Roadtrip: Food and Sights

It’s been such a whirlwind since I got back to Muncie last Sunday, I almost forgot to write about the trip. Of course, the best part of the trip was the food, so I will start with the amazing restaurants we went to in both Nebraska and Minnesota. I’ll talk a bit about running in Woods Park, and a bit more about the things I learned on the trip (e.g. that the big ball of twine is simply that).

When we arrived in Lincoln, Sarah had made homemade vegan tamales and mole for us. It wasn’t lost on me how much of a sacrifice it was for her to make such an amazing meal, and tamales are my single favorite Mexican food. They are never vegan in restaurants; in fact, Sarah’s grandma said that tamales aren’t real when they are vegetarian. They may not have been considered “real” by Mexican standards, but to me they were simply perfect. I loved every bite of every one I ate, mostly because they were made with love.

The next day we went to a place called Maggie’s and had the most delicious vegan wraps, which were washed down with various sodas we’d purchased at Rocket Fizz. My lunch was a coconut curry tofu wrap and a Faygo Rock-n-rye, and both were delicious. We also got muffins for a snack, and they were good too. Once we finished our wraps, we went across the street to a coffee shop called The Mill and I had their Creole Lait, which was a blend of espresso, chickory, and soy milk. Yummy goodness. Sarah and I piece-mealed dinner while Kellie and Daniel went to Daniel’s class.

On Tuesday, I made breakfast with Kellie’s help. We had a filling combination of vegan sweet potato waffles with toasted pecan “butter” and vegan breakfast sausage. I am not sure what was for lunch that day, or if we just lounged around and ate at our own leisure, but for dinner we went to Yia Yia’s Pizza. Sarah and I split a vegan pizza: spinach and zucchini on my half, spinach and olives on her half, and vegan cheese on the whole thing. Kellie and Daniel had the American (bbq sauce, chicken, corn, jalapeños, and vegan cheese on half). The amazing thing about the soy (vegan) cheese was the fact that it actually melted. It was stringy and stretchy like real cheese. Now I am on a quest for delicious fake cheese.

On Monday and Tuesday, I woke up at 6:00 AM to run in Woods Park. The trail went past several different pieces of artwork, a business that looked like a strange doctor’s office, some basketball courts, some tennis courts, and last but not least, an uh-maz-ing public pool. It was a 50 meter pool with 8 lanes, a separate diving well, and a smaller warm up pool. Seriously, it was a perfect way for me to start my day. I got to watch the club teams practice and the lifeguards get the pool ready for the business day. It almost inspired em to start swimming two days a week in the fall. I think I can do that on Monday and Wednesday, but we’ll have to see once school starts.

Wednesday morning brought the twelve-hour car ride to the ball of twine, via the Malcolm X birth site memorial in Omaha. Here is Sarah’s love letter to the ball of twine (it’s the bottom one):

And here is the strangely worded Malcolm X sign:This car ride also resulted in Kellie’s GPS being named Marvelle, but I won’t tell you the story. Some things must remain on the road trip.

When we arrived in Minnesota, Ann and Jack were already asleep, so we snuck (sneaked?) into the house like little mice. The next we called Ico to meet with her and we were off! For lunch we went to one of my favorite types of restaurants, Tibetan. We had two types of curry and some fucking-hot noodles. They were deliciously hurty on the tongue. After the Tibetan food, we went to a coffee shop that has become Ico’s favorite. It was passable. My drink was fine, but not exceptional, and Kellie’s was strange and unusual and not in a good way like Lydia on Beetlejuice. Ico loved hers, so maybe we were just flakey. Or maybe I was just expecting something other than what I got. At any rate, when we finished the coffee, we embarked on the ridiculousness that is the Mall of America. We ended the night at the Bulldog with Ann and Jack. I love the Bulldog, except the prices. They have Hacker-Pschorr Dark. I can never find that particular H-P beer here in Indiana, so it’s a nice little treat in the Twin Cities.

On Friday, we had a cookout with Andy, Claire, Tim, and Whit at Ann and Jack’s house. Everyone came, and Ico’s sister Sen made Raspberry Tiramisu cupcakes that were to die for good. But, the most amazing food moment of the vacation was at Evergreen on Eat Street (Nicollet) in Minneapolis. I was a little nervous going there because I typically do not like mock-meat. I generally believe that when you are vegan, your goal should not be to figure out ho to make meatless meat, but this restaurant changed my life. It should be called Life-Change Cantonese instead of Evergreen Cantonese. We had two mock-meat dishes and a veggie dish. All three were fantastic: the mock-meat actually tasted and felt like the real thing, but not in too creepy of a way. Kellie had a chicken dish that she thoroughly enjoyed. The spices and herbs were just right, and the service was great. They had bubble tea, and vegan hot and sour soup. Seriously, does it get any better than mock-beef with lemongrass and peppers? We also went to Smitten Kitten. Interesting.

