11 August 2009

Food, Sex & Purpose

I wanted Chinese. Had a hankering, you might say. And i thought of how great it would be to go have Chinese with some new friend I've made. But they are all busy. I guess it will take longer than 10 days for me to get in sync with everyone else's schedules here.

But i still craved Chinese.

So i went for Fast Chinese food At Panda Express.

I've never been to a fast food Chinese place before.
Pretty cool. Like Subway. You tell them what you want and they put it in the box.

I had fried rice, orange chicken, honey walnut shrimp with crab rangoon
with a side of sweet and sour sauce. It was pretty good. I watched a Netflix and ate in my recliner. It's not so bad being alone when you have plenty of options. Like options for good food that you don't have to drive an hour and a half to find. I adore eating out, because I've frankly had everything i can buy at the grocery, and I'm bored with it. I am hoping the groceries here are a little more diverse. I think it's a getting older thing. You just get bored with things. It's BTDT--Been There Done That syndrome.

My friend Veep says that
she thinks it all comes down to food and sex. I'd venture to add another, and say it comes down to food and sex and purpose. Though i do believe your purpose must sometimes change.

My purpose has morphed repeatedly.
Here's an explanatory snippet from a segment of my life:

First, my purpose was to walk again, regardless of what they told me my fate was.
Then it was to work on my writing skills in my spare time, and full-time, be the best singer-songwriter i could be and always try to put on a good show.
Then it was to get over my broken heart.
Then it was to finish writing all those books i started.
Then it was to find a way to enjoy food again.
Then it was to find a lifemate.
Then it was to get laid.
Then it was to be more social.
Then it was to write and find a lifemate.
Then it was to write and get laid.
Then it was to create art to distract me from the fact that i was bored with food, and couldn't get laid.
Then it was to lose all this extra weight finally.
Then it was to find happiness.
Then it was to recover from my disc injury.

Then it was to move to Colorado.

Now, it is to write more books, create more art, record more music, be more social, get laid and find my lifemate.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. But i do see a pattern there. And it is about food (sometimes--because i love to eat out), and sex (because i always like to eat in--sorry, i could not let that one go), then it was, repeatedly, about purpose. Every single thing on that list was about purpose. Am I giving something to this world and the people in it? Is my life meaningful? Am I attractive, desirable? Am I worthy? Am i good?
Boil all that down, and it is the gruel of Do I matter, or am I just disappearing?

It took me a while (too long) to figure out that I had painted myself into a corner. Now that I walked through that wet paint and traveled far enough for it to finally wear off my shoes, I'm standing here at the entrance to my new life, hoping I can finally have the things i long for, but never find.

They say that when you eat Chinese Food, you're hungry an hour later. That's my life. Momentary satisfaction, punctuated by long periods of hunger.

O
h, and that fortune cookie. Funny thing about that. That's the fortune i got a few weeks ago, too. SO the first change for the better was moving, i suppose. The second--not sure yet.

Maybe that's tomorrow. Can't be as simple as dealing with old storage....gotta be more dramatic or romantic than that.

I suspect it's not about what I'm doing, but who i run into along the way.

Let's hope that's not in the literal sense: I'm still learning to drive in big city traffic.




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4 comments:

  1. A practical note, and a metaphysical observation. Let's get the banal out of the way.

    quote: I am hoping the groceries here are a little more diverse. I think it's a getting older thing. You just get bored with things. It's BTDT--Been There Done That syndrome.

    Well... yes. Despite the gawdawful name, King Sooper's does pretty well as supermarkets go. You should have a Whole Paycheck (Whole Foods) nearby, and the better alternative, Sunflower Farmers Market (Go south on Wadsworth 6 miles. It's on the right side of the street). I'm a huge fan of Sunflower, but I'm kind of a produce freak. Further afield, Pacific Mercantile in LoDo is a brilliant Japanese/Asian market.

    You also have TOTT (Talk of the Thai) within walking distance, if you're where I think you are (Belmar district?). Lucky you. When I was doing consulting down there, I practically lived on their rice noodle bowls and pad se lew. (Neither is necessarily spicy, just flavorful.)

    Practicalities off.

    Coming from a pretty introverted perspective, I've found that I'm more likely to clusterfuck myself when I confuse goal with purpose. Goals -- I've got thousands, from getting my ass out of bed in the morning to writing the vampire/corn study to walking the Santiago de Compostella. Purpose, I've got pared down: Live each day with eyes wide open, paying attention to the world and all it contains. Sometimes that means embracing the world, sometimes it means holding it at a distance, but it always means being engaged. (And again, I'm more likely to fuck myself over when I disengage...)

    One of my guiding principles is "since this is all there is, everything we do matters because we only get one chance." So maybe today's about storage inventory or book organization, or making the furbabies happy, or watching a cracking thunderstorm... but that's fine. Just because it's not on a cosmic scale or doesn't change the fate of nations doesn't mean it's insignificant. The process is as significant as the product.

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  2. Thank you for all your help and coaching about the area--it is invaluable to me. I appreciate that you took the time to do so several times. Much appreciated.

    And regarding the rest---Once again, Constance, your astute observations about all things thought-worthy just titillate my cranium. It is perhaps something i forget, when i allow myself to flail around in the quicksand of minutiae in daily life. I do try to stay engaged, but perhaps the condition of being engaged is subjective. Am i engaged when i sit and write novels for 18 hours at a time? I certainly feel engaged; but i recognize the engagement is with fictional characters. Ant yet, i argue, they are more real to me than most flesh and blood people i know. So not on a cosmic scale, yet still significant, as you say. You offer sound advice. And i shall take it seriously. thank you.

    Oh, and did you say you were writing Vampires of the Corn? lol.

    Best,
    Jae

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  3. Purpose is a good thing. I have many purposes so am quite content to continue to purpose what I have deemed the essence of life from my observations of nature......It's all about food and sex!!!
    Luya!
    Veep

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  4. The essence of life...i couldn't remember how you framed that...i believe you are two-thirds right. hehe. and money--what about money??? and sex. Oh yeah, we said that already. Love a good meal.
    hehe.
    Sweet Nectar, i need to go to sleep.

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