Organic Greens, Saturday Afternoons at Chick Fil A, and Friday Night Coffee Dates

Ana Ng and I are getting old
And we still haven’t walked in the glow of each other’s majestic presence
Listen Ana hear my words
They’re the ones you would think I would say if there was a me for you

So my dear darling friend Adam came up for a Grandparents visit this past weekend, and he took a few hours to hang out with me. I was very tickled to see him. He has been in awe of Calhoun's super classy Chick Fil-A, which wasn't installed until after he had abandoned us for Macon and all its flatness, so we had a late lunch at Calhoun's social hub. We really didn't do much beyond a nice, long, conversation: unless you count the part of the conversation that took place while we drove around town to allow Adam to see what's become of our little hamlet here. Notwithstanding Adam's great joy in freaking me out when he drives (fishtails everywhere), we had us a good old time, and I was sorry to let him leave.

Really, my weekend was uneventful except for Adam's visit. But I kind of enjoyed it, because I hardly have any real time to myself since I started taking night classes, and it was nice to sit and watch Jane Austen movie adaptations all day.

Yesterday was interesting all the way around. Well, except for work which was really just depressing and made a hundred times moreso when we heard about the Virginia Tech shooting and started watching CNN. (Why?! I mean really, WHY?! What was the point?!)

Despite the black cloud thrown over the day, there were things to look forward to. I had an organic cooking class last night that was really very informative. It was only about greens, but I love greens and it kind of lit a fire under my ass to start eating better and actually COOKING. I've already been cooking a little more than usual, and I find that it's a lot more enjoyable and a thousand times more practical to eat leftovers of home cooking than it is to get fast food every evening after class. And A WHOLE lot healthier and less expensive.

It's not as if this is news to me, but I think my inner Avery (or really Rickett) domestic goddess is beginning to awaken. I'm glad of it because I was fearful I was denied that gene from my mother and my grandmother. I've always liked to cook, but only when I have time or the motivation. But now I want to cook more often and more from scratch - and more organically. The more I learn about how crops are handled by commercial farms, the less I want to eat them. And the more I hear about packaged foods, the less I want to eat those. It's just scary. And I think there's definitely merit to what the natural and organic growers are saying. Just consider how many people wind up with cancer nowadays. My Grandmother will tell you that it was never as prominent until these last two generations. One can't help but wonder if one of the main causes is the chemicals, pesticides, and perservatives that are in commercially processed foods. It's something to think about at the very least.

In any case, I was still thinking about organic foods and considering cooking experiments I might like to try when my phone rang. On the other end was Weak Handshake/Fabio Hair Dude. Well it's about damn time. I was beginning to get annoyed that he hadn't called. Just on principle. But I'm ready to forgive him and give him his shot. On the phone, he seemed a little bit easier than he had been at the dinner. I wonder if he might just be shy of crowds - if that's the case, then I understand all too well. We talked easily and he just seemed to be more laid back than he had been, which improved my opinion a little. The conversation was brief, and we decided on coffee Friday night since the rest of my weekend is full of fundraisers and birthdays. We'll see.

By the way, expect a plug in a couple days. All you Calhounians and those who will be in Calhoun this coming weekend; at least pretend you might come to the NERA 3rd Annual Evening of Bluegrass. PLEASE!


So I leave you with this, one of the coolest songs ever (and one of the most random videos), "Ana Ng" by They Might Be Giants.

"I Sing the Body Electric"

The love of the body of man or woman balks account, the body itself
balks account,
That of the male is perfect, and that of the female is perfect.
from "I Sing the Body Electric" by Walt Whitman

It's one of my favorite poem titles ever, but now when I read it, it'll bring a whole new meaning.

I actually like my Anatomy and Phisiology class. I knew I would be interested by it, but it's turned out to be absolutely fascinating. And it all makes sense to me. The only class I ever absolutely ACED in college was my biology class, which is weird for an English major, but really, grammar and anatomy/phisiology are very relatable and have similar rules.

