On Independence

It was a rare, spur-of-the-moment decision for me; I had spotted the windmills spinning atop their hills on my way to Target. It was my first day in Livermore for a 9-week internship, and I was trying to buy everything I needed for my new apartment before I had to return my silver Chrysler Sebring to Enterprise Rent-A-Car the next day. But I was transfixed; and so rather than turning left into Target, I kept going down First Street toward the hills.

I had no idea where I was going--I simply drove in the general direction of the windmills, and if the road curved away from them, I turned around. Eventually, I found myself on the freeway, and I took an exit on a whim that led me straight to my goal. Once in the hills, a narrow paved road wound its way through a strange juxtaposition of livestock and renewable energy, of farm country studded with hundreds of futuristic wind turbines.

I pulled over to take pictures and opened the car door; and then I heard them. Each one made a fantastic sound like a vinyl jumprope makes as it whips through the air, only bigger and deeper, and together they sung a syncopated whooshing chorus under a bright blue sky fluffed by an occasional tuft of white cloud.

It was perfection.

I felt so free.

Not just because of windmills, mind you. That morning, I had put my Chicago life on hold; I was on my own for the next two months, and look at what I had found already. The world held nothing but possibility. It was a brief moment of independence at its finest.

In retrospect, I think it was not only due to the beginning of a summer free of my usual graduate school responsibilities; I was also effectively single, without the usual accompanying garbage (I wasn't really single, just independent with the comfort that I wasn't alone). I only say this because more recently, on a sunny weekend spent largely on my own, I felt something similar. Walking through the city, my day became a canvas for the possible, and I filled it only with what I wanted. Roasted pork sandwiches from the Vietnamese store, a short visit to work followed by a trip to Old Orchard Mall. Nothing remarkable, but somehow it all felt so good. (Don't get the wrong idea--hours later at a Wilco concert I would feel decidedly unsettled and alone again).

Still, I've come to realize that even with the garbage, when truly out of a relationship, the freedom and the possibility are present--that being alone isn't only about yearning for company, wishing for something you don't have. When I traveled through Europe alone for a month in college, I spent much of that time amidst this sad sort of lonely torment. In fact, I've spent most of my life without understanding why anyone would ever want to be single; but finally I think I get it. I guess the wind told me.

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Poo on Penta

Earlier this month, the UK's Advertising Standards Authority ruled against Penta Water's advertising practices in Britain after receiving complaints that the company's claims were misleading:

The Authority concluded that the information submitted [by Penta] was not sufficient to prove Penta water had health benefits over and above those of ordinary water or was structured differently from ordinary water. The Authority told the advertisers not to repeat claims that implied the product was chemically unique, had been restructured or molecularly redesigned, or hydrated cells and improved physical performance better than tap water. It told the advertisers to amend their advertisements and advised them to seek help with the amendments from the CAP Copy Advice team.

Wahoo! Someone is standing up against Penta's unethical marketing tactics. You can read further details here.

Other lomtick.com entries on Penta Water:

Penta Water is based on lies
Exploitation x 5

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Heathen Easter II

I ate so much today.

All I can say is: boy am I lucky to have a bunch of friends who love to cook. For our second annual Easter dinner, we made and ate:

- Dtohm kha gai (Thai coconut milk and galanga soup)
- Baby spinach salad with blue cheese, pear, and avocado
- Roasted pork spareribs marinated in rosemary and balsamic vinegar
- Chicken and rice (arroz con pollo)
- Mashed potatoes
- Sweet potatoes
- Scalloped potatoes au gratin with fennel (we like the potatoes, okay?!)
- Asparagus with goat cheese and bacon
- Flan
- French custard and prune tart
- Some creamy mousse-y yumminess with fresh berries and raspberry sauce (a.k.a. Shara's cheesy-cheese fatty-fat dessert, on account of its cream cheese and heavy cream content)

Not only was the meal incredibly tasty (not to mention drawn out over several hours) it was ethnically diverse too! Thanks to fellow chefs (and Northwestern ChemEs) Shara, Nate B, Yang, Joanna, Dan, Sophia, Marta, and Roger.

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