When Shaky Becomes Twitchy

Okay, that title is a little misleading. And I have no idea what it means, so have fun with that.

I've changed my relationship with food. I've changed our relationship with food. I used to get up every morning just in time to take care of my hygiene, put a few bites of something starchy in my body and clothes on my back, and head out to do whatever it is I had to do that day. Now, I'm waking up about half an hour before the Sun, making myself a pot o'beans, putting on some reggae music, and cooking breakfast.

And I mean cooking.

When the Wife got back from her summer vacation to California, we spent a pretty penny overhauling our entire culinary situation. We got all kinds of fresh greens, lean meats, herbs and spices I didn't know existed, and a plethora of raw ingredients I'd never cooked with. So we're not talkin' eggs and bacon here. Pan searing ground meats while dicing up some bok choy stems and onions really puts me in the right mood.

For a moment, I watch the sun rise through the window and pretend that all these fresh greens were grown in my own personal garden. I'm the head chef in my own kitchen, so it's okay that I'm dancing in my underwear. While my legs and feet pay tribute to the Marley legacy, my hands cook up a sizzling breakfast that's as meaty as it is juicy. I plate. I garnish with fresh parsley and squeeze lime over the dish to add the I-taste-something-different-but-I-can't-put-my-finger-on-what-it-is factor. I deliver it to my honored patron, my sleeping beauty.

I'm telling ya, it's the best way to start the day.

So I've been cooking breakfasts every morning. I won't wake up early to work out, I won't wake up early to work from home, and I won't wake up early for anything else. Except for cooking breakfast, I've discovered. We go on walks every night and we're planning on buying bikes. We just feel more healthy as human beings. We spend our time more wisely without trying. We spend money more frugally without realizing it. It's crazy how being responsible with your food ripples into every part of who you are. It's not about the food you eat - it's about your attitude toward food.

So we'll see where this goes, but it's the first time in a long time I've embarked on a journey with no definite finish line in my sights. And it is hella exciting.

This is all for now,
-R.

The Unnamed Masked Man

I'm making a super hero costume. Sometimes I feel like the world is watching me, waiting for me to do all the things they can't or won't do. But then I realize that my wife is really the only person doing that.

But as far as I'm concerned, those are the same thing.

Every now and then, though, I'll get an idea in my head, and I'll take it seriously. I'll send messages to everyone who I think would want to know, just to say "this is what I'm doing." It's always surprising to me how much of a positive response I get. I routinely get people telling me "we're in your corner" and "we can't wait to see this happen."

Sometimes it's an entrepreneurial venture, other times it's a creative project or some kind of mission I send myself on. Well, I've still got my plate of things, but I'm getting used to juggling it all - I've found my groove. My "thing of the moment," if you will, is a super hero.

He doesn't have a name yet, or a logo, but I am his alter ego. I'm only 4 pieces away from completing my costume. Everything that's free, I've done. I just need to buy a discontinued set of eyewear from eBay, a Kevlar vest made for motorcyclists, a pair of riot gloves, and some light tape just for looks.

It started as a realization that there are a lot of stupid people on campus at UTA, who think it's okay to walk up behind a woman and slap her ass, steal her backpack, or even threaten her life if she doesn't perform certain acts.

I am not okay with this.

The victims always report them to the cops, usually the next day, and the campus police put out warnings and waned posters. And y'know what else? The assailants always get away. I've put together a map in Google Maps that pinpoints the locations of each reported crime. I'm going to start training in kickboxing, Muay Thai and Vale Tudo. I'm going to do everything I can to see that these people can't keep doing what they're doing. I'm going to have to hurt some people, and I'm probably going to get hurt in the process. But the wife backs up this project, and so does everyone I've told so far.

Maybe nothing will happen. Maybe I'll patrol all semester and never see anything happen. If nothing else, I'll have a cool superhero costume for halloween and possibly Comic Con. I just need a name for this hero. And a logo.