Maine, Maine. go away

This is near where I'll be staying in Maine. I think it's one lake over. Boy do I need a vacation. And I'm getting one. Whew.

In the past 6 months, among other things, I left my husband, worked on and got a separation agreement, bought a house by myself, moved into it and am now living alone, my uncle died, my sister leaned on me for support for her relationship problems, I was dropped suddenly from a work project due to a complete shift in direction, got offered and took another different half time job, and my cat died.

I did not lapse into a depression, due in part to continued exercise and eating right, regular physical training, the support of friends and family, and some good luck. September will start my new life. See you then!

Last of the weekend events

My first ever dinner I made, and had someone over for dinner, was for my ex-ish. He had not seen my place, and given the circumstances, it was best he see it without other people around. It wasn't nearly as horrible as it could have been. A tad awkward, of course, but it was ok. I got to show him my floors, the rubber duckie shower curtain hangers I bought to make the ugly bathroom a little happier, and the amazing shed. I think he was happy to see the kitty, and happy that the kitty was happy to see him. So now that hurdle is gone.

Lunch today

- I sat in a seat on the sidewalk with my eyes closed and let the wind blow across my face and tried to have it blow through my mind. Opened my eyes for an instant when of course someone was looking at me. Next thing, he's sitting next to me chatting me up in his Oklahoman kinda looking homeless way. It's not a lie yet if I say I'm married.

- I was walking back to the office and ran into a co-worker from my former job. Chat chat chat. To me: 'you look like you're pregnant!'. I just looked at her speechless and looked at my stomach. 'No, no, you have that glow.' I guess it was the glow of sitting on a sidewalk seat with the wind blowing through my hair.

Cops and Firefighters - #2 from weekend

So I'm driving along the highway on my way to an errand on Sunday, and my sister calls. I didn't have my hands free device on the phone, so I was talking to her holding the phone. Suddenly the traffic was really really slow. There was an SUV in the left lane with out of state plates going really slowly. I saw a motorcyclist in the second lane over, but he was wearing business clothes and had what looked like a vanity plate. So I'm cussing at the driver in the left and he finally goes behind the motorcyclist.

I moved over to the left and slowly went to pass (I was already above the speed limit btw). As I approach I say to my sister, 'is that a cop? nah, it can't be. SHIT, it IS' and threw the phone down. Since I had already started kind of passing him I figured I'd continue, but with two hands on the wheel. So I'm right next to him and I hear a 'boop'. I kinda glanced but saw no lights so kept driving. 'Boop' again. I looked over this time and he looks at me, holds up his left hand, and flashes five, five. As in, the speed limit is 55.

So, I promptly pulled my foot off the accelerator and slid behind him. He did not pull me over. It was a very surreal experience having him right next to me at 65 mph flashing a hand signal. Very lucky me.

And then the firefighter story.

I do freecycle a LOT (save the planet AND get free stuff!). And I give as well as receive. So someone put up a post asking for a tv for a fire station. I had a big tv that I really didn't want, so I told them they could have it. He arranged to pick it up Sunday (and turns out it was the fire station I used to volunteer at). I told one female friend and she started having fantasies. So the guy arrives Sunday morning. Over 6 feet, wonderful body, and I led him into the house and we had wild sex on my couch. Or not.

He picked up the tv, put it in his car. I had told my ex-ish about the station needing one and wanting a large tv, and he had gotten a monster super duper tv which didn't work well without cable, so he said they could have that one and he'd take my smaller big one. As I'm yakking on the phone to arrange for the guy to go to my ex-ish's house, a ladybug lands on my leg and starts biting me (they DO bite) and I scream and brush it off. Of course the firefighter looks at me like I'm nuts, but oh well. I talked to my friend/ex who still volunteers there, and turns out the guy is a dick. I could tell. And no, I didn't see his.

YOUR CHALLENGE ON HAIKU HUMP DAY - Comment in the form of a haiku. See Squirrel's example. 5,7,5 is the framework

Twittering Lunch

--Went out and laid in the sun. Listened, and over or under the sounds of the cars and people, there was a consistent whine of insects buzzing in the heat.

