoiled. Sometimes I am also a brat. During a bout of being a spoiled brat I was lamenting on the phone with Momma Jo, telling her that my life was basically over because there was no way I could have a Fourth of July better than the recent previous. Last year, it was Boston and Neil Diamond sang Coming to America- twice! The year before that I was somehow able to get on a boat to watch the show in DC from the Potomac River alongside the memorials... there was no way I could top these things. No matter what I did, it would pale in comparison. My life was over: Spoiled. Brat.

Well, read on readers. And for those fearing that this is just going to be a brag-blog, don't worry, there are descriptions of the most interesting characters. So there's that too.

The Build Up

First of all, watching Top Gun under the stars is always a good idea. Always.

Now, what is even better, is waking up and floating on a tube down a river. Highlights from the River include:

-Not being able to manage a re-mount of the tube. What?

-LB peeing from laughter, and it finally being ok because we were in a river.

-Going to a National Park and asking a man in costume (a civil war solider) if he was a ghost. He wasn't.

-Laughing so hard that one ab hurt the next day

-Pulling over to the side of the road, for no other reason then to really be able to focus on singing "Country Roads" with all my might when John Denver came on the radio.

After you get home from floating a river, going to the capitol building to watch the dress rehearsal for the Capitol Fourth Concert is also a great way to celebrate our freedoms. So we went. David Archuleta sang the National Anthem, Lang Lang tickled the ivories and Reba gave me goosebumps with "Fancy". (Note: I was also able to tweet Archie and invite him to church, from 4slyce's account- don't worry I am still anti-twitter. Anyway, he didn't show but he did read the tweet.)

The Big Day

Zipping into the District was a relative breeze. We were able to roll the windows down and roll alongside a biker who loved us and clearly loved America.

Furthermore, we were fortunate enough to view the fireworks this year from a rooftop terrace that was right next door to the white house. I don't know, magical things just fall into my lap. (Shout out and thank you, Sweet Ash.) Whilst a half-million of my fellow Americans were crowding the mall, I was able to avoid such crowds and watch with an un-obstructed view from the exactly one block due north of where Obamas watched. I will never be the same.

Right after the pyrotechnic show, we sat and enjoyed the view, watched the people, watched the other area firework shows, and chatted. We met a man from Colorado. A client of the firm. He really wanted me to have a drink with him. And, I'm not going to lie, I really wanted to oblige, however Ashley stopped me. Saving my night yet again. (The even better news is that he was like 45 years old, skewing my average age to something a little more respectable.) I digress...

Another advantage to being on a rooftop is that after the whole she-bang was over, we could see the local street traffic pattern as well as the speed of travel on the bridges out of the district. After a spell, we determined it safe to depart. Clear for take off.

Walking into the parking garage I let out one of my finest "bwwoooops" and it was returned! By a chap wearing bright turquoise plaid pants. His girl in a matching sundress. They were holding hands and skipping. I don't know how they managed to find each other in this world we live in, but I am so glad they did. They were a perfect match.

We returned to our home in Arlington, lit some sparklers, whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookies and thanked the lucky stars for the day.

The Slow Down

How do make the best weekend even bester (wasn't a word until now)... you go to the beach.