Ramanujan Redux

Generally, when I search for book quotes, I get deeply interested. Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird is one such tale that hits me deep.

“His parents egged him on, providing him with the best tutors their money could buy. When he took top honors, they rewarded their son by buying him anything he wanted.  His childhood was one of extreme material luxury, but when he entered the most sensitive and vulnerable phase of life, he had no time for girlfriends, no chance to go wild with other boys. He had to pour all his energies into maintaining his position as number one.”

Considering the fate of this character, I think I need to stop being like that. At least all the time.

“We study health, and we deliberate upon our meats and drink and air and exercises, and we hew and we polish every stone that goes to that building; and so our health is a long and regular work. But in a minute a cannon batters all, overthrows all, demolishes all; a sickness unprevented for all our diligence, unsuspected for all our curiosity, nay, undeserved, if we consider only disorder, summons us, seizes us, possesses us, destroys us in an instant.”

I don’t know the man who wrote this quote, but he does have a hidden point. It’s good to eat healthy as you grow older, it’s good to get a checkup every few months, check up on your troublespots and what not. But to obsess about your health is like to obsess about any desire or want–unhealthy. Don’t lose yourself in the process.

Being sick for a few months (from stomach ailments to viral infections to the flu) sucks, especially when you strive for productivity and action. But sometimes it’s good to take a break, to rest, to repair, to reorient. Life might be short, but you can still accomplish plenty in a lifetime if you take time to relax. The world will not stop if you take a week off to ease your troubles. There are plenty of ways to make up for lost time. But sickness must be stamped out before you can move on with the tasks at hand.

On the train back from Napoli to Roma this summer, I notice a beautiful bella sitting across the aisle two rows diagonal to me. I decide to test how much of a charmer I’ve become over the past few weeks. I give brief fleeting glances her direction, flashing the occasional goofy smile with slightly narrowed eyes (that is the confident look these days right?). All in innocent fun; thirty minutes to spare and a father in tow, there won’t be anything happening here.

Deep brown eyes stare back, narrowing a little. Very tender lips curve slightly upward at one or two glances. The casual T-shirt/jeans look that does wonders to accentuate her firm, yet delicate attractiveness.  I am eliciting some response, whether it be attraction or disgust.

Somehow I manage this idle flirtation without my father noticing, although he does raise his eyebrow at all the weird smiles I’m throwing at right.

As we turn into the station, she steps out of the car to take a light (train’s final stop is Milano).  I step off the train and meet her eyes , flashing one last dopey grin. She tilts her head downward (shyness? Who is that creep?) and gives me a faint smile, with cigarette hanging right between her lips. Maybe there was some promise. Maybe I could say, “Ciao, bella”, and she could start talking in Italian …or I could just give her our Euro cell # and we could chat (most Italians learn English right?)…or just ask for her name and address until the train started leaving, setting up a future romantic rendezvous in Milan…

But I am with my father, and I must rush to keep up with him. I quietly walk past her into the station and back into Rome.

I have been straggling through the month trying to figure out new ways to make my stomach miserable. At first I assumed it was a viral infection and it would run its course, until symptoms persisted for a few weeks. I then looked at the food I’d been eating, and lo and behold, there were trouble spots all around:

I realized all that Orbit gum I chew every day had sorbitol in it. Farewell Orbit, may I never have to chew your sweet stomach-churning flavors ever again.

I saw that those whole wheat pita bread on pinto beans, tomatoes, and watery canned tuna salads were destined to lead to a gastrointestinal acidic recipe for bloating, burping, and all the perks of flatulent Fridays.

I was cooking bulks of lentils that were waaay over what I needed on a daily basis.  Beans beans, too many beans. Some are good, too many are fartsy.

Oh, and why was I up all night? Some mild stomach pain and constipation forced me to drink some Chinese green tea earlier this evening. Naturally, this only led to something worse: caffeine intoxication. Apparently two cups of green tea were enough to do the trick, although at maximum dosage that still isn’t close to enough to start getting chills all over, along with. There must be another culprit at work.

The only recent change in diet? Belizza Acai sorbet, due to those mysterious antioxidants that supposedly reverse the aging process or whatever. I know they often add guarana (a caffeinated product) to the acai palmberry (the main berry that does all sorts of wonders), but it isn’t listed in the ingredients. But that high energy label, no fat, no dairy makes me wonder what exactly is in it…

In any case, it’s gone until I figure out how much caffeine is in that thing. Either that or I have a huge intolerance for caffeine, which might signal the end of green tea consumption. Not a huge loss; I preferred gelato anyway, and fennel/peppermint/chamomille tea definitely can replace the herbs of the Far East.

I’m rambling right now. It’s apparently one symptom of caffeine intoxication. Life is great. Hopefully I’ll fall asleep soon, the half-life of caffeine since consumption just passed through.

Foods to avoid: Orbit gum, Belizza sorbet.
Keep an eye on: Green tea consumption. Probably moving to fennel tea.