The Third Antarctic Journeys

Our Ham Is Worth Fighting Over

2010-07-30T07:59:37Z

I’ve been thinking a lot about the iPhone recently. No, I’m not getting an iPhone (that’d be the day!). I’m thinking about the iPhone because it represents some deeper resentment building within me. First, I thought the iPhone would fail miserably, then I thought it would lead its users to physical injury and finally social isolation. Well, I was wrong (at least about the first part).

That brings me to these shoes. I’ve been trying to take up jogging. Part of this is embarrassment about how out of shape I’m in, but most of it is due to Christina’s hardcore 10k training regimen. And if she can run 10k, I can surely run 10k, right? Bah, well, after a few miles my legs are sore and I feel like my Achilles has just been Paris’ed. The culprit? Probably my shoes. Buying shoes was a childhood nightmare because of my bizarre shoe size. My feet are super wide, and when you’re on a budget, you can’t exactly go nuts on the well-fitted shoes. I usually just went to Big 5 and bought some $25 shoe on sale. Usually a size 10 or so, which is too long but barely, barely wide enough.

Well a few days ago, at 5:58 or two minutes before closing time, I wandered into a local running shoe store. Their website offered something called a “gait analysis,” which must be runner’s lingo for “look at that fool and see what the hell is wrong with him.” Because that’s what they did: watched me walk and run awkwardly. I was glad I was in my relatively snug sandals rather than my comically mis-sized Reeboks. I was told that I pronate slightly and collapse my foot-arch when I run, which wasn’t exactly news for someone who has had a lifetime history of ankle injuries. Then I was properly sized. I am nowhere near a 10 normal width, or even a 9 normal width. No, I am an 8.5 EEEE, which is only topped by the F and G widths. They had exactly one comfortable shoe in EEEE, which unfortunately had been mixed with a EE shoebox, meaning some foot kin of mine is hobbling about the streets of Menlo Park with two differently sized shoes.

Why the iPhone comparison? Well, the salesman put in an order for the EEEE freakishly shaped shoe. The shoes themselves are quite comfortable, snug but not constricting (at least the left foot, which was the orphaned EEEE). The shoes also cost $100, which is quite a sum for a graduate student. Part of my consternation is determining if this counts as materialism. Surely yes, as any barefoot monk might tell me. But what about compared to something like an iPhone? I personally detest objects like the iPhone as a representation of excess, but here I find myself sitting in a fancy running store ogling $100 shoes.

I can’t argue with buying something on the basis of function, as many people who have the iPhone use it judiciously. I also can’t argue with buying something on the basis of improved function, at the risk of being a hypocrite. I bought a dSLR to improve my photography skills, and it’d be silly to pretend that pictures like the one at the top of this post would have been easily accomplished with a point-and-shoot. But this seems to me a dangerous, slippery slope. I’m perplexed that to enjoy something so basic and natural as running, I must wrap my feet in this technology-infused hunk of foam.

I’m frustrated by all the crap in my life–and especially piling up on my desk–yet they all seem somehow necessary. Even this external keyboard I’m typing on is a relief compared to hunching over my laptop. I often find myself performing the following thought experiment: walking through my day, stripping away objects from my life until living is unbearable (usually around the point I take away the toilet paper), then replacing things into my life until living is tolerable (usually when the coffee returns). But even in my imagination, these are blurry lines between function and indulgence, necessity and materialism, comfort and complacency.

Curated

2010-07-28T17:50:26Z

Burns, twice.

Roomception

2010-07-27T05:48:31Z

I saw Inception last week with a bunch of friends. Consensus opinion was that it was a solid “good.” I think it made me think; that is, it wasn’t the sort of action movie where you can just sit back and be absorbed in wave after wave of mechanical noises and CGI. If you care about the plot, you must actively keep track of various elements and rules, which is surprising given my estimation of the average American moviegoers patience (=low). However, for all this movie’s cleverness (it makes Memento look like a film school project), it is utterly unmoving. The acting performance are just frigid, except for Leonardo DiCaprio. He’s given some terrible lines and can only do his “furrowed scowl” face while hissing urgently. Everyone else, Ellen Page included, acts like they just had a wet towel wrung over them. Still, it’s more thoughtful and interesting than most summer blockbusters. Plus, there’s one fight scene that has to seen in theaters, and, as a bonus, it doesn’t make you as nauseous as District 9!

