Tahini

Well first off I'm sorry I don't post as often as I once did. Life has been more than a bit cruel of late. I've been stuck in survival mode for a while.

But I finally said that I can't keep putting off trying new foods. As much as I fear getting symptoms like food poisoning for a week, I won't just suddenly and majically know what will be safe, and my current list of safe foods is rather sparse (not to mentions local stores seem to not bother stocking them half the time, making my food a scavenger hunt).

So last night I put some tahini and honey on some ground turkey patties.

The turkey patties are not all that new. They help me with protien requirements now that the brands of chicken I can trust are disappearing from shelves to be replaced by treated and flavored varieties.

Honey is keeping me alive. at a rate on one pound a day.

The Tahini was new. and not exactly pleasant. I figured if I can use a bit of oil in cooking (and sesame oil offers a nice nutty flavor) that tahini might be a good choice for a try. It's closer to known safe foods than a peanut butter, and far less likely to have starches and sugars and such added to it.

But Tahini is bitter. and what nutty flavors it's oild carries are fairly well obliterated by the bitterness. I'd almost rather chew on paper envelopes. and that particular aspect might have contributed to the rough morning I had today.

It's not as bad as it could be, and I suppose for thoroughness sake that in a few days, pending any other reactions, I shall try it again, this time in much less quantity on my veggies as a flavoring rather than a sauce. Then if I have another rough morning I'll cross it off the list along with other potential nut butters due to similarity in texture and compsition.

I think next on the list will be aged cheeses. For the simple versatility of the ingrediants. If those are a go, it opens up a lot of variety of flavoring options. Then I shall tinker with herbs and spices, starting with brewing 'herbal tea' which can be used in the cooking of other foods. a bit of fennel and salt and pepper with paprika in the water could make a salami or italian sausage flavor to meats, while cheeses could be uses on tope of veggies and the meats cut up and added to the dish.

Alternatively herbs in oils could be used to make pesto sauces. And herbs can be used to flavor honey.

But I'm also on the look out for other meats. I can eat most varieties of undoctored fish, and possible options of shrimp and crestatians. Undoctored chiken, and turkey. That's all I know for meats. Though I'm not really inclined to eat mammal, if it's an option I should at least know about it.

I'd like to try escargo and calimari and octipus and scallops and clams. Oh and maybe a few exotic meats like Emu, and reptile meats.

That's what I'm aiming for.

Take care of yourselves.
Rovingjack

Soooo frustrating

It seems every time I start to plan and prepare for a new food trial or exercise routine, I get sick again. Maybe it's something about this time of year.

I had an appointment to look at prospective job leads today. So I got up extra early to prepare and get things done beforehand. I ate, and then spent the next three and a half hours repeatedly getting sick. It hurt. I nearly passed out.

I think the only reason I made it to my appointment without being sick was that I was completely empty. And I didn't eat while I was out despite feeling woozy and starving.

I'm eating poached salmon tonight, fish usually helps some. I have to do some things tomorrow so it shall be an interesting day. Seems like it'll be next week before I'm in any shape to try anything new again.

Grrr.

Take care of yourselves,
Rovingjack

Absurd exercise

Now that my weight is at my ideal level I think I should begin exercises now, as a diet that allowed me to gain weight will continue to do so if my life continues to be sedentary.

I've looked up some info on a few martial arts, though I don't imagine my finances would allow for it. I like the circular, water, nonresistive phylosophy of Hapkido.

But also they supposedly have training for things like War fan, and chain hammers, which appeal to me for the unconventional aspects.

while I was conducting some of the research on those I was also looking at things like Quoits (the only example that comes to mind that most people know is the Chackram from the Xena TV series, which is a bad example by apparently the only one), the egyption Kopesh sword (which some how I just instantly knew the name of without having to search) which is sort of shaped like an Omega or question mark.

Those lead to searchs of sickle and scythe as combat weapons in europe.

Gods I love the internets ability to supply information and suggest further reading.

All this is interesting research and maybe something I will persue as time move forward, but an idea occured to me that is just so perfectly me that I may just tinker around with it.

I was in the dollar store resently where they had bamboo spoons and such. Among them where large salad spoon and 'spork' pairs. Now some of you may have heard me talk in the past about the correlation of sporks and Runcible spoons. Fear not, if you have missed such, I will make an effort to create a detailed Runcible post in the near future.

sufficed to say at this time that I think it would not be entire out of bounds to look at my new large bamboo spork as being in fact a large runcible spoon. thus if I had two I would weild two runcible spoons. And weild them I should.