--Decided Wednesday might be Haiku Humpback Day. Here's a haiku a day early.
If you think you can't
breathe, eat, sleep, move, live, love, dream.
Let go. Just do it.

--Firefighters on the corner holding out a boot for Jerry's kids. Wonder if they'll give a percentage to the homeless people whose spot they took.

--My friend decided to name the climb The Gray Matter, in deference to the guy who had originally thought to bolt the line and allowed my friend to do it.

Twitter Tuesday

It's my day for random stuff. There is one thing related to the weekend, but there are more stories to come.

On the way back home Saturday heard a really good song on a college radio station by the band Atmosphere. And the song was You. Click on the link and it'll bring you to their MySpace page and it's the song that starts playing. It has a great beat, good lyrics, and beware, sticks in your head.

My pink sunglasses are a hit apparently. They guys made fun of me on Saturday, but Sunday I went to the farmer's market and one vendor looks up at me and kind of stops short - 'cool sunglasses'. And then yesterday I was walking down the street thinking about sending that tidbit to the boyz, and a woman comes up to me and says 'I love your sunglasses'.

My cat is in love with my mountain biking shoes. That I wear every day. With no socks. Sticks his face in them. Rubs his face on them. Sticks his paws in them. Might be time to start deodorizing them, ya think?



Michelle Obama is a great speaker. Maybe she should run for president. I was kind of irritated at the cheesy video visit of Barack afterwards though.

Full Weekend - story #1 - always wear a helmet

I have so many vignettes to write about from this weekend, but I'm going to try and be good and just write one a day.

First and foremost - lesson learned. Always wear a helmet when belaying.

Four of us went rock climbing Saturday at a bolted place (so, can do lead climbing). Two really burly climbers and two of us that used to be burly and have to work our way back there (I was the only woman btw).

I was belaying one friend on a climb that our other friends had done (btw, one of whom is my husband/soon to be ex/and who I'll try to start calling friend) so it was via top rope. He was about a third of the way up when hell breaks loose. Well, not really hell, but a brick size chunk of rock.

All the rest happened in a split second. When you are belaying most of the time you're looking up at the climbing to see what's happening. When the rock came off, I barely registered something coming down. My first instinct - and those who might climb with me thus should feel safe - was to grab the rope with two hands and to put my head down. I also screamed - not a 'falling off the rock when climbing' type of scream, but a 'shit something scary is happening' scream. The rock bounced, glanced off my helmet, and bounced off my shoulder onto the ground. OW!

When people around the corner asked if I was ok I couldn't speak for a few seconds because my shoulder really hurt. But at least the person I was belaying could see I was basically ok, and he let them know. I eventually also echoed that. Note I never let go of the rope. But had I NOT been wearing a helmet, and was knocked unconscious from the rock, two people would have been hurt badly, me and the person I was belaying.

A little bit more background. We knew there was loose rock because of our friends who had climbed it. Hence the wearing of the helmet. But the thing is, you just never know when something's going to come off, even in a climb that's been done a million times. And I have to remember that lesson on the days when I don't feel like wearing a helmet.

So I have a memento from the day - a nice little gash and a nicely developing bruise. And a lesson.

Postscript: For the first time ever I used my new velcro'd shoes outside, and felt like a 'real' climber because I had to take them off before I even got to the ground they hurt my toes so much. Most hard core climbers have a pair of shoes that are really sensitive and very tight for best control on the rock. And these are my pair... I normally believe in no foot pain climbing, but damn, they did work well.

2nd Postscript: One of my friends put up a new route at this place. Figured out where to put the bolts, drilled them, etc. Both he and my ex-ish (technically he's still my husband) climbed it and thought it was hard. My friend climbed it clean, which allows him to name it. 1/4 of the way back we were trying to think of a name. Possibilities included: Grey Matter, Potential Energy, Stone Temple Muzak, Buckets Galore, Sisyphus, Platelets. (You want a name that's good, has meaning, will get people to climb it, etc.) No decision yet.

