DATE: 02/25/2008 10:14:08 / MOOD: in love

Just to share about sharing: Enter the ICHC online Poker Cats Contest!

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DATE: 01/31/2008 12:24:50 / MOOD: happy

Most everyone knows of, or is friends with, or is related to, one of those dedicated bird watchers who tick off each species they get a glimpse of.

The list of birds is called a life list, and the joy is to see how many different species you spotted before you kick the bucket. So, it's kind of like Jack Nicholson's and Morgan Freedman's bucket lists.

For us non-birders, I humbly propose a more humble list. It's called: "What's in the Road?"

With today's high winds, it should be easy to get a head start on spotting pavement detritus. See how many of these you can check off (and add) before you kick it

"What's in the Road?" list

(These are all from today)

--- Goat

--- Just one shoe

--- Two shoes (this is a very rare species)

___ hat

___ ladder

_X_ First National Bank sign

___ Raccoon

___ Coyote

_X_ Cat

_X_ unhurried jaywalker

_X_ impacted traffic cone

___ carpet

___ someone's laundry

_X_ glass

___ robot bent on human destruction

_X_ knocked-over fire hydrant (yesterday)

___ Presidential candidate

___ Hispanic Heritage, Fourth of July or Juneteenth parade

___ That guy your mom used to date before she got sober

___ That guy you used to date before you got sober

___ Salma Hayek

___ Crime scene tape

___ A pushy, tailgating driver

___ A deliberately slow driver punishing the pushy driver

___ A moral victory

___ Baby

___ Other


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DATE: 01/30/2008 16:52:33 / MOOD: dont know

The following link leads to a food so hideous, it can only be a thing of beauty.

I highly advise clicking and reading it if you love a little thing called: Gag reflex.
Freaky cheese

For those who are too laz--- er, busy to check out the link, I'll sum it up for you.

In Italy, there's a cheese.

This cheese is known as "rotten cheese" in native Sardinian.
This cheese is deliberately maggot-riddled and termed ready for swallowing when it is decomposed to the cosistency of cream and oozing with larvae spit.

Most people eat it with the living worms still inside. However, when the worms are disturbed, they can jump half a foot, possibly into your nostril.

For dessert:Because stomach acids don't kill the worms, if they haven't already body-slammed your eye, they could park themselves in your intestines, which they can severely damage as they try to bore through.

Now, there are many many foods in the U.S. that are misbranded X-treme due to marketing ploys. X-treme beef jerky, X-treme chewing gum X-treme prune juice and the like --- not one of which is truly extreme.

This cheese, however, wins the X-treme award. I won't protest --- but only under one condition: What excretes in Sardinia stays in Sardinia.

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DATE: 11/23/2007 09:41:29 / MOOD: dont know

The best surprise in the world of baked good is unexpected icing.

Same thing with landscapes, methinks. The snow today is beautiful --- just like it was on Thanksgiving, yesterday. (My family back East couldn't quite believe it. 'You mean it's snowing in Texas?!' they asked in disbelief. 'You mean you don't remember this exact same conversation last year or the year before?' I teased.)

I have to admit, though, that our West Texas cars seem to look vaguley ridiculous after a snowfall. You can tell we haven't acquired the art of windshield scraping yet. On the drive to work today, some cars still had snow so thick on their hood it blew back and snowballed the cars behind them.

Other cars, like the black SUV turning north on Midland drive from Wall, only scraped the top part of their windshield -- making the whole thing look like a window in a parapet.

Still others drove very, very slowly, as if the snow was weighting them down. It's probably because those folks used water rather than brute force to clear their 'shields, and now were contending with a frozen film of ice not unlike the cloudy glass of an untidy aquarium.

Despite the silliness of the morning commute entourage, I'll still take the unexpected icing; The drive in from Odessa into the city limits looks lovely -- all those big, green wreaths frosted in snow, near trees with snow-covered limbs.
I don't think I've seen the city look so sparkling fresh ... this year, anyway.
Now,back to business. Waiter! Bring me something baked AND iced!

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DATE: 11/19/2007 13:01:27 / MOOD: other

Random thought for today: "Renegade underlings" would make a darn fine name for a band.

The phrase comes to us today from a wire story about a non-recognized "tribe" in Kansas that allegedly promised illegal immigrants social security numbers if they bought tribal memberships.

A source for the story said that the leader of the group was not responsible, but rather the victim of "renegade underlings."

I don't know what the truth of the matter is, but I do know that THAT is a mighty fine name. If some hipster band, with black plastic glasses and pearl snap shirts doesn't steal it while belting out Reverend Horton Heat tunes ... WELL

I will just have to steal it myself.

Renegade underling writer Jenn Edwards, signing off.
OR:
Yours in renegade underling brotherhood, Jenn Edwards.


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DATE: 11/17/2007 19:55:07 / MOOD: happy

So, final update on the grueling Appalachian trail hike known as "Jenn's water fast."

Yeah, it was hard.

I made it two full days, no food, no anything but water, juice and sugarfree coffee.

On the third day, though, I finally had to eat something. I felt too weak to do my daily workout, and too spacey to write.

Yeah, just wasn't worth it to finish the third day, because I would have had to lay around all day and that would bore the heck out of me. So, I ate something and went and got active.

Though I didn't make it all three days, there is an upside: In the two full days I did make it, I lost three pounds ... it may not seem like a lot, but it is a lot to shed in two days. So I'm not complaining.

I'm also not complaining about how delectable the Jason's deli Turkey Rueben tasted ... or the sumptous salad bar.

So, in sum: Even though it was hard to stick through a water fast, it was only two days, after all. And I highly recommend it for anyone healthy. It will help you appreciate what you have, and will make you a little leaner, to boot.

