I noticed the other day that not everyone counts Weaner Pigs as a real "Baha'i Blog." This could be a valid point of view. There's just too much real life in it.
My intention is usually to use this at least partially as a forum for discussing the principles of the Baha'i Faith. However, doing this requires a fresh mind and a positive outlook, both of which I find in short supply due to the long hours I work and the overwhelming challenges I face there. So, even when I have time to make an entry, usually what ends up there is whatever is on my mind; typically, real life.
Just a parting shot before I fly to Schaumburg, Illinois for the Friends of Persian Culture Conference and meet some new friends there.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Traveling
We're just on the cusp of leaving for Chicago area for the Friends of Persian Culture Conference. I'm going to try to pack just one bag [my leather backpack] for carry on luggage.* Enayat is planning to take his santur, which is still out of tune. He has a hard time cutting himself loose from his obligations at home and leaving on time, especially at the first of the month. I've been occupying myself with sewing, thinking that if I wear gauze fabrics they will take up less room. We'll see. I also made a pancho with heavy duty outdoor [rain] fabric, which isn't very long, but folds up very small. They are anticipating hot but rainy weather.
*I really feel the phrase, "Carry on luggage" deserves a cartoon with a vulture boarding a plane with some sort of roadkill.
I'm trying to learn to say "I don't speak one word of Farsi" in Farsi.
It's a joke.
*I really feel the phrase, "Carry on luggage" deserves a cartoon with a vulture boarding a plane with some sort of roadkill.
I'm trying to learn to say "I don't speak one word of Farsi" in Farsi.
It's a joke.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Salad In a Bag
I've discovered another route to portable, durable nutrition besides soup. It's a challenge when I don't cook with meat, and try to avoid dairy products, to come up with filling sandwiches.
The whole idea is this: prepare the salad ahead of time with firmer, less wet ingredients. Add the wetter and softer ingredients the day you take the salad to work or wherever. So I've been making a lot of salads with chopped cabbage as the base. Other firmer vegetables which can be added include carrots, peppers, usually raw sunflower seeds, sliced almonds, corn cut from the raw cob, onions [always] and cooked [canned] beans for protein. I chop up these and place in a gallon-sized freezer bag. Then before I go, I take a sandwich bag and mostly fill with the prepared ingredients, then cut up the other ingredients and add, with dressing of choice, just to the sandwich bag. The freezer bag stays very fresh for several days. The perishable ingredients can include tomatoes, cucumbers, avocados, and even fruit such as grapes or diced melons.
The other option I discovered was to add leftover rice and lentils to the short-term salad for a change and extra protein.
Bag Salad
Durable Ingredients: [place into a one gallon ziploc bag.]
one fourth green or red cabbage, chopped or grated
two carrots, chopped or grated
one bell pepper, chopped
kernals from one ear of corn
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup sliced raw almonds
one can beans such as kidney or black beans, rinsed
one yellow onion, diced
Perishable Ingredients: [Add to one cup of above, in a sandwich bag.]
one tomato, cut into wedges
one fourth cucumber, diced
&/or one avocado, cut up
&/or cut up melon, apple, or grapes
olives
&/or pickled beets or jalapenos
Scoop about a cup of durable ingredients into a sandwich bag. Add perishable ingredients and some dressing of choice. Off you go to work, not even late. Eat the salad with a spoon or fork right out of the bag. If you feel ecological, rinse out and reuse the bag.
The whole idea is this: prepare the salad ahead of time with firmer, less wet ingredients. Add the wetter and softer ingredients the day you take the salad to work or wherever. So I've been making a lot of salads with chopped cabbage as the base. Other firmer vegetables which can be added include carrots, peppers, usually raw sunflower seeds, sliced almonds, corn cut from the raw cob, onions [always] and cooked [canned] beans for protein. I chop up these and place in a gallon-sized freezer bag. Then before I go, I take a sandwich bag and mostly fill with the prepared ingredients, then cut up the other ingredients and add, with dressing of choice, just to the sandwich bag. The freezer bag stays very fresh for several days. The perishable ingredients can include tomatoes, cucumbers, avocados, and even fruit such as grapes or diced melons.
The other option I discovered was to add leftover rice and lentils to the short-term salad for a change and extra protein.
