Jennie Living

In response to Jennie's post about country living... A couple of city retorts and a couple of thoughts on her way of life. (Please reference our "Country Living" post).

 1.)  If and when people are slow, you best know how to make moves. It's the only way to maneuver the streets of Oakland. Speed away so fast they won't be able to read your license plate number and jot it down to plot further retaliation. 

 2.)  Luckily my beat up Ford Explorer has a compass built in. This, plus its keypad entry on the driver side, is why I stick by my 13 year old baby (AKA Topanga).

 3.)  I have no idea how and when the sun rises... But I do know that the sun sets in beautiful tones of orange and red. Whatever rushed moment I am having turns quiescent when I look up notice the skyline at sunset. I ignore people who attribute this miraculous moment of beauty to California being the most polluted state in the country. 

 4.)  Being a 98% vegan I, of course, have a hard time with notion of loving animals and consuming them. I do not believe I can be truly nourished through another sentient being's suffering. But Jennie embodies this life. She spends most of her day tending to her beloved cows. She rises with the sun to feed them, she treks through blizzards to protect them when they are cold, she delivers calves by hand in the birthing process, and she is personally responsible for each one of the cows' health. And then she sends them off to the slaughter house. And eats them alongside her potatoes. And I still love her. 

 If you're going to eat meat, her way is the only way to go. True sustainability. As for me, I am a little veggie lover...

 5.)  I wish I had a puppy. I miss mine...

 6.)  It's even more fun to say "redneck." Even though I don't mean it. Really. She's more like a country bumpkin.

 7.)  I'm even more prone to be held to animal rights activism standards. Yet, if given the choice, I would happily smash every single living mosquito with my bare hands. BEST DAY EVER. I hate those bastards.

 8.)  There is no way I can respond to this comment without gagging. Except that I applaud her adventurousness. And pray that the only nuts she ever tries to feed me do not come in a sack (ew).

 9.)  I would imagine most people, when faced with a 2400 pound horned animal barreling toward them, would run. If not, they only have themselves to blame.

 10.) Driving 30 minutes to Walnut Creek is "the burbs." Anywhere close to middle California is "the country." And not the kind you want to retire to.

11.) When spring arrives, expect it to be overcast in San Francisco. If the occasional sunny day does strike, expect any warm patch of grass to be worthy of a power struggle.

12.) I've always had a fantasy of riding in tractor... SO fun!

13.) When it's below 50 degrees I am usually in such a state of shock and unpreparedness that I am usually unable to muster up enough determination to leave the house. 

14.) Learn how to yelp baby because the restaurant possibilities are endless! Of course, I usually end up throwing together a Pollock dish of whatever I've got in the house because of my weird eating habits (more on that later). I have been known to spend an hour or more deciding where I want to eat and what ethnic flavor I'm in the mood for... Awww first world problems.

15.) At times I wish I was an animal. No life decisions, no existential questions, just survival. The instinctual life. I wonder what that's like? 

16.) Have a best friend like Jennie. Someone who embodies self-connection and following your dreams. And reminds you how fulfilling a slow, sustainable life can be. 
-Java

Country Living

Java and I have talked about starting this blog for a while now and damn her she actually went and did it. If it were up to me I would have forever wallowed in procrastination and continued to retreat into my country bumpkin isolation. Ideas really excite me, but I struggle with action. Then she gave me a deadline and told me that if I didn’t write on our blog I would lose her forever. I knew she meant business. Thank you Java for pulling me out of my hole, keeping me in the real world, and lifting me above it. You’re the best and this is for you.

Sixteen Things This California City Girl Has Learned About Country Living:

1.)  Regardless of how slow they may be driving, don’t even think about tailgating anyone within a 30-mile radius of your home. Chances are they know who you are and where you live.  It makes for awkward encounters down the road. 

2.)  Figure out where the hell your cardinal points lie or forever doom yourself to a lifetime of incredulous looks when you ask “which way is North?” Something I am still working on.

3.)  The sun rises and sets behind the wheels of a cattle truck. Who knew?

4.)  It is possible to feel compassion and respect towards an animal and also have strong urges to eat it.

5.)  Get yourself a good dog. It will be the best thing that has ever happened to you. This one goes for city folk too.

6.)  It is really fun to say the phrase “city folk”. Just rolls off the tongue. 

7.)  Despite preconceived notions of being an animal rights supporter, when a rabbit eats your carefully cultivated sweet peas or a skunk sprays your dog, bloodlust will take hold.

8.)  Calf nuts taste like McDonalds’ chicken nuggets. I’m not sure if this bodes well for calf nuts or poorly for McDonalds. 

9.)  When a bull chases you, you better run. FAST.

10.) Driving 30 minutes to the nearest town, population 1500, is known as “going to town”. Driving 2 hours to Bozeman, population 40,000, is known as “the big city”.

11.) When spring arrives, expect to get bucked off your horse at least three times. I await this coming April with stoic trepidation. Skittles, bring it.

12.) Learn to operate a tractor or forever be uncool.

13.) When it’s -20 below outside your nostrils stick together. It’s a weird sensation. 

