Ring The Bell

27....easy breezey

2009-04-03T15:20:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't written about the yoga challenge in a few days (five to be exact), but I've been a little overwhelmed. I turned a major corner a few days ago, in class 24. I was going to devote a separate entry to the experience, but I was so pooped I couldn't muster it.

Class 24 was taught by an amazingly tough woman named Tomo. She is the wife of one of the owners of the studio where I have been practicing. She called me out about 4 times, including one that was followed with "There's a difference between taking it easy and being lazy. No one is going to be lazy today." So I sucked it up, I did every posture and I was gasping, shaking, and a little light headed at the end. I went home, slept like a brick going to bed around 9:00 pm. The next day I was sore but I went back to class and it was all there. Every posture, every attention to detail, everything. And my knees didn't hurt.

Each class since then has been excellent. I'm eager to finish my 30 days, take a few days rest, and then go to a regular practice of 5 classes per week. I might not blog for the next couple of days, but I will be sure to do a final recap.

PS: Somewhere along the way I have managed to develop thighs of steel! (Or at least aluminum)

22...pain

2009-03-29T13:52:00.000-07:00

The other day, I was talking to my roommate about all this yoga business and I said, "You get to a point where you're uncomfortable, maybe light headed, or sick to your stomach, or in some pain. It doesn't feel good, but you know it's not dangerous, you're not in danger, so you just go with it."

Well, I am certainly feeling uncomfortable today. My legs hurt, my knees are stiff, and all I want is to take a day off. But I know if I do, I need to do a double between now and next Monday. I have 8 days left in this challenge and I'm going to do them. Even if I all I do is go to the room and lie down form 90 minutes. I will finish these 30 days!

21 not so easy

2009-03-28T09:19:00.000-07:00

So...I'm not entirely sure why, but today's session was really difficult. I had a late night last night. I was at a Shabbat potluck with friends and we we laughing and telling stories rather late. I didn't get out of there until around 11:30. I got to sleep around midnight (my typical bed time is between 9:30 and 10). I also had some really potent sangria, and beer on Thursday. I think drinking alcohol is simply not an option while I'm doing this challenge. I was dehydrated, ate too much breakfast, really tired, the room was super hot, and Mr. Grunty Yoga Drama was right behind me huffing and puffing like crazy. It was not a great day, and I sat out of a lot of the time. I feel like on day 21, not being 100% is not that big of a deal. The important part is that I was there the whole time. It was my 12th class in a row and I think it's catching up to me. I'm not quitting, but I am realizing that this is a little tougher on this side of the challenge than I thought.

Onward ho!

Day 20!

2009-03-28T05:06:00.000-07:00

I've made it two thirds of the way! The 20th class was challenging. I was feeling pretty good and strong, but my companion in the class was not feeling so great. I felt bad that she needed to leave and I was a bit distracted for the rest of the class. She's gonna give it another go, though, and I'm very glad for that.

Other than that, there isn't too much to share about the actual class. I was feeling great, had a lot of focus and determination. It's a good thing that the classes are becoming somewhat unremarkable. I think it means that I'm getting used to class and it has become habitual. I have noticed that my muscles are much more sore this week. I found taking my vitamins helps a lot.

I think I might have lost some weight, or at least some inches. I'm not going to check my weight until I'm done with the 30 days. Weighing myself makes me pretty crazy.

Day 18

2009-03-25T18:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, I just got to say, day 18? I never thought I would get this far. I know I have a lot further to go, but it's kinda amazing what you can do when you make a plan and stick to it. It hasn't been easy to make time for yoga and I've had to forgo some really wonderful social engagements because of it. But I am so proud for setting this goal and working to reach it.

I really think I heard the perfect gears slide into place today. From the very first breathing exercise my lower body felt solid, concrete, immovable. I felt grounded and focused. Anther friend joined me for her first class, and although it was tough she said she really enjoyed it. I have to say she looked great for her first Bikram class! It's not easy to stay in that room for 90 minutes. It was so hot today I actually took off my shirt for the first time ever, in class. No worries, I was wearing a sports bra. When you get so hot you'd take off your skin to get a little relief, taking off your sweaty, soggy shirt and letting your belly hang out doesn't seem like too big of a deal.

I'm heading to day 20 pretty soon and then it's the home stretch. I've got to keep my head in the game, not getting complacent now. But I really feel like I will reach my goal in the challenge.

My nephew is awesome!

2009-03-23T13:26:00.000-07:00

Sweet 16

2009-03-23T09:57:00.000-07:00

Ah, today's yoga class was so lovely. All the big school in Mass are on Spring Break and my 8:00am class was practically empty. I think there were only about 10 students. It was calm and not blazing hot and just wonderful. I felt like I was floating after class and I didn't sit out any postures this time. Ah....sigh.

Day 15/ Half way there

2009-03-22T18:31:00.000-07:00

I am half way to my goal of 30 classes in 30 days. Today was hard and hot. I suddenly can't seem to figure out how to feed myself effectively. I don't think I ate enough at lunch and then I was really hungry during class. This morphed into feeling really sick to my stomach throughout the second half of the floor series.

I'm glad I've made it this far. It hasn't been easy, but it hasn't been impossible either. I know I can do 15 days, now I just need to do 15 more.

day 14/locust break through

2009-03-21T20:17:00.000-07:00

I have had a remarkably productive day today. i spent about 6 hours working on school work, took a 2 hour nap, went to yoga, and then to a friend's house for havdalah. The yoga was really tough starting, especially since my stomach and intestines had been talking to me all day, and not saying the nicest things. i warned my teacher I may need to leave class for the loo and she was all cool with that. T this was a new teacher I hadn't been to before and she was great. i had a brief break through in half locust post and actually got my feet a good 10 inches off the ground. This is a pretty major breakthrough since the first class i went to back at yoga about 2 and a half weeks ago i good not lift my legs at all. Locust has always been a major challenge and it felt good to have a good day.
(apologies for all the lower case "i"s. my shift key is a little sticky.)

Lucky Number 13

2009-03-21T06:27:00.000-07:00

Uhg...lull. I went to class. I'm feeling unmotivated. I'm almost halfway through the challenge and I'm kinda bored. I wore my contacts to class, which means I got the clear, sharp, stark view of myself in all my sweaty glory. When I do the yoga without my glasses everything has a nice soft edge to it. I can believed that I am thinner than I am, have clearer skin than I do, and generally look more calm and peaceful. I had the realization that I am fatter than I thought I was. This is not self defeating talk or poor body image, but a simple statement of fact. This is something that can be resolved and I intend to do that.

I want to get to a health weight before my 30th birthday. I have about a year and a half to do this. I guess I should stop eating ham and cheese croissants for breakfast.

Day 12/ Class 12...devolution

2009-03-19T14:51:00.000-07:00

I made it to 6:30am class at a new location of my studio. I think I like my regular studio a lot more, but it was a nice change of scenery. My right knee is still bugging me, and my practice seems to be turning to crap. I had a hard time focusing, and I just kept falling out of everything. Talking to my teacher afterward she said was pretty common that about midway through the challenge people get to a little bit of a lull. She suggested I should just keep with it and it will get better. It's starting to become so habitual that I have a hard time thinking of a day without yoga. Each day is completely different and I can see how this is something I could do every day of my life and never master it.

Day 11 / Class 11....6am yoga!

2009-03-18T17:14:00.000-07:00

I did it! I woke up at 5am this morning and hauled my sleepy bum into yoga at 6am. It's amazing how different my body feels at that time of the morning. I was much less flexible than I am later in the day. When it came to the first savasana (between the standing series and the floor series) it was all I could not to fall asleep. I'm glad I did it, though, and it may not be the last 6am class I go to. I had so much energy throughout the day. Now it's about 8:20pm and I'm pretty ready to go to bed.

Day 10 / Class 10 a return

2009-03-17T15:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, first thing first. I am sitting in my kitchen in Somerville, MA and just heard an NPR story about Willie Nelson by Texas NPR reporter John Burnet. There was Waylon Jennings and Ray Benson all talking and I just got so homesick. SXSW kicks off this week in Austin and I wish a million times that I was there and not in New England.

Ok, about the yoga. I took a day off to go to a really interesting conference yesterday, and I'm pretty glad I did. Today I felt so much stronger and fresher in class. There isn't much to say right now. Some postures I've always struggled with are getting easier, and ones that always seemed easier are getting oddly challenging. Strange...

I'm going to try to make it to a 6am class again, but let's see it it will really happen.

