Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Damn you, LJ
Once again, Live Journal has "lost" all but one of my saved avatar icons. My Kids in the Hall Gavin -- gone. My Fat Bastard -- gone. They are now "missing image" question marks. LJ is evil.
Current mood: Annoyed
Posted by Lynniechan @ 10:55 PM EST [Link]
3 days in and feeling good
If you hadn't already noticed, I'm back on at Fitday.com, logging everything I eat and each of my workouts.
I need to refocus myself on eating healthier. It's not that I'm not eating well -- my diet is still infinitely better than it was a couple of years ago, and I have no desire at this point to down a plate of fettucine alfredo, once my favorite dinner -- but I can tell that I'm gradually introducing bad things into my diet, with the "just this once" excuse.
Also, we recently purchased a Bowflex and a rack of dumbbells so we didn't have to go to a gym anymore, which has been wonderful. I can work out at 1 a.m. at home if I want. But I've come to find out that it's much, much easier to say, "I'll work out later," then not work out at all when I run out of gas at the end of the day.
When we attended a gym regularly, I was more or less compelled to work out regardless of how much I wanted to cave in, because the BF and I went together, and he'd provide a swift kick in the ass in the morning. "I'm leaving in 15 minutes," he'd say. And I'd roll myself into the bathroom, wash the makeup and sleep from my eyes, tie the hair back, throw on a baseball cap, sports bra and spandex and get a few more minutes of shuteye on the way to the gym. Hey, at least it got me there. And once you're there, you may as well get working.
Now, it's all up to me. And that's not good. But I'm trying.
My goal is to get back to where I was six months ago, which was the peak of my physical fitness.
Keep me honest here.
Current mood: Diligent
Posted by Lynniechan @ 10:44 PM EST [Link]
Monday, March 29, 2004
Row this
Tonight, I was chatting with a co-worker who'd come by my desk to ask if I'd seen the photos from the Oxford-Cambridge boat race, a big annual event on the Thames River. As we chatted over the photos, another co-worker chimed in, without looking away from his computer, "You lookin' at one of your little rowing races?"
I wanted really, really bad to snap back. I tried, but it didn't come out very well, so I just bit my lip and tried to move on.
I'm sick of my cocky, chauvanistic co-workers bashing rowing. They think of what I do as a hobby, like sewing. "Oh, how cute -- they actually have practices, like they're real athletes." Another jackass co-worker once cornered me in the company cafeteria to say, "You'll appreciate this... I took my son canoeing today..." I groaned and pretended to listen. (He had once made another snide comment about my rowing not being as important as a day of OT he was trying to get me to do, so I call him a jackass with no remorse.)
Rowing is not just lightly paddling an oar. It is physically grueling. Rowing is right up there with basketball, cycling or swimming. Elite male rowers are all well over 6 feet tall and solid muscle. A friend's niece rows for Stanford; she is 6-1. (Obviously, I'm not in her league, but I can aspire to be.) It's not uncommon -- I've seen it -- for a rower to puke out the side of a boat after a race. Or puke after an erg test. I often roll off my erg and collapse in a heap on the floor after a workout.
But in the minds of these co-workers, if it's not baseball, football, or basketball -- or more accurately, if it's not an athletic endeavor in which they can make a fantasy league -- it's not a "real" sport; it's something the kids play until they're 17. Open your eyes -- there are other sports out there. Some even require you to be in good shape. I challenge any of those co-workers to row on an erg at a moderate pace for even just 15 minutes. I bet they don't make it.
For an office full of liberals, they can be incredibly narrow-minded. And their egos compel them to pretend to know about sports they know nothing about.
Current mood: Perturbed
Posted by Lynniechan @ 02:50 AM EST [Link]
Sunday, March 28, 2004
NIMBY
Am currently ticked that planes are roaring over our house every few minutes.
