Mixed Feelings

I'm starting training for the Bay to Breakers this week. Besides the actual running, the most important part of the race is the costume. It has to be fun yet easy to run in. Suggestions? I want it to be funny, not sexy.  I don't want to look like I got lost on the way to some frat's Halloween party.

Also as part of my taking charge of my health, I've lost a bunch of weight. It's cool, because I didn't put myself on a diet, I've just been changing my relationship to food. I'm eating a ton of unprocessed food, and cut out all processed stuff. Except diet coke, which is pure evil, but is well known to have magic powers.  At the risk of stating the obvious, I feel really good. However, I saw a lot of people I haven't seen since September this week, and I was overwhelmed at how many people commented on how I looked. It was nice, I guess,  but made me super uncomfortable, because I thought I looked pretty good before, and I'm taking care of myself because my body deserves to be treated well, not so I could look better for others. Hmm. I guess I need to think about it more.

We also just got back from a march for MLK's birthday. Only about 50 people showed up, which was really disappointing. It was especially hard to accept, since it was the ONLY MLK celebration happening in Berkeley. One of the city council members called Berkeley a "hotbed of hypocrisy" around social justice which was really highlighted by the pitiful attendance.

Whoo, this is really turning into a fun post, huh? I've been thinking a lot about this quote from Michael Silverblatt, the host of Bookworm:

I believe in the elaborate taking care of others. And we live in a culture where "I'm not my brother's keeper," "That's your responsibility," "Get a life" have become bywords, code phrases, anthems for elaborate indifference, selfishness, greediness, and the failure of empathetic acceptance. In the same way we need to repair the economy, we need to repair the effects of an economy of selfishness. And that isn't just the filling in of the big bucks that have fallen out of the system. The rescue that we need is emotional rescue, communicative, large-hearted.

Happy Martin Luther King Day. Hope yours was wonderful!

Perfect Balsamic Dressing

Try this:

4 T balsamic vinegar
half cup olive oil
large scoop of dijon
1 finely chopped garlic clove
a little more pepper than you think
pinch of salt

emulsify it, or shake it ALOT.

I think this is it for the perfect balsamic dressing. I tried it a bunch of ways, with a lot more stuff in it, but this version is totally delicious.

Blog Doldrums

I've been making a lot of "progress" on my list. My struggle is that I don't want to turn the list into a checklist - I want to use it as a guide to turning my life into what I want it to be. It feels a little icky to feel like I made my "goal" for spending time with friends, you know? Especially since what I wanted to foster was the connection that I want with friends and family.  And yet, I want to chronicle this year, as a way to maintain momentum. Hmmm. So here's the list for December:

1. Spent a lot of time with friends - we had an impromptu dinner party, I went to Vegas, we had at least one overnight guest every week, my old friend and roommate visited,  and we spent time with family and friends in CT.

2. Read Eat Pray Love. I have mixed feelings about the book, It's well written, and I loved the characters, but I really struggled with how self centered the author seemed. But shouldn't someone writing about self discovery and exploration be centered on herself? Hmm.

3. Went to two Furthur shows, and had an amazing time at both. This wasn't on my list, but it totally should have been. I think I'm going to add "Go to as many shows a possible" to the list.

So, there's the update. Let me know if you have any insight into how I can keep myself focused on my list without turning into a task master. Tomorrow I'm meeting with the woman who is going to tattoo me. I'm really excited to start working on it!

Happy New Year. It's going to be really wonderful.