Saturday Hunt - Animal

Yeah, I know, it's getting old that I can't access my photos. I promise to try and make it work this week. I did try last week!

Anyway, so here's this week's music Hunt. A song from Animal Collective. Give them a chance - wait through the first few seconds. They really are good.

Something Fun for Friday - Just call me Charlie Brown

A group of investigators got together and analyzed the personalities of well known and modern cartoon characters. The information that was gathered was made into this test.

Answer all the questions (only 10) with what describes you best, add up all your points (which are next to the answer that you choose) at the end and look for your results.

> 1. Which one of the following describes the perfect date?
> a) Candlelight dinner (4 pts.)
> b) Fun/Theme Park (2 pts.)
> c) Painting in the park (5 pts)
> d) Rock concert (1 pt.)
> e) Going to the movies (3 pts.)
>
> 2. What is your favorite type of music?
> a) Rock and Roll (2 pts.)
> b) Alternative (1 pt.)
> c) Soft Rock (4 pts.)
> d) Country (5 pts )
> e) Pop (3 pts.)

> 3. What type of movies do you prefer?
> a) Comedy (2 pts.)
b) Horror (1 pt.)
> c) Musical (3 pts.)
> d) Romance (4 pts.)
> e) Documentary (5 pts.)

> 4. Which one of these occupations would you choose if you only could
> choose one of these?
> a) Waiter (4 pts.)
> b) Professional Sports Player (5 pts.)
> c) Teacher (3 pts.)
> d) Police (2 pts.)
> e) Cashier (1 pt)

> 5 What do you do with your spare time?
> a) Exercise (5 pts.)
> b) Read (4 pts.)
> c) Watch television (2 pts.)
> d) Listen to music (1 pt.)
> e) Sleep (3 pts.)

> 6. Which one of the following colors do you like best?
> a) Yellow (1 pt.)
> b) White (5 pts)
> c) Sky Blue (3 pts)
> d) Dark Blue(2 pts.)
> e) Red (4 pts.)

> 7. What do you prefer to eat?
> a) Snow (3 pts.)
> b) Pizza (2 pts.)
> c) Sushi (1 pt.)
> d) Pasta (4 pts.)
> e) Salad (5 pts.)

> 8. What is your favorite holiday ?
> a) Halloween(1 pt.)
> b) Christmas(3 pts.)
> c) New Year (2 pts.)
> d) Valentine's Day(4 pts.)
> e) Thanksgiving(5 pts.)

> 9. If you could go to one of these places which one would it be?
> a) Paris (4 pts)
> b) Spain (5 pts)
> c) Las Vegas (1 pt)
> d) Hawaii (4 pts)
> e) Hollywood (3 pts)

> 10. With which of the following would you prefer to spend time with?
> a) Someone Smart (5 pts.)
> b) Someone attractive (2 pts.)
> c) Someone who likes to Party (1 pt.)
> d) Someone who always has fun (3 pts.)
> e) Someone very sentimental (4 pts.)

Now add up your points and find out the answer you have been waiting for!

(10-16 points) You are Garfield :
You are very comfortable, easy going, and you definitely know how to have fun bu t sometimes you take it to an extreme. You always know what you are doing and you are always in control of your life. Others may not see things as you do, but that doesn't mean that you always have to do what is right. Try to remember, your happy spirit may hurt you or others.

(17-23 points) You are Snoopy:
You are fun; you are very cool and popular. You always know what's in and you're never out of style , you are good at knowing how to satisfy everyone else. You have probably disappeared for a few days more than once but you always come home with the family values that you learned. Being married and having children are important to you, but only after you have had your share of fun times.

(24-28 points) You are Elmo:
You have lots of friends and you are also popular, always willing to give advice and help out a person in need. You are very optimistic and you always see the bright side of things. Some good advice: try not to be too much of a dreamer. Dreaming too big could cause many conflicts in your life.

