Can you eat too many avocados?

I never use to like avocados, for years I turned my nose up at the sight of them. Now I fill my morning routine with a small piece of delicious rye bread topped with an avocado. Yes the whole avocado!! I stretch and dislocate my jaw, but I get this delicious sandwich into my mouth and for minutes fall into blissful dreaming.

It all started when I went vegan. I couldn't stand avocados before that, and then suddenly I decided what the heck I'll give it one more go. Ever since that fateful day I've been addicted.

I don't know if there are interventions when it comes to eating avocados, but my addiction has gone so far as to research the avocado and its history, origin, and current economic status.

So to add to your already full brain, I want to note that Americans pay the most for their avocados. You may ask, why? Surprisingly it's because they eat most of the avocados that are produced within the US, mainly California. With the higher cost of production (labour etc) in the US, and strict guidelines for imports from Mexico and a few other Latin countries, US farmers have a set monopoly.

Another interesting fact about avocados: most of the avocados produced in the US come from one single tree, ordered by a farmer a few decades ago. Since avocado trees are hard to breed, most offspring are not offspring at all but grafts of the mother tree.

I hope I have added a bit to your knowledge of the avocado, and illustrated how for some alcohol is an addiction, but for me it is the fruit of the gods, the seed of passion- the avocado.

peace
-Anna (R)

I don't want gifts!!

I understand people enjoy giving gifts, that Christmas is suppose to give people the opportunity to show you how much they care. What I do not agree with is that physical gifts, especially the bought kind are necessary to that appreciation.

Over the years I've tried to (in failure) get my family to stop giving each other gifts during Christmas. The main idea was, I really don't need more: figurines, books (I don't read), or in general things I don't want. If budget were not an issue perhaps paying off my education debt would be a nice gift, or a trip to India. But since budget is an issue, I realize that I really do not want more material things, which in the end I never use, and add to the pollution of the planet.

SO in vain I try again this year, please please lets not do gifts. I would rather get a heartfelt card, or letter, or hug, or anything but another box wrapped in the sorrow of too many people who had to produce it, or inhale the toxins it spewed into the air/water/soil.

This year for Christmas I wish only for company and good food. In my attempt to cut through the gifts stuff I suggested that if my family really wants to get me gifts, I want them to donate money to their fav charity (or mine).
In addition, I've only bought gifts for those I know truly need them. I for one don't need any, because I'm comfortably at home with very few needs as of today. But there are family members that just moved, and need a bit of help in setting-up their nest. Therefore my suggestion is that the people who truly need gifts should be focused on. If that is no one this year then no gifts for anyone.

These are just a few thoughts on Christmas and the commercialization of relationships (be it family or romantic).

peace to all,
-Anna (r)

Life Goes On...

School is winding down, life is gearing-up and I'm still trying to figure-out what to do with myself. Do I do my masters, do I go and find a job, do I go and travel and work my way through the world, do I go and work for my sister, do I move to Alberta (where my sis is), oh what to do?

I've been looking at applications and I can honestly say that I hate reference letters. They are a waste of time, and all programs require them. I know that that program admission committee know's that reference letters mean nothing, as most students get generic ones from prof's they dont really know. This to me is pointless, so why oh why do I need to submit 8 so far for 3 programs.

In other news, its super cold and my hands are turning blue.

peace
-Anna (r)

Chewed-up by Prof.

Today was the big day, big in every way possible (a certain senior-level) course wise.

My group was presenting its research to our prof and ppl from admin.

Big in scope big in nerves big in marks....and big in dashed hopes.

I worked on the ppt presentation for what must be 14 hrs (with a fancy flash intro etc), and thought it was good. But, in my horror our prof opinionated his distaste for us doing a different take on presenting findings.

So check this, instead of putting up a sentence for findings. We took pics and described the findings as supported by the pics and moved on to recommendations.

Now this must of really irked our prof, because after the presentation he got into how we didn't do what was asked, and where is a page for the findings.

Being the calm cool and collected presenters we were, we responded with a"oh I'm sorry I thought we just talked about the findings for the past 15 min" and he was like "umm well list them now" and we were like "ok"..... jeeze .... its like he zoned out and didn't listen to a word we said.

I suppose today was appropriate, because lately this has been happening a lot. People don't actually listen to what you say and then throw in their 2 cents on what they think and how you didn't address ____, meanwhile you having just finished talking about that very same thing.