On Saturday, we drove back to Lincoln and had dinner at the Blue Orchid Thai restaurant. It was pretty tasty, but they need some serious attention to be paid to their wait staff. I have had better service at Abercrombie & Fitch or Hollister and I can’t even wear their clothes. On Sunday, we drove back to Indiana and stopped at a little Mexican restaurant somewhere in Illinois. It was good, but it only served to make me miss Sarah and her tamales. Finally, we ended the trip with pizza from T-Dubs here in Muncie. Kellie loves their pizza, but it has a bit too much garlic for my liking. For some reason, garlic tears me up. Their breadsticks are pretty fine, though. I’d eat them again, and I love supporting a local business with my pizza habits.

Reading. Grocery Shopping. Wild Rice Soup.

One of the best books written, Mama Day by Gloria Naylor, was my occupation and my joy for the majority of the day today. I love the way Naylor uses the voices of her characters to tell a complex tale of spirituality and healing, the way she skilfully rends together the tale from Ophelia’s perspective and George’s perspective with the bits told by the omniscient narrator. I think if any writer writes a tale from back to front better than Toni Morrison, it is Naylor. The only way to describe this book is by talking about its beauty and elegance.

*

This morning when we went grocery shopping, we had two interesting encounters with strangers. Both were grace filled moments in which we were able to stand in the store and have great conversation with people we didn’t know. It always amazes me that among the chaos of the holiday season and the ridiculous frenzy of the shopping madness that some people become completely intolerant and mean while others become so kind and gracious.

*On a side note I just saw an American Airlines commercial where the attendees of a seminar had to stand face to face because “there is no personal space here. We are all molecules of one large organism.” I don’t rightly think so. Just because I am in favor of kindness and grace, does not mean that I am in favor of being comfy-close with someone else. Ick.*

One of the sweet encounters we had was with a cashier at Meijer, who had just started her shift, but she got to go on her first fifteen minute break after she waited on us. Sometimes when people who work in service jobs find out that they get their breaks, they rush you through in order to get off their feet. I don’t blame them; I’ve worked in the service sector, too. This cashier, whose name I read over and over again so I could remember it, but I didn’t, took her time with us, made small talk, even took two other customers after us because they had been standing in her line. She was friendly, smiled, and told us to have a great day and happy holidays. I think this is going of the way to give grace and make people feel special or human. I like this touch.

*

Bec made delicious wild rice soup tonight. She added fresh mushrooms to make it a little more hearty. We haven’t had it for a long time, so it was a welcome dinner. It is rich and thick and a perfect warm up before we go out to walk the dogs. I love a rich stew-like soup!

The Iron Chef secret ingredient is eggnog tonight. I think Bobby Flay got his chef’s hat handed to him by Morimoto. I love it when that happens.

*

I am thankful for small but meaningful interactions with people we didn’t previously know.

Exercise: walked dogs 2 miles

Food: banana, hot chocolate, cheese ball, pretzels, celery, swiss cheese, rice soup, almonds, two clementines, Klondike bar

The Salt Eaters

I spent the better part of today rereading a book that I read last spring semester. I had been warned that I would one day open a book that I had read in graduate school, one that had my notes and everything in it, and forget that I had read it. I didn’t expect, however, to forget the contents of a book that I just read last semester. I know I read it. I remember because I remember the bus driver and being just as confused about what was going on with him and driving the bus into the marsh. I simply have no idea how the book ends or what is really going on it. I seem to remember that it all comes together in the end.I am just happy that there is so much about healing and wholeness in the book.

*

I am thankful for the healing of my foot. It seems to feel much better today.

Exercise: walked the dogs 2 miles

Food: banana, juice, strawberry Belgian waffle with whipped cream, spinach and spring greens salad with poppyseed dressing, sunflower seeds, and cheese, cheese cube and piece of bread, tomato soup, grilled cheese on homemade bread, two long carrots

Healing. Grading. Too Many Sweets, Not Enough Exercise.