Granted, we live within a few miles of the airport. But the flight patterns rarely, if ever, went over our neighborhood, so it was no big deal when we bought the house. Normally, we don't hear airplanes any more than anyone else.
But now, the airport is doing construction on one of the runways, causing a change in the flight patterns. And taking many flights right over our house. Grrr.
Many residents in my area of town are teee-icked. The construction at the airport is slated to go on for four months. Ugh.
Current mood: Helpless
Posted by Lynniechan @ 04:02 PM EST [Link]
Can't stop watching (and listening)
Current mood: Sleepy
Posted by Lynniechan @ 12:12 PM EST [Link]
For no reason
Current mood: Blah
Posted by Lynniechan @ 11:40 AM EST [Link]
Saturday, March 27, 2004
Cleanup on aisle B
I've officially thrown in the towel when it comes to getting rid of the weeds in our yard. The BF and I have ceded control of the back yard to the weeds, and the front yard is still presentable save for some brown patches that *I* caused and few spots of crab grass. I just can't worry about it any more, and I don't know -- and really don't have much interest in knowing -- enough to keep the yard healthy. It's in shambles compared with what it looked like when the former owners sold the property to us. (The former owners, BTW, were the most Beautiful Couple -- he was a carpenter with huge shoulders and arms; I called him Adonis when I couldn't remember his name, and she was a young schoolteacher with long, red hair -- with the most Beautiful Baby and most beautiful yard, but I digress.) I just don't know how people can hold down jobs *and* have lush, beautifully landscaped yards without paying a service to help.
I saw one of those yard sale-type signs on the side of the road a few days ago. It was as if it were speaking right at me. "Got weeds? [Oh yeah, bad, I sighed.] Got crab grass? [Yeah.] Got pest problems? [Probably...] Call Rob at 407-xxx-xxxx." I repeated the number to myself the rest of the way home and jotted it down when I got there.
(And no, I don't buy every "As seen on TV" product out there! Though I once ordered weight-loss pills that tasted horrible and had no effect whatsoever on my appetite or waistline.)
Today, Rob walked around our yard and gave me a "free yard analysis." On the phone a few days ago, I pictured a large, balding, middle-aged man when I spoke to him, but Rob wasn't that at all. He resembled a younger Matt Damon, about the same height and build, probably in his early 20s, with tattoos on his upper arm and opposite wrist and gel in his blond hair. Not your typical maintenance man. Maybe Rob was channeling Will Hunting.
Anyway (composing self... what were we talking about again?), apparently, he's the business' "account coordinator," so he isn't the schmo who comes out and sprays the yard. He seemed to know what he was talking about and was quite businesslike for a young man. He "cut us a deal," since our yard was in good condition.
It is??? Could have fooled me! What am I calling you for, then?
Well, they don't plug the brown spots, and they don't pull up the crab grass, but they will tell *you* how to fix that. They just kill the weeds and make the yard green for $45 every 6 weeks. I was hoping they'd do it all, *and* fix our landscaping I've worked so hard to uglify, quite frankly. It's getting hotter and hotter, and there's no way I'm going to be caught dead trimming back bushes in 95-degree weather.
And this is where the BF and I disagree. He feels that we should pay a service to ensure we don't get weeds -- since basically, I'm too inept to do it properly without collateral damage -- but he feels we should take it upon ourselves to landscape the yard and keep it trimmed and cut, thereby taking some pride in the accomplishment and saving money.
I, on the other hand, would gladly pay $100 a month for a beautiful yard that I don't have to step foot in and can admire from my couch. I have a feeling he's going to win this one.
Current mood: Sleepy
Current music: Rock 'N' Roll (Could Never Hip-Hop Like This) | Handsome Boy Modeling SchoolPosted by Lynniechan @ 03:11 AM EST [Link]
Thursday, March 18, 2004
There's no place like MCO
I am home. Home home home home home.
I had been dreading the flight back for days. All I could think about was the agonizing pressure between my ears I felt on the flight to New York.
