Tele-prompted

I have already shared the fact that I am addicted to a couple of reality tv shows - Top Chef and True Beauty. True Beauty I rarely watch on Monday nights when it actually comes on, but I don't worry because I can watch it online and generally stay caught up on it. I caught the premiere of Top Chef and I am greatly lamenting the fact that I will miss it this week while I'm at camp.

But having spent a fair amount of time watching both of these shows, it really makes me think about myself and what I say and do all the time and with different groups of people. I probably run my mouth a little too much at home. I am guilty of saying things that I probably shouldn't and sometimes things that I don't want others to hear. I love being able to share things with my husband and probably need to work on not being so ugly, but at the same time I know that if I don't get some of this stuff out of my head I will explode. Perhaps a journal would be a wise investment for me!

I often wonder how people would react if my life were a reality TV show. On the one hand, I think most people would be really bored. My life isn't terribly exciting. There isn't a ton of drama, especially not direct drama. I just don't know that many people or have that much of a life! On the other hand, I feel like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde sometimes and my evil side comes out when I'm not around anyone else! And people would probably have many of the same criticisms of me that I have had of others.

So what does any of this have to do with Top Chef? Well, I think part of the reason that I like that show in particular is that I like to learn about cooking, but I also enjoy it because they don't show drama just for the sake of drama. It's just a part of the nature of life when you put a whole bunch of people together, especially in a competitive environment with so many different personalities. Drama and conflict are parts of life. And eventually stuff is going to hit the fan and you're going to explode. The question becomes what will you do and what will people see?

My challenge to myself is to live my life as though I were on a reality show, with cameras watching every move I make. Yeah, I'm going to screw up. Yeah I'm going to be less than perfect. But at the end of the day, can I still be proud of what I have done and who I have been? Stay tuned to find out!

My Favorite Things - p.18

I always have TV on, but I rarely ever actually watch it. Most of the time it is simply background noise. However, I do have a few shows that I really love. These are in no particular order, I'd pretty much watch any of them any time!

Pawn Stars - This show has two things I really love: history and hilarious family dynamics. It's also fun to see the junk that people bring in thinking it's worth a zillion dollars and it's just old junk!

Supernanny - I really do love Jo Frost. I want to be like her when I grow up! I watch this show for the same reason I watch cooking shows or Jeff watches home improvement shows - I love to learn things. And even though most of the techniques are the same in many episodes, I love to see how they are nuanced for each situation. Plus, when I can guess which technique will be used and how to implement it, I feel smart. I think it will ultimately make me better equipped to be a parent!

Top Chef - If I get really into a season, I'm addicted. Even if I'm not addicted, I love it. Not to the point that I would actually buy the seasons, but I will watch any of them whenever they come on! It also helps that I've only seen maybe two full seasons so the chances are pretty good I'll catch something I haven't seen before.

True Beauty - This is the first show I ever watched start to finish, HAD to see every single week, and then went back and watched it online at least one more time during the week. I just loved the idea that some rather obnoxious people had to find out the hard way that there is more to beauty than simply being pretty. The only thing I hated was that Joel lasted as long as he did. He was just good looking enough to get through the physical tests but not quite obnoxious enough to get himself into trouble. Oh well, I couldn't have been more thrilled that Julia won. I am excited about the coming second season!

Golden Girls - Yup, as old as it is, it's absolutely hilarious and I love it. I can just about quote all of the episodes. Still, they never fail to entertain me. I also love that Jeff enjoys them and we can quote them to one another.

Grey's Anatomy - it took me several years before I jumped on the bandwagon with the rest of the world, but now I am so hooked. Just when I think I'm about to the point where I can walk away and not care so much, it sucks me back in again!

What TV shows do you love? Which ones can you not stand?

Chef Kevin Gillespie

I had this brilliant and eloquent entry all written in my head during the week before we moved and I didn't have the time or the internet access to get it typed up. So, after much contemplation, here is what I have been able to remember and put together.

I think everyone is a little prone to hero worship. Especially when it involves celebrities. There is a little part of us that wants to have that close encounter with fame, fortune, and brilliance. And I have been lucky enough to get to meet some pretty awesome people in my relatively short life. I have met authors, musicians, actors, and others. But there is something I have learned through all of this. Most of the time we are drawn to character or images, not the actual individual. And in some cases it's a bit of a letdown. Not always, but sometimes. And I think that's why my list of famous people I want to meet has dwindled down to almost nothing.

But there is something about Chef Kevin Gillespie that makes me feel like a googly-eyed 12 year old. And not just because I literally salivate when I even think about what he can do to a piece of meat. But because I respect him in ways I never thought it possible to respect an individual that I have never even met! I respect him for what he does, but I also respect him for who he is. Because in many ways, those two things are one and the same.

