The Salad

My favorite specialty food is Cincinnati Chili.  I wish I could remember the very first time I had my mom's Cincinnati chili.  She had been given the recipe by a friend who was, as I recall, from Cincinnati, and I remember coveting the cream paper with man handwriting which scribed the world's most perfect chili recipe.  It would cook for hours and I would stop by the stove frequently to help stir, and to get an ETA for this world's most perfect chili.  What's different about Cincinnati Chili?  For one, it is beanless.  I always felt it was a more classy chili because of this.  More importantly, though, it relies on some subtle twists to the classic chili spice flavor profile.  It has cumin, cinnamon and often chocolate depending on whos making it.  (My mom doesn't use it, but I have started to now that I'm making it on my own.)  Cincinnati Chili is is served on top of angel hair pasta and topped with shredded cheese...if you're eating it "three-way," that is.  Add onions, that's "four way."  Add kidney beans, you're opting for "five-way."  As children and teenagers, we stopped the topping excitement at cheese, but as I've grown up I've gotten more adventurous.  I will dice some red onions and finely sliced jalapeno peppers.  Sometimes, I opt out of the pasta for low-carb's sake.  What would you call that?  Maybe "four-minus-one-plus-one-way."  Anyway you call it, any way you top it, this stuff is still like...well I was going to say "manna," but then I did some quick research and I'm not sure I'm prepared to back up that simile.  It is good.  Really good.  If I'm ever in the unfortunate position of having to pick a last meal, this would be it.  Less morbid: This is my favorite birthday dinner ever.

Cell phones.

I am the most bizarre breed of smart phone fans.  I will admit it here on the internet.  I love my Droid.  I don't know what model it is, I just know that it is connected up with Google and it does the coolest things as well as the most helpful things.  Mobile banking has made me more responsible with the small amount of money I do have.  Maps and Navigation has allowed me to navigate through completely new towns and cities and actually know where the closest gas station is and the street view of where I'm headed.  The horoscope application has encouraged a routine which I'm sure has spared me from cosmic misfortunes as well as helped me realize my potential cosmic success.  The camera allows me to capture the flowers, plants, animals and buildings that I encounter when I have exploring this world.  I wake up in the morning to Joni Mitchell's "Chelsea Morning," brought to me by the Android Market and I am frequently found watching Beyonce's "Run the World."  I can study various species of carnivorous plants with the help of the aptly named "Animal Kingdom - Carnivorous Plants" app.  All this is not to mention recipes on the run, scrabble, and the stars that this can identify!

But.

And there's a big but.

goldenness and vitality

I can't help it...I love my checking my horoscope.

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Change.

Change is inevitable, it is necessary, it is life.  And yeah, change can be hard.  Sometimes it can be incredibly good. And sometimes it can have no impact whatsoever.  Lots of times, things that change leave a presence of absence behind.  A yearning, perhaps for only a bit, for how times used to be and often, what we wouldn't give to return to those times.  Two five-year reunions are occurring for institutions I was a part of at one time (Wellesley College and SEA Semester), and though I'm not going to be flying across the country to re-live those times with our 5-years-older selves, I'm left thinking about how it was, and how hard the change from those lives was (at the time) and that, dang, change is kinda hard.  So, yes, moving across the country from your college BF's elicits that feeling of absence, or yearning, maybe even of sadness.  People come and go through your life so rapidly its hard to keep count.  At least you can get in touch with them.

The Splendors of Coronado

Met the most charming woman at the walk-up Clayton's Coffee shop on Coronado.  Her name was Mimi--she owns a local massage shop (?terminology?) and chatted with me while waiting for her coffee.  Turns out her daughter worked at the coffee shop.  She was adorable, welcomed me to the community, and told me to treat myself to a massage, and she would treat me to a martini.  How adorable.  Though it has aged me and stunted my social life, I can't help but burst at the seams with my love for Coronado.  It's enchanting.

On bed making.

I have started making my bed in the morning.  This has been a consistent habit of only about 4 days, but still going well.  I feel as if making your bed is totally underrated in terms of its ability to improve your day.  Consider the following:

• Making your bed says, "I'm getting out of this bed and starting my glorious day.  I won't be getting back in it for a while, so I may as well get used to being awake and doing some stuff."
• Making your bed makes your room look 300% cleaner.  I have the math to prove that if you'd like to see it.
• Making your bed also makes you want to give the rest of your room a quick tidy so that it can be on par with that fine looking bed.  I personally have a problem with clothes.  I'll try on many clothes and then not hang them up.  This results in a "clothes chair" (I know/hope I'm not alone on that one) which can eventually lead to a "clothes pile," neither of which are attractive in a room.  I'm am trying to break this habit.  I try to hang the things on the clothes chair up once a day.  I figure, that's enough, you know? Maybe even every other day.  We'll see how it pans out.
• Tell me, how nice is it to come home after a long day of whatever it is  you spend your time doing, and open the door of your room to find a tidy room, a made bed, and a place to rest your weary bones for a moment.
• And then, tell me, how much better is it to get in a made bed when you are finally going to sleep.  You have resolved the battle between the down comforter and the fuzzy blanket as well as calmed down the sheets a little, resulting in a bed that feels like a peaceful welcome to slumber-town.
• Also, less likely to lose things in your bed, which I sometimes have a problem with.  Pens, wallets, keys, what-have-you.

'that kind of friend' note set