I think I'll try again next month. If anybody has tried a fast and wants to share their story, please e-mail me at jedwards@mrt.com. Maybe we can get a group going.

 

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DATE: 11/16/2007 09:37:12 / MOOD: happy


8 a.m.
Day 2 of the fast is not moving as quickly as something named "fast" should.

Ah, well.

I didn't break last night and I'm not really hungry, actually. Psychologically, I'd like to eat something but even if I had a plate of Morning Star breakfast patties and Southern-style biscuits in front of me, I don't think I'd bite.

Even if that is one of my favorite breakfasts. Ever.

Anyway, at noon today, I will be halfway done. I'll keep you posted.
----------------
9 a.m.

I just got a surge of energy and optimism. Maybe it's the half a cup of V8 (or, as I call it, Virtue Ate my reason). Maybe it's knowing that this is Friday, I am caught up, and I can sleep in tomorrow!
----------------

9:45 a.m.
I just got smacked by my first food craving -- Smack ramen! Of all the things in all the world, I just want a dime package of chicken ramen, cooked down until the liquid is close to opaque.

Now that is a weird craving. I must have been in college too long. ( ;

-------------

10:30-ish a.m.
After a coffee and just a little bit of cranberry juice, I am feeling awake and unhungry again. Amazing how it takes so little to satisfy the appetite.

-------------

12:21 p.m., the second hour of doom

Woot!

I have officially made it half-way through the three-day fast.

Drinking juice, even diluted juice, feels a little like cheating. It's helping me stay on track, though, and avoid those dips in blood sugar that make it hard to concentrate.

Especially when I am being tormented.
Right now, my boss is eating what looks like a glorious lunch. The rich smell of chicken soup is wafting through the air and she has a plate filled with slabs of what look like mozarella, and Pringles to eat those slabs on.

I'll admit it: Longing seized me for a moment. But now it's gone, and eating seems unnecessary again. The smell was enough.

That said, I hope I can make it through the rest of today and all of tomorrow. If I do, there is curry waiting for me and some of my friends. We shall celebrate!

----------------

1:17 p.m.
Monster stomach rumbles. I remember a time when that used to make me feel strong. Now, it just makes me reach for a muzzle ...

-----------------
3:34 p.m.
It's about thirty minutes before I usually call it a day, and I have to say that today hasn't been *that* hard but it definitely has left me exhausted.

It's been said that mental work (like writing) is more exhausting than physical. I'm not sure I agree that one is more exhausting than the other, but I definitely feel wiped.
I think that next time, I'll do a fast like this over the weekend, when work won't sap me -- and low blood sugar won't compromise the contributions I can make.


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DATE: 11/15/2007 13:43:41 / MOOD: dont know

I ask not for whom the lunch bells toll.

Frankly, I don't care, because they are not tolling for me.

It's past noon and a few minutes ago, the gorgeous peals of the church bells across the street sounded 12.

Noon.

The hour of doom: Lunch hour.

I'm only 12 hours in to a 72-hour water/tea/diet soda fast and yep. I am definitely hungry now. I'm used to eating something small every 2-3 hours so you can imagine this is an adjustment.

I feel virtous, though --- every time I do a fast, it reminds me of just how strong my willpower can be. And it also, not coincidentally, makes me a little leaner, too.

So yeah. I want to bury my face in a plate of Johnny Carino's finest pasta. But I won't.

I'll just sit here and hum along to the rumbling of my stomach. Because you know what? I'm already a sixth of the way through.

----------------

2:09 p.m.

V8: The taste of virtue.

I am hungry, but I did have a can of V-8. It feels a little like fudging, but I feel a lot better; I was starting to feel irritable and lethargic, both. Those feelings don't usually kick in until the middle of the second day, so that is interesting.

Some quick fast stats:

Two: The number of cups of coffee.

Six: The number of cups of water.

Half: The number of cups of diet coke.

One and a half: Cups of V-8.

Zero: The number of temptations I've succumbed to, though I really really am tempted by the triple chocolate cake I just brought in for departing co-workers.

2,000,000: Number of different dishes I would like, at this very moment, to be eating.

Nothing worth doing is done easily, though.

----------------

3:36 p.m.

I feel tired -- definitely a dip in the old blood sugar. Where's my other V8?

It looks like this might become a three-day water/juice fast.

If it works, though, I will rinse, spin and repeat next weekend --- so I can REALLY enjoy that turkey on Thanksgiving.


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DATE: 11/15/2007 10:37:21 / MOOD: happy

It's been months since I blogged about my human guinea pig experiment (formerly known as water fasting).

But apparently, lots of people were interested in the process. Some (family, mostly, and the boyfriend) were concerned I'd keel over. Oh, how wrong they were!

So, since I did not buy the farm, kick the bucket, push the little daisies and make 'em come up ... I am going to do another one. And blog about it.

I think the results will be good. A large body of research indicates that calorie restriction actually prolongs life. And, as recently as this week, a new study was released that shows that just one day of fasting a month improves arterial health.

Add that knowledge to the fact that a healthy adult can live for a month or longer on no food at all, and it makes going without for three days just a little less scary.

So for those of you who are curious what it feels like to eat absolutely nothing for a period of three days -- tune in and experience vicarious stomach rumbles. ( :

------

9:35 a.m., Day one. I am not hungry yet --- I had a big dinner last night, so that's helping. I *have* caught myself wondering what I'm going to have for breakfast at least five times already.

It's just force of habit, I guess.
That's one of the things a water fast (in my case, a water/coffee/diet soda fast) is good for -- breaking old habits and reminding us that we can live a loooong time without food. Therefore, there is no reason to be dependent on it, or center our day around meal times.


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