Too Many Fish to Fry Meaning Updated
Too Many Fish to Fry Meaning
The Dinosaurs Surviving the Crunch
Information technology's been a while.
Nosotros're…(not in all cases)…yet here.
Lately, I have taken solace in the songs of Stephen Sondheim, who sadly passed abroad a few days agone. In particular, "Ladies Who Lunch" and "I'm Nonetheless Hither" seem particularly apropos to our times.
Sondheim'due south best work, in my opinion, focused on the hard work of beingness man. He highlighted the complexities of modernity, certain. Just front and middle is the capacity for people to survive, at to the lowest degree, for a while. And perhaps, thrive? In spite of it all.
Never has this been more than difficult, in my lifetime, equally at present. All the same, as my daughter said, the history of our item religion tin exist summarized every bit follows: "Someone tried to kill united states. Let'due south swallow!"
And and then, I volition paraphrase Elaine Stritch:
Here's to the girls on the get, everybody tries
Look into their eyes and you'll see what they know
Everybody dies
A toast to that invincible bunch
The dinosaurs surviving the crunch
Everybody RISE! RISE! RISE! RISE! Ascent!
We're notwithstanding here. So let'southward eat.
Books High Schoolhouse Students Should Read in 2020
A contempo Grumpy Rumblings post prompted much thought and triggered many musings. First of all, I tin can't believe A Carve up Peace is withal taught in high schools. That book was dated and insignificant in my twenty-four hours. That said, I think books should be added to a syllabus because they are great works of literature, not because of newly prescribed requirements. However, there are so many excellent books to consider and add that no one should have any alibi.
Here are the books I would require loftier school students (from course ix-12) to read — in add-on to Shakespeare, Chaucer, Marker Twain, Dickens, Joyce, the Bronte sisters, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Kafka and Nathaniel Hawthorne — if I was a loftier school English teacher. These are Peachy Books, and they earn their place through sheer merit and luminescence.
- Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen. Austen should be as important to the "Western Canon" every bit Shakespeare. She has arguably as much influence on modern 24-hour interval novels, film and Television receiver shows as whatsoever other writer of the English language. Hither is just a pocket-size selection of contempo works inspired past Austen: Amende, Remains of the Day, Clueless, Bridget Jones Diary, Eligible, Ayesha at Last, and of form Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I'd debate fifty-fifty the uber masculine Master and Commander series is influenced past Austen. She was a proto-feminist who spotlighted the securely unfair bug with being a woman during her time menstruum. And she did and then with unmatched wit, intelligence and gripping plot twists.
- Swann's Way, by Marcel Proust. (First novel in Remembrance of Things Past). Equally challenging to penetrate every bit the tedious Creative person as a Immature Man (which I had to endure through for AP English language), merely so much more rewarding. No other volume I have ever read has really changed the way I perceive the world. The focus on fourth dimension, retention, obsession, art and most of all our own senses is unique, as is the outsider perspective from Proust himself, a Jewish gay man trying to assess how, if at all, he could fit into French bourgeois society.
- The English language Patient, past Michael Ondaatje. More than similar poetry than fiction, this outsider version of World War 2 challenges the reader to reconsider such grand concepts every bit patriotism, colonialism, love and loyalty. I tin't think of the concluding passage, where one grapheme picks upward the cup some other character drops a continent away, without bursting into tears.
- White Teeth, by Zadie Smith. If there is a better book well-nigh the mod 21st century multicultural city, I haven't read it. The clashes and humor that inevitably rise from the confrontation of several disparate cultures in London is inspired by Dickens (and would make a great companion to Tale of Two Cities). This debut from a xx year one-time (!) is the work of unique genius. White Teeth is fun, freewheeling, breathtaking, shocking and prescient, and spawned a million inferior copies. The introduction of the fundamentalist organization KEVIN is one of the funniest passages I've ever read.'We are aware,' said Hifan solemnly, pointing to the spot underneath the cupped flame where the initials were minutely embroidered, 'that we have an acronym problem.'