Dumplinganger

2010-07-26T03:51:02Z

Yesterday, I went to Brian and Emilee’s house where Brian and I transformed 6.2 pounds of pork, veggies, and wrappers into almost 300 dumplings. It took a lot of willpower to avoid boiling and frying them all on the spot. But that didn’t stop us from boiling and frying a lot of them on the spot. Work, meet reward.

The 400 Richest

2010-07-24T09:10:31Z

‘wichcraft

2010-07-21T18:31:30Z

Apologies for the long absence! My computer had a nasty Trojan which cleverly infected our wireless router too, requiring a thorough scraping. Hopefully I’ll be back to regular updates from now on.

Five Flavors Frozen

2010-07-16T06:14:16Z

If there’s any skill I possess, it’s proselytizing people about TV shows.

I’ve been watching Avatar: The Last Airbender compulsively. It’s troubling, really, given how much other good stuff there is out there that this has affected me so much. Part of it is the brightness of the show– as a kid’s show it is required to remain optimistic, relatively non-violent, yet exciting. But at the same time the show is dark and disturbing. I love the characters, which are multi-faceted. The closest comparison, I think, is Battlestar Galactica. I’ll wait until you stop giggling. But I probably teared up more for Avatar than BSG.

How did Nickelodeon pull this off? Partly I think because it’s a kid’s fantasy show, the series was allowed license to discuss themes otherwise off limits (genocide, destructiveness of war, sexism, resurrection, natural destruction). Cloaked in the guise of a children’s television show is an incredibly depressing premise: the savior of humanity, a young child, wakes up after 100 years. His entire race has been obliterated in a genocidal and near-Biblical attempt to prevent his ascension. Now he must balance his Buddhist upbringing with the knowledge that he must take life en route to saving the world. Seriously, his entire people are the victim of a genocidal war. The creators must have had one incredible sell for Nickelodeon. “Boy we’ve got a show for you! It begins with the genocidal destruction of a peaceful race…”

All three seasons (books) of the show are on Netflix Instant. If you don’t believe me (and it’s a hard sell, I realize), go and watch the first season. Just stick with it for one season. It, like Mad Men or BSG, will reward you in the long run. And, at 22 minutes per episode, the story arc breezes along. For a Peabody-winning show, Avatar: The Last Airbender has had way too much abuse heaped upon it (thanks M. Night, jerk). But the crappiness of the theatrical adaptation may open up the original series for a reinvestigation.

Giggle To Yourselves

2010-07-15T03:06:23Z

I think that if I were from a different country, and didn’t speak English but visited Starbucks, I would think that “Pike Place Roast” was English for “disastrously bad coffee.” Yes, that’s right, this blog is back.

Unscripted Expletive

2010-07-15T02:54:21Z

Sorry, having some technical difficulties with the Flickr integration. Be back soon…

Rhône

2010-07-12T07:09:32Z

We just completely watched Avatar: The Last Airbender. Yes, the Nickelodeon cartoon version, not the M. Night Travesty. And yes, I’d have to say it’s in the top five TV shows I’ve ever seen.

The State Of Marriage

2010-07-09T00:40:30Z

This was me, or at least my feet, right after we got our marriage certificate. Did I mention that the marriage license office is next to the office for mental health and mental retardation?

The Shell Tribe

2010-07-07T09:04:39Z

My dreams have been really disturbing as of late. Maybe I’m not having enough fiber?

The Candlemaker’s Secrets

2010-07-06T08:20:40Z

Today was July 5th, and the Department was nearly empty. I sat alone in the lounge and got more done than I have in weeks. If only there weren’t so many tourists…

Yip Yip!

2010-07-04T08:28:02Z

You Could Be A Log Woman Too!

2010-07-02T22:53:06Z

Is the dwarf that rode Kirk like a pony in TOS the same dwarf as the one in the Red Room from Twin Peaks? If so, then you should start a blog. Yes you. All the cool kids are doing it. A camel told me so.

The Outbound Strand

2010-07-01T07:51:34Z

Who Could Flask For More?

