Produce Delivery!

This week's delivery included:

Broccoli
One beet
Lettuce
3 bananas
2 summer squash
Delicata squash
3 tomatoes
One purple onion
Mizuna Greens
3 red potatoes
2 red pears
2 apples
3 carrots
Cabbage
Cucumber

!!!

I am going to be whipped into a frenzy tonight, and I am going to like it.

Edit: !!! (chk chk chk) does me like no other.

Hobos Play Banjos Too

Sweet jesus, have you ever thought of being a hobo? Between reading Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums and finding this Halfway Hobo, I'm intrigued, especially when I check out the links from the front page. Of course, I wouldn't/couldn't do it alone. Perhaps I could talk my brother into another brother/sister adventure with me.

The travel bug has begun itching again, and I don't know what to do about it. It's like an insatiable thirst and hunger for me at this point, and all I ever do is feel restless. Settle or unsettled? Which is right for me? I know I've said yes to both, and at some points, I definitely lean towards "settled", but at the same time, it seems that I get bored quickly. If I could have my way (and was independently wealthy), I would work at some job that I liked for a couple of months, go off and be a farmer for a couple of months, stay in India for a couple of months, and travel wherever the world takes me for a few months every year and do it over and over again. Fantasies and dreams, right?

How can I get to the point in my life where I am ready to let go of all of my possessions and stop caring about permanency? When will it happen? Can I really just become a wandering bum, without the "bum" look at some point?

Will I ever find a place/thing/person/job that will keep me happy for a long time and in one place?

A New Diversion

I recently signed up for an organic produce co-op that is hosted by a local organic market. They partnered with an organic farm in Wisconsin to make weekly deliveries of fresh fruits and veggies to the city at an affordable price. Most of the stuff is grown at the farm, but some of it is shipped in from other organic farms. For $22/delivery, I get a box full of stuff that will feed me, and at least one other, for the week. I picked up my first shipment this afternoon, and also opted for the "fruit surprise" bag for an extra charge. I'm going to post the list of everything that was included (on a per delivery basis) for each shipment that I receive. So far, it's definitely worth the cost. The only drawback is that it was pretty heavy to carry home, and I ended up taking a bus from the train station, instead of my usual walk. I just might have to invest in one of those "old lady" shopping carts to help me along the way. Here is the list, as promised, and I think I might try to make an additional post with the ways that I use the items:

2 lbs seedless red grapes (too bad I don't like grapes, someone else will be the lucky recipient of these)
4 plouts (don't know, looks like a plum)
3 oranges
1 melon (looks like cantaloupe, but not exactly)
4 white peaches
3 red potatoes
2 tomatoes (including one heirloom variety)
1 zucchini
1 cucumber
1 onion
1 beet
Bag of mixed field greens
Bag of some other green (I'm guessing it's mache, but I could be wrong)
Bag of celery
Head of cauliflower
3 carrots
Small bag of green beans

Woo hoo! Let the cooking and good eating begin!!

Edit: I made a nice mixed salad, and a fruit salad with some of the ingredients last night:



And another:

Purse + Engagement Ring = Status

This morning, I'm watched a weekly Sunday morning news program, with mainly stories of interest. Two of the segments involved purses and engagement rings. Both made me want to puke.

The purse segment was ridiculous. Here we go, taking a visual tour of the hottest handbags, all of which are large and hideous in my eyes. What's worse is the price tag. These babies are selling for $3,000, $6,000, $12,000 and up! The woman working as a salesperson at one of the higher end purse boutiques said that your purse was a signal of your status. I don't care how much money I make, I would never, ever, spend such amounts on a fucking handbag that looks cute or ridiculous under my arm. Do you know how many months those amounts would pay my rent? Or how many trips around the world I could take spending the same amount? Or how many people I could feed, or how many people I could vaccinate, or how many people could get warm clothing for the winter? Truthfully, at this point, I would take that money and put it towards my bills, but if I weren't in debt and didn't have much to worry about, then I would definitely be putting it towards a better cause than a fashion accessory. When I was younger, I abhorred purses. I would carry everything around in my pockets. My role model was my wallet-less father, who carried cash secretly stashed in his pants, and his identification and cash card held together with a rubber band in his back pocket. If he could do it, I could do it. When I graduated from college, and had to go out into the working world, I started to conform, and bought my first adult woman purse. I can guarantee it didn't cost more than $25, and it was probably on sale. Today, I do admit to having more than one purse, and a couple of them are pretty darn cute, if you ask me. BUT, if I see something that I like, and it's more than $50, forget about it. Just let me walk outside on a city street, to the man with the purse cart on the sidewalk, and buy a knock-off instead if I really like it, for a fraction of the price. In fact, after watching this stupid piece on the thousands of dollars handbag, it make me want to just carry everything around in a paper bag even more.

