Social Workout

Dubious but going for it - my Love Challenge goals

Ok – so I’m a little dubious of this challenge – frankly, unlike most people with crazy, busy lives full of demands from other people, my problem is - I already spend WAY too much time alone both physically and inside my head.  I live alone, am not dating, most of my friends live in other cities and especially now that I don’t even have a job, I pretty much only have myself, my goals, my needs, etc. to think about.   There are weeks the most human contact I have is with the cheese guy at Whole Foods.  The last three months I’ve been trying to formulate a plan for the whole new me – new job, new city, new  body, new outlook on life – it’s exhausting and a little depressing.  Turning 37 didn’t help.  Anyhoo…if anything I need to get out of my own head. 

That said – ok SW  I’m game.  Perhaps having a little focus on this will help sharpen the general aimlessness of my recent soul searching and give this unemployed, plateauing, mid-winter malaise a boost.  Here’ s the plan:

Love Body  - bendy twisty

I wish I could say my goal was to have lots and lots more sex and give hugs all around– but that’s not going to happen – so I’ll have to make due with thai massage.  I just signed up for a session.  I’m not a big fan of regular massage (I know I know) I generally get bored and – although it feels nice- my body feels about the same about an hour later.  I’m hoping this more interactive approach to massage will be yummy.   It’s scheduled for Wednesday.    That is only one hour.  With the other hour (plus) I’m hoping to figure out how to incorporate some of the techniques of that massage into my regular stretching – and actually start stretching for real not just get by on yoga.  I’m thinking a morning sun salutations type activity – I’m going to start with that but I’ll see if I learn any new tricks for the second half of the week at the massage session.

Love Soul – seeing dead people

I wish I could go back to the desert in Morocco.  Watching the sunrise over the dunes last December was as close to calm as I’ve felt in years.  But again – not going to happen.  So here’s plan B.  I’m from a tiny little family – we love each other - but we are small in number, spread out geographically and a generally independent minded bunch.  All that adds up to not feeling very connected to my roots sometimes.   So my goal is this.  It just so happens all my family on my dad’s side since the 1670’s is buried about 30 minutes from here in Mount Laurel New Jersey. (extra odd since my dad and I both grew up in Colorado)  It’s a beautiful little Quaker burial ground – which I also love because I was not raised religious and do not consider myself so, but the Quakers, my ancestors, have a pretty amazing belief system and I’m proud to call them family (we got kicked out when my great great grandfather joined the union army in the civil war – yeah we got kicked out of being Quaker – still we get buried there b/c apparently an ancestor donated the land to the meeting house in 1650 or something…whatever anyway)  It’s a beautiful, calm, quite place with a low stone wall, a 200 year old meeting house and my family – for 300 years – including my much missed grandparents.  Long story to say my goal is to rent a car – go to Mount Laurel – perhaps with my dog depending on the crappy crappy weather - and sit with my family for a few hours.  Quietly. 

Love Mind  -  reading about crossroads – and travel

I’m not really a self-help or non-fiction all-about-people type book reader.   That said, and in the whole trying new things vein,  I’ve been working up to wanting to read Eat, Pray, Love.  I’m afraid I’m going to hate it, but from what “everyone” says it’s a great meditation by a person at a crossroads.  Well – I’m at a crossroads, I eat and I love – maybe I should start praying… I don’t know.  Anyhoo.  I downloaded it to the Kindle last night.  I’m going to start in this week.  On a normal week I could finish a book like that in a day, but I’m really trying to get some studying done so I hope I finish it in the week.  I’ll report back.

Love Belly – battle the beast 

The fun thing to do here would be to do a wine, cheese and chocolate taste test – but that’s not pushing any boundaries.  I recently finished Omnivore’s Dilemma – which everyone should read BTW – and I realized I’m afraid of meat.  I order it out only very occasionally and the once-in-a–blue-moon I do cook it, it’s already totally cleaned chicken breasts – and that’s about it.  I’ve emotionally separated eating meat from the actual animal.  Well, as OD discusses, if I’m going to keep eating meat, I want to cook a meal that is an actual animal – not processed/disguised to the point of being a product. 

To that end:  I’m going to cook a meal this week that respectfully, and thankfully embraces a real – whole (ish) animal.  I don’t know the menu yet because I’m going to go to Whole Foods later in the week to see what inspires me – but it’s going to be an animal product, it’s not going to be so cleaned that it might as well be tofu (yes – there may be bones involved – although I don’t think I’m ready for eyes) Finally, it will have to really stretch my culinary skills.  (since I have no idea how to cook meat this will not be hard).  Hopefully I will find someone to share this meal with but even if I enjoy it myself, I will enjoy it and be thankful to the real animal that sacrificed its life for it.  If I can’t do that, I shouldn’t be eating meat at all.  

well folks - that's the plan.