The Other Side Of Meat & Sugar
Every year, there’s a a ton of people who bad mouth New Year’s resolutions - they’re unreasonable expectations or they set you up for failure, etc. - but don’t you think those people are just lazy and static, fearing change while trembling inside their illusions of comfort? Or maybe not. Maybe I’m deluded. But I love resolutions. I’m a sucker for a double dog dare.
So me and Jenna stopped eating meat and Jackson’s trying it too. Eating animals has always struck Jackson as a little absurd, so it’s probably coming the most naturally to him. But Lucy does whatever the fuck she wants. And you know what? Things work out a lot better for everybody when we give Lucy a lot of room to unfold into whatever the fuck she wants.
So that’s been pretty cool. I don’t want to argue with meat eaters OR vegans. Go yell at someone who gives two flying fucks what you think. Remember what I said about Lucy? The apple doesn’t fall…
Speaking of apples, I’ve been eating a lot of them. Apples, oranges, and bananas are as sweet as it gets around here these days because we also stopped eating sugary crap. I know I know. You feel me now? It was a huge jolt to the system, the simultaneous denial of meat and sugar, and life was just stupid for awhile there.
You ever get like that? Where everything’s just stupid? Everything that used to be fun sounds stupid and all your new ideas are stupid and your fingernails are stupid and your furniture is stupid too and it’s all so stupid that stupid no longer means anything because it encompasses everything but then - right when you yourself are on the verge of drowning in the Stupific Ocean - something shimmers on the underbelly of stupidity and you discover the ineffable Truth that there is no distinction between stupidity and things that are awesome. It’s like the world winks at you. Tells you a secret. And it’s a secret that’s really cool because it could get a lot of people in trouble. So you keep it. And its coolness is like an infection that festers in your heart and you feel really cool.
So, yeah, like that. That’s how I’ve been. How are you? It’s 2010.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Reader Comments (13)
Did you ever deep sea fish in the Stupific Ocean? It is amazing what you can catch.
everythings related...everything touches everything else, eventually. guess where sugar comes from?
Haiti.
Yep, it's 2010, and I have my Feblueberry beiges early beause I like to plan my misery ahead, savor the anticipation and get all festive with it.
I have a bad case of "Who gives a shit?" right now, coupled with a hearty dose of "Why bother?"
Whee.
I like apples with peanut butter. Bananas too. Not that it matters. Nothing does.
Shade and Sweetwater,
K (aka Marry Freakin' Sunshine...)
I have what Marry Sunshine has. A bad case. Not unusual for this time of year, a bit of SAD? Plus it's raining so much in my town there is algae growing on my arms. My familiar must be a bear because I want to eat raw meat and almond butter and hibernate.
I am also dieting and yes, way stupider than usual. Also a bitch.
Who gives a shit?
I had a pretty good week this week. The clouds that descended in late October appeared to be lifting, I had some lovely affirmations of my choices, I was getting shit done, and then I woke up this morning and everything just felt... off... I can't describe it any more clearly than that. and I thought, "Well, fuck, maybe I'm not on the way out of the doldrums. Maybe I really do suck at just being alive."
Then I realized that yesterday, for the first time in two weeks, I had both forgotten to take my vitamins and not got any exercise. Coincidence? In my case, most likely not. so I took my vitamins and I'm getting ready to go on a nice long walk now.
So, in my standard, making-it-all-about-me way, I am saying that I feel you. Wish I was seeing the glimmering doorway a little more clearly right now, but at least I know I caught a flash on the horizon.
Welcome to 2010.
As I sit here eating my home made fried chicken...I'm thinking your stupid story is a lot like how a runner describes the "high" or "zone" they get in to. You make it through the aches and pains and wanting to quit and eventually you become a machine. Stupid must work like that. You just gotta suffer through the stupidification of your life and then eventually, voila, you've got your shimmering underbelly and winks from the world. But I'm not a runner, I eat fried chicken, and I can totally relate to stupid. I don't think I have enough stamina to last through it. My stupid does not have a bright shiny lining. Just a stupid plaid one.
Last week I was outraged about the situation in Haiti. Today I find myself outraged at Google.
I want to point at myself in the mirror and mock me. Like, hatefully. With bile and venom and powerful shit like that.
I would draw the line at making a voodoo doll of myself, though. I'm cowardly that way.
I really appreciate the way that you think.
yea...lots of stupidity here too...between the 5X a week at Crosffit (hard and stupid) and the elimination of starch + mostly anything processed in our diet (hard and stupid) and the hunkering down at work (again hard and stupid)...things have been fucked up lately...and not all that fun. but a few days ago....I found myself mumbling as I sprinted up the stairs (for the zillionth time that day, to get some stupid truck or car that my son wanted)..."fuck, stairs are WAY not as hard as what they used to be"....all of a sudden, making a commitment to live cleaner for the sake of our son....wasn't so stupid anymore.
I hear ya.
reminds me of that One Time* i did acid in high school. (20+ fucking years ago, now that i think about it. Blink. now THAT is stupid.) i dont really remember *that* much of the experience itself except for a moment or 2 when i suddenly had different coloured lenses over my eyes making the night sky, lights and my pals faces red, blink, blue, blink, yellow, blink, purple, blink, and smiling and running, feeling the wind in my face.
i remember awaking the next day feeling very different, like i had seen something I had never considered and changed my perspective. I felt like the universe had winked at me that night. that crazy night.
but otherwise yes, sometimes every little thing seems to me, stupid. I feel like i get so sick of myself, my ideas, my life. I wanna just trade with someone for a while. jump outside myself. climb out. and then, blink. it all changes.
as for the resolutions thing, yah, i like to take on new long term attitiudes, observations that i can carry on in my life long term. Last year was Patience, this year is Action. So far, so good. 2010 has been great so far. braver. content. feeling anew. shed of some weight i have been dragging around. feeling happy.
we (ok, I) dont eat a tonne of meat around here, and I find pita and hummus and tabouli my best friends. the chickpea in general is pretty great. lots of bean salads. lots of creamy soups. almonds are also a great filler upper. pesto, tapanade, cheese, bread and pasta salads are all faves as well.
*ok, i also remember hearing music nobody else could (the pet shop boys. i know) and becoming increasingly paranoid about my friends all hating me; hence the One TIme.
I wish I could unfold and become what ever the fuck I want. That is so cool.
yes, yes, yes.
I love the visual of the world winking at you. That is exactly what it feels like.
And I only make New Year's Resolutions on my birthday. January 1 is stupid.