I am enjoying Gayl Jones’ The Healing and looking forward to meeting with Debbie to talk about my dissertation. I think I like and dislike The Healing for the same reason: the stream of consciousness is both beautiful and unnerving. I am tired of the repetition, but I am drawn in by it. Of course, I am only on page 16, so I will let you know tomorrow night how the book plays out. I can already tell, though, that it will fit well, at least for background or supplementary material, for my dissertation. There is a whirlwind of religion, spirituality, healing, redemption, slavery, and sexuality all swirling around together. I am excited to see how it plays out.

*

I still have a few papers to grade, ones that were turned in late. For the most part, I am pleased with their argument papers, and I look forward to seeing their multimodal presentations. Some papers need a bit of work, but that is what revision is for. In fact, that is why I switched to using portfolios. I wanted my students to recognize that their “final” draft isn’t really final, that writing can always be revised, improved upon, moved closer to perfection.

*

I feel like a slug. I have eaten too many sweets in the past couple of days and not done any substantial exercise. I was supposed to run five miles on Saturday, but I graded papers instead. I was supposed to run the same five miles on Sunday, but I graded instead. And, I have been grading both mornings this week instead of running. Basically, I feel horrible because I have eaten way too much crap and not done one little bit of exercise to offset it. Tomorrow morning I will walk the dogs with Bec and I will run.

I had coffee last night with my friend, Lyn, and I worked yesterday morning with my friend, Molly. If I could be around the two of them everyday, I would never have a bad day. What magical women!

*

The making of a slug. Or, I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.

Exercise: walked to Burris from RB, rode bike back to RB

Food: banana, apple, swiss cheese sandwich, orange/tangerine juice, too many M&Ms, one piece of pizza, three breadsticks, PBJ Uncrustable, Jones Cream Soda

Comps and Teaching

I passed my comprehensive exams. I am not sure how I feel about it just yet. On one hand I am excited to be finished with coursework and being tested, but on the other hand I question that I deserve to pass. Am I really ready? Will I one day be unmasked as the person who knows much less than she should? This is how I feel: twisted up in my middle-parts, not like a jazzfest. A friend tells me that self-deprecation doesn’t suit me well, and I am not sure that I am necessarily self-deprecating. I would say that I have lots of self-doubt. I don’t know where all that self-doubt stems from, because I used to be self-assured and almost prideful. I knew I could do anything. I knew I was intelligent. I knew that I could skate by in almost any situation.

Maybe it is maturity, maybe it is being around people who are more intelligent than I am, maybe it is simply intellectual development, but I feel less adept at scholarly endeavors now than ever. I think I might just have more of a handle on those things that I don’t know than I did before. I just need to make sure I don’t let those fears, or doubts, paralyze me.

*

I need to get through this dissertation, well, at least the proposal, in a quick minute if I want to keep teaching at Burris. I have until December to get it finished. Or no Burris. And, I do love Burris.

My students are really engaged. Today we discussed race and ethnicity at the turn of the century, using Paul Laurence Dunbar’s “Frederick Douglass” and “We Wear the Mask” and Chief Joseph’s speech, “I Will Fight No More Forever,” at his surrender to the US Army. My students recognized that some racial relationships are cyclical, and were comparing the way the speaker feels in Dunbar’s “Mask” to the way different ethnicities feel they have to put on a mask today. They also did a really good analysis of the original texts, aside from their cultural conversation. It was an excellent discussion, and I was really proud of them! They rock.

*

I think the more I wrestle with my place in academia, the Church, and culture, the more difficult it is for me to clearly define who I am or even who I want to be. Sometimes I feel lost in trying to define myself. But, this feeling of confusion helps me to give more grace to those people around me. My own lost sensibility helps me to recognize the chaos inside other people and to give them more grace.

Maybe that is what the psalmists mean when they write, “Deep calls to deep at the roar of the waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.”  Do the speaker know the feeling of being lost within themselves and wondering if anyone else has ever felt that particular sensation? Or are they merely recognizing the fact that God is the only entity who can clearly save us from our own uncertainties. Is this why Paul later writes in Phillipians, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength”? Does Paul know how God’s deep settles our unsettled deepness? Do the sons of Korah know this, too? They end their Psalm with these words: “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” Of course, if you read Psalm 43 along with Psalm 42, you get the whole picture of the speaker asking God to come to his/her aid.

With that said,  I feel like I am getting more adept at locating other people’s weaknesses and giving them support, but I also feel like I am allowing myself to be more vulnerable and also more accepting of the grace of others. I am not sure what this means, but I feel like it is happening.

If I am becoming more like Christ, bring it on.

