Compression/ Decompression

Today I'm going to take a hint from one of the finest investigative programs on air today. This fine show has been on for decades now, and has materially contributed to the development of thousands of Americans. Even today, prominent political commentators take inspiration from this show: Sesame Street.

In homage to Sesame Street, today's blog post will be sponsored by the number 4.

Not coincidentally, that's the number of hours of sleep I got most nights last week. That's because I got unlucky-- all of midterms and papers and everything else were placed into one week of sheer un-pleasantry.

But now it's time to decompress, relax and regenerate in preparation for the next round. For this semester, it looks like much of my remaining work will be large research papers. But forget about that-- how can you decompress in the campus environment?

1. Blow of steam at the gym- I don't know what I'd do without use of GW's Health and Wellness Center. Some of our older buildings aren't kept up too well, but the newer ones are amazing and the gym is no exception. I made my usual trip to the fitness center/ weight room today, although for variety a lot of people like to play basketball or run on the indoor track.

2. Sleep- My philosophy during midterms is "I can sleep when I'm dead." After a week, this makes me feel like I'm halfway there. My position on sleep is that it's good for you; do it.

3. Find a hobby- mine are cooking and the martial arts (which I'll talk about another day). Anyway, I feel satisfied in every sense of the word right now: I just polished off the leftovers of my latest culinary success (recipe below) for dinner.

4. Focus hard on doing nothing- this is harder than it sounds. The trick is to enjoy time wasters while you're wasting time, as opposed to doing unwittingly and only finding out later. (Something of which I'm also guilty. Again, another story for another day)

Anyway, with any questions I can answer as a GW student, let me know at ash1290@gwmail.gwu.edu. If you'll excuse me, I'll be catching up on some sleep.
-Adam

Recipe Supplement

Meat Sauce
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 half white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 tbsp. oregano
1 and 1/2 tsp. basil
1 tsp. rosemary
3 cans tomato sauce
2 cans tomato cans
1/2 tsp. red pepper
2 cups artichoke hearts
1/2 lb. ground meat/ substitute (I usually use tofu stuff- can't taste any weirdness it has plain, and way better in terms of protein/fat ratio)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Dice onions and garlic. In a large saucepan, start heating oil, onion, garlic, pepper, and herbs. When oil begins to bubble rapidly, add tomato paste. Mix well.
2. When tomato paste begins to heat through and bubble slightly, add tomato sauce. (I usually use diced or whole tomatoes but I was out this time.)
3. Heat for about 20 minutes. When mixture approaches is bubbling steadily, add red wine vinegar and stir.
4. When entire mixture is heated and bubbling rapidly, turn heat down and cover. Simmer for about 90 min, stirring occasionally.
5. Add artichokes. and stir. Cover and simmer for about another 45-90 minutes.