A pot full of Barley and Taking a stand

The past 2 weeks have pretty much whizzed past non-stop. Workwise things were busy. I spent a week in Finland and the weather was cold and sort of waiting to welcome summer...no trips to the farmer's market for 2 weeks (which is a pretty unusual happening for me)...I did go down to the Farmer's Market today my picks - half a pound of fresh walnuts, organic brown eggs, peaches, strawberries, Jicama, Brocolli Crowns, Carrots and Mushrooms. Last weekend was also pretty hectic. I got back on Friday...realized that there was no milk in the house...so picked up milk and a zhu zhu hamster for K2. We spent the evening eating Indian take-out and me catching up on some down time with K2. Saturday saw us at a Kiddies Concert in the morning that K2 seemed to enjoy...dinner was at Yan Can Cook = Sizzling Sichuan Shrimp, Kung Pao Chicken and General Tsao's Chicken (so meats galore)...On Sunday we went down to L's son's 5th B'day. It was wonderful seeing my college friend (even weirder seeing her sister G after 17 years...I don't think she recognized me...). L had organized a fun animal show which the kids absolutely loved. K2 got to touch an Albino python (see picture) and a lazy tortoise...he was so excited.

The week saw us get some news on the office logistics (our new offices will be in Sunnyvale). K1 and I get to carpool again...he is not too excited about carpooling with me but I am glad to have a carpool partner. I met a "good friend" for lunch one day in the week. A question she asked me has kept playing in my mind most of the week - Are you not uncomfortable with conflict?

I think we human beings have conditioned ourselves to play nice and avoid conflict. I think when the situation warrants it I am usually very even keeled and amenable. Yet one thing I learnt pretty early in life was that when it comes to Ethics there are no shades of grey...I have over years conditioned myself to not give people BS or I don't tolerate BS. Let me list the pros and cons of this approach -

Pros

1. I have been happy with my personal and professional choices as I have stuck by what I believed in
2. Long Term Peace of Mind
3. Confidence
4. Belief in one's own personal integrity (and that contributes to 3.)
5. Long-Term Happiness
6. Stable Blood Pressure :)

Cons

1. Conflict
2. Some Awkward moments
3. Perceived Political Harakiri (usually worked itself out and did not have a long term impact)

Yet, I think to sweep issues under the carpet and not address them is unhealthy to our self esteem and mental balance. We do not deem ourselves important enough to "treat ourselves right". So to my dear friend (you know who you are) - Take a stand! Yes it is uncomfortable, hard too...but in the long run it is the ONLY way forward.
My weekend was relaxed - I watched 2 wonderful Miss Marple movies - Murder is Easy and Why didn't they ask Evans? I have a 10 Disc Poirot collection to go through that I am super excited about. I cooked us a pot of barley today...truely a labor of love. I washed and soaked "long cook barley" in a pot of cold water. I put it in my multi-purpose fuzzy logic Rice Cooker for a quick cook (which takes an hour). I make enough to last through 3-4 breakfasts. How do I like to eat it?
Slightly warmed with warm Almond milk, toasted walnuts and almonds, date pieces, a dash of cinnamon and sweetened with agave nectar...it is really something else!
How was your weekend?