Next up, the engagement ring. Here we are again, dealing with an item that brings you status, or shows your (man's) status. Often, while riding on the train through different affluent neighborhoods that shall remain un-named (ahem, anything south of Uptown and north of Chinatown), I see women get on with these giant rocks on their fingers. To me, they are pretty obese (the diamonds), and not in a good way. I'm sorry, but why would you want a giant hunk of something sticking out off of your finger, only to get caught on things, and an additional item to worry about? They're just not attractive. On this particular news segment, a woman walked around New York City, asking people their opinions of her diamond engagement ring. Comments such as, "wow, that's a good size", or "looks expensive" or "your fiancée must be successful" were made. Then they aired a group of three men, who were friends, and all had purchased larger-than-usual rings for their fiancées. Their reasoning? So the women could feel proud of their ring, and their men. What kind of bullshit is that? If I am marrying a man, I am most likely already proud of them for whatever they do and achieve, and I don't need a ring to prove that or how much money they make. I can't remember the exact percentage of a man's salary that he is expected to spend on an engagement ring, but whatever it is, it's too high. In this segment, they said the average engagement ring costs around $5,000. Five thousand dollars? If I ever become engaged, and my future husband tries to give me ANYTHING that costs close to that much, I'll send him straight to the mental institution, and get him on the waiting list for a new brain, because obviously, he is NOT thinking clearly. And this is just the beginning of the expenses; you still have the wedding band, and the actual wedding to pay for! If that's not the easy street to years of debt, I don't know what is. I guess whoever decides to spend the rest of his life with me, will get off easy. I don't want a giant, expensive diamond engagement ring (don't get me wrong, I do want an engagement ring, just not that kind), I don't want a fancy wedding band, and I plan to get married on the shore of Lake Superior at my parent's cabin, with a small pot-luck wedding reception to follow. You really don't need all of this extravagance to show someone that you're in love. Especially considering the high divorce rate at the moment. You could lose it all in five years, and for what? Someone that you thought was right for you who turned out to be all wrong. If someone wants to spend copious amounts of money on me, don't buy something that only I will get any use out of. Put it towards a nice vacation together, or a down payment on a house. Something we can both use and enjoy. Plus, I don't want to worry about how much money I'm wearing on my finger, and if I'll ever lose it or have it stolen. My mother never got an engagement ring, and said she was lucky to even get a wedding band. I guess it was just good luck that gold prices were down in 1972, and my dad found something that he could afford. My father does not wear a wedding band, reasons probably being cost and the fact that he isn't a jewelry wearing man. My mom made her wedding dress, and they had a simple wedding, and probably a simple reception. I'm glad that I have realistic role models, who aren't concerned with status and showing off, just showing that they love each other, and have continued their bond for over 30 years, which is a lot better than most.

That all being said, and to sum it all up, FUCK YOU, YOU MATERIALISTIC WHORES. If a giant ring and a fancy handbag give me status in this society, or any society, please remove me from it. If you are so dim-witted that those things matter to you, you have issues, please get a reality check and look around you and see what's happening to other people in your own country, and the world itself. If I ever ask and expect such things, smack me, hard.

I HATE THE POST OFFICE AND I HATE PHONE ROBOTS.

Phone robots can never understand what you are saying and can't direct you to the right place. People think that you are crazy when you talk to the robots because you really aren't having a conversation, you are just repeating words and phrases over and over again.

