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Exercise and thinking out loud
Jan. 11th, 2012 04:25 pmOkay so, I have completely failed on my New Years Resolution regarding exercise! I am largely whatever on that because honestly I don't really do New Years Resolutions, but it did get me at least think about why I'm apparently so determined to avoid my gym.
( Anyone wanting to read my navel gazing has to be a masochist. )
( Anyone wanting to read my navel gazing has to be a masochist. )
Salads 101
Jan. 11th, 2012 01:07 pmLately I've been trying to get the hang of salads. I grew up having salad as the designated side with dinner every night, and there's something about that that makes it come off as really, deeply and sincerely, boring to me. All I ever had, and all I ever did when I took over the family cooking was lettuce + random dressing. BORING. And making the lettuce the main course never quite…worked for me? I always felt weirdly dissatisfied.
But I bring my lunch to work most days, and while I have no problems filling it on days that I cook myself something the night before, I really needed something besides frozen tamales/burritos/chicken pot pies etc. to fill it on the days I don't. So! Salads are something I can do in 10 minutes even if they're a bit on the complicated side, and I have these adorable little sauce thingies that I can use to put my dressing in so it doesn't get all soggy, and therefore they seem like a good solution to that. I like sandwiches more, but I hate pre made sandwiches because they get all soggy and the flavors mix and sometimes it's still fine if I really, really loved the sandwich in the first place but I just don't like them as much. And my usual objection to salads - that they're not filling - is kind of negated by the fact that I pack that lunchbox FULL, dudes. I have breakfast (yogurt with fruit or fruit and cheese, normally), miscellaneous fruits to serve as snacks, miscellaneous chocolate to serve as desserts (Green and Black's Maya Gold is the most delicious thing ever, for the record), miscellaneous cheeses to serve as snacks in case the fruits aren't enough, and maybe a cookie or two just for bonus, and usually in the morning it's kind of bulging out at the sides. I usually don't finish all this, but I like having snacks available and if I don't have fruit available I feel grumpy all day. And there's basically no restaurants nearby that actually serve fruit, which is really great incentive to have it available.
But since I've never actually really made salad, I'm sort of in the process of teaching myself how to make a good salad. So here's a summary of what I've been learning about how to make a satisfying salad from what I have available.
( mmm tasty food. )
...I don't know if this is the worst icon for food or the best icon for food.
But I bring my lunch to work most days, and while I have no problems filling it on days that I cook myself something the night before, I really needed something besides frozen tamales/burritos/chicken pot pies etc. to fill it on the days I don't. So! Salads are something I can do in 10 minutes even if they're a bit on the complicated side, and I have these adorable little sauce thingies that I can use to put my dressing in so it doesn't get all soggy, and therefore they seem like a good solution to that. I like sandwiches more, but I hate pre made sandwiches because they get all soggy and the flavors mix and sometimes it's still fine if I really, really loved the sandwich in the first place but I just don't like them as much. And my usual objection to salads - that they're not filling - is kind of negated by the fact that I pack that lunchbox FULL, dudes. I have breakfast (yogurt with fruit or fruit and cheese, normally), miscellaneous fruits to serve as snacks, miscellaneous chocolate to serve as desserts (Green and Black's Maya Gold is the most delicious thing ever, for the record), miscellaneous cheeses to serve as snacks in case the fruits aren't enough, and maybe a cookie or two just for bonus, and usually in the morning it's kind of bulging out at the sides. I usually don't finish all this, but I like having snacks available and if I don't have fruit available I feel grumpy all day. And there's basically no restaurants nearby that actually serve fruit, which is really great incentive to have it available.
But since I've never actually really made salad, I'm sort of in the process of teaching myself how to make a good salad. So here's a summary of what I've been learning about how to make a satisfying salad from what I have available.
( mmm tasty food. )
...I don't know if this is the worst icon for food or the best icon for food.
2011: Retrospective
Dec. 31st, 2011 01:31 pmWork: I wasted the whole goddamn year with only headaches to show for it. But I have a job in this economy so I can't bitch too much. Next!
Personal life: Decent? It feels like I've started turning around some bad trends/habits of mine, and one of the things I'm hoping about the next is that I can keep that up. Trying to blog more will help, I think, especially with Plurk to avoid some of the more inane posts making it on here. (...SORRY PLURK FLIST? I blame the medium and not my inherently boring nature.)
