Unconscious Mutterings #267

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I say… And you think… ?

  1. Paranormal :: romance
  2. Alarm :: clock
  3. Operative :: word
  4. Changing :: rooms
  5. Framed :: for murder
  6. Beer :: operated girl
  7. Referral :: fee
  8. Unmasked :: superhero
  9. Movie star :: kiss
  10. Handbook :: practical

Like this meme? Play along here.

Bottled

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It was an odd Saturday, all things considered. I went to bed before one AM for a change, but half-woke when Fuzzy came to bed, enough to realize who he was and why he was stealing the cool part of the bed, and to tell him to set the alarms for 11:00, in preparation for my planned 1:30 repinking appointment.

The phone rang shortly before ten, however, to inform me that Natalie, my stylist, was out sick. After much back-and-forth, I have a new appointment NEXT Saturday at 11:30. So…freshly pink hair for Easter. I can live with that.

I’m still coughing, and my throat is tight, as the five people who heard my practice vocal track for a podcast audio drama I’d really love to be part of heard when I sent them copies. I can speak okay, but in the words of Ms. Eclectic, when I sing it’s the “pack a day” version of my voice. For this reason, I’m not entirely upset that I got to stay home and nurse my voice a bit, so I can make the official recording on Monday (this is just the singing part, the speaking tracks were already sent). To that end, I’ve been alternating water with lemon, and throat coat tea with honey, all day, with the exception of one nonfat latte this evening. As I type this, I’m sipping a hot toddy, made with the same tea, honey, lemon, and a healthy splash of bourbon. There are very few things that a healthy splash of bourbon cannot help.

The bourbon, by the way, marks the first time since we moved here that I’ve had bottles of decent liquor in my house. Oh, we always have beer and wine, despite the fact that Fuzzy doesn’t touch alcohol, but I’m hardly a heavy drinker, and honestly, until we asked Deb, we’d been hitting the grocery store, Cost Plus (World Market), or stores in Dallas for such things. So, thanks to Deb we now know that the closest liquor store worth visiting is Majestic in Kennedale, which is about nine miles from here, but they were very friendly, greeted us at the door, and hooked us up with their rewards card so we saved $9. (We also bought vodka, cointreau, peppermint schnapps, and Godiva dark chocolate liqueur, and I’m making of list for future visits.)

The rest of the evening was low-key: Lone Star Comics (for Serenity: Better Days #1), the Italian place at Highlands of Arlington because I wanted comfort food (I had grilled scallops on a bed of spinach gnocchi, baby spinach, and grilled sweet potatoes; Fuzzy had spinach tortelloni with spinach, cheese, sundried tomatoes and grilled chicken), Tom Thumb for a few forgotten items. (Damn! STILL forgot Mayo.), Starbucks, and CVS (for bubble bath since the grocery store had none I was willing to purchase).

We came home, cuddled the dogs, napped a little, and then watched a couple of episodes of Angel over dessert (pie for me, a Reese’s Klondike bar for Fuzzy). We talked about going to the auto show tomorrow, but honestly? I just want to read the Sunday paper, catch up on correspondence, and not do much else.

Seven Things: Influential

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For CafeWriting, this month’s Seven Things is to write about Influential People:

Please note that this is a sampling of the influential folks in my life, and not the entire list. Also, please note that people who influence me NOW may not be quite so important tomorrow.

