Something to chew on

While I don't necessarily agree with the way the information is presented or the conclusions that the narrator comes to, there is some *really* interesting stuff here. Check it Out

I promise...

1. To never EVER buy these shoes for any child of mine, my friends, or even my enemies.

2. To not obsess about the germs on a high chair/table in a restaurant to the point where I pull a handi-wipe out of my bag and SCRUB down aforementioned surfaces, completely ignoring the fact that my child is running amok in the restaurant, putting her grubby little hands on every item that is not tied down.

Yes, the "amok" child in the above not-made-up story was indeed wearing those damnable shoes. So much for a peaceful lunch out of the store.

*sigh*

Another yummy link...

Wierd Al comes through again!

wikiwikiwikiWOW!

WikiHow rules!

acting the part

it's exhausting, really, pretending to be nice and interested in what people have to say ALL.DAY.LONG. I'm sure Shannon can relate to me on this, as can anyone of you who has ever worked in a service industry. There are days when I'm tired or sick or just in a rotten mood, and switching on and off to "happy crappy" mode is a real drain. The upside of it is, however, that sometimes pretending to feel good and be in a good mood positively affects the way I actually feel.

today wasn't really one of those days. I woke up with my right eye all swollen and nasty (allergies?) and one of those related ever-so-slight headaches that doesn't really warrant medication but which dogs you constantly--sort of taunting you from the edge of conciousness. People were rotten today, but in retail you just can't be rotten back, so I'd don the cheerful interested girl face and chat away. The effort of being nice in the face of nastiness just wore me down even more. The puffiness went down, but the headache remained, and the exhaustion set in. I could collapse into a ball of neediness at any given moment.

maybe I will...

Confession

On my drives around Phoenix, I find myself looking longingly at office buildings.

True story.

Curse you, Shannon!

'What will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Clearing the Cobwebs

Three of the closest people to me have now asked what is up with my blog. I guess it's time to jump back in the saddle and try to put some words to...cyberspace?

I'm not really sure why the prolonged absence. I think I had high hopes for the photo/video revolution that I expected to take place after we got the new camera, and when I couldn't figure out how to make it work, I just sort of tucked my tail and fled for a while. It's a little humiliating for me that I whined about not having a good camera (and later, just a camera that works, since our old one bit the dust), and now more than a month later I still don't understand how to use it to its full potential. So that's one excuse.

The other excuse? Just laziness, I suppose. I usually come home, jump online and read emails and some news items, and by then there are so many things occupying space in my brain that it would take a team of excavationists to sort through it all. I am only one person, and not much of a digger at that (reference the above failure to dig any deeper into "how does this damn camera work"), so I leave it all in there and head straight for the game or dinner or whatever.

It's far too hot now to do anything but sit on my ass when I'm not working or at the physical therapist's. It was around 113 degrees or so today--119 in the car when we went to go see Superman Returns (a wholly sappy movie, but worth seeing if for no other reason than that Brandon Routh has some fantastic nods to Christopher Reeves in his portrayal of the man of steel). Russell's been doing some early morning workouts but I just can't take the heat. And, well, I'm still gimpin around. My back is better, but I'm now having some problems with my left knee...*sigh* So I go to work and run my butt off, and then come home and park it in front of the computer for the balance of the day. Good times.

Anyway. No promises, but I'll try to stop by more often. Sorry for the dust. :P

video!

First Cybershot Video

wewt!

Russell helped me figure out iMovie on this here Mac... and then Fetch. It's all very complex and exciting. The video, however is not. But it's the first one. Enjoy.

Try this:

Stand on one leg.
Throw a weight ball (only 2kgs in my case) at a very tight trampoline-lookin-thing up on an angle.
Catch the ball as it comes whizzing back at you at about three times the speed at which you threw it.

Did you get smacked in the face too? Or did you just fall down?

Anyway, that's my new favourite exercise at PT. Someday I'll graduate to doing it on one leg *while* standing on an inverted half-ball.