2010-06-29T07:08:58Z

Today at the Stanford bike shop I was trying a new compact mirror for my glasses. I couldn’t figure out how to get them to work properly, so the guy (kid really) behind the sales counter offered to try. He promptly snapped and broke my sunglasses. He offered to glue it back together, which didn’t really work, so I duct-taped it, bought my mirror, and very bitterly left.

Tomorrow, the course of action I should take is: ______________________________________.

Going, Going, Ghana

2010-06-27T00:34:41Z

Bottom picture is Shipwrecks Beach on Kauai. Top picture? It’s a sink full of biodegradable foam. Many of the gifts we received came stuffed to the gills with this potato/corn starch derived packing peanut mix. It smells vaguely like stale potato chips. To dispose, we were advised to wet it and put it down the sink. The whole process was smelly and disturbing, but better than shredding reams of paper or plastic, I suppose.

Indian Spring

2010-06-25T02:39:55Z

I recently won a give-away sponsored by Curbly and UPrinting involving a large canvas. While rooting around for appropriate pictures, I found a whole set of pictures I took in D.C. before our wedding. I had completely forgotten about this time, possibly because the stress of that time completely sandblasted any concrete memories I had.

I found that these pictures seem to reflect more calm than what I remember. On the other hand, they have a sadness that was absent in my memories as well. At this point, I don’t know what to trust–the pictures or the fractured memories.

Green Vomit Casual

2010-06-24T06:50:35Z

Okay, now tomatoes are 77c/lb at Safeway. That by itself may rescue this dismal week.

Lumens In Adulthood

2010-06-23T07:08:17Z

I think maybe I should start over. I can’t even begin to catalog the enormity of my failure at this processed food thing.

Flower Mound

2010-06-21T04:43:00Z

Travel post from Frisco, TX today, where the high was in triple digits and the low is still uncomfortable. And how is the processed food effort going? Unclear, at this point. Yesterday on the plane I scarfed about 90 pounds of really bad smoked almonds (thanks Safeway) and some not-so-bad cashews (thanks Safeway). The smoked almonds? Probably processed. Not good. But somehow, the smoked almonds were cheaper than the other kinds of almonds (bad sign, in retrospect). I also had some salt & vinegar chips (bad bad bad) and 3-bean salad (I don’t know if I’d call this “processed” so much as “soaked in oil”).

Still, in sum, I’m doing better than I was. I’ve avoided packaged food deliberately, and desperation and poor planning remain the biggest obstacles. Mariana helpfully brought me back an All-Clad stainless steel saute pan (heavenly) which I will put to good use very soon. With that and the lack of travel pressure, I hope to stay on track. We’ll see how it goes.

Meanwhile, I’ll cower behind the air conditioner and be reminded about how my body’s thermoregulatory abilities only appear to function in one direction.

Swinburned

2010-06-19T09:53:41Z

Day 1. A whole lot of fail. Today, for breakfast, I found a small whole-grain roll on my desk, left over from something I’m sure. I ate it with a pat of butter. It was delicious, but probably processed. Fail #1. Because the construction folks were there spraying fire-proofing or whatnot, I left to go home in peace and quiet. That rescued lunch, which turned into 3 fried eggs and a bowl of green-bean bacon (very delicious). I cheated a little, though, and had some crispy onion / hot chili oil on top of the eggs. Fail #2. I avoided most temptations during the day while I worked, but when Christina dropped me off at Phil’s, I realized I had no cash. That led to a solid half an hour of hungry wandering. All the places I knew that served “less” processed food were closed (Menlo Cafe), semi-burnt down (Main St. Bagel), or out of my price range/dress code (Left Bank). That left two options: Su Hong and Uno Mas! I chose Su Hong, but after seeing some of the food coming out of the to-go facade, I turned around and went to Uno Mas! (after passing a homeless man nibbling on a box of crackers). There I got some tacos, rice, and beans, with semi-fresh salsa and fixings. My guess is that the tortillas on the tacos were not homemade. Fail #3. Then, after eating that, I had such a sugar craving that I walked to Trader Joe’s and, in a moment of weakness, bought a box of strawberry mochi. Then, in a moment of strength, I got home and just put it in the fridge. Then, in a moment of silliness, I ate some random cake-like thing our neighbor had given us. Processed? Well, it contained Heath bars. Fail #4.

