Hoboslug's Xanga

Food Fighting (sort off)

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 05:36:53 GMT

Can I just say that cooking is probably one of the most evil vices that has resulted as a result of the fall. Think about it before the fall, Adam and eve just had everything there and they ate and that was that. It never says and then Adam sautéed his asparagus and made some honey Dijon dressing for his salad and then had eve do the dishes. Alas, I suppose this is what we get, but I am convinced that if there were to be food in heaven it would always be in a state of prepared perfection. Anyway, I am slightly getting away from the point at hand.

Basically, I am writing this as a rant more than anything, because I have decided that officially I am taking the stance that I hate cooking. This is not to say I hate food, it is simply to clarify that I despise anything to do with food preparation. Why, oh why do you ask or more likely why are you currently leaving this particular xanga post because this is again a pointless rant of Seth’s. Well stick it out and I will let you in on the complexities that actually have led to such a powerful statement.

Ok first reasons you should hate cooking:
1) Cooking takes time, no matter how simple the meal you have to put time and planning into cooking. There is no way around this.
2) Cleaning up, when you cook there is always inevitably clean up. Generally speaking, the greater the meal the more clean up is required. I find that I spend almost as much time cleaning up a meal as making it.
3) Cooking is not worth it when you are always cooking for 1 person. This is two-fold. 1) There is no one to share a meal with once you’ve finished putting time into a good meal. Lets face it food is communal; food without community isn’t a meal it simply becomes sustenance, and 2) you can’t make good meals in small 1 person amounts, and so inevitably you end up having to eat the same meal repeatedly before it goes bad and then you just get sick off eating it. There is a significant decline in ones passion for food, no matter how well prepared.

So as a result of these more notable points cooking and myself are locked in a vicious feud. Of course let’s face it we can’t escape cooking unless we are millionaires who can hire cooks. I think the real key here is to really go back to what cooking is all about, and that is food. For myself I think I can’t stand cooking because we as a culture, and subsequently myself, have lost are connection to food. Where it came from, what it means to have good food, and why these points are important. A striking example comes from my own experiences growing the vegetable garden here at Au Sable. When I am actively participating in the propagation of my own sustenance, I can’t help but feel a strong connection to that meal and wanting to see the fruits of my labor provide nutrition for myself and others. The delight I get from munching on a fresh cucumber is phenomenal. (Seriously, I think it should be on the 1000 things to do before you die list) In today’s society, we get most of are food from thousands of miles away, and as a result of that detachment there is no real motive to take any pride in what one eats, it is impersonalized. Through this fact again you see that elements of community are vital to the process of eating.

So how do you reconcile the fact that today most everything related to food is about convenience, how quickly can my food be prepared, how easily can it be consumed and disposed of. An emphasis on eating well has simply been thrown out the window by the fast food and processed foods sector. Reconnect with food: even if you can’t grow your own garden or afford to buy exclusively from the local community just simply try to decrease the distance in which your food has traveled. Maybe this will only involve maybe once a month buying locally. Honestly, I don’t even want to hear that paying a little extra for local is too expensive, because I make jack squat and I am still able to comfortably be able to buy a number of items locally on a regular basis. It is possible; don’t simply throw it aside as out of the realm of the ordinary individual. A second theme that I believe needs to be addressed is the essential nature of community towards the food process. To be able to not only grow food with others, but then to prepare and partake of food together almost has a sacramental value to it. We see Jesus used food as a tremendous means of establishing a sacramental covenant with the disciples, and subsequently us, during the last supper. The imagery of food in this and other context throughout the bible clearly point to the enriching communion that is created when food is present. Not only is physical nourishment addressed but spiritual nourishment. So basically, food can be so much more than simply a random conglomeration of amino acids, and proteins, and other elements. Of course this does not mean we should start deifying tomatos or hamburger helper either.

So, in the end, I think I am writing this more for myself than any other of those who might come across this entry, but I hope that you will take the time to consider your relationship to food. It is such an essential part of our lives, so perhaps we can actually begin to treat it in such a manner. Try and find ways to really create a means of knowing your foods and establishing even little things that create that sense of community and connection to your meal. Cooking, growing foods, and even thoughtful purchasing can all be accomplished when real thought is directed towards achieving great meals. If you are really curious to delve into some really powerful thoughts on food and the human connection to it one should check out Michael Pollan’s, “The Omnivores dilemma.” Well apologies for the considerable lapse of time between posts. Thanks to those who have hung around long enough to actually see I do still make the occasional entry here on xanga. I will leave this post off by saying as the band the arrogant worms so aptly state, “Give peas a chance.”