The U.S. Post Office can rarely do anything correctly. Almost every time that I move and have my mail forwarded, something gets screwed up, whether they are still delivering to the old address, the wrong address, keeping a package hostage, or returning to sender. I WANT MY MAIL. By the way, read Charles Bukowski's Post Office for an entertaining insider's actions/views. He really cares about the mails (sic).

It's All About Me

I had a "me" weekend and it felt good. I can say that it was the first time in a long time that I did anything I damn well pleased these past 2.5 days, barring the mandatory Body Jam class this afternoon (more on that later) at the gym.

On Friday, I went to a friend's gallery opening in the Pilsen neighborhood, and it was interesting, but unfortunately I cannot afford nice things, such as original artwork, so I just admired. The theme of this particular gallery was "Love/Hate" and was based on two songs, "Love Will Tear Us Apart" by Joy Division, and "Love Will Keep Us Together" by Captain and Tenille. I have to admit that most of the work there didn't do it for me, but I sure did like the painting of a pig with the word "BACON" at the bottom (everyone secretly, or in my case, not so secretly loves bacon). Another enjoyable piece was two paintings of couples. One couple was Sid (as in Sex Pistols) with Marie Osmond and Nancy (as in Sid's Nancy) with Donny Osmond. I had a good conversation with one of the artists, and he asked me if I was there to give moral support to one of the artist's girlfriends, who I am friends with. I said not entirely, I actually do enjoy art, and wish I had enough money to buy some. After that I corrected myself and said "no, if I had enough money to buy original artwork, I wouldn't be here right now, I would be asleep in Goa, and selling hot dogs from a shack on a coconut and palm tree lined beach" and meant it. Of course, the artist enjoyed my honestly, who wouldn't?

After that, I went to a bar to celebrate a friend's surprise 30th birthday. Unfortunately, most of the other people there are ones that I hold no affinity for, so I made my appearance brief. I was hit with a barrage of questions about my trip, such as the generic "how was it?" and at this point, two months after my return, I'm tired of answering such basic questions, especially when it comes to people who I could care less about.

Around 4:30 AM on Friday night, I was woken up by men yelling outside of my apartment building. Hearing voices from passer-bys in the night is nothing new, but this was different. It sounded like something was wrong. I got out of bed, and peeked out my window to see a large S.U.V. sitting in the street with the driver's side door wide open. Then I see the driver wiping off his hands and jumping back in the truck and driving away. I knew that something wasn't right, but I couldn't figure out what had just happened. Less than a minute later, there was a man standing at the gate to the courtyard of the building calling for help and ringing everyone's buzzers. I could see that he was bleeding, but I still wasn't sure what to do...one of the other tenants of the building called out the window to the man and asked what happened and if he should call the police. Shortly thereafter, a woman came out of the building with towels and let the man into the courtyard to help him and wait for the police to arrive. It only took a few minutes for them to show up, surprisingly, at which point, I got dressed and went outside to see if I could help. I gave the two police officers a description of the guys that I had seen as well as the vehicle that they were driving. I couldn't believe that someone had been jumped just below my bedroom window, I thought I was back in a good neighborhood...so much for that feeling. The next morning I walked outside, and there was blood on the sidewalk, and it's still there, I hope it rains and washes it away. Maybe people who have told me to keep a baseball bat are right, or maybe my dad is right when he says that I should get a gun and learn how to use it to maim. My only reservation about those two ideas, is if something ever were to happen in my apartment, and the intruder got a hold of either the baseball bat or the gun, they would most likely turn it on me.

Enough of the bad stuff, back to me. On Saturday, I went to the grocery store, the post office, and back to my previous residence to pick up some more of my stuff. Then I treated myself to a lunch of fries, a corndog (the infamous cousin of the hot dog), and a cupcake. Then I came home and took a two hour nap, man did I miss taking naps in the middle of the day!! Afterwards, I did some more unpacking, and now all that's left is miscellaneous little things, and putting a bunch of pictures into frames and hanging them. Yay, I have a home!!

