Day 13:

Juice: Winter Crumble 

Winter Crumble:
2 Apples
2 Handfuls Blackberries

This is our first juice with the consistency of a smoothie. Some times when juicing particular fruits the juice comes out wonderfully smooth and frothy. Berries, peaches and pears tend to have that effect. If you like smoothies more than juices, this is a great juice for you. Also, you can juice your apple and blend your berries and mix. It will give you the smoothie texture with the crunch of the seeds and a little fiber.

Blackberries are a member of the Rosaceae Family (The Rose Family) and are an edible fruit produced by the Rubus fruticosus, a flowering plant. Blackberries are rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Omega-3 (in the seeds). Blackberries are widely known to quell stomach upsets and diarrhea. Throughout history the roots, leaves and berry have all been used to sooth skin irritations, inflammations, coughs and sore throats, especially Blackberry Tea. (Source) 

This is also a great juice to save the pulp. The pulp can be used for all sorts of things, but for this juice Blackberry-Apple Compote to drizzle over ice cream and Blackberry-Apple Jam.
These are good places to look:
- http://www.all-about-juicing.com/juicer-pulp-recipes.html
- http://www.plantoeat.com/blog/2012/06/ideas-for-using-juicer-pulp-or-what-do-i-do-with-this-stuff/

 Emotional Lifestyle:

Credibility. Let's define it.

cred·i·bil·i·ty 
noun 
- the quality of being believable or worthy of trust.
(Dictionary Source)


Okay. I guess most of you knew that. Let's talk about it.

As a tour guide, giving out not only historical tours, but also tours that are so close to people's family history (It is said about 1 in 5 American's can trace their heritage to the Lower East Side), my credibility is always in question. Are you Irish? Are you Jewish? Were your parents immigrants? Are you a history major? Are you a volunteer? Are a citizen? The answers of course to these questions will never define who I am, but that isn't what they want. The visitors are looking to define my credibility. Why does this girl work here? What make her an authority? Now if I was giving hour long lectures on milk and cheese, everyone would hear I was from Vermont and BAM...I might as well gotten a masters in Dairy History.

But, being 'credible' is like being a piece of art. It is in the eye of the beholder.

Strange and abstract things make me credible or not credible and it seems most of the time I have very little say in the matter. People decide what they like with or without me.

When I first started giving tours this enraged me. Because people are obsessed with it. I am always getting questions about 'my background' - genetically and intellectually. Over time learned I couldn't control how people saw me - be it good or bad - so I just decided to be honest and to keep reminding myself that it didn't matter. "I know what I know. That's all I can do." I have gotten good at shrugging it off.

But, what continually astounds me is what people feel they are entitled to ask/comment about.
The last two Saturday's have been ripe with annoying visitors, but especially on my walking tours. It is like they get us (the guides) away from the herd and with no accountability, feel they can pounch especially hard.

Last Saturday, the first in October, I had a older gentleman on my hour and a half walking tour. It was just him and me - these types of tours are either amazing or awkward - this one was the latter. He was a retired HR Representative for some corporation who had become a Lifestyle Coach. He proceeded to ask me about my life, my four jobs, my family, my educational background, and my goals for the future. At first it seemed like small talk, then he started suggesting things for me - including getting a lifestyle coach. He thought "perhaps I was lost in the flurry," and "though I showed initiative, clearly I did not have a lot of follow through."
Yeah. So, I just laughed and smiled. What was I going to do argue with the one person on my tour?

This Saturday, I had a walking tour of 20 people. A man, on the tour with his wife and teenage daughter, asked me where I went to school.
I told him: Emerson College.
The daughter and mother made sounds of recognition.
The mother said their daughter had been looking at Emerson.
I asked what the daughter wanted to do.
She didn't know.
I said Emerson was a good school.
The father then said, "Yeah if you want to be a tour guide"
Yeah. I just laughed and said it was a good school that taught me how to speak publicly.
The father then asked what I majored in.
I replied that I went for screenwriting.
The mother then told me a family friend was there for screenwriting as well.
The father then chimed in, "But she's very talented."
Thankfully, the conversation ended there because I had to continue the tour, but it amazed me. At the end of the tour, the father and mother pulled me aside and raved about how great the tour was, so clearly they didn't think the conversation was rude in anyway.

I do not understand why people do this and I try to not to think about it too much, but it happens a lot.