Online/RP/Fandom: Good and bad? It's seemed...idk, quieter and less absorbing and I'm not entirely thrilled with that, and I think wholesale abandoning journaling for Plurk was a really bad idea, but I love Rika and her relationships and have enjoyed being even peripherally in a fandom that actually...has a fandom gj self, and lasted way longer with Ferdinand than I ever thought I would. Overall, I think next year's going to be better though. I have some tentative app plans, some nice plans for Rika even if they are mostly for CFUW, and I'm honestly looking forward to picking up blogging. I might even make a run at doing one of the communities that I've been thinking wistfully about doing for years despite the bah amounts of work it would require.
Cheers to 2012 in hopes that it'll be better for everyone!
Personal life: Decent? It feels like I've started turning around some bad trends/habits of mine, and one of the things I'm hoping about the next is that I can keep that up. Trying to blog more will help, I think, especially with Plurk to avoid some of the more inane posts making it on here. (...SORRY PLURK FLIST? I blame the medium and not my inherently boring nature.)
Online/RP/Fandom: Good and bad? It's seemed...idk, quieter and less absorbing and I'm not entirely thrilled with that, and I think wholesale abandoning journaling for Plurk was a really bad idea, but I love Rika and her relationships and have enjoyed being even peripherally in a fandom that actually...has a fandom gj self, and lasted way longer with Ferdinand than I ever thought I would. Overall, I think next year's going to be better though. I have some tentative app plans, some nice plans for Rika even if they are mostly for CFUW, and I'm honestly looking forward to picking up blogging. I might even make a run at doing one of the communities that I've been thinking wistfully about doing for years despite the bah amounts of work it would require.
Cheers to 2012 in hopes that it'll be better for everyone!
(no subject)
Sep. 23rd, 2010 06:07 pmOh my god, I want to punch my neighbors.
So! One of my neighbors has a pit bull. I have mentioned her before on here as the most adorable dog ever. Seriously, I met her by looking down at my feet before properly registering that there was a dog approaching, and seeing her flopped upside down on my feet hoping for a bellyrub. She's genuinely the sweetest and most even tempered dog I've ever known.
Yesterday, one of the other neighbors kicked her. Today, six of them banded together to call her a menace, and to tell her owner that if they saw her outside again, they'd call Animal Control.
....
I mean, look. It would be one thing if it were a dog I could possibly conceive of as being violent! I used to have a chow, and if she were wandering around and people were scared of her, I could at least understand that, because Tulip was pretty bad tempered. (Though I'd also point out that if someone kicked Tulip, I'd damn well expect them to have a bitemark on their leg. Which whoever kicked Lulu was notably lacking in. FOR PRACTICAL PURPOSES THIS IS A VERY GOOD THING but. Fuck, if you kick a dog who isn't threatening you, you deserve to get bitten.) But I've seen Lulu dealing with an 8 week old puppy who adores her to the point of being really obnoxious and dealing with my dad's dog, who is tremendously jealous when we pay attention to her when he's around, and she's just. Incredibly patient and sweet-tempered and the idea of her menacing people is just utterly fucking ridiculous. As it is, the only possible conclusion I can come to is that someone went "oh my god, she's a pit bull HOW TERRIFYING SHE WANTS ATTENTION AND BELLY RUBS SHE IS CLEARLY A MENACE" To which I can only say oh my god go fuck yourself.
And now my neighbor's building a better fence and I'll almost never see her again. Not to mention my dad's dog just lost his packmate. And I still can't believe they kicked her. Assholes.
So! One of my neighbors has a pit bull. I have mentioned her before on here as the most adorable dog ever. Seriously, I met her by looking down at my feet before properly registering that there was a dog approaching, and seeing her flopped upside down on my feet hoping for a bellyrub. She's genuinely the sweetest and most even tempered dog I've ever known.
Yesterday, one of the other neighbors kicked her. Today, six of them banded together to call her a menace, and to tell her owner that if they saw her outside again, they'd call Animal Control.
....
I mean, look. It would be one thing if it were a dog I could possibly conceive of as being violent! I used to have a chow, and if she were wandering around and people were scared of her, I could at least understand that, because Tulip was pretty bad tempered. (Though I'd also point out that if someone kicked Tulip, I'd damn well expect them to have a bitemark on their leg. Which whoever kicked Lulu was notably lacking in. FOR PRACTICAL PURPOSES THIS IS A VERY GOOD THING but. Fuck, if you kick a dog who isn't threatening you, you deserve to get bitten.) But I've seen Lulu dealing with an 8 week old puppy who adores her to the point of being really obnoxious and dealing with my dad's dog, who is tremendously jealous when we pay attention to her when he's around, and she's just. Incredibly patient and sweet-tempered and the idea of her menacing people is just utterly fucking ridiculous. As it is, the only possible conclusion I can come to is that someone went "oh my god, she's a pit bull HOW TERRIFYING SHE WANTS ATTENTION AND BELLY RUBS SHE IS CLEARLY A MENACE" To which I can only say oh my god go fuck yourself.