Bag Salad
Durable Ingredients: [place into a one gallon ziploc bag.]
one fourth green or red cabbage, chopped or grated
two carrots, chopped or grated
one bell pepper, chopped
kernals from one ear of corn
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup sliced raw almonds
one can beans such as kidney or black beans, rinsed
one yellow onion, diced
Perishable Ingredients: [Add to one cup of above, in a sandwich bag.]
one tomato, cut into wedges
one fourth cucumber, diced
&/or one avocado, cut up
&/or cut up melon, apple, or grapes
olives
&/or pickled beets or jalapenos
Scoop about a cup of durable ingredients into a sandwich bag. Add perishable ingredients and some dressing of choice. Off you go to work, not even late. Eat the salad with a spoon or fork right out of the bag. If you feel ecological, rinse out and reuse the bag.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Dissolving Into Work
I'm dissolving into my work. I just try to do whatever I do with joy. I lost so much sleep in the last week, when I had a day off today it's taken all day to swim up from the depths. I have a lot of regrets about some of my nursing work; honest errors, or times when just one of me and a few hours were not enough. I'm not buying into the self-loathing quite so much about it. Although I have not had time to formally recite prayers from the prayer book, I'm entirely relying on God. I'm trusting that I'm being put wherever I'm wanted, and that when it's time to move on I'll be put somewhere else. That helps relieve some of my fears.
I'm looking into the astonishing concept that I'm the sole authentic judge of my own behavior. It hasn't sunk in yet.
We accomplished a lot. Monday we had four admissions between 2:30 and 6:30, and the amazing teamwork we developed between the other charge nurse and myself made it doable and bearable. In the morning yesterday I had to face the music and be accountable to one of the nurse practitioners for not phoning their group to confirm orders [I faxed, instead, which for another doctor is completely satisfactory. He trusts us.] It's tempting to say, Ok, next time I'll phone really late . . . which would be childish but satisfying.
I'm reading [very slowly] a book about joy. One of the main threads is to approach and embrace uncomfortable feelings and encounters, rather than avoiding them. I find myself sort of "witnessing" my feelings. "Oh, anxiety. Hello. Where am I feeling that? What does it feel like?" Which provides relief and gets me through it, rather than shoving it into the feeling closet to emerge later on, or never.
I have to say, even that encounter with the ARNP did not take away from my heroic feeling from accomplishing what I did the night before. And last night I was able to meaningfully connect with the POA for a 54 year old man with mets to the brain, looking for some actual care and compassion after his hospital stay. She was, of course, completely fried from their journey from the hospital out of town, and the whole transition, but when she heard I was working twelve hour days she burst into laughter. I guess she realized she wasn't the only one feeling fried.
Two days off are not enough.
I'm looking into the astonishing concept that I'm the sole authentic judge of my own behavior. It hasn't sunk in yet.
We accomplished a lot. Monday we had four admissions between 2:30 and 6:30, and the amazing teamwork we developed between the other charge nurse and myself made it doable and bearable. In the morning yesterday I had to face the music and be accountable to one of the nurse practitioners for not phoning their group to confirm orders [I faxed, instead, which for another doctor is completely satisfactory. He trusts us.] It's tempting to say, Ok, next time I'll phone really late . . . which would be childish but satisfying.
I'm reading [very slowly] a book about joy. One of the main threads is to approach and embrace uncomfortable feelings and encounters, rather than avoiding them. I find myself sort of "witnessing" my feelings. "Oh, anxiety. Hello. Where am I feeling that? What does it feel like?" Which provides relief and gets me through it, rather than shoving it into the feeling closet to emerge later on, or never.
I have to say, even that encounter with the ARNP did not take away from my heroic feeling from accomplishing what I did the night before. And last night I was able to meaningfully connect with the POA for a 54 year old man with mets to the brain, looking for some actual care and compassion after his hospital stay. She was, of course, completely fried from their journey from the hospital out of town, and the whole transition, but when she heard I was working twelve hour days she burst into laughter. I guess she realized she wasn't the only one feeling fried.
Two days off are not enough.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Up From the Bog
Laugh out loud: www.Engrish.com. Posted recently: "No swimming if you can't swim." Sign on a cash register in China: "I really don't know how to apologize to you. Please move on to another cash register." On a menu: "Sizzling noodles of you," and other even better entrees which escape me now.
My first day off after three grueling days of work, I swim up from the bog of extreme fatigue, headache, and general nothingness of ambition [Engrish is getting to me] always wondering what I need to do to recover and spend the most refreshing and useful [to me] two days off that I can. I've been catching up with Baha'i Views to realize the Yaran have been sentenced to twenty years in some other prison . . . I half expected them to be executed. Perhaps world opinion is making some dim impression on the administration in Iran. It's horrible. I hope they have beds.
I spent quite a few minutes reading the message posts on the CNN blog about religious rights. What hatred, what close-mindedness, what innocence about what's really happening in the world. People fascinate me, even the passionately ignorant. I'm interested in how people's minds work. How did they get to where they are?
Trip planning. Trying to decide whether to drive to the airport and pay enormous parking fees on our upcoming trip, or to use one of the shuttles which are never quite as convenient as one thinks. Looking forward to the Friends of Persian Culture Conference in Schaumburg [Chicago] Illinois over Labor Day Weekend. AKA All Farsi All the Time. As Mahnaz put it the other day, "Oh, you poor baby!"