Day 8 / Class 9...I'm kinda lazy

2009-03-15T18:44:00.000-07:00

Today I discovered that I'm kinda lazy, and I like to give up. Now, it may not seem that way since I've taken on this whole 30-day challenge biz, but its true. When I'm in class and a posture is hard or uncomfortable, rarely do I put my whole focus or effort into doing it my best. When it starts to get too hard or my legs ache or my arms are tired, sometimes I make myself loose balance or step out, just because it's hard and I want to give up.

My teacher called me out today. "Lock your knees, Mimi. You have the flexibility, now you need to work on the integrity of the posture." This was during half-moon pose. For those that don't know, this is the first posture after the first breathing exercise. I had another call out when it came to standing head to knee.I've never been able to get my head to my knee, and only once able to kick my leg out, but sometimes I just stand there, trying to lockout my leg, doing my best to hold my slipping foot, and then I just get out of it because it's too hard, and my leg hurts, and I'm loosing my grip. (And I like long sentences.) This time my teacher looked at me and said, "Don't give up. Stop quitting." It reminded me of how my cello teacher used to yell at me to "quit quitting!" when I would come to a difficult passage. I was training myself not to do it, not to play the piece. And it was true in this posture. I was training myself not to stay in the posture.

After class I spoke with my teacher and he was great. "We all are naturally good at something. For some its strength, some have focus, some have flexibility. And there are postures that highlight each of these. But its the stuff we're not so good at that we really need to work on."
"I'm finding out I'm not as strong as I thought I was." I said.
"Maybe it's better to think about building your stamina as a way to build strength. Rather than seeing how far you can go in the posture, stop where you are and try to hold it for the full 60 seconds, or 30 seconds, or however long it is."

Tomorrow I am taking the day off of yoga to attend a seminar at school. When I come back Tuesday I'm going to work on my stamina. And on locking my standing leg.

Day 7 / Classes 7&8...El Duble

2009-03-14T12:19:00.000-07:00

I did it! I did a back to back double this morning, and I'm pooped.

The first class was nice, I felt good and strong. I went through each posture, my breath was good, and I even managed to kick my foot out once in standing head to knee pose. I knew I needed to do a double today to keep up with the 30 days, because I'll be missing class on Monday, but I was going to play it by ear. Would it be a back to back (at 9:30 and 12:00pm), or one early and another later with a big break, (at 9:30am and another at 4:00pm)? As I sat after class rapidly cooling off, the sweat drying on my skin, I though, "Do it! This will be great, just get it all done with and do your second class now!" And so I did.

The second class was not quite as nice. In many ways it reminded me of my first class back after months off about a week and a half ago. I knew what to expect, but my body was pretty tired I couldn't seem to make it do exactly what I told it. I expect I sat out fairly frequently (about a quarter of the time). But I didn't worry too much about it, I completely let go of expectations and perfection and just did what I could. One thing I didn't expect was how hungry I got. For the last few poses I was so hungry all I could think about was the hot, molten, mac & cheese at the little shop around the corner. I finished strong, had the best mediation in the end, and took my time drying off, showering and moving on.

I went to lunch right after yoga and had that awesome mac & cheese. It was so good.

Oh! And something else I didn't expect - I was sooooo gassy in the second set. It was a little surprising.

Day 6 /Class 6 - The Rejuvination

2009-03-13T15:20:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up before my alarm, not a completely uncommon occurrence, but lately not too common. I was done with my shower, breakfast a little blog hopping and out the door in 45 minutes. Pretty good for a Friday. I was doing pretty well until 11:00am. I'm sitting in my organizational behavior class, starting to get a little dizzy, my face getting flushed, and I can not concentrate. For the past 2 hours I have been sneezing like a mad woman and blowing my nose in the most unladylike fashion, and now I was fading fast. An hour to go in OB and I am sunk. I already ate all my morning snacks, I've gotten up to pee twice, and I have no idea what my professor was saying.

Somehow my body stayed in that class, but my mind was completely absent. Malka, my trusty companion, met me for lunch and we were joined with our friend Phil at a local pub. I was so hungry I almost went into the kitchen to nab some fries. Finally fed, but still really needing a nap, the last thing I wanted to do was go to yoga.

I kept thinking to myself - "Just one day off, come on, that would be so nice, I can recover, I'll be better when I go back. It will be great." But Malka would not have it. She came with me to her first class earlier this week and she was determined to go again. She wanted to see if she could stay in the room the whole time, and wanted to get her money's work out of the intro package.

We go, I'm dragging. I want to turn back home at every moment, but I can't let my friend down. I mention to the teacher of today's class (a woman who was my first teacher at this studio and shares my name) that the challenge was starting to wear on me, and she replied in her very chipper way "Well, we'll pep you back up!" And boy did she!

I managed to find a slightly cooler spot up close to the mirror, focused on myself and just went through it. The 90 minutes flew on by, I felt great, and Malka stayed in the room the whole time. I feel wonderful right now, and I'm looking forward to the big double tomorrow. Yay!

Now its time to eat again...

Day 5/Class 5

2009-03-12T12:31:00.001-07:00

Somehow, today seemed so much easier. I think the room was a lot cooler than last night, there were fewer people there, and I was much calmer about the whole situation. I focused a lot on pulling up on my quadracept and really making my standing leg strong in all the standing postures. I think that made a big difference for my left knee, that was kinda hurting after class last night. It also made a HUGE difference in standing bow-pulling pose. I only fell out of the pose a couple of times through the two sets, unlike the dozen or so times I usually do.

Yesterday the library emailed me to let me know my book was in. I am eager to learn more about the theory behind Bikram yoga, so I am taking a look at the book Bikram Choudhry wrote about the practice.

In a non-yoga related note, my lovely sister is going to come and visit me up here in Boston in a couple of weeks! I can't wait to see her, and show her around my hood.

Day 4/Class 4...getting a bit rougher

2009-03-11T18:45:00.000-07:00

Oy...so today's class was not so easy. I had every ambition of going to the 6am class before I went off to school. But when the alarm went off at 5am, I thought to myself, "you can go to yoga now, or you can sleep for 3 more hours." Sleep won.

I did make it to yoga, however. I went at 6pm and the class was very crowded, very hot, and my knee started hurting a bit. I had a much tougher time in this class than the previous ones. A lot of people were sitting out of postures, myself included, but no one left, no one fainted, and no one puked. These are all very very good things. I almost cried like crazy after half locust pose, but I somehow held it together.

It's about 9:50pm, I'm in bed, heading to sleep soon, and hope to catch the 8am class tomorrow and then study all day. I'm beginning to feel slightly less optimistic about this whole thing right now.

Oh, and for those curious about the postures, check out this website to get a walk though of all 26. Bikram Postures

Day 3/Class 3....10% done

2009-03-10T16:15:00.000-07:00

So...day 3, it's a very three kind of day. I'm still not sleeping great at night, which is funny because that's supposed to be one of the great benefits of yoga, but I kept waking up every so often to pee. Annoying.

Another unexpected side effect of the yoga: it's like an external colonic. This may be more than needed to be shared on any blog ever, but I feel ten pound lighter. Everything I've eaten in the past 2 weeks has decided to pass today. This is encouraging, and quite satisfying, but somewhat unsettling.

The class was very nice this afternoon, but seemed so much hotter than usual. My wonderful friend, Malka, joined me for her first Birkam class ever, and she was quite the trouper. She made it about 80% the way through, and promises to join me Friday, where she is sure to make it the rest of the way through the class.

The yoga is starting to catch up to me a little, but I'm still feeling good and strong. I think I'm getting the eating thing down, and hydration is well on the way.

Tomorrow I plan to go at 6am!

Day 2/Class 2

2009-03-09T07:47:00.000-07:00

"It's gettin' hot in here! So take off all your clothes!
I am getting so hot, I'm gonna take my clothes off."

Sorry, just channeling a little Nelly. I've had all kinds of goofy things in my head this morning. I had a terrible time sleeping last night. A little head ache was coming on, so i took some Excendrin (a half dose), but then the caffeine kept me up. By the time I finally got to sleep I was so hungry I kept waking up every hour or so. I should have just gotten up and eaten something, but alas, at 2am I am not that smart. I tossed and turned till 4, and then started contemplating going to 6am yoga rather than the 8am class I had intended. Somewhere around 5am i fell asleep, only to be roudly awakened by my alarm at 6:30.

Snooze....6:39...Snooze....6:48...BAAAACHHH! Ok I'll get up. STARVING!

