What your food may say about you.

It's been awhile since I took part in a survey but anytime I feel the urge, there's always plenty of fun ones to be found on my friend Charlotte's blog. This one asks questions about fav foods and other food related things.

How do you like your eggs?
As a child, I loved them over easy so I could dip toast and bacon into the oozing yolks. Although, these days, I tend to have them over well or scrambled till browned.

How do you take your coffee/tea?
Coffee with cream, not milk, and no sugar. Tea straight up.

Favorite breakfast foods:
These days coffee is about all there is to my breakfasts but there was a time when I was all into cereals, pastries, and fully cooked American breakfasts.

Peanut butter: smooth or crunchy?
Smooth, but I'm not opposed to crunchy.

What kind of dressing on your salad?
I tend to vacillate between honey-mustard and balsamic vinaigrette.

Coke or Pepsi?
Neither! I gave up sodas years ago.

You're feeling lazy. What do you make?
Make? I go out.

You're feeling really lazy. What kind of pizza do you order?
Ah pizza! Unfortunately, since finding out I’m allergic to gluten; I don’t eat pizza much anymore. I’ve bought rice crust pizzas and added my own toppings but there’s nowhere to order gluten free pizzas from that I know of.

You feel like cooking.
If I’m up for cooking, then anything is game. I’ve done stir frys, pot roasts, steaks, pasta, fish, casseroles, and crazy salads.

Do any foods bring back good memories?
This may seem gross to some people but I used to love peanut butter and jelly mixed up in a bowl. There aren't any specific memories associated with this but I also don't do it anymore.

Do any foods bring back bad memories?
I don’t have any bad memory associated with food but I can’t stand the taste of milk after it’s dropped to room temperature. Actually, I’ve never enjoyed drinking milk on its own. Milk is a mixer!

Do any foods remind you of someone?
There’s this great summer time dish my friend Trish created. It has no name that I know of but it was made with brown rice, black beans, raisins, sliced apples, mandarin orange slices, mango chutney, grilled chicken, and seasonings. Mmmmm!

Is there a food you refuse to eat?
I’ll try anything once.

What was your favorite food as a child?
Little Debbie Oatmeal Raisin cookies.

Is there a food that you hated as a child but now love?
Everything most kids typically hate like most cooked vegetables, liver/onions, coffee, etc. There isn’t anything I don’t like but some things I can’t have.

Is there a food that you loved as a child but now hate?
No, but there are many foods I ate as a child that I wouldn’t eat now due to all the crap manufacturers seem to think has to be added.

Favorite fruit?
Blueberries

Favorite vegetable?
Spinach

Favorite junk food?
Reese’s White-Chocolate PB Cups

Favorite between meal snack?
Nuts, Cheese, Chocolate

Do you have any weird food habits?
Well, I have eaten PB and mayo (not together) right out of the jar.

You're on a diet. What food(s) do you fill up on?
If anyone I know thought I was on a diet, they might have an intervention.

You're off your diet. Now what would you like?
Reese’s White-Chocolate PB Cups

How spicy do you order Indian/Thai?
Very! Once I was out with my friend Trish (different from the one who created the rice dish above) and we were at this Chinese place in Rogers Park. Our server asked us how spicy we’d like our meal and we said, “Make us cry.” They did.

Can I get you a drink?
Sure! Sky Vodka Martini, Cuervo Gold Margarita, or some very dry red wine.

Red wine or white?
Above

We only have beer.
I used to love a rich, dark beer like Guinness but since discovering my allergy to wheat …

Favorite dessert?
Reese’s White-Chocolate PB Cups

The perfect nightcap?
Just smoke a bowl.

God Damn Squirrels!

This morning as I was preparing to go to work, and attempting to arrive on time for a change, I was doing the 1-2-3 times around the apartment to make sure the backdoor was locked and the coffee maker was turned off and the stove was off (not that I had used it) and, lastly, that the ACs were set right, I discovered that a squirrel had eaten a hole through both side panels of the livingroom AC. Ahrg! So much for being on time. I had to rip out all the packing tape I had placed around the window to cover the gaps (those window ACs never fit perfectly) and redo it while compensating for the new damage. Then, because so much of the cool air had already leaked out, I had to put the unit on high for the day so that the livingroom wouldn't be an oven when I got home from work. Also, I heard a rumor from my downstairs neighbor that my landlord is planning to buy new windows for the whole building! Now, I would definitely miss our cool vintage windows but I wouldn't miss the ones that don't open or the ones where the wood has rotted away or the ones that shake in the wind. Of course, none of this may matter if I move.

I've been thinking about moving, locally, into a roommate situation. I'm so bloody broke and my pathetic salary is causing me to fall further and further behind. I'm besieged by expenses like the cost of living, skyrocketing gas (my itty-bitty tank should be filled for less than $20 but it takes close to $34), and food. I can easily spend $60-100 bucks on the amount of groceries that fit into one of those hand carts! My car is giving me some problems. Dalloway is old and constantly needs some kind of work. Currently she could use about $1100 in upkeep. I hate cars. Okay, I like the convenience but they cost as much as a kid to keep up. I don't want kids. Why do I have a car?

