Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Seven Things About Myself; Structures, Sharing and Self-Doubt (One Lovely Blog)

Clear blue sky here, snow melting everywhere, sidewalks icy. Here's how they change the signs at the movie-theater in town:
Games the mind can play: on the tail-end of the writing class I took over the weekend, I've been enmeshed in a short prose piece and have been realizing how much less sure of myself I am when attempting a literary prose passage than when writing poetry. So then of course (despite the fact that I write plenty of free verse) my mind accuses that perhaps I write poetry in the first place because it constrains the form and I lack the imagination to create my own structures. And then I think of my blog, composed almost always in prose, and start to fall into the abyss--what if it's all a hodge-podge mess of unstructured ramblings?

Fortunately, I've been offered a structure for today's blog to short-circuit this whole thought-pattern: thank you so much to kt of Cabin Blendings for sending the "One Lovely Blog" award my way. It's so cool to have discovered her blog and to learn that there's someone else living in a cabin with no running water, up here in AK, working magic with a Vita-Mix and lots of fresh produce.
Here's what you do with the award:
-You link and thank the blogger who awarded you (as I did above)--thanks again!
-Copy-and-paste (or download and upload) the award into your own blog post--a teacup of roses!
-Share Seven Things about yourself (there's the structure taken care of!)
-Nominate up to fifteen other great bloggers (glad to do so)
-Comment on their blogs to let them know to come pick up their prize (I'll do so right after hitting 'publish')

So...Seven Things About Myself
1) I love to look at clouds, especially when the background is blue, blue sky.
That tilde of cloud was so sharply defined: wind-sculpted.

2) I have never been inside a weights room, and go back and forth on feeling completely unattracted to the whole concept (dark, sweaty, stinky, possibly noisy, uncomfortable to my body) and on the other hand, thinking I really should get into the whole thing.

3) I never acquired the television habit, and have thus barred myself from a whole litany of easy conversation topics (let alone cultural references and jokes). For an overeducated person, I feel quite ignorant sometimes...

4) As a little kid, I used to brew herbal potions from the several herbs we had growing in the garden (identifying the good ones by smell). Now as an adult, I sometimes fantasize about becoming an herbalist (should I really be going to school for poetry? Perhaps I can do both someday)...

5) As an adolescent, I was a late developer and wore my hair short. I was still being mistaken for a boy when I was 15!

6) I have a high tolerance for clutter, dirt, mess. And just recently, I'm exploring the notion that clutter is stuck energy and dealing with it will move energy.

7) I am ABD (all but dissertation) in a PhD in Classical Literature from UC Berkeley--my sojourn as a treeperson and beekeeper in HI was supposed to give me ideas and comparative material for writing about trees and orchards in the Ancient World but really gave me a case of writer's block. I still intend to write the book.

And now I'm off to have lunch--leftovers from yesterday:
Two cups of black beans cooked in ginger, blended with a bit of coconut oil, onion powder, chili powder, chipotle and a tablespoon of miso, with garlic, cilantro, tomatoes and lots of salad greens stirred in and a little coconut kefir on top! And then I need to get back to writing. The other nice thing about writing poetry, for someone who sits at the computer translating and editing (and reading around...) is that I go through many pen and paper drafts of poems before going to the computer, whereas prose contains so many more words that it's easier to work with on the computer--yet more time in the cave!

First, though, I hereby pass on the award to these blogs:
Almost Vegan
April's CR Diary
Being Poetry
Bitt of Raw
Edible Goddess
What Runs Lori
The High Raw Nourished Kitchen
Really Raw by Raederle
pure2raw
Vegan Culinary Crusade

I look forward to how you respond to the award!

So, should I get into weights? And are there any other questions that I should have answered but didn't?
Have a beautiful day, everyone.

15 comments:

  1. thank you ela!

    I too have a high tolerance for clutter and a high propensity to make it.

    I do keep in touch with some tV shows just to connect with others. I have found ways to do it without the commercials I despise. Nowdays you can rent series and so forth.

    Love finding you your 7 things! Will get to work on mine.

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  2. Thanks!! My response is here: http://reallyrawraederle.blogspot.com/2011/03/one-lovely-blog-award.html

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  3. Thanks, bitt--I'm looking forward to reading yours. I appreciate the clutter empathy, as sometimes I carry some shame around that!
    love
    Ela

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  4. Thanks, Raederle--and thanks especially for redesigning the award: I wouldn't know how to do that!
    love
    Ela

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  5. You have a high tolerance for clutter. hehe. Me too! What a positive spin to put on it, I like it.
    Thanks for picking me!! I feel so privileged! :) You are awesome, you know that right?
    Anyway, thank you and deliciousness is oozing from that bean mixture you have... seriously the best combo of ingredients- not to mention EASY.

    So when are you going to become an herbalist?

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  6. I don't think you ramble at all! I love reading and reflecting on your ideas and thoughts. They are always well-written and insightful.

    What about writing your poetry on cute little packages of herbal brews and selling them at farmers' markets? I bet they would be a hit.

    Thank you for sharing your seven things. It's so fun to learn more about you. I didn't realize you were so close to your PhD. What an interesting book idea!

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  7. Oh, Lori--I don't know the answer to the herbalist thing... Thanks, and I look forward to reading your responses too.

    Yes, the black bean mix is awesome--almost like guacamole but with a black bean base--blackamole, right?
    love
    Ela

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  8. kt--thanks so much for that. I'm really glad that you enjoy reading, and likewise to you.

    Thanks for doing the 'seven things:' I sometimes fear I won't be able to come up with anything but it's always interesting to read other peoples,' so I figure the same must be so the other way around.
    love
    Ela

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  9. Thanks for the award :) We better get started on ours!!xoxo

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  10. Thanks! I look forward to reading yours...
    love
    Ela

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  11. I love the way you write and enjoy reading your posts. Thanks for sharing so many things about you. I now feel like I know you even better.

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  12. Thanks so much, Shannonmarie--I love reading from you.
    love
    Ela

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  13. I am so behind on blog reading, I could cry...

    Thank you so very much for the award - please know that it means a lot to me. :)

    I think you should give light weights a try - no need to even go in a stinky weight room, just fill a couple water bottles with coins and go to it at home.

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  14. Amber--I know how it feels being way behind on blogs sometimes: but please don't cry: rejoice that your here-and-now life is so rich and full!

    Thanks for the weights tip: and you've got my measure--I love low-tech and diy solutions!
    love
    Ela

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  15. Here’s my response to the award, Ela! http://ediblegoddess.com/2011/03/7-things-about-myself-one-lovely-blog-award/.

    Keep rawkin' your blog and sharing the message with the world - love reading your insights and adventures from Alaska! xxx

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