I don't mind standing around in a forest of Farsi speakers. What I mind is making small talk and having to smile too much. Please, just let me disappear.
What I'm looking forward to is music!
My first day off after three grueling days of work, I swim up from the bog of extreme fatigue, headache, and general nothingness of ambition [Engrish is getting to me] always wondering what I need to do to recover and spend the most refreshing and useful [to me] two days off that I can. I've been catching up with Baha'i Views to realize the Yaran have been sentenced to twenty years in some other prison . . . I half expected them to be executed. Perhaps world opinion is making some dim impression on the administration in Iran. It's horrible. I hope they have beds.
I spent quite a few minutes reading the message posts on the CNN blog about religious rights. What hatred, what close-mindedness, what innocence about what's really happening in the world. People fascinate me, even the passionately ignorant. I'm interested in how people's minds work. How did they get to where they are?
Trip planning. Trying to decide whether to drive to the airport and pay enormous parking fees on our upcoming trip, or to use one of the shuttles which are never quite as convenient as one thinks. Looking forward to the Friends of Persian Culture Conference in Schaumburg [Chicago] Illinois over Labor Day Weekend. AKA All Farsi All the Time. As Mahnaz put it the other day, "Oh, you poor baby!"
I don't mind standing around in a forest of Farsi speakers. What I mind is making small talk and having to smile too much. Please, just let me disappear.
What I'm looking forward to is music!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Ammonites, Part 2
I became obsessed with making a messenger [flat profile] purse with the outline of a spiral, i.e. ammonites shape. I argued with myself over the next couple of weeks about what material to use, whether to try to reproduce the interior sections of the fossil ammonites on the outer surface of the purse as a decoration, and how to do that, and how that would or wouldn't fit with pockets, and so forth. I haven't come to any conclusions yet. It sounds like a lot of work. But so is hauling around my purse.
Meanwhile I became obsessed with this fossil. I wasn't sure I remembered the name. I was thinking, "ammonite," but then that sounded a lot like a religious group. No, that is Mennonite. I started thinking of all the things that could be called "ammonites" and thus the source of the recent, rather silly, series. Also, I found that it says something about the principle of independent investigation of truth. People will believe anything, although nothing of what I said in my posts was meant to be believable.
The reason I love ammonites was that a good friend of my husband, a Seventh Day Adventist, [the friend, not my husband], told a bald-faced lie last year. With a straight face he mentioned that the earth is only six thousand years old. The next time I was at the Gem Faire, I bought up a bunch of beautiful ammonite and other fossils, which were reputed to be three million years old. Take that, Mr. Bible Believer. Plus, they occur in that magical spiral shape.
According to Wikipedia, not Pikiwedia, ammonites are an extinct group of marine cephalopods, related to octopi, squids and cuttlefish. Their name came from their spiral shape, as the fossilized shells were thought to resemble the horns of a ram [not a goat. Oops.] There is an Egyptian god named Ammon who was depicted wearing ram's horns, for which Pliny the Elder named this fossil. The soft body of the creature occupied the largest segments of the shell at the end of the coil. The smaller, earlier segments were walled off and the animal could fill these with gas [from what source is not mentioned] and thus maintain its buoyancy.
The above paragraph is a blatant ripoff from an article in Wikipedia, with some words rearranged to suit me. Thank God for fourth grade.
Meanwhile I became obsessed with this fossil. I wasn't sure I remembered the name. I was thinking, "ammonite," but then that sounded a lot like a religious group. No, that is Mennonite. I started thinking of all the things that could be called "ammonites" and thus the source of the recent, rather silly, series. Also, I found that it says something about the principle of independent investigation of truth. People will believe anything, although nothing of what I said in my posts was meant to be believable.
The reason I love ammonites was that a good friend of my husband, a Seventh Day Adventist, [the friend, not my husband], told a bald-faced lie last year. With a straight face he mentioned that the earth is only six thousand years old. The next time I was at the Gem Faire, I bought up a bunch of beautiful ammonite and other fossils, which were reputed to be three million years old. Take that, Mr. Bible Believer. Plus, they occur in that magical spiral shape.
According to Wikipedia, not Pikiwedia, ammonites are an extinct group of marine cephalopods, related to octopi, squids and cuttlefish. Their name came from their spiral shape, as the fossilized shells were thought to resemble the horns of a ram [not a goat. Oops.] There is an Egyptian god named Ammon who was depicted wearing ram's horns, for which Pliny the Elder named this fossil. The soft body of the creature occupied the largest segments of the shell at the end of the coil. The smaller, earlier segments were walled off and the animal could fill these with gas [from what source is not mentioned] and thus maintain its buoyancy.
The above paragraph is a blatant ripoff from an article in Wikipedia, with some words rearranged to suit me. Thank God for fourth grade.
