Hmmm

Does it count as a healthy breakfast if the brownie had nuts on top?

^_^

Thinkers Anonymous; a morality play

It started out innocently enough. I began to think at parties now and then -- to loosen up. Inevitably, though, one thought led to another, and soon I was more than just a social thinker. I began to think alone -- "to relax,"  I told myself--- but I knew it wasn't true. Thinking became more and more important to me, and finally I was thinking all the time.

That was when things began to sour at home. One evening I had turned off the TV and asked my wife about the meaning of life. She spent that night at her mother's.

I began to think on the job. I knew that thinking and employment don't mix, but I couldn't stop myself. I began to avoid friends at lunchtime so I could read Thoreau and Kafka. I would return to the office dizzied and confused, asking, "What is it exactly we are doing here?"

One day the boss called me in.

He said, "Listen, I like you, and it hurts me to say this, but your thinking has become a real problem. If you don't stop thinking on the job, you'll have to find another job."

This gave me a lot to think about.

I came home early after my conversation with the boss.  "Honey," I confessed, "I've been thinking...""I know you've been thinking," she said, "and I want a divorce!"

"But Honey, surely it's not that serious."

"It is serious," she said, lower lip aquiver. "You think as much as college professors, and college  professors don't make any money, so if you keep on thinking, we won't have any money!"

"That's a faulty syllogism," I said impatiently. She exploded in tears of rage and frustration, but I was in no mood to deal with the emotional drama.

"I'm going to the library," I snarled as I stomped out the door. I headed for the library, in the mood for some Nietzsche. I roared into the parking lot with NPR on the radio and ran up to the big glass doors... They didn't open. The library was closed. To this day, I believe that a Higher Power was looking out for me that night.

As I sank to the ground, clawing at the unfeeling glass, whimpering for Zarathustra, a poster caught my eye. "Friend, is heavy thinking ruining your life?" it asked. You probably recognize that line. It comes from the standard Thinkers Anonymous poster. Which is why I am what I am today: a recovering thinker. I never miss a TA meeting.

At each meeting we watch a non-educational video; last week it was "Porky's." Then we share experiences about how we avoided thinking since the last meeting. I still have my job, and things are a lot better at home.

Life just seemed... easier, somehow, as soon as I stopped thinking.

I think the road to mindlessness and recovery is nearly complete for  me.

Today, I registered to vote Republican.

Retail Therapy

Big-time retail therapy today.  I did the numbers and I won't be able to afford the iBook quite yet, so I decided to get some clothes and what not first, since those are also necessities (and actually more needed than a new toy computer).

Dragged heardawaawaa out with me to Georgetown.  Got stuff at Lush, at A&F (moose clothes!), Bennetton, etc.  Followed it all up by buying a tres fancy cookbook this evening while out with lioncub and pinkfish, "The Artful Vegan."  I have to say, this is not your basic cookbook, this has some pretty advanced recipes, so I'm looking forward to diving into "Chilled  Avocado, Tomatillo and Cucumber Soup with Saffron-Lime Ice" and "Roasted Beet Lasagnette with Tahini Creme, Tofu Ricotta and Gremolata." :-)  Fun! 

Looked at additional chairs today, hoping to see something I liked.  Found some that were interesting, but nothing that's grabbed my attention like the $3k one I adored at Apartment Zero (which is way, way out of my price range).  Ah well, will keep looking...