- Midnight's Children past Salmon Rushdie. My dad interviewed Rushdie dorsum in the fatwah days. He was shuttled to two different decoy locations past security personnel before finally existence ferried to a 3rd unidentified, secure location to meet the famed novelist. I love Moor's Last Sigh too, but Midnight's Children wins the day. A modern-day telling of India mail service-colonial times within a fantastical framework, this volume is what the more well-known and inferior God of Modest Things tried to exist, and failed.
- A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini. Kite Runner is excellent likewise, but I loved this take on misogyny and what potent women tin can achieve, even during the worst of circumstances.
- Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez. Swoon city. This aggressive tome, so much meliorate than that other well-known Márquez work, showcases the myriad versions of romantic honey, in all its numerous and colorful forms. The last affiliate is so beautifully written, it's almost as if a god came downwards to earth and possessed a homo author.
- True cat's Middle, past Margaret Atwood. Has there e'er been a scarier book about being a teenage girl? Anyone who has seen Mean Girls (Cordelia is a terrifying prototype for Regina George) volition recognize the same bug herein, albeit in a much darker version of how awful girls can be to i another. Chilling, yet beautifully told. I read Cat'southward Eye on my honeymoon and that was a mistake.
- Save the Bones, by Jesmyn Ward. This is a masterpiece, transposing a teenage coming of age tale within the uniquely American tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. I retrieve about passages from this haunting elegy often. More subtle, revealing and devastating than The Detest U Give.
- Winter'south Bone, Daniel Woodrell. Woodrell's writing got nether my skin and then lived there. Based in the Ozarks and featuring a dysfunctional however close-knit grouping of kin, Winter's Bone features a uniquely adamant, grim yet forthright heroine. The motion picture is dandy, too.
- Nighttime, by Elie Wiesel. My public high school had a mandatory Holocaust class requirement for graduation, and this should non be an anomaly. Senior twelvemonth, after learning the whole long history of anti-semitism until Auschwitz, nosotros watched World State of war II footage of concentration camp victims being freed, as well as former guards filling mass graves with skeletal corpses of those who did aught wrong other than be Jewish. No one who sees that footage will e'er, e'er forget. This book is a stark reminder that the most ordinary people are capable of nifty evil, as well as unthinkable resilience.
What books would you add to the high schoolhouse syllabus, if you were an English language teacher?
Not Now, 2020
I saw this phrase somewhere, and information technology seems concerning to the current moment. There is a lot of scary stuff going on in our neck of the forest.
- Yesterday, I packed a to-go bag and planned an escape route if we need to evacuate. I donned a mask and went outside into air that isn't very habitable for humans and so I could water down our hill and get rid of anything flammable.
- The air hither is akin to the infamous London Fog, the environ in which Jack the Ripper was able to commit his crimes and disappear. The temper is thick with fume, nigh impenetrable and utterly toxic.
- Last night we were told by local officials it was possible we would be woken upwardly past some other completely atypical dry out lightening storm. (We had one last week which started a number of unsafe fires, which are still burning out of command.) We were told the new lightening could prepare off a firestorm and send us running into the night.
- The plan, if our neighborhood is broached past vicious flames from the sky, is to get out, and bulldoze as close as we can to the Bay edge.
- Luckily, the lightening did not come to pass. Simply I did non sleep well.
In true Stoic fashion, I am trying to live in the moment and savor what is good. And there IS a lot of be grateful for. Hither's my list:
- My husband and I have a strong, functional marriage. He's got my back and I accept his. He's more than than an equal partner, and there'southward no i I'd rather hang with. Which is lucky, since we now hang out 24/vii.
- My kids are kind, bright, funny and precocious. Parenting is hard, only they are expert people.
- My parents gave me everything I needed to thrive. I recently drove upward for a visit (I tin can now drive to see them!), and spending a whole calendar week at their pretty new abode was restorative, enlightening and wholesome.
- My brother and his wife are lovely, hospitable people who alive one block from my parents. My nephew is super adorable and adept-natured. My brother is my best friend, and his texts make my days brighter.