His work is not just a passion, it's a calling and a ministry! He does what he does because he believes in it, but also because he knows he is called to it. He does it not just because it makes him money or because he personally enjoys it, but because of the benefit to others and his own responsibility. His dedication to seasonality and sustainability are the definition of what it means to be a good steward of one's resources. His passion is contagious! His notoriety puts him in an interesting place. I have no doubt that national TV exposure and thousands of fans are good for one's ego. But what I have seen him do with that notoriety is probably the reason I admire him the most.

He chooses to take the time to educate. Now on one hand it could be argued that an understanding of the benefits of farm-to-table, sustainable, seasonal, local cuisine is good for his business. But it's about more than that. It's about the responsibility to share with others in order to encourage good stewardship. Because there is a sense of responsibility not just for his own backyard and not just for the people he knows and loves.

I would love to meet him. I have no doubt that, if given the chance to shake his hand and tell him thank you for his work and to share how much I admire him, I would probably get a bad case of the stupids or the giggles or both. And I know that the chances of my ever getting to have a REAL conversation with him are slim to none. But I can dream! In fact, I literally had a dream that I got to sit across the table from him and just talk. It was lovely. Unfortunately I had finally worked up the nerve to ask some really deep questions just before I woke up and never got my answers! Alas, such is life!

I don't know what his religious affiliation is. Because he made a comment on Top Chef that he goes vegetarian for Lent, I assume he is Christian. I am tempted to assume he's Catholic, but at the end of the day it's really not my business (or anyone else's for that matter!) and knowing doesn't change what I think about him. But I would love to get his thoughts on the connection between food and faith in his life and what he sees as the implications for others. The connections between what someone believes, what they eat, and how they live the rest of their life are powerful. And while I have the perspective of a theologian who is interested in food, I would love to compare that to the perspective of a chef with an interest in theology.

One day I'm going to actually be able to eat his food. And if I'm really lucky I'll be able to thank him personally for making the world a better place, one tasty bite at a time!

Food and Wine Classic

I never even knew there was such a thing as the Food and Wine Classic until I started watching Top Chef. I have fallen in love with Top Chef so I have gotten curious about the Food and Wine Classic. 

I don't necessarily claim to be a "foodie" because I am a picky eater. And I love junk food and certain classic comfort foods that are certainly NOT gourmet. But I have had a few chances to experience really GOOD food, and I really enjoy it when I can get it. 

I started thinking about it and looking into it. It looks like it would be an AMAZING vacation. I would love to visit Colorado, but I'm not a skiier so summer would definitely be the best time to go. The tickets are SUPER expensive - even the basic ones are over $1000, and it's only a weekend. But you do get 7 seminars, 5 tastings, and a million exhibits and the chance to be in the presence of culinary genius. Then there is the option of the "green pass" which is basically a VIP pass, and gives you a lot of other benefits including "free" gifts, tickets to several special dinners, and $1000 of the $3100 cost is donated to a charity. Part of me would like to do that, even though it would cost me an arm and a leg and I probably wouldn't like a lot the food at the dinners! And really, are the gifts worth that much more that I would be paying? I really doubt it. At the same time, getting the VIP seats at the seminars and all of that would be FANTASTIC and probably well worth it in my book. 

I'll keep dreaming about it. Maybe one of these days I will make it out there! If you want to go with me in maybe 2011 start saving now and let me know!

Television

I have never been a huge fan of popular TV. My favorite shows are often things that have been off the air for years and are being re-aired on Lifetime. Starting in high school there were about three channels I would watch - courtTV, Food Network, and Lifetime. And it stayed that way pretty much through college. I never really got into the whole "newest episode" of anything. And I loved re-runs of shows I'd already seen, especially if I'd seen it more than once because my attention wasn't glued to it. It was simply background noise. I like studying to spoken word better than music, so TV worked for me.

When I moved to Nashville, I didn't get cable. It was just an un-needed expense, and I had a pretty good collection of DVDs so I was happy. When I lived in the house we had cable but I couldn't ever figure out how to use the directTV or whatever it was so I probably watched it maybe a dozen times in the year i lived there. I just stuck to DVDs in my room. The last apartment I inherited a set of bunny ears but still no cable, so it was mostly DVDs still.

Somewhere in there, I discovered Grey's Anatomy. Like I said, I'm not one to jump on the "new show" bandwagon, so I was about three seasons late in getting started. I just downloaded them all and spent my Thanksgiving break watching all of them up to that point. And of course I was hooked, so I got as caught up as I could and anxiously awaited new episodes. I still wasn't one for "appointment TV" so I looked forward to my new download from iTunes and that was when I'd watch it. 

There is only one show I ever watched as it aired, start to finish, every week without fail and that was "True Beauty". I don't think I would have gotten quite as into it if it were longer than 8 weeks, and I think the only reason it worked was because it was right after I got home from a late class and it was perfect to switch it on while I ate dinner. 

Now that I am not working and have access to TV, I am getting hooked on so many different shows - Ice Road Truckers, The Deadliest Catch, Top Chef, Crossing Jordan, The First 48 and the list just keeps going! I have even spent an entire day watching a full season of America's Next Top Model! 

I am really getting into all of these and I honestly don't know what to do with myself! I need to be more productive.