I want to live graciously in all ways.

I want to be able to say: “I am your message, Lord. Throw me like a blazing torch into the night, that all may see and understand what it means to be a disciple.” – St. Maria Skobtsova, Orthodox nun and martyr (1891-1945)

I Believe…

1. people are inherently good.
2. in smelling flowers.
3. in watching butterflies.
4. that if everyone rode a motorcycle, we would be a much more peaceful planet.
5. in God.
6. tattoos make skin beautiful.
7. in sleeping for at least 9 hours each night.
8. that tragedies happen for a reason.
9. that we should share what we have with people who don’t have as much.
10. in feeding homeless people.
11. people live the best in community.
12. in running.
13. reading helps us to understand each other on a deeper level.
14. what we eat matters.
15. that beer is good.
16. everyone should get paid the same amount.
17. there should be no racism.
18. that gay people should be allowed to marry.
19. we should think for ourselves.
20. people should say please and thank you.
21. we should revere our elders.
22. we should train our children up in a calm, guiding manner.
23. in grace.
24. people should listen when other people talk.
25. people should answer the question, “How are you?” with an honest answer.
26. you should be able to make change out of the offering plate at church.
27. vanilla malts with frosted flakes and mini marshmallows are next to heaven in loveliness.
28. I could eat pizza for every meal.
29. swine flu is a government scare tactic to keep us paranoid.
30. people should be able to dress comfortably for all occasions.
31. clothing designers should learn that not all fat women are busty.
32. we should spend time discussing ideas and not people.
33. each year people should have to donate their most prized possession to a homeless shelter, domestic violence shelter, or children’s home.
34. most ill-feelings can be cured by walking in the woods.
35. squirrels really are out to get us.
36. when people swim they release their stress into the water with each stroke.
37. hormones kill brain cells.
38. most good music was made in the late 60s, early 70s.
39. diamonds are not a girls best friend.
40. we should still talk about AIDS and other STDs in health class, and talk about ways other than abstinence to prevent them.
41. every child deserves a happy childhood, but does not need to be spoiled to accomplish that childhood.
42. in equal rights for all people.
43. we throw away too much. We should be more frugal.
44. Chuck Taylors and Five Fingers are the world’s most perfect shoes.
45. in gleaning out of dumpsters.

Reading. Baking. Flying. Grace.

Tonight is our annual graduate student creative writing reading, Penscape. Wow! That is a mouthful. Anyway. I am reading along with nine or ten of my colleagues. It will be good. It has to be good. Each of us were asked to read for ten to twelve minutes. I am reading three flash nonfiction pieces, a letter, and a poem. Sort of a mixed bag. I hope people read somethings we all haven’t already read or heard. I always hate it when that happens. You workshop with people and then you get to hear all those same pieces again. I mean, it is pretty cool to see how they revised, but it isn’t cool if it is the same piece you already read.

Two nights ago I spent about four hours baking. One of my professor’s kids is severely allergic to everything. By everything I mean eggs, dairy, and nuts, so I had fun making many snacks that she could partake in. We are also having punch. You know that Hawaiian Punch, Ginger Ale, Sherbet fiasco that they serve at every gathering everywhere until people are old enough to drink beer. That’s the punch! I think there will be some coffee too.

I think the baking runs in the genes, because my mom is baking her fool head off this afternoon. One of her friends asked her to make cookies to use as the favors for her wedding. My mom is making 150 chocolate chip cookies and 150 peanut butter cookies. Right now.

Tomorrow we leave to go to Minneapolis for Andy and Claire’s wedding. Not only do I get to leave Muncie for a few days, I get to spend it with people I don’t see very frequently. I don’t like to fly. I will never fly on United again. It is official: they are charging fat people more for their seats.

I am working on some new writing. Trying to write an essay about grace is hard. Really. Hard. I am going to ask people to post their most grace-filled moments as responses on a special post here. Maybe I will tell them they can send them by email, too. But I want this essay to reflect all types of faiths and non-faiths and the way they exhibit grace. I know what grace should look like in a Christian ethic. I wonder what it looks like in the secular world for people who don’t share my beliefs. I mean I know some stories, but I hope that people will share theirs.

Also, my dissertation has taken on new form. I hope to write about the preaching woman, the food-serving woman, and the way they both implement a certain morality or ethic of grace and redemption in slave-narratives. Every time I articulate my ideas they become more concrete. which makes me happy. Now to press on and find the “so-what” in that, Lauren.

Flexibility. Ah.