(29-35 points) You are Sponge Bob Square Pants:
You are the classic person that everyone loves. You are the best friend that anyone could ever have and never wants to lose. You never cause harm to anyone and they would n ever not understand your feelings. Life is a journey, it' s funny and calm for the most part. Stay away from traitors and jealous people and you will be stress
free.

(36-43 points) You are Charlie Brown:
You are tender, you fall in love quickly but you are also very serious about all relationships. You are a family person. You call your Mom every Sunday. You have many friends and may occasionally forget a few Birthdays. Don't let your passion confuse you with reality.

(44-50 points ) You are Dexter [who is this??]:
You are smart and definitely a thinker... Every situation is fronted with a plan. You have a brilliant mind. You demonstrate very strong family principles. You maintain a stable routine but never ignore a bad situation when it comes. Tr y to do less over thinking every once in a while to spice things up a bit with spontaneity!

446

Yesterday Q/Fringes posted a link to a life changes and stress test and asked for others' results. I took it, without realizing that it was supposed to be for the past YEAR even rather than only the past 6 months, and got these results (with 300 being the cutting off point for High):

Your Value is: 446
Your stress level is HIGH, if it continues you may want to seek help from a professional

Well, I have lots of professionals and nonprofessionals helping me, and it seems like that's the thing to be doing.

The thing is, I've overcome enough of the huge hurdles that I feel I SHOULD be able to be doing better than I am even. E.G, I read people's blogs and see how creative they are or how passionate they are about world/local events, and feel bad that I am not that way. Or I get irritated that the door guy needs me to visit him to keep me upbeat. I'm still focused for the most part on me, and sometimes I feel bad about that. But I need to look at the number 446 and give myself a break.

I didn't write it last week, but moving into the new place was really difficult. Especially bringing my cat there. A new house. A new life. On my own. I couldn't bring myself to clean or unpack or move furniture. I had no TV to zone out on. I had no place to really sit and eat breakfast and nothing to read. When I talked to my friend Monday night my voice was flat - it was then she said she was coming to visit. Which was a lifesaver. Having my birthday helped and kept me going. And a friend helped me Wed night with my dryer and stuff. And I received a lobster in the mail. So I kept busy and didn't lie/lay in my bed staring at the ceiling. And the weekend was very busy.

But then the end of the weekend came, and Sunday night I was alone again, but finally cried about it. Which I have to do sometime. I told my trainer Monday morning how difficult last week was, and his response was that I'll get to the point where I'll be happy to be alone. Yeah, but not there yet. It's really not horrible, and I am indeed fine. It's just not easy, and I get tired of trying to be upbeat/entertaining. I need a vacation and plan on enjoying every minute of being in Maine the week of Labor Day weekend.

On Monday this week, a good friend gave me a little present she had bought. A magnet with my saying on it!!!! Destined to be an old woman with no regrets. And it's kinda pink. It's on my fridge and reminding me every morning to be that way, and that I have friends who care. As does the lobster that waves me out the door.

1996 Olympic Moment

They showed a small blurb of this on TV the other night. If this doesn't bring tears to your eyes...I don't know what will.

Let me count the ways

How many ways can I get killed biking into work? Let me count the ways.

1-get hit by a car.

And there you have it. Of course I could have a heart attack or a plane could fall out of the sky, but that's pretty much it. And with my new commute, the likelihood of option #1 above has increased. I've had at least one close call already - and I will freely admit it's my fault.

Here's my commute:
Side streets to a main road that has no bike lane and is a bus commuter line. Some room for a bike. At one point cross this main road to get to the bike path - with and against the light. Get on bike path for very short distance and then get on road for short distance biking against the traffic, and past an off-ramp for a mini-highway. Go under bridge and turn left onto mini highway. Do not take bike path because it's a pain in the beehind (too curvy/sharp turns - slows me down) and bike on road that is listed as 45 mph but people go 60. Space on side of this road for a while and then go over a bridge - no space and cars are exiting to an off ramp as I signal to get over. Bike past another onramp (where I do check and see if cars are coming) and then cross another offramp to get back onto bike path.

