I've been listening to this Neil Diamond channel on the satellite radio, and I've learned a couple of semi-paradoxical things: 1) In reasonable doses, I like Neil Diamond more than I'd think I would. 2) Neil Diamond has some of the worst lyrics in the history of popular music. "Turn on your heart light"? C'mon.
Regarding becoming older, I too agree 31 looms rather larger than 30, possibly because it's no longer something anyone else really seems to care about? But now you're not even 'leaving your twenties' or any crap like that... just - getting greyer, older, weaker, etc.. - Adamn
Exactly. And I pee a lot more now. Is that right? OK, so here's where I am with "Things to do before I turn 31": Low on time and trying to be frugal, my opportunities for adventure are somewhat limited at the moment. Here are the ideas I've gotten, some of which will need to be tabled, and possibly added to a "Things to do before I turn 31.5" list:
-absurdist 'experimental travel'
-rock climbing
-eat something you've always assumed you wouldn't like
-dye your hair
-get a tattoo
-take a dance class
-throw a prom party
-throw a cross-dressing potluck
-go swimming in the lake
-watch "God Grew Tired of Us."
OK, so: I have selected experimental travel, and also eating something I've assumed that I wouldn't like. They're going to be warm-up tasks...I'll do this again soon and get more adventurous. First, I shall make a good faith effort at eating beets. They look like they're bleeding and that gives me the holy flying skeeves, but I'm going to give it a whirl. If that doesn't sound very daring, you're obviously not paying much attention to the thorough nastiness that is the beet. But my mind is open. As for the travel bit, I'm a little tied up on methodology. In ye olden days, Shan and I would hop on the highway and find a random exit somewhere. Given upstate New York, there was usually a truck stop involved. That might involve too much decision-making, though. None of the atlases seem to have the proper scale...best figure it out quick, like.
I also found myself at a stable this week cleaning various horse accoutrements. It was a semi-required volunteer thing, but I'm counting it.
Plain beets are gross!
Here's a yummy beet recipe:
4 small - medium sized beets
1 medium sized shallot (can do without this if you don't have or want shallots)
balsamic vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
1-2 cloves garlic (depends on how much you love garlic)
Cut greens off beets if they're still attached.
Cover beets with water and boil partially covered for 40 minutes.
Let cool a bit.
Peel off skin and chop off tops.
Roughly chop the beets in smallish pieces.
Slice the shallots thinly.
Put beets and shallots in a glass bowl (will stain plastic).
Pour equal parts olive oil and balsamic vinegar over them. I'm not sure how much of each I use, but it's probably between 1/8 and 1/4 cup.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Crush garlic and add about 1 hour before you eat the beets. You can also add the garlic right when you make them, but if you wait a day or two to eat them, the flavor will just be a bit strong. I personally love it that way, though.
Mix it all up.
Serve cold.
Yum!!
Posted by: Hannah | Saturday, May 10, 2008 at 07:09 PM
Dawn came back from Germany about 1 1/2 years ago talking about beets and gluweihn (I have no idea if that's how you spell it). Red beets / beetroot is nasty - try to find the white/yellow variety and chop it up in a salad. This doesn't appear to bleed. Gluweihn is hot strong mulled alcoholic wine drunk by odd Swiss and German people in the winter-time, and is much more acceptable.. but oddly sticky, too.
For the experimental travel bit, I continued looking and was intrigued by the Ariadne's thread concept.. on a variant of that, here's Adam's 5 nature places he liked to visit when he lived in Rochester (bet you didn't know I used to wander off to nature places frequently, did you?) Plus the relative merits of each.. in no particular order
1) Mendon ponds park - bring some birdseed, walk on the nature trails, and stand still with the food in your hand - birds will come land and eat the food from your hand (I've never seen this anywhere else)
2) Washington Grove park - somehow you feel in the middle of a vast wilderness in the middle of downtown rochester?
3) Maplewood Park / Lower Falls - the park is semi-boring (but lots of rose bushes) - but take the trail to lower falls past the 'warning! flood water approaching if alarm sounds!' sign - you can get right next to the falls - very impressive
4) Bay Creek Paddling Center - rent a kayak (this is the only one that costs money) and paddle for miles into Irondequoit Creek - get completely lost then try to get back..
5) Chimney Bluffs at Sodus Bay - not really Rochester (about 1 1/2 hour drive) but well worth it - weird, Dover-like 200-foot sand skyscrapers you can try and climb (until someone yells at you) or just walk next too - Alyse first told me about these, incidentally. Huge tracts of land.
Posted by: Adamn | Sunday, May 11, 2008 at 01:35 PM
put beets on your hamburger. mmmm delicious!
Posted by: monkeydrew | Monday, May 12, 2008 at 06:45 PM
I so didn't remember doing that! But yes, many evening trips on random exits. I seem to remember a tradition of buying hot dogs at the truck stops.
Good times:)
Good luck with beets. I think they look scary too. And I remember going on a weird diet in college that involved eating beets and the promise of losing 10 pounds in a week. Yes I was that niave. But anyway- I couldn't do it! I thought beets were pretty gag worthy. I ended up plugging my nose and gulping them down, because letting scary magenta slime touch my mouth just isn't my thing.
I wish you luck though;)
Posted by: shan | Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at 07:57 PM