I DRINK ON THE JOB - THE BLOG

Posts Tagged ‘zen’

Zen Cucumber

September 12th, 2010 • No Comments

OK, so I haven’t posted to my Idrinkonthejob.com Blog for over a month, blah, blah, blah! I had nothing to blog about – or at least, I felt there was nothing that interesting to tell you or any of the Blogosphere. I did attend a 3 day Cheese “Master Class” at Artisanal Cheese Center in NYC with Max McCalman – it was a great experience, I learned ALOT about cheese! Tasted cheeses, learned about affinage, tasted cheeses, paired wine and cheese, tasted cheeses, on and on..excellent, really loved it! Used AirBnb and chose for $175/night a pretty lux place on 10th Ave and 38th which was within walking distance of the cheese center…

So why am I writing this post and entitling it “Zen Cucumber”..something just occurred to me..

In a topsy-turvy world, where I can barely make a living doing my job, the economy sucks, people around me everywhere, but particularly in DC are constantly tense and on edge (more on that!), I feel calm, cool and collected..like a cool cucumber..even balanced..I get it..I am the Zen Cucumber..

What?

Crazy, weird out-of-control, I must be off my rocker, oh boy, you’ve really done it this time Charlie, you’re on the path to no return, cliche coming, cliche coming, cliche…get it? I’m no longer in fear of the words..they’re just words – oh yeah, people really love to dig them in, you know what they’ll say (choose cliche): 1) Actually my favorite because my sister Cynthia has been saying it to me for decades: “I told Mom and Dad you would turn out this way”, 2) from the movie Wall Street[Bud just got a promotion] Lynch: “The minute I laid eyes on you, I knew you had what it took.” [Bud just got arrested] Lynch: “The minute I laid eyes on you, I knew you were no good.” 3) Bottom of the barrel – ouch, that one hurts!

Fear of..WORDS!! Sticks and stones..you finish it. Collective consciousness? I’ve been told (who?) that I shouldn’t generalize, that I shouldn’t pass judgment, that every person is unique..and yet, we all speak a language and we all write sentences with it..so we all have the words in common, and we use them to..get what we want – ta dah!

Tense here in DC – TEnse, TENSE!! I think why does no one talk – to strangers? Are they dangerous, I mean when I comment or talk to someone in line at the grocery store, and they..stare..away..act like they’re dead..you know, right before the shark/bear is about to attack, they freeze! I’m in line at the always tense farmer’s market in Burleith (Georgetown, but north side) and I’m waiting in line balancing 5 corn cobs in one hand and holding a heavy bag in the other. The woman in front of me is paying the farmer and..I drop one of the corn cobs – plop! Before it even takes a bounce, the woman freezes – and apologizes..but she had nothing to do with it..so I wondered – why? Did she knock it out of my hand? No..OHH, I had turned into a “goof” by being foolish enough to..drop something perishable – perish the thought! I thought maybe it had touched her, so I asked “are you ok?” – no answer..another tense moment, unresolved..nothing like “No, I’m fine” and there was no attempt to rectify..just tension – Yoww! I’m going to eat the corn later, I’m sure it’s fine, maybe a bit bruised, but what about my ego?? I’ll survive – seriously..

Cool and serene as a cucumber – not a bit stressed..maybe a touch concerned, but what living being isn’t? I mean every living thing is constantly searching for his next meal. Or hers, same thing..

Not a rant, a series of observations about mostly the human condition. I can’t generalize right – so how do you interpret these words – it doesn’t matter, as long as you can translate them in your brain – you interpret them anyway you want, you can fire back at me, agree with me, or you can just let the words fade – doesn’t matter..

I’m the Zen Cucumber!