On bike path, cross another on-ramp (but this one two lane) and depend on motorists to really stop when they are slowing down, in BOTH lanes. Bike path for a while, cross two more ramps which have stop sign for bikers but that would slow me down. Sidewalk for a little while and bike path (I try to be respectful of walkers - I know I'm the bad one being on the sidewalk). Then cross a main road 99% of the time with the light and ride up a one way street the wrong way (the street my gym is on). Have to stay on sidewalk (tried once being on the road and almost got hit by a car), and cross roads with or without lights (the worst almost being hit was at one intersection where there's a bunch of roads coming together and I don't know the sequence yet and one guy was in a hurry but luckily had had his coffee and was awake).

Arrive at gym.

I think I may need to give someone my login and password to let you know if I get hit by a car and die... Sorry, I'm unlikely to change my ways unless I do get hit by a car.

Miel, Hoenig, Honning, мед, Mel, はちみつ

My friend who came to visit me this weekend was just in France for a wedding, and Paris for a short holiday. As birthday and housewarming presents she brought me many things, which were all wonderful, but my eyes lit up when I opened one package and found a jar of honey from Paris. Sunflower honey (has a slightly nutty flavor). She had found a store in Paris entirely devoted to honey. That would be my dream store.

I LOVE honey. Clover honey from the supermarket is fine, but look around for others. My favorites are the darker ones - Wildflower honey, buckwheat honey. These can be found in the United States - from farms are the best. I once bought Tupelo honey because of the song from Van Morrison, but it was very similar to clover honey. For my old job I used to travel internationally and when possible I would buy honey in whatever country I was in. (I did that several times before finally checking with the US Customs Service to see if it's ok, and surprisingly it is.) My favorite was/is from Brazil: honey from the cashew flower. (Did you know there's a cashew fruit? They make juice from it and mostly keep it in country. It's very nice.) When I was in San Francisco there was a special honey I saw which was $50 for a jar and I was SOOOO tempted to buy it, but resisted somehow.

To best taste the flavor, I tend to put it in steamed milk. You would think I'd like it on various body parts, but really I only like it on fingers and lips - might be the salt that gets mixed in otherwise, which really doesn't do it for me. My favorite term of endearment from a boyfriend was MHMB (my honey my baby) - 10,000 points if you guess which song that's from.

How do bees make honey? (I must admit, after seeing the animated Bee Movie, I feel a little guilty eating honey, but not so much that I'll stop.)

Of course, since bees are part of the environment, there's a crisis. Species and populations are disappearing at an alarming rate - which of course doesn't only affect honey production, but also pollination. I just found a really cool site that Haagen-Dazs has created to call attention to the issue and help the bees. It's interactive and interesting and cute - TAKE A LOOK.

Image
Translations

Something I never knew about my brother

A Dirty but Lasting Lesson

My least favorite summer job was in a meat-processing plant in East Providence, R.I., hosing down the slicing and grinding equipment with high-pressure hot water at the end of the day. We had to spray every nook and cranny, or we'd find maggots dangling from the crevices. The sight made us think twice about buying the ground hamburger, even with the employee discount. I saw the value of a good education after I had hosed off the last maggot that summer.

It's Monday

And I am trying to get a Scavenger Hunt photo off my damn camera and onto my damn computer so I can post it, but it's not working. My mood is turning black...

But there's always the song version of the hunt, and here you. I remember loving this song growing up.

It's Friday

And I have nothing exciting to say. Can you entertain me?

I'll just let you know a friend is coming from Philly to help me jumpstart my motivation to get stuff done in the house so maybe I can at least cook something real for dinner and put away my clothes, etc. I really have to get the kitchen started/done. My free dishwasher disappeared (meaning damn Habitat for Humanity took it! :-) ) so I have to buy one before I get started on the next phases. I so need a kitchen!!!! And I may have decided that I will NOT go with Silestone, but rather granite since it's prettier in less expensive categories.

