Superficial Distractions

First off, here's the pile of meat my boyfriend had at dinner last night:


Okay, okay. I know. You can probably tell it's a pizza. But to me it looked like a big plate of raw, shiny meat. Ick. It's actually prosciutto and my boyfriend ate it all. Blech - all things ham make me nauseous. I opted for the butternut squash ravioli with sage butter. Mmm.

You can probably tell that I'm still trying to keep my mind off of this: Bozeman Explosion.

I've been doing a butt-load of graphic design work. And e-shopping. And actual shopping. I'm going to refrain from telling you about the design stuff. I will, however, tell you about shopping. Because I'm sure it's thrilling to read about. If you disagree, just ignore that this post ever happened. I'm practicing avoidance by looking for shiny things to distract me. Otherwise I'll keep dwelling on the utter crappiness of last week.

Post-dinner last night, I dropped by Best Buy and instinctively picked up this:

I have a habit of judging books and video games by their covers. Luckily, this seems to turn out well for me. The last game I randomly picked up was Divine Divinity. Weird, off-putting name, but it's a great game. So far Tales of Vesperia seems to be pretty great as well. It feels very old-school RPG in format, but the look is standard Anime - as I'm sure you can tell by the cover. The graphics are pretty fun. Anyhoo...on to other exciting things.

Shoes.

Shoes are a problem for me. I really enjoy them, aesthetically. Unfortunately I have weird feet. And a bum ankle. (Which slowly continues to improve, but I'm still stuck with settling for less than fantastic shoes.)

Summer is coming here in LA, so I found myself gazing at these puppies:


Sigh. I'll be able to wear heels again eventually. These also caught my eye:A not-too-high wedge, I think. Unfortunately I have oddly short toes, so sandals end up looking strange most of the time. Plus that ankle issue I mentioned earlier

This pair totally repulsed me, and I didn't bother to find a better photo online:


Unfortunately, I ended up buying a ton of "meh" shoes. The last time I bothered to shoe shop was last October. I kind of might have totally worn out some of those already.

Don't tell anyone that cares about fashion, but I bought some clogs with a squishy lining. They are very, very comfortable. Which is pretty much a style no-no, but what can I do? I also got some sandals that were barely a step up from flip-flops. And a pair of penny loaferish flats and black ballet flats (with a twist). I desperately needed more work-appropriate foot attire.

I was going to indulge in photographing them, but I'm actually not really proud to wear them.

Some of my goals for the year include buying things I like at the time I discover 'em (they disappear otherwise) and learning to cope with transition pieces. Sometimes I can't find or afford something when I need it. Rather than going without, I am trying to be at peace with things that I think are only so-so.

Accidental Vegetarianism

I'm not a vegetarian. I had always wanted to be one, mainly because every animal I've ever met has tugged at my heartstrings . But, when it came down to it, I never managed to put down the burger.

Here's why: I LOVE meat. Rather, I *used* to love meat.

It started with ham. I've always, always HATED ham. It smells fantastic - the idea of it is divine. But the reality is that it makes me nauseous, without fail. I'd notice that my food tasted off, ask what was in it and find out ham was part of the mix. It was okay though - bacon and pork were still divine.

Next came chicken. If chicken tastes like, well, chicken, I spit it out. It gets my gag reflex going. Drowned in sauces, it isn't too bad, but boiled chicken makes me ill.

It's not like I'm imagining the little slaughtered animals. No. It just turns in my mouth. It's like eating something that is about to give you food poisoning. "I thought that tasted off..." Then you spend the next two days writing in agony on the bathroom floor, trying desperately to aim the proper end of yourself toward the toilet.

Eventually all poultry started giving me trouble, then pork, and I convinced myself that if I could eat fish and big, juicy steaks, I would make a fine vegetarian.

But tonight, it happened. The lovely beefy-meaty marinara sauce my boyfriend made for our spaghetti dinner turned on me. I hope this hasn't spread to steak, but I fear that I might slowly phase out all meat entirely.

I guess I need to start adjusting my diet, so I don't end up looking like one of those hollow-eyed vegans with the dark under-eye circles and pale, pale skin.