Road Trip

Sarah and I are driving up to Maine this weekend, and I'm pretty psyched.

I don't often get to leave the city on vacations like this, I've really only taken two road trips in the five years I've lived here - one was a million-hour drive to Toronto for an improv festival, and the other was a wedding up in the Catskills.

It's weird to think I haven't driven a car since... 2005? That can't be right.

Anyway, I'm psyched! I've never been to Maine, so I don't know what to expect, but I've been told there are outlet malls and an ice cream parlor and a hill and LL Bean and groundhogs.

So we'll see how that turns out. I really want to see a groundhog.

The Answer to the Ultimate Dilemma

I ended up going to Terry's. Year of Yes.

It didn't feel that hot outside, and the WHO episodes were awesome. Well done, Steven Moffat, you got me to make a face of shocked dismay that caused Terry to laugh.

Also, I ordered a portable air conditioner for my room, since the bars on my window prevent me from installing a regular one. Year of Yes!

The Ultimate Dilemma

It's 90 degrees outside, it's 12:30 p.m., and it's just gonna get worse.

There's something you ought to know about me - far greater than my hatred of rain is my hatred of the heat. It's part of the reason why I left Florida. I hate the heat so much, and can't stand to be sweaty unless it's for a worthwhile reason.

So right now I'm in my room with the window open, the blinds drawn, and my fan on medium, and it's pretty comfortable. I don't have an air conditioner and can't install one because there are bars over my window. I've been thinking of buying a portable AC, but the weather hasn't warranted it... yet.

Which brings me to this ultimate Year of Yes dilemma. Do I hide indoors all day, like I did yesterday, until the sun is mostly down? Or do I brave the blazing heat for a double-feature of Doctor Who at Terry's house?

A weekly group viewing is usually one of my favorite things, but we haven't met in a while. Most of this season's episodes have been solo viewings on YouTube instead of on Terry's enormous television with the WHO Crew. And I do miss everyone. TV is more fun when it's an experience, not when you're by yourself. Also, these two episodes are supposed to be terrific.

I love Doctor Who, quite frankly, but I hate the heat.

Which one will win?

30-Second Rule

A bit of wisdom I heard years ago is the 30-Second Rule, which says that if you can do something within 30 seconds, you should do it immediately instead of procrastinating.

It's actually really hard to follow, especially if you love being lazy, but something I've been doing this week, and I hope to keep up with, is making the bed.

In truth, I feel making the bed is an exercise in futility, because it'll be slept in within the day, but it DOES make the room look nicer, and even if I get nothing else done with my day, at least I've made the bed.

This line of thinking has actually made me feel better about myself, as after getting that one major accomplishment done, I can sit back and take it easy. And if I can do such a difficult task while still half-asleep, there's nothing I can't do.

NOTHING!

Yoga: Fail.

Once again, I forgot my pants.

I think this might have been the final week of class, too.

Nice Things #2

This happened a couple of weeks ago. It was the middle of the afternoon, a rare day of absolutely beautiful spring weather (this May has been particularly bleh).

I was returning to work from a doctor's appointment, and I was proud of myself for that, since I hate doctors, haven't been to one in years, and the needle I weathered wasn't nearly as bad as I'd anticipated, leading me to believe I might be getting over my childhood fear.

So nice weather, feelings of medical accomplishment, but the trains aren't running local, meaning I have to walk up to Union Square. This would ordinary bother me, as I have an axe to grind with the MTA, but because of the weather, I didn't mind the walk.

And I reach Union Square, and there's a farmer's market going on, and I think I can spare an extra five minutes walking through before entering the subway.

The first stand that catches my eye is one that's selling honey, and they're giving away samples of whipped honey, and naturally I take one because I like free things, and it's really quite delicious.

And this stand also has a glass case with a honeycomb inside, so you can see all the bees squirming around, and there are kids looking excitedly and the sun's shining nicely and I have a bandage on my arm and I still have a spoonful of whipped honey in my mouth, and I remember to think, "If this isn't nice, what is?"

Veggie Veggie Fruit Fruit

I went to the Veggie Pride Parade on Sunday.

I'm a huge sucker for parades, especially when people are in costumes. Throw in some free snacks and a wedding between an anthropomorphic carrot and pea pod, and I'm in Heaven.

Sadly, the wedding was a drizzly, low-key ceremony (I must have been expecting dancing and a procession and... to be honest, I don't know what I was expecting), and I only got solo camera shots of the bride and groom.





The snacks were hit or miss... a Vegan Slim Jim (how can such a thing exist?) called Primal Stick, which was strange and enjoyable, and this raw (or "living," as they call it, I guess) energy bar that was supposed to taste like chocolate chip cookie dough but tasted like an energy bar. I took one bite and gave the rest of it to Sarah, she said she could taste the cookie dough, but I don't know what she's talking about.

For me, the most interesting thing to come out of the Year of Yes is that I'm thinking more about healthy eating, and the possible benefits of vegetarianism. Or part-time vegeterianism, if such a thing exists.

But thinking isn't doing. I'm like those cops on last week's episode of Top Chef: Chicago. I'm probably not gonna eat healthy unless it's put under my nose and it's just as delicious as Chocolate Peanut Butter Pops, and that's the problem.

I wish someone would do something about this, but the only one who will is me. What a dilemma!

At the very least, though, I'm making small changes. After the parade, I met up with Lynn for lunch at a vegetarian Thai restaurant, and that was pretty delicious. And last week, I cooked Sarah a vegan dinner of Ginger Peanut Soba Noodles (here's a suggestion: use a lot less soy sauce, as this was salty as crap). And I don't think I'll ever go back to regular milk.

Also, after an interesting food conversation last night, I'm gonna cut soda from my diet for a while (I currently drink one root beer a day at lunch, but I can substitute it for juice, which is nature's root beer).

But on the other hand, I ate two donuts before the parade. Maybe two and a half, I forget.

I wish nutrition was as simple as the Kitchen Kabaret. Those guys made it seem so easy.