It's one of those days where I feel there is nothing in particular to look forward to so I just want to lie around like a bum.
But there are shining-ray-of-light things to look forward to! Such as
1. Cabin trip this weekend - tasty fall food, hiking in beautiful foliage, relaxing with friend EC and her boy
..... and..... and.... and....
Hmm. Can't really think of anything else.
OK, I have to do better than this.
I am excited for:
2. Spring vacation with family
3. Building my Web site at work
4. Colder weather so I can stop wearing in-between clothes
5. Reading the two books I started, Evening Clouds by Junzo Shono and The Forgotten Island by Sasha Troyan.
6. Painting the kitchen wall
That's better, but still not very good. I guess I'll have to work on cultivating things to look forward to.
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
A dark and stormy day
I generally tell two kinds of stories: camping stories and Japan stories. Here's a pair of them about rain (inspired by the pounding rain outside)
We usually had pretty good weather on our trips... there were only a few times that it was storming or raining so hard we had to pull off. Once, during a particularly rainy day when we were lake-hopping in Ontario, it finally got too bad so we paddled over to the shore, anchored ourselves, and then huddled under one of those big blue tarps. You might think this would be cozy and nice, but it wasn't - with hands icy but everything else sweaty under the rain gear, we were fairly glum. Finally it let up a little and we threw off the tarp, and beheld a Kool-Aid pink sky. It was so real that I immediately wondered what type of meteorological phenomena would cause this. But alas, the eerie pink sky was only a phenomena of another kind, created by the prolonged exposure to blue light. How real it seemed.
My commute in Japan consisted of a five minute bike ride, followed by two bus rides. Days when it rained always presented a problem. I could wear my rain jacket, backpack underneath, enhancing my foreign freakishness, or I could do what every other Japanese person did - bike while holding an umbrella. Gamely, I set off one rainy morn with the umbrella, winding through the neighborhood and over the small bridges. As I rounded a corner, I saw a motorbike headed my way, and at the same time realized that I had lost control. In that terrible slow motion, I attempted to gain control, but instead progressed steadily at the bike. He saw the panic in my eyes and slowed down, but collision was inevitable. Greatly embarrassed and having failed at the equivalent of patting my head and rubbing my tummy, I resigned myself to the unsightly hunchback jacket for the rest of my time there. [Other lessons about umbrellas learned in Japan include the equation: 2 people + 1 umbrella = 2 people who are 1/2 wet.]
We usually had pretty good weather on our trips... there were only a few times that it was storming or raining so hard we had to pull off. Once, during a particularly rainy day when we were lake-hopping in Ontario, it finally got too bad so we paddled over to the shore, anchored ourselves, and then huddled under one of those big blue tarps. You might think this would be cozy and nice, but it wasn't - with hands icy but everything else sweaty under the rain gear, we were fairly glum. Finally it let up a little and we threw off the tarp, and beheld a Kool-Aid pink sky. It was so real that I immediately wondered what type of meteorological phenomena would cause this. But alas, the eerie pink sky was only a phenomena of another kind, created by the prolonged exposure to blue light. How real it seemed.
My commute in Japan consisted of a five minute bike ride, followed by two bus rides. Days when it rained always presented a problem. I could wear my rain jacket, backpack underneath, enhancing my foreign freakishness, or I could do what every other Japanese person did - bike while holding an umbrella. Gamely, I set off one rainy morn with the umbrella, winding through the neighborhood and over the small bridges. As I rounded a corner, I saw a motorbike headed my way, and at the same time realized that I had lost control. In that terrible slow motion, I attempted to gain control, but instead progressed steadily at the bike. He saw the panic in my eyes and slowed down, but collision was inevitable. Greatly embarrassed and having failed at the equivalent of patting my head and rubbing my tummy, I resigned myself to the unsightly hunchback jacket for the rest of my time there. [Other lessons about umbrellas learned in Japan include the equation: 2 people + 1 umbrella = 2 people who are 1/2 wet.]