Ate some cereal and headed out into the cold sloppy spring snow. Today's Bikram class was good. Not too many people there, hot enough, nice teacher. I'm really proud that I made it to the 8am class, even with fitful sleep. I was talking with my teacher after class about being so hungry and she gave the sage advice, "Well, maybe you should eat more." She also said I may be dehydrated and thirsty, and I should probably salt my food more than I usually do, since this will help replace electrolytes lost. I'm also drinking this lovely raspberry Emergen-C I found yesterday.

Class 2 done. Feeling pretty good. On the walk home I kept singing to myself "Sloppy snow, slop sloppy snow, yeah..." Like Adam Sandler's Lunch Lady Land sloppy-joe refrain. What could be better?

Oh, and no headache today (yet) yay!

Day 1/Class 1

2009-03-08T15:04:00.000-07:00

The challenge started today with a bit less bang than I was anticipating. I took off yesterday so I could start fresh today, since it will be a while before I have another fresh day. I got up bright and early and headed to the studio. 9:30 am, Sunday morning, just after springing forward and losing an hour of sleep.

I never thought I'd say this, but I don't think the studio was hot enough. It seemed to be only around 90 or 95 degrees. Maybe mid way through the practice it reached 100. I suppose these are some of the challenges of being the first class of the day. My teacher for the class was one I haven't see before, and she was a less than friendly, and not very attentive. It just seemed like she was going through the motions. It was a nice practice, though, and the class ended well.

I'm feeling pretty jazzed and looking forward to tomorrow's 8:00am class!

The 30 day Challenge

2009-03-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

I'm doing something I never thought I would do: I am going to attempt 30 Bikram Yoga classes in 30 days. And I am not alone. My studio (or at least the one I go to while living in New England) is hosting the 30 day challenge. So far it looks like about 15 other people have officially signed up to do it, and I am one of them.

I am doing this because:
1. I need some motivation to be active after this nasty winter.
2. Bikram yoga is the most centering and cathartic yoga I have ever practiced.
3. I want to see if I can do it.

It's going to be hard, I'll laugh, I'll cry, I might event through up. But in the end I'll be stronger for it!

Rules for Living

2009-02-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

I recently had a conversation with one of the professors in my program. We were discussing life and stuff and she shared with me her three rules for living.

1. Love yourself
2. Be nice to everybody
3. Stand up strait and smile

I think this all sounds like a very good idea.

I am currently experiencing some of the worst back spasms I have ever had (thank you grad school stress) and I am trying very hard to practice just one of these rules.

Resurection

2008-10-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

This blog goes in fits and starts. I tend to update more when less is going on my life. So be happy for my busy and full life. But as dear Gigi is demanding more blogging, I will do my best to comply. Please stay tuned for updates.

Shapotluck in the dark

2008-08-22T19:36:00.000-07:00

Twenty-five young Jews in a park singing songs and eating organic, locally raised vegetarian food in the dark.This is Kavod House Shabbat in the Park.

I never went to Jewish summer camp as a kid. About 95% of my Jewish friends did and I feel like this is a major gap in the development of my Jewish identity. I did go to Girl Scout camp, but this seems to fall short somehow. Without color wars, coed camping, young Zionists, and the two months of intensive Jewish immersion, Girl Scout horse camp seems reduced to the TV dinners of camp experiences.

Shabbat in the Park was pretty much what I'm told Shabbat at Jewish summer camp was like. A lot of singing, a lot of Moishe, a lot of Adonai, some tunes no one knew, some tunes everyone knew, and a good dash of Debbie Friedman to round it all out. At the end we all shared a lovely potluck dinner made all the more exciting by the darkness in the park. I had to really guess as to what exactly I was eating. Not only did we bring a dish to share (Amy and I), but we also brought our own dishes to eat off of, and forks to eat with. It was rather nice not to have to figure out trash, but unfortunately we only have paper plates at the moment, so it seemed a bit disingenuous to the intention of "bring a dish and bring a dish.:

But unlike the Girl Scouts where the motto was to "leave only foot prints and take only pictures" the lack of bathroom facilities forced me to leave a bit more than foot prints. Of course as I was forced to pop a squat in a dark corner of the urban park, and motion sensor light shown upon me like a great full moon in the night. But I hope I remained unnoticed. I have now made my mark in that park after the dinner in the dark.

Our fair city

2008-08-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

So it's day one in Mass and I'm staying in an apartment with my roommate in Cambridge around the corner from the Harvard Law School. The arrogance in the air sometimes makes it a little hard to breathe, but the red brick buildings covered in ivy sure are lovely. Anyhow, it's my first full day in the city and Amy and I are running errands. We make a stop in Harvard Square for lunch and get some great grub at a little spot called Market In The Square. It's too crowded to eat inside so we walk down the block and sit watching folks while eating out grub from paper wrappers and aluminum containers.

I look across the street and who should I see dining al fresco at Crema Cafe but Tom Magliozzi from Car Talk. Yes, either Click of Clack (I'm not sure which is which).

I didn't have the chance to go up and ask for a picture, but I did get some fuzzy, poparazzi style pictures.

Motivation

2008-06-06T09:59:00.001-07:00

Ah, Jack, you stud.

Mimi vs. the Mosquitos

2008-05-28T06:35:00.000-07:00

Summer has come too early to Austin, and with the sweltering weather come our tiny enemy, the mosquito. That tiny blood sucking wench! Thanks to a lovely evening in the front yard of a friend's house Monday night, the back of my legs are covered in itchy, swollen, painful bites. I react reallybadly to mosquito bites. For one this, I can not stop scratching them, and for as much as I try to to scratch when I'm conscious, I'm certain that I must rip at them like crazy in my sleep. My bites are now swollen to between 1" - 3" in diameter and are really quite hideous.

So I have bought my fortifications. Off spray and wipes, anti itch cream, and immediate after bite pen. Benadryl helps me sleep and reduces swelling. I know I can't win, but maybe, just maybe I can suffer a little less.

My salad day

2008-05-27T13:21:00.000-07:00

Lunch was delightful this afternoon...I just finished it. Austin is already boiling hot and it's only May, and the last thing I want to eat is someting hot and heavy. In an endevour to conserve money and my figure, I am attempting to bring my lunch to work (and two to three snack) with me every day this week. Aided by my handy Lunchopolis I packed up the loveliest little summer lunch of colorful leftovers.

Yesterday, Ken and I had a bit of a date afternoon. He made me dinner, a wonderful salad with the best bits from my fridge, and we went to see Iron Man (surprisingly good, you should go see it). But I got to eat the remains of the salad today, and it was still fabulsous.
Ken's wonderful Spinach Salad:
A bunch of washed fresh baby spinach
Cherub tomatoes, sliced inquarters
Carrots, chopped small
Strawberries, sliced
Almonds, chopped
Pan sauteed chicken bits (cooked with onions, garlic, chopped almonds)
Top with a dressing of pan juice from the chicken, balsamic vinegar, rice wine vinegar, olive oil, basil. Toss, let meranade a bit and enjoy!

In addition to the spinahc salad I had a lovely brown rice and black bean cold salad that I picked up from a collegue a couple of years ago. I had taken it to dinner at my sister's on Sunday, but had the leftovers today with lunch.
Claire's Black Bean and Brown Rice Salad:
Two cups brown rice, cooked and cooled
One can black beans, drained and rinsed
One cup chopped tomatoes
Quarter cup finely chopped red onion
Choppped cilantro (to taste)
Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar, a liberal splash of both
Toss everything together and chill.
When ready to serve mix in one whole diced avacado.
Enjoy!

Race Report: Skeese Women's Tri, 2008

2008-05-22T11:07:00.000-07:00

As I was bemoaning the bricks last week, it's only fitting that I update y'all on how the triathlon actually went last weekend. Well it went swimmingly...and bikingly, and runningly.

It was a beautiful morning once the sun finally dawned. I got up at 4:00am to take a shower, eat, and do my business before hopping down the highway. Ken came in around 4:30am from a night of pedicabbing, took a shower and headed right back on out with me. He's such a sport.

We were the sixth car to park at the race site. I light to be early, I'd rather wait around than rush. As Ken slept in the car, I went to transition, set up my gear, chatted with team mates, got all my stuff going, and I was ready to race by 6:30. But I still had and hour and a half to wait until the race actually started. You know, all that waiting around can make me kind of jittery. So I jumped in the lake to start my warm up, and it was a bit chilly.

My sister and dad came out to cheer me on and be my official paparazzi. There will be more pictures from then soon.

So, lets get down to the race itself. There were about 450 women racing that day, and course was short. A 300m swim, 11 mile bike, 2 mile run. We were going in four waves, and I had the great luck to go in the first wave.