- My in-laws are generous, helpful and live nearby. We accept a strong rapport, and they are very kind and caring.
- The twins' school is an excellent institution of learning. The staff care deeply about their students, and the virtual schooling they set up in the spring was exceptional. While virtual learning isn't platonic, the fashion the school structured the day with Zoom classes mimicked the pre-pandemic schoolhouse day almost exactly – classes from eight-3 pm with a lunch break – and boosted homework. Neither Josh nor I had to appoint in whatsoever type of homeschooling, as opposed to almost every other parent I know, and I don't think either of the kids regressed. The twins had advisers regularly checking in to make sure they got what they needed.
- We are lucky to take the resource to BE at this school. Merely likewise, almost one-half of the students are low income (not the example at the local public school). I have seen how this gives our children a different outlook on the world. Their friends are children of single moms who put their whole might and being into providing the best education for their kids. It's sobering just also inspiring.
- The Peloton provides the kind of challenging yet inspiring workouts I need right now. Today I did the Ben Alldis "Ibiza" dance challenge, which featured crawly music and a virtual night out in Ibiza. This workout was super fun for a random Monday. Somehow during my earth bout of political party towns and festivals in my twenties I missed out on Ibiza. (I went through an insufferable "I can be a female version of Ernest Hemingway, but on the inexpensive" phase, visiting: Pamplona for the opening of the Running of the Bulls, Switzerland for the canyoning, Paris for Bastille Mean solar day, Barcelona's Olympic Village, London during the Notting Hill Festival, Cabo San Lucas and Lake Havasu for Spring Intermission, every bit well as Ios, Amsterdam and South Beach only because.)
- I accept a tight knit circle of female friends, and they have provided well-sourced and wise advice during these hard times. They are supportive, but they too proceed me accountable. And those are the best kind of friends I tin can have.
- Sally is a Good Domestic dog. She loves us, and we love her.
What is keeping yous going correct now?
Stay safe and exist well.
Xoxo, Jjiraffe
The Quarantine V (or and so)
SHU Box (of the "All-time of Both Worlds" podcast) has, I think, written every single twenty-four hour period of the quarantine. She'south recently been posting an interesting "habits" feature. The latest 1 on eating habits–and an accompanying comment by Gwinne–prompted me to come back hither for a adequately superficial topic, if you will forgive me.
Part of why I haven't showed up here regularly, in addition to some insane work hours, has been a hesitation to talk about the scary, serious events that accept been occurring (which frankly, I am nonetheless processing). Then I hope this post doesn't come across as superficial and tone-deaf during this crazy, awful time.
Lots of us, I think, take been trying as all-time we tin can to stay healthy during the pandemic. Part of that is, of course, diet and exercise. I used to go to practice classes or the gym pre-pandemic. Now I don't do either of those things.
As I wrote before this summer, I had been doing Boob tube streaming exercise programs, mostly the xxx Day Shred. I as well walk my domestic dog in one case a day, for about twenty-thirty minutes. I needed modest surgery this summer, which required me to not work out for about a month. Immediately after the surgery (like, the adjacent day!) I gained ii pounds, which I was non able to shake off. I made tweaks to my diet cutting back portions, but nothing. I wondered if the daily cocktail we had been making were playing a role, so I took a week off with no booze and I gained 2 more pounds!! WUT?
Before Covid-19, I was already creeping towards my high h2o mark for my weight, and now I am at that mark.
After the surgery brake was lifted, my Peloton arrived. Since I am no longer paying whatsoever gym or Orangish Theory form fees for the foreseeable time to come, I thought an investment in an at-home exercise motorcar (my commencement!) was probably worth information technology. I honey the bike so far, and try to utilise it every solar day. SHU wisely recommended calculation heavier weights to my routine, and that was certainly something that made me feel stronger and better while I was doing Orange Theory. And so I plan to lodge some for the firm, as the Peloton app offers heavier weight classes.