Monday, September 20, 2004
Take that, seasonal goals
I'm only into week two or so for fall and I've already made progress on the list of goals.
This weekend I learned a new skill (#5 on list) - soapmaking! My friend EC has a soapmaking biz and she let me help out for the day. Together we made two batches of soap (a creamy vanille and a minty green Wicklow soap that she refers to as "sexy man soap) and two batches of lip gloss (chai and honeybee). I also helped her trim soap (cut off the little bits of the bottom that went past the mold). It was quite fun, and I got to take home the extras as a reward. It's also so nice that EC is just a short bike ride away, especially during the beautiful weather we've been having.
We've also made progress on the home improvement front (#1). I've done a lot of the small chores (working on art and stuff on walls, etc., also trimming the trees), while super husband did some of the big chores (cleaning gutters, buying and installing new shutters on garage.) I realize that a part of my problem is I worry about the expense, so sometimes try to get buy with only the basics, instead of getting everything to really make the job easy to do well.
I ate 3118 calories yesterday. Today I'm at 838. Shocking how easily I go to 3118 without realizing, and shocking how easily I do 838 without appreciating it and feeling good about it. What to know where you're at? Try the food calculator
This weekend I learned a new skill (#5 on list) - soapmaking! My friend EC has a soapmaking biz and she let me help out for the day. Together we made two batches of soap (a creamy vanille and a minty green Wicklow soap that she refers to as "sexy man soap) and two batches of lip gloss (chai and honeybee). I also helped her trim soap (cut off the little bits of the bottom that went past the mold). It was quite fun, and I got to take home the extras as a reward. It's also so nice that EC is just a short bike ride away, especially during the beautiful weather we've been having.
We've also made progress on the home improvement front (#1). I've done a lot of the small chores (working on art and stuff on walls, etc., also trimming the trees), while super husband did some of the big chores (cleaning gutters, buying and installing new shutters on garage.) I realize that a part of my problem is I worry about the expense, so sometimes try to get buy with only the basics, instead of getting everything to really make the job easy to do well.
I ate 3118 calories yesterday. Today I'm at 838. Shocking how easily I go to 3118 without realizing, and shocking how easily I do 838 without appreciating it and feeling good about it. What to know where you're at? Try the food calculator
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
The more things change...
5 weird things I thought/did as a kid
1. As a kid, (kindergarten or so), when asked what I wanted to be when I was older, I'd say "a mommy" and say that I wanted to have 10 kids.
2. I used to be terrified of someone breaking into the house, so I employed two tactics: Encouraging my brother to do his Miami Vice routine (which consisted of yelling, "Stop! Miami Vice" and whipping around corners with his fingers held in the shape of a gun), and keeping a note in my bedside table that indicated that I knew that a burglar could come in, because I thought that bad things like burglars happened only when you weren't expecting it, so if I expected it, it wouldn't happen.
3. I also used to hide my meat (especially hamburgers or ring baloney) in my napkin so I wouldn't have to eat it. When forced to choose between eating my meat or going without dessert, I always went without. I'd swipe finger fulls of peanut butter or take hits off the pickle jar as I cleared the table to make up for it.
4. I once chased my brother around the house with a fork after he teased me one too many times at the dinner table. When he tripped on a chair rounding a corner, I pounced on him and got one good stab in before I realized what I was doing.
5. I was nuts about penpals... always filling in those forms in the back of books to get them. I had one in California that I wrote to for a long time, and one in Australia. I also wrote to this girl in Texas for awhile but pretended to be a boy (I had some lame excuse why I had a girl's name). I'm not sure why I did that. I don't think she was convinced but she never said anything.
1. As a kid, (kindergarten or so), when asked what I wanted to be when I was older, I'd say "a mommy" and say that I wanted to have 10 kids.
2. I used to be terrified of someone breaking into the house, so I employed two tactics: Encouraging my brother to do his Miami Vice routine (which consisted of yelling, "Stop! Miami Vice" and whipping around corners with his fingers held in the shape of a gun), and keeping a note in my bedside table that indicated that I knew that a burglar could come in, because I thought that bad things like burglars happened only when you weren't expecting it, so if I expected it, it wouldn't happen.