The Swim: It's always nice to go first, that way there are fewer people in the water and slightly fewer nerves...or so I thought. Putting 100 women in a group swim over 300m is really crowded. Besides the fact that the water totally smelled like manure, I couldn't ever seem to get a free space to swim in. Every where I turned was woman swimming around me, over me, kicking off my goggles, pulling on my shorts, whacking me in the head. It was like an underwater brawl. I was just happy to get out. Swim time: 9:02, 3:01 per 100m, ranked 285/444

Bike: So as many know, I got a new bike earlier this spring, and I think it's helping me be a little faster. The bike was fine, a little hilly and full of jerks. Somehow, other triathletes do not know anything about courtesy. Like when your coming up to pass someone, you let the know you're there by shouting "On your left" and giving a little warning. This one woman zoomed up on me passed and nearly took out my front tire. To be honest I wasn't pushing it as hard on the bike as I usually would because I wanted to save something for the run. Bike time: 47:14, 14mph pace, 282/444 ranking

The Run: Ah the run. The run is probably my weakest of the three sports. I slow and I really don't like it that much, so when you tack that on after a hilly ride and brawling swim, it's hard to stay motivated. I had an early goal of completing the entire run running. That is, no walking. The run course was an out and back street course, up a hill and the down it. I would not have run the whole thing if it had not been for this angel who ran beside me the whole time. She's some teacher from an Austin elementry and we caught up on the bike. She came out of transition with me and pushed me the whole run. I couldn't have done it without her. Run times: 25:22, 12:41 per mile, ranked 383/444

Overall it was a great race. My final time was 1:26:13, and my overall rank was 321/444. I think it's clear that if I speed up my run a bit, it will really help my overall times. We had about 60 people from my training team, Trizones, competeing, and about 15 or so from my south team (that's them in the picture). So, it's on to the Danskin race in about three weeks. Hopefully I can get a little faster between now and then.

A word to the asthmatics out there

2008-05-16T08:41:00.000-07:00

I've had asthma pretty much since birth, and for the most part I can control it wil exercise, diet, sleep and stress management. But come cedar fever season and I become limp, wheezing, jelly of a girl, slowly turning turning purple. It was this last season that I discovered the mandate that arisol asthma inhalers must comply with the 21 year ban on CFCs at last.

My beloved $10 generic albuterol inhaler with it's harsh spray and distinct mediciney taste, you know, the one that really tells you it's working, had been removed from the pharamcy and replaced this wimpy $35 name brand thing. I was pissed when I was forced to pay more than three times the expected price and everyone heard about that for a while. And then I started using it and no one informed me that it had a lighter mist and needed to be used differently. As I kept trucking along, I'm pretty sure I was only getting about 70% of what I got before.

For those who care, there is a really interesting article about the big inhaler switch in the New York Times today that explains the situation and the uproar. Luckily I should be alright for the next several months, summer is an oddly good breathing time for me. But in the fall and winter when I get attacks and it feels like I'm running a marathon where someone has pinched my nose shut and only gave me a straw to breath through, it's dihartening to loose old reliable "puffy" and have to turn to the new soft mist.

Brick

2008-05-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

I'm about a week out from my first triathlon of the season, and the forth of my career (and I use that term very loosely). I will be going the Skeese Women's Triathlon next Sunday, May 18th. It's a pretty small race both in distance and in number of participants. With a 300m swim, 11 mile bike, 2 mile run and a bad habit of mixing English and metric measurements, this race is a good warm-up to the season. Getting ready for this race means reminding my muscles how to move and dusting off the mold that has gathered since last September. I've been training with my team since early April and am pretty confident I can handle the race with my goal being to complete it and have a good time.

This morning, however, was not a good time. The bike/run brick workout combined with sleep deprivation, dehydration, improper nutrition, and general crankiness was less than ideal. Sluggish on the bike, I somehow made the 10 miles in south Austin to trot off my bike with all the grace of an elephant on skates and attempt to run down the street for ten minutes down and back (the break down being 40 minute ride, 20 minute run).

There's a reason why this is referred to as a "brick" workout. After the bike, your legs feel like heavy, stiff, and unmovable. At one point I even asked my coach, who was walking beside me about as fast as I was running, "Does it at least look like I'm running?" My calves were tight and cramping, I was hungry, and all I wanted to do was stop. Somehow, every time I do a brick I'm surprised at how it feels. It takes a little pain and discomfort to learn some lessons, and I think I just learned a lot this morning. I think I need to do more bricks, though.

Stingey Jew?

2008-05-09T07:35:00.000-07:00

So Wednesday, I had an interesting encounter with the kind of mindless bigotry that people practice completely unconsciously (I hope). I was signing up a new union member in a food stamps office in Bryan, TX and there was some confusion about her job title. Apparently her director had just changed things around, and now she was doing the same work, but under a different title. "Yeah, it's just a way that they can Jew you down on the salary." When she said that, it was like a sudden thunderstorm at a picnic. Everything was going fine, we were having a nice casual conversation, and then BAM! Stingey Jew attack.

Now for those of you out there who don't know me, I'm Jewish, which is why I'm even talking about this. And some of you might not be familiar with the phrase. It's a referance to Jews as being, stingey, pinney pinching, and cheap to the point of cheating other so they can make a good deal. I'm of course familiar with the phrase, but I had never really encountered it coming out of someone's mouth like this. I'm ashamed that my response was just to get away from this person as soon as I could and not say anything about it to her.

What is more ironic and somewhat unsetteling, is that I just practiced the very behavior she was referring yesterday (see yesterday's post). What I think would be largely considered as shrude and canny in most others, may be the stereotypical stingey Jew in me after all. I am not going to take crap from a multinational company that makes money by seeing how far they can cheat, nickle and dime, and generally pressure thier clients out of money. My choice to negociate my credit card fee was based in the "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more" refusal to be cheated. And really, the creditors still made out like bandits, getting $20 extra from me for a $2 bill.

As a woman, who is also a Latina and a Jew, I need to take a stand for my own best interests because no one else is going to do it for me. I'm not looking to cheat anyone, but I will not allow others to step all over me. This is why I am a union organizer, and endevor to work with people to harness thier own collective power. Because if more of us got together and refused to let others step all over us, and treated each other with the respect that each of us deserves, things could be very different. I give generously and freely to philanthropies(as much as I'm able with my limited funds), volunteer my time as my time allows, and consider myself a fairly good and generous person. This is not to sit here and polish my apple, but just an assesment. I certainly have my faults...perhaps too many to list.

All I want to say to that woman now is: Do you even know what you're saying? Jews are not the stingey misers you may think them to be. In fact, some of biggest philanthropists in this country and globally are Jews. And so what if I like to get a deal, who doesn't? You're stupid not to at least try to negociate, it just makes good business sense.

Make a fuss, it can really pay off

2008-05-08T07:43:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to my parents' house to chat and pick up mail that still gets sent to then, and among the cirgarette adds (poor judegement that will fallow me forever) and soliciations from credit cards was a bill from a credit card I thought I paid off back in January.

What was a left over was an interest fee of a couple of dollars had spun out with late fees to over sixty dollars. I was insensed, annoyed, and not going to pay sixty dollars. I called the credit card company this morning and told the poor south Asian guy in a call center half way around the world that I wasn't going to pay that and he need to escalate my call until I could speak with someone who could reduce the charges. After speaking with the manager for about two minutes, the charges were reduced down to just over twenty dollars. I completely accept this fee as a painful lesson that I need to check up on my accounts even when I think I've already paid them all off.

A 60% reduction in my bill for a total of about 5-8 minutes of griping. It's like I made $40 in 10 minutes...that's $240 and hour...$9,600 a week...$499,200 in a year...whoa! Okay, back to reality.

I'm feeling a little more flush today since I finally sold my old bike yesterday. Viya con dios, old yeller.

Planet Unicorn, Heyyy

2008-05-07T08:47:00.000-07:00

So, the other night Ken and I went to see Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (which was hilarious by they way). We saw it at the Alamo Drafthouse, where cool people what movies in Austin. And the fabulous thing about the Alamo is that they show clips of things before the movie that are in some way related to the film. I don;t think it's telling too much to say that a unicorn makes a cameo in the movie, there fore they played Planet Unicorn, Heyy. So funny! I hope you enjoy.

Switching teams

2008-05-02T11:31:00.001-07:00

Ah, the democratic primaries. That seemingly endless race for the democratic candidate. Back in the early days of this race, when hopes ran high, the future looked bright, and there were three times as many people withtheir hat in the ring, I was all Edwards all the way. Remember him? John Edwards, John Kerry's down home running mate in 2004. Another time when we were filled with hope, 2004 we couldn't imagine the country would actually reelect George Bush...well, we saw what happened
here.