By doing a bit of research on small hand held wooden weapon combat techniques I may be able to become the worlds first Runcible combat master. I shall have my fighting runcibles for demonstrations at conventions.

It makes me smile to think of it and it's exercise as well. Appropriately absurd, and healthy, but strangely possible and maybe even dangerous to my enemies (if I had any enemies, and even if only by causing them to laugh themselves into hospital, though I'm sure I could make them legitimate weapons). This just has my name written all over it.

Yay for the runcible arts,
take care of yourselves,
Rovingjack

It seems...

The issue seems to have settled out with little change other than sleep and a bit more kosher salt (oh and some shrimp too, which might suggest iodine).

So no more light headed/ head rush after eating.

I am starting to get a bit frustrated in my food choices for my price range. I know the limit on my food is up to twelve choices (highly dependand on brand and processing methods) but when three of those are only occasionally in stock and a third of each meal consists of a food item that you could buy if you wanted to pay twice what you used to. I really cannot afford to keep doing that.

and it seems cruel that at this time when I'm hoping to try a few new items it seem something keeps finding it's way into my schedual to make it less viable to risk a day or two of food poisoning symptoms. I may just have to suck it up and risk it once I get back from connecticut in mid july.

first will be tahini, I know sesame oil work okay, so a sesame paste might be nice to try. Sort of like a penut butter. I could cut slices of butter nut squash and bake them and use them instead of bread/grains. Make little tahini and honey sandwhiches.

That's an update for now, I'll be trying for more regular (read twice a month minimum) posts here now that the mechanism blog is on vacation.

Take care of yourselves,
Rovingjack

Feeling a bit...

I'm a bit puzzled by the way my body behaves sometimes, and of late it's giving me spells of lightheadedness. Usually in the morning after first meal.

I'll be groggy and shabbling around for a bit, I eat and suddenly get a headrush. This could be a blood sugar thing, which will not be appreciated. Or a blood pressure thing.

In an effort to avoid the problems that I encountered last year with blood pressure, I make it a goal to have some salt intake. I also drink water.

The debate I'm facing now is do I pull back on my honey consumption, to see what if any role it may play.

Chances are that any results could come from hidden factors and I might not get a clear answer or even get a false answer, an for all the effort I'll probably start loosing weight again. It's difficult to know which option to persue.

It might just be tired and sluggish from disrupted sleep patterns and dreary weather.

Back to figuring out what will keep me alive until they find a cure for what ails me.

Take care of yourselves.
Roving Jack

Today I

I awoke after sleeping fourteen hours due to having missed six hours of sleep in order to wake up early to go to do testing that is supposed to help me find a job or point me in the direction of cetifications or degrees that will serve me better in the future.

After awaking at 1 am and being unable to sleep anymore, I got up and ate. But I tried a new brand of honey from a differant store, I didn't really like the taste very much. It was strongly sweat with a lack of honey taste but astrange hint of flowers and wintergreen and a slightly medicinal aftertaste. Not really appealing on carrots and green beans.

Withing half an hour sharp stabbing pains let themselves be known.

Four hours later I was waiting for access to our bathroom, rocking back and fourth from the pain. I think perhaps I shall give this honey to somebody who doesn't have crohns disease. Ouchy.

As I get access to the bathroom the newest (five months) housemate tells me that her job is closing down soon and the nearest transfer she can get is the next state down from us. So She thinks she has to leave.

I spent the next hour alternating between being sick, trying to see what might be helpful in resolving the issues or setting things in motion for the housemate, informing the other housemate of the situation, and cooking my food for the remainder of the day.

Then I procrastinated on my computer before doing some needed things. Then when Housmate one returned in a slightly agitated state I popped in a funny movie and enjoyed a good watch. ("She's the Man" with Amanda Bynes).

Belly laughing when sick isn't helpful but it was worth the discomfort.

Then talk out a course of action for the mobing house mate. Followed by enetertaining the guest of the other housmate while he changed and prepared to go out to Kareoke.

Now I shall eat something and finish up some much needed work online before going to bed, some time after one am.

That's about the size of my day. Take care of yourselves.
Roving Jack

Change is in the air

I'm reorganising things now. It just seemed to me that I sort of meandered off any real point with my multiple blogs and web locations.

I know I often talk a lot and it seems I'll talk about anything and everything, and perhaps thats the problem.

I'm pulling out my imaginary giant lens and applying a bit of focus.

