drinking to my health
05.23.04
Reports about the health benefits of drinking a glass of red wine a day have finally persuaded me to try it myself.
I spent 580 yen on my first bottle [this is the first bottle of wine I have ever bought]. Right now, that�s about $5.18 US. It was the second most expensive wine at the grocery store. As I couldn�t read about 80% of the text on the bottle, I used price and labeling to guide my decision making. Experts and connoisseurs may disagree, but I think I did pretty well.
I have not noticed any health benefits as of yet. But, I have noticed an empowering sense of sophistication creep over me even as I stand glass-in-hand barefoot in my kitchen, wearing my muddy Frisbee clothes, and listening to the Flaming Lips.
If that�s not class, then I don�t know what is.
21:26
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inflation 411
05.23.04
There�s not much in the way of accommodating furniture in my apartment. I have one low, Japanese-style table [called a kotatsu], four floor cushions, and a small two-person table with two matching wooden chairs. That�s it. No couch, no loveseat, no bean bag. I don�t even have a bed frame.
Last December I played in a Frisbee tournament. My team won second place and our prizes included Minnie and Mickey Mouse inflatable pool-toys. I walked away with an aquamarine inner tube.
This afternoon it occurred to me that the inner tube could serve as a pretty decent floor cushion. And angled against a wall, it could serve as a bean bag. I dug the tube out of my closet and began puffing away.
I tried the best I could to maintain good posture so that I could fill my lungs to capacity and so that the air could flow unrestricted into the tube. I also had to work at keeping a good seal between my mouth and the valve.
After a few minutes, it was clearly evident that I was not making much progress. And then inspiration struck. I was going about things all wrong. I didn�t need to be hunched over the inner tube, but lying on my back with the inner tube on top of me.
In this manner the chest cavity is not compressed with weight from the upper body, the neck is not bent to meet the valve which restricts your airflow, and the arms are not needed to hold the tube up to the mouth. In this manner, gravity does all the work for you. It holds the valve to your mouth and distributes your weight evenly, making for more comfortable inflation in half the time!
[That's me, on my bed, on my tatami floor.]
20:37
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sweet corn = summer
05.23.04
Saturday evening I walked into the grocery store to be confronted with ears upon ears of delicately yellow sweet corn. I was tickled pink.
I put the three ears I bought in the refrigerator as soon as I got home. And an hour later I checked my refrigerator to confirm that I had indeed just bought sweet corn in the middle of May.
This evening I ate two of the three ears. Simply boiled them and sprinkled a little salt on them.
The first ear lived up to it�s expectations. It was juicy and sweet and a real joy to devour. The second ear was not as good. It was a little over-ripe. But that has only increased my interest in the third ear. When will it meet it�s fate? Tomorrow? Tuesday? I can�t decide.
20:16
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