Crushin' on Crustacean (cont.)/ Day 1

Sorry about my abrupt ending. Joe insisted I stop typing and go right to bed (and seeing as how it was getting kinda late I felt I had no choice...but in any case, we now bring you the conclusion of "Crushin' on Crustacean")

On the Jersey shore, especially in the summertime, it is pretty common to order steamed clams (or "steamers" as they are called). I remember when I first arrived here in Baltimore and locals kept talking about "picking crabs" and "crab feasts". I figured the feast-thing out (just assuming it means eating ALOT of crab) but picking? Was it such a special thing to pick out what crabs to eat and which to leave behind? I was then schooled that it meant picking the meat out. When I finally did have the chance to engage in this Marylander tradition I immediately saw why people enjoyed it so. Not just because the crab meat is so good; it's really not even about that. It's about people coming together at a big picnic table, breaking nails (and sometimes skin) to get the precious morsels out, and all with plenty of beer and laughs. It's casual, messy, and summery--my kind of fun.

But anyway, back to the lobster: To kick off my birthday Joe suggested we check out the Reef Grille, a local place nearby that we've wanted to try for a while. When we got there we found out that the special for the night was whole lobster with two sides for $15.95. We were led to our table and as we chatted and sipped cocktails we noticed how every table around us was being delivered a cherry-red whole lobster. And sure enough the wheels in my brain began to turn. The waiter came around and asked if we were ready to order entrees. I was really curious about the lobster, but uncertain at the same time. Most of my experience with them was when they were already in pieces. How the hell did you even eat one of those things?

I asked the waiter what he suggested, a thing I'm actually starting to get into a habit of doing (chances are, if they like it--and are surrounded by it all the time--it should be good).

"Honestly, I would go for the crab cake or the lobster. The lobster is really phenomenal," he said.

"Oh, wow, and they do look really good. I'm just not sure how to go about eating one," I said, sheepishly.

"I tell you what. I'll crack it for you in the right place and make it easy for you," he said smiling.

And with that I handed him the menu and sealed my fate. We waited a little while longer and finally they brought out Joe's pasta and my big lobster. He had cracked it, but I still struggled a bit. But as I started getting my fingers in and nabbed a piece here and there, it really began reminding me of the way one picks crabs. I took a sliver of meat, dipped in the butter, and suddenly....I was in heaven. It was incredibly rich, but my GOD was it good. I was cracking every claw, sucking down piece after piece. I almost completely neglected my sides of potatoes and broccoli. I FINALLY tasted what my parents had fallen in love so many years ago.

Sure, my arteries will probably clog alot sooner than I had hoped, but it will be well worth it. It may be the first time I REALLY tasted lobster, but I don't intend on it being the last.

***UPDATE: TV CHALLENGE 2010

Well, here I am, 26 years old and 2 days less of being mentally accosted by television. As you, my wonderful readers, already know, I have sworn off t.v. for a year. And as I hoped, I AM already starting to notice different things.

For one, I am amazed at how absolutely unnecessary all that tv was. I always used to give in to the compulsion. I would come home from work, put my purse and keys down, take off my shoes, pick up the remote and turn on the t.v. For the past 2 years that was my routine, everyday. I never cared what was on, I'd always find something tolerable, but the tv was on. It gave me company, like a friend who talks and talks and talks about nothing really important but you enjoy the sound of whatever they're talking about.

Mealtimes were the same thing. Anytime I was home and I had either made something or brought home take-out, I would sit at the table and flip the tv on. I would watch while I was eating, then sit for a few minutes, and then finally settle on the couch for the next 6 hours. Sitting, laying, feet up, watching, watching, watching.

But now...it really feels like I have an opening. Not an emptiness, but as if I had a clog for so long and now its finally been cleared.

I have time. I NEVER had time. I lived and breathed by the idiot box. I would time when to hit the bathroom or the fridge perfectly between commercial breaks. It's surreal, but I'm not hating it...yet.

Anyway, I began yesterday (which, granted, was an easy day). We both came home from work and between trying to figure out where to go for dinner and what to do for my birthday, it was easy to ignore the t.v. Today really felt like the real thing.

I came home from work. Joe was still out on the film set and I knew he wouldn't be home for hours. Here we go. The important thing was just to not make it a big deal in my head. I busied myself with all the things I wanted to do tonight, simply walking by the big black elephant in the room.

I was starving so I made myself a frozen Smart Ones and sat at the table. Silence. I won't lie, it was probably the first time I really noticed that the tv wasn't on, and I started to get a little antsy. But as I ate, I flipped through a flyer from the mail, and before I knew it I was done eating. I stood up, took my plate to the sink, and went into the bedroom to start reading. It hit me as I laid down: eating doesn't take me 45 mins, it took me prob less than 10. And yet I used to sit at that table for so long. I used to think eating without the tv on would be awful, because it took so long to eat. But it doesn't take long to eat, it takes long to remove my ass from the chair. I'd sit there, a prisoner of my own laziness and habits.

Though some may disagree, the best way I can compare this experience so far is like a person quitting smoking. It's really not the actual thing you are missing, it's the habit of doing it. Like how people always have a mug of coffee or beer in one hand, their cigarette is always in their other. TV went with everything: after work, before dinner, cooking dinner, after dinner, before bed, weekends, rainy days, lazy days, sick days, days off, etc.

People I've been telling keep suggesting that I just cut back instead of cutting cold turkey. I think few people realize just how many negative things were caused by my incessant watching. It made me late, it made me lazy, it made me boring, it made me read less and write hardly ever.

I know I'll probably stumble (I'm human and we live in an entertainment obsessed culture), but if for anything I've got to try this for myself. As long as I can.

And besides, I've only got 362 more days to go....right?