I gave in to my addiction yesterday.
The monkey was on my back.
I was Jonesin'.
I could not help myself.
The higher power did not stop me.
I gave in.
I ate 1.25 bags of heavily sea-salted Frontera Lime Stone-Ground Organic Yellow Corn Tortilla Chips.
I ate them straight from the bag(s), while sitting in front of the computer.
I savored the salt.
I made a mess.
I did not stop until there was only one chip remaining at the bottom of the bag.
"If you eat that, you're really in trouble," I thought.
So I threw that one out with the bag.
I felt like crap before, during and after the ordeal.
In fact I still feel like crap.
But afterwards I began working on the Project I've been putting off for the past six months.
And then I did some of my teacher training homework, and later dreamt that I was on the right path yoga-wise.
So maybe corn chips aren't the problem.
Perhaps they're part of the solution.
I'm sure Hemingway and all the other drunken writers thought that about the drink, too....
At least I'm in good company.
SALT II
It has been a very mild winter in Chicago.
There has been barely any snowfall, which means that the city has used very little salt on the streets to melt it.
Yesterday it snowed just enough to make it look like a winter wonderland.
The salt trucks were out even before it started to snow.
And they stayed out; could it be that the city needs to get rid of all the salt they have stockpiled, so they can buy more from their connected friends?
Could it be they need to give some overtime to the sanitation workers who moonlight as ward cretins?
Could it be that there's a mayoral primary coming up?
But I digress.
Last night it was snowing lightly and the city trucks were still out.
You'd think we were expecting the Blizzard of '79.
There was so much salt on the Clark Street that the tires literally crunched as I drove north.
It was exactly like driving on gravel.
But by this morning the snow had stopped.
Everything -- buildings, cars, signs, the street itself -- was covered in a fine coating of salty dust.
It was floating in the air, making everything a little bit blurry.
The eyes even watered.
You could taste the salt on your lips and in your mouth.
Corn chips would have been redundant today.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
SALT LICK
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India's central bank hikes short-term lending rate to curb inflation
ReplyDeleteThe Associated Press
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
NEW DELHI
India's central bank on Wednesday raised a key short-term lending rate but kept the rate at which it borrows from commercial banks unchanged.
The Reserve Bank of India's decision, which came with its quarterly review of the Indian economy, aim to curb rising inflation without hurting liquidity and the economy's growth momentum.
The RBI lifted the repurchase rate, the rate at which it lends to commercial banks, by a quarter point to 7.5 percent with immediate effect. This rate was last raised in October 2006.
It kept the reverse repurchase, or its short-term borrowing rate, unchanged at 6 percent in what appeared to be an effort by the central bank to squeeze liquidity moderately so that it doesn't hurt the broader economy.
Most analysts expected the RBI to raise both rates.
India's economy has averaged a brisk 8.3 percent growth in the past three years and is expected to expand 9 percent in the current fiscal year ending in March. But the government and policy makers are worried about rising prices, as the inflation rate has increased to 6 percent.
"Demand pressures appear to have intensified, reflected in rising inflation, high money and credit growth, and elevated asset prices," the central bank said.
"The continued high growth in the real estate sector, outstanding credit card receivables, loans and advances qualifying as capital market exposure, and personal loans is a matter of concern." it said.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the RBI's move is a signal to the banking sector that it "must moderate credit growth."
Bank lending has grown over 30 percent so far in the current fiscal year, fueled by demand for housing and from companies in expansion mode.
The central bank also increased the provisions that banks must make for loans to sectors such as real estate, stock purchases, and consumer loans to 2 percent from the current 1 percent.
The central bank said it hopes to rein in prices and that inflation would average between 5.0 percent and 5.5 percent in this fiscal year.
Last week, the federal government slashed import tariffs on a range of raw materials and edible oil, to curb inflation.
looks like someone made a new years resolution to blog more.
ReplyDeleteResolutions are so 1996
ReplyDelete