Category: recounted

all of my daily ramblings in one place.

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“enemy”

a friend updated her status with the following scripture:

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. –Matt 5:44

while i know this was posted with good intentions, i’m not feeling the word enemy – especially today on 9/11.

merriam-webster defines enemy as:

1
: one that is antagonistic to another; especially : one seeking to injure, overthrow, or confound an opponent
2
: something harmful or deadly <alcohol was his greatest enemy>
3
a : a military adversary b : a hostile unit or force

yes – there are a minority of extremists who have caused harm, destruction, and oppression and who definitely fit into this category, but enemy has been used to describe everyone else, too — victims of discrimination, harm, destruction, and oppression in this country and abroad, our brothers and sisters of muslim faith… and the muslim faith itself.

the connotation of enemy suggests someone or entity that is the opposite of your friend. this is problematic because differences of opinion, ideology, religion or worldview doesn’t automatically mean someone is not your friend.  if anything, it means you’d have to be MORE compassionate towards, patient with, understanding of, willing to learn from, and work harder to exist among them … not someone you attack, antagonize or hate.

anyway — my two cents for the day.  what are your thoughts???

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budgeting

to the person who invented capitalism and the shackles we know today as “money,” i dedicate this song to you:

in re-evaluating my budget — and this is assuming i don’t find temp work for these next few months — my daily allowance is exactly $20.  what’s really depressing is that $20 is a lot more than a lot of people around the world have to spend — some in a week, some in a month.  but while i’m extremely grateful for these 2 hamiltons, i am also wondering what i can (or can’t) do anymore.

shopping = out of the question
eating = smaller meals and less dining out, which isn’t all that bad
drinking = somehow all socializing centers around drinking these days and i’m wondering if i need to allot a separate beverage budget?
concerts = not unless it’s free or paid for — though if the latter, i usually feel obligated to treat for dinner

well, if anything, this will be the most fascinating experiment i will have embarked on in awhile.  let’s see how far i can stretch my my 20 smackaroos… adventures to be posted!

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breakfast smoothie

this morning i opened the fridge and realized i forgot to buy eggs for breakfast!  necessity is the mother of all invention (… hunger in this case) so i combed through the fridge to see what i could make instead.   we had a lot of fruit – both frozen and fresh – so i decided to create a breakfast smoothie.   i didn’t have a chance to take a picture of the finished product this morning —  it was so good, mgs and i devoured it pretty quickly.  BUT it was super healthy and super easy to make.   i paired it with an english muffin (use butter, jam or whatever your preferred spread is) and, of course — bacon.

serves 2 / prep time: 10 minutes

ingredients
8-10 frozen strawberries
1 banana chopped into 1/4 inch slices
1/4 of an avocado
fistful of raspberries
1 cup soy milk
1 tablespoon granola

1. throw all fruit – strawberries first since they’re frozen – and soy milk into a blender.  crush at high speed until the strawberries are reduced then switch to liquefy until you get a smooth consistency.

2. to serve, pour the smoothie into a glass tumbler.  sprinkle the granola on top.  if preparing other dishes (such as heating up your english muffins or bacon), leave in fridge to chill until it’s time to eat.

as simple as that.  it was so healthy that i didn’t feel bad for stuffing my face with this for lunch:

ike's sandwich

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about funemployment

there are a few things that people who are considering funemployment should consider before resigning from their jobs.  in no particular order (though perhaps subconsciously in the order of what i’m freaking out about the most):

1) plan your finances:  you know how with gravity, everything that goes up, must come down?  that’s not true with money: my finances continue to go up even AFTER resigning.  oh wait, what?  that’s NOT how that works? OH.  OK.  FML.  if you’re seriously considering leaving your job, formulate a budget that’s as specific as can possibly be.  not an oh-i-think-i-should-have-enough-to-last-me-five-months guestimation budget but a i-am-not-getting-that-candy-bar-cause-i-need-to-eat-dinner-tomorrow for realz budget (and that’s for realz with a “z” it’s so real).

2) do one thing at a time…: it’s so important to have a plan of action that leads to your resignation up until the year following.  like my budget, i had a general idea of what i wanted to do, but not too many specifics.  now i’m freaking out about what the next step is.  planning will also relieve a lot of unnecessary stress.  my last few weeks were pretty jam-packed and if i could do it over again, i’d avoid moving out and resigning at the same time.  it took an unexpected emotional and physical toll trying to finish everything up at once.  i wonder if that has anything to do with why i’ve been sleeping at 12 am and getting up at 12 pm  lately?  oh no — that’s just cause i can (points for funemployment!).

3) … but don’t waste time: i do feel bad for sleeping in late because as much as people tell me to enjoy my free time, there’s no such thing as FREE time.  my time should be spent doing everything that i’ve wanted to do, but didn’t have time to do.  for instance, that little goal i set three years ago to write a play?  remember THAT willbur?!

4) chill out: ok – they call it funemployment for a reason.  don’t freak out.  do try to enjoy the things that folks stuck in their crappy cubicles behind cramped desks can’t enjoy doing.  for instance, sunbathe in the san francisco “summer” sunshine; see movies at matinee prices; eat at ike’s while the line is short; take naps every five hours… etc.

5) be confident: if you’re generally a capable, hardworking, and intelligent person, you’ll know when you’ll need to get your nicely, toned, booty (thanks to dance classes and lunges) back to work-for-pay.  i’ve been doubting my abilities A LOT lately and the market just seems ultra-scary now that i’m removed from the workforce.  in those moments, i just close my eyes and remember all the incompetent people i’ve encountered in my lifetime holding down jobs – even supervisory and managerial positions – and all my doubts of never finding a job again vanish!