Wednesday, March 30, 2005
What year is it again?
It finally hit me why people are so addicted to eBay. I just found out you can buy music at iTunes Music Store via PayPal.
Sell! Sell!
Current mood: Obsessed
Current music: Transforme | Bust A Move Original SoundtrackPosted by Lynniechan @ 07:18 PM EST [Link] [No shoutouts]
Monday, March 28, 2005
I get around
A day trip on a beautiful day to Blue Spring State Park with friends, then
A day trip on a rainy day to St. Augustine with the BF's bro and sister-in-law the following weekend
Current mood: Exploratory
Posted by Lynniechan @ 05:05 AM EST [Link] [No shoutouts]
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Perv parade
Does a registered sex offender live in your neighborhood?
At least one lives on one of my jogging routes. Time to pick up some mace.
Current mood: Wired
Posted by Lynniechan @ 09:52 PM EST [Link] [No shoutouts]
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Hold me
Just stuffed my face with a fourth of a big bag of bite-sized Tostitos. Washed it down with apple juice swigged right out of the plastic jug. Must.... wrest.... back.... controoolll.....
Current mood: Bloated
Posted by Lynniechan @ 02:00 AM EST [Link] [No shoutouts]
Deus ex machina
Shame on the Senate for voting to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. To add insult to injury, a Florida senator cast the pivotal vote, after a promise from the Bush administration that it would hold off allowing oil drilling off Florida's coast for a few more years.
I hope someday we'll be able to get past that NIMBY attitude. Talk about special interests. Our officials want instant gratification for their problems, but their gluttony blinds them to what this world will be like for their great-grandchildren.
I must give some credit to the Bush administration. Its effectiveness in getting what it wants is due to its soulless, efficient, powerful machinations.
It reminds me somewhat of the other boat of eight women at my rowing club. Decisions and goals are not made by the group but rather sternly by two older women who have been members for years and who have zero tolerance for debate or group discussions. The other members of the boat don't hang out outside of the club but don't seem to mind the group's arrangement -- little effort other than to row well is required on their part, and all responsibilities are out of their hands. The tradeoff for having no freedom is that their equipment is always top-of-the-line and in tip-top shape; they never find themselves dawdling on the beach, waiting for a straggler running late, for she'd be kicked out of the boat for a repeat offense; they always have a coach; and any problems are efficiently dealt with.
My boat is considered the nicer and more considerate of the two groups ("Oh you go ahead..." "No, you go ahead..." "Oh please, I insist..." "No, please, really..."). There are few conflicts, we are all good friends and each of us wouldn't hesitate to drop everything to help another in need. But we are often stymied by inefficiency, tardiness and a lack of direction, mainly because we all want each other's opinion to weigh in on our own, and discussions over one topic or plan or goal can go on for weeks.
Sometimes I have a hard time deciding which is better.
Current mood: Hungry
Posted by Lynniechan @ 12:38 AM EST [Link] [No shoutouts]
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Unexpected stop
I'm just getting over a bout of what I think was food poisoning.
I'm not entirely sure what it was that made me sick, but I suspect, just from ruling out some of the things I ate a few days ago, that it might have been a PB&J sandwich.
For one long, sweaty night, I felt like I could die. My stomach writhed and wretched, even long after it had emptied itself. I heaved over the toilet every hour. For a while, even water would not stay down.
I'm better now, but still a bit weak. It's frustrating how these illnesses can jump up out of nowhere and temporarily snatch your life away, setting any plans or goals you have back a week -- or worse. I'm training for a regatta next month, and I'm desperate to get back on my workout schedule. Just when I'd finally been seeing some results from a couple of months of running 5Ks around my neighborhood (which is big in my book, since I hate running), some jackass prankster somewhere in the back of the train pulls the emergency brake and brings my life to a screeching halt.
I keep telling myself it's just a week of not working out, and I have to be patient in my recovery or I could aggravate my illness. But I just wouldn't be me if I didn't beat myself up over something I have no control over.
Current mood: Restless
Posted by Lynniechan @ 10:08 PM EST [Link] [3 shoutouts]
Good show, everyone!
I'm about a third of the way through the entire Futurama series on DVD (there were 4 seasons). I got season 4 as a Christmas gift, and I devoured it, watching the entire season in about a week. I couldn't turn it off. It was like a book you can't force yourself to look away from, one you hungrily devour, anticipating each page, until finally your turn reveals the back cover, and you sit back with a smile. It was (sniff) the Greatest Show Ever (I think its downfall was that it was a little too nerdy and perhaps too cerebral -- it didn't have the mass appeal that the Simpsons enjoys). Well, it's at least my latest Distraction from Life.
BTW, season 4 includes what is, for dog lovers, perhaps the Saddest TV Episode Ever. I know, I know -- it's a Matt Groening cartoon! AND a comedy! But I seriously tear up just thinking about the ending. Many a geek have e-mailed the show's writers (according to the DVD's audio commentary) and message board-posted on its sadness. I had first seen the episode on Adult Swim and was literally afraid to watch it when I got the DVD -- not because it's scary or gruesome or silly -- far from -- but because, for me, it was so intensely moving and ultimately depressing that I didn't want to go there again.
It's like when you were a kid, sniffling your way through the ending to Old Yeller (or for a Wee Huffy, struggling to fight back the tears so Daddy wouldn't see you crying over a wholesome Disney flick, then later that night bawling your eyes out in your bedroom) -- and then watching the movie all over again. Do not watch this episode if you're a dog lover and don't have time for a good cry.
Current mood: Chatty
Current music: Futurama theme song.mp3 (198K)Posted by Lynniechan @ 09:32 PM EST [Link] [No shoutouts]
More massage musings
I'm less than a week away from finishing the first portion, called "basic," part of my massage schooling! After I finish basic, I can (1) apply for state licensure (and hopefully put the magic letters ", LMT" after my name on business cards and -- ha! -- actually get paid to give massages), and (2) continue on with more concentrated training in medical and sports massage. I hope to start that program in mid- to late April. It's been a long, tiring 6 months, but I haven't regretted a minute of it.
Even if I decided later on that I didn't want to pursue massage as a career any more, I'll always be convinced going to school was worth the time and money. I've made some great (at the very least, interesting) new friends. And I've learned more about myself, physically and emotionally, than I ever did before. I've enjoyed learning about the human body, how it works, how it makes you what you are, and how things can go wrong and why. Massage school has opened my eyes to the importance of touch. We live in such an insular society, much more so here than in other cultures. It's uncomfortable for Americans to come in contact with one another. Our zone of "personal space" we imagine around ourselves is much larger than it is elsewhere. Perhaps it's because our country is so big in area, and our minds and bodies have adapted to how much space we have (if you're one to need personal space, try walking around Tokyo for a week). We've spread and stretched out, so much so that we've walled ourselves off from each other.
I'm still constantly amazed at how happy and polite the people are at school. Sure, there are the token rotten apples who are just there 'cause Mom didn't know what else to do with them or so they can find something other than a McJob. But those are few. Many others have jobs outside of school and work just as much as I do, and they still seem so happy. I'm convinced it's because they get massages regularly. For me, as someone who is terrible at expressing myself and has a very difficult time opening up to people, giving or receiving a massage is like soft, cool lotion on a sunburn. It feels good, is soothing and takes some of the uncomfortableness away. It helps me relax and not be so self-conscious. Knowing what I know now, I'm convinced this world would be a different place if everyone had the benefit of touch.
Current mood: Sleepy
Current music: Everybody Wants to Rule the World | Tears for FearsPosted by Lynniechan @ 08:43 PM EST [Link] [1 shoutout]