Today, I enjoyed tea (from my new teapot) and read the Sunday paper, before heading out to the gym for my torture session, I mean Body Jam class. Since the gym is trying to really push this new class, they required that all front desk staff and managers participate in a preview class. Body Jam is a hip hop choreography aerobics class, and let's just say that I haven't participated in a group workout class for probably 15 years. I'm not saying that I don't like to dance, I just like to dance on my own terms, and not in a large room full of windows and mirrors. Fortunately, none of us were exceptionally coordinated with these new moves, so I didn't feel like a total jackass. Also, I was impressed with myself to make it through an entire aerobics class without dying in the middle, considering it's been about a month since I've worked out, and cardio activity has never been my total cup of tea. At least the music was semi-tolerable and up to date.

In the afternoon I treated myself to a movie. I guess I'm not such a cheap date anymore, or else movies and refreshments are exorbitantly priced nowadays. I paid $9.25 for the movie ticket, and $7.50 for a small popcorn and Coke, ridiculous!. At least it was worth it. I saw "Little Miss Sunshine" and it was great! All of the characters were exceptional in their roles, and at one point I was laughing so hard that I was almost crying. I highly recommend seeing it if you have the opportunity. I can't remember the last time that I was in a theater and enjoyed a movie so much. I should take myself out on dates more often, it was nice.

I made my first full dinner tonight in my new home, and it was tasty. I also caught up on Grey's Anatomy, which is a program that I've always had on the TV in the background, but never really watched it. I have to admit that I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to actually watching it in the future.

So that was my "me" weekend, napping, eating, errand running, cleaning, unpacking, eating good food, sleeping late, and self-dates. I really appreciate it more than I used to since I've been so busy lately. I can't wait for the next one!

Moved AKA Shifted

Today was the big moving day for me. I loaded and unloaded all of my belongings. I have most of the furniture set up and arranged, with the help of my parents and my brother. I even have my internet set up already, obviously...

Anyway, the main reason for this post: I just made MY bed, and I am excitedly anticipating sleeping in it for the first time in five months. As much as I dislike the stupid, piece of junk, bad mattress, futon, those pillows are really calling my name, saying "Cristin, please just slip under the sheet and lay your head down..." and that's exactly what I'm about to do.

Goodnight!

Recap - Part VI

The second week on the farm started off poorly for me. I developed some sort of repetitive movement muscle strain in my right forearm from all the digging the previous week. My lower arm was very swollen, and I could barely pick anything up with it or rotate my wrist. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to carry my load, but I was wrong about that. While injured, I was relegated to the hill at the top of the farm to spend my days planting strawberries, alone. The first day was miserable, as it rained all morning. By the time lunch rolled around, I was soaked from head to toe. Fortunately, Robin took pity on me, and told me to spend the afternoon cleaning up the house.

Monday nights were big for trad music around the pubs. Miriam went every week, and invited us to go along. We drove about 20 minutes to the town of Doolin, where we had a couple of pints and enjoyed the lively music. This was a tradition for us the rest of the time that we were there.

I also made my first attempt (and it was successful) at making oat porridge, Irish style. It had quickly become my favorite breakfast on the farm, and still is today. Lorenzo wasn't the biggest fan, but my brother and I loved it, especially with some Irish honey added. We also got the chance to take a sizable piece of organic salted pork and do something with it one night for dinner. My brother and I sauteed some garlic, onions, and apples, and added the shredded pork. It was damn salty, but pretty good, especially with the mashed potatoes, green beans, and custard with bananas.

By Friday, my arm was feeling a bit better, so I was able to move onto other projects, like painting, clearing brambles, and planting more seeds in the polytunnel. In the afternoon, Robin and I went into the town of Ennis to pick up another WWOOFer. We did some grocery shopping at a few different stores (which is one of my favorite activities, especially in a new place/country), picked up some lumber, and then tried to find the new girl. She was supposed to meet us at the train station, but she wasn't there. She was from Italy, and her English wasn't the greatest, so when she called Robin on his mobile phone, and said that she was in the middle of the city at the bus stop, it was a little difficult to pinpoint exactly where she was...we started driving and miraculously found her standing on the side of the road, not too far from the train station. She was a nice girl, but didn't look like the typical WWOOFer, especially with her giant suitcase. Robin stopped off at another lumberyard, and left me and Ilaria (the new Italian)in the van. We made basic conversation, but I think that some of the things I was telling her about the farm got lost in translation. On the way home, we stopped at the local butcher shop, and Robin asked for some extra money for some food, as he had run out of cash (which would have been quickly repaid when we got home). I gave him what I had, and he asked Ilaria for 50 euro. She was very dubious about his request, and thought that he was asking her for money to stay at his farm and work. I honestly felt bad for her, and tried to communicate that wasn't the case, but I don't think she totally understood. Needless to say, when we went to Galway City the next morning, she said she was going to Dublin for the weekend to visit a friend, and never returned...