So in that mindset I'm repurposing things a bit. I've posted a bit more on the topic on my web page rovingjack.com

You can just type that into your browser or follow it in my links over ther to the left of this post below my profile.

The important bit for this one blog is that I will be starting to use this mostly for posts about dealing with health and well being. Translate that to be more of a: What goes into a day in the life of a person with crohns disease, who is a starving artist, a bit of a nerdy geek, with struggles in survival and all the rest that make my life such a weirdly complex adventure.

I'm a bit baffled, but some folk are encouraged and deeply curious about these aspects. I suppose it can't hurt to elaborate.

One of the first things I will be talking about will either be the confrontation with exhaustion and the chaos it played with a commitment I had to run a panel at a convention. I may discuss the struggles of finding foods to replace the few I know that I could eat, now that the store I used to go to is changing the suppliers to other brand that do not work.

Sound sort of dull to me but it's a story of struggle and quest to own my life and all that means. Basically if you have similar struggles you'll feel like you are not alone, and if you don't have these problem it may surprise you to find out what it's like and make you appreciate that you don't have to do these sorts of things.

We all have things we struggle with, sometimes we just don't see the struggles others go through. But I'll share a bit of mine.

Until that next post, Take care of yourselves.
Roving Jack

Some adventures in the future

I've somehow gotten some rather strange obsessions tangled in my grey matter of late.

I'm sort of obsessing on some of them actually. So I suppose I need to formalise some of them a bit and then free up some space on my master list to plunk them in.

I think it started with the fact that two people I've got on facebook friends are in the line of stand up comedy. I watched some clips of up and coming comics and ... I could do that, I could do it better in at least a few cases.

Then I got thinking of weird routines and costumes and stuff like that, which got me thinking about where else strange routines get performed. It reminded me of carnivals and the street performers seen in california when I was younger.

I've got to find out if that sort of thing can be done around these parts and where exactly. I think it would be fun and a potential tourist site if there was a place for open public performance arts.

Which got me thinking about some magic tricks I've been playing at for a while but never really tried to do for show. I think it might be fun to try some magic routines.

Somewhere in there a descussion on one of my web boards got started about sideshows and freak shows of old, and I'm sad that they are missing from the world and that I don't have the chance to maybe participate. What with my desire to experiment with eating insect as a viable food source that my body might tolerate while it won't take normal foods (and maybe I can try some runcible foods too).

But at the same time I was pondering magic acts and performances I'd entertained the idea of cultural dances based on my heritage, and contact juggling and hat tricks. I discovered Native american hoop dance, I already knew about irish step dance, but I found Chapeaugraphy, and hat manipulation/juggling. and also an appeal toward poi and fire handling too.

I have no idea where all this sudden interest in performing arts is coming from.

This is just sort of the tip of the iceburg though and I need to set my sights on what I really would like to do and which could reasonably be stuudied this year.

But also on my plate is branching out in the audiance for my panels on alchemy and myth and such. There is a steampunk convention set for the end of March in a town near where I live. I've contacted about possibly running my panels for them. And they also seem to have an artist show going on that might be worth participating in.

Despite the lack of income I'm wondering if maybe I really am persuing my career. To be a roving jack of many a trade.

Take care of yourselves.
Roving Jack

What's your sign

somebody commented recently about the 'new' astrological signs. I did a bit of looking around and found referance to what they were talking about.

I've known for a while that the signs that are conventionally used are off from the actual strological positions these days, and I even knew about the 'rediscovered additional sign'.

The thing is I am not much of one for astrology, it's vauge and filled with blanket statments that usually can apply to most everyone, and the thought that my lifes aspects are predefined rubs me the wrong way. I'm too contrarian.

One of my biggest grudges on the topic, I see little of myself in the sign of cancer.

I'm not moody, nor am I overly vulnerable to disapproval. I can't see how I am a water sign.

In other words, cancer is a bad fit for me, I feel. Other than the costumed up blanket statements that is (Generous to others but frugal with resources unless convinced that it is the right investment, friendly by resuerved, ect).

But looking at the Geminim which would be the actual sign at the time of my birth:

'Gemini- Air sign. Wit with a child-like fascination for the world and new experiences. Gemini is the zodiac sign that knows something about just about everything, making a good conversationalist and interesting acquaintance. inquisitive and quick to digest new information and ideas. Intelligent and logical, but with a lot of nervous energy, Gemini likes to keep busy and expand horizons whenever opportunities arise, often multitasking between several interests. However, as the sign of the Twins, there is a dual aspect to the Gemini personality, making it difficult for these individuals to stick with any one thing in order to master it, and often making it difficult for bystanders to figure out which side their Gemini friend is really on. Gemini has more than one personality, which can change in a flash, and those near to them would do well to learn them both. On and off, up and down, back and forth, black and white, day and night, ying and yang - this is the essence of the Gemini personality.'

