RSI DUI

An audio dispatch due to a hand injury; short story + granola recipe

I pulled a muscle or a tendon in my hand from overuse this week, so typing is quite painful. I’m pulling myself over and issuing an RSI DUI and taking a break from typing. This newsletter edition is in audio format, with a short story, recipe, and life updates:

(Background music is from Twin Peaks by Angelo Badalamenti.)

What follows is the text version of “Shorter” and my granola recipe, plus some photos.

Shorter

I swear I'm getting shorter. I don't have evidence. Well, no evidence other than my measured height being less than it was a mere three years ago. But I try to remember the time before last when my height was measured, and I think I was wearing shoes with really thick soles.

When I look at myself in the mirror, I'm often surprised at how short I am. Am I just spending time with taller people? That may be the case, but it's rare that we stand next to each other and see who is taller. Is it possible that I'm getting shorter as I'm losing weight? That seems unlikely, but the body is, at times, a mystery.

I told myself, and the state of Oregon and Michigan on my drivers licenses, that I was 5' 10". This was what I believed to be true. Did I ever measure to that height or did I artificially inflate what I believed my height to be? At a recent visit to Urgent Care, I measured up to 5' 7". Have I lost three inches of height? Is being that much further from six feet, the magical "I'm without a doubt not short" height, such a big deal? What would a taller me do? Why did I not think about my height at all until I was measured and considerably shorter than I thought I was?

None of this explains the feeling I have when I look in the mirror and do indeed feel like a tiny man...

---

“Shorter” is a story from Feb 2021.

Brett’s Bodacious Granola

A less-sweet but still delicious granola that’s perfect for snacking or for breakfast as a cereal alternative.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup maple syrup

• 1/3 cup tahini (or peanut butter or sunflower butter)

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 tbsp cinnamon

• Dash of nutmeg (seriously don’t do too much nutmeg unless you’re a Nutmeg Fiend)

• 3 cups oats

• 1.5 cup nuts and seeds (sunflower seeds, walnuts, sliced almonds, pecans, etc.)

• 1 cup raisins (or other dried fruit like chopped apricots, mulberries, etc.)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 325°F

2. Mix the wet ingredients together (maple syrup, tahini, vanilla extract) in a bowl

3. Mix the dry ingredients minus the raisins (or other dried fruit) into the bowl, stirring until all of the oats are covered

4. Spread the granola on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and pack it together to get those delicious nuggets

5. Bake the granola for 20 minutes, salivating at the smell

6. Flip the granola with a spatula to have it cook more evenly

7. Bake for more 10 minutes

8. Take out of the oven

9. Mix in the raisins and other dried fruit

10. Enjoy! And share with friends and family or hoard it all for yourself!

Life & Such

I proposed to Becky at Love Park in Philly! She said, “Yes!” Hooray! Life has been such a journey over the last couple of years, and our relationship and partnership has been such a positive and wonderful part of it.

We were in Philly for a Pinegrove concert, and they sounded great live. They’re one of my favorite bands, and it was my first time seeing them. Union Transfer is a great venue.

Pinegrove live at Union Transfer in Philly

We’re in the throes of wedding planning and house hunting, so I haven’t been spending much time on anything creative. I think there’s a lot of time and energy needed to get the ball rolling on those things, but it should level out soon.

I’ve been enjoying Phoenix’s Ti Amo album lately. I like the electronic blips and bloops and more singing in French than their past albums. Fun energy!

I’ve been reading this essay David Foster Wallace wrote for Rolling Stone following the 2000 McCain presidential campaign. The premise of having a progressive publication cover McCain’s campaign via a verbose post-modern writer holds up as a piece of journalism. It’s sort of a transportation to late 90s tech and press coverage. The version collected in Consider the Lobster is longer than what ran in Rolling Stone, so I’m still reading it. I think it’s almost 100 pages long or something. The intro talks about how it’s got more words than an entire issue of Rolling Stone, which is very on brand for DFW.

And, lastly, Becky and I have been watching random Star Trek episodes across all the series. I love the thought-provoking premises, how most episodes are self-contained stories, and the low budget campiness of most of the series. It’s been a fun way to disconnect from the life and world stuff happening.

That’s all for now. Thanks for listening/reading. Take care!