Ammonites, Part 1
A few weeks ago I was thinking about making a new purse. By thinking, I mean that my mind became obsessed with the subject. This is part of the creative process and nothing to be concerned about. At Ethnic Fest I looked at purses of all sizes and shapes [this is what introverts do; sit and study people.] I came to the conclusion that flat purses suspended from the shoulder, also generically called "messengers," are appealing due to the lack of bulk.
My purse, which I love, is very heavy, partly due to the wallet, which is heavy even without the contents. It's also similar to a small suitcase. I'm thinking of making a change. The outline of this purse I was also trying to decide, and the jury is still out. One of the shapes in a book of patterns I recently bought, is a teardrop shape, reminiscent of the supposedly ergonomic purses that came out a few years ago. I've never tried one, so I don't know. Really, a force field designed to follow you with all your objects hovering near would be best. No privacy, though.
I used to go purseless and it was great. Except that I started adding more and more objects to my pockets until I felt like Harpo Marx, or the Tom Baker Dr. Who.
In my sewing room I was rummaging around and for some reason opened the top drawer of my beading desk, and saw an ammonite, made into a pendant. The graceful spiral shape was so appealing, I thought, "Aha!' What a great purse shape . . .
My purse, which I love, is very heavy, partly due to the wallet, which is heavy even without the contents. It's also similar to a small suitcase. I'm thinking of making a change. The outline of this purse I was also trying to decide, and the jury is still out. One of the shapes in a book of patterns I recently bought, is a teardrop shape, reminiscent of the supposedly ergonomic purses that came out a few years ago. I've never tried one, so I don't know. Really, a force field designed to follow you with all your objects hovering near would be best. No privacy, though.
I used to go purseless and it was great. Except that I started adding more and more objects to my pockets until I felt like Harpo Marx, or the Tom Baker Dr. Who.
In my sewing room I was rummaging around and for some reason opened the top drawer of my beading desk, and saw an ammonite, made into a pendant. The graceful spiral shape was so appealing, I thought, "Aha!' What a great purse shape . . .
Saturday, August 7, 2010
A Religious Sect
[To the undoubted relief of the few souls following this blog, this is the final entry in the Ammonite Series.]
Ammonites are members of a religious sect, "Ammonia," which hold as its fundamental principle the harmony of science and religion. Ammonites believe that if there is an apparent conflict between science and faith, either the relevant branch of science is still in the process of discovering the truth, or the religious adherents are clinging to materialistic and narrow interpretations of the teachings of their faith.
One of their chief arguments is to point out the thousands of natural objects and phenomenon which grow or appear in a spiral form, which is based on a mathematical formula. From pineapple whorls to pine cones, sea creatures to nebula, there are countless objects which form this shape. Ammonites view this as a profound sign of intelligence in the universe. Their religious symbol is a spiral, and they subsist principally on goat's milk.
Source: Pikiwedia.calm
Ammonites are members of a religious sect, "Ammonia," which hold as its fundamental principle the harmony of science and religion. Ammonites believe that if there is an apparent conflict between science and faith, either the relevant branch of science is still in the process of discovering the truth, or the religious adherents are clinging to materialistic and narrow interpretations of the teachings of their faith.
One of their chief arguments is to point out the thousands of natural objects and phenomenon which grow or appear in a spiral form, which is based on a mathematical formula. From pineapple whorls to pine cones, sea creatures to nebula, there are countless objects which form this shape. Ammonites view this as a profound sign of intelligence in the universe. Their religious symbol is a spiral, and they subsist principally on goat's milk.
Source: Pikiwedia.calm
Thursday, August 5, 2010
New Trends In Psychology
A new psychological disorder, ammonites, has been added to the DSM IV. A subset of depression with anxiety, ammonites is characterized by confused feelings and a sense of pressure, combined with a lack of focus. Sufferers report the experience of thoughts whirling around in their heads, and a particular sense of vulnerability to criticism. "It's just too easy to get my goat," reported one client, who chose to remain anonymous.
Source: Pikiwedia.calm
Source: Pikiwedia.calm
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
The Island of Ammon
Nestled in the Adriatic Sea is an island called Ammon, its only claim to fame a series of giant sculptures of goats, referred to as ammonites, placed in ancient times in a spiral formation. It is unknown what tribes performed this feat using only primitive tools, or why goats were considered important. Also odd are the curious spirals carved on the surface of the udders of the goats.
Source: Pikiwedia.calm
Source: Pikiwedia.calm
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Goat Disorders
Ammonites is a peculiar rash found on the udders of goats in a spiral formation. The cause of this is uncertain, but is thought to occur from eating an excess of purple fruit. The goats do not express discomfort, and it does not seem to be contagious. The remedies are a simple lotion, and to remove the goats from the fruit; or, conversely, removing the fruits from the goats.
Source: Pikiwedia.calm
Source: Pikiwedia.calm
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