Why cats are never tense

Recognizing tension

I noted in my comments yesterday that I was fighting yet another migraine. And it was one of these new types that I never seem to be able to stop, except with drugs. I called my trainer, because he's the one that's helped make them stop (and I know he's not a doctor, but I seem to be taking after my father who only asked his dentist for medical advice). He said to apply heat, which I did, which helped a little. And then I had my therapy appointment at 3:00. I went there all weirded in the back/neck/head, and we were going to do relaxation exercises for half the time, but I said I just wanted to talk for a while.

So I talked about my little and big things that were worrying me/making me feel depressed, and she helped me also talk about the good things in my life and assure me that this IS a big time of change for me. And lo and behold I felt better. No more feelings like I was going to have a migraine. I've had so much help and things are going so relatively well for me that I felt I could not complain, so I held it all in. And created tension.

See, there are so many ways the body can hold tension. The most obvious ones affect the big muscles, like when your shoulders are up to your ears. Stop and think - and bring them down. Or, purposely tense some muscles and let it go, and you'll see if they were tense before you did that.

But there's tension that's not so obvious. One thing I do is jut my lips out a little - it's not pursing, it's kinda like the very very early stage of kissing someone. Aw, how sweet you might say. But keep it in that position for a long time, and the tension gets into your jaw, face, head, neck. So, periodically I have to touch base with my face and see what's happening. Or even a very tiny bit of furrowed brow can do the same thing. Also, breaths become more and more shallow. Stop and take a deep breath or two.

Think about your body periodically throughout the day. Is it holding tension? Well, let it go.

Hangover day

Gets you some comics. The first refers back to a conversation that occurred in the comments of another post.

See the post that relates to it on Bizarro.

The second I just really liked when I saw and didn't get a chance to put up.

See the post that relates to it here.

Let's get the party started

Ok, everyone. Put your party hats and panties on. The party is happening here today. 42 years and counting, woo hoo! I'm wearing the Diane von Furstenberg dress I passed up at a thrift store a few years ago - it miraculously appeared on my doorstep last night. Alas, no underwear. I was in too much of a rush.

For everyone there's food and drink galore. Food is a mostly locally grown, but there is a big tier of French pastries that I had flown in from France... sorry! Don't worry about drinking to excess - I have limos to drive everyone home. But please don't puke on the new floors. There's a designated spot in the back yard - compost pile. You are more than welcome to puke there. For those who don't drink, there's plenty of non-alcoholic goodies also.

For the women, we have party favors from Walmart. For the men, depending on their political affiliation, they have a choice of either an Obama girl look alike,

or a Cindy McCain look alike.
Of course, G might want to switch sides for the day, given his penchant for older women.

And, the music is eclectic, as is the crowd. Hoping for a guest appearance from Torrance all-mi-t. For entertainment, we have a twister game happening in the other room - Churlita's dorking out there. There's also two poles in there - one for Puss, and one for anyone who wants to try and copy what Puss does. There's chairs in the room too if you want to just sit and watch - Monty, there's a straight back chair for you and your back. Outside there's a pinata filled with goodies courtesy of Eslocura - just please don't whack any other guest in the head. Suzanne is doing free photos with her beaverCampaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS) & Other Rants: My Dam(n)ed Beaver Project - please take her up on it. WNG and Susan are cooking up some fish tacos in the kitchen - go keep them company. Heather's created a smoking section upstairs - high upstairs.

So, enjoy yourself, and thanks for being a part of my birthday! Tell me if there's any entertainment, food or drink I'm missing, and I'll get it for you.

birthday candles photo

Cleverness has left the building

I'm very tired. Physically, emotionally. But on the positive side, and I will try and keep it on the positive side, I am no longer a nomad, and my cat now lives with me and has already adjusted.

The wonderful woman at Ryder truck semi-convinced me to take a 24 foot truck (or whatever a big truck is). I have a lot of shit. It all fit in the truck without having to squeeze things in. I had many helpers, and thankfully one was my door guy friend who used to drive a tractor trailer, since my street is one way with cars on either side and narrow.

