Good morning friends!
I'm sitting at my favorite Starbucks at my favorite table that has an unadulterated view of my favorite mountain, Cowles Mountain, the highest peak in San Diego. There's a gloom hanging over the day, which I actually enjoy, for the change.
I'm working on my book (big surprise), and I'm on a passage about the different types of "therapy" in which we exist. I thought I'd get your thoughts on this.
Excerpt:
Everyone has empty spaces. Some are big and obvious, like a parent dying or a divorce or a father (or mother) called away to war. Mostly though, they aren’t obvious. So, the rest of us end up in two categories. Some of us spend our entire lives in therapy, either formal or informal, just trying to figure it all out. Others choose the ignorance is bliss category, operating in a kind of self-induced stupor. Regardless, I believe whether we acknowledge it or not, we are all trying to cope in some manner or another with that empty space inside. Copyright, Jasmine Myers
What are your thoughts on the idea of "empty space"? What category do you think you fall into? Is food one of your coping mechanisms?
This passage comes from a larger section about my own use of food and writing as coping mechanisms for my life. I had an ex-boyfriend tell me once that I distance myself from nearly every situation because I look at things like they are a future scene in my writing. Interesting thought. Though I'm not sure that's a good thing. That's the problem with coping mechanisms. We use them as bookmarks, so we can step away from whatever it is we're feeling.
Speaking of food...This morning was a mad dash. Thankfully I'd made overnight oats, so all I had to do (or all hubby had to do) was throw the bowl in the microwave for a quick whirl. I actually ate it here at starbucks because that's how short on time we were.
My overnight oats included:
1 cup 1% milk
1/2 cup Whole Oats
1 Spoonful of Crunch PB
1 Truvia Packet
It looks alot like this, minus the berries and pretty bowl.
Sorry for the recycled picture. Our roommate just switched from working nights to days. Therefore, this morning, three people needed to use one bathroom at the same time. I had already made hubby 10 minutes late for work. I couldn't take the time to take pictures. Sorry! Don't you hate when life gets in the way of blogging? :)
At Starbucks, I had a venti Iced Green Tea Latte, nonfat milk, no syrup. This isn't a drink they list on their Web site, but I've done enough searches that I think these are the stats:
If you go on the Starbucks Web site, they list a Venti Green Tea Latte with nonfat milk at 370 calories. (And that's not iced, which has less liquid.)
Ok, so when you subtract the six pumps of sweetener in that estimate, that takes off 210 calories, bringing the total with nonfat milk and no syrup to 160 calories for a hot one. I assume that the iced one has less calories, but I usually just operate like I just had a 160 calorie snack.
I just talked about calories, again. I'm such a rule-breaking food blogger... gah! :D
Ok, back to work. I hope you guys have thoughts on the whole "empty spaces" thing. I have to think my readers are interested in more than just food, right? I know I am!!!
xoxo
i haven't recycled any pics yet, but that's a good idea when you're in a rut! ;) the book sounds exciting. i can't wait to read it!!
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that we use coping mechanisms to distance us from what is really going on but I do think it's necessary to acknowledge the "empty space" and figure out what's causing it.
ReplyDeleteEmpty spaces... Peace Corps did change me for the better. I am more confident and willing to go out and try new things. It's strange but Peace Corps taught me that failing is okay. I'm much more likely to persevere. If I can't get to the grocery store because it's zero and the car won't start, I can walk or take the bus.
ReplyDeleteLiving in a foreign country is very isolatingand it put my husband and I in a position we had never been in before. Now I am dependant on my husband. That sounds strange, but a big part of a relationship is allowing someone else to be there for you and for you to be there for them. Before Peace Corps we had worked as a team, but never so completely as in Panama. We were apart less than a week total over the two and half years.
I think of myself as a talented individual and very independant. A big reason we waited nine years to get married was I had to get over the belief that I had to stand on my own. Now I much more comfortable standing together.
I don't know is that at all what you were after?
I'm in the 'in therapy for life' category. I think we all have coping mechanisms, and as long as you recognize them for what they are, can be helpful. Everyone needs a 'bookmark' once in a while. Feelings can be overwhelming and hard to digest all at once and sometimes it's good to step away and look at it from the outside instead of being right smack in the middle. Clarity and all that. I prefer not to be ignorant about my ...stuff. I have so many people that depend on me that if I don't acknowledge things and deal with them as they come up, things snowball and it can get yucky. Plus, I owe it to everyone who has to live with me and interact with me to be as sane and 'normal' as I can be :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting thoughts.....so what exactly is your book about?
I agree about coping mechanisms. Sometimes, we just wish we can drift far away from reality and just step out of the picture so we can get a better view of the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteYou know I had to research this since I work at the Bux ;) So Starbucks just updated their website. There is a recipe for every drink, so it ensures that each drink is made exactly the same way with exactly the same measure of liquids/syrups/powders and in this case ice.
ReplyDeleteThis says an Iced Venti drink is actually 24 ounces vs. the normal 20 ounces in a hot drink. I don't know if they are literally counting liquid measurements (as in before we put in the ice) or if this is after. But wait, that wouldn't make sense... We always fill liquids to the top line in the middle of the cup. You could do a measurement of that to figure out exactly how many ounces you are drinking.
You can also figure it out another way. Look up Venti Iced Green Tea Latte which is 310 calories. Then subtract 6 pumps of classic syrup at 20 calories a pump. 310 - 120 = 190.
I bet the maccha powder actually takes up more space in the drink and you're getting less liquids than you would say in a normal Venti iced drink... Either way 190 ain't bad for a Venti. That's all I'm saying :)