I was thinking about it last night, and I decided that the two subjects do translate easily. Cells are like letters. Tissues are like words. Organs are like phrases. Organ systems are like sentences. An organism is like a paragraph. And they make sense. A certain combination produces a certain type of sentence or a certain type of literature. For instance, the heart is really the poetry. The brain is like a novel. It all makes perfect sense to me now.

Wikipeodia has a great entry on Medical Transcription, and I looked over it today. Under the "As a Profession" section, I saw that I'm just about right for this job. I'm really detail-oriented, I am the grammar queen (I just have to work on my spelling), and I'm learning the medical lingo really well. So needless to say, I'm pretty excited about all this.

My sister-in-law said that this might be what I was meant to do, and I'm beginning to believe her. But don't worry - I'll always be a writer and I'll continue to work on my novels. That's what keeps me alive. But this new career prospect will keep me fed and sheltered and happy enough to allow my writing room to grow.

I always did like Operation.


And here's the video for "Sleepsinging" by the Damnwells....well....just because. It's a weird video, but the song is remarkable.

Why Does this Make Me so Nervous?

Don't worry I'm not looking at you
Gorgeous and dressed in blue
Don't worry I'm not looking at you
I know you see me see you
As you see me walk on past
When there's nothing more I'd like to do
Than come in close and hear you laugh
Though we haven't even spoken
Still I sense there's a rapport
So whisper me your number
I'll call you up at home

Well, I might have a date soon. We didn't meet in quite the way Morphine describes it, but we did meet in a very iconic single person way.

At a dinner party. And it wasn't quite as electric as Mark Sandman describes it either, but I'm a strong believer in trying things on.

My friend David invited me to a dinner party at his and his wife's house Saturday night. It was a little bit out of the blue, but not uncommon for this particular friend. There were four other people there: one married couple and two single men. Hmmm....You reckon there was some conniving going on there? The married couple was great fun and I really liked them. The husband was rather quiet, but then everyone is quiet when David is around because he's definitely an entertainer and that's one of the reasons we love him. In any case, one of the single men was rather younger, and painfully quiet. Seemed like a nice guy, though and smart when he did speak.

The other single man was...well...intriguing I guess is the word. He was kind of quiet too, but he spoke a good bit and popped a few witty remarks. The thing that was interesting was his manner. He was inordinately polite. He shook hands when he was introduced, and kind of had this bearing of one of Jane Austen's gentlemen. The thing that bugged me about this was his handshake - it was very weak, and I always look upon someone with a weak handshake with incredulity until they prove themselves. Maybe it was part of his politeness though. I wondered if he just felt like women should receive less firm handshakes because we're...well...women. Incidentally, I would like it if the males who read my blog would comment on this, because I'm just not sure. All I know is if he shook my Daddy's hand like that, Daddy would immediately be distrustful.

I digress. I also noticed a few other eccentricities. When I mentioned a bad experience I had (bad, not embarrassing), he wore this odd look of concern or...confusion...or something. It was weird. He had interesting facial expressions - and Fabio hair. Fortuneately his hair was the only thing Fabio-esque and only because it was long and blond. A major bonus point in his favor was that he had seen and liked my favorite local bluegrass band, The Groundhawgs (more plugging). And he has a decent job. Imagine that.

In any case, I sensed all night that this odd fellow was kind of...well...what's a distinguished way to put it...um...oh, nevermind...he was kind of macking on me. And my suspicions were confirmed when David called me last night to tell me that Dude was asking about me and wanted to know if I was single. I told David he could give Dude my phone number and we'll see what happens.

I'm not sure about this guy. I'm sure he's not psychotic or evil or even abusive, but I still don't quite know if I like him. Of course, that's what first dates are for. He hasn't called me yet, but I suspect I'll hear from him sometime this week. Anyway, to use one of my favorite phrases again, we'll see.



I'm posting this video here because I feel like I need to give Kevn Kinney his propers. Here's "Sun Tangled Angel Revival." I love this song.