Year 3, Day 41: Election Day

Today was election day, and I am up for office. By some weird coincidence, Magnolia didn't have school so Emily took her to her school, and I drove Ruby to school, stopping at my polling place to vote en route. I have been taking Ruby to vote since the year 2000, when wrapped in a blanket, we took her into the Washington Street polling place. I hope that one day she is excited to participate in the democratic experiment (if there is a United States democracy left by that time). I probably won't find out the election results (whether I won or not) until tomorrow. Ordinarily, this would drive me to the chocolate chips again, but I feel strangely calm.

Breakfast
1 Joseph's Wrap
2 Hard Boiled Eggs
3 Strips Turkey Bacon
smattering of cheese
salsa
Coffee

Snack
4 Sticks beef jerky
1 fuji apple

Lunch: Russo's ($5.05)
Romaine, red pepper, red onion, feta
chicken, broccoli, mushrooms
balsamic vinegar, pepperocini

Dinner
Hamburger
String Beans
Broccoli
Whole Foods Hot & Sour Soup

I'm not sure where I found the strength today to avoid extra snacks, but I did. It was a combination of zen-like focus ('you can only lose weight when you're hungry'); discipline, and possibly the results of having eggs. From Men's Health: " According to a recent study, Louisiana State University researchers found that when people had eggs for breakfast, they ate 250 fewer calories during the rest of the day than when they had a bagel instead." So maybe there's something to that?

Year 2, Day 305: A Loud "Tsk"-ing Noise

My first day back at work and the anxiety is high. I knew I was in trouble right away and to no one's surprise, it was a four-jerky day. But of course, the real culprit were the majority of a half a pound of pistachios from Russo's. I can't really blame anyone but myself. That's just the way it went. I suppose if you throw someone back at their desk after nearly 10 days away and then sit a box of nuts next to them, you're just going to see that kind of carnage. It wasn't pretty. It was over quickly, though.

Breakfast
Kashi

Snack
1 Extra Smokey
4 Sticks Beef Jerky
About 6 oz. Pistachios

Lunch: Russo's ($5.89)

Dinner
Flounder, Shrimp
Asparagus

Dessert
6 squares of Green & Black Chocolate


Of all the nights not to have dessert! Yet I was still hungry after dinner and thought it might be a good way to tell myself that eating was over. It turned out to be a pretty good way to go, but I mean, man! What a day.

Year 2, Day 290: Beef Jerky's Back

First time for Beef Jerky in about a week. Right back up to four pieces. I guess old habits die hard. People often ask me about the beef jerky. It's from Buffalo BIlls (suspiciously also called ChooChooRoo Snacks). From their web site: "Introduced in 1990, our Original Hickory Beef Jerky is the product our company was founded upon. Premium, hickory smoked top round marinated in soy sauce, garlic, & black pepper." They're not long on marketing. When people learn that I eat a lot of beef jerky, they assume that I am some kind of trucker, southerner, or weirdo. I attribute this in large part to the ubiquitous presence of sub-standard jerky in just about all of the most unpleasant places in America. In fact, when it's done right, it's quite delicious, nutritious, and satisfying. There are very few people that were interested in trying it that haven't become fans. I'm warning you! It's like Green Eggs and Ham. Try it, you'll like it!
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Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean!
Heritage Flakes
Ikea Muesli
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee


Lunch Crown's Kitchen
Chicken Kebab Salad with Feta


Snack
4 beef jerky
old smokey
1 oz boston lite popcorn
30 pistachios

Dinner
Chicken Breast
Salad

"The only thing inevitable in life is change," the saying goes, and that's never truer than when one is faced with your typical urban square. I work in Watertown Square, and though it may connote visions of an exciting, urban center laced with great shops and places to eat, it is in fact, a lonely, poorly designed, traffic nightmare littered with sketchy, oft-closed stores and mysteriously empty eateries. Between those places there are a few places to eat, some of which we happy few at Domania have come to love, or at least regard as suitable. Certainly Peter's Kitchen fell into that category for me, because the previous owners of the place ran a not very impressive coffee shop with an even less impressive name: "Why Not?"

On the other hand, Peter's Kitchen was very nice. Though I have written about their 'poor man's salad', it was an embarrassment of salad—easily two pounds of salad. They really laid it on, and it had gotten to the point where I could just call and they would say "The usual?" and I would say "Yep," and that was it. It's a good feeling to be known, but that feeling disappeared when one day, almost without anyone noticing—they came under new ownership. No information is available about why they changed or who on God's Green Earth thought "Crown's Kitchen" was a better name than "Peter's Kitchen." It boggles the mind, really. With great suspicion I ordered the salad and naturally they got it wrong—no pepperocini. In addition, the salad was noticeably smaller and had no carrots, fewer olives and no cucumbers. I'm not sure I missed those things, but I did notice they were gone. I suppose the 'crown' needed them for something else.