14.) Learn to make your own indian, thai, mexican, chinese, ethiopian, italian and japanese food, cuz you ain’t gettin’ any otherwise. Add thin crust pizza to the list also. 

15.) Watch the animals. They know how to live.

16.) Have a best friend like Java. Someone who keeps you connected, spirited, and sane. 

- Jennie Bah

Feeling Dehydrated

     Today I felt like a victim of circumstance. I guess I can’t call myself a victim because in reality I do have a choice. I am living the best life I can live without having to do anything too scary or dramatic. I have the ability to make sweeping changes in my life and yet I don’t. Because I’m 75% happy.  But of course that is all on a relative scale. It’s only 4/5 of what I would consider my most content moments in life.  And things could be worse. The thing that worries me, is that inside of my gut, underneath where my burrito is sitting at this very moment, there is a little voice calling out for more. More fulfillment, more peace, more joy, more harmony. He knows that while of course I have quite a lovely little life compared to most, things could in fact be BETTER. And as much as I try to quell his inquisitive nature by pointing each and every thing of beauty in my day, his urging is relentless. He (let’s call him Bucha) wants more. 
     I have known what it feels like to drink in everyday like sipping on cool lemonade. Tart, juicy, sweet, and tangy. Nice and slow. Through a straw.  I yearn for those days… I try with a fierce intensity to make the best out of each day. To maintain a balance between “need to” and “want to.” Yet I know something is not working. Life is not as juicy as it once was, and believe me, I need the juice. I live for the JUICE. Juice, you say? What does one (me) mean by “juice?” I mean living like you meant it! I mean the slippery, tingly, excitement of feeling inspiration course through your bones. I am a little disheartened to find out that I am in fact not content to live a mediocre life.  I fear ignorance is bliss, and at times I wish I was a tad more on the dim side of refulgence. I know Jennie feels me on this one… Speaking of Boots- She is a lovely example of living a slow, passionate filled life. When I speak to her, her contentedness further inspires my pursuit of this kind of hands-on, joyful living. During our conversations I am stripped of my ability to rationalize the kind of faced past life I currently lead. So the question of the hour is: Do I need to leave it all behind and immerse myself in a country/community that understands and encourages the slow life?
     As I sat observantly on the BART today, I searched transiting strangers’ faces for hints of secret satisfaction. I was waiting for a smirk, a wild laugh- some marker of interminable inner joy.  I guess I was hoping for a reason to believe that a nine-to-fiver, living in the city can have the glow. Instead I mostly came across uncomfortable looking suited men, wiry-haired seniors in tracksuits, and high-school couples mackin’ in the back seat. Maybe this can be attributed to my 1pm commute on a Thursday (Suited men uncomfortable because they were playing hooky, same for the teens, and sport-attired seniors… well they might have been on a tour?) I did occasionally spot a biker or two smiling from ear to ear. But they were probably on an adrenaline high from just running a red light, or a cutting off a car…Smug bastards. I still have yet to find hope…

     Have you ever had someone walk by you who just had “it”? “It” has nothing to do with appearance or physical shape, but energy. No matter what their objective attractiveness (is there such a thing?) is, they are like a magnet.  There is fire and earth radiating from their stride. Their eyes are focused and clear as their body bounds joyfully towards their next enlivening experience. They emanate the good gooshy gooshy. You can just tell they have their shit together. Definitely a rarity… Like seeing a shooting star. Sometimes I follow them in hopes of discovering their secret.

I am in pursuit because that is how I felt when I was living in Costa Rica studying to become a yoga instructor. Each day unfolded with clarity and inspiration. I emanated yumminess. I remember writing in my journal that I was filled with “so much love and gratitude” that I likened myself to balloon ready to either float off into the sky or burst.  I was every cliché in the book, and damn it felt niiiiiice. My life was slow and full of affirmation. Gimme more.

I need it back. And I need it to be my life. The question is: how do I get it?

The bigger problem is: once I figure it out, can I leave all of the beautiful, soulful parts of my life in Oakland behind to commit myself to it? 
-Java

Late Night Whim

My best friend Jennie and I have been talking about wanting to start a blog for years. We hit it off as two young college girls living in small apartments. While after college I stayed in the bay area to continue working with children, Jennie ran off to the wide-open plains of Montana never to return. We still talk to each other almost every day. For hours... about absolutely nothing of note. Except about starting a blog: to share our different views, our opposite diets, our disparate daily lives, and our mutual adoration of each other. So I finally did it. Lately I've been pondering all the things in my life I think about doing. If I actually sat down and calculated the time I waste thinking about doing something instead of actually doing it, I'm sure my night would end in tears. On that note, I've put my energy towards doing more and thinking less...Letting life's little surprises fill my world with wonder. And that resolution has been working in my favor, so far. SO HERE I AM... or should I say here we are? That is if she accepts my offer to begin on this journey together.


The Proposal: Jennifer Barr will you share this blog me? Will you be my partner in exploring and dispensing our thoughts, stories, recipes, goals, hopes, and dreams? Our inappropriate humor?


It's not going to be easy.
I await your response with baited breath.


Forever yours,
Java