Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Reading List of the Broken Hearted - Proceed With Caution


I was able to do plenty of reading while recovering from the plague.  After swinging by Walgreen's to pick up my antibiotics I indulged in the only kind of "retail therapy" I enjoy besides grocery shopping: Half-Priced Books.
  
I purchased Romantic Passion, a collection of essays edited by William R Jankoviak.  The book is an intellectual investigation of the universality of human romantic love.  My decision to buy took no time at all as it fit three of my criteria for worthiness of purchase: 1. Non-fiction, 2. Good cover art. 3. Racy.

Although cover art is a terrible reason to buy a book, and it didn't even turn out to be racy at all,  the collection was very well done.  Too bad I should have just gone with a romance novel because the damn thing broke what was left of my already callous heart.  

The research takes an evolutionary and biological perspective of the phenomenon of romantic love.  I don't want to spoil it for you too, but it pretty much goes like this:  Humans are chemically wired to become infatuated with another human for long enough to make a baby and raise it through infancy.  Four years is pretty much all you've got - but if you hook up at the end of your baby making years, have lots of babies, or are financially dependent on each other then you have a better chance of staying together because it is easier.

What sucks is that it all completely makes sense.  The stats back it up.  If you marry young, you will likely get divorced...in about four years.  You will likely get married again soon after, especially if the first union produced no children or only a single child. 

I feel like I just got broken up with, by love itself.  (shaking fist) GIVE ME MY DAMN FAIRY TALE BACK!    sigh.  Maybe if I read the entire Harry Potter series again I will once again believe in magic, love, and wizards

I don't know if I beat the game or lost it.  I guess it is a good thing that "soul mate" wasn't at the top of my bucket list - then I'd really be fucked.
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About Sam

I am a writer in Omaha, Nebraska sharing my adventures in the foundations of healthy living - nutrition, being active, and being funny.

I was born in Kansas City in the sweltering summer of July, 1986. I was nearly born in the car because I was so pumped to get my life started. I have been bouncing off of the walls ever since. Growing up I hung out with the big kids who were even older than my sister (and best friend) Allie. I quickly developed an "I'm over it" 'tude toward kids my own age whose pastimes seemed juvenile - an interesting perspective coming from a preschooler. My snobbish worldview was hard earned however, as I was forced to learn both multiplication and division early to keep up when we played "school," and I was always forced to do dangerous stuff first to make sure it was okay, like eating unidentified berries and making the first run on super steep hills while sledding. We biked all day, ate wild honeysuckle, painted the house with mud, and collected cicada shells for no reason other than they stick to fabric and freaked my mom out.

I quickly realized that even little legs can get you as far as a car can, and as a young child, you really have nothing but time. My adventures were only restrained by the fact that adults do not find it acceptable for young children to explore the town on foot unaccompanied. I prematurely developed a desire to be an independent self-supporting person, so I opened a Kool-Aid/popcorn business to finance my big plans. Looking back, I would say that the only issues holding me back were my limited advertising budget and the fact that I was still too short to ride roller coasters. People just don't take you seriously when you can't go on the upside-down rides.

I was moved to Omaha in the second grade. I continued walking all over the place, exploring surrounding neighborhoods and visiting grocery stores to pick up my favorites: Goldfish, Sprite, and sugar cigarettes. I don't even think you can buy those anymore, and for the record, I never started smoking.

I never lost my hard work ethic, and I needed to increase my income to afford my new hobbies of beading and Polaroid photography. At the age of ten I mailed in a response to an advertisement for paper delivery routes without discussing the issue with my family. Sometimes you need to take matters into your own hands when people don't share you vision. The people at the Omaha World Herald must have had a good feeling about me becuase they contacted my parents to tell them that they wanted to hire me but would feel better if there was an older family member onboard. I still wonder if Allie holds any resentment toward me for pulling her into the labor force when she was only twelve.

In third grade, I followed Allie's lead and began taking dance classes at Mary Lorraine's Dance Center. For the next eleven years it became "what I did." Nowadays, I train more like an athlete, but I will always move like a dancer, and being in a studio will always feel like home.

After high school I relocated again (this time of my own volition) to study "everything" in the College of Business Administration at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. I acquired a degree in marketing and finance that I may use someday. More importantly, I became a close friend and Alpha Phi sister with a cross country runner who easily persuaded me to train for the 2005 Lincoln half-marathon. I have been running ever since. In April 2011 I developed plantar fasciitis after jumping into an intense 50-70 mile/week schedule. This is the first athletic injury in my life. Although it has been indescribably frustrating both physically and emotionally, the silver lining is my increased receptivity to more variety in fitness disciplines.

I enjoy Pilates, yoga, enjoy Zumba, plyometric interval training, running, walking, and seeing how quickly I can run up stairs without losing my lunch. When I am too exhausted to move, I read and write. I love fiction, non-fiction, cookbooks, poetry, philosophy, song lyrics, and comedy. I have been writing for as long as I can remember. I love spell check, and felt tip pens.

I am happy and optimistic most of the time. I enjoy living simply and deeply. I hope you enjoy what I have to share.







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