Friday, November 16, 2012

Five By Five

Five foods I love to eat:
  • Kimchee. I eat this stuff with everything. On burgers, in stir-fry, on fried eggs, with cheddar cheese, on its own in a bowl, directly out of the giant 2-liter tub that I brought home from the asian grocery store...it is running me. 
  • Sausage. Since going paleo back in June, I've started eating way more meat, and the house-made sausages from Fiesta Farms are my go-to. They are amazing - chicken thighs with parmesan! pork with sundried tomato and fennel! elk! - and delicious.
  • Liberty yogurt. I got into this stuff when I was introduced to the plum and walnut variant, which is, for my money, one of the best damn flavours you can get. They also offer a coconut and a lemon flavour, and they are at least as delicious as ice cream.
  • Green beans. I'm on a major green beans kick right now. I'm basically substituting the damn things for potato chips, which makes me sound all GOOP-y and self-righteous, but they're just tasty. 
  • Figs. I know, they're somewhat vaginal in their shape and general demeanor, but they're also tasty, and so seasonal that they feel special. You know how you can get oranges all year round? Figs aren't like that. 
Five things that made me cry recently (because I am a sucker):

Five movies I could watch again and again:
  • The Iron Giant. If we are friends, I will force you into watching this at some point with me. It's a great movie. It is the Citizen Kane of space robot kid movies. 
  • Back to the Future. I mean, duh. Marty McFly was my first boyfriend and Michael J. Fox is perfect in this movie. 
  • Three Kings. David O. Russel's war movie, in which Marky Mark, Ice Cube and George Clooney run around Iraq, being greedy and hot. Also, Spike Jonze is in it, and the brief glimpse of him as a backwater hillbilly is worth the price of admission. 
  • Wallace and Gromet: Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Look, I know what you're thinking: too many kids' movies! I need some edgy horror or at least an indie darling. And I hear you, but I'm not going to lie to appear cool on the internet. Like all humans, I love Harold and Maude, but I love this movie more. 
  • Shaun of the Dead. A compromise: an indie edgy horror darling. Everyone loves this movie. 

Five jobs I would love:
  • Writer. I mean, like, I write a lot now, but it would be nice to be able to make a mortgage payment off it. 
  • My idea of "organic farmer." When I think about the person I want to become in my fifties, she's wearing a long denim skirt and wellies, a plaid shirt tied around her waist, while a small but robust dog barks as they squint at the sunset. There are hay bales and defined triceps. There are ruddy cheeks and bottles of beer. There is a great gorgeous table covered in homemade food and friends at every seat. 
  • HR consultant. This is something I'm probably going to start working towards in 2013, so stay tuned!
  • Advice columnist. Marrying my twin talents of incredibly snarky advice giving and writing. Plus, people's problems run the gamut from "How do I grieve my dying secret lover?" to "Help! My dog is overweight!" and I think that's fascinating. 
  • Rich person. 

Five days I look forward to:
  • My birthday at the end of this month! I'm turning 29, so I basically need to get all the stupid shit people do in their twenties out of my system in the next 365 days and then I get on with being a real grown-up. I will see you all at the tattoo parlour after my ill-advised quickie marriage! 
  • The August long weekend. It's my raison d'etre.
  • Thanksgiving. October is awesome: bright and clear, still in daylight savings time but with the low-hanging pink clouds of November. And the chance to get together and eat giant piles of food is one I always jump at. 
  • Winter solstice. I both love and hate this day, because it always feels like the apocalypse - we get about 8 hours of daylight in Toronto, and it's usually cold and horrible. But this year, I'm going to ring it in nice: my friend Lindsay referred me to a Persian tradition of staying up all night to defeat the darkness, and I'm going to make some lanterns and light some candles and thank god the days start getting longer the very next day.
  •  the day when figs start showing up in the supermarkets. Love that day.