  1. My Mother: We call her hurricane Susan but it’s meant with a healthy blend of irony and affection. She can be brittle, judgmental, moody, stubborn, bitchy. She is also funny, fragile, brilliant, generous, and supportive. She encouraged me to find my own path, and while hers is vastly different, we come to crossroads fairly often, and exchange stories.
  2. Ray: Preschool teacher, mentor, recently resurfaced, all around cool guy. He really deserves his own post, or own series of posts. I’m enjoying getting to know him as an adult, in small doses.
  3. Clay: Because it’s all about rhyming games you know? Seriously, while he’s relatively recent in my life (2003, I think?) he’s become muse, sounding board, sage adviser, fellow dreamer, and source of inspiration. Two seconds of phone time with him, and my creative juices are always recharged.
  4. Ben and Julia: Two people, but they’re a couple so I get to cheat because, hey, my blog, my rules. Ben gives me an alternate male perspective. Julia brings out my girly side. And did I mention they have dogs? Dogs rock.
  5. Ira: My stepfather. We’re good friends now, though we weren’t always. I think I provide a release for him – someone he can vent to about my mother. He does the tech-picking on a lot of my SF work, and also sends me nifty science snippets. Also, he makes the best orange juice ever, and it completely balances his unhealthy attraction to recreational math.
  6. Fuzzy: Not as much an influence in the traditional sense, as a balancing force. He’s the string to my kite, the grounding wire on my plug. I go off on tangents and he pulls me back to earth, but slowly, and with great love. Probably the only person on earth who can really put up with me 24/7.
  7. Natalie: My hair stylist. She’s the one who helped me embrace the pink, and continually encourages me to play. We share the same philosophy: “It’s hair. It grows back.” Also, she’s very zen.

Eeeeeeeeeeeee

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Or actually, Eee-Pc. I don’t need another laptop but these are so inexpensive I’m tempted to buy one just to fiddle with. What are they?

Linux-based ultra-portable notebooks with SSD storage, 7″ screens, and built-in wifi, cameras, and microphones.

And did I mention they come in pink?

eee-pc

Indulging in Geekiness

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So, I bought something today. No, not a back rack, because while they’re useful things, they don’t really work on Subaru Foresters.

No, what I ordered today was the latest offering from Brent Spiner. It’s called Dreamland, and it’s a CD, but it’s more than just music – it’s also a radio play and a stage musical (albeit without the actual, you know, stage).

I’ve listened to some of the clips from the CD that are available online, and, a couple of weeks ago when I was stuck in bed sick, sat through the intro video that is running on his site and on YouTube (and is embedded below, because I’m all about spreading the geekiness around), and I’m really looking forward to the physical disc.

And yes, I sprang for the personalized, autographed copy.
Because if you’re gonna geek, you should go all the way.

Oh, and, to make it EVEN GEEKIER…many of the characters are voiced by Mark Hamill

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Fog and Carpet

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We went to bed later than anticipated, as sometimes happens, and I was hot when I finally fell asleep after swallowing a melatonin tab and four ibuprofen, but when I woke up I was freezing. I hate that.

I love waking to gentle fog embracing the world, however. Fog and mist feel like magic to me, softening all the blurry edges and allowing me to see the world in soft focus. I snapped pictures of the peach tree in the fog – it’s in blossom – but I can’t find the USB cable I removed from the box not two days ago, so I can’t upload them til later, because neither laptop has a flash card reader (though the desktop does).

As I was steeping my tea, the carpet guys pulled up, though they haven’t yet come to the door or left their truck. It’s all good. I’m not in a rush.

I’m working in the living room today, and there’s no tv or radio on, so I can hear birdsong from both the back and front yards.

It may be Tuesday, but it feels like Monday should have been.

Breathing Lessons

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Yoga DVD

When I was very young, I used to watch my mother doing yoga in the living room along with Lilias, courtesy of PBS. I’ve got friends and net-friends who practice, and a yoga center just opened in the local shopping center I like to visit, but I’m not ready for a formal class yet.

I was pretty excited, therefore, when I got the chance to review a yoga dvd. It’s the “Gentle Practice” disc from RealBodyWork.com, and I’ve just finished my first half-hour session. I had to wait til I could breathe without coughing before I could try it.

Tonight, as a gentle rain fell beyond the window, I dimmed the lights and popped in the disc.

I was greeted by the teacher, a woman named Zyrka, whose manner and appearance reminded me very strongly of Donna Murphy’s character in Star Trek: Insurrection – very centered and serene, and with a sense of stillness that was extremely comfortable. Some exercise DVDs are intimidating; this one is not. From the moment Zyrka appeared on my screen, I was on board. She spends several minutes explaining how to dress (comfortable, movable, layers), and what equipment you need (a mat and yoga block are fine, but all you really need is a carpeted floor and a blanket). She stresses that you shouldn’t drink water (unless you’re pregnant) during the session, but MUST hydrate before and after, and she also goes through information like not to do inversion exercises if you have high blood pressure or during your period.

