Perspective for Beginners

You know that thing where you leave work early because you're sick, then you fall asleep at 4:00 in the afternoon and wake up at 3:00 am and can't go back to sleep? Yeah, that.

This has been a supremely strange couple of months. Partially because it's odd for Tim and I to both be fully employed (one or both of us has been in school or working part time for the past five years), and partially because we work in the same place. It sort of like being in college again. We have totally different and separate jobs, but we commute together in the morning, we eat lunch together, we work out in the same gym, and our work happy-hours are all at the same places. There's also just as much gossip as there was at the TKE house, but with more... you know... saving the world.

The keyword for me lately has been, "perspective." Which is another way of saying I've become moderately obsessed with North Korea. Basically, I've been reading lots of books and articles, and watching terrifying documentaries about it, causing me to think, with everything that happens in my life: "At least I don't live in North Korea."

Don't feel like cooking dinner? At least you don't live in North Korea.
Had a bad day at work? At least you don't live in North Korea.
Credit card bills? North Korea.
Allergies? North. Korea.

Totally non-sequitur picture of Mexico.

Maybe all of this information I'm getting is total capitalist propaganda, but I'm a sucker.

There is one thing I've been sad about that's hard to put into perspective: this weekend is mom's 50th birthday (Happy birthday, Mama!), and I realize that not only will I have missed BOTH of my parents' 50th birthdays, I've missed more of their birthdays than I've spent with them. And I don't think I've spent a single mother's or father's day with them since I was about 8 years old.  So, while this is still better than living in North Korea, I have these daily moments where I think, "I have two wonderful parents and it is insane for me to spend so much time so far away from them." I'm glad they taught me to be independent, but this probably isn't what they had in mind.

Anyway, needless to say I've read a lot of books since the last time I posted. Rather than attempting to write a book review at this time of night/morning here is a list of excellent books for getting some perspective and learning to appreciate life, especially when you think it's crappy, but it's probably not.

1. The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck: This is a no-brainer. I feel bad about gaining like 15 pounds since the wedding... but at least I'm not a tenant farmer. During the dust bowl.
2. She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb: I hated the main character times a million, which is why I'm glad every day that nothing in my life resembles anything that happens in this book.
3. The Orphan Master's Son, by Adam Johnson: This is what I'm currently reading. It's about... North Korea.
4. Carrie, by Stephen King: I can almost guarantee that your mom is way better than Carrie's mom and no one every poured blood all over you.
5. The Giver, by Lois Lowry: see also Brave New World, V for Vendetta, The Handmaid's Tale, and 1984, etc.
6. Zodiac, by Robert Graysmith: because, serial killers.
7. My Lobotomy, by Howard Dully: because, lobotomies.
8. Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton: because, apartheid.
9. Brother, I'm Dying, by Edwidge Danticat: A totally eye-opening memoir about Haiti and the US by one of the best living writers, makes you realize how being born in the US--or not--changes everything.
10. Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman, by Jon Krakauer: Jaw-dropping non-fiction makes you realize that even people born in the US can get screwed by their country.

And since perspective can be nice, but also sometimes super depressing, here are some books by women who are smart, beautiful, and funny all at once. These perspectives involve a lot more fart jokes.

1. The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee, by Sarah Silverman
2. Is Everybody Hanging Out Without Me?, by Mindy Kaling
3. Bossypants, by Tina Fey
4. Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir, by Jenny Lawson (AKA The Bloggess) 
5. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, by Chuck Klosterman (ok, technically this book is by a man, but it's 4:30 in the morning and birds are singing... what do you want from me?)

Now go have some pancakes and catch a matinee.

Mind-Bogglingly Delicious Black Bean Soup

It's good for you. It's easy to make. And it's ridiculously delicious. The only problem is that it practically disappeared before I could get a picture.

Black Bean Soup

1 Onion, diced
1 Red bell pepper, diced
2 tbsp Olive oil
2 tbsp Butter
salt
2 tbsp Paprika
2 tbsp Cumin
1 tbsp Cayenne pepper
1 tsp Chipotle pepper
1/2 tsp Oregano
2 cloves Garlic
1 lb Boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 16 oz can Black Beans
1 12 oz can Fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 quart Chicken broth

Stupid easy.