Well, good ole'populist John Edwards dropped out of the race, and I was in a quandary. Who do I support now? Obama is great, but he's so green. Clinton would be amazing, but she's so divisive. To honest, I've felt that Clinton and Obama were largely the same candidate. When it comes to issues, their differences can only be seen through the closest shades of grey. And for those in the labor movement (such as myself) the difference between the two is negligible.

By the time the primary came to Texas, I decided to go Clinton. Mostly, I want to see a woman in the White House. But I also think it's her time. Hillary has put in her years, proven her leadership, and she is the right woman for the job. I can just imagine little girls growing up under a Clinton administration thinking, "Wow, I really can be anything." Of course a woman can be president.Despite years of progress for women, the glass ceiling still exists, and is as rigid as ever. Despite my friends, colleagues, and partner being 100% Obama, I fiercely stood by Hillary and voted and caucused for her.

But as the primaries limp along, nearly three months after Super Tuesday, it appears that Democrats can manage to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory. I'm torn between a real democratic process where every state gets achance to influence who the candidate will be (including Florida and Michigan), and anxiety that if we don't pick a candidate soon, we're going to fracture the party so heavily that we'll guarantee
a third Republican term in a row and a 100 years of war. As I watch news coverage, and read the political blogs, I feel myself starting to be wooed by the ever so charismatic Barak. The propaganda of his campaign is incredibly effective. That red, white, and blue, "O". The blue and red block print poster. The myriad of "________ for Obama" shirts. I want to join this movement and jump on the band wagon. I want to drink the Koolaide and be a rabid Obamanator. Against my will. Feel myself going to the other side. Oh...Obama, I can't resist you.

New look

2008-05-01T08:09:00.001-07:00

I'm changing it up a bit around here. I'm looking for a simpler design. I like it. What do you think?

La Vie en Rose

2008-05-01T07:40:00.000-07:00

Last night, after a very grueling run workout (four miles on a track is as tough a mental challenge as it is physical), I settle in bed to watch La Vie en Rose, the bio
pic of Edith Piaf. Now, I really didn't know more about Edith Piaf than the fact the she's French, iconic, and I really enjoy her music. This is an amazing wonderful film, and there is no wonder why Marion Cotillard won the Oscar for her performance. She's a camilion, switching between the young, vibrant, baudy girl to the frail sickly 50 year old woman who looks about 80. As wonderful as the movie was, at the end all I could think was how sad her life was. Do real artists always have to suffer so much?

New swim suite

2008-04-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

I finally got a new swim suite. I don't think I'm any faster, but It feels a bit better than my old stretched out suite. It's pretty, though. And my first suite that isn't a solid, but has actual printing on it. Oooooh.

Boston Bound!

2008-04-22T14:52:00.000-07:00

I'm going to grad school!

I got the official accetance to the program at Brandeis yesterday, although they told me over the phone about a week and a half ago. Now I'm a confirmed future grad student, and I can't wait. This fall I will be working on an MA and an MPP. Two for the price of one.

In preparation for this big move, I am on a buying moratorium. I am not allowed to buy anything other that essential toiletries and grocery items. I am also not allowed to eat out more than twice a week (this includes breakfast, but does not include when I'm out of town eating on the union's dime). I must be frugle to save the money and cut down on crap in my life.

I am starting the pairing down process this week. It's going to take some time to get everything down to fit in my car. As I'm a total freak for planning, I've begun writting a transition plan for my move. I may even let you in on it if you like. It will be great!

!Lunes Giante!

2008-04-08T08:11:00.000-07:00

I have a new bike!
Last night Ken and I went searching for a tiny road bike for me. We went to Jack and Adam's, Bicycle Sport Shop, REI, and University Cyclery. It was a fluke that we ended up at University Cyclery (UC). We were passing by, and just checking to see if they may be open, we stopped by.

For some reason UC seems to stock a lot of really big bikes and really small bikes. I'd been looking for a women's specific frame with a 43cm seat tube and 650c tires. I'm small, my bike needs to be small. And old yellow Trek was really too long for me in the top tube.

So we're looking around and I see this tiny light blue Giant road bike on clearance for $1700. Now, that may not seem like a clearance price until I tell you about this bike. It's an all carbon fiber frame with Shimano Ultergra components, 30 speed(three rings in front, 10 in the back), with Shimano SPD clippless pedals (on it's own not a big deal, just means I don't need to move my old pedals). It's light as a feather and rides like a dream. And at $1000 off (originally $2600), I couldn't pass it up.

We went on a ride this morning (me and the bike, that is). And it was incredible. It took a little getting used to the back gears (there are so many and they are so close in size), and to learn this shifting habits of the front gears. The great thing is that after the ride my shoulders don't hurt. And the carbon fiber frames lends to a much softer ride than my old aluminum.

We're going to have a photo session tonight, so I'll have pictures up soon. Above is a stock picture of the bike from the Giant website.
Anyone want to go for a ride?

Tri Blogging Consolidation

2008-04-07T09:48:00.001-07:00

Some of you loyal readers may have noticed that I have another blog called Tri it Out. This was the chronicle of my first triathlon. This was last summer (about a year ago), when I did the Danskin for the first time. It was great fun, and I can't wait to do it again this year. But rather than maintain two separate blogs, I will only be keeping this one up. So look forward to updates about biking, swimming, and running on Ring The Bell.

I'm going to look for a new road bike this afternoon at Jack and Adam's. Wish me luck!

Oh, and on the weightloss persuit. I'm down another pound, woohoo! A pound a week ain't too shabby. This is even including a trip this weekend to meet Ken's folks (it went well, by the way). Road food is terrible for you, but I still did okay.

Oh! Hi!

2008-04-04T08:19:00.000-07:00

This morning, as I'm running late for work, I'm walked to my car in the parking lot of my apartment and see this guy come out of his apartment. He kinda looks familiar, but who knows. He walks to his car and in surprise exclaims, "Oh! Hi!", so I do know him.

This kid is a guy I flirted a bit with at the Jewish social events I'm so fond of attending (this was before I started seeing Ken). His name is Ryan, and he works with the elderly. The kind of good Jewish boy a mother would love. Turns out he's been living in the next building in my apartment complex for the past year and somehow our pathes never crossed before. It's a small small world. Ironicly, he'll be moving out next month.

Tri season is on!

2008-04-02T19:24:00.001-07:00

Tonight was my first training meeting of the season with my Triathlon training team. There were a few great folks from the team last year who came back this year, it was great to see those folks, but I definitely miss a couple of folks who didn't make it back this spring.

We did the regular sub-max tests to estimate our max heart rate. Since all of our workouts are structured around heart rates zones with the TriZones Training, knowing your HRMax is pretty important. My HR was all over the place, so I'm just going to go with what we estimated it to be last year.

I'm planning to do another three triathlons this summer. I have four in mind, but I think only the energy to do three. I'm thinking...
CapTexTri in May
Danskin Triathlon in June
Couples Tri in July
Jack's Generic Tri in August

Ideas?

Lunchopolis

2008-04-01T12:10:00.001-07:00

Last week, or maybe it was two weeks ago, Ken and I went to Wheatsville Co-op, and besides him running into a bunch of old friends (including an ex-lover, which is another story for another time) the trip was rather uneventful. Until I met the Laptop Lunch. It's this little bento-box style lunch container that is a really cute all-in-one and environmentally friendly. I stared at this system for about 15 minutes, going back and forth with myself about getting it. I opted to wait.

The Laptop Lunch (LTL) was haunting my dreams. I day dreamed of lovely little organic meals, each dish in it's own compartment, oh the joy of garbage reduction!

Last night Ken and I went back to Wheatsville. I was determined to get the LTL. Back at the shop I remembered why I didn't get it in the first place, the whole system was a whopping $35. This was more than I wanted to pay, and the dishes didn't have lids to them. What if my food spilled everywhere, and the glorious segregation of salad and fruit was ruined into some kind of Califorication-miscegenation of strawberries with my romaine?! Sad and disappointed, dreams dashed, I looked down to see LUNCHOPOLIS!.

This little lunch system came with lids, and more boxes, and a real water bottle, and the ever so fashionable pink! And at $27, it suddenly seemed more reasonable. So today, I packed my lunch in individual pink polycarbonate containers, secured each dish into it's insulated carrying case, and enjoyed fresh, healthy, tasty food on my way out to Bryan, TX. No McDonald's for me. I'm Lunchopolis all the way.