But I guess between the Sudafed, Afrin, Vicks inhaler, Advil and the EarPlanes, I managed to hold off the pain. Other than the hourlong delay at JFK due to the plane having to be de-iced -- it was snowing when I left -- it was a smooth flight home.
I guess the days of stress had gotten to me. In the cab on the way home from MCO, I was a wreck. I needed a shower. My hair was an oil slick. I hadn't worn clean clothes in days. And as I listened to the soothing classical music, sitting in silence in the back of the dark car, I thought, "I'm just going to cry when I see Amber."
And I did.
I paid the cabbie his fare -- he could have charged me $100 and I would have gladly handed it over -- and opened the front door. Little Amber was curled up on the sofa, sitting in the dark. I ran over to her, grabbed her and lost it. I missed her so much.
But at that moment, she was so much more than just my fat, gray, princess. She was home to me. Home is opening the front door after work and seeing her waddle over, greeting me with a MEEEEEOOOWWWWWWW!!! at the top of her voice. Home is hearing Urza the lovebird TWWEEET TWEEET! when I say his name. Home is the BF's textbook and notes on the kitchen table. Home is his ever-shifting pile of Newsweeks, Entertainment Weeklys and remotes spread out on the coffee table like a wind-blown house of cards. Home is the stinky, ugly, yellow and orange comforter on the bed that the cats like to sleep on. Home is Kitty racing down the hallway, chasing imaginary playmates. Home is my laptop. Home is the perpetual trail of cat litter from the laundry room to the kitchen that I hate stepping on.
I'd never been so happy to feel that cat litter between my toes.
Current mood: Peaceful
Posted by Lynniechan @ 12:29 AM EST [Link]
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
Headache
A blanket of white snow covers the streets, cars and rooftops. It's beautiful.
But obviously, I'm not yet back in Florida.
I caught a horrendous sinus infection on the flight here, to New York City. I'd never felt so much pain in my ears until we descended into JFK. I felt as if my eardrums were going to burst. I stretched and contorted my jaw, swallowed, frantically rubbed my ears. Nothing seemed to work. I wanted to cry. For the next day and a half, my ears were so blocked up, I could barely hear myself talk.
And since then, I've been slowly recovering. I've had a great time here -- sightseeing, catching a show, having sushi in Manhattan with the BF's brother and sister-in-law, playing in the snow -- but I never would have been able to do it without lots of Advil and cold and sinus medication.
My BF is home. I insisted he fly back as planned. No reason for both our lives to be held up by me. My sinuses still hurting and blocked up, I was too scared to fly again and experience the same pain -- or make it worse -- on the way home. So I rescheduled my flight back, hoping I would get better during the extra two days I gave myself.
I went online to figure out why my head hurt so bad while we landed. The Internet is a hypochondriac's best friend. I am suffering from barotrauma. This can happen if you fly while you are sick, especially if you have head congestion. I tend to learn things the hard way.
I wanted to see a doctor today, just for some peace of mind that I would be OK on my way home tomorrow. But neither doctor's office I called was seeing new patients. Jesus. I could have gone to an ER, but I would probably have rotted in the waiting area for hours while urgent cases went first. It was a sad wake-up call that it's impossible to get a doctor who isn't your own to see you unless you go to an ER. No wonder those places are terribly overworked and understaffed.
My friend whom we came to visit has been wonderful. She's been taking care of me like a mom, cooking and letting me overstay my welcome by letting me recover on her couch. I've watched more TV in two days than I normally watch in a year. Thank you so much for your kindness, A.
Again, the trip has been a blast, and I will have pictures posted when I get home and settled. But for now, I just hope I make it home OK.