I'm going to be very very sore tomorrow.

grumble grumble

argh.sigh.piss.moan.bitch.wail.pout.

it hasn't been a pretty day. I'm funkin, and not in a Bootsy Collins sorta way. was supposed to be off at 8, got home at 10 (insert long pathetic story about the store's front door lock core falling out--yes, really--here)(I don't even get time-and-a-half for today...we get an extra DOLLAR an hour and a floating holiday. yep). was supposed to go in at 9am tomorrow, am now going in at 7. no breaks no lunch no support until 2pm (I leave at 3). I do love my job, I do. but I am so ready to find a job I can merely tolerate just so I can have normal days off and far less drama.

that's my dream job, in a nutshell: "Normal folks' hours and .5% drama"

soon soon I'll clambor out of this fog and be my bright shiny self again. 'til then, I suggest you keep some chocolate and some soothing tunes at the ready in case you bump into me. you know... calms the savage beast and all that...

addendum

Apparently the people I rode with yesterday morning aren't heartless jerks after all (said, I have to clarify, with tongue firmly implanted in cheek; I really never believed they were...complete...jerks). Later yesterday morning I got a voice mail from the original fellow that had posted looking for people to ride with. He said they were glad to find that I'd made it out okay--that they'd actually been quite concerned, asking other riders and hikers if they'd seen me--and that he was very sorry about the trail being so god-awful rocky and steep. We had originally planned to ride a different trail, but plans changed at the last minute when some other folks joined up. He had no idea the new trail was going to be quite as rough as it was.

I also got an email last night from the woman that took us on that trail; she was also very nice in saying that that trail was a bad choice, given my profession of being weak in the knees, and that she was sorry it ended up being an abbreviated ride for me, etc. etc. etc.

It was just nice that they took the time to contact me; I appreciate that quite a lot. Up! Up! With People!

: P

dot dot dot

so the last *actual* post was just me venting and being all negative and bitchy, and I apologise for that. Sometimes people just get me down. I'm off today, however, so I only have to interact with people with whom I *want* to interact. Hooray.

Just a few quick comments about the psychology of physical therapy. I find it much easier to get my stretches and exercises done now because I know *why* I'm doing them. They are not mindless repetitions that will lead me to some arbitrary level of fitness. I know they are meant to strengthen certain muscles and (hopefully) allow me to continue doing the things that I love. I do better with my workouts when I'm "training" for an event, as well. When I have specific goals to work towards, everything makes sense and I can stay so much more focused and committed. Heaven knows I can use blinders once in a while... :D

That said, I (attempted) to go for a bike ride again this morning..again with total strangers. As it turned out, they were going on a very rocky trail that was pretty much *all* climbing--despite my original email stating quite plainly that I prefered something a little more easy going (I didn't know which trail we were riding until I met up with them, or I'd have never gotten up at 4:30am on my day off!). I bailed out early. My head was not in the game, as evidenced by the fact that I nearly wiped 20 feet into the trail on a switchback littered with softball sized loose rock...and then another 50 feet later in the creekbed strewn with what appeared to be sheets of nasty sharp limestone poking up at daunting angles. I rode about a mile before I decided that a major wreck was immenent--and besides, my knee was already starting to cry foul and we hadn't even gotten to the climbing bits yet.

I feel a little bad about bailing out, but then again the other three folk I'd gone with were so far ahead that I couldn't even have shouted out to them. On a trail I'd never been on. How's that for hospitality? To be fair, I'd mentioned the knee thing several times and told them I'd be taking it easy--that they should wait up only if there was a break in the trail so I'd know which route to take. We even discussed directions back to S's house in case I did decide to bail out. Still. I long to meet the folks that would have stayed with me despite all that--just because it's the nice thing to do. I rode with some fellas a few weeks back that have that capacity, I think, but getting together again has proven nigh on impossible, what with me having the shittiest work schedule on the planet and everything. I just have to keep trying, as Russell reminds me every time I try to bail on a ride. If I don't get out there, I definately won't meet my new friends!

so...yeah...

Yep. Pretty Much.