Anyway, I'm looking into shacking up with some strangers to help alleviate costs. I've scanned the ads in the Reader and Craigslist trying to find a liveable situation and I've sent a few inquiries but people are so slow to respond. The whole process wears me out. More than likely, nothing will come of it. I've lived on my own terms for so long that it would be difficult to merge with others. But, if I happen to find the perfect arrangement where I have, say, my own bathroom and utilities included, then maybe. Truth be told, I just want to move right on out of Chicago but that's old news. Not sure how to pull that one off without becoming seriously homeless.

Speaking of moving, I just read my friend Jennie's blog and she seems quite fed up with L.A. However, the post is inconclusive as to what she plans to do. It seems the whole world is fed up and unsure as to what to do.

Where Have I Been?

Since the last time I posted, not including the photos from Pride weekend below, I was out of town for awhile. I took a week and a half vaca down to Ft. Lauderdale where I nested at a cool little hotel called the Worthington. This place had a real community kind of vibe, kind of like an international hostel. I met peeps from all over the country and one cute boy from Australia.

The hotel is really made up of two properties next door to eachother and most of the interactions among guests take place around the courtyard clothing optional pool and jacuzzi. The management bills it as fun and frisky, which it was for the most part , though with any place like that the frivolity depended alot on who was currently in residence.

The first 3-4 days I was there, there were a great group of guys who provided a 24/7 open bar for all guests. The hotel does a happy hour on the weekends but these guys decided it should be extended throughout every day. However, no one was desperately drunk every day as you might imagine although one poor soul did fall into the bushes and the side of the pool. This group kept life happening within the hotel grounds almost all day and night every day, so much so, that I didn't really go out at all until late the next week after most of them had left and a new group came in. The newbies weren't much for hangin around all the time, but this was good because I needed to see some of the life Ft. Lauderdale had to offer.

I went out to all the hot clubs in town including Voo Doo, Jackhammer, Alibi, and Boom. I had a fantastic dinner one night with some friends from San Fran called Herban Kitchen. The portion was large enough to feed, at least, five people. Most of the gay life takes place in a neighborhood called Wilton Manors where a centralized strip mall structure houses both the Alibi and Boom as well as an assortment of retail stores.

Of course, I went to the beach a few times and it was wonderful. The sand was clean and the water was almost warm due to the 90 degree days. Trust me, I wasn't complaining. Growing up in Florida, I always miss the ocean and the tropical climate. Alot of the people I met were looking into buying vaca places down there but I don't know if I'd want to spend much more time than I did on a regular basis. It was fun but it's still Florida. Flat and uneventful. I wish I had made it down to South Beach which wasn't that far away but I was kept pretty busy and content in Lauderdale. Maybe next time. Now I'm planning a trip to the west coast.

Pride Chicago 2006

Summer Furey

The temps are increasing a little bit each day and by Friday, it'll be 80. I don't know much about spring fever but I live for summers. I don't know if it's because I grew up in a tropical climate or something more mysterious, deeper in me, that draws me to the warmth, even hot and humid heat. Of course, it's natural for human beings to want to be warm but most people who live in the northern climes appreciate, or tolerate, the cooler months. I hate them. I especially hate when the temps increase for a couple days or a warm week, then suddenly plunge back down as quickly as they rose. Although, it's probably our fault the weather is so off balance. Granted, there is a certain amount of fluctuation in weather patterns but it's supposed to have a pattern. It isn't supposed to be unpredictable. There's a reason meterologist can do their job to a reasonable extent. They read the fronts, the temps, the winds, the storms, and can reasonably forecast what's to come. But what happens when they are so totally off the mark? What happened when the weather does a complete about face from what all the signs seemed to say? Is it the gods of old saying, "We're still here and we still have power over your meager lives!" Or is it the earth crying out from the wounds inflicted upon her? Is global warming real? Does it matter that we (as a species) have systematically erradicated entire species of plants, animals, people, and eco systems?

An Inconvenient Truth, a documentary by Al Gore, looks at what we've done to affect climatic changes across the world. Both corporate interests and intentional ignorance (the worst injustice) have eaten away at the earth's resources in such a profound way that the earth is having difficulty keeping it all together. She's cracking up. I tend to believe that most coporate CEOs recognize this and know that their decisions will have long term effects on the environment but with the thought, "Not in my life time ..." Except, here we are and the CEOs are still here and the planet is under the weather, beseiged by its own defenses. If you can do nothing else, go see this film. Don't succumb to intentional ignorance. You can decide for yourself what you believe once you have all the facts. I'm not suggesting Gore's film will make or break the argument, but it will add more substance to the question. What have we done? And, if you believe the question, then you have to ask, what can we do?

Bad, bad blogger!

