Stacy’s Salad Guide.

Alright, I’ve been having trouble finding a good salad now-a-days, but here are some tips that I picked up.

1) SCREW CHAINS.  Saladworks, Au Bon Pain — BLAH.  Terrible.  Hardly any salad at all.  OR TOPPINGS.  It’s all about the bread.  If you like bread, go for it.

2) Quiznos is great.  Subway (haven’t tried it yet).  Looks bigger than Saladworks for a cheaper price though.

3) Look for pizza places or ethnic take out places.  Portions will be huge.  You will get a good salad.  I’ve been surprised at every salad that I’ve gotten from crappy college pizza shops.  HUGE.  And yummy.  Do not be fooled because it doesn’t look like an advertisement for “Stuff White People Like” (Hm, overpriced shit).

4) Do not be afraid to ask.  “HEY, um, can you put less of that tortilla chip garbage and give me broccoli instead?”  Especially at restaurants.  THEY ARE THERE TO SERVE YOU.  I know this from being a waitress.  They will do anything in their power to get your food right for a good tip.

5) Check out the sides for a salad add in.  Say you just order the garden salad.  Boring, right?  You look at the sides.  Grilled veggies?  Sauteed mushrooms and peppers?  YUM!  It’s amazing now!

And my number one tip . . . drum roll . . . get ready . . .

!MAKE YOUR OWN SALAD!

Seriously.  Go out.  Buy a large tupperware.  Start working on recipes.  Get your own salad, toppings and dressing.  You can do it!  And you can save money!

And make sure to follow the other tips when you’re not in the mood/forget to make your own salad (I “forget” all the time.  )

My favorite salad. Buffalo chicken.

Christmas and Beyond.

I feel like the Christmas spirit is dead.

Is it my age?

Or is it a sign of the times?

I don’t know!  I feel like there is no joy without a family.  There are no stockings to be stuffed.  No food to turmoil over making for dinner.  No advent calendars.  No light up manjor with little figurines to set up.  No tree, even!  Not even a string of tinsel or a scrap of garland.

When I go shopping, it’s all old.  There are no new products that I have my eye on to buy.  Remember the Tickle-Me-Elmo craze?  Where’s the T.-M.-E. of our generation?

I seem to have it all.  Every piece of technology ever invented, clothes, books, purses, accessories, EVERYTHING, I’ve got it.  I suppose I should be asking for things that are important for survival — food, money, kitchen devices — but nothing for pleasure.

I don’t know.  I feel like when I was younger, the joy of seeing Santa Claus at the mall was the highlight of the post-Thanksgiving shopping hysteria — Black Friday, Returns Saturday (ha), Santa, mad crowds, delicious foods, preparations, decorating the tree . . . now it’s a “work full time” schedule, all the way until Christmas Eve, and then expect to be prepared and ready for Christmas.  It doesn’t work.

I always remember my parents being very lackadasical about Christmas, while I was always completely excited.  Then again, my parents are different than most.  Now, I feel like I am the parent, the old timer, not too enthused about the holiday.  But is it my age or just my environment?  Would I be more excited if I was in a family environment again, rather than a “party until you drop” college environment?

But as a completely neutral party, I feel like the entire WORLD is less enthusiastic about the holidays — less decorations, less Santas, less goodies, less cheer (give me Christmas Eve OFF without a fight, for God’s sake, it’s THE HOLIDAYS), more economy worries, more jobless Americans, more shit, in general.  Again, this could be a product of my environment, because Philadelphia is littered with poor, angry folk, while my hometown is usually white, suburban middle class types (who are comfortable in their living arrangements and can afford a good holiday).

I don’t know.  Christmas is tomorrow.  When did it get so close?  I don’t even remember choosing that I would spend the holiday with my boyfriend and his family.  It was pretty sudden (in my mind), for it’s a ludacris idea (for me, at least) to spend CHRISTMAS with another family (all the traditions!  Will I ruin them?).  Alas, I am on my way to Maryland now, and I’m feeling weird.  Will it all be OK?  Will I be welcome?  Hopefully Christmas won’t be too depressing, and I will accept that I am a welcome new member of my boyfriend’s family, and I am not an infiltrater.