Current mood: Sleepy
Posted by Lynniechan @ 02:35 AM EST [Link]
Friday, March 12, 2004
It's true, it's true
I'm going to admit this up front. This is truly sad: I am kicking myself that I coincidentally will be in the vicinity of Wrestlemania XX this weekend and won't be able to go. I'll even have to pretend like I don't care! The trip to NYC had been planned for months, well before the date of Wrestlemania was announced. But it later turned out to be the weekend I'll be there -- to visit a friend, who knows or cares nothing about wrestling, as far as I know...
OK, here's the deal. I like wrestling. "Professional" wrestling. Yes, it's fake. I know. I even read storylines online that reveal what's going to happen to whom weeks in advance.
The reason people (and I) are hooked is because it's a soap opera (mostly for men, admittedly, but hey, some men faithfully watch daytime soaps, too). The characters, gimmicks and storylines are over-the-top stupid, insane, funny or just painful. Even though you know what's going to happen, the interesting part is in talking with other wrestling nerds about what gimmicks work, what don't and why: "Don't you think Rosey's Super Hero in Training (S.H.I.T.) gimmick has run its course?" or "They shouldn't have turned Jericho into a good guy. I liked him better as a bad guy."
It's a guilty pleasure for sure. No more or less so than Survivor or American Idol or All My Children. It's just that these soap stars are juiced and in spandex, which is almost as entertaining as an evil clown (and yes, there is a wrestling character for that).
And many of the gimmicks are comedic. Wrestling just makes me laugh. What better reason to watch TV?
As far as this weekend, who knows -- maybe my friend is a closet case like me, and we'll end up huddled together in sleeping bags in front of MSG after all!
Also coincidentally, the BF's brother, who lives in London, will be in NYC at the same time on business, and we're planning to do lunch -- and talk wrestling, of course. He's a closet case, too. So I'm not the only one who'll be so close, yet so far from Kurt Angle.
Current mood: Exhausted
Current music: Ladonia | Bel CantoPosted by Lynniechan @ 12:54 AM EST [Link]
Friday, March 5, 2004
Jock itch
Sign me up for a second helping of the How Do The Grits Taste Exam...
Talk about a slam dunk. Most college students dream of getting a final exam with questions such as: How many points is a 3-pointer worth? That was among the questions on basic basketball knowledge on the final exam -- and only test -- in Georgia assistant basketball coach Jim Harrick Jr.'s Coaching Principles and Strategies of Basketball class in 2001. The 20-question test and transcripts of interviews with some of the students in Harrick's class were among 1,500 pages of documents released Wednesday by the university in its response to the NCAA about rules violations in the basketball program.
The university agreed with the NCAA's findings, which included violations of academic fraud and improper benefits.
Harrick's father, Jim Sr., was suspended, then resigned as coach. The younger Harrick lost his job as an assistant, and the school kept the team out of the Southeastern Conference and NCAA tournaments.
The NCAA concluded Harrick Jr. “fraudulently awarded grades of A to three men's basketball student-athletes” enrolled in the course he taught in 2001, allowing them to miss class and tests. Harrick Jr. also allegedly provided an extra benefit to student athletes by the manner in which he conducted the course, the NCAA found.
An attorney for the Harricks said Wednesday that Harrick Jr. would not comment. A federal lawsuit filed last week accuses university officials and others of defamation.
The names of Harrick's students who were interviewed were blacked out in the papers.
All the students in the class were given an A grade, according to the documents.The 20-question final exam that Jim Harrick Jr. gave to students in his Coaching Principles and Strategies of Basketball course in the fall of 2001:
1. How many goals are on a basketball court?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 42. How many players are allowed to play at one time on any one team in a regulation game?
a. 2
b. 3
c. 4
d. 53. In what league do the Georgia Bulldogs compete?
a. ACC
b. Big Ten
c. SEC
d. Pac 104. What is the name of the coliseum where the Georgia Bulldogs play?