Bringing in the New Year

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 01:32:06 GMT

So, I have to say without a doubt that this New Year’s Eve was by far the most odd occurrence I think I have been apart of in who knows how long. Firstly, I must preface this experience with a little background information so one can put the entire unraveling of events in there proper context. Situation: I am attempting to fly back to Washington, key word “Attempting” and I reach Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport at about 10:15 pm which would be fine except that my connecting flight left at 10 and so I am stuck in the airport for the evening on New Year’s Eve. Secondly, nobody is around because surprise most people are smart enough to not try and fly home on New Year’s Eve. So here are the events as follows.

11:00 pm – Sat down and watch the New York ball drop with a small group of airport employees. Some are the ground crew people; others are from the janitorial bunch. This is to say the least comical. I am sitting with people I will never talk to again, but we all are enjoying this odd little moment of community. A bunch of stranded people (in both a figurative and literal sense) who are making the best out of a not so amazing moment which eerily seems like a comparison to life, and yet we still get together and something a positive has come out of this experience.

12:00 – 12:30 am – A mouse has somehow found its way into the “F” terminal. I think he is rather perturbed that I am infringing on his normal activities. However, soon he gets over this minor inconvience and goes about picking up the small crumbs of various food items that haven’t been vacuumed up by the janitors, All in all it appears that this is quite a good evening for him. I can’t help but chuckle, but upon doing so my little friend again perks up his ears in indignation until I quiet myself and he can resume his task.

12:30 – 2:00 am – I am sitting in a little corner and a man decides he desires companionship, or more probably he wants to utilize the electrical outlet that I have discovered. (One would be surprised as how few outlets are present in airports) Then he begins to explain how he can’t get to South Bend, IN. Its not that I’m not sympathetic towards his dilemma, but this guy just couldn’t get over the fact that he could not get there. Lucky for him his flight got out of there at 6:00 am so his insanity wouldn’t have lasted too much longer.

2:00 -4:00 am – I’m not sure how many miles I have just covered but I have now completed walking through the entirety of the airport not once but twice. It has actually been a really refreshing walk. Every now and again I see a fellow stranded individual, though most of them have wisely made some kind of sleeping apparatus to pass the evening hours away. I now feel confident that I know that airport better than some of its employee’s.

5:30 am – I wake up from a uncomfortable and uneasy sleep and before me I see something so strange I think I’m still dreaming. People, yes people are walking through the airport. I don’t know how I got to this point in such a short period of time but I feel as though these people are intruding upon my place. I stumble to my feet and go grab a muffin from Caribou coffee and the day begins to break. It’s been a weird surreal evening, but an interesting adventure nonetheless. I can honestly say this has been the oddest New Year’s celebration to date, but in retrospect not a horrible experience by any stretch of the imagination.

Well, I just had to verbally express this quirky little moment in life. Perhaps even more fascinating was that fact that even a crappy situation can turn into to something enjoyable in its own off-the-wall way. Well till next time folks, hope everyone had an amazing new year’s.

The Christmas List

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 06:00:21 GMT

So with Thanksgiving coming upon us with increasing nearness the inevitable question of "What do you want for Christmas?" becomes perhaps the most prevalent question asked amongst each other and this is generally followed up with the quiessential "I'll send you a list" reply. I have to say this question could quite potentially be one of the most dreaded questions to ever be presented towards a person. In fact, recent surveys indicate that it ranks a solid number three behind "what do you want to do with your life?" and "Is that a live cougar attached to your leg?"