Still, my weight hovers in my high range. I'm not technically overweight, merely my body merely doesn't feel great and I desire my allowed system to be in practiced shape. I've gained weight in my mid-section, where previously I never carried it. I feel sluggish and slower. Gwinne mentioned age as a factor, and as I am in my mid-40s, it is definitely a possibility.
On the food front end, I'k not sure what to practice. Here is my typical daily bill of fare. I feel similar I am starving sometimes, which sucks.
Morning
- Shot of espresso with four oz steamed whole milk, no sugar
Tiffin
- 6 oz depression fat cottage cheese with one sliced tomato (I hate whole fat cottage cheese, although I know it's better for me) or
- 6 oz Greek yogurt with sliced fruit or
- 4 oz leftover salmon (although like SHU, I tend to hoard the leftovers for more dinners!)
Snack
- 12 whole almonds or one peach or x cherries or 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 1-2 LaCroixs (0 calories)
(Sometimes: Ane cocktail before dinner. We've been working our style through this list.)
Dinner
- four oz steamed salmon or 4 oz roasted craven or ane turkey burger (no bun) or one BBQ'd Aidells chicken apple sausage
- Small side salad with this vinaigrette, or steamed / roasted veggies with olive oil and salt/pepper (normally Brussels sprouts, broccoli, spinach, Swiss Chard)
- (Sometimes: half a broiled potato with small portion sour foam)
(Note: We accept been half-a**ing it on the cooking front end this summer, making the same dishes over and over.)
What the heck am I doing incorrect?
Have you gained weight during the pandemic? Whatsoever suggestions to change upwardly my nutrition? Am I stressing over something stupid and meaningless during this horrible fourth dimension?
Hope you all are well and prophylactic
Xoxo Jjiraffe
Surgery and Thoughts on Productivity
I had to have surgery last week. While preparing to be out of role for the day, I fix my piece of work email responder to make sure I directed whatsoever urgent inquiries to my business partner. I was amazed to encounter that I had not fix it upwardly since Baronial 2019. In other words, I have not taken a single twenty-four hour period off since then. Non even a national holiday.
There are a lot of advantages to owning your ain business concern. But there are also a few meaning downsides. Nether normal conditions, my profession is filled with more deadlines and urgency than almost any other career, other than firefighting and surgery. (I've e'er institute this so stupid, given I'm non out there saving lives. It's the biggest downside of my profession.) Needless to say, 2020 has not provided normal conditions. I won't go into besides much detail merely: it'south been a very, very difficult time to go along a business organisation afloat, particularly one that depends on nonstop strategic brainpower, endurance and sheer freaking will. I take our responsibility to the people who work for usa very seriously, and can NOT let them down.
Fifty-fifty with this scary climate, I nonetheless detect myself beating myself up for non beingness productive enough. By productive plenty, I mean: healthy enough, making the right business decisions, working hard enough, being a nifty mom and parent, being a good person. I just read an commodity profiling a prolific, famous author, who credits her success doing all these things to her "upholder" tendencies. She said for years and years, she has woken up early and run at least 8 miles and this is why she tin can do all she can exercise, fifty-fifty now during this terrible time.
Allow me make this articulate: I don't resent the author. She works hard, and she deserves her success. What I fault is my own trend to seek out and read these kind of articles.
At the risk of ho-hum yous all, I'll remind you that stoicism is what ends up always keeping me afloat.
Especially at present.
So. If you lot are feeling less than, if yous are feeling you're non doing enough or you're scared nigh the futurity (and who isn't??) – here's what I can tell you lot.
Enjoy today. Savour this moment. We're alive! We're still here.
Spend time with your loved ones (inside your household, or pod, or whatever). Lookout man a fun movie together tonight if y'all tin can. Or go to slumber early.
Seek mental wellness resources, if you lot need to. This is an unprecedented time of stress, fear and anger.
If you can work out, do so (it makes us all feel amend). I can't work out right now, but I can nurture my body with skillful food as opposed to bad food. I am trying to be meliorate about that.
Accept actions you can to make our world better.
These words, from a wise friend, made me feel better.
xoxo,
Jjiraffe
Too Many Fish to Fry Meaning
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