We played with life and lost.

Last night I dreamed I was Catherine from the film Jules et Jim. I was draped in a black and gray world that smelled like a newspaper. It was a place where my friends and I had nothing better to do than play with romance and laugh like children. It was an enjoyable feeling at first which quickly turned to insanity, which is how the story goes anyhow....

Eat Like A Caveman Now for a Better Body Tomorrow!

A usual GNC customer and former EHHS classmate of mine came into my store yesterday and told me about the Hunter Gatherer diet or Paleolithic diet that his friend just started getting into. It takes eating natural foods to a further extreme than I even imagined and it has gotten me very curious. I have started reading a book on google preview called Food and Western Disease By: Staffan Lindeberg which discusses exactly what the title says and advocates the paleolithic diet but not without bringing to surface some of its impracticalities and even dangers. It is a bit Micheal Pollanesk in that it exposes the motives of advertising, agriculture, and the food pyramid explaining that many things we (the public) have been told about our daily recommended food needs and servings mostly exist in order to increase a profit margin. Lindeberg brings to light research by credible sources that have often been ignored or kept from the media which dispell commonly held nutritional beliefs such as that milk is a good source of calcium and "does the body good" and that whole grains should be apart of a daily diet. Both beleifs are in fact just that according to Lindeberg, beliefs with no solid research backing up the claims. Furthermore he describes cultures all over the world who mostly eat the way they did in the stone age and makes startling connections to the absence of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, schizophrenia, depression, auto immune diseases, dementia, and hypertension in their societies.



SO being the health-anxious person that I am this has gotten me thinking. It is a near impossible diet to stick with completely even for someone who is as disciplined as myself. It stresses root vegetables only (most of which I have no idea how to find or what they look like), a LOT of free range grass fed meat, and no peanut butter, grains (bread, pasta, pizza, rice), or alcohol. So I have decided to place an extreme limit on the no no's without giving them up completely because lets face it, I haven't gone more than a week without pizza in over a year. I am going to research and incorporate more root veggies into my diet, cut down my alcohol intake, and try to avoid sugar (other than that which naturally occurs in my whole foods), and salt.

Inspirtation for those who need to be Inspired! (or something like that)

It was right around the time when I turned 23 that I decided to stop taking my life so seriously. I was never going to have very much money, making ends meet was always going to be a bit of a struggle, and I was never going to be able to convince myself to work hard at doing something I couldn’t get any meaning out of just for some green paper in my hands. I had learned exactly what middle class meant and accepted that wealth and luxury were never going to be a part of my life. Hell not even abundance was going to be a word I could attach to my income. Fortunately I had been blessed with a very agreeable and adaptable character and decided to count my wealth less fate as a blessed one. Obviously the universe had more exciting plans for me, plans that excluded green paper. Of course we all need money to survive, since we no longer as a species live outside, hunt, and gather. So of course I was going to continue to hold jobs and earn a paycheck it was just going to be done with more meaning for my life.
Some of the happiest men my father told me were those he knew who had worked odd minuscule jobs and enjoyed the time they spent there. They were not men who took high stress jobs crawling up the cut throat competitive corporate ladder nor did they obligate themselves with sore fidelity to a career for economic support for their family. They were men who indulged in their lives first, and worked second. Some simply pursed their interests however big or small and found that they got paid to do so along the way, just enough to keep warm food in their bellies and a roof over their head, ah the simple pleasures.
In a day as cutting edge as this with the internet and its vast array of money making opportunities it is quite easier than ever to stop taking your life so seriously and make a little money doing something you enjoy. When one forgets the American Dream of wealth and fleshy prosperity one can really begin to dream. With a little spare time (and that time spent away from the television) one can research endless possibilities for revenue on the internet. I enjoy writing and have fancied the idea of a career in journalism but because of time and the financial commitment necessary to obtain a degree and internship training in the field, have never pursued it until I came across a freelance writing online opportunity. A chance to visit local bars, clubs, fitness centers, restaurants, etc and get paid and published to write about them! This is just one example of pursuing a dream and being able financially sustain myself while doing it. Another example? My cousin has been interested in working with and researching big wild cats her whole life. She found a volunteer research program observing wild cats in New Orleans with room and board provided. Before finding this opportunity she considered her dream impossible when thinking about the money it would take to accomplish enough school and training to even get close to the cats. Possibilities are endless, the sky is the limit on this one!
While it may be possible to strike a fortune following your dreams by doing a little digging and finding opportunities through the internet, it is much more likely that you will be able to accomplish a modest lifestyle doing so. So of course, the first rule in pursing one’s dream is to stop taking your life so seriously. Lavish resort trips? Six bedroom, three story house? BMW? Just forget it all because really, why do you want these silly things anyway? It is America bought and sold to pursue material items such as these, things you cannot take with you when you’re gone, things that will only drain you of time and energy that could be spent on enjoying your life with others, involving yourself in activities you love, feeding your spirit, and growing with wisdom and compassion as a person.
The time is now, uncover your dreams, pursue them, stop taking your life so seriously, and begin to live for the first time starting today!

Bells

I want to be at warped tour, walk around in the blazing sun, listen to shitty music, and watch 13 year olds own skateboarding tricks. I want to see all the naked tattoos, colored hair, and boys wearing girl jeans. Johnny from Attack Attack got Luc and I on the guest list, or I should say his girlfriend (a friend of Luc and I) got us in. Instead, I am stuck here at work, at GNC. I have had two customers. I so badly crave money and freedom. A free numerology report I requested claims both will be mine on or around august 6th.....

I have such a terrible time staying focused. I have all of these ideas, all of these talents, and no stamina for production. I envy people who can come up with something amazing and then actually commit the time to its manifestation. It's not like I mind hard work, I enjoy it, I welcome sweat on my brow, cramps in my hands, and headaches from concentration, it's the endurance I struggle with. Weeks, Days, or sometimes hours later I just end up coming up with something better, or become distracted by something interesting and never return to what I started. I really thought this would all get sorted it out with maturity and I really thought I would have had something published by now. I need to anchor my mind down to something that doesn't move and stop lassoing the clouds.