a. Cameron Indoor Arena
b. Stegeman Coliseum
c. Carrier Dome
d. Pauley Pavilion5. How many halves are in a college basketball game?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 46. How many quarters are in a high school basketball game?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 47. How many points does one field goal account for in a Basketball Game?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 48. How many points does a 3-point field goal account for in a Basketball Game?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 49. How many officials referee a college basketball game?
a. 2
b. 4
c. 6
d. 310. How many teams are in the NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship Tournament?
a. 48
b. 64
c. 65
d. 3211. What is the name of the exam which all high school seniors in the State of Georgia must pass?
a. Eye Exam
b. How Do The Grits Taste Exam
c. Bug Control Exam
d. Georgia Exit Exam12. What basic color are the uniforms the Georgia Bulldogs wear in home games?
a. White
b. Red
c. Black
d. Silver13. What basic color are the uniforms the Georgia Bulldogs wear in away games?
a. Pink
b. Blue
c. Orange
d. Red14. How many minutes are played in a college basketball contest?
a. 20
b. 40
c. 60
d. 9015. How many minutes are played in a high school basketball game?
a. 15
b. 30
c. 32
d. 4516. Diagram the 3-point line.
17. Diagram the half-court line.
18. How many fouls is a player allowed to have in one Basketball game before fouling out in that game?
a. 3
b. 5
c. 7
d. 019. If you go on to become a huge coaching success, to whom will you tribute the credit?
a. Mike Krzyzewski
b. Bobby Knight
c. John Wooden
d. Jim Harrick Jr.
20. In your opinion, who is the best Division I assistant coach in the country?
a. Ron Jursa
b. John Pelphrey
c. Jim Harrick Jr.
d. Steve Wojciechowski
Source: University of GeorgiaCurrent mood: Exhausted
Posted by Lynniechan @ 10:29 PM EST [Link]
Wednesday, March 3, 2004
Spiritual High Part II
A couple of my close friends have seen The Passion of the Christ, which has come as a surprise to me. I wouldn't have thought that this movie would have that much interest for some who are atheists.
I must admit that I'm surprised that the movie has made as much money as it has. I thought perhaps that (1) people would disagree with Mel Gibson's interpretation of the last hours of Jesus -- heck, Christians seem to disagree on just about everything -- or (2) they would be deterred by its level of gore and violence. It's certainly not a movie to show to your youngster to introduce her to Jesus. I also have been told that if you are not already familiar with the characters and their relationships to Jesus, you likely won't get much out of the movie other than a two-hour murder. A friend who saw it with a non-Christian friend who is of Chinese descent said that the Chinese friend really didn't follow the story. There isn't much explanatory dialogue to let clueless people like me in on who's who.
So I never expected so many non-Christians to rush out and see this movie.
On the other hand, I have lived a completely secular life -- with one parent long ago having shunned his Baptist upbringing and the other a Buddhist -- and sometimes I forget just how Christian this country is. Passion for this movie, so to speak, has kind of put it in perspective for me. I never had to attend church services as a child -- not counting wedding ceremonies, I can count on one hand the number of times I've even been in a church -- and most of my exposure to religion has been through my mom's Buddhism, which, although I respect her faith, I determined long ago also wasn't for me.
And because of my lack of exposure to a "normal," American Christian upbringing, I often find myself surprised at how conservative, Christian laws and proposals find so much support. I'm constantly surrounded by my liberal-minded, diverse group of friends, and I think that's sheltered me from how America thinks as a whole. I cringe when I see how much support there is for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, because I don't really know anyone who supports it. There again, I likely wouldn't have friends who didn't think much like me.
Current mood: Still busy
Current music: Skinny Puppy | Morpheus LaughingPosted by Lynniechan @ 11:02 PM EST [Link]
Drive through
I think all big honkin' late-model SUVs should come standard-equipped with a "BUSH '04" or "W" window sticker, since they seem to be a required addition to them anyway.
Current mood: Busy
Current music: Moodswings | Spiritual High Part IPosted by Lynniechan @ 10:31 PM EST [Link]