My First World Problem

So guys, something that's honestly quite superficial is bothering me and I need to rant about it.

To begin: I love driving.

And it only has a little bit to do with the feeling of freedom that comes with it. 

I love virtually everything about the driving experience! I love feeling the physics of taking a tight, winding road at just the right speed, the physics of acceleration, executing the perfect U-turn and the perfect slow stop, practicing my passive aggressive rage at tailgaters and drivers from Fairfax, rolling down my windows on a summer evening and blowing out my bass speakers with Sublime, everything! 

So what's the problem, you ask? Well, its more than just the simple inconvenience that owning and operating a vehicle is more expensive than the vehicle's worth (insurance, gas, repairs, etc.)

I live in downtown Richmond and can walk, bike, or ride the bus everywhere. So I haven't been able to drive a car in a few months. Soon I'm going to be borrowing a car from my parents for convenience sake, yet somehow the lovely Corolla S that I've been driving since high school doesn't feel enough any more. My driving withdrawal is starting to warp my road reality.

Being a physics junkie, I've come to a conclusion: I need a car that's fun to drive. I need a car that shifts smooth and hugs turns like a teddy bear, a car that handles like a dream; I need a two-doored, V-6ed, aerodynamic sex rocket, a car that makes me feel like I'm in a mecha-suit and should be spiking up my hair with glow-in-the dark chemicals while being the heroine of a badass comic book.

I need a sports car/sporty coupe.

It doesn't even need to be a freakin' Viper or Lamborghini. Hell, a 4-banging Celica or a douchey '96 Eclipse will do!

But the gas prices... OH THE GAS PRICES... and lets not even start talking insurance!

Its like the entire world hates it whenever I get an adrenaline rush from cruising down country roads. Its like it wants to beat the ever loving crap out of my aspirations to own and operate a combustion-engine sex machine.

In any event, I am determined to one day learn and master stick shift and own a fast, vrooming performance car so I can "get it out of my system" before age 40.... if I ever get it out of my system!

Here are some of the cars that are plausible for the near future, some that are currently flirting with me, and some that I will always pine after but probably never afford:

Scion FR-S

Developed by Subaru and Toyota and slated to be sold with Scion on the hood, a recent review I read of this concept car remarks that its like Toyota genuinely wanted to sell a car that's fun to drive. At first glance it looks just like any other sporty coupe right now, especially in the front, but we must remember that Scion is owned by Toyota, and that Toyota, along with Subaru, was developing the car. TOYOTA. The car company who, at least on this side of the world, is more invested in the wallet-conscious 30 year old market than the the hormone-frustrated 20 year old market. The fact that they've gotten this far at doing anything with a sports-type car is pretty cool news. Plus, with new cars being in the $24,000 value range, in a few years I may be able to afford a used one and get my kicks in!

'90s and 00's Toyota Celica

After hearing alot of good things about this quick little I-4, especially the manual version, my interest has been piqued enough to be more than a little hungry for one. For now they are affordable, but since Toyota retired the Celica line in 2004, the most recent Celica I will be able to find on the market is almost ten years old. Not only that, but people drive their Celicas into the ground. I'd be lucky to find one in good shape and under 120,000 miles.

00's Celica

'90's Celica

00's Mitsubishi Eclipse

Basically, the same appeal to me as a Celica (affordable sporty coupe,) but V-6. I'd say I kind of like the 90's Eclipses. Kind of.

'70s Datsun 280Z (Fairlady Z)

Of all the 1970s asian supercars, I am the most attracted to the datsun Z's. They are more attractive in person. My attraction to this car is mostly superficial, since I am codependent on power steering.

00's Nissan Skyline GT-R

A gangsta sports car with a helluva sexy butt. It drips with Need for Speed douchebaggery and requires a constant stream of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sublime, and Audioslave pumping from the sound system.

1996 Toyota Supra

If you know me, then you will know that the Supra does things to my subconscious that makes me want - nay, NEED - to kick ass.

I completely forgive it for being the Fast and the Furious car.

(any) Dodge Viper

When I was about 7, my parents were shopping around for a new vehicle. They took me along car shopping one day and we were in the showroom of the Dodge dealership in town. My young eyes saw a deep red Viper glittering under the spotlights, and, as something I could not describe got hold of me, I pulled on my daddy's hand and told him that we should seriously consider getting that car. The chemistry I felt for that vehicle stuck with me, though over the years has waned as my palate has expanded. My love of tight handling outweighs a craving for power, and the Viper is pretty much a 3,500 lb refrigerator tied to the neck of an inebriated V-10 hippopotamus going through a bad mid-life crisis. Still, its a VIPER, and the 7 year old inside of me can't seem to help herself.

