“Fat Free!” That’s Amazing!

Sometimes I’m both amused and disgruntled when I see food packaging that spouts how “good for you” it is. There’s a whole spectrum of jargon used on packaging to try and get you to buy whatever it is they’re selling: “fat free”, “only 100 calories per serving”, “12 vitamins and minerals”, “no trans fat” and the list goes on.

Most any food has some attribute that can be spun in a positive manner. And while some products may actually be fairly healthy for you, the ones that make me internally groan are the ones that are obviously not so healthy but somehow they want to be on the healthy bandwagon. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that this sugar-laden cereal or that buttery cracker isn’t particularly healthy (despite any starbursts of exciting “health” related information to the contrary). [Pause.] It just feels so disingenuous.

From a designer’s point of view I can see where companies are coming from; they’re trying to compete with other companies spouting the same rhetoric as well as actual healthy foods. They’re trying to draw people into buying their product that isn’t quite as “bad” as it could be (since it’s “only 100 calories” or it’s “fat free”) as to help lessen any guilt about eating their product. (Sure an apple would probably be a healthier option, but an apple doesn’t have any chocolate in it, does it?)

As a consumer I find it rather ridiculous. All you need is a little common sense to look at something and know that it’s just empty calories and has little nutritional value. Don’t get me wrong I’m not opposed to indulging in junk food from time to time. I enjoy potato chips and chocolates and ice cream, but I’d like for food packaging to be more honest about what they’re selling. If you’re selling junk food, own it—be junk food. Don’t try to pass yourself off as some sort of healthy option when we both know how little truth there is to that facade.

Read. Follow Directions. Don’t be Rude.

Sometimes driving drives me nuts, and the more cars on the road, the more chances there are to become irritated. One thing that irritates me greatly is when people are just plain inconsiderate and think that the rules just don’t apply to them. That somehow they’re outside, superior to the rules the rest of us follow and it’s okay for them to break them.

To get into Portland from the west side, many of us take the Sunset Highway that takes them through the Vista Ridge Tunnel. The road has three lanes and each lane goes to a different area: north, city center and south—so you have to be in a certain lane to get to the destination you want to go to. There are signs posted telling drivers which lane goes where—and it’s posted several times (so there’s no excuse not to know which lane you ought to be in).

And then comes the sign that says “No lane changes for the next ½ mile” for the section right before the tunnel until the three lanes turn into three separate roads right after the tunnel ends. This sign makes perfect sense to me because traffic slows with the approaching tunnel (which creates more congestion) and if everyone tried to change lanes right before the road diverges, there’d be chaos.

However, there always seems to be someone who decides that they don’t really care that they’re screwing everyone else behind them by switching lanes in or around the tunnel. Almost without fail, this inconsiderate action causes everyone behind this car to slow down as they try to squeeze themselves into a lane they should have already been in. It makes me so irritated because these inconsiderate people had ample time to get into the lane they wanted to be in but just didn’t. Likely they wanted to bypass the traffic (in the lane they eventually wanted to be in) and then cut in line at the last second—guess what, that’s what we all want to do, but we don’t (because we know that it causes problems for everyone else).

It’s just so selfish. And whenever this happens it puts me in a foul mood—and that’s never a good start to the day. It’s not hard to follow the rules, but apparently it’s easy for some to break them.

Mint Summer Skirt

I bought this mint fabric about the time when I first bought my sewing machine (years ago). I got it on sale and I was drawn to its double-sided nature—polka dots on one side and dashes on the other side. I admit that while I like the color in general, it isn’t a color that I’m usually drawn to for wearing. I’m also not usually excited about wearing polka dots (although I do like them more when they’re tone on tone rather than high contrast colors). Despite my uncertainty of wearing this fabric, I still bought it because I liked it; I got it I without a plan (as per usual) because I thought I might be able to use it “someday”.

Who Says it’s “Good”?

I always consider the source when someone tells me something is “good” because all opinions are not created equal; some people’s opinions I value more than others. Everyone has different standards of what they think is acceptable, and some of us have higher standards than others. For some, “good” means anything that didn’t totally suck, while for others, “good” means it was superior than average. I prefer the latter version of “good” because everything can’t be “good”; it then skews what “good” actually means into “doesn’t blow”.

There are some people whose opinions I generally trust, while there are others whose opinions I may not weigh as heavily in most areas, but they may have a specific niche that I do give extra weight to because they’re more knowledgeable or discerning in that particular area. Perhaps they’re from another country so they know what that type of food is supposed to taste like, or their preference in books is not unlike my own so if they recommend something I may actually read it.

It all comes down to the person themselves and getting a sense of what they like and how that relates to what you like. Because when we believe someone’s opinion of what is “good”, it often stems from the fact that we’re likely to share that same opinion.

But I Can’t Escape My Inner Self

I recently had Chinese take out and with it came the expected dessert: the fortune cookie. Who doesn’t love a fortune cookie? It’s a slightly sweet and light tasting cookie (which is nice since eating most Chinese food in the U.S. tends to be a heavy experience). I enjoy eating fortune cookies—they’re fun to eat. I crack mine open, eat my cookie and then read my fortune in great (okay, mild) anticipation.

And while I know fortune cookies don’t actually give accurate fortunes, somehow I still enjoy reading them. The fortunes given are generally vague, like “You will come into some money soon” or “You will meet someone interesting”, something that isn’t very personal and can work on a large or small scale.

However, the fortune I got was: “Stay close to your inner self. You will benefit in many ways”. It took me to a second to process this random message; I’m guessing this is supposed to be in the realm of  “Be true to yourself”—but in a much more awkward way. Because while I could ignore my inner self, I can’t exactly not be close to it; my inner self is inside of me, so no matter where I go, it’ll be there.

I then opened a second fortune cookie and the fortune I got was: “A movie would be a great way to relax this weekend”. [Pause.] Um, that’s not a fortune, that’s advice—and it’s not even creative advice. The fortunes I got were kind of disappointing and it made me wonder who writes these things, because it didn’t seem like a lot of thought was put into these “fortunes”. I guess I don’t need a fortune cookie to tell me that I will likely be disappointed with the “fortune” I get from my next fortune cookie.