Oh, and what was in the lunch box you ask?
Grilled salmon
Brown rice
Steamed green beans
Pink grapefruit wedges
Sugar Snap Peas
An apple
2 Clif Bars (for snacks)
A bottle of water

Yeah...it was a pretty yum day.

Baby picture of the week

2008-03-31T12:35:00.000-07:00

All I need to add to this blog now are pictures of animals, and I'll be a hit! Seriously I love this kid so much, I'm like one of those crazy aunts who has a million pictures of her neices and nephews all over her office (okay, only two so far...three if you count my wall paper on my computer). I got to baby sit Ben this weekend for the first time, and it was so much fun. He's got some great faces these days. Here's one for your enjoyment...

Week 1 down...starting week 2

2008-03-31T11:54:00.000-07:00

I feel so common saying this, but I'm trying to loose weight...again. It seems like every three or four months I get on some kick to loose weight, keep it off, blah blah blah. I had been doing LAWeightloss in the fall, but after spending a boat load of money, getting weighed three times a week, being reprimanded if I had a beer or a slice of cake I went AWOL. After four months of the program I was paranoid, anxious, resentful, and only 10 pounds lighter. There were external factors that made the program unsuccessful for me. A new relationship, stress at work, and my three
favorite counselors atLAWL leaving pretty much doomed me to only the most modest of success.

In four months I lost 10 pounds, and in the next four I gained them all back. So here I am, back at square one...well, actually I'm at square two now. I signed up for Weight Watchers Online about a month ago, but last week I finally felt motivated enough to actually start doing it. I'm not 100% on keeping up with points or what not, butdespite my partial compliance to the program I managed to loose 1.5 pounds last week. There were three major changes that I made.
1.Eat breakfast at home: I really love fast food breakfasts. But a couple of breakfast tacos at Taco Cabana, or a sausage biscuit from McD's is already half of my caloric alotment for the day. Just eating at home first changes the whole tone for my day. So far it's been cereal, milk, fruit, and a coffee I drink all morning. I switched from skim milk to 2% milk, which seems counterintuitive , but I found the extra fat keeps me fuller longer and is much more satisfying. It tastes so sweet and creamy. I eat Fiber One honey cluster cereal, it's tasty and good for the poops.
2. Exercise 5 days a week: It's kinda like work, but much more satisfying. I did yoga Monday, walked Tuesday, swam Wednesday, walked Thursday, rested Friday and Saturday, and walked on Sunday. I had been running a little, but my knees were bugging me, so I opted to walk. I really need to get new shoes.
3. Don't eat when I'm not hungry, eat when I'm hungry. It sounds so simple and common sense, but it's really quite challenging. More than half the time I eat I'm not hungry at all. It's usually stress, anxiety, boredom, depression, or a childish sense of entitlement (I'm gonna eat that and no one can keep it away from me!). I made a rule this week that I wasn't allowed to eat unless my tummy was actually a little grumbley. This did lead to me waiting a little too long to eat on a couple of occasions, but over all it went well.

So, I'm gonna try to keep up to these rules, and set these habits into play. Triathlon season is nearing, and my training team starts meeting on Wednesday, this should make being motivated to exercise much easier. My curent weightloss goal is 20 pounds, only 18.5 more to go!

Yellow Bike

2008-03-27T09:12:00.001-07:00

Yellow Bike Project Documentary - Dec 2007 from Austin Yellow Bike on Vimeo.

frustration station

2008-03-26T14:07:00.000-07:00

So, when you've scheduled a meeting with someone who is driving 70 miles out of thier way to meet with you, and you get sick, don't you think it's a good idea to call them and let them know you can't meet up, rather than just stand them up?

Yeah, me too.

140 miles of driving for naught.

BIKES!

2008-03-25T13:21:00.000-07:00

Last night Ken and I went to Austin Yellow Bike Project to work on fixing my coworker's hybrid that has been in the rain/garage/backyard for the last three years. It was in pretty rough shape, but with 4 hours of cleaning andadjustment, we got it back into great condition. I'm going to ride it about this evening to make sure it works okay. While rummaging around in the bike frames upstairs, I cam across a wonderful classic Raliegh English touring bike with a step through frame. Above is a picture of a finished bike with this frame. Mine is in some rough shape right now, but Ken and I are going to build it up and it's gonna rock!

Run-ins...reprise

2008-03-25T12:56:00.000-07:00

It seems that every so often, I have a day that is highlighted with at least three run-ins with people I haven't seen in some time. The last one I can remember was nearly a year ago when I was much more a social butterfly than I am these days.

Today I was having lunch at Central Market and waiting in line to pay for my food I hear my name. It's Dr. GM from college with young son in tow. I hadn't seen her in a couple of years and we decided to lunch together. We chatted about new things in our lives and each other's significant others, and it was all very lovely.

As our time was coming to a close, a friend I hadn't seen in nearly a year called to me. D was sitting at the new little table having lunch on her own, so I went over to join her. She is a fashion designer who once lived in town and moved to NY about a year and a a half ago. The last time I saw her was during a brief visit last spring. We met for breakfast before she caught her plain out of Austin. D was down from New York for a few weeks dealing with the aftermath of her grandmother's unexpected death. Although tragidy brought her to town, I was super happy to see her.

As D and I made our exit from Central Market, yet another friend who I hadn't seen in six months passed by to say hi. N and I were involved in some organizations together in college including a peer-to-peer sexual health education program. N is still doing fun stuff with sex ed for teens and the last time I saw her was at a sexual health trivia night in the fall, which was also my second date with Ken. She was happy to know we're still together and invited us to another trivia night coming up soon.

It was such a great feeling to run into so many wonderful women in one day. I can't wait till I have another one of these days!

Nearly Three Months

2008-03-24T15:08:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it? Ben will be three months old this Friday! Here he is taking a bike out of Mommy's finger.

The grad school wait

2008-03-24T14:45:00.000-07:00

People I haven't talked with in the last two months may be surprised to
learn that I have applied to grad school. It all happened pretty
suddenly. I was ticking along, minding my own business, organizing with
my union, chilling in Austin and maybe only very passively considering
grad school. This usually happened when I had an especiallychallenging
day at work. One day I get an email sent to the list serve of an alumni
network about a new graduate program at Brandeis University in Jewish
Communal Leadership and Public Policy. And further more, all students
are fully funded, sometimes with a small stipend.

So, how can
I pass this up. It's like the program was made for me, and came at the
perfect time, too. I apply, last week I went up for a visit and an
interview, and now I wait. They said it will be a couple of weeks
before they let me know, and I'm totally on tenterhooks.

I'll let y'all know when I know something.

"uh, this croissant is kinda aweful"

2008-02-27T06:34:00.000-08:00

So, I'm in Bryan, TX this week for work. My work takes me to all kinds of exotic and exciting Central Texas towns like Waco, La Grange, Bryan, Killeen, Temple...the list goes on. I try to find small independent or local places to eat and hang out. In Bryan/College Station, because of Texas A&M, there is a great local coffee shop with free WiFi called Sweet Eugene's. It's very cute and comfortable with lots of electrical sockets, plenty of tables and couches. This is usually where I do all my computer work when I'm staying in the Bryan area. In fact, that is where I am this very moment.

So I order a cup of coffee and a croissant. The coffee is great, the croissant is not. It's dry and sour and much more like a roll than the delicious delicate pastry it's meant to be. I'm not even a big pastry snob. Pretty much if it's sweet and fatty I love it. But this was disgusting. I was just going to toss it and chuck it up to bad choices and learn the lesson. But I actually stood up for my right to good pastries. So I ended up with tow delightful doughnuts, a wonderful unglazed blueberry cake doughnut and a cinnamon sugar butter milk one. Lesson learned.

And 7 weeks later

2008-02-19T08:02:00.000-08:00

Ben continues to captivate the Garcia/Litts. And who can blame us with a such a cutie.

Welcome to the world!

2008-01-04T08:26:00.000-08:00

My nephew, Benjamin Barry, was born last Friday, he's a week old today. Weighing in at 8lbs 1oz and measuring 20 inches long, this hunk of a kid is the most beautiful baby ever.

Bask in his glory.

This is my mom with the kiddo. He's thier first grandchild, and therefore will forever be the favorite.

Baby, it's hot in here

2007-12-07T06:54:00.000-08:00

So, I did the Bikram yoga last night. And it was fantastic! I can't wait to go back again this afternoon at lunch or after work (I still haven't decided which time I'm going to go).

