Year 3, Day 59: Diversity Day

Showtime: The big day. Last year I was asked by my neighbor if I would host a celebration of acts from around the world at Ruby's school. Knowing that there was no one else to do it, and that I was a natural ham, I agreed. Naturally, I was asked again to do it, and I agreed. Sadly, the event was not advertised properly and there was a poor turnout. It reminded me of my days at the Coolidge where my coworkers, Erica and Andrea would realize in horror that a particular movie where the director or star was coming would not be well attended. Then, we'd have to slink out of the theatre lest we have to experience the shame that comes from producing a failing event. One man, the executive director, David Kleiler, stood out, because he never failed out to walk out, even to a crowd of one, and give a performance equal to what he would have given if there was a full house (only with less breaks for laugh lines). With him in mind, I took to the stage and gave it my all, but I cut down some of the jokes, since my audience was about 20 2nd graders.

Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean!
Heritage Flakes
Strawberries
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Lunch: Chan Shin Yuan Leftovers
Chicken with Spinach
Boneless Spareribs

Snack @ Event
Almonds
Broccoli
1 Dark Chocolate Raisin
1.5 oz Boston Lite Popcorn

Dinner
Big Salad
Hamburger

Dessert
Some Spoonfuls of Super Chunky Peanut Butter
Chocolate Chips

There are two parts to the event; the performance and the food. I tried my best to avoid all the excitingly diverse, ethnic, deep fried, fatty foods and stick to what I could eat, which was basically uncooked broccoli and almonds. It was a hard day all around, but everyone who came took home a lot of leftovers. If I'm not being too cynical, I think I spied at least one person I knew who showed up to the event SOLEY for the purpose of collecting leftovers. We may never have proof, but you read it here first.

Year 3, Day 51: Trip To the Big Indian

This week Ruby was on vacation and so every day (Tues-Friday) I drover her to art school. On our way, I toasted her a Whole Foods chocolate pop-tart and we listened to her favorite CD Steve Songs with "On a Flying Guitar." It really was a great time. I managed to keep a stack of brownies for her snack every day (she was there until 3pm every day) which I thought was a swell treat because we made them together. On Thursday night, to my horror, I realized that Emily had given the brownies away to Maria, our babysitter. Then I remembered that Ruby and I had made chocolate chip cookie dough from scratch and made so much of it that I rolled it in saran wrap, double-bagged it and put it in individual sleeves in the chest freezer. I picked one out and baked them this morning for her snack; they were just cool enough to go in a baggy by the time we left.

Breakfast:
Kashi Go Lean!
Heritage Flakes
Strawberries
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Lunch: New Ginza
Sashimi Plate
Salad
Soup

Snackz
3 Pieces of Beef Jerky
1 Cameo Apple
1/4 lb of Almonds

Dinner
Bok Choy with Pork
Chinese Ribs
Shrimp, Scallops & Peppers
1 Shumai
1 Yakitori (Fried)

Tonight was supposed to be a poker game, but our host got sick and so we decided to just drive on down to Foxwoods. Unlike the other Connecticut casino, the Mohegan Sun, Foxwood's food offerings are not that great. They have a good upscale steak house and lots of fast-type food (including a Carnegie Deli kiosk) but not too much in between. They do have a nice Chinese Restaurant in their new casino, and they just added a Hard Rock restaurant inside. We chose the Chinese and I due to the fact that I was getting my Wampum card (the card where you are offered points for gambling that you can use later to pay for food, etc.) I didn't order. The food was all too-sweet, which I found very disappointing. On the way down, we ate a lot of Almonds. On the way home I was hungry and bought a bag of smartfood, but I was strong and didn't open it.

