I Love You For My Life 'Cause You are a Friend of Mine

Zucchini Noodles with chicken sausage, sun dried tomatoes & yogurt cream sauce. 

This was a successful creation.  I miss cream sauces and love ranch dressing so yogurt sort of tastes like both but it doesn't fuck up my stomach.  The fresh oregano and basil really brightened up the zucchini noodles along with garlic and the slow reconstituting of the sun dried tomatoes.  You should get some benefit from making better food choices dontcha think?.  Or is your health all the perks you should expect?

I was wondering the same with our buds.  Is it right to expect our friends to come with benefits?  Should we require them to fulfill any of our emotional needs in order to keep the title?  Or is that in opposition to the true meaning of the words, a real friend.  Is there even a true definition?  It's been so fluid in my experience. But mainly someone you share emotional or meaningful history and then mutually opt to continue. But that could apply to an enemy as well. I would say a person that you have affection for in some form, care about in a genuine way.  But do they need to care about you in return?

What do I look for in a friend?  I guess I consider the features first. I like people to be fun, funny and teach me things I don't already know.  I usually connect with their magnetic pull and then try to figure out the rest as we go.  I like trustworthy, open, frank, smart people.  Those characteristics don't always produce the best benefits though.  They might be hard to manage, not the finest listeners.  Some are selfish or needy, require more than I can give without becoming drained or zapped.

What is a benefit in a relationship anyway? For that matter, what is a relationship.  One advantage I suppose would be help.  Are you allowed to hope for life assistance from your pals? Or better to take what comes organically and just deal with yourself as a separate entity?  You should never give to get and someone void of expectations is never disappointed.  That's what the meme says anyway. Is it preset so that we are all just takers or givers at heart and successful pairings buddy up with folks that enact our requirements?  Ram Dass says there is only one soul that exists in the universe so we're really all having these struggles with ourselves.

Bit of a mind meld that one.  Not only am I Peter Piper but I am the pickled peppers that I picked.

Your Guitar, It Sounds So Sweet & Clear But You're Not Really Here

You always hear about tamale pies but I never really knew what the heck they meant.  That was stuff for midwestern housewives that have never had a pork tamale fresh out of the steamer.   My sister has been making some cash by selling her homemade pork tamales to friends and neighbors and I've been hearing about them for weeks.  Tamales are serious eats and you don't mess with some foods, it's like changing lyrics to a classic song.

However, after a while, you either eat them like once a year or you try some new things.   If you know me, you know my love for corn meal masa made with a good roasted chipotle hot sauce.  Using that as a base, then a great chili bean type layer, nice and thick before putting a final layer of corn meal on top.  If you do cheddar cheese, now'd be a real good time to break it out and shred that sonnabitch on top and in between.  Bake until bubbly.

Real tamales it's not. It's apples and oranges in reality but there is an element of the true taste in here.  Well, there is heat from the chilis, the masa albeit in a different form, and if you let it set before slicing, it does get covered like a real pie.  Hey it's resourceful and let's leave it at that.  At least it gets the real thing out of my head for a few days.

I'm Up on a Tight Wire, One Sides Ice and One is Fire

When friends come to New York is about the only time I get out and see what the city has to offer. My bestest boy-gal pal KK came to town and we had a super star lunch at Republic in Union Square. Huge bowls of noodley soup. The highlight was the crispy tofu served with THE tastiest peanut sesame mustard sauce EVER! You wanted to crawl in there and lick your way out no foolin'.

I had the spicy beef broth noodles.

KK had the Vietnamese Vegetable Noodles. Mine was divine.

We took a stroll on the High Line. Been out there yet? Its actually special. There is a feeling of being somewhere else, another city, another atmosphere or dimension. Plus they have bathrooms.

The views of the city are unusual and the gardens are unique and inspiring. Plenty of spots to sit and chat or just take it in. It wasn't so crowded that you wanted to start punching your way out like most fun things in NY. There was space to move about the cabin and explore. I loved it actually.

KK comes almost once a year so its a good marker on where we are in life. We've been friends for 20 years or so. I hate to look at where I'm at in life don't you? But there I was in the same cowboy boots and jeans, cute earrings but that's about it. The lines in my face are telling stories now. Horror stories.

It's not all bad. I like me and all that nonsense. I've come to terms with the fact that I probably won't have a tight belly ever. Since I don't drink I seem more serious but I'm not. I hope I don't seem less fun. That'd be a bummer. Or was I ever that much fun? Gosh, now I'm questioning my idea of a good time. I know I liked the High Line.

Yes, go have lunch with a dear friend and take a walk on the High Line. Question all your life choices and be filled with doubt and self loathing.