Only one casualty - a 3 inch scratch on the new floors. Which look AMAZING by the way. Lots of character and well done. Trouble is they are spewing off fumes which I hope go away soon. I'm not getting high off them, just getting headaches, darn it. He said he used environmentally friendly stuff, but just sanding them sends off fumes, or whatever the explanation was.

So all my stuff is in the place, but I don't know how to organize it, and I can't move stuff around on my own. Well, I guess I can - I just need to buy lots of pads for the furniture feet. My kitchen is still a mess - I have to work on that. Last night for dinner I had two bags of chips and a clif bar, and this morning a piece of bread and a cup of juice. My workout this morning sucked as a result. I bought myself an english muffin egg sandwich and ate it and it feels like I still haven't eaten anything.

Oops, I've slipped into whining. I am very excited. Just a tad overwhelmed. But one bit at a time, slowly slowly.

There will be a party here tomorrow for my birthday, so get your dancin' shoes ready.

And look out for the Perseid meteor shower!!!
METEOR ALERT: The Perseid meteor shower is underway and should reach its peak during the next 24 hours. Forecasters say the best time to look is during the dark hours before dawn on Tuesday, August 12th. The glaring Moon sets around 2:00 a.m., and that's when the Perseids could appear in numbers as high as 60 per hour. The best displays will be seen from rural areas with dark skies. Sky maps, photos and more information are available at http://spaceweather.com.

saturday hunt - space

I'm sorry,it's moving day and the photo I was going to use I need to crop myself out of, and no time for that. So instead, we have a audio submission from Dave Matthews.

The space between the tears we cry is the laughter that keeps us coming back for more.

English Lesson

I was having a teeny bit of trouble between insure and ensure, and found this site which helps you learn the difference between assure, ensure, and insure.

Take the test.

Eleventy billion plus one

A few random things, hopefully some will make you smile.

- today is 8-8-08. Eight is my lucky number.

- moving day to the new place is tomorrow. I'm tired already. :-)

- Friggin' hilarious set of photos posted on the playlist of yesterday's show - Ken at WFMU. It kind of loses me at the end, but really, go look. Foam man's day.

- Do you know about Wax Audio? Go here and listen to their song God - scroll down to track 6. It's all about Bush.

BTW, I passed my 500 mark some time ago. Not sure when, since I have draft messages. Should I have thrown a party?

Giving

Sometimes when I do obscure or even normal words, I like to google the word plus the word photo and see what comes up. This was one of the photos. Have you ever read The Giving Tree? If not, you should. It actually is a good intro to this post because of the controversy surrounding the book's message.

Giving seems like it should be a simple thing but it can get so complicated. That's the nature of us humans - to complicate things.

Ask and you shall receive. Not always, but you may. How can my husband be upset that 6 people helped me the first day I owned the house while he's painting by himself in his kitchen? If you don't ask for help, not everyone knows you need it or want it. If he wants to create a world in which he thinks he has no friends, well so be it. It would make me incredibly sad if he did, and I constantly say that he DOES have friends, but it's no longer my job to help organize his life. Never should have been, but I took it on.

Why do some people get upset if you don't accept the level of help they want to give? In some cases, like my ex boyfriend of long ago, I felt it was a form of control. I do this for you and you are indebted to me. Or at least there's a stronger bond that will make it difficult for you to leave. But is this always the case? Or are some people so dependent on helping others in order to make themselves feel better, to the detriment of themselves sometimes? Or is it just how they were raised and has nothing to do with a self esteem issue? I asked my door friend guy yesterday to help me go get my cell phone charger from where I used to live in the 'hood, and he was happy that I asked and happy to help. But then gets upset when I say no thank you to giving me lunch. Reactions like that make me so mad. Why? Partly because I feel it disrespects me - I'm an adult and can say no thank you. But perhaps there's a better response?

I have received so much help in the past few months that I know likely I can never 'repay' it. Some friends recently began asking me over for dinner with no expectation of bringing anything - just eat and go work on the house. Another friend who works his ass off during the day came last night and did my plumbing for the washer and utility sink. As someone said to me one time, sometimes you just have to accept kindness from others. And I've learned to accept it, but I will never take it for granted. If I do, shoot me.