I just never know what to tell people. Partially because it just feels wrong to me to have a list of all the things that I want and then just expecting people to find these things and get them for me. Sorry this is just one of the weirdest concepts for me to grasp. In fact I think the majority of people have the tendency to feel guilty about such a list and so we have the tendency to put it off. Furthermore, its not that there aren't things I wouldn't enjoy having in fact, I doubt if there are any of us who would deny that they wouldn't enjoy having this or that, but generally I think of these things at all other times, except when people actually want to know. Its absolutely ridiculous, a mere few hours before I will have constructed an amazing list in my head and then bam! the question comes and its all gone. I can't even recall one item from my mental list. Of course, I'm sure I'm not the only one with this particular dilemma to face and so in a effort to combat the ill effects of this occurrence. In addition to the fact that I can't think of anything I really want, a second problem comes when I finally do realize I would like something, only to realize that this particular item typically costs hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. Now for those of you who might have the benefit of being enormously wealthy you can immediately cease to read this entry and go spend exactly that kind of money, but if I'm right this will likely be about 1% and so the rest of us may continue on this intrepid voyage of christmas list uncertainty. Ok, so I quickly eliminate those choice, pricey, items from the list and then begin to think of something along a more manageable line. The problem is then I hit the other extreme and everything I begin to place on my list cost no more than 7.99 and despite the fact that all these suggestions are actually things that I would absolutely love to have, nobody is willing to buy them because then they think they are cheating you out of a "good" present. Its really such a funny conundrum, because either way one feels a sense of guilt over the complilation of such a list. Alas, though simply stating this never will appease the massses and so again one must ponder over the thoughtful construction of a christmas list. So were is the remedy, obviously people want to get you something because it makes them happy to see you happy, so it rarely occurs that you can just tell everybody to forget presents altogether and they all agree. This year, I might have solved my own dilemma though, because the more and more I try and think about what I want, the more and more I simply start to think of necessities, such as necessary clothing or appliances. Its quite funny because I always hated the thought of getting someone pants or socks, or a blender. But the more and more I ponder my list the greater my desire for these things grows. I suppose this is what, inevitably happens when one face live on there own, you obviously think of yourself, but more along the lines of survival as opposed to simple luxury. Well, this was a catharthic post, coming up next, the joys of the Macy's day parade. Well till then hope you're all experience peace of mind and not letting the commercialism of the holidays get to you.

Seth's Love Child

Sat, 17 Nov 2007 03:59:00 GMT

So lots of people keep pestering me about knowing exactly what I do, so today I will show you. Here is my little love child. This is the propagation bed of Roemer's Fescue that I grew and planted this fall. Yes, yes I know nerdy, but heck I'm proud of these little guy's and gals. Just as parents (meg/troy and jake/sarah) show pics of there kids, I figure these little plants are possibly the closest thing to kids that are involved in my life so thats what you get. Alright, Horray Thanksgivings almost here and then christmas huzzah. Talk to you all later

Pumping up with Santa

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 02:08:00 GMT

So, I'm not sure if I really am comfortable sharing this with people, but its so utterly ridiculous that it simply must be discussed amongst some parties. As many of you know the use of motivational tools when exercising has always been a popular subject, and when examining the various modes people incorporate into there daily regime the topic of music inevitably appears, generally, at the forefront of perferred methods of keeping the individual preoccupied with not thinking about the fact that they are forcing there bodies to perform more physical activity than it is use to. I my personal situation I generally like to have my Ipod handy and then I'll pick a topic of debate in which I can argue with myself while jogging around. For example today I was listening to "Pedro the Lion" and my subject of debate involved dicussing (with myself) why seclusion is bad for humans. (which is a whole other post in itself). Lately; however, I have needed a new type of music to really get me going and that my friends, much to my surprise, is listening to Christmas music. I know, I know many of you are thinking, "why are you already listening to christmas music" and "How the heck does christmas music get you motivated." Well, as many of you who know me already are aware of, I begin listening to Christmas music typically once it stops being summer. Recently, this has come earlier than I remember in my childhood and so usually by september you can see me singing in my car to the tune of Jingle Bells or Have a Holly Jolly Christmas. Up till this point though my christmas listening music was restricted to driving or writing xanga post. Then it happened, I was talking to my sister Kiersten and she shared her running secret. That she was jogging to christmas music. Believe me I thought she was crazy, but then I thought wait, this makes alot of sense. Why not barrage my auditory sense with happy music while running. 1) its happy so regardless of being tired, or cold, or any other hinderance happiness is always seeping into your mind. 2) There is something about "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire" that seriously gets the blood pumping. I don't know if I just secretly love chestnuts and so my body gets excited about hearing the word or what the deal is but its fantastic. The first time you run to Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer is, mark my words, going to be one of the most special moments in your life. So next time your out for a jog just remember its now statistically proven that incorporating christmas music into ones jogs will increase your lung capacity by 25%. Mainly because you want to sing with the songs so badly that you'll force your capacities to accomodate your musical inclinations. Believe me its science, or it should be anyway. So hopefully, many of you joggers will get out your rut, and for those of you who have maybe been thinking about taking up some recreational activities, but have been disuaded till now, well you no longer have an excuse because Santa is here to pump you up.

