I've started a new blog using Word Press. You can find it at my domain, www.marigoldmind.com. I'll still be reading LJs through here but I probably won't make many updates.

I keep having ideas for paragraphs to write here, but then, I get distracted by TV or IM or the phone or the kitties or my job or cleaning or rage at my elected officials or books or crafts or dancing or damn near anything. My LJ is due for renewal in less than a week, so I'm looking to move this to a new home - one with more configuration options and storage space.

I'm so tired right now that I just want to sleep and sleep until my mommy gets here on Tuesday. I would make some sort of cheesy pun about the birth of spring making me wish for sweet death but see above re: tired as ass.

My hippie ways are growing and expanding. I send a lot of carefully worded faxes to my senators and congressman as well as any number of letters on issues identified by Amnesty International. I'm working on a letter-writing event on my region of focus (Central Africa), and I'm designing some crafts to use and/or hand out at the event.

I'm also getting even more energy conscious. I've been taking the train more as well as walking to places when I can. I know that the windows in my house are not as good as newer ones, so I'm saving the money to replace them. I finally broke down and started using climate control again (haven't needed heat in months and have been holding off on the A/C) after a kitty escaped through a screen. The ensuing search may or may not have shaved years off my life from the stress.

Between re-using and recycling, I'm down to generating about one medium-sized garbage bag of trash each week. I still eat out too much, but I've been cooking a lot of meals at home as well as using my coffee-maker. My systems for storing recyclables is getting better so that I'm not living in clutter. I gather clothes for donation regularly, but I'm still slow at actually taking them to the donation center.

I figured out a way to combine crafts with (semi) political activism. I'm off to work on the project now, and if I can muster enough energy, then I might post some pictures later.

Current Mood: sniffly
Current Music: NPR

- Nothing quite reminds me of my place in the world as when the vet says, "I've never seen so much of that come out of a CAT."

- My programmable coffee maker gives me hope.

- I love that I know a guy named "Fabio" and a guy named "Osama" who both feel the need to specify "from [establishment]" in voicemail messages. Like I know more than one "Fabio" or "Osama".

- It is surreal to unexpectedly hear one of my college professors on the radio as I'm driving into work.

- Making magnets that say "I'm a Parking Moron, ask me how!" to plant on offensively stationed autos is a fun way to spend a Friday night.

- Gerard Butler from Dear Frankie is my new Baby Daddy. I don't care if you don't like foreign and/or independent films. If you like hot men, it is a moral imperative that you see this movie (which is also quite good, beautiful male specimen notwithstanding).

- In the "strange coincidence" category, I got Christmas presents from two different people two weeks ago. Christmas presents. In March.

- My mommy is coming to visit in three weeks and I'm all a-twitter with anticipation.

- I still don't understand why liking lattes and sushi along with having a college degree makes me out of touch with mainstream America.

- Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser is a miracle product.

- I can't get the image of what came out of that cat out of my head.

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: Ehab Toufic

Last week was a long one at work. I was working on a big project, and it meant a lot of late nights. Thankfully, I finished a major milestone on Friday night. I decided that I deserved a treat, so after ordering sushi take-out, I stopped by Whole Foods to pick up some Burt's Bees products. Jerry got me to try a moisturizer a couple of weeks ago, and now, my love knows no bounds. I settled on the Head-to-Toe Starter Kit, so I've been playing with products all weekend. I'm trying to get away from using food as a reward for anything good and a salve for anything bad, and this time that worked out really well.

Saturday was a jam-packed day that turned out to be even more enjoyable than I expected. I went to belly dance class in the morning and got to use my new coin belt for the first time. Class was fun, but really, that is a given. After class, the instructor mentioned that she was performing that night, so a couple of us made plans to go see the show. I've never done anything social with the ladies from the class, so I was a little wary. I figured that it was worth the risk though.

During the afternoon, I hung out with my craft friends. I didn't actually do any projects, but I got my cart better organized. A huge order arrived last week, and I'm amazed that I found a place for everything. Even better, I got to play with my friend's Main Coon kitty. I love that so many of my friends have adorable pets that I get to play with when I am visiting them. Double bonus!

I got back to my house with just a few minutes to get cleaned up and ready. I was talking to my mom on the drive home, and I was pontificating if I could reach "the speed of hot". I think that is one of those times when the age gap between us was noticeable. Of course, this wasn't as uncomfortable as when I had to explain what phrases like "reach around" or "hit that". It is a good thing that we have such a...something relationship that keeps that from becoming a big deal.

The belly dance show was a new experience. It was like an open mic night but for belly dancers. There were all sorts of different styles and skill levels. The energy of the crowd was great, and it was fun to see everyone's costumes. One of the ladies is pretty hyped that we could do this sometime. I don't think that I'll be ready for that for any time soon. I have to admit that it is kind of exciting to imagine though. In my completely unbiased opinion, our instructor was the best dancer of the night.

After the show, one lady had to head home, but two of us headed over to the cafe and hookah bar where I used to spend a lot of time. It was sweet to have so many people hug me and ask where I had been. Who doesn't like to be missed? We closed the place down, and if I hadn't been exhausted, we would have kept the evening going at an all-night diner.

Needless to say, I've spent most of today recuperating from all of this merriment.

Current Mood: happy
Current Music: tv blare

When I was in junior high and then high school, I developed a "go hard or go home" approach to exercise.

I was studying martial arts at the time, and there was a very strong influence to push through pain. Sis was in the same karate school, and it was clear that she had a natural flair. She had endurance in the workouts, picked up new techniques with ease, and showed a real grace in sparring.

It felt a little odd to be looking up to my little sister at that age, but I really wanted to get to be as good as her. I figured that with enough practice and hard work that I could get there. What I didn't see at the time was that it wasn't that she was better than me at pushing through pain. She was just better at this stuff, and in the most case, practice wasn't going to overcome that. I was only better at one thing than her, and breaking bricks with your head and lying on a bed of nails doesn't have much practical application other than occasionally impressing and/or scaring people.

Anyway, I pushed through a burning in my shoulders and ended up with some unnecessary tendonitis and nerve damage. I pulled all of the muscles in my neck one time. I kept pushing my knees no matter how loudly they complained. Luckily, that all healed in time.

The mentality in that school was that almost any physical weakness was the result of a mental weakness, and dumb teenagers like me ate up that drivel. My parents would have been quite happy if one or both of us quit that school, but people who quit were always trash-talked afterwards about how some people just "can't hack it". Seriously, how dumb was I not to see through all of that?

Eventually, I graduated high school and used that as an excuse to leave the school. Once I figured out that the philosophy that I had been operating under was just BS, I tried to adjust my thinking. Unfortunately, I am in many ways still a dumb teenager.

Le sigh.

In the past six months or so, I've made some improvements. I started taking belly dance classes from a great instructor who emphasizes technique and measured improvement rather than uniformity. She also teaches restorative yoga, so I've been taking that once or twice a week. I wanted to do something to increase my daily activity, so I started walking at work a little bit each day.

When I saw that they were offering a walking program at work, I was psyched. We get a pedometer and there are organized walks a couple of times per week to help keep us motivated. For 12 weeks, we are supposed to track how many steps that we take each day and the goal is 10,000 steps per day. With my stride, that works out to be about 5 miles per day.

I'm hopeful about this program. I think that having the pedometer will help me to feel like I'm making improvements even when I can't see anything different. I think that having to post the numbers will keep me from getting too bored after a few weeks. Walking seems like an activity that I could sustain and will help my overall fitness level.

Let's just see if my inner dumb teenager finds a way to make walking hard-core.

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: 50 Cent