Year 2, Day 355: At the Pallisades, Day Two

The IBM Palisades is a state-of-the-art conference facility built near what was once of the largest IBM offices in New York (New York had a lot of them). It truly is amazing. It borders somewhere between being a like a Catskills Resort and a modern college dormitory. But then you have to add a soupcant of Buddhist retreat. The place is very peaceful on its rolling hills campus; deer were seen frolicking on our way out. It has a walking path, a man-made river and a series of tennis courts. It has a lobby with a fake fire and a large cafeteria that overlooks all the above. It is serenely home-y, and naturally, being IBM, it is completely Wi-Fi'd to the max. Aside from all that, it features a state-of-the-art fitness center, game room, and a little conference nooks for meetings on each hotel floor, replete with pads of paper and white boards. Though Emily and I find it quite sad to have to stay at a hotel when visiting our relatives, you really couldn't do a lot better. The downside is probably the food—they could do more with their breakfast, but I make do with several cups of hotel coffee and lots of bacon. At night, we had all the cousins come over and eat what was left of Amy's Ice Cream Cake in a conference room. Everyone went around the room and started with the sentence "I called this meeting because..." Ruby said "because I want to have ice cream cake for dinner."

Breakfast
Omelet (Mushrooms, Red Peppers, Tomatoes, Ham, Cheese)
Bacon
Coffee

Lunch: The Great Neck Inn
Caesar Salad
Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese and Warm Bacon Dressing
Crab Cakes
Whole Wheat Rolls
Ahi Tuna (Black & Blue)
Grilled Salmon
Cheesecake

Snacks
1 Stick Beef Jerky
1 oz. 50% Jalapeno Cheddar
1 cup Boston Lite Popcorn
SO MANY ALMONDS

Dinner
Chicken Breast
Cauliflower
Broccoli

We are planning a party for my MOM and we are having the party at the Great Neck Inn. To make sure it would not be a food-disaster, we agreed to have lunch there. Because we were 'sampling' we ordered a lot of stuff from the menu. We didn't know they were picking up the tab, but everything we ordered was super-yummy even if the presentation needed work (see wilted greens, undressed greens, bad plates). However, the Turkey burger that I ordered was INEDIBLE. We had to send it back. For most of the meal, we were the only ones in the dining room. Later at Emily's sister's house, she had roasted almonds, that were in a bowl in the middle of the room. Do you have to guess? I dove off into the almond-pool and had marzipan dreams.

Year 2, Day 276: The 40th Almond...

...is the almond that accompanies shame, disappointment and failure down your throat. It's also the hobgoblin of anxiety. There is no good reason to keep almonds on your desk if you occasionally will have to stay late because a very important project takes much longer than you thought it would. It's that kind of project that drives you into the arms of the almonds. Even the unsalted ones are so good. And here it is, poker week, and I'm trying to resist. I'm trying to be good and stay inside of the confines, but it was a five-beef jerky day. Wow, I mean does that say it all or what?

Breakfast
Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean
Heritage Flakes
Blueberries
1 Small Banana
1 Cup Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee

Snack
2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar
5 Sticks Beef Jerky
40 Almonds

Lunch: Russo's ($5.37)
Romaine, red leaf, red pepper, red onion
pepperocini, feta, broccoli, mushrooms,
TUNA, balsamic vinegar

Dinner:
Chicken Paprikash (a la Maria)
Bok Choy (a la Emily)

Today there was no CHICKEN at Russo's. I think that there should be a sign up at the parking lot saying "no chicken" so we don't even have to come into the parking lot. It is very disheartening to find not an empty chicken bin—or even a slightly picked over chicken bin, possibly meaning that there will be more chicken soon—but the place where chicken usually is replaced by Tuna. Now I like Tuna (as does Ruby, who eats it three times a week, in violation of many experts' safety opinion vis-a-vis mercury poisoning) but just like coke tastes bad when you think you're going to drink orange soda, Tuna is no replacement for chicken. Whatever. I made do. That's what I do.