I think this is a deeper problem in society. People just don't listen, and nitpick at little details as if they were your main point.

Going with the same example, a girl commented (to the whole class and prof) how she didn't agree with us that the whole campus should be paved over (ps..we did our project on pedestrian movement) for pedestrians.

Now here is the biggie, throughout the whole presentation we emphasised how we only focused on the areas where there was a safety hazard and the land degraded to an extent that warranted a sidewalk. We recommended that out of the 100% area of the campus about .1% extra be paved over for pedestrians, to facilitate ease of movement, safety, and prevent erosion of the landscape due to cow paths.

Somehow this girl zoned-out for the whole 20 min and thought she was smarter than the rest of us. But since we addressed her concern with, "we did not recommend that, if you look at the map provided we ask that these specific areas be addressed" she didn't concede. She then went on how we were wrong about a pic, meanwhile what she was talking about was not what we actually said.

In general after a serious lack of sleep, and an even bigger issue with my prof I am ready to go kick some ass.

Its in times like this that I wish I belonged to a boxing gym, where I could go and punch out some of my pent up frustrations.

I do wish all beings peace and compassion and freedom,
but sometimes its hard to appreciate a persons ego when its rubbing you right in the face.

Those are my two cents.

Hey...maybe more ppl should have blogs so they blow off their crazy ideas online, while leaving class presentations for more civilized flame wars.

peace
-Anna (r)

Style...particular to me!

With the advent of cold nights, and colder mornings I've again begun to layer my way through winter. First you start with undergarments (I like a bra and panties), then move on to a thin tight undershirt, semi-thin fleece sweater, thin summer jacket, and if you so choose to: go the route of pants :)

For style's sake you must top off with a yak Peru hat, old granny gloves, large semi blanket-like scarf, and big boots that Bigfoot could be proud of.

The above is my actual winter wear! Feel free to copy anything you feel would look killer on the fashion runway's of Paris.


peace
-Anna (r)

thoughts on learning to live

Over the past few day's my hopes of spending my life in some way or with someone have been dashed. In a positive manner this time in my life has made me realize a few things about how I need to live my life.


Love: true love is boundless, and without association. When what we think is love hurts us, it is just a shadow of the real experience that awaits when we allow the cloak of our ego to vanish.

I have not yet fully let go of my cloak, and so I continue to suffer. I (as most of us) create images of the people in my life (more specifically love interests) that should be adhered to by those some people, who never manage to achieve my expectations.

I continue to hope for certain forms of affection, while neglecting to remember that life is impermanent and my expectations are only my own, and no one else's to fulfil.

I continue to work on living love and not just experiencing its shadow.


Trust: I only trust in the impermanence of life, and the benefit of knowing oneself.

I tend to suffer when I trust in someones love lasting forever, when I know it is unfair to do so and unrealistic.

I trust in self-realization as the true form of self love, and in turn enlightenment.

---
I write the above, because I've come to realize how easy it is to think that we are succeeding in living the spiritual life we set-out to embody. I say this because I was pretty sure, over the last few months, that I was getting closer to letting go of my ego (on par with my path to enlightenment).

Thankfully I was jolted awake by a deeply significant and potentially painful relationship I've been struggling to comprehend. It's definitely been a blessing to watch myself react to many different scenarios, and in turn internalize the meaning of compassion and love without judgement.

I'm still learning, but I think the path I'm stumbling on is definitely interesting enough to engage in wholly.

peace,
-Anna (r)

Pictures..

There is a famous saying: a picture equals a thousand words, or something along those lines.

I was hoping to take a few very very important pictures for a group project, so I tried on the weekend but my Canon digi cam didn't want to cooperate. Silly me thought it was just the batteries, so I put it off until today to try with new ones.

Little surprise really when the camera didn't work! So how am I to explain this to my group.... I can't, since I might of said that I'll take care of everything.... NOW I need to buy a new digi cam before 10 am tomorrow!

Moral of the story is: don't tell ppl you did something, in the hopes you will catch-up. Even more so when you think you can get away with it, because a building is a building at any day of the week. Just when you think you got away with it, and will take pic's in the morning... there comes the first blizzard of the year (and now the building is covered in snow) and your shitty lie is up in the sky.

So a white lie is still a lie, and mine has blown-up in my face.

Something to take away I suppose, as well as working on my procrastination.

peace
-Anna (r)