I am a hybrid of: Progressive Girl Athletic Girl Click on the pictures below to read more: Take the 'What Kind of Girl Are You?' quiz at CookingToHookup.com

Do Not:

....Try to get preferential treatment at any retail establishment by saying "I shop here all the time." The people you say this to are AT THAT STORE 40 hours a week (or more), and they do not know you from Adam. I know who our regular customers are, and it irks me to no end when someone I've never ever seen before insists that they are "a regular".

This happens to us all the time at the store. A few days ago I had a lady tell me she would bring in her medical bills to prove that she'd been unable to use her coupon that expired on April 29th, and could she please still use it because "...I'm in your store all the time". This, for $10 off a purchase of $50 or more.

Yesterday, a woman wanted to return a USED wine carafe and a bottle of wine "that cost more than I wanted to pay..." (I kid you not. This is the second time someone returned something with that excuse--who is blindfolding and earplugging these people that they have NO CLUE how much the items are that they have picked up off the shelf are going to cost?) We pointed out that wine was really very hot--to the point where it was now leaking out the cork, but she insisted then that the wine must be bad anyway because she'd just driven straight from her home (yeah, where the bottle of wine had been sitting in your car since the day you purchased it?). "Look," she said, "I shop here all the time..." Oh! I'm sorry, since you are obviously such a great customer, I assumed that you KNOW that we DON'T DO RETURNS ON ALCOHOL and other consumables! And since you are a regular here, I'm would have thought that you've been coached numerous times on what not to do with your bottle of wine, unless you want it to turn to vinegar--that is to say, don't leave it in your car in 100+ degree temperatures.

Sometimes, people just piss me off.

The boy needs equal billing...

what a mighty closeup this is. but what a handsome boy! note the fantastically tough-looking collar his daddy picked out for him. it doesn't fool many people; Bucket's just too much of a wuss to carry off the badass image. anyway, this handsome boy came to the door this evening covered in poo. He and Delilah had been roughhousing in the yard, and he apparently ran right through a nasty mess of it. How he flung it up onto his side is still beyond me.

I love my dogs.

Delilah the Premiere!

This is our sweet little hoover hound Delilah, as captured by the new digicam. I wanted to crop it down, but haven't gotten that far yet. I think Photoshop is going to have to be the way I go, but I don't have a link to the program from my login screen and I'm too lazy right now to go searching the computer for it. This thing is so compartmentalised that it could take hours. You think I'm kidding, don't you? Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.

Doesn't she have the most beautiful eyes? I love her little black mask. It's a shame she doesn't smile more. She always looks so depressed. She has a fantastic grin. I'll get a new shot of that soon.

Oh, and here's my "new" car, which I've had for just over a year, and which is now 6 years old. I washed it yesterday, so it's bright and shiny and fun again:

Leftist Leanings

When I started mentioning to folks that I was going in for physical therapy, I'd invariably get one of two reactions. From the folks that had never been, I'd get the concerned look and "oh? what for?" sorts of questions. From the folks that have been through it, I'd hear "Oh. Good luck." And they would then launch into some horror story about how their PT or their friend's/brother's/mom's/boss's PT unleashed heretofore unknown levels of torture and torment on their delicate little bodies. Great. Thanks so much for that.

I have to say, that after my first trip to the PT...I LOVE IT. I walked out feeling a little stiff and sore, and now my body aches like I've just run a marathon (well, actually, it's my left knee--sort of odd because it's my right knee/ankle that tend to be problematic...more about that later), but I can honestly say that I can't WAIT to go back. (then again, I always have been a glutton for punishment) I love the girl that is working with me. She put me through more of an exam than I've ever had from any doctor. She watched me do lunges, balance on each leg, touch my toes, bend over backwards...you name it. She was watching to see my alignment and balance, checking to see where my weaknesses are, and on and on and on. She poked and prodded my lower back, looked at the arches of my feet (I have a funky, but common, shape in my left foot that causes the inside of the front of my foot to sort of arch up...so my pinky toe/outer toes touch down first, followed by my big toes.)

I would not have been able to tell you this going in, but apparently my left side (hip-foot) is very weak and tight. She suspects that a lot of my problems in my right knee are due to overcompensation. She also said that it's very possible that a good part of my lower back pain is a direct result of the stiffness that I have in my hips and upper quads/hamstrings. I knew hamstrings could be an issue, but not quads/hips. I just knew that mine were pretty much always sore and tight.

