Well, I hold doors for everyone behind me, but I include men in this. It seems only polite, although it was not something I was brought up with. I’m sixty-one, after all, and in the era of my childhood, we didn’t hold doors for men. If you were a man, you were on your own.
It’s not a big act of kindness, but it is one that I can exercise daily. A common courtesy, in fact. Something that just makes sense, especially if someone has held the previous door open for me.
I don’t know how men feel about this. They seem to appreciate it.
I don’t think of habits and joy in the same sentence. Habits are things you do, often out of health or obligation. I don’t get a sense of joy in brushing my teeth or doing a load of dishes.
There is one habit, though, that I get joy out of, and that is going to sleep. I love sleeping. It’s like a reset for my mind and body. My dreams are sometimes annoying (I have a lot of ‘not being prepared for class’ sorts of dreams) but often they’re interesting and pleasant.
I smile as I fall asleep. It’s a relief and an experience.
I seek out medical topics. Not so deep that I am reading medical cases and playing “name that diagnosis”, but I look up diseases and learn symptoms. I would make a perfect hypochondriac if it weren’t for the fact I’m often right in my self-diagnosis.
I am interested in molecular biology, but not enough to study it. I think it’s fascinating that each of our cells has a miniature version of the systems that input, use energy, and output.
I am curious about rumors. I hear this is not a good thing to be, but nonetheless I find myself wanting to know more.
I wonder about about how my cats perceive me. I have read that they don’t consider me an overgrown kitten, but why do they insist on cleaning my face?
These are just a few things I’m curious about. There are more. I am a rather curious person.
I write this blog early in the morning, so the prompt “Is today typical?” is somewhat humorous. Did I get up this morning at ten till 5 when my husband’s alarm went off? Yes. Did I get out of bed at 20 after? Yes, I did. Did I take my meds? Absolutely. Did I go downstairs and eat breakfast? Indeed.
Today is beginning in a very typical way. As a typical summer day, I can also expect to take some time writing or reading. I can do the dishes in the dishwasher. I can check the mail, and if I’m really ambitious, I will go to Starbucks to write.
In the fall/spring, typical means going to work and teaching two classes with office hours in between. I will meet with students and go to meetings. Life will be a lot busier, but I will be in tune with my new schedule. This will begin sooner than I’d like, because summer is winding down.
The word I would use to describe myself is exuberant. I am a cheerful person, and one who is not restrained in my approach to life. I love life, and life makes me laugh. Exuberant is a good word.
I am not a small woman in any way. Even when I lose weight, I will never be small. I was not made to be small. Big and exuberant will have to be the way I appear in life.
I wonder if sometimes I’m too much, but I can’t be anyone but myself.
The prompt asks, “If you had two free plane tickets, where would you go?”
My answer is unusual. I have always wanted to go to Svalbard, Norway, specifically Longyearbyen. Why? Because it’s so isolated. I would love to go there in summer, because I always wanted to see what a day with no night would be like. I also would like to go there in the winter for the Northern Lights.
Svalbard lies above the Arctic Circle and is appropriately icy and cold. It is the home of the Svalbard Global Seed Bank and one of my favorite Internet radio stations, Arctic Outpost, which plays the real oldies (1902-1958). It is also the home of many polar bears, and you are not allowed to hike outside Longyearbyen unarmed.
I don’t really know why I’m fascinated by Longyearbyen other than its reputation of being the northernmost city in the world. It’s a town of 2400 people (approximately), smaller than the place I grew up. And it’s cold, with summer temperatures from 37-46 degrees Fahrenheit (or 3-7 degrees Celsius). Winter temperatures are 8.6°F (-13°C). I won’t be going outside much.
My husband would rather go to New Zealand, which is a much more reasonable place to travel to. But I want to go to a place few people have gone to (or want to go to) for a singular experience.
When your last name is Leach, “Leachie” is a natural nickname.
I think it started in Kindergarten, which is a natural time for kids to figure out that “Leach” > “Leachie”. It continued through school, and I think people even called me that in high school. Not a terribly complicated story.
However, my favorite user name is “Lleachie”. If someone on the web has the nickname “Lleachie”, it’s a good chance it’s me. It’s pronounced like “llama”, with one L. Except for one person from Poland who pronounced it “ill-e-ATCH-ie”, which I’ll forgive him for.
My absolute go-to food is one I seldom eat, but I will whip up a batch occasionally. It’s easy to make, and it absolutely soothes my nerves. It’s not for everyone, it’s a bit spicy, but it’s helped me through some rough times.
That food is namya. It’s Thai food, a light coconut curry sauce with fish to be served over rice noodles with cilantro. I think I’ve just lost some of my readers, what with cilantro and fish curry. But it’s flavorful and soothing, almost like chicken soup, but with a touch of spice.
As I said, it’s easy to make. take a can of coconut milk and pour it in a pan. Add a half-can of water. Put in a tablespoon of fish sauce, a tablespoon of red curry paste, some lime leaves, a chunk of dried galangal (if you have it), and sometimes I put in chopped cilantro stems. add leftover cooked fish or cooked ground turkey and simmer until hot and the flavors have melded a bit. Serve over rice noodles with cilantro.
You can use more curry paste if you want it richer, but that will also mean hotter (which is why you throw the other herbs in it instead). A trip to an Asian food store is a must before making this for the curry paste (although there is a brand of milder curry paste in US stores), lime leaves, and galangal.
This is my favorite comfort food. Often, however, I settle for something more mundane, like chicken soup.
I don’t play a lot of games (board or other). I play solitaire and some Yahtzee clone on my phone. I would play charades in a room full of people, no problem. But my favorite game to play is Scrabble.
I’m not a great Scrabble player. I know all the big words, but I’m not good at what gets the real points in the game — placing tiles that give multiple words. I knew a woman who had this skill, and she could play 600-point games. I never beat her at Scrabble.
I think being able to play multiple words by playing laterally is a spatial skill and this is why I lack it. I lack spatial skills, but my verbal skills are almost enough to get me through in Scrabble. Almost. Still, it’s my favorite game.
Am I seeking security or adventure? I’m 61 and pretty settled down. I also don’t have the endurance I want to have, so I think I’m on the side of security.
I never thought I would choose security to adventure. When I was younger (and unmedicated bipolar), I wanted adventure. I went on many (sometimes ill-advised) adventures in Chicago and various other places. I walked in dark neighborhoods at night, rode in a car with someone who shouldn’t have been driving, and talked down an oversize hippie who thought ‘free love’ was mandatory. Don’t get me wrong, I liked adventure, usually.
Nowadays, I do repeat vacations in the same place. I don’t go on roller coasters (although maybe I should fix that).
At least I am adventurous with some things. I am very adventurous about food. If Jamaican chicken curry is a sign of adventurousness, then maybe I am a bit adventurous. Just not the way I used to be.
Words Like Me 