Lunch

My new sunglasses pretty much match the color of my lunch, and the sunglasses are called Pepto. What am I eating?

Guns and Health

From the New England Journal of Medicine:

With the Supreme Court's decision and the expectation of a substantial reduction in gun regulation we are poised to witness another epidemiologic study of the effect of regulation on gun violence. With this experiment, which may play out in many American cities, we will know in the coming years whether the overturned laws reduced death and injury from handguns. The Court has heard the arguments and made its decision; we will now learn the human ramifications in this landmark case.

Editorial in July 31, 2008 issue. Pg. 517.

Whether you agree with the position or not, I think it's an excellent and unexpected venue for a commentary on gun control. Not sure that it's scientifically sound, since there are so many other variables that go into the equation, but it's an interesting proposition nonetheless.

National Underwear Day

Really, today is National Underwear Day. I heard it on the radio. Of course it was started by some company and I'm not linking to it here. But I did want to tell a story about underwear.

At the gym changing/shower room, you sometimes turn a corner and get a surprise. Or sit on a bench to tie shoes, look up, and get a surprise. The other day I was doing the latter, and looked up and there in my face was a bum with black underwear on that had a peek through slit with two or three bows to keep it shut - so I could see the crack smiling vertically at me. I just laughed to myself, and wondered about the person who would wear a pair like that to work. Why not? Why?

So what's your favorite style of underwear?

A smile/giggle for your day

bumper cars

Ah, lunch around here is always so interesting. I was sitting on a bench on the sidewalk, facing away from the street, and I got a phone call. Almost immediately after taking the call, I hear crunching and glass breaking behind me. There's a van in between two motorcycles trying to get out of the space. Trouble is, you can't bump bikes like you can cars, because they fall over, and break. And trouble is, when you're an idiot and keep trying to get out of the spot, you do more damage. Honestly, I don't know who parked where first, but boy was he parked in. Since I was distracted and didn't really see it, I didn't feel the need to stop - there were guys there taking down his license plate, etc.

Image: (from brokenbikeblog)

I'm so dizzy my head is spinning

So, this weekend I:
- worked on my new place that I'm moving into this weekend.
- packed at my old house to get ready to move
- paced up the place I was living in (the 'hood, which I will miss), and cleaned it
- moved my portable, spare stuff to the friend's house I'm living in this week

This morning I woke up not knowing where I was. I can't wait until that stops.

But I am blessed by people who:
- are willing to give me a temporary roof over my head
- are willing to help me prepare my new house for habitation
- make me/offer me dinner
- show interest in the status of my life
- live next door and are excited about me moving in (91 year old neighbor! who looks like upper 70's)

Saturday Hunt - drive

Well, this is a photo of my car when I decided to treat it as a truck and put almost a ton of concrete bricks in it for a retaining wall. I drove it slowly, needless to say. And it did not bottom out. I love my car. And it's nice to drive.

If you can't reach people on the phone

You have to reassure yourself that:
- I'm making the right decision for me in getting a divorce from a good man.
- Just because a friend hasn't talked to you in a while doesn't mean she hates you, especially if you know she's going through her own shit.
- I can make good decisions on the details of the house and not get overwhelmed.
- I don't have to decide today about a half time position I'll be offered in a half hour over the phone.
- I will get the work done that I need to get done at work.
- I will climb again, even though I haven't climbed in a month and have too much to do now to climb much and other people are climbing without me.
- My family supports me even though they don't explicitly say so.

Keeping you hip - A new phrase

I think most of you are old enough to know the phrase 'to jump the shark'. If not, go here and see the explanation and the actual video. Well, apparently the new phrase is 'nuke the fridge' in reference to the scene in the most recent Indiana Jones movie. I think it's highly appropriate, since I groaned when I saw that scene in the movie. I hope it catches on.

BTW, I am fully aware that 'hip' is no longer 'hip'.