Dough: An Introduction to the Pretzel

I have of late, but wherefore I know not, been stuck in a rut.

I suppose everyone finds themselves stuck in a rut at one time or another, don't they? As far as places to be stuck go, ruts aren't that bad, for a time. They're usually somewhat bland, unthreatening and easy. I'd much rather be in a rut than a Turkish prison, so from a glass-half-full perspective, ruts aren't that bad. It's only when you've been in that rut for a long while that it begins to fill with cold water and mud, and suddenly you begin to wonder if this really is that different from a Turkish prison after all. Fortunately, unlike Turkish prisons, getting yourself out of a rut is not all that difficult.

This blog is intended to chronicle my escape from the clutches of the rut.

This journey from Rut to Freedom involves many elements, a few of which I will mention here for the sake of mentioning, then probably never again. Just as Hamlet admitted to Rosencrantz, I've become lazy about exercise, abandoned my hobbies and generally stopped noticing the little bits of everyday magic that happen all around me. I stay up too late at night and then sleep in, missing half of the day's light. I miss meals and then eat junk food. I set vague goals for myself, then passively let them float away unmet. My mind has become dusty and lethargic.

Aha! I shall embark on a Pretzel Quest!

The idea of the Pretzel Quest came originally from my rumbling stomach. I had the day off of work, it was sunny and I was bored and hungry. For reasons unknown, I had an undeniable craving for a hot ballpark pretzel. I just didn't know where to find one. So I put on my hiking boots, grabbed a notebook and a good pen, and got on the bus. I could have used Google to instantly find every possible pretzel source in the world, but I decided to do it the old fashioned way. I subsequently spent nearly the entire afternoon hungry and pretzel-less, but this made it all the more satisfying when I eventually found myself in at the Rock Bottom Pub on Grand and State with two beautiful, golden brown ballpark pretzels and probably the best beer cheese I've ever tasted.

But why stop there? I decided to make the Pretzel Quest into a Thing.

I sat down and made a list of the little Things I always want to do, and never quite get around to doing. I then decided that I ought to write about them, and assigned each item a word count and a time frame. Now whenever I find myself in the Rut, I have a tool to help me escape. This blog is designed not only to motivate me to complete my Quests and write about them, but also to help other rut-dwellers like myself to escape the monotony.

Happy Questing!