I have some exercises and stretches to do that will a) work on my lower abdominals and obliques, which will help keep my spine aligned and alleviate some of the pressure from the disc protrusion/degeneration) and loosen up some of those muscles that might be drawing everything up too much--causing that pressure.

My PT had a herniated disc last year (a very amusing--albeit sad--story involving a slip down the stairs after trying to step on a particularly annoying cricket), and she's back to being able to run, so I have high hopes. I have a feeling I will quickly grow tired of the exercises I have to do, but I will just have to imagine a sedentary life with out running and mt. biking and I'm sure that will be impetus enough. I'm going back on Wednesday and Friday this week, and I think that I'm going to be doing some weight training and more challenging exercises under her watchful eye, so it should be good.

In other news, I'm still fiddling with the camera--it can do some cooooool stuff...I just gotta figure out how to get it to YOU.
That's all. Dinner awaits.

more heathens than you can shake a stick at

So our brilliant idea was to go see The DaVinci Code at 9am on a Sunday morning. The reasoning, of course, was that there would be far fewer people. Not so, mon frere, not so. I was pretty surprised at the number of folks who had the same idea we had--and that they were not detained by church. Of course A) maybe they had special early services today so that they could all come out en masse and see what all the fuss was about and B) I constantly forget--and am thusly reminded--that we no longer live in the buckle of the bible belt...

At any rate, we saw the movie with a hundred-plus other folk and no bonfires were lit; nor were any rotten tomatoes thrown at the screen. It was a decent film. It should not surprise me that I didn't enjoy it as much as the book, but I think they did a good job with the content. I especially appreciate that there is a VERY fuzzy line between good and evil amongst the characters. I think naysayers should be force-fed this film; they might realise that they are creating more of an issue out of it than would ever had arisen if they'd just pipe the hell down and let folks create a nice work of fiction.

Anyway. As though you needed it...evidence of why I'm not a film reviewer. : )

I'm still fiddling with the new digi-cam, so you'll have to continue your wagers and guessing as to which photos will be uploaded first. It's a damn complicated machine for being such a tiny point-and-shoot thing. It does movies too, which should be entertaining once I figure them out as well. Maybe you'll finally get to see evidence of the Bucket & Delilah freak show known as "Dentist Time".

Yes Please!

Oh Shanny, yes! If Diana can recommend a good yoga instructor here, I would *love* to start going. I practiced several years ago when I was in Omaha (I almost typed Ohmaha! rofl), and remember being astounded at how energised I was after a "workout" that involved a lot corpse posing. Plus, I'm sure it would help with my back--all the stretching and core strengthening would be wonderful. I wasn't able to take any classes at the gym I never went to here, because of my schedule..but perhaps an independent instructor will have a more flexible schedule. So yes! Thanks for the offer. : )

In other exciting news, our (my?) new digital camera arrived today and it is a tiny tiny thing. Like, deck of cards small. Like, I'm afraid to touch it on account of the inherent connection between my klutzy nature and my hands. However, I have another 4 or 5 hours to get over it, because that's how long the battery will take to charge. *sigh* Nothing like getting a new toy and then finding out you can only LOOK at it for half a day. By the time the battery is ready to go, I'll be ready for bed. The heat flares up early, so I have to beat it in order to walk the dogs before the temperature breaks 100 degrees.

Today it was 105 and 9% humidity. I have to laugh when I hear numbers like that. Wanna know what it's like? Stick your head in your oven at its lowest setting and you'll have a pretty good idea. Above 110-115 it all feels pretty much the same. It's getting ugly here, and it's only May. I get pissy thinking about waking up at 7 to take the dogs out, but soon I'll have to start getting up around 5am, because it will be too damn hot at 7am. One day last year it was 98 at 7am, I kid you not. Yes, yes, it's wrong. So very wrong. But I'll be thinking of you all next January when it's 75 degrees here under completely clear blues skies. Yes.