Mind Your Pence and Quince

I'm taking a 5 minute tea break from moving insanity, and finalizing my "UK budget vs. nutritional needs" list. The challange: how to be a triathlete-in-training on about 1 pound (~$2) per day for six months, meeting all my requirements for a balanced athlete's diet, with the resources and accoutrements of a series of hostel kitchens. Quite a fun challange, actually. From here. No, in all seriousness I'm looking forward to simplification and streamlining of all sorts; food, posessions, goals, "needs", maybe even... thoughts? Streamlining of MY scattered thoughts? Possible? That's the fun part, I'm about to find out. Anyway, based on knowledge gained from my work with the incredible Clyde Wilson + food availability in England + costs + projected hostel storage/refrigeration space + the goal of a list of no more than 21 items (streamlining of thought-process, remember), this is what my culinary forcast looks like:

First Priority 10:

oats
oat flour
soymilk
tofu
spinach
beans
nut/seed butter
nuts or seeds
high protein cereal
fruit nectar

Second Priority 10 (ie, if 1sts are all in stock and there are pence left on the black side):

molasses
tea
wholegrain bread
broccoli
tomatoes
seitan
brown rice
hummus
dried fruit
apples

And once a month:

A small piece of dark chocolate

Add to that my travel spice kit (aren't film canisters wonderful?) of cinnamon, gharam masala, ginger, italian herbs, pumpkin pie spice, cayenne, pepper and salt -- what more could I want? Fortunately, I like porridge. And I'll be eating it. Probably 3 times a day. Maybe that should be my first book, "1001 Ways to Make Porridge in a Hostel Kitchen on 50 pence a Day"....
It truely makes me so happy to think how beautiful and precious an apple will taste, not to mention the things not on this list. I will miss the gastronomic adventurousness that is my cooking, which is a grounding force in my life, so there's a whole portion of my brain that will be going into hibernation; but when the hibernation is over, or gets to pop its head out into the sun from time to time, cooking will be a profound and sacred delight beyond what I can conceive of now. Practice in motion. I'm excited to be in this time of practical application of my beliefs and principles :)
Tea's done, back to work.

Unbelievable

When I got back from Portland on the morning of the 23rd, I'd had about 2 cumulative hours of sleep, an early flight, and a week of too much good food which made me more tired than I would have been already. The reason I'd had to come back that particular day at that particular time was to take the Emergency Medical Technician National Registry Exam; I'd chosen the earliest flight so that I'd have time for a short nap and a few hours of studying (meaning, the only studying I'd actually budgeted time for). Well, I was delerious with fatigue when I got home, and late getting down for the planned nap. And then the alarm didn't go off. And then I couldn't find my confirmation letter. And then I got lost getting there as I didn't bother to read the directions thoroughly, and went to wrong buildings three times before getting frustrated enough to look it up. Which left me, oh, about 30 minutes to cram. And I failed all the practice questions I attempted. Once the exam started I began hoping the adrenaline of the moment would wake me up, sharpen my focus, and somehow magically provide the missing information to my very much deprived brain. By mid test, I knew I was doomed; I needed a 75% to pass, and I had at least 35% of the questions as "uncertain" on my scratch sheet. I was falling alseep anytime I wasn't frantically writing trying to work out answers. The test itself is poorly written, with many questions containing multiple correct answers, some questions on topics above the EMT-Basic level, and several with no truely correct answer at all -- but that was no excuse for my ill-preparedness and lack of sleep. So I conceeded, and plodded through the rest of the exam, knowing full well that it was pointless but wanting to at least finish and get an idea of what I would need to review for the next time I took it, last chance being on October 21st as my England-bound flight was already scheduled for the 26th. I left the exam room knowing full well that I had failed, and was of course told by classmates and friends "Oh no you didn't, you always say that, you did just fine" which was nice but misguided as no one could possibly fathom how much I DIDN'T study. I recognized that I really hadn't applied myself to the task at hand, and that I needed to more serious in my approach to my second, and final, attempt, to that end making sure revision manuals didn't get packed for storage and blocking out hours this week around moving-business to properly study, to rightfully earn completion of the EMT 'circle' and add another tool to my off-to-England belt.

I just checked the National Registry Website.

I passed.

And One More Thing...

Because I don't have enough to do/think about/accomplish/obsess over, I have just done the deed and manifestly signed up for NaNoWriMo.

Justifications:
1. November is the last month of my off-season as training officially begins December 1st
2. Writing, assuming I can find someone foolish enough to publish me, is something I've put off doing for years and am about to try my hand at... and I need to get my head into manuscription mode
3. If this off-the-deep-end life-adventure I'm tackling is anything for certain, it's good material
4. "NaNoWriMo is all about the magical power of deadlines. Give someone a goal and a goal-minded community and miracles are bound to happen. Pies will be eaten at amazing rates. Alfalfa will be harvested like never before. And novels will be written in a month." I figure this is good karma for the months to come; hopefully the magical power of goals and miracles will extend beyond my novel to my nursing career
5. I'm nuts, but you knew that already.

I will NOT be blogging my progress, just my bellyachings and why-the-hell-am-I-doing-this-es. I expect to change my mind about plot and characters and place-names and astrological convergances and all many many many times over the month of November, so I'll just spare you till it's over and donewith. If anything, you'll have something to read while you're on the treadmill working off Thanksgiving...