As I’ve been sick for a couple weeks, and, as posted earlier, am pretty tired today, and because I’ve never done yoga before, I chose to try the easiest shortest practice session, a 33 minute gentle workout for beginners. I’m a little too stiff in the knees for a couple of the poses, but I didn’t feel like I was straining. In fact, I feel pleasantly warm, and calm, but not tired, twenty minutes after completion.

Before actually doing a session I explored the DVD. There are six practice sessions available, a beginning series of roughly half, three-quarters, and a whole hour each, and a more challenging series of roughly the same lengths of time. The first one is mainly sitting poses.

There is also a pose guide, where you can work through the different poses at your own pace, to get a feel for how they should, well, feel. I explored that feature a little bit, and will look at it again before I do another session.

I’m really excited by this disc, and I think I’ll be adding a Sunday session to my week from now on. It just seems like the perfect calming/centering/stretching thing to cap a weekend and transition back into Monday.

I should add, that while I’m open to experiencing different spiritual traditions, some people are not. There is nothing of mysticism in this DVD. It’s all just being in tune with your body and breath.

Of course, now I’m hyper-conscious of my breathing, but that will pass.

The company that produces this yoga dvd, RealBodyWork, also makes a Tai Chi disc. I’m curious to see what that’s like.

Say Cheese

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We spent much of yesterday rushing around and today I’m so tired that if we had a bottle of energy pills, I’d totally be popping them like candy. We don’t however, so I had a healthy turkey and provolone sandwich with slices of tomato on whole grain bread, and a bunch of red seedless grapes.

The choice of turkey was perhaps not the wisest considering that I’m still feeling drained, but mmm, it was good. It was turkey roasted with sundried tomatoes and herbs. Fuzzy said it smelled like sausage in the bag. He’s wrong. But he often is, and I love him anyway.

After the vet, we went to the pet store, to buy crunchy food for Miss Cleo. Dick Van Patten’s rolled food has been the standard around here since we stopped the BARF diet, and apparently his company makes crunchy stuff, too, so Miss Cleo and Zorro chowed down this weekend on Potato and Duck dog food, loaded with omega three oils and totally grain free.

We also visited Hollywood Video, because the branch in our neighborhood was closing, and everything was on sale. I picked up Waitress and Caffeine for $4 each. Fuzzy got some Zombie movies that I refuse to watch because of my issue with anything where the characters are scared, cold, wet, dirty and short on toilet paper.

We delivered movies to Blockbuster, where there were adorable girl scouts hawking cookies. I don’t KNOW any girl scouts this year, so I was pleased about this – we took home 2 boxes of samoas and 4 of thin mints, but almost everything went into the freezer.

We lunched at Panera, where I bought a loaf of Irish soda bread, it being mid-March and all. I had some this morning with strong tea, while I read the Sunday paper. Mmm. Domestic bliss.

After lunch, we hit Radio Shack for a new RF modulator for the bedroom, because our tv is so old it doesn’t have the right inputs and outputs for cable AND tivo. The old RF modulator was whiting out everything. This one has restored normal color. We bought a second one for the tv currently in my office, which is being moved to the library for two reasons: One, so that I can play exercise videos in there when the weather is crappy, and two, so that when my parents come to visit (or anyone) they can have a place to crash and veg with television without stressing about waking us.

We were about to leave RS when I literally ran into the camera display. I have a very old $1000 at the time it was purchased Sony Cybershot with a telephoto lens permanently attached, infrared and night vision laser focus. It’s very cool, but it’s as bulky as an old-school SLR, and I hate lugging it around. I’ve been lusting after a teeny camera for a while, and now I have one. It’s a Samsung S85 – 8.2 megapixels, 5x zoom, a special portrait mode, and it’s sleek and black and fits in my pocket. Also, for $20 I got a 2 gb flash card for it, so I may never have to empty it unless I want to.

We went grocery shopping, skipped Target, and had sushi for dinner. I could live on sushi. Really. It’s such soothing food.

We stopped at Half Price Books on the way home, and I grabbed some vintage Nero Wolfe novels, a Trek novel I’d read in ebook format and wanted in physical form, and a Zone cookbook ($5).

Is it any wonder I’m exhausted today?