On Saturday, we all woke up bright and early to depart for our trip to Galway City at 6:30 AM. My brother and Lorenzo had the best ride, as they were seated on kitchen table chairs in the back of the van, trying to keep upright for the entire hour long trip. We were headed out to sell honey and knitwear items at the weekly market. The ride there was amazingly beautiful, as we got to see the sun rise over the hills of the Burren and Galway Bay. Being in Galway also meant some city action for us. We were free to roam around for several hours before heading back to Dromoher. I also filled up on extra delicious food, such as a bagel, ice cream, a veggie and cheese filled crepe, and a donut! The weekly trip to Galway was always fun to look forward to because it meant that we could go shopping, see lots of people, enjoy some pints in the middle of the day, and eat whatever our hearts desired.

On Sunday, Robin took the three of us out to see some archeological sites, such as an ancient ring fort.

We also took another long walk, along the bay, and learned a lot about cave systems in Ireland. Afterwards, we headed to the coast, near the Cliffs of Moher, to enjoy a picnic lunch and take a walk along the rocky shoreline.

We ended the day with a few pints back in the town of Doolin with one of Robin's sons. Most of us could handle a few, but I have to admit that poor Lorenzo was feeling quite tipsy after two pints of cider. Poor guy!

During the week, I also played my first and last game of Risk, ate plenty of porridge and sandwiches, along with quiche, roasted veggies, dal, rice, baked beans, scones, fish and chips, and beef stew.

Recap - Part V

Our first weekend on the farm was upon us. On Saturday morning, we slept in until about 9:30 in the morning, and then my brother and I decided to go for a walk. Robin drove us about 2.5 km to the main road, and we began our journey to the top of the hill opposite the farm. We finally made it and found what we were looking for, the Parknabinnia Wedge Tomb.

It was an amazing sight, and especially pretty when the sky was clearing. After we walked down the road a bit further, we decided to head back because it looked like rain could be on its way in. We made it back to the house in just under three hours. We came home just in time to enjoy a hard boiled egg and Heinz baked beans over toast with Robin and Miriam's daughter, Rowena, who was visiting for the weekend (she is studying jewelry design in Prague). I spent the rest of the afternoon reading "Kafka on the Shore" and baked a delicious pear and chocolate cake with Lorenzo that we enjoyed after dinner.

On Sunday, although it was rainy and wet, I decided to embark on another long walk. This time, Robin drove me and Lorenzo to the top of the hill, just past Parknabinnia, and dropped us off on a dirt and grass road that seemed to be only trafficked by cattle. Needless to say, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into...for the next five hours, it rained, and rained, and rained, and we walked, and walked, and walked. The first three or so hours were filled with us dodging pits of mud and cow dung while walking down the "road". For some reason, I decided against wearing my work boots, and was just in my tennis shoes, very bad idea. We both had on rain gear, but that didn't stop us from getting quite soaked from head to toe. We left the road a couple of times to explore some really cool rock formations in the landscape, and at one point, were forced to climb over fences just to bypass the miniature lake that had formed in our pathway. We finally made it to the paved road, and walked a bit longer before making it to the lake at the foot of Mullach Mor . There, we sat down on some rocks, and enjoyed cheese sandwiches, apples, and small bits of chocolate. On the long walk home, we discussed the current states of our lives (at home (America and Italy) and in Ireland), as well as our individual purposes and hopes for the organic farming experience. I thought a lot about some of the things that are most important to me, including making a point to visit good friends. I also did quite a bit of thinking about India, little did I know that I would be there in two short months... We returned home, wet, tired, and filthy. I think it took about four or five days for my shoes to completely dry out. We were met with a beautifully hearty dinner of vegetable stew...I'm missing the food that I ate there more and more by the day!