00's Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera and '90s Lamborghini Diablo

I may have a slight history with the Dodge Viper, but I probably pine after this Italian Stallion even more. There's just something about the way a Lamborghini does its thing that I could never cast deep meaningful stares in the direction of a Ferrari.

I also have a few ridiculously detailed toys models of lamborghinis sitting on my desk. I occasionally roll them around and make vrooming noises like an idiot.

Scissor doors turn me on. I am a sick person.

The submersible Lotus Espirit from The Spy Who Loved Me

No i do not need to justify myself.

What about you? How do you feel about cars and driving?

Thoughts on: Diet and food

My thoughts about the body have expanded a little and after a month or so of the cogs in my brain turning, its time for me to start talking.

Despite my normal workout routine being interrupted by an unexpected closing of the martial arts room in my gym for incredibly asinine reasons, I'm still keeping my body as active as I can. My cardiovascular and musculo-skeletal system is probably in the best shape its been (the doctors at the VCU hospital remarked on my beautiful ankle X-Rays.) Yet my body as a whole still doesn't feel right. And I am positive I know why.

VCU's meal plan food is one grade above high school food. And about 3 cups more cooking grease per entree.

I even got sick from eating the lettuce.

The primary reason I'm still slogging through meals of fried meat filler is financial. That and the biscuits taste paradoxically good (like flaky, buttery blobs of compassion and goodwill towards man.)  I can also cram my face with as many brownies as I want for only 1 swipe.

I recently took a trip to the Kroger, which for me takes 30 minutes of foot travel and 30 minutes of GRTC shenanigans just to get there and back, and noticed something. Unshackled from the limitations of meal plan food, I go all out on stuff like this:

Jerky. Strawberries. Greek yogurt. Clementines. Strawberries. Protein shakes. Strawberries. Peanut butter. If I had my own kitchen I'd be adding broccoli, asparagus, fish, and probably more strawberries.

Which got me to thinking about how my body reacts to different foods, and what sort of metabolism I must have, and the composition of my diet. For example....

I love bread but it slows me down. Alot.
Red meat does the same. I'm finding more and more that I dislike red meats. I do love me some beef jerky, but the only reason why that tastes SO GOOD to me is that all the fat flavor and... wooziness... is out of it.

In fact that's how I'd describe the sensation I get when I eat anything high in fat content. I get woozy. I can't even look at a bratwurst without feeling it.

If I had my choice I would only eat gamey things for my meat serving. Venison, bison, grass-fed free range beef, rooster/capon. I just love the flavor of "having to run away from that thing with the teeth" and "get your own damn dinner, you hack." It makes me feel like I can wrestle a sabertoothed tiger with only my Xena war cry and low-budget screenplay writers.

My idol at 3 years old. I REGRET NOTHING.

And apparently neither does he.

Freshwater fish are cool. Catfish, trout, salmon, dried bluegill, its all good! But I still can't bring myself to like saltwater fish.
Shellfish are a completely different story though. Have you seen me plow through a pile of old-bay-encrusted blue crabs? I get enthusiasm cuts.
Tuna's good, too, I guess.

Sushi is love wrapped in a blanket of seaweed and wasabi.

Fruits, especially berries, make me incredibly happy. Somehow. I have difficulty controlling my fruit frenzy. Hand me a pound of strawberries and I will eat that stuff in under 15 minutes and then go on adventures.

The only exception to the fruit rule is red apples and oranges, because red apples and oranges are everywhere. Its like when DC101 and HOT99.5 overplays that awesome song you really liked.

You never fail to ruin Coldplay for me.

And... vegetables....
Cook them.
Carrots don't count. Eat them raw. EAT LOTS OF THEM RAW. TURN ORANGE. SHENANIGANS.
That is all there is to say about vegetables.

Cheese is the most delicious thing on earth and I have nothing bad to say about my processed dairy overlords.

Raisins are not food. They are the physical manifestation of loneliness and turmoil.

For metabolism: I am a slow metabolizer. A sandwich will keep me going for 6 hours before I begrudgingly notice the first bit of hunger. Even with high activity levels I can still work on 2 meals a day. Its probably not healthy, but when I listen to my body, I only eat twice a day. I only want to eat twice a day. I'm 5 foot 107 lbs. I don't have a whole lot of space to devote.

TL;DR

So pretty much my ideal diet is summed up by: cheese, fish, gamey meats, and fruit with the least amount of fat possible. When I eat like this, I feel happy and go on adventures with my low-budget screenplay writers and skimpy comic-con bodice.

So, how about you? Whats your body telling you to do, food wise? What sort of diet makes you feel the best?