I was reading some current and old posts on my friend Charlotte's blog (I can't remember how to create a hyperlink, so if you're interested, there's a link to her site over there on the right. It's called deli-cut.) and she was bemoaning blogging and the internet in general, or, at least that is my recollection of what she had written. Anyway, I'm kind of in the same boat, or, if that wasn't what she was talking about, then I'm in my own boat and it's a boat of people who are growing weary of their blogs. Relatively, I'm a newbie to this. I only began this blog about 2-3 years ago. When I first started it, I vowed to update it at least once a week. Since that avid vow, my posts have dwindled, sometimes to just once a month. It's not that I don't have anything to say but that, maybe, I need a new way to say it. We're all so bombarded with so many kinds of media these days that often, lately, I find myself consciously using less media, or exposing myself to less, than I used to. In fact, and this is sad, I recently received a very nice iPod. I think it may be the one with video, but I haven't even opened the package. I already spend hours a day on a computer and the net as part of my job. Then there's TV and radio. Oh, I discovered that I can listen to the radio through my cell phone and I can take digital pictures with it too! Everywhere I look is technology and media. No wonder I crave peace, quiet, and the countryside. I think I'll go for a walk ... right now!

United 93

I wasn't going to see this film. It wasn't because of the subject matter exactly, only remotely. Anyone who knows me, knows I hate to fly. Sometimes I get so anxious that it almost paralyzes me. Sometimes I pop a couple Xanax. My main issue with going to see this film was that it concerned four forced plane crashes. So, after my volleyball game Saturday, I decided just to go see what was playing since it was gray and rainy outside. When I arrived at the cinema, the only film that was about to begin was United 93.

The film itself was very well portrayed and my hats off to all those involved including actual individuals involved on the day in question. There were actual military and FAA personel in the film portraying themselves as they acted on 9/11. The film's main focus was a fictionalized account of what may have happened on United flight 93 that day and was built out of the collected phone conversations made to family and friends from the plane before it went down. According to the film, the passengers never intended to just crash the plane but had hoped to regain control of it and land. Unfortunately, the complete mayhem that ensued whilst they were fighting back against the highjackers is (in this fictionalized account) what caused the plane to crash.

Watching this, seeing the desperation and fear of the passengers, was so intense that now, at midnight, I can't sleep because of the sound of planes going by overhead. It's like being freaked out after a horror film and every little sound gives you the creeps. Of course, I also asked a couple of friends if I could come out to visit this summer and fall. That is, fly out. I have flown since 9/11 but after seeing this film I feel as freaked out about it as I did right after 9/11. The question is, would I recommend this film to anyone else. Definitely. Just be prepared. And if you're not ready, if it's too soon for you, don't go. It's film, it'll wait.

Other People's Lives

It's Easter Sunday morning, early, and I've just rolled out of bed with thoughts of other people's lives on my mind. I was thinking about my friend Christina who was confirmed as a Catholic last night at Holy Name Cathedral. It was quite an affair because it was coupled with the Easter vigil service. The whole Mass took four hours. Gods, I thought, make us do the craziest things. Also, Christina's daughter, Lucy, was baptized as a Catholic. They both had their first communion and it was very special for them. For myself, I felt very cynical about all of it. I sat in a reserved pew just for friends and family of the new converts and I stared at the ornate ceiling and rolled my eyes as the offering baskets went around. Does the Catholic Church really need any more money? That's what was on my mind. I also couldn't help but pity one of the priests who gave the sermon (oops, that's a Protestant term ... homily) and he gave it like a freshman essay. "Three points," he said. "I'm going to cover three points on why [G]od is love." He went on to lay out a very shaky foundation based soley on a Catholic perspective on why [G]od is love and how human beings reject that love because we are sinful. "[G]od," he said, "doesn't need man but made man because he ..."(A little aside here, what's with the gender id on gods?) "... desired someone to love and he loved us into existence." Now, isn't desire very much like need? This priest, the other Catholics, my friend, and her daughter all seemed so moved by it all last night, but, for me, it all fell on deaf ears. It's their lives, I thought.

My life has been about learning and experiencing. And through the life I've led, I can't possibly, in good conscience, lead a religious life. I wasn't even able to take to Paganism. However, the idea of a sense of spirituality does make sense. There is an aspect of being human that is also spiritual. There are those aspects of ourselves that are beyond explanation or outside the strict boundaries of science. Sometimes I feel in touch with the entire universe, while other times I'm so drawn in that I'm only aware of myself. When I die, when this body putters out, will that be it? A blackout? I don't tend to think so, because I believe in those things outside the realms of science and, perhaps, outside the realms of any religion. Religion was created to deal with death, not with life. It was created to give people something to look forward to and something to keep themselves occupied so that their minds weren't dwelling on the inevitable. However, why do I suspect that there's something more than this life? Honestly, it's inexplicable. Although, I do know that no religion can tell me why I believe it or should. In a world of labels, what am I now? Agnostic? Diest? Just spiritual, I guess.