Fig and Berry Madness
One of the benefits of my occasional night job (many models and actors will continue to do bartending/catering just because its a steady income, the work is relatively easy, and its nice to socialize with your co-workers). The jobs are always different too, so nothing gets too stagnant. AND...you get freebies. For most of them, its the occasional bottle of wine or leftover cooked foods that were served to guests. For me, its fruits, herbs...and bottled water. ( I got 3 Evians the other night)...no alcohol for me usually, although I'll bring home stuff for my roommates to try. Don't get me wrong, I definitely have money in the bank, but I'm not turning my nose up to free stuff. No way.
So last night was Halloween. I was working a dinner party that was being held for clients and friends of a boutique that sells high-end lingerie and erotic items...but REALLY high end. It was in Soho, and there were four of us serving drinks and passing food. The funny thing was that they hired a woman to lay on this table completely naked with fruit all around her. None of it was on her, just around her on this large table near the entryway. She had a mask on and just nibbled (unwashed) grapes for a couple of hours. Somehow, I was given the duty along with one of the assistant chefs to make the big piles of fruit around her. We had loads of conventional red and green grapes (no thanks) and, even though they were also conventional, massive amounts of...blueberries...raspeberries...and FIGS!
I kid you not, as I was piling up that fruit on the table, I was 1000 times more focused on how I was going to get those figs in my bag at the end of the night than I was on the naked woman laying in front of us. It was like she wasnt even there...I mean, of course you look when there is a naked person laying in front of you, but let's be adults here...WHO CARES? Its just a naked body. The novelty of it tends to wear off pretty quickly. But massive loads of my favorite fruit? Just waiting to be rescued at the end of night and taken home by yours truly? That deserves some attention!
Is there something wrong here? Do I need help? Or is this just the thought-pattern of a raw-foodie?
After eating about 10 plump, juicy figs, I wrapped the rest up along with a crazy amount of raspberries and blueberries. My co-workers were eating cold crepes sitting in melted ice cream, and here I am feasting on figs and raspberries! Thanks guys! I made the best smoothie ever today too! True - they werent organic, but certain berries and especially figs and persimmons are some fruits that I will gladly make an exception for if they are free. I will never pass up a fig.
They are just a sweet little condensed piece of perfection. Too cold to grow in Minnesota though, but for everyone further south, buy 4 of these trees NOW and start planting!
In fact, spread this idea...anyone with some extra land, or even suburbanites...go to either one of these websites - Peaceful Valley Organics and Willis Orchards
Buy some fruit trees and PLANT THEM! You will be so happy you did when you have fresh organic fruit growing in your yard. They cost so little, and give back so much. You can still buy land that is located 1 or 2 hours outside of many major metropolitan cities in the US for a decent price, especially if you share the costs with family members or close friends. Get a piece of land and at least plant 10 or 15 fruit trees on it. Build later on if you wish, but at least you will have that productive land when you need it. That is what I call investing for the future.
Willis Orchards sells trees that are already producing, so for a small investment, you can basically have a fruit orchard in one year. This is a no-brainer for me. Look into David Wolfe's Fruit Tree Planting Foundation and also Tree People. But this can be a total Do-It-Yourself thing. Plant awesome heirloom fruit tree varieties in your back yard and thank yourself a million times over afterwards.
I have an audition for a shampoo commercial tomorrow that shoots on some exotic island...would LOVE to get that one. That is why I got into this line of work...the free travel. Although when you are in NY, they tend to shoot in the studios quite often. If you go to Miami you will shoot a good amount of work in the Florida Keys and sometimes off in the Bahamas. Its a really nice bonus of the job.
Have a great Friday, and be sure to check the videos too! I'm making some cinnamon-raisin-apple Essene bread in the dehydrator...hopefully I wont eat it all before its done!
And to close...a post found from my friend Linda on her blog Linda in the Raw:
"I look my age. It is the other people who look older than they are. What can you expect from people who eat corpses?" -George Bernard Shaw
Rawmodel