The Importance of being Immoderate
So, in order to prove to myself once and for all my inability to be 'moderate' in anything, I have structured my year into monthly challenges that shall either make me stronger or probably just make me even less moderate. Which may miss the point at bit.
For example, February is no-alcohol month. A month in which I will truly connect with my inner-being and learn a lot about myself. Right. So far, it's been a month where I have significantly upped my intake of coffee-beverages, so that it seems like I'm constantly preparing, drinking, or reminiscing over a tea or coffee beverage. My roommate/friend Kristin and I have pinpointed that alcohol is such an accessory of friendship, and that perhaps we are overcompensating with tea/coffee/chocolatey drinks because they also seem like an appropriate prop to have in hand when around friends. Or, more likely, there is no neat explanation and I'm just a human see-saw who can never really be a balanced individual. Probably if there was a no coffee-OR -alcohol month (god forbid) I would become an inveterate and compulsive juice drinker and develop diabetes over the course of 30 days. And I fully expect that during March- in which I shall not consume any pasta- I will overcompensate by becoming a raging alcoholic. All previous unknown sides of myself shall be revealed! More updates on this insane year-long relay-course to come! If you want to see a truly bellicose (and quite possibly drunk) Ilse, come see me in March! WHAT IS A WORLD WITHOUT PASTA?????!!!
More on weird eating and drinking habits---I would like to formally announce that on this frigid and slushy day in February, there are no less than 7 containers of hummus in our fridge. Please reference: There are three of us. The culmination of 20 years of friendship has resulted in 7 half-eaten containers of hummus. And this is significant! Because, this means we are following our hearts! Because, why else would one be compelled to own plural hummus (hummi?) at any given time? Despite the many differences between all of us roommates--- we are united by our strong friendship, rich history, and hummus. We are the sort of roommates who emerge from our respective occupations and caves around 7:30 pm (mine being professional house-wife for the time being) and reunite over containers of hummus. And we are also the sort of individuals who have the delight of asking ourselves, "Dear self, what sort of hummus would you fancy at this very moment? Shall it be Jalapeno or Asian Fusion?"
As a side note, I think what "adulthood" REALLY means to me is exactly this: having my hummus and eating it too. Laissez-faire hummus consumptions is my life long battle-cry that finally became realized.
We also may be the sort of friends who have far too many bananas between all of us, but I see this as more of a challenge than a problem. We may have to develop some sort of coding system for bananas. Ah, the culinary delights of living with like-minded 25 year olds! We have crossed some sort of invisible threshold where we are no longer held captive by bagel bites and easy Mac, but rather bond around and worship The Great Green Monster Goddess---a delightful and unlikely blend of spinach, berries, and almond milk---amongst other things, of course. Plus an alarming amount of salads. We aren't complete weirdos. We've been known to make a mean risotto, a sultry soup, a finely spiced sauce! On less than stellar days, I can be found heating up some meatless- balls or tofu buffalo wings, but I try not to make it a habit. For, I wish not to become the weird-food equivalent of the crazy-cat-lady, and spend my hours delighting in the presence of all my meatless- balls, each ball with its own name. I take that back. I admire one of Kristin's resolutions this year---to own her food choices. Why SHOULDN'T I be the crazy meatless- balls lady? You are what you eat and whether it be hummus, meatless balls, or a spinach smoothie, I accept it! I don't really know when or how or where I crossed over from easy mac to eating raw kale, but I did it for a reason and it's damn delicious.
I say, whoever you are, be ye man, beast, woman, child, or horse, OWN thy choices! If you are nuts for brusselsprouts, or if you are brusselin' for nuts, FOLLOW THAT DREAM! We don't live forever, and we should really spend at least 95% of our time doing exactly what it is that we want to be doing, whether it's drinking too much wine or covertly heating up a few meatless-balls. We should also do weird contradictory things like monthly challenges that deny us exactly the things that we may want. Because, maybe that's good too. My friend Tom says that he only believes something if the complete opposite of it is also true. So, EAT those bagel bites! Or don't eat them, if you don't want to. I am becoming more and more puzzled with each line that I write, which either shows that this blog was very insightful or perhaps that I really just need a glass of wine.
