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I've spent all of thirty minutes packing for my big move (yeah, I'm a slackerrrr). Going through my book shelf, I found an old project from school. Paging through the various entries that were required, I was quite surprised by the way I wrote back then. It wasn't really something that anyone would really want to read. Sort of pretentious, and even stiff in my attempts to maintain the image I was so wrapped up in back then.
Nowadays, at least in comparison, I am much more relaxed about everything I do and have felt comfortable releasing that old image. And with that comes a natural and vibrant creativity. Thats with work, writing, riding horses and even in interpersonal relationships. Creativity meaning creating positive things (what I want), and having the flexibility and presence of mind to deal with unusual situations to create even more positive things.
Creativity, I have found, is something that does not come when there is an image to maintain. For many years I believed that if I just built up a strong enough image, defense, whatever you want to call it, that I would be invincible and I would never be hurt ever again. All those years I spent fortifying this image and confining who I was to its boundaries. And all those years I continued to be hurt, and worse, because I was hurting myself.
Only recently have I been actively tearing down the walls of my image. It took some difficult lessons and a year and a half alone here in the city of Houston. And now, I'm left with a very real knowledge of who I am, and who I want to be. I'm proud to say that this knowledge is my own, and unaffected by the thoughts and opinions of others. I am me....Roberta, and no one else.
Knowing myself, I am feeling more creative than ever. Traditionally, and in the sense of creating the ultimate masterpiece: the masterpiece of my life.
Mexican food has been my favorite since I was very young. What can I say? I'm from Texas. There's no shortage of delicious Tex-Mex anywhere you go - who can resist chili con queso, guacamole and cheese enchiladas??
But when I moved to Houston, I discovered Mediterranean food. Wow. I had always loved Greek salads and gyros, but I hadn't even scratched the surface. Gradually my friends at work clued me in to the great Mediterranean places close to work. Demassi's, a buffet-style place with a huge selection of foods - fresh vegetable and herb dishes, rice dishes, pita bread that literally melts in your mouth, and the best hummus in town hands down. Then there's also Hungry's Cafe, which is modern fusion Mediterranean, Murphy's Deli, with a good selection of sandwiches and salads and finally Shish-kabob, with its more traditional Mediterranean fare.
So I was inspired to seek out a Greek cook book. I found a safe experimentation platform - a collection of modern recipes.
About 5 miles from work, there is a specialty Greek grocery store. After my new acquisition, I went wild. Traditional cheeses, olives, pita bread, Greek yogurt, tahini, various fresh produce, and of course I couldn't leave without some sesame candy.
Since then I've been cooking up a storm, and my eyes have really been opened to alternative ways of preparing food. Using a mortar and pestle (which can be improvised with a cutting board), using a sieve, and boiling among other things. I've also been open to cooking foods in ways I ordinarily would not prefer - frying (though not deep-frying), and more importantly, stewing. I've tried a stewed vegetable dish that is to-die for.
There are also some unusual flavor combinations that I have found very appealing. The most remarkable was a warm potato-red onion-caper-parsley-lemon juice-olive oil combination. I never would have thought to combine those ingredients, but it was the most delicious salad I have ever eaten. I've also learned that lemon juice, olive oil and salt is like the season-all for Greek food. And can make the most simple dishes spectacular. Just try Halloumi cheese fried in olive oil served with fresh-squeezed lemon juice. Or boiled spinach drizzled with the same.
My favorite part of this whole adventure is perfecting the making of hummus. The recipe is very simple, but you've got to tweak the ingredients to make for that wow-effect. Still working on that one, but with some reading I'm making some progress. Hummus is something worth taking seriously!!
All in all, this has got me going with all sorts of new ideas for cooking. And having the opportunity to say "OMG this is so delicious!" every night has been a very gratifying experience for the taste buds.
Anyone want to come over for dinner?
Forlorn winter days are such a pleasant experience under the right circumstances. Though today wasn't particularly cold, old man winter still made his presence known.
Most Fridays at work are extremely busy because of our flex schedule - the staff rotates having Fridays off. Today there thankfully were not any emergency calls nor pressing items to get out the door. And so today I was left to work on some of my ongoing projects at a relaxed pace. I had the opportunity to occasionally look out the window and take in the winter weather.
All day it rained on and off (Houston's version of snow??), with layers fog and clouds hanging in the sky throughout. My mood mirrored the subdued weather - I felt my energy lower and with it my level of tension. I was left feeling somewhat forlorn, but it was oddly comforting. Maybe it was the steady stream of hot tea, or the fact that everyone's mood matched my own. But it was nice.
When I left work I drove downtown to the YMCA closest to my apartment to go for a swim. Driving past downtown was a sight - fog sinking between the sky scrapers, and black birds circling around the tops. Images of Gotham City spun in my head.
