Mortie, Mortie: He's no shorty, Mortie.
I need to learn deep breathing and get back into meditation and yoga. It’s difficult for me to initially start, but once I get going with it, I wonder why I hadn’t done it earlier.
“Oh, yeah! I knew this guy at this party where someone bought one of those strobe lights from Radio Shack, and turned it on, and the guy was shaking all over the place, and it turns out he had epilepsy, and it was a convulsion, and he’s like ‘TURN THAT THING OFF!'”
Overheard on Capitol Hill
Day 6 of cleanse… I’m not really even missing food or alcohol, but then I haven’t been putting myself in situations that require those things to be around. I saw “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind”, the alleged autobiography of Chuck Barris, with Kimmay and Celeste. It was brilliant in the way that we have no way of knowing if his CIA story was true, through the way his tale is told. Anyway, they wanted to go out to eat after the movie, but I had to decline – I don’t want to go off this now.One of the side effects of a cleanse is also emotional release. I’m living past experiences in reverse, newest ones first – sort of like peeling back layers.
I watched the State of the Union address. Yow. Hydrogen funding for cars? Getting off foreign oil? Dubya was sounding like the Green Party a bit, but there’s no way he’ll fund these programs. He’s simply moving to the center (just talking about these ideas) to further co-opt the Democrats, and then will do nothing about it.
CNN’s Crossfire is the show I’ve been looking for, and it stars Paul Begala, James Carville (Buck Up, Suck Up, and Come Back When You Foul Up) representing the left (well, the Democratic left, anyway), and Tucker Carlson and Robert Novak on the right. It’s fast-paced and fun to watch.
I bowled with my brother today. Without the influence of alcohol, I averaged in the 150s. I’m on to something here.
Day one of the cleanse brings back some of the memories of the last time I tried this, June of 2002. I was drinking alcohol in moderately high volumes and two shots of espresso a day. And then I went directly to the restrictions of the cleanse. Bad idea. Day four of that cleanse brought severe caffeine withdrawal headaches, and on day five, I spent the evening at Indian Oven eating a most delicious curry. There’s a schedule involved with vitamins, shakes and two meals in 1 1/2 hour intervals, and to work properly, it needs to be adhered to. I’m not used to this kind of structure, but I figure I can handle it for a couple of weeks.
Nicole is my cleansing companion. We have decided to cleanse for 14 days concurrently beginning tomorrow, and talk about how we’ll do it and make it easy on ourselves. Really, the cleanse starts tonight with a dinner of a piece of fruit early in the evening to give the digestive system a slight preparation of what’s to come. Over the next 14 days, Nicole and I will eat nothing but raw organic fruits and vegetables, with added supplements and bentonite clay shakes that are part of a cleansing kit. There’s only one place in Seattle we’ll be able to eat out: the Gravity Bar, a vegetarian restaurant that actually has a menu that fits the restrictions of the next couple of weeks. I’ve prepared for this two weeks in a big way: no coffee since December 31st, and limiting my alcohol intake to 2 drinks when I go out (usually, 3 nights a week).
I have to do this. After food poisoning and a sluggish body and mind, it’s time to wake up.
I’ve discovered my new favorite show. It’s on CBC, and it’s called ‘Zed’. It showcases short independent films, and musicians, from mostly Canada, but including the US, UK and Australia. My Tivo taped it while I was gone, and I’m hooked. It’s on five nights a week, and positively the best television I’ve seen in awhile. I don’t know if PBS has an equivalent – I doubt it.
Tonight I had my last real dinner, and alcohol, for awhile, as I begin my cleanse tomorrow night. Thankfully, my Italian cabaret-chantreuse friend Julie is cooking at her place. She’s a true artist, and really believes in what she does – the pursuit of her craft is at the forefront of her existence. I’m fortunate to know her.
Lunch today was kind of awkward to me. It’s kind of weird to know all these people yet not live in the same city. I wish I could hang out with some of them more often.On the flight home, I (aisle) talked with my neighbor (window), an Indian. We discussed Kashmir, Dubya and the midterm elections. Then we talked about cricket and the World Cup. I still can’t figure cricket out, but someday I’ll know what a “wicked googly” is.
Class today. A bit uncomfortable for some reason. Listened mostly, not sure if there was anything I could offer today. Didn’t read Malcolm X biography. Read about W.E.B. DuBois in high school, I think. Starting from scratch in this class. That’s a good thing. I’m here to learn, after all.Rally! Organizers say 350,000 – news says tens of thousands, police say 200,000. Barbara Lee, Bonnie Raitt, Martin Sheen. Market St was apparently full from Embarcadero to Civic Center. Can’t wait for the next march. I’ll be in Seattle – hopefully they’ll have something put together.
I almost feel hogtied a bit because I have a foot in the mainstream capitalist world, and one in a behind-the-scenes activist sort of way. It’s difficult because I don’t feel I connect with the protest movement today, yet I’m a part of it, even if in a small way. But I’m not a socialist, an anarchist, a communist. I do believe in the system of government we have. It’s just it needs a bit of fixing, but I don’t believe a complete overhaul, but then my opinion is based on my experience.
I went to an organic dinner in a “painted lady” house. It was probably the first night I’ve ever felt really welcome in San Francisco. I met a lot of wonderful people, and all of the food was organic and locally grown – nothing traveled further than 150 miles to be at the table. We had a bit of booze, all of us, and played Cranium in the living room. My social self can flourish here under the proper circumstances. Maybe these weekend trips to SF are the best way to establish a foothold in the city eventually. Build a community from another city? Why not?
On the Santa Monica freeway today heading out to SF, I witnessed an accident in the lane right to the left of me as I was passing them – a large sedan rear-ended a Ford Excursion, which in turn ran into one of those Ford Explorer or Cadillac Escalade combo pickup/SUVs. No one was hurt, but the vehicles each crunched a bit like tinfoil. A side of me was compelled to watch, and reminded me of the fragile and fleeting feeling of security, and the perpetuating SUV safety myth.