Love and Loony-tunes,
Ilse
For example, February is no-alcohol month. A month in which I will truly connect with my inner-being and learn a lot about myself. Right. So far, it's been a month where I have significantly upped my intake of coffee-beverages, so that it seems like I'm constantly preparing, drinking, or reminiscing over a tea or coffee beverage. My roommate/friend Kristin and I have pinpointed that alcohol is such an accessory of friendship, and that perhaps we are overcompensating with tea/coffee/chocolatey drinks because they also seem like an appropriate prop to have in hand when around friends. Or, more likely, there is no neat explanation and I'm just a human see-saw who can never really be a balanced individual. Probably if there was a no coffee-OR -alcohol month (god forbid) I would become an inveterate and compulsive juice drinker and develop diabetes over the course of 30 days. And I fully expect that during March- in which I shall not consume any pasta- I will overcompensate by becoming a raging alcoholic. All previous unknown sides of myself shall be revealed! More updates on this insane year-long relay-course to come! If you want to see a truly bellicose (and quite possibly drunk) Ilse, come see me in March! WHAT IS A WORLD WITHOUT PASTA?????!!!
More on weird eating and drinking habits---I would like to formally announce that on this frigid and slushy day in February, there are no less than 7 containers of hummus in our fridge. Please reference: There are three of us. The culmination of 20 years of friendship has resulted in 7 half-eaten containers of hummus. And this is significant! Because, this means we are following our hearts! Because, why else would one be compelled to own plural hummus (hummi?) at any given time? Despite the many differences between all of us roommates--- we are united by our strong friendship, rich history, and hummus. We are the sort of roommates who emerge from our respective occupations and caves around 7:30 pm (mine being professional house-wife for the time being) and reunite over containers of hummus. And we are also the sort of individuals who have the delight of asking ourselves, "Dear self, what sort of hummus would you fancy at this very moment? Shall it be Jalapeno or Asian Fusion?"
As a side note, I think what "adulthood" REALLY means to me is exactly this: having my hummus and eating it too. Laissez-faire hummus consumptions is my life long battle-cry that finally became realized.
We also may be the sort of friends who have far too many bananas between all of us, but I see this as more of a challenge than a problem. We may have to develop some sort of coding system for bananas. Ah, the culinary delights of living with like-minded 25 year olds! We have crossed some sort of invisible threshold where we are no longer held captive by bagel bites and easy Mac, but rather bond around and worship The Great Green Monster Goddess---a delightful and unlikely blend of spinach, berries, and almond milk---amongst other things, of course. Plus an alarming amount of salads. We aren't complete weirdos. We've been known to make a mean risotto, a sultry soup, a finely spiced sauce! On less than stellar days, I can be found heating up some meatless- balls or tofu buffalo wings, but I try not to make it a habit. For, I wish not to become the weird-food equivalent of the crazy-cat-lady, and spend my hours delighting in the presence of all my meatless- balls, each ball with its own name. I take that back. I admire one of Kristin's resolutions this year---to own her food choices. Why SHOULDN'T I be the crazy meatless- balls lady? You are what you eat and whether it be hummus, meatless balls, or a spinach smoothie, I accept it! I don't really know when or how or where I crossed over from easy mac to eating raw kale, but I did it for a reason and it's damn delicious.
I say, whoever you are, be ye man, beast, woman, child, or horse, OWN thy choices! If you are nuts for brusselsprouts, or if you are brusselin' for nuts, FOLLOW THAT DREAM! We don't live forever, and we should really spend at least 95% of our time doing exactly what it is that we want to be doing, whether it's drinking too much wine or covertly heating up a few meatless-balls. We should also do weird contradictory things like monthly challenges that deny us exactly the things that we may want. Because, maybe that's good too. My friend Tom says that he only believes something if the complete opposite of it is also true. So, EAT those bagel bites! Or don't eat them, if you don't want to. I am becoming more and more puzzled with each line that I write, which either shows that this blog was very insightful or perhaps that I really just need a glass of wine.
Love and Loony-tunes,
Ilse
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