Thursday, April 19, 2007

A bit of randomness

Last night, for the first time, I went into a Walmart. S held my hand and had to lead me along at times. It was a bit overwhelming. I got more than a little lost.

We went in to find an aluminum, lightweight pot for our trip. You can buy a full mess kit, but finding a cheap pot is nigh on impossible. We did find a "grease dispenser" which is our back-up plan. (And, no, REI did not have one, unless you buy the full cookset.)

We had dinner at a cute diner in Alameda, called Ole's Waffle House. The waffles weren't so hot, but the meatloaf kicked ass.

You will note that I am blogging at almost noon. We decided to cancel the trip. My ankles were, of course, a factor, but it also turns out that the weather was going to be absolutely dreary (rain, lot's of wind). S may be okay with rain and damp, but my sense is that he likes to be mostly dry. So I have a bit more time to break in my boots and, also, to perhaps talk to someone about how better to protect and build up my ankles.

So it's a long weekend home. Woo-hoo! Since everything was cleared out, I don't have work, I don't have clients, I don't have therapy. I've spent a nice morning cleaning out my fridge (I swear I will be better at eating the food I buy, I swear!) and doing some other kitchen straightening. The bathroom is next, then the pit of a living room will be this afternoon, after a nap.

And now, for a long over-due book review:

The Halved Soul: Retelling the myths of romantic love, by Judith Pintar.

I don't have a picture of this cover, so sad. It's a lovely cover. I picked up this book while I was looking for info out there about "soul mates." This is a myth that I am focusing on in my practice concentration. I, personally, believe that it is a somewhat damaging idea that is perpetuated in our culture.

This book was a very helpful one in its deconstruction of myths such as Adam & Eve, Tristan & Iseult, Guinevere & Lancelot, Beaty & the Beast, and Eros and Psyche. It was dense, which made it difficult at times to get through and I've tabbed several pages where I want to go back and review her themes.

It would have been a brilliant book, in my mind, if the author hadn't decided to create italicized "asides" in which the characters of said myths got to process what she was talking about. In the process, these characters realized their positions were harmful and restoried themselves.

I'm not exactly sure why she did this. Perhaps it was an attempt to make it more approachable by a wider audience, but it just kept tripping me up and felt irrelevant. I was much happier when I started skipping over those sections entirely...and for that I thank the stars of whoever decided to italicize those sections.

I bought this used on Amazon.com (the only way to get it now, anyway), and it was well worth the .50 plus shipping that I was charged.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

My sympathies on the walmart visit! I couldn't find the original, but the New Yorker ran a piece last week about the new Walmart attempt to appeal to "Green" buyers. Here's a PR about it: http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/press/article.html?article=715

Not that i always shop with politics in mind or anything. I've never been inside walmart though. Sorry your trip was cancelled. But it seems like your excited for a weekend indoors.

Anonymous said...

yeah, i've only gone to the one in Baltimore - twice - for my mother - gritting my teeth all the way. i need to shower right after ;) good for you and your long weekend, have a wonderful one and looking forward to dinner w/you and P and little N next week :)