I'm sorry but that's about as close to being me as anything I ever read. Replace the word Gemini with my name and it might be something that could be used as the opening to a biography about me.

The fact that gemini is attributed to Mercury and my study of alchemy (hermes the thrice great is said to have made the emerald tablets acentral alchemical work), invention (hermes is patron of invention), writing and reading (hermes is patron of poets and literature).

As an air sign, the tarot suit would be satves/wands, which I've sort of considered my suit. While swords/fire has a fondness for me and I've learned to never stand in it's way, and I seek coucil from cups/water, and I am learning to embrace coins/pentacles/earth, Wands/air is my realm; it's from which I come.

Being of two minds, as I often am, I see this as suggesting that as a thought exercise it is interesting. I still feel that it is more a tool of self examination and a means of finding order and patterns when randomness and chaos seem too much in abundance.

Just some food for thought.

Take care of yourselves,
Roving Jack

New list with some old goals

It's past time I post up my personal list of things I'd like to do by the end of the year. I'm having a rough spot getting started but Am eager to do so.

1) Learn to use a sewing machine
2) Cobble and Bodge
3) Utile Toga
4) make more jewelry and then list it on etsy
5) make a clock
6) make runcible items
7) make prototypes of games and play test them
8) Penmanship
9) signlanguage study
10) learn to play an instrument
11) finish some of my writings
12) pewter casting
13) make working locks
14) lamp work glass
15) screen printing
16) painting
17) book binding
18) leather work
19) kaliedescope
20) look into schooling opportunities
21) get a new job
22) write non fiction
23) make a dream catcher
24) make clothes
25) scented items
26) map making
27) script frenzy
28) Nano
29) Connecticon
30) wood work

The plan is like last year, I can't Add anything until I finish something. Though I'm debating on wether I should do it in sets of ten again or individually.

Mainly because the First thirty on my list are at least half goals that I couldn't manage in previous years. So it's not easy to build up momentum trying to get five done.

Course the rest of my life isn't exactly cooperating either.

The next week should see some decisions made as well as some progress hopefully.

Take care of yourselves,
Roving Jack

Seems like just last week...

It seems like just last week it was a year ago. I was getting over a cold, seeing last touches on projects for the year end. And boy oh boy did I manage a few projects last year.

1) advice column
5) write up some book proposals for non fiction.
6) see about being a tutor or life coach
7) tend to my growing number of blogs
8) create several new props
9) create some hats
13) Artist alley at Connecticon
15) carve gourds
17) metal working
18) altered book
20). make hand made paper .
21) make paper dolls and items for them
22) fabricate a few other items (lamps, spice racks, journals, ect) for experimentation and possable sales.
23) glamour bomb
24) edit some more of my past writing
26) Nano 2010
27) script frenzy 2010
30) network more
32) finish some bussiness cards
33) Loom knit something
34) make some toys
35) look into having a vending machine
37) talk to locksmiths about maybe apprenticing.
38) .make a terrarium .
40) Soaps, perfume, or other fragrance items in the twelve styles I came up with.
41) plant some seeds and try my hand at growing something from seed again.
42) retry realestate reasearch and querries.
44) make buttons
47) Produce another 3D model using blender, for the competition
48) sew some dyskord
51) woodworking (special project)
55) no longer work for a place that gives me less than 10$/hr and only 8hr/week and then cuts me for five months out of the years.
57) make a wallet
59) make some clothes
60) string art [/quote]

And that's not counting a whole slew of regular things that happen during the course of living life during the year.

But contrary to what it looks like, it's not about doing as many things a possible, it's about realising what I can do with my life. Most everything on here came from two thoughts.

1) This would be something fun and interesting that I would love to have in my life.
2) I'm just a poor schlub trying to get by in a barely held together life, theres no way I can do these sorts of things.

Lucky for me, #2 doesn't ever realise until it's too late that I'm a stubborn fellow and don't like to be told what I can and can't do. I also take great pleasure in finding a way to do things that seem impossible.

So there you go, the secret to my success is a self defeating attitude paired with a snarky contrarian attitude. Lol.

Take care of yourselves,

Roving Jack