There's been lots of hubub about Bikram in recent years. In case you don't know, it's 26 postures in a specific order in a 105 degree heated room. It's hot, I'm not gonna lie, but it's fabulous too. I felt my muscles soften, and joints open up, and you sweat out all your toxins. When I was finished I felt really high, content and happy. I slept like a brick and this morning I poped out of bed ready to go, still happy and alert. I have a couple of sore spots, but over all feel really really good.

Abscence makes the readership dwindle

2007-10-03T07:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's been ages since I've updated my blog, but I've got a good excuse. Really I do. Okay, well maybe not that good, but between all the Jewish holidays, work, triathlon and this guy I've been seeing, things like blogging have really been put on the back burner.

So here's the general update:
1. Jewish holidays: really there are way too many in the fall. Rosh hashannah was nice, Yom Kippur was deeply reflective, Sukkot was practically nonexistant for me, and simchat torah starts tonight, and I know I'll not be doing a thing for it.

2. Work: Crazy as ever, although my organizing load is about to shift, so I won't be doing as much out of town stuff, so that's nice.

3. Triathlon: I did three races this summer, my rookie season, and they all went pretty well. I'm working on loosing some excess weight so I can be leaner and perform better next season. I'm also toying with the idea of running in a half marathon this winter. We'll see, training starts on Sunday.

4. New guy: Yeah, I've been seeing someone for about a month. It's nice, we see a lot of each other. I like him, I'm pretty sure he likes me. I'm trying to take it easy and not get all crazy like I usually do, so far so good.

In October, I've got a lot coming up:
Big work meeting
Wedding
Birthday

I'll let y'all know how it goes.

I'm getting a nefew!

2007-08-09T08:13:00.000-07:00

My sister is having a baby and yesterday they found out it's a boy! Here's one of the sonogram pictures. It's really the first one I've ever been able to make out the baby. It's so exciting, I can't wait to be an aunt!

Me, You, and everyone we know

2007-07-20T14:08:00.000-07:00

Writen, directed and staring the beautiful and talented Miranda July (pictured above), Me, You, and Everyone We Know is BRILLIANT!

I just took an extended lunch to watch this at home. I had intended to only watch the first half hour (something I do often), but by the time I realized I had to go back to work I was so engrossed in the film, I couldn't turn it off. It's tender, funny, and very complex. The actors are incredable (especially the six year old playing Robbie). So and add it to you Netflix queue now. RIGTH NOW!

Whoa!

2007-07-17T13:12:00.000-07:00

Check this out...

Creature Compforts

2007-07-08T10:55:00.001-07:00

Okay, I've got to give a mad shout out to my friend Mose, who's got the hotest new blog on the interweb. Not only does Creature Compforts sport wicked awesome urban wild life photos shot by the author (and local public radio celebrity), but there is gentle humor, witty observations, and comment conversations that make daily visits mandatory. So go check it out, yo. You will not be sorry.

Biketastic!

2007-07-06T08:15:00.000-07:00

So the other day I spoted a bike on the curb in the rain. I thought it may be out for trash. Yesterday, it was still there and I called my chum S thinking he might want it. S just built a pretty bad ass bike, and I thought he might like another to tinker with. He went down and grabbed it; the bike was in some bad shape.

Since the frame was too small for him, S suggested that I build it up to ride it. We went to Yellow Bike and began the painstaking task of fixing it.

It took three hours to find out that the wheels are complete crap, but in the mean time I learned how to change spokes and how to true a wheel.

To hell in a hand basket

2007-07-05T08:20:00.000-07:00

To celebrate our nation's birthday, I watched two films which sent me into a bit of a psychological tail spin. Michael Moore's latest sensationalist-what's-wrong-with-the-USA film, Sicko, is a brilliant, deeply disturbing whitness to the distruction on the American health care system, and the perral that those who thought they were safest - the insured - live in daily. I have been fortunate in my life that my illnesses have been covered by my health insurance. Although I have a chronic illness, am a strong risk for diabetes, heart deseae, am over weight, and once smoked, I have never been denied health isurance, and I have never had a procedure denied. Please hear that I am knocking on wood. I've come to realize that it's only a matter of time before I have one of these run-ins, and that it's mostly though luck and chance that I have managed to stay relativily healthy, and not been screwed by my HMO.

My sister, who is due to have her first baby in January, saw Sicko with me and is now much more warey of her future birth. One of the things that makes me so angry in this world, and drives me to action, is the treatment of regular American citizens by the health care industry. When claims examiniers are given bonuses for denying the most claims, and effectivly denying millions' life saving treatments, how can we say that we believe in liberty? Or justice? Or freedom?! In the corporatized health insurance industry workers are paid to kill people.

The second film I saw yesterday that pissed me off and caused my dispair in the American economy was Maxed Out. As if I wasn't already pissed off enough, I decided that a documentary about the credit card industry would be the way to have a nice July 4th evening. I was first approached by a credit card company shortly after I graduated college and started working for the first time. By the time I was 21 I had five credit cards and thousands of dollars in debt. Today, five years later, I have more cards, more debt, but I'm slowly pulling myself out of it. Many of you already know this, either from personal experiences or from other stories you've heard: Credit companies are out to make money; they make money from the intrest on what you borrow. You will get screwed.

If you don't have a credit card right now, keep it that way. If you're drowning in debt, you're in good company, but now is the time to work on getting out of it. Here's a news flash, I don't need half the things I buy. I'm waistful, use consumption as theapy to fill holes left by depression, bordom and disatisfaction in this world. I don't need the latest gagit, or fashion trend, or $100 jeans. And niether do you.

Run-ins

2007-06-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the day for run-ins of the oddest sort. It all started around noon when I went to Bicycle Sport Shop to check out some new cycling shoes. I'm standing there cruising the Sidis, Shimanos and Specialized foot wear when I hear "You used to work as Central Market." Who is it, but a former coworker from my grocery store days who was also looks for bike shoes. I hadn't seen this person in about 7 years.

Then in the evening, I went to a community organizing meeting and sat next to a woman who was the mother of someone I went to high school with.

About an hour later I went to a Jewish happy hour function and ran into someone I had been training with to do the triathlon. I had no idea she was Jewish, and here we were cruising the Jew scene together.

Then I was talking to another woman at said happy hour and it turns out we had a common friend, and she was heading to the next party I was headed to.

At next party (an open mic night at a south Austin club), I run into this guy who's the security guard at a building I'm trying to organize right now. He's a really cool dude and we've had all kinds of awesome conversations. Turns out he can really rock the blues guitar.

So that's 5 crazy run-in/connections all in one day. Whoa...

And the new blog is...

2007-04-27T08:45:00.000-07:00

Tri it out, clever eh?

Tri update

2007-04-21T09:37:00.000-07:00

So, i'm going to start a different blog specifically devoted to my training for the Danskin Triathlon in June. There are many exciting devlopments, so stay tuned. I'll let y'all know where to go to read said blog.

The Window Shopper

2007-03-13T07:53:00.000-07:00

The Window Shopper
Random Gentle Love Dreamer (RGLDf)

Loving, hopeful, open. Likely to carry on an romance from afar. You are The Window Shopper.

You take love as opportunities come, which can lead to a high-anxiety, but high-flying romantic life. You're a genuinely sweet person, not saccharine at all, so it's likely that the relationships you have had and will have will be happy ones. You've had a fair amount of love experience for your age, and there'll be much more to come.

Your exact opposite:
The Stiletto

Deliberate Brutal Sex Master

Part of why we know this is that, of all female types, you are the most prone to sudden, ferocious crushes. Your results indicate that you're especially capable of obsessing over a guy you just met. Obviously, passion like this makes for an intense existence. It can also make for soul-destroying letdowns.

Your ideal match is someone who'll love you back with equal fire, and someone you've grown to love slowly. A self-involved or pessimistic man is especially bad. Though you're drawn to them, avoid artists at all costs.

BEWARE: The Hornivore

CONSIDER: The Gentleman, The Loverboy, The Boy Next Door

Link: The 32-Type Dating Test by OkCupid - Free Online Dating.
My profile name: delectable80

A balanced diet...

2007-02-28T11:50:00.000-08:00

...of salads and donuts. This is my new training regamine. Okay, not really. I'm giving myaself until March 1st to be a total pig-o. I figured giving myself a start date is a good move. I've just really stared my tri training in ernest now. Saturday:run, Sunday: bike, Monday: swim and run, Tuesday: rest, Wednesday:bike, Thursday:swim, Friday: run, Saturday:rest. Good plan, eh? Well so far so good.

