Lent Day 9: Insomnia and Catharsis

I haven’t had insomnia this badly since I was in college. For this week, I am averaging about three good hours of sleep. At least, unlike college, I am not so jittery I can’t stay horizontal, so I am rested, but not well-rested.Our hotel situation worked out strangely, in that many of the AWP Conference goers received king-size beds instead of two double beds for groups of three adult-size people. I refuse to sleep in a king-size bed with two friends, no matter how close they are, so I volunteered to sleep on the floor. I don’t mind sleeping on the floor, but it isn’t as conducive to good sleep as I would like.

Tonight’s keynote address is with Margaret Atwood, the author of one of my favorite books, Oryx and Crake, and another book I have found becoming frighteningly realistic, The Handmaid’s Tale. After her address, several of us are going to go out for a bit. My plan is to exhaust myself and have a couple of nice hard ciders, so that I will be sure to get some sleep tonight. I also plan to run in the morning. I haven’t been exercising much the past couple of weeks, and I think the extra energy I’m not spending may be contributing to my insomnia. We’ll see.

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Chicago is a spiritual meditation. Chicago is cathartic.

Stop Here to Get Chocolate-Covered Gummi Bears

Don't Forget to Exit I-90 Before This Toll Booth

Expect a Beautiful View of the Lake

Bring Plenty of Supplies

Eat at Lou Malnati's on State Street

Eat at Trendy Cafes

Consume the All American Breakfast of Sausage, Eggs, and Hash Browns

Wash It Down With My First Greek Coffee

Don't Swirl Well Enough

Watch A Worker-Artist Clean A Goddess

Watch Him Work Some More

Make Black & White Photos During a Session in a Ballroom

Revel in Beauty Whenever & Wherever She Shows Her Face

Hope and pray and wish and dream that I can sleep tonight.

Lent Day 3: Date Night

Today I kept up with the common prayers, and I find that it settles my otherwise erratic personality. Maybe between the niacin, vitamin C, paleo diet, and following the daily liturgy, I can make a way to keep myself on track emotionally. If you read this blog at all, you know that’s something I struggle with, and it’s finally something I feel like I am getting a strong hold on, or control over, rather than it controlling me. Maybe one day, I’ll be able to get past writing about it.

I also had the opportunity today to go on a date with my significant other. We went to Indianapolis to pick up a friend of ours, so we decided to make a special time of it. First we went to Rock Bottom Brewery and had a couple of beers, then we walked through Circle Center Mall for a bit, really just using it to walk to and from our car without being lambasted by the ridiculous Indiana spring-winter wind. Finally, we picked Elizabeth up at the train station, and then went to Peppy Grill in Fountain Square.

The workers at Peppy are amazing. Talk about your sassy, ornery, short order cooking and serving staff. I never leave disappointed, even when I realize that my corned beef hash comes directly from a Hormel can (not so paleo/primal) and gets heated up on the grill. I think I may leave that dish for Brunchies and just return to my ham and eggs at Peppy. But it was still good, of course, and greasy spoon!

Beautiful Sky on Binford in Indy

Looking South on Meridian and Vermont: Monument Circle

South Side of the Circle: Turning onto Meridian

After A Rock Bottom White Ale: A Little Out of Focus

1004 Virginia Avenue: Peppy Grill

Good Thing We Had Three People

Corned Beef Hash for My Love and Me

Today was a nothing’s profound, but everything’s lovely, kind of day. Peace.

Some Things I’ve Eaten and the Places I’ve Eaten Them

Here is a picture of the pumpkin curry I mentioned in the previous post. Had I thought about it, I would have put it in a different bowl, because the soup is obviously the same color as the vessel it was eaten from. Also, I will probably never get the gist of photographing food, which kind of makes me sad, since food is my most favorite thing in life next to swimming (which I can’t photograph well either!).

Pumpkin Curry

Here is a photo of tonight’s delicious dinner: grapes, blueberries, and raw milk extra sharp cheddar from grass-fed cows. Delicious, light, and everything dinner should be!

"Do you have any staples? No? Well, then, do you have any gwapes?"

And because I’m sort of messed up like this, here is a picture of dinner a few nights ago: grilled/blackened bone-in chicken breast and spinach salad with bacon, blueberry, balsamic dressing.

Lots o' Greens!

Early this morning my brother, my parents, and I went to Trader’s Point Creamery for their farmer’s market. We also stopped at Whole Foods and The Fresh Market, but, in between, we went to Brunchies in Carmel to have—you guessed it—brunch! I had a three-egg omelet with spinach, mushrooms, jalapeños, and sausage and hash browns. It was delicious, and their coffee was pretty tasty, too.

"Kiss my grits." —Flo, Mel's DIner

Finally, right now I am enjoying a delicious Samuel Smith’s Organic Cider. I’ve always been pretty much a Porter girl, but since I’m trying to stick to a primal lifestyle, when I do splurge with alcohol, it’s mostly with hard ciders. (I mean cave people probably let their apples or fruit ferment from time to time, right?!) I didn’t used to enjoy them at all, but now I find great pleasure in sampling different ones. Also, I’ve noticed—whether the wheat, hops, barley, malt, whatever—I have an allergic reaction almost every time I drink beer. My cheeks flush and get hot, and the whole affair is simply rather unpleasant. So far, so good with ciders of any kind.

It’s been a great day, all in all.