Politics and Food: All You Need, and a Little Cleaning

I honestly think the stock market was completely self-destructing last week because, in an age where media is omnipresent and talking points ubiquitous across all of it, never has a national leader's silence and invisibility been so deafening and hard-to-ignore as President Bush's.

From Washington: Nothing.

On Friday, from Chicago: The promise of the new direction thundered. The leak of Geithner being tapped for Secretary Treasury caused one of the top five market gains in history. If that doesn't say they were waiting for something, anything, in the form of direction, nothing does.

Add to that the incredible smarts behind appointing the guy who the NYT called the one person responsible thus far for keeping this cratering economy from becoming a new Great Depression, and I think things might start stabilizing a bit more. That he's LIVED in five countries that are huge players in today's economy, well, we'll have the first economic leader with a truly international perspective... coupled with, ironically, the first leader with a truly international perspective. In the age of globalisation? Priceless.

Back to the week that was. When the market's responding to genuine reports, that's one thing, but when it's on a roller-coaster emotional ride that ought to be sponsored by Pepto Bismol, there's a need for real direction from the top down. The market's like a sick child sometimes. Sure, medicine helps, but often the thing that really makes the difference is the comforting presence of a watchful parent. However you define Bush, "watchful" certainly doesn't make the cut.

I'm reading Obama's Audacity of Hope after all this time, and I'm getting increasingly hopeful about the years ahead. I'm under no illusions everything's going to sproing back to health in six months. I think it's going to take the entire first term to really get anywhere, despite APEC's probably naive assessment that this recession can be overcome in 18 months.

But I think Americans have gotten a very, very real glimpse of how bad it can get, how fast. I think they're mature enough to understand that it doesn't heal overnight. I'm hopeful about their patience. I think so long as the bleeding stops in the next 6-8 months, and some --ANY-- healing then starts, that they'll be willing to wait it out. It's the "able" to do so that concerns me.

***

I'm cleaning today. Have to return my piece-of-shit phone to the store. Actually, the phone's awesome. I think Telus lacks the ability to support DECT6.0 technology, and they're too big of wankers to admit it. Two DECT6.0 phones failing back to back? Same problems? Hmm. Methinks not the technology. Methinks it's the '90s wiring that can't keep up with new millenium technology.

Telus Fails.

I also plan to do ridiculously tasty things to pork for more meals to get me through my week. I'll need to cycle to the store to return my phone. It's a nice short ride. I think I'll keep it easy and manageable a bit before I start pushing it. My back injury, the scope of the immobility I suffered, well... it leaves me very, very cautious and nervous. Until it's 100%, I'm going to be scared. And even then I suspect The Fear will linger. Never has any injury so impacted my life from top down as the back injury. Knee? Fucking child's play in comparison. Head injury, well, that's a different matter. Still.

The fallout of my back problems continues. I've been suffering infection after infection of late, mostly of the candida variety, and I think it's entirely diet-related. The back woes made it impossible for me to eat as well as anyone should. I was constantly eating crap for the sake of ease, all processed. It's gutted me. I'm so fucked up from all the white flour and crap I've been eating. I'm tired, I'm blah.

I've lost FIFTY POUNDS this year. From being healthy! From living well! To have gone completely 180 for six weeks just killed me, but I've never had anything so glaringly affirm for me all the ways in which I've gone wrong. I know now how destructive diet can be, I've seen the bookending spectrum of what food does from the inside out, and I have learned from the errors of my way.

But I've been working hard to eat well for a few days now. No white flour, more seafood, more veggies. No butter.

I'm getting militant on the food thing. I'm pissed off, angry as fuck I've been reduced to feeling this crappy for this long, and I know -- I KNOW -- it's in my power to change; I just haven't done it.

Ironically, it was this time last year I gained the initial motivation to change myself. That worked out well. Now I have a new motivation to stop feeling like shit. This, too, will work out well. If there's anything I've gained in the last year, it's the awareness that I really do have license to kick ass and take names... if I really aim for that.

I made a fantastic ragout last night, for instance, and instead of just doing the onions-peppers mix I always do, I added carrots and zucchini and other stuff. Very hearty but more healthy. I had it with a brown-rice pasta I found at one of the better veggie stands, and it's pretty damned good. Nothing like the handmade Italian pasta I so love, but it's comparable to your standard Grocery Store durum/semolina pasta like Catelli, but it's got no flour or egg or anything like that. Brown rice, bran, water. Very, very healthy. Filling, too! I've had brown rice pasta before, and it's always sucked. Tinkyada's "Pasta Joy" brand, though, is a win. (Canadian, so good luck with that, Americans.)

Tonight it's a Mexican pork casserole with lots of tomatoes, veggies, quinoa, seasonings, and pork. Fat? Not so much. It'll be great. Had it a couple months or so ago and it's easily one of the nicest casseroles I've made in a long time. That it's healthy? Total score. Uberfilling? Ultrascore! (Original recipe called for white rice, but I use quinoa 'cos it's such a healthy option and tastes the same but nuttier. :)

It seems like I'm never gonna get fucking caught up after the whole back-injury bullshit, but I'm slowly getting there. Finally winning the war against cockroaches, for instance. Haven't seen any for about three days. GREAT news. Slow but sure. I've been totally sterilizing twice a day. Working very nicely. And my floor's cleaner than it's probably been in 20 years. Looks incredible. Bleaching has done wonders.

I hate all the chemicals, but I hate the bugs more. As soon as it's all in check, then I go to biodegradable products, which always did the trick before FUCKHEAD moved in with his bug collection. Jesus. :P

Anyhow, back to the fun of cleaning. At least I can now get caught up on cleaning whilst making good food each weekend day so I'll get to live healthier after work all week long. So, yeah, some progress... still slow. But progress. :)

[And... when I succeed with the total-diet-makeover? All this grief, suffering, and discomfort will have been worth it. It's the achievement of a lifelong desire. I've never had this level of motivation before. THIS, well, you can't manufacture or call to being this kind of motivation. It needs to become imposed upon you through happenstance and consequence. It's reactionary change called into being through necessity. Kind of like the vote for change in America. The situation required it, and the people responded. Fun.]