Sitting in the car, gorging myself on pizza (oh, such a festive holiday treat), and feeling antsy for eating so much, I wonder if I am starting to really reach adulthood.  I sometimes act like a child, with fits of depression, anger, worry, anxiety, et cetera, but I suppose that since I am getting older, I should surpass this.  Older people get MATURE depression and CRY ALONE instead of open and about “being fat.”  I’m stuck as a 14 year old, with pubescent problems that should be far behind me.  I’m still a child.  When will I grow up past this?  Realize what is important in life?  When will I get away from anti-depressants that just make it worse, restrictive dieting, constant worrying . . . ?

Maybe I’ve hardly enjoyed this “holiday season” because I am working full time/have these problems — maybe I’m lacking the family environment — maybe I’m getting old — maybe the economy and the current state of the world is to blame.  Merry Christmas.  Whatever.

A Theory on Drexel’s New “Projects.”

http://www.drexel.edu/sustainability/projects/default.asp

These are not buildings.

They are space ships.

I plan on launching out into space in 2012 when the world ends.  This will be when I am a graduate, so maybe I’ll get a spot to safety.

Damn Drexel.  So smart, savvy, and futuristic!

Ground control to Papadakis.

It’s Made From Sugar (SO IT TASTES LIKE SUGAR).

Greetings,
I just wanted to do a little recap of my lovely fall term for my adoring fans who may have lost touch with Stacy.
I went back to Drexel, moved into ASA, “live” with Tyler, thought it was OK.
Complications, of course, along with my mental instability, fucked me all up for quite some time (probably more than half the term).
I went to Drexel counseling.  Sucked.  She didn’t understand a lot of my problems/didn’t refer me to the eating disorder specialist/wasn’t the  best, overall.  I told her I used to have just eating disorder related depression/anxiety, but since birth control, the depression/moods have spread into a separate sector.  She didn’t get this, for she didn’t even speak English.  Whatever.
At this point, I just wanted some pill that I could take and be better.
I went to the Drexel Health Center, explained my life story (again), and I am now getting treatment and what not (pills).
I’ve let my eating disorder run rampant again for the first time in 4 years — thanks to Evan Rosen telling me how fat that I’ve gotten while I was working about a month ago.  I have been trying to burn off as many calories as I eat per day since that point, coming in at a flat ZERO every day.  For a month.  Starting to go a little crazy, but the results are showing.  I wish that he would have known that calling me fat was the biggest trigger EVER (especially to an ED’d person) and he is going to Hell for saying it.  I plan on stopping this starvation nonsense for New Year’s, but working hard to MAINTAIN.
I just found out last night as I was drifting off to Sleep Land that I have to move in ASA.  Downstairs (there goes my stair exercise).  Can I just be left alone peacefully in a housing situation that I do not want in the first place?  No, of course not.  Prozac is making me not care, but principles are making me think a little.  Just another “fuck my life” situation, you know?  Just leave me be.  Why must I be chosen for this task (I’m no Frodo).
I started going to Student Liberty Front meetings and fell in love with it.  It’s definitely for me — and I want to put myself out there for being a future advocate and educator.
I voted in the elections for Obama.  Boo.  I know.  Criticize me or love me for it.  I wish that the democrats weren’t SO FUCKING ANNOYING during the whole election, but whatever.  They really wanted him to be the next president.  I wish that they could see the truth — but they’re so hung up on giving their hard earned money to people who don’t deserve it or something . . . I don’t know . . . Oh yeah, republicans suck, too.  Hm.  I wonder what “party” would be the best for everything.  -cough cough-
Ah, but alas, all of our life stories are that of challenges.  No one’s lives are perfect, and that’s pretty much the only driving force that I have to live off of, now-a-days.  But, of course, I have to be dating the only human being that I know who virtually lives his life “problem free,” the complete opposite of myself, but I’m glad that he’s finally starting to see the world as a pretty fucked up place (HE SEES THE LIGHT).
Bring on the future.

What should I do with the 3 weeks that I work at the front desk?

When Drexel is not in session.  When there should be no kids on campus.

Maybe I will write a book.

“Ramblings,” by Stacy Litz.

Ha!

Patience.

What a virtue.

I look up to those who have it, but sometimes I feel like in order to succeed in modern society, it needs to be dismissed, occasionally.

Especially in Philadelphia!  Everyone’s always in a rush and strolling down the street is impossible.  You’re playing Frogger to cross streets, there are cripples and bikes and carts pushing you off the streets, everyone’s walking on different sides of the road (STAY TO THE RIGHT, GOD DAMNIT), et cetera.  What a mess!  So hard to be patience in a world that’s always spinning, you know?