And now my neighbor's building a better fence and I'll almost never see her again. Not to mention my dad's dog just lost his packmate. And I still can't believe they kicked her. Assholes.
(no subject)
Aug. 24th, 2010 09:03 amIt's going to be 107 degrees where I am today. I have no air conditioner, and will be in a small semi-enclosed space all day. Shoot me now.
In other news, I was reading this article, and man, it surprised me just how closely this matched my experience. The only thing that this didn't include that I would've expected was that in my experience, powerful people overestimate other powerful people's competence and morals as well. ("They have to have been really competent to get into power in the first place! So it's inconceivable that they could've possibly made a mistake that big." <- actual sentiment expressed. I dotted a lot.)
In other news, I was reading this article, and man, it surprised me just how closely this matched my experience. The only thing that this didn't include that I would've expected was that in my experience, powerful people overestimate other powerful people's competence and morals as well. ("They have to have been really competent to get into power in the first place! So it's inconceivable that they could've possibly made a mistake that big." <- actual sentiment expressed. I dotted a lot.)
(no subject)
Jun. 23rd, 2010 07:29 amYou know, you'd think after weeks of packing my breakfast and lunch in the morning, I'd stop gagging at even handling food that soon after waking up. Seriously, I will never understand how people can even eat less than an hour after waking up. It's been 2 and a half hours since I woke up and I'm just starting to be able to contemplate eating.
In other news, I have been incredibly bleh lately. I need to kick my ass into doing stuff rather than just sitting around with no energy or motivation for anything. I also need to replace my tires. BAH. I hate car shit.
In other news, I have been incredibly bleh lately. I need to kick my ass into doing stuff rather than just sitting around with no energy or motivation for anything. I also need to replace my tires. BAH. I hate car shit.
(no subject)
Jun. 14th, 2010 09:17 amYes, my ear infection is finally actually dying! \o\ Now if only my other ear would pop already since I still can't hear worth crap out of that ear and it's bugging me since I can finally hear okay out of the other one.
(And of course, I forgot my antibiotics before I left this morning. SIGH. Oh well, missing one won't kill me, I assume.)
In other news, I caught up on Jennifer Fallon's latest series, at least as far as it's out yet (sigh I choose to catch up ten days before the last book in it comes out. I know I'll forget about it after it comes out too). And as much as I love political epic fantasy, I wish she'd cut down on the woman with an active sex drive = evil, heroine = damaged sex drive because she's been raped trope. I mean, she manages to write some seriously awesome female characters despite that! ...Usually. The women in the Wolfblade series were all pretty much awesome and avoided that trope entirely iirc, and the chameleon spy was in the Immortal trilogy was awesome. And I have a weird fondness for Marqel who's like the bastard love child of both those tropes because I like unapologetically sociopathic and ambitious female characters and the use of religion to gain power. In some ways the entire Second Son trilogy feels to me like an dissection of the saw "Pretty women have more power than men because they control sex!" and what it would actually take to be even temporarily and partially true (hint: it involves combining religion, sex, and convincing the most powerful ruler on the planet to kill his firstborn child for your religion, because after that that guy will never allow himself to doubt in that religion. And it's still made clear that that's an innately fragile source of power). But those tropes still piss me off.
(And of course, I forgot my antibiotics before I left this morning. SIGH. Oh well, missing one won't kill me, I assume.)
In other news, I caught up on Jennifer Fallon's latest series, at least as far as it's out yet (sigh I choose to catch up ten days before the last book in it comes out. I know I'll forget about it after it comes out too). And as much as I love political epic fantasy, I wish she'd cut down on the woman with an active sex drive = evil, heroine = damaged sex drive because she's been raped trope. I mean, she manages to write some seriously awesome female characters despite that! ...Usually. The women in the Wolfblade series were all pretty much awesome and avoided that trope entirely iirc, and the chameleon spy was in the Immortal trilogy was awesome. And I have a weird fondness for Marqel who's like the bastard love child of both those tropes because I like unapologetically sociopathic and ambitious female characters and the use of religion to gain power. In some ways the entire Second Son trilogy feels to me like an dissection of the saw "Pretty women have more power than men because they control sex!" and what it would actually take to be even temporarily and partially true (hint: it involves combining religion, sex, and convincing the most powerful ruler on the planet to kill his firstborn child for your religion, because after that that guy will never allow himself to doubt in that religion. And it's still made clear that that's an innately fragile source of power). But those tropes still piss me off.
