Forging New Channels, Forgoing Trails Long-Exhausted & Absurd

Mixed-media collage from late-high school or start of college, early Aughts.  Magazine and acrylic on 14" x 18" canvas paperboard.

Outside pressures yield chinks in the rigid armor of OCD patterns as I (literally) attempt rerouting aspects of behavior contrary to a healthy, well-rested regimen.

Lens filter found crushed in driveway, left by Erica (June 12, 2015)

"There is a crack in everything / That's how the light gets in." - Leonard Cohen, Anthem

I simply must curb my self-mandated walking routines, as they are not currently conducive to mounting a productive schedule, nor restoring depleted vitals.

Print under framed glass, one of three by me, with black matting.  A December 2002 etching traced from a 1973 design sketch (found in a book on fashion history).

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.  With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do.  He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall."  - Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

A green smoothie paired with ready-made liquid supplement are again recommended as baseline essentials by trusted counsel.  As emphasized in prior accounts, the aim is to incorporate items of potent nutritional content into my day, with a greater spectrum of ingredients carrying vitamin benefits.

Kale NutriBlast blended from frozen banana, Maine blueberries, yoghurt, ice, & warm tap water.  Also:  Orgain chocolate shake, pink Alstroemeria (June 19, 2015)

"To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable."  - Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Straw 'pole

In a desperate bid for a "quick fix" to correct my severely depleted physical reserves, I permitted a close acquaintance familiar with my situation dare me into drinking a frozen dessert frappe at the local McDonalds.  Given that I'm virtually orthorexic, this was no minor effort on my end, although for him it is a no-sweat treat.  (He casually pointed-out several menu items routinely ordered as dinner, totaling well over two thousand calories per meal.)  My companion likes to frequent food chains like Applebees and smaller stands such as Maine's own Wasses Hot Dogs, preferring "American" cuisine built on meat 'n potatoes.  But for Lorena Stackpole, this would be a new and unwanted gesture, although for myself and other strict dieters, there exists occasional interest in whether such concoctions live up to their hype.  Let's just say my curiosity was more than satisfied, the product being oddly wan and unquestionably wretched, what with a vein of imitation-chocolate syrup that made me thirst for anything else to counteract such manufactured, hollow sweetness.  Needless to say, I would be positively surprised to step foot beneath those ubiquitous Golden Arches ever again.  My displeasure was recorded the following day via e-mail exchange with a like-minded confidant.  An excerpt:

Q:  What friend asked you into drinking that nasty thing from McDonalds?  Ugh.  Why do people have it so wrong?  The object is to eat things that are good for you, or damn tasty at least!!!

A:  Oh, you have no idea the agony my gut was in within the hour after taking that horrible poison into my system!  I would have GLADLY exchanged it for a coconut-kale concoction with almond butter and ice.  My therapist, a lovely and trusted adviser, agreed that I should be allowed wholesome, natural fats and nutrients, not a laundry list of preservatives (as tallied in the official ingredient report).

I concluded with three selfies --two obscured-- in addition to the obligatory image of some random kitten devouring a Coolatta, as encountered on Google Images.  Needless to say, the McD slogan of "I'm Lovin' It" was NOT realized in this experience...