For the last month, maybe two months, I have been rather uninspired. I have been in the valley (aka the pits of despair) with this guy  . . .

Not really. I haven’t even been to a literal valley. For Pete’s sake, I haven’t even been to Cleveland for several months.  I’ve mostly been going to the library and watching movies.

In the last two months, I’ve probably watched at least 50 movies. 50 is the low estimate. There were good movies, bad movies, movies that made me fall asleep – I’m talking to you “Inception.” It would be great to stay awake and watch Tom Hardy but all of those people sleeping makes me sleepy.

However, there have been two movies that I’ve watched this week that have been fairly inspiring.

When I rented “Chasing Mavericks,” I didn’t know that it was based on the true story of Jay Moriarity. I won’t tell you what happens. I will tell you that it makes me want to get off of the couch and go surfing. I’m from Ohio. I’ve never even touched a surfboard. It’s possible that I’ve not even seen a surfboard in person. That’s not the point. The point is that I need to get out there and do stuff again. It’s not that I want to surf the Mavericks but I want to learn the basics. Small waves are better than no waves.

Would I rather waste time being a couch potato or learn to surf and maybe meet some sharks. If I came face to face with a shark, I would at least have a story to tell. Probably. I mean, after I kick the shark in the face. Then it can be storytime.

The second movie was “Julie & Julia.” I totally relate to Julie. She’s in a rut and then she starts to blog. I’m a blogger and currently in a rut. (My grandma blamed being in a rut on drinking too much soda. It turns out that she was right.)

Anyway, as many of you know, I’m a terrible cook. It’s more than just being terrible, I’m afraid of cooking or rather afraid of the rejection and disgust from listening to people complain about my cooking. I’ve gotten back into the kitchen for short periods of time – only out of necessity.

My mom says that I’m an avoider of difficult subjects. When I was a kid, I used to take naps to avoid life. Now, I just outright avoid the kitchen, except for doing dishes and making coffee. Sometimes, I pour cereal for the kids. I have offered to make them food but they almost laugh me out of the room, like “Yeah, no thanks mom. We’d like to live another day.”

I don’t want to be this person that avoids scary things, like cooking and sharks. I want to get out of this rut. Getting back into the kitchen might be part of the ticket. Today, I found a Chinese cookbook in the kitchen. It must be my boyfriend’s – my cookbooks are usually called, “Quick & Easy” and “Oops.” The cookbook is very zen. I need some zen cooking and surfing lessons. It has got to be better than hanging out in the pits of despair.