Fail #5 came at 1:40AM when I was sitting in the cell phone waiting area of SFO to pick up Jamie, whose flight was very very very late. I was tired, having downed the lukewarm remainder of my morning joe. So, in a moment of desperation, I fished through my pockets for exactly $1.50 of change and bought a Diet Iced Tea to stay awake. Out of misery I refused to read the labels.

Lessons of the day? The first, and biggest, is that lack of preparation is the enemy. During all my failures I got caught off guard by the presentation of easy (and processed) food. Had I prepared food ahead of time, or had time to prepare food (both of which happened at lunch), I would have been far less tempted. But wandering downtown Menlo Park like a starving college student led to thoughts of “me eat food quick now” rather than thinking of how many ingredients there were. Tomorrow, hopefully, will be less filled with fail.

Also, tomorrow I will tell you about the comically bad infomercial I saw at Uno Mas! And I’m not shouting, it’s just the name of the place comes with an exclamation mark.

Benthin

2010-06-17T23:40:16Z

I’m bored. Not that I’m not busy, because I feel like I’m being ground to a fine graduate student pulp which can then be recycled into another graduate student. No, I feel like I need a challenge, old-school 2weeker style. I’ve given up on cold showering (although that will make a return in the summer when it’s less of a hazard), but I’ve put in bits and pieces of previous 2weekers.

This current one will be about my tubby. I’ve gained a wee bit o’ weight since this time two months ago. A lot of that is haphazard eating before, during, and after the wedding. A lot of it also is inactivity–I cycled not-at-all in DC, and I haven’t really been doing much running or sports since softball season ended a month ago. The only exercise I’ve been getting is my daily bike ride and some random lifting of boxes or such. That and my constant standing. But all this will improve. The other aspect, the eating aspect, is something I can work on right now. I feel like I must justify my knife purchase by cooking a lot (Christina will nod here), and I have been, but I’ve been supplementing my home cooking with disastrous snack food from work or from friend gatherings, etc.

So I propose for my next 2weeker to not eat processed foods. I feel like the food I make, even it contains butter and a lot of salt, is healthier than that random bag of radioactive cheetos that I had last night, or the animal cookies for dinner the night before, etc. So here are the rules:

No processed foods. So nothing that comes in a bag or a package, pre-wrapped, pre-mixed, pre- whatever. Coloring, additives, preservatives, all out the window! The only processing that I’ll allow is processing that I do myself (or that Christina does).

Exceptions: foods that are otherwise difficult to obtain or unfeasible to make myself. This includes things that require processing that I cannot hope to practically do with my current time/equipment limitations (press my own olive oil, make my own salt, roast my own coffee). Examples might include butter, olive/canola oil, coffee, tea, flour, etc. I’m also excluding meat, because I don’t have time to go all Michael Pollan on some boar right now. If it seems like a lot of stuff is in the exclusions, it’s probably true. However, there are some things that don’t make the cut that will probably help me in my health:

1) Soda. I have my own water carbonater now, but I still pick up the odd soda from Departmental events. Yesterday I had two “Juice Squeeze” things that had 43g of sugar each. Today I had an orange soda that had some oil byproduct. Not good. This category of hope also includes, sadly, beer. I will exclude beer that I steal from Brian, though, since he did that processing.

2) Carbs. Yeah, goodbye to non-homemade cookies, breads, crackers, chips, crunches, tortillas, fries, rounds, or wraps. I don’t typically care enough to make my own crackers or chips (although I have a weird microwave insert that makes a decent potato chip). I’ll eat bread Christina whips up in the bread-maker, but other than that, I’ll have to rely on brown rice, couscous, and quinoa. I will miss those grape nuts in the morning… there may have to be a transition period.

3) Junk food. Those little almonds with sea salt and turbinado sugar? Out. Chocolate? Out. Ice cream, smoothies, mochi? All out. This will hopefully leave me with fruit and veggies to replace the snacks. Also out is salad dressing (I’ll have to make my own). Also out is pre-assembled salad. That’s nice and all, but I think I can quite possibly chop my own lettuce, no?

This sounds great, but I’ll update you tomorrow on how the effort is going. My guess for tomorrow? “Poorly.”

Malplaquet Drum

2010-06-17T07:10:13Z

Moonlight over Shipwreck Beach; the Na Pali coast.