Heat the olive oil and butter in a dutch oven or large pot over medium high heat. When hot, add diced pepper and onion and sauté for about five minutes.

Meanwhile, cut chicken into small pieces. Add cut-up chicken to onions and peppers and stir in all dry spices. When chicken is opaque on all sides (about five minutes), add crushed, fresh garlic. Sauté until onions are translucent.

Stir in tomatoes, black beans, and chicken broth (using all the liquid from the cans). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes (the longer the better).

Serve with tortilla chips, grated cheese, and a dollop of sour cream.

Old News is Awesome News

The season finale of Battlestar Galactica aired in March of 2009. Obviously not "Battlestar Galactica, the sci fi series from the 70's" but the reimagined Battlestar Galactica of 2003-2009, which is referred to in our household simply as BSG.

Still, this post is not past its expiration date, thanks to the magic of DVD, and really, I just can't take it any more.

If you people don't watch this shit soon, my brain is going to explode.

Here is my challenge: if you don't watch the entire series from beginning to end, and find it 50 times more satisfying and life-changing than the finale of LOST, I will come to your house, make you and 10 of your friends a 4 course dinner, and never mention it again.*

I don't talk about TV a lot so you must know I'm serious.

Tim and I started watching BSG because of a coworker of mine, who spent a great deal of time on the phone making sure that he wouldn't have any business obligations the night of the show, and saying things like, "OMGit'sgoingtobesofuckingamaziiiiiinngggg!!" Because he was an awesome co-worker, and having Netflix feels like having free movies all the time, I put the first disc of the series on our queue.

Let me just note here: Tim has always stated unequivocally that he thinks science fiction is beyond a waste of his time, like Glen Beck, and brushing his teeth.

When the disc arrived, he said what he also says about rom coms, and things he can't remember ordering: "Who put this crap on the queue?!?! You will be watching this by yourself."

So I watched the first episode--which is actually a three hour mini-series--alone. And fell asleep. It was an epic nap. Lots of explosions and yelling. I don't know how I missed this key fact, but I had no idea it was going to be three hours long, so I didn't program my attention span accordingly. My own fault.

This, however, necessitated watching the whole thing again... in Tim's presence. And at that point, Tim admitted that yes, science fiction was pretty damn awesome and had maybe contributed something to the universe, and we should immediately add the rest of the series to the queue.

Battlestar Galactica is, like LOST, a character-driven series about a group of survivors. Only instead of being on an island, they are on a fleet of star ships, the only few ships to have survived a nuclear attack on their planetary system by a group of machines called Cylons. Cylons were created by humans as workers and soldiers but they rebelled. Now they've returned, and they've evolved. There are some Cylon models who appear human, and they want nothing short of the destruction of the human race.

So. Ok.

This show, being on the Sci Fi Network, could very easily turn into a hot steaming ball of cheese. (Dinoshark? Anyone?)



However, this show is a mass of taut nerves and short fuses. It's a visually stunning show (yay production value!!), but what's more, it's about two issues hidden in a nifty sci fi wrapper: politics and love. Can you have love without politics? Probably not. How many explosions take place when you can't separate politics and love? God, that's the fun part.

From the very beginning of the series, you become invested in the success of the survivors in their search for a place to simply live. The terrorist threat against them comes not only from outside, but from within their dwindling ranks, and possibly from within themselves, as it becomes clear that any one of them could be a Cylon. If you are a machine with emotions, how deeply can you trust those emotions?

I'm disturbed by how much this show says about our culture. Aaaaand by how much the DVD boxed set costs. Because literally every day, I think, "I want to watch Battlestar Galactica."

Bonus, there's a character named "Hotdog."

So say we all.

*If the reason you were unimpressed by the finale of LOST is because you didn't watch the whole series, Dad, you are exempt from this challenge, but I still urge you to watch BSG, because it will make you think twice about robots, er, because you will enjoy it immensely.