Life is busy as is work. I have nothing terribly interesting to share at this moment. If you too are thinking of doing a triathlon for the first time I'd highly recommend The Complete Book of Triathlons. It's a total page turner. For reals.

The pre-training prep month

2007-01-30T14:32:00.000-08:00

So I down loaded this 13 week sprint triathlon training plan. It's supposed to be the final 13 weeks before the race. I counted back each day in my calendar, training day starts Monday, March 5 with a 15 minute swim and a 20 minute run. Yesterday I was thinking, "that's going to be such cake, I can totally run 20 minutes. How hard can swimming 15 minutes be?"

Well, the little trainer guy who wrote up the 13 week plan wrote this little introduction. "To start the final 13 week program leading up to a sprint tri, you will need to be able to consistently sustain the following: 20min swim, 30min bike, 20min run."

Okay, 20 minute run: check
30 minute bike: uh...I'm not sure but I'll try it this weekend
20 minute swim: Really? You really mean 20 minutes? Without stopping? Well, I tested it out this afternoon. I took a brief break at 5 minutes, then again around 11 minutes, then again at 20. My arms hurt and I felt kinda dizzy when I got out of the pool. I think I found my weak link.
Apparently every triathlete (and yes I'm going to start calling myself a triathlete because I believe in the power of positive thinking) has a weak discipline. Apparently swimming is a pretty common one. It think it has something to do with the fact that most of us spend nearly all of our time on dry land. But, I remain committed, I will just work up to getting my 20minute swim going before I start the real training.

I'll let y'all know how the bike part goes. I think I'll be taking you up on the long weekend ride offer, Sam.

I'm gonna do it

2007-01-29T06:20:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about doing it for nearly five years. I've been saying I'll do it almost every January. Well, this January I really mean it. I'm doing the Danskin Women's Triathlon! It's in June and I've got time to train. True, it's no Ironman, but it will be the first combo sport event I've ever done. Maybe I'll do the Ironman next yeah (ha!).

So, anyone out there living in Austin want to train with me? I'll need y'all's support. Anyone want to go running/swimming/biking with me?

Ice Storm 2007 = INSANITY!!!!

2007-01-17T15:58:00.000-08:00

What happens to Mimi when she's shut in her apartment all alone under ice imposed house arrest for two days? It's not pretty. First there's joy followed up by creative putzing (craftiness, collage making, house painting. This is followed by long bouts of day-time TV watching. This can go on for some time. The third stage is rereational eating. After a pint of icecream and a pound of pasta there is excessive pain.

Then there is extreme grumpiness. So grumpy she calls her mother just to pick a fight. Then she's lonely. So lonely....so ver very lonely.

By day three she says "screw it!" heads out into the frozen tundra in search of people and fresh air.

Another New Year

2007-01-02T10:33:00.000-08:00

So it's so long to 2006, hello 2007. For some reason I'm less enthused about the new year than usual. Our calendars are fairly artificial, and one day doesn't really seem terribly different than the one that came before or the one that will follow. So this new year seems to already be a little less shiney than the years before it. I'll turn 27 this year, my 20s are fading away and my 30s are creeping in. I just signed a second year lease on my apartment and I'm in my second year at my job. I keep becoming more and more like a grown-up every day and it's a little creepy.

I should be making of resolutions for the New Year, but I think for once I'm going to break with tradition. There will be no resolutions for 2007. It's not that I'm perfect and there's nothing to change. It's more that resolutions are a waste of time. Choices to change behaviors, health, and habbit have to be made on a daily basis and sometimes recommitted to hourly. So while I could stand to loose some weight, save money, drink less, be more productive at work and so on, writing that all out today, will not actually bring me any closer to acheiving these things.

So my resolutions for today:
Go to the gym and workout for 45 minutes
Eat lunch at home
Make a to-do list at work and complete 75% of the items on the list

As an early victory on the battle of the bulge and the ever shrinking pants, I have lost 9 pounds since Thanksgiving. That's nine pounds in five weeks, and I'm down a pants size. It's all about the baby steps, realistic expectations, and daily recommitment.

Super Abscent

2006-12-26T07:44:00.000-08:00

Sorry y'all, I've been inattentive to my blogging responsibilities, but honestly things have not been all that interesting of late. I'm currently in my office for a half day, doing jack (well, not totally...I made a fancy intive to the New Year's party being thrown this weekend).

Other than this I've just been running like a mad fool, contemplating doing a triathelon this summer, going to San Antonio for a party, and hanging with the fam and friends. I won the Trivial Persuit game the other night at family game night, even beeting my father. It was a real feat.

I'm gonna jet from work around noon, go for a run, and then shopping. I really need new running shoes, my arch in my left foot is kinda hurty. Other than this, not too much is going on.

Yuck

2006-12-04T09:50:00.000-08:00

This has not been a very good start to a Monday. Starts off with getting up alte, sluggish hot water, forgetting my lunch. Then union members yelling at me, and co-workers throwing up in the bathroom right across from my door.

Hopefully all the bad shit goes down today, and the rest of the week is golden.

I'm generally annoyed with the world at the moment.

A blessing in disguise?

2006-11-29T12:54:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, after the big Thanksgiving Feast, I began to develop a canker sore on the right side of my lower lip, inside by the gums. I literally can not remember the last time I had a canker sore. I think it was somewhere in middle school. I used to get them quite frequently, but in the lest ten years, I've been canker free.

Now this small annoying tingle has exploded into a massive ulcer that hurts. Really. It hurts. Bad.

Now I've been kinda bitching about this sore for a few days, but I'm trying to find the silver lining to this inflamed cloud.

This week I started taking my plan of loosing ten pounds be January 6th seriously. I'm four days strong on the South Beach diet, I'm well into week two of excercise and all appears to be going well. Whether or not I loose an ounce, I'm actually feeeling really really good. And that's prize enough.

Well, I was thinking that maybe this canker sore is like the bronchitus I got when I was trying to quit smoking last April. The hacking and mucosal suffication made smoking the last thing I wanted to do. I recovered from illness, but continued to not smoke. I'll admit I've slipped a time or two, particularly when there's alcohol and hipsters involved, but all in all I remain 95% smoke free.

Thanks to the canker sore, eating is no longer the passive activity it once was. I can't munch mindlessly on the mountains of cookies, snacks, and breakfast tacos rampant in my office. I have to make sure I eat realatively soft foods that's aren't too salty and I must take really small bites. I mean tiny little gum-it-up-like-you're-eighty dime sized bites. And that really slows me down. If you've ever seem me eat, you know I can down a full meal in about five minutes.

So I've decided to think of Mr. Cankey as a tiny abnoxious helper on my path to healthier eating habbits, much like a nutritionist or Richard Simmons. He just better not over stay his welcome.

Fave quote du jour

2006-11-28T13:26:00.000-08:00

"I'm always confused when slutty girls who basically have no other distinguishing characteristics about them besides being slutty decide to be celibate." ~ Lisa Timmons from A Socialite's Life

Bell's going on break

2006-11-26T15:08:00.000-08:00

I haven't been blogging as conisistantly as I would like to. I know some of y'all are disapointed by this, you know cause my life is so thrilling and all, but I've been kinda busy and generally uninspired. I may be taking a brief hiatus from blogging for a bit.

I'm gonna be kinda crzy busy with work for the next six months thanks to the Texas legislative session. I'm also planning some events for Gloria's wedding, being a bit of a mover and shaker, and attempting to drop ten pounds by January 6. Actually I guess it's nine now. I lost a pound last week. Woot! I'm also attempting to drop another twenty by April 20th, so cooking healthy food and exercising has taken up a bit more of my time.

I'm not saying I'll never blog in the coming months, I'm sure I will. I'm just saying that I know it's not gonna happen too often, and when I do, it will probably be a lame repost. So if you're my friend and want to know what's up in my life, give me a holler. If you're just wasting time at work, there are many fine suggestions in my links column. I'd reccomend ZeFrank or PITNB and for some weekly fun, Post Secret is always fabulous.

So I hope y'all had a fabulous Thanksgivings and that the rest of 2006 treats you kindly. Remember, the holidays are not about buying stuff, they're about spending time with those you care about, and remembering to be nice to each other.

Peace out!

Radical NY!

2006-11-20T07:03:00.000-08:00

An update on the art opening last week:
Radical NY! is a surprisingly large, overwhelming show for such a modest space as the Austin Museum of Art. While I've been pleased with the overall breath of AMOA's exhibits, I've generally been disappointed by how small many of them have been. The shows