Day 115

My first durian experience was less than wonderful. The smell didn't bother me. The texture, though reminiscent of an omelet, as Madeline put it, was tolerable. But the taste. It had potential, but there was a strong garlicky aftertaste that made me gag. I tried, but I just couldn't do it.

It's been a rough day. With Memorial Day, I had one too many days off in a row. Madeline, of course, still works. I went for a long hike this morning, but I've felt aimless and gloomy all day. The air smells like barbecue, and this is alternately revolting and mouthwatering. I'm not hungry, but neither am I satiated. I feel like I'm not making progress, and instead of persevering, this makes me want to give up.

I know that I'm pmsing. It feels like such a cop-out, but it's like I'm a different person for almost two weeks every month. I lose all my inertia and become so pessimistic about everything. I just looked back in the archives to see the last time I mentioned pms, and it was on April 22nd. So right on time, I suppose. I never did get around to ordering evening primrose oil supplements, but I suppose I should.

I read somewhere that the music your favorite music as a teenager will be your favorite style of music for the rest of your life. I strongly suspect this to be true, since no matter which of my favorite songs or artists I put into Pandora, I seem to come up with the same station. For me, Ani Difranco got me through many of those angsty years, and even now, I always go to her to first. She's so prolific that there's always something that fits my mood. It's like comfort music

These two have been on repeat today:

Present/Infant (full lyrics):

don't let the sellers of stuff power enough
to rob you of your grace
love is all over the place

there's nothing wrong with your face
love is all over the place
there's nothing wrong with your face

Evolve (full lyrics):

and i'm becoming transfixed
with nature and my part in it
which i believe just signifies
i'm finally waking up

So what's your comfort music?

-Eloise

Day 114

Rambutan

Since fruit has become our mainstay around here, I've been wanted to try different varieties beyond the typical apple, orange, banana, grape, peach, strawberry rut we've been stuck in. My local produce market has great prices, but not the best selection. Consequently, I've been hitting up the produce places across the city with mixed success. It's like a treasure hunt. Sometimes I find new and exciting things, other times it's a wash. I have discovered that I do not like papaya. At all.

The other day I came home with two rambutan. They're small, about the size of golf balls, and look like what I used to call "itchy balls" when I was a kid (googling "spiky balls that fall from trees" tells me that officially they're the seeds of sweet gum trees). I had never seen them before, but Madeline recognized them right away as something she'd eaten when she was a kid. She sliced them in half, and we scooped out to meat from around the seed. The taste was very subtle, but the texture was incredible. Like a crisp hardboiled egg. That sounds awful, but it was really good. I would get more if they weren't so expensive.

Today, my plan was to go on a hike and then head over the the art museum. I just recently found out that I get in free with my student ID, and I've been wanted to take advantage of that. Unfortunately when I got to the museum, the line was crazy long, easily 50 people deep before it even went through the front doors. I had a feeling it was either going to be packed or empty considering it's Memorial Day weekend, and clearly it was packed. I'm really not a fan of being in crowded places, so I sat on the steps to people watch and read a book for a while. It was a great vantage point to seeing the whole city in front of me, so I pulled out my camera and accidentally caught the coolest picture:


Right in the middle of the frame is a bird that flew by just as I was taking the shot. Just incredible.

Since I was already downtown, I decided to head over to another produce market that I'd heard about, and finally found my first durian. Madeline will be very happy, because she's tired of hearing me say, "I want to try new fruit. Like durian." I'd read about it in various places, and apparently it's been stuck in my head. So now I have one, and a little blue ribbon that tells me it's "super quality." There's a cartoon pig on the other side. I have no idea. I hung it up in the bathroom near the "personal watermelon" sign I nicked from the grocery store a while back. I have no clue how to eat the damn thing, though. I'll google that, too, I suppose. Google knows everything.

I also picked up a case of yellow mangoes while I was there. They were a little more pricey than I really wanted to spend, but they were ripe and ready to be eaten and looked so good. I had three as soon as I got home.

I do really well throughout the day, but for some reason, at night when I'm falling asleep, I've been getting really strong and vivid cravings for weird cooked foods. Last night it was mayonnaise on a loaf of french bread. I haven't eaten mayo in about four years now, since we went vegan, and I was never a huge fan. It was always just on condiment on my sandwiches. I'm not really sure what it means.

-Eloise