Love at First Sight is Not

One cannot love anyone or anything based on the evidence gained from sight and sexual reaction. The only thing that really does is encourage us to learn more, which can lead to learning good or bad things. Sometimes, the one you might overlook at first becomes more and more interesting and then you see them differently. Many times, you will meet someone, talk for a little while, exchange numbers, then talk later and realize that you don't need to call that person.

If the person ends up being undesirable to you in this way, odds are that the other person can tell. You do the person a disservice (not to mention yourself) to continue to pursue when a fundamental incompatibility surfaces, despite coming from an attractive frame. Love must be based on as many senses as possible, including the things like ability to communicate, agreement on fundamental issues, and physical compatibility, among many others. Anything less should not be considered love.

Quarter After Ten

AM or PM? Well, it looks like AM, but it's really PM. After a really scenic drive, some tasty halibut, and looking at fishies, we were off to a glacier. Later, we had mexican food and margaritas, followed by a trip to a real Alaskan Wal-Mart. I think we parked next to some drug dealers and scared them away.

Ha Ha HA!

I woke up on Thursday with a mild headache and the feeling of being a little "out of it". I figured that it was because of one of three possibilities - I had forgotten my medication the day before, I had taken an Ativan to get to sleep the night before, and it was entirely possible that the salmon I had for dinner had turned. But then, on Friday night, the reason became very clear - it had been PMS. So I do get PMS, but it seems to be different every time. Sometimes, I feel unreasonably crabby, sometimes, I get a headache, and other times, there are no discernible symptoms whatsoever.

Of course, it wasn't like I wasn't expecting this around this time. You see, I noticed last month that my body was starting to reset itself to mess with my Alaska vacation, which was originally intended for the 4th of July weekend. Previously, my body reset itself to mess up my Spain vacation too. But I foiled my body this time! I'm going to Alaska for the weekend of the 21st, and there is no way I can go through an entire cycle in just two weeks. Ha ha HA - I win the battle this time!

Strawberry Blues

After a trip to Berkeley by way of Fremont, I decided that I needed some fresh strawberries for dinner. As I approached the door to Whole Foods, I smelled the familiar, delicious odor but I didn't see the same little green pint boxes. I was afraid that the strawberry season might be coming to an end, but hoped that the local farm had just taken a break for Sunday. The produce guy inside told me to come back tomorrow, but in the meantime, I got a pound of the Driscoll's organic strawberries. They're almost as good, but they have dirt on them.

Also, I hope that hand lotion doesn't mess with my hair too much, because it feels really good on my poor sun-burnt scalp. I hope that heals soon too, because the sun also lightened my roots and I need to dye my hair again soon.

We are What We Eat

Literally, that is what we are. My mom is a registered dietitian, but like most kids, I was raised part by my mom, part by my peers, and part by marketing departments. I was also a depressed little girl that didn't want to run around. Add in that little obsession with food and I became a fat depressed little girl, and it spiraled from there.

When I was 18, I gained 20 pounds in college and admitted to my mom that I literally did not know when to stop eating. She took me to another dietitian and discussed my diet. I lost those 20 pounds over the next few months, and over the next few years, I lost an additional 30. But I still had a terrible relationship with food.

Over the past month, I've been seeing a new nutritionist that has recommended eating more a balanced diet, and has made me realize that I eat way too many starches. She also mentioned that starches tend to "spike" in our bodies, causing us to crave more starch and even mess with our moods. Since focusing on eating more proteins, assuming I'll get my carbs by default, and focusing on fruits and vegetables, not only have I lost about 5 pounds (in a few weeks), but I feel better. I feel calmer, and I can feel how sugar affects my mood.

I'm also trying to eat more consciously, and stopping when I'm full. I try to stay on the outside of the supermarket and yes, I buy organic and local when I can. All things advocated in this article, Pollan: Nutrition 'Science' Has Hijacked Our Meals -- and Our Health. We're eating more than ever, yet we're terribly sick. We've been pumped full of chemicals too. I've been taking chemicals for over ten years now too, but no one bothered to look at all the mac and cheese I was eating or tell me how that might affect me. I know food alone can't make me not depressed, but a more balanced diet makes better sense than a higher dosage of a chemical that includes sweating and suicidal tendencies as side-effects.

New Foods

I am a super taster. What that means is that I have an overabundance of taste buds that make lots of stuff taste bad to me. I also am one of those people that can taste bitter. I learned this in the 7th grade with a rather memorable lab and a piece of paper on the back of my tongue. I've heard that those people typically do not like vegetables. As a vegetarian and a person aiming to have a more healthy diet, this is a significant frustration. For instance, cooked carrots have been known to make me gag, and I only begrudgingly eat broccoli. Hence am I teaching myself to enjoy new foods.

I grew up a very picky eater, it was a long time before I could enjoy cuts of meat like steak. I think I had scarcely learned to eat pork chops before I went vegetarian. Mexican and Chinese food were also among my dislikes at an early age. I have just now learned to enjoy mashed and baked potatoes and am trying to learn olives. So far, I have realized that they are very "intense", but I do enjoy certain green olives with the pits. I still do not like apples (but only in their raw form), mushrooms (in any form), and yogurt. Those dislikes all seem to be texture based, since I like applesauce, will eat things made with cream of mushroom soup, and can't say I dislike the flavors of yogurt. Someday, I hope that my taste will change to the point where I can enjoy carrots and broccoli too.