Grant Me Your Sense of Timing

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 02:06:17 GMT

O God of all seasons and senses, grant me your sense of timing to submit gracefully and rejoice quietly in the turn of the seasons. In this season of short days and long nights, of grey and white and cold, teach me the lessons of waiting: of the snow joining the mystery of the hunkered-down seeds growing in their sleep watched over by gnarled-limbed, grandparent trees resting from autumn’s whirling earth circling to race back home to the sun.

O God grant me your sense of timing.

In this season of short days and long nights, of grey and white and cold, teach me the lessons of endings: children growing, friends leaving, jobs concluding, stages finishing, grieving over, grudges over, excuses over.

O God grant me your sense of timing.

In this season of short days, and long nights, of grey and white and cold, teach me the lessons of beginnings: that such waitings and endings may be a starting place, a planting of seeds which bring to birth – something right and just and different, a new song, a deeper relationship, a fuller love – in fullness of your time.

O God grant me your sense of timing.

Riding the Ferries like pro (or not)

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 05:36:59 GMT

5 months of living on an island have brought about many a new experience in the way life works. What really fascinates me the most though is how all the everyday activities have now become something of special occurrence. Now this was quite surprising to me considering Whidbey is a true Island and yet it can still be reached by bridge. But by far the most utilized method of traveling off island is by ferry.

Of course with the appeal of the ferry comes its own set of difficulties and meddlesome tribulations that constantly like to appear and either enhance or deteriorate ones own ferry riding experience. After miles and miles of ferry travel I have come to recognize the wonderful diversity which one sees when traveling. Basically, ferry travelers can be classified under two separate categories, 1) Ferry regulars (aka the locals), or 2) The tourist. So now let me take you through a typical ferry journey from the perspective of an unbiased observer. I refer to myself as unbiased because at this point I am at that weird stage where I’m not quite a local, but people recognize me and so I have some, at least I feel, local tendencies emerging about my persona.

As is always the case when traveling on the ferry one must first and foremost determine what is the sailing time one wishes to catch. To this one can scarcely differentiate between the locals and tourists because ferries have a notorious record for accomplishing some type of inevitable disaster or near-disaster on a daily basis. For instance we had ferries, according to reports, that were on the verge of sinking twice. On a separate occasion the ferry decided that it would enjoy running itself into the docking pylons thereby rendering crossing to the mainland impossible aside from a 2 and a half hour detour. Of course it is commonly known around Whidbey that a ferry considered to be running well is one that is only two sailing behind schedule. I am however, realizing that I might have placed a little to much blame on the part of the ferry workers and to this I apologize for despite the seemingly numerous obstacles these folks work there buns off to get people were they are attempting to go. So, one might now ask, well is there anyway to avoid these dilemma’s, surely there must be a slow period just as we see in other modes of mass transit and other means of transport.

In response to my own self posed question I have formulated a method which has thus far seemed to work with an increasing rate of success. This triumph of the mind (as I like to think of it) is simply tricking the ferry. Yes, that’s right “trick the ferry.” Basically there are two steps to accomplishing this task. First, choose a time that seems totally out of sorts with any semblance of your actual hoped time to get on the ferry. For example, if I want to catch a 3:30 ferry on Friday, I typically will attempt to get on the 11:45 pm the Tuesday beforehand. Generally, this might be thought of as overkill, but believe me it works like a charm. Second. One must not only deceive Mr. ferry on the initial planning time, but determining the time of your actual arrival at the ferry terminal should also mimic this strategy. Planning ahead is absolutely impossible so, no matter how much of a time buffer you think you need you will inevitably be absolutely wrong about your assumptions. Best bet; choose a completely random time to show up. I personally like to show up 33 minutes early and then try to not even meet this deadline. This will be your best bet. If walking on experience dictates to show up to walk on the ferry a good 20 minutes early, granted if you are a pro ferry rider one generally shows up 10 minutes after the ferry was suppose to leave and still always manages to get on.

Ok, well hopefully at this point you have managed to get you and your vehicle in line and ready to load onto the ferry itself. This is where one typically begins to really notice the differences apparent between the locals and tourist. When loading generally the locals don’t even need a ferry worker to direct were they should direct there vehicle. In fact I bet that if you grabbed a local off the streets of Coupeville and put a ferry workers vest on he could load a ferry full without even blinking an eye. Now we come to our tourist, generally one finds that tourist are spotted by the fact that they will inevitably drive in the complete opposite direction in which the ferry worker is trying to load them. If they are supposed to go up the ramp to the side, generally one finds them inexplicably parked in the middle and facing backwards. Personally I think it should be considered as one of the great natural phenomena of the world, along with the Bay of Fundy and the Running of the Bulls.