Great Swim Set

This morning's set was awesome. I've still yet to put my finger on what makes a good set, or even, what makes a set good; how do you know it isn't just the weather, or the state of your muscles, or what side of the bed you got up on (at 4 in the bloody morning, especially)? But like an efficient stroke, you just feel it. And this one felt spectacular, despite my lack of improvement, so it must have been the set!

w/u:
3x { 200 pull, 100 fly/free by 25's

main:
400 free, 2x 50 fast
300 free, 2x 50 fast
200 free, 2x 50 fast
100 free, 2x 50 fast

interlude:
200 back

second:
3x 200 IM (build each 50, finishing each strong)

c/d:
100 ez

total:
3100

The Invitation

Dear Local Friends and Extended Family,

There is, finally, no defying it: it seems that for the forseeable future, I will be living on the spur of the moment. Including having a goodbye party being thrown for me at the last minute, and being the one asked to send out the invitations! My parents are hosting an open-house-type bon voyage, this Saturday afternoon/evening starting at 4 pm; this is my last weekend in the Bay Area, and the coming week will be filled with departure logistics, so this will be my final chance to see many of you and say goodbye. For those who are able, we'd love to see you here; just bring yourselves and your families, we'll have hors d'euvors, dinner and dessert -- this is also going to be my last chance to cook properly for a very very long time!
Here's the proper invitation:

Open House Bon Voyage for Antonia
Saturday October 15th - 4 pm till we drop!
Hosts: Ron and Sally Mancini
RSVP: rsmancini@kepnet.com or 650-326-9850
Address: 915 Theresa Court, Menlo Park, CA 94025


As a background for those who have no idea what I'm talking about:

After over two years of relative uncertainty, I am about to embark on a voyage into the complete unknown. I am, as many of you know, intent on getting into a nursing program abroad, which has proven next to impossible to do from here. I feel strongly that the training I would receive is the best possible to prepare me for the humanitarian work I want to do, and I am willing to put life on hold for a time and take this leap of faith to hopefully make it happen. It will be a stressful, unpredictable time; I will not have the ability to legally work, I cannot legally stay past 6 months, my "next moves" will be dependant on whatever strides I make (or don't) with each school I visit, and I will not always know where I'm going or what I'm doing until it happens. I also don't know how easy it will be to keep in contact, what kind of schedule I'll be able to keep and therefore what free time I'll have for communication or socialization, and most importantly: when, or if, I'm coming back. Uncertainties abound. The schedule I've kept the last year and a half has made me a difficult person to know -- that's about to get exponentially more severe. But despite all of the challanges that this direction presents, and as much as there are aspects of the journey I'm not felicitously anticipating, I know the path is the right one; now all I have to do is start walking.

I hope to see you Saturday, though I know that this impulsive gathering may be coming on top of already-laid weekend plans; to all of you who I will not get to visit before I leave, hugs and warm thoughts and until we meet again :)

All the best,
Antonia

Let the Show Begin

I am now, officially, no fooling, about to embark on this adventure. Not because I sold my car, or garage sale-ed or gave away 85% of my posessions, or bought my plane ticket, or lived out of Container Store bins all summer, or talked about it and told you all I was going to for over a year. Which is all true, of course. But because while I pack away the 14% that is to stay behind, I've got Shrek playing in the background. I occasionally had Shrek going when I used to clean Brockenborings, the Montana house. I had Shrek going when I stained those *^$)#(*$ bookshelves, and when I loaded the then-brand-new-to-me Sophie at 1 in the morning to drive to Oregon for Christmas 6 days after surgery, on crutches, with my leg in an aircast. I had it running several times as I unpacked and repacked the house before I moved to California, and it was on NBC both times I packed for my European trips (England/Ireland in April, and Spain in May). And again when I moved into the church apartment, and Jen and I had it going when we painted the living room, and again when we moved to Alma Street, and again when I moved out. And that doesn't count all the times any of the kids had it going for their own reasons. It is the official "moving, rearranging, or otherwise setting-life-to-rights" background music. Because for all that, I don't think I've actually SEEN Shrek for several years, maybe even since it came out; it just runs, and I listen in occasionally, and laugh at the funny bits I happen to be in the room for (or don't have the vacuum running over). It's more for... the fact that it is now, for better or worse, a traditional part of the moving process, a constant little port in a very changable storm. Come to think of it, Shrek is probably the one constant I've had over the past few years. Imagine that: a fun, funky little movie-as-life-anchor, and for someone who hates TV!

Rolling along towards the goal of being "ready to leave" by October 12, which, if accomplished, would not only be a significant breakthrough in my ability to stick to a deadline but will allow me 2 weeks of non-rushed, non-hastled time to see family, friends, enjoy the weather and available vegan food, spend some time alone (last time for QUITE awhile more than likely as hostels are not conducive to this!), and get in some quality training in this all-but-pefect venue. Tally ho, back to the boxes.... and em, Shrek, o' course. Here is a brief photo-journal of the garage sale chapter of the moving saga...

Oh, If Only...

This is a wonderfully written bit, complete with pictures, on the LiveStrong ride that took place in Oregon a week ago; when I was in Portland I saw the sign-up forms and cursed the fates I wasn't staying longer...!