Obi-J

Amy just informed me that a a gentleman, known as The Captain, that lived below some friends of ours died this weekend after he abruptly stopped drinking. I didn’t know him, but hearing about it brought up feelings that life doesn’t always work as expected and in many cases is completely counterintuitive. It also reminded me again of how my father died from a heart attack at 36 despite quitting smoking and losing weight two years prior. It’s a reality of life that fairly scary and sad for me.

Lately my mind and body have been quite ill. I’m not sure if one has caused the other, but it’s been frustrating nonetheless. I guess that’s why I haven’t really been writing much here. I’ve just felt negative and I’d rather not spread those feelings. Thing is, I’m only 29, yet lately my body has just ached, like I need to crack every joint. And the last two weeks I came down with the flu which was rather debilitating. So for the last month I haven’t felt particularly healthy, in addition to the regular ills of having diabetes, which has made me rather hyperaware of my health both today and in the longterm.

For example, I have the tendency to have the occasional cigarette when I’m out drinking with friends. I’m sure you’re thinking, “what are you doing smoking and drinking? you stupid?” Yes, I am. Thankfully, I’ve never been a pack-a-day smoker, and I’m not one of those scary people puffing away at 9am. Though, when I was in college I rationalized it with, “I’ll quit when I’m older, a few here or there won’t kill me”. Well, I’m older now, and technically I haven’t quit. Again, it isn’t a regular thing, but at this point I can only say I’ve quit smoking for a month. It just one of the many things I NEED to be more diligent about.

For a little while now I’ve been dwelling on the fact that smoking, and a whole lot of other things I do, aren’t healthy for me. Like the coke I’m drinking now, or that I spent a just a little too much time in the sun yesterday at Harbin resulting in a bit of a sunburn. I do try and eat healthy and exercise. In fact, I’m a good 25 pounds lighter compared to the last few years. But I know I need to do far more work both in diet, exercise, and toxin avoidance in order to truly be healthy, both physically and spiritually. Mostly because I don’t want the same thing to happen to me as my father, but also because I want a sixpack for the ladies to ogle over at Burning Man :p I know, totally vain, but at some point (like today) I just have to do what’s best for today, rather than saying I’m going to do it tomorrow.

Am I the only one who’s sick of the reruns of Chappelle’s show? Where’s the 3rd season BITCH!!! Either the pressure’s just too much, or $50 million bought the man a whole lotta dope.

Michael Bauer just released his 2005 Top 100 Bay Area Restaurants list. Suprising to me, I’ve only eaten at four of the restaurants on the list. Though, that probably has more to do with the fact that I don’t particularly like paying more than $15 for any meal, and having a vegetarian girlfriend is somewhat limiting as well.

I’m also suprised that the only vegetarian restaurants to make the list were Greens and Viks. It seems like there are a lot of vegetarians/vegans in the bay area, but maybe my worldview is skewed by the people I run with. I’m a little disappointed that Viks is on there because it’s an underground favorite of many in berkeley and can be insanely busy on the weekends, and now even more people are going to show up at the warehouse in West Berkeley. And I still don’t understand why people think Greens is so great. I’ve eaten there twice and was quite unimpressed with the food. The setting is fantastic with the view of the bay and Golden Gate bridge, but a view does not make food great. Not that it’s bad, but I just wasn’t impressed enough to really want to go back. I’ve had far better and more interesting meals at Herbivore and Millenium.

Apparently, neither God nor Mother Earth got the memo that it’s not supposed to rain in California Between May and November. Though, I have to say I really like the way the air smells just before it rains. Something about sends shivers up my spine, and makes me feel rather excitable and nostalgic. I was on a walk when it started, but rather than popping open my umbrella I just let the rain fall on me. Those first few drops hitting my face and hands always remind me of playing soccer as a kid on those humid summer afternoons in Michigan when thunderstorms would rush in and drench me. Mostly I was just happy I didn’t wear my shoes with the holes in the soles.