So finally you have loaded and parked your vehicle on the ferry and here again the peculiarities of each party are again manifested. Tourists are generally seen bounding up the stairs in order to spend the duration of their trip up on the passenger deck. The typical local will simply tilt his or her car seat back and take a nap. However, this cannot always proof the deciding factor in our examination for indeed a number of locals enjoy spending time on the passenger deck as well. So here is your second method of rooting out the parties. It really is quite simply a local will proceed to find a seat (generally a booth) and whip out a book or newspaper, Conversely, our good friend the tourist will generally enter the passenger deck carry one of the following items: 1) a digital or video camera, 2) a giant Rand McNally map, or 3) a unwieldy stack of brochures about the state of Washington’s various attractions. (I cannot tell you who many brochures I have seen for Wild Waves, or Mt Rainier.) A second give away is that your general tourist will spend all there time outside on the deck, regardless of rain, heavy waves, or blistering winds. They just stand out there with a big goofy grin upon there face. (I should know because I’m King of the goofy smile club.)

This in turn brings us to the final stage of our journey across the sea. That of coming to our final destination. Now the people of the ferry service have been kind enough to give its travelers a notice of when to proceed down to the car deck for unloading. Now if you haven’t spotted the differences between are two represented groups this is your final chance. Group one, aka our tourist friends will bound down the stairwell as if the world is ending, and the very existence of life depends upon there arriving at their cars with all haste. Subsequently, once you have breathlessly arrived at your car you will notice as the ferry has finally come to rest in its berth, the lazy gait of the local working there way down to their vehicle or the off loading area.

Well, there you have it. You have the ins and outs of the wonderful world of ferry transportation. Hopefully, this little how too guide will be of use when attempting to conquer the high seas and its floating companions.

sunsets + ocean bluffs = happiness

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 03:55:06 GMT

Ok this was just too good of sunset, and I was trying to not fill anymore post with pictures, but I just wanted to throw this final one on here after this I promise I will put something with some actual content on it. Alright enjoy.

a Post for those without baby pictures

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 05:07:01 GMT

So, I have noticed that there is an alarming rate of xanga post involving the display of small prodigeny of the Farb Clan, and this has been great. Its great to see that we have the capacity to make very cute miniature versions of ourselves, but I felt like I needed to go against the grain and post a little something completely unrelated to babies.

So basically the just of what I would care to comment on is simply a little suggestion for those of you seeking good movies. Yes, while there were many a summer blockbuster that wow'd us or simply overstimulated us to the max there were a surprising number of smaller films which really were just great classics. Ok, so here are the top three of the summer which all should attempt to catch at one point or another.

1) Once: Features Glen hansard (who I'm sure none of you recognize) of the band the Frames as a street performer on the streets of Dublin, great music, great story line (It takes a different route than what most of us would expect, but still manages to be incredible moving). This particular film is based solely on the Music which Hansard and on stage opposite Marketa Irglova wrote. Directed by an old band mate of hansard. Very refreshing.

2) The Real Dirt on Farmer John: Documentary about a atypical farmer who finds his niche in converting his farm into an organic farm. Greatest part, this the whole film is set in Clinton, WI and Boone county area. So for all the midwesterners I would highly recommend this one in particular.

3) Across the Universe: A Moulin Rouge like musical that utilizes the beetles music as a backdrop for telling the story of the a group of individuals in the 60's and 70's. Very artsie, but very great singing and a good change of pace from the typical plot development methods. If you like musical's in general, you will love this movie. Plus the soundtrack is phenomenal.

Ok, thats it, I just feel like every time I talk with people these movies come up, so I figured that I would just share them with everyone in one foul swoop so to speak. Alright, thats all for now.

Contentment and Huzzah

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 17:13:13 GMT

Well, this weekend was kind of the last huzzah in terms of my summer here at Au Sable. So I did what everyone does upon experiencing a last huzzah and I went hiking/camping (big surprise I know) over at Mount Baker area. So here are some pics. In other news I have been offered a permanent position here for the year and have decided to stay so thanks for all the prayers. God is good.

Mt Baker at Sunset

Laura and Myself atop Winchester Peak

Sunset over Yellow Aster Butte

Looking towards Canada atop Winchester Pk