(no subject)
Jun. 3rd, 2010 07:54 amI was planning on writing a long, ranty post on attitudes towards any form of caring about your health that doesn't involve self-sacrifice in America, including sleep, but I'm too braindead due to not passing out until after 4 in the morning due to insomnia to want to. This strikes me as about as funny somehow. I guess it could be the hour or so of sleep speaking!
(no subject)
Apr. 30th, 2010 07:44 amThis morning, I managed to get my lunch/breakfast/dinner packed, exercise, and still leave for work an hour early so that I can also leave work an hour early tonight. I may feel too proud of myself for this.
On the minus side, I discovered that even when there's like, 5 people in the entire place, people still hog the only woman's bathroom for ridiculously long periods of time. I swear, trying to go to the bathroom at work sometimes feels like the bane of my existence.
On the minus side, I discovered that even when there's like, 5 people in the entire place, people still hog the only woman's bathroom for ridiculously long periods of time. I swear, trying to go to the bathroom at work sometimes feels like the bane of my existence.
(no subject)
Apr. 27th, 2010 07:05 amI like this meme and interesting conversations! \o\
Ask me questions about anything. My opinions on politics, my opinions on sex, my opinions on food! ANYTHING. I will ask questions in return, too, and we can do a dialogue thing. Let's be opinionated or thoughtful or whatever.
In unrelated news, I really need to like. Talk to someone at work about running the air conditioner over to where I work. It hit 80 degrees in my office yesterday, and I was just absolutely exhausted by the time I left because of that. And it's only going to get hotter, considering the area I work in regularly hits 110 in the summer.
Ask me questions about anything. My opinions on politics, my opinions on sex, my opinions on food! ANYTHING. I will ask questions in return, too, and we can do a dialogue thing. Let's be opinionated or thoughtful or whatever.
In unrelated news, I really need to like. Talk to someone at work about running the air conditioner over to where I work. It hit 80 degrees in my office yesterday, and I was just absolutely exhausted by the time I left because of that. And it's only going to get hotter, considering the area I work in regularly hits 110 in the summer.
(no subject)
Apr. 23rd, 2010 03:06 pmI'm not sure which is sadder, the fact that I felt the need to tell my brother that you're supposed to wash new kitchen gear before using it in case he didn't know, or the fact that I was right and he didn't actually know that. He wouldn't believe me that boiling stuff in it without ever rinsing it out wasn't totally sufficient for all purposes. I hope he doesn't eat too much plastic dust, I guess.
(no subject)
Apr. 22nd, 2010 05:19 pmIn no particular order:
- Wearing purple makes me happy. Considering it's not even particularly my favorite color, this bemuses me. I mean, I like it. But it's tied with blue and green for my favorite colors, and neither of those make me particularly happy to wear them.
- I thought I found out that a sequel to Phantoms in the Brain was coming out around November, but now I can't find any information about it ever. Considering that's my favorite nonfiction book ever, this makes me sad. :(
- For some reason I feel really comfortable over at Dreamwidth in a way I haven't been feeling with LJ. It's the difference between a startup company that's actively engaged in its users and innovating and all that crap and an established company that's been stagnant for years and never really quite understood the segment of its customers that I'm a part of. I mean, I would guess that SUP actually understands its Russian userbase relatively well, if only because that seems to be the market it bought LJ for. Just... not fandom. At all. I mean, I still plan on crossposting over to LJ and reading my flist, but I do think I'll be using my DW as my primary.
- I need to get back to exercising. I quit while I was sick, for obvious reasons, but now that I'm mostly better, I'm still having a hard time kicking myself into doing it again. Surprisingly though, despite the fact that my posture's been absolutely horrible lately, my back hasn't been more than twinging. Usually the easiest way to make myself exercise is I know that if I don't strengthen my back, I'm going to either have to get a breast reduction or just deal with a lot of back pain, and without any back pain I'm lazier about it. PAIN IS A WONDERFUL MOTIVATOR. Or. Well. Effective motivator?
