Attacks (of the Mundane and Peppers)

I hate it when I don't have anything to do! Well, I guess that's not entirely accurate. I hate it when I have unstructured free time, wherein I have things that I can do, but nothing I HAVE to do. I have this thing where I feel like if I'm not multi-tasking, or at the very least, just being productive every second of every day, then I am lazy. I don't know where that started, but I want to be able to take a "day off" and be okay with that. I think balance in life is essential, I guess I just haven't figured out how to do it yet.

Today is a mundane day. I got done all of the things that I "had" to do and then looked at the clock: 11:30am. Which means I have basically a whole day to do whatever. AAAAGGGHHHHH!!!!

I could have done my dishes, but they can wait. I could have vacuumed/swept/mopped... eh, that can wait too. I could have plopped down on the couch and zoned out watching a movie or read a book... eh, too lazy. I could have sat down and finally read my textbooks, i.e., do my homework... eh.

I decided to go to the library. Which is where I am right this second. I am downloading all the shows I missed this week and will probably break down and do my taxes here in a few minutes. Maybe then I'll think about doing my homework. Maybe.

Maybe it's because the day outside is cold and rainy. I really want pizza, but I am trying to do better at controlling what I eat. Which for me means NOT mindlessly shoving whatever's at hand into my face, or going out to get fast food because, again, I'm too lazy to fix something.

Funny story: So, a lot of people around me have either been sick, or talk about how their siblings/relatives are in some way deathly ill. I decided to alter my stew recipe and make one with some spicy kick to it to keep my immune system boosted. (It turned out to be more of a sauce than a stew, but that's not really the point here.) I was sauteeing some bell peppers and some jalapeno peppers. While I was chopping up some leeks and garlic I realized the heat was up too high and some of the peppers started burning. I dropped what I was doing, ran over and turned down the heat and added some more oil to the pan. Ultimately, I saved the stew, but..., BUT, my entire apartment smelled like burning peppers. I threw open all my windows (which is something I usually try to avoid in the dead o' winter) and turned the thermostat down to, like, 50. The cold air came on and started moving the "fumes" out. I say fumes because a moment or two later, I noticed that I kept dry-hacking and needed to drink a lot of water. I'm no "Mr. Wizard," but here's my theory: I'm guessing the capsaicin that gives peppers their "heat" doesn't really care if it's in solid, liquid or gas form. Furthermore, I'm also guessing that my lungs are not a fan of breathing in hot pepper smoke full of capsaisin. That's when I decided to leave my house*.

When I woke up this morning, I could still smell "roasted" peppers... I guess I'd rather smell jalapeno-y than get sick.

*My apologies to my neighbors, especially the ones living under me!!