Year 2, Day 272—2006: A Skin Oddity/Detecto Says 176

Last night Ruby developed some kind of skin oddity that sent Emily and I to call the pediatrician. Now we are pretty slow to call the pediatrician but we were both a bit worried/flumoxed by this development. We decided she needed to see the today (Thursday) so I had to go to work late, which was a bummer because this was going to be the only walkable day of the week (besides Monday, which was the first day back after a long holiday). As it turned out, one of our co-workers was celebrating a birthday so everyone went for Sushi but I made lunch for me and Ruby at home. Since she wasn't contagious (said the Doctor), after lunch I dropped her back at school and went to work.
Breakfast
2 Not Quite Soft-boiled Eggs
1 Slice Balthazar Multi-Grain
Coffee *yum*

Snack
1 oz. Boston Lite Popcorn
2 oz 50% Reduced Fat Jalapeno Cheddar
4 Beef Jerky Sticks

Lunch:
Hamburger
Cabbage/Lettuce Salad with Feta
Balsamic Vinegar

Dinner:
Almonds & Cashews
Chicken Fingerlings
Cabbage
String Beans

Dessert
4 Squares Green & Black Chocolate

At the Doctor's office, I weighed myself again. Sure enough, their Detecto says 176 lbs. Pretty amazing. Because of this revelation, I treat myself to some cashews and almonds when I get home, as well 4 squares of Green & Black chocolate after dinner. Now I don't like to get into the whole dessert thing because it's hard to stop once you're in the mode, but
I have been very hungry upon arrival home lately. Part of this is psychological because if you can just stop eating long enough so that your body realizes it's full, you can stop eating, but if you just keep going, you can really cram a lot in there that you don't need.

Year 2, Day 263: Nuts Are Satan's Candy

Feeling like a bit of slippage. It's wrong to demonize a food, but nuts are Satan's Candy. They just can't be resisted, and additionally, as I'm fond of saying (a quote from the South Beach doctor), "They're diet-busters." I was very fortunate that a coworker insisted on a brisk walk, though I once again found myself in the wrong shoes. I had my sneakers but neglected to change into them because I was in such a hurry to get outside. As usual, I followed this walk with an enormous salad from Peter's. My coworkers and I have determined that the salad is about 35% too big—yet I finish it every time. It's one of the few 'throw caution to the wind' moments I allow myself. So what, I'm eating too much salad.

Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean!
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Green Tea

Snack
4 Beef Jerky
2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar
1 Extra Smokey
25 Almonds

Lunch: Peter's Kitchen
Lettuce, carrots, cucumbers
chicken, feta, balsamic vinegar

Dinner
More Salad (with Tuna)
Emily's Cauliflower
Peppadews
2 Chicken Nuggets

Since we know that Thanksgiving and lots of relatives are coming tomorrow, we tried not to shop and then were forced to resort to the dreaded "Eat What's in the House" rule, leading to the eating of a sub-optimal dinner that we regarded lowly and enjoyed even less. One of the major changes I have noticed in my life is how I no longer get fussed about a bad dinner. It's still disappointing, but I now no longer seek solace in either a second dinner, or a large dessert.

Year 2, Day 262: Monday's Back

Not 100% recovered from my raking injury, but rather than stay at home and rest, I decide to get back to work since it is a merciful short week though there is much to do. I have been making hard-boiled eggs for the kids for breakfast, which is very easy because it requires no cooking, only timing. But Ruby has become to flummox me because she now only wants scrambled eggs, which I explain to her is a special order and costs more. Also, uneaten hard-boiled eggs can be recycled, into egg salad, but uneaten scrambled eggs just become compost.

Breakfast
2 Eggs (+1 Yolk)
1 Slice Balthazar Bread
Green Tea

Snack
1 Extra Smokey
2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar
4 Slices Beef Jerky
25 Almonds

Lunch: Russo's ($5.27)
Red pepper, red leaf, red onion
mushrooms, broccoli, feta, chicken
balsamic vinegar

Dinner: Legal Seafoods
Oysters (6)
Shrimp Cocktail (3)
Salad with Feta
Grilled Mahi-Mahi
Broccoli with Cheese

It was a very big eating day. Though it wasn't a BAD eating day, there was a lot of volume. This mostly comes from returning to the office after a long absence (five days total) and nursing an injury, which makes you feel sorry for yourself, and therefore, reach for the almonds. Later that night I went out to dinner with my brother and a friend and we ordered appetizers in advance of my friend showing up. When he came, he told us he couldn't eat shellfish, so we had to eat all of his. I kept the order simple and clean, but it was 9:00 or so by the time we were finished. The desserts, while proffered, were refused, though I did have a cup of decaf and prayed it wouldn't keep me up all night. It didn't.