If the temperature isn't going to correspond with the time of year, then by golly it will look like winter!
I swam, then headed home, and snuggled up in bed with the cats and a good book. Happy for one forlorn day, and with it the opportunity to slow down.
So I got tagged. Tagged to talk about 7 random things, and 8 embarrassing things. hahaha! We'll see how this goes.
Randomness:
1. Let it be known that I just made the most perfect batch of wild rice ever made. It is much more difficult than it seems. This achievement comes after weeks of soggy rice, crunchy rice, and way-too-puffy rice. Blechh.
2. My cat Oliver - he loves to be spanked. And the harder the better. Ohhh yeah!
3. Are these supposed to be about me? Or my cats? And can I cheat by taking up a whole number with this?
4. Gossip magazines are my deepest, darkest guilty pleasure. I just loooove going to the salon, because I can catch up on Brangelina and best and worst dressed!
5. I have this thing for matched pajama sets. And lots of colors - purple, blue, pink, grey, green, red. My pajama wardrobe outdoes my real deal by far - nothing coordinates better!
6. I love love love vintage clothes but I have zero patience when it comes to hunting them down. So I have essentially none.
7. Cars and people's obsession with them annoy me. It gets you from point A to point B...
And embarrassing things:
These are going to be harder...
1. Back in college I worked at Sonic for one week as a carhop. They told me that if I could skate they would pay me an extra $1 an hour. So I strapped 'em on, confident that my handful of childhood experiences at the skating rink provided all the skill I needed. Things were going well, so long as I went slowly and put on the breaks well before my destination. My head was getting bigger, and I took out an order for two Route 44 drinks to go out to the station on the very end. I was skating along without a thought, when the pavement suddenly went down sharply at the last station. My head flung back as I made a desperate attempt to cling to the end pole. Whoaaa whooaa whoaaaaaaa! My whole body convulsed trying to balance myself and that cursed tray when, sploosh! The slushes went everywhere (and the pound of sticky sugar), including all over the customer's car. Lovely. After bringing them another round (in my socks), they gave me an extra dollar "for the entertainment."
2. This isn't embarrasing for me, but for my brother. Who never reads my blog. So muaahaa! When we were in high school, he wanted so badly to be a "real" man and have facial hair. He had an adorable little cluster of black hairs in the center of his chin, and would spend an hour each morning shaving it. (In unison now) Awwwww!!! :->
3. When I was in San Francisco this summer, I was walking with a friend along Fisherman's Wharf checking out the scenery. I was busy taking pictures and oohing and ahhing when this bush jumped out at me out of nowhere! I screamed bloody murder (which...I never do...ever), only to find it was a street "performer." hmph.
I'm really reaching here. These embarrassing stories are hard to remember...
4. Ah here's one! So back in middle school (when all the kids are so understanding of each other) I was in a history class taking a test. I felt some...uncomfortable pressure...and accidentally ripped one, thereby disturbing the intense test-taking concentration of all of my classmates. I heard a few snickers and tried desperately to act casual, thinking that maybe I pulled it off (and forgetting that people can actually HEAR where it comes from and witness my red face and stiff posture). As with all those classic preteen horror stories, the boy of my dreams was sitting right behind me. He took it upon himself to inform me of my own accidental bodily functions. "Hey Roberta, did you have some gas or something?? Haha!" I had such good taste in boys back then.
5. I've got nothing else.
Well, here you go, a little window to embarrassment. And randomness.
On the way home from work today, I was listening to the radio as usual. Most of the time it gets washed into the periphery, but today was different. There was a story on the republican presidential candidates, and a religious leader was speaking about his take on what he considered the front-runners.
His take on the viability of Mitt Romney caught my ear the most. Not his opinion necessarily, but one little phrase. "Leaders teach their congregations that Mormons belong to a cult."
That one took me by surprise. Mostly because I felt surprisingly naive for not having fully realized this before. I have no opinion of Mormons, or Christians, or Muslims, etc (nor do I express here opinion of political candidates). My issue is that intolerance is something taught and accepted on an institutional level. It's just understood that "we" are right and "they" are wrong. Do we consider them to be less than human because they do not believe as we do, share the same values and morals or live a different lifestyle?
The question to ask ourselves: have we ever lived their circumstances and understood what the world looked like through their eyes? True understanding requires moving out of our comfort zone and exhibiting patience and empathy. Very few wish to make the effort. It is much easier to categorize, judge and move on with the belief that we are superior.
For a country that supposedly prides itself on diversity and tolerance, we sure do show our true face when it comes to positions of importance. We dare not let our own values be (falsely) threatened by electing an "outsider."
