The decision to turn my life upside-down seems to clearly be the right thing to do. If you have been in one place for 10 years and you have nothing to say, you need to be in a new place. Sure, in my ten years at the state job I have accumulated a slew of factoids ranging from psychotropic medications give you constipation; to 'nuttin’ up' is a clinical term used by Mommas at the end of their rope; and, it is very hard to find resources through Human Resources.
I will not be the person at the party everyone is tuned into due to my varied interests and engrossing perspectives. Quite frankly, I gotta get me some of those!
I can't possibly go forward with simply a fascination for food.
So here are the top three things I am challenging myself to know, by January 1, 2012:
I want to know how to swim and then go swimming in Lake Michigan, Smishek Lake, the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean. I want to snorkel anywhere and I want to dive into a pool, lake or Ocean. Doesn't have to be a high dive, just that statement that says I am going in and taking these waters with all the joy they give me in return.Where I understand that no one is the life of the party because they talk about their back stroke, I should be able to participate at a higher level of conversation because I actually got in the water and stopped sitting on the shoreline.
Second, I would like to know how to dine in public alone. This will be a key skill that will serve me well in my culinary journey, I believe. But, I do not know how to not say, 'to go please'. Surely that is not respectable in the culinary world. If any one has any tips, please feel free to pass this insight along. Where this skill probably won't make me the life of the party either, it will build the quite confidence layer to what I think makes that engaging party guest.
And lastly, I want to learn how to ride a bike. It is true that most things in life are 'just like riding a bike', especially for people like me who don't ride a bike. I have a bike but haven't ridden in years. I took it out for a spin and felt the awkwardness, the uneasiness and the confusion. If you haven't been on a bike in years you know what I mean, just probably don't want to admit it. It is pretty embarrassing to realize you don't really know how to ride a bike. Not like my niece Victoria. When she puts her 9 year old feet on the handle bars and floats, the same way she does with kid conversations and flower snipping projects, for her, life is like riding a bike. And I want to be just like her on a bike; not like me on a bike.
And then I want to go to the party and perform some Wheelies, Stoppies or Endos! The way Victoria does through her life.
I know, I don't have those lofty goals of understanding all of Viktor Frankl's works, or expounding on the world economic system, or translating Mother Goose into the lessons of life.
I just want to get the basics down.
Recipe: figure out what YOU need to know to make you stronger, better.
Road trip: take the bike out and see if you are awkward or floating!
Renovations: giving Louie a bath!
One of the hardest lessons for me along my journey was being a 'party of one.' It sounds 'oxymoronic' but it is a life lesson. When I am seriously in the mood for Sashimi, Red Curry, Kimchi, or Pho, nothing else really suffices. But not everyone eats those kinds of things. (bunch of pansies LOL)So I go alone. It's a great time to people watch but it is even better to truly experience the food... no distractions!
ReplyDeleteTraci
With my current job I actually have to eat alone almost everyday. At first it was really hard. I would get it to go and eat in the car. Eventually i got up the nerve to eat in a restaurant as long as I brought a book - that way I didn't look too awkward! But now I'm a pro saying "Just one". I don't feel at all awkward anymore even when I don't have a book in hand.
ReplyDeleteBut I do have a little funny story for you. When I first started eating alone I had went to O'Charley's one day. When I walked in, the host looked up at me and smiled and looked away. I guess he was figuring that I had a friend or someone coming in behind me because he pretty much ignored me for what seemed like 10 minutes (although I am certain that it really was more like 2 minutes). Eventually he looked back at me and said "Can I help you?"...I said "Just one"... he says "oh". I giggled at this as we walked to the table. Did he mean "Oh?" or perhaps "Ooooohhh" or maybe "Oh!". Luckily, I had plenty of time to ponder this over dinner.
The best part of "Just one" is that you can order whatever you want and not feel any shame. So go ahead, order a dessert or two.