Random Stuff

I love salads. Big, fat jumbo bowls of greens, red onions, funky cheeses and funky dressings. Chicken, steak, salmon, beans, sprouts, veggies, avacado, mango, croutons-whatever, I say bring it on ! Now I'm not talking about your typical 'house salad with ranch dressing'. ( or as they say down here in their southern jargon, 'rainch') Yuk. How boring. I like exploring the world of mixed greens and topping it off with nuts & berries dressed in a funky vinegarette that stands out from the norm. I have a variety of dressings in the fridge that I like to try at home but nothing seems to equate the loveliness of a restaurant's own creation. It's a continual journey of mine, experimenting with store bought dressings and recipes to create my own. My newest fave was a white wine lemon vinegarette that I tried on vacation. I found one bottle of a champagne lemon variety that was close but no cigar. But I keep eyeballing the dressing isle at the store just in case something new comes up. It's a never ending obsession. I guess there could be worse things to be obsessed about.

I have two girlfriends who are both in their early 50s who are fighting amongst each other about some loser guy. Seriously! Apparently Girl #1 has/had a crush on this one dude for sometime now and claims she has said something about it to Girl #2 in which Girl #2 claims that Girl #1 never did. So the dude took an interest in Girl #2 and has been calling her and has taken her out a couple of times and now Girl #1 is pissed at her friend Girl #2 for doing so and has been acting ugly towards Girl #2 and has told her that she (Girl #1) does not want her (Girl #2) to go out with this guy. OMG!!!! Is this junior high school shit or what? And guess who gets to listen to Girl #2 gripe about all this shit? Girl #3 aka Switzerland aka me. I don't give a fuck! Work it out amongst yourselves. I have enough drama and stress of my own and I surely don't want to be pulled in the middle of this shit. And I can guaran-dam-tee-you that if Girl #1 never said diddly squat to Girl #2 about her crush for this guy that Girl #2 would not be interested in dating this man. Girl # 2 just doesn't want to be told what to do. How mature is that? I wish my really close girlfriends who currently live out of town/state lived closer or I had more money to travel so I can go visit them b/c we sure as hell never had stupid, immature drama like this.

On a lighter note, I've been practicing my piano music a lot more lately. I've been tweaking up my Gershwin Preludes and Rachmanioff's Prelude in G Minor. Dang how I love them both. And I really LOVE Rachmanioff altogether. Just listening to his music gets me all excited that I sometimes cry. Not in a sad way but in an excited state of mind way that I wish I could play all things Rachmanioff. This particular prelude is difficult but maybe one of the easier pieces to play if you can imagine anything Rachmanioff to be easy. However I can pretty much rock the first page but going into the second page which is STILL the ' first movement' I begin to lose momentum. I forget how tiring playing piano pieces can be. The second movement of this prelude is so beautiful and such a great transition after all the previous chaos and big chords it becomes a relief but then again, the second movement build to the last and most powerful two pages of the whole piece. Dang!!! I feel like I need some ADHD meds to keep my focus just to finish the whole thing. You'd be surprised as to how draining playing a powerful prelude can be. I can see why perfomers who play whole concertos which can last up to 25 minutes usually play just the concerto and drip with sweat as they come to a close. Seriously. It really is taxing on the body & mind but once you come to the big finale there is an awesome feeling of excitement that runs in your veins that nobody can take away from you. It's such a groovy feeling. In my next life I hope to play all things Rachmanioff to which I am certain I will explode from excitement in a spontaneous combustion at the end of a concerto with all my bits splattered on my audience. Now that will be some concert! Better than a Beck/Palin rally don't ya think? elizinashe