3. I also used to hide my meat (especially hamburgers or ring baloney) in my napkin so I wouldn't have to eat it. When forced to choose between eating my meat or going without dessert, I always went without. I'd swipe finger fulls of peanut butter or take hits off the pickle jar as I cleared the table to make up for it.
4. I once chased my brother around the house with a fork after he teased me one too many times at the dinner table. When he tripped on a chair rounding a corner, I pounced on him and got one good stab in before I realized what I was doing.
5. I was nuts about penpals... always filling in those forms in the back of books to get them. I had one in California that I wrote to for a long time, and one in Australia. I also wrote to this girl in Texas for awhile but pretended to be a boy (I had some lame excuse why I had a girl's name). I'm not sure why I did that. I don't think she was convinced but she never said anything.
Saturday, September 11, 2004
7 a.m. on a Saturday
I'm up early on a Saturday morning and the neighborhood is quiet and the air still. Based on last weekend's poor wakeups and headaches, I've started a weekend policy of setting my alarm for eight hours. I like wandering around in my robe, drinking tea and getting little things done before A gets up.
It looks like we're getting a second chance at joining the in-crowd of neighbors. Almost a year after our first invite we were invited back to a outside movie viewing. (Maybe they invited us because they knew we could see the viewing from our house and we'd feel bad!). I suppose we should throw something of our own sometime, but we really don't know enough people. We could at least invite them over or for a walk. If we had a kid like they do it'd be easy; we'd have been instant friends, bonded over the lack of sleep and the frequent walks around the block.
Recently finished: House of Mirth by Edith Wharton "The Member of the Wedding" by Carson McCullers, working on A Room with a View by E.M. Forster.
Rocky, the cutest cat alive. I've had him since I was ten and he used to ride around on my shoulder.
It looks like we're getting a second chance at joining the in-crowd of neighbors. Almost a year after our first invite we were invited back to a outside movie viewing. (Maybe they invited us because they knew we could see the viewing from our house and we'd feel bad!). I suppose we should throw something of our own sometime, but we really don't know enough people. We could at least invite them over or for a walk. If we had a kid like they do it'd be easy; we'd have been instant friends, bonded over the lack of sleep and the frequent walks around the block.
Recently finished: House of Mirth by Edith Wharton "The Member of the Wedding" by Carson McCullers, working on A Room with a View by E.M. Forster.
Rocky, the cutest cat alive. I've had him since I was ten and he used to ride around on my shoulder.
Friday, September 10, 2004
Seasonal self improvement, Round 2
Goals for summer (in review):
1. Complete one good home improvement project (retaining wall, here I come) Well, we decided to wait on that until we had more money. Projects accomplished include: purchased, ironed, and hung new curtains, purchased and hung floating shelves in bedroom, tore out wild growth and installed garden, planted flowers and kept a generally well tended yard. That's a pretty sad list. I hope fall is better.
2. Learn new skills (possibilities include refinishing furniture, baking bread, and developing a stupid human trick, which I lack) Hmm. Didn't do any of those. I did make progress on the furniture research...
3. Wear sunscreen (so long tans of yesteryear, I'll miss you). I did really well on this one. Yea me!
4. Have spontaneous adventures (detailing what they are would ruin the "spontaneous" part). I also did some good work on this one. Check check.
5. Explore the nighttime (Olympic-worthy sleeping skills preclude 3 p.m. moon bathing sessions). Hmm... I had a few failures but I also looked at the stars more than I have in a long time. I general I think I did quite well.
Goals for fall:
1. After seeing the pitiful list of home improvement projects that we completed summer, I have to put this on my list again.
2. Do some freelance writing work.
3. Lose 10 lbs (all right, I'm putting it out there. A public declaration. Let's see if shame can motivate me.)
4. Do something each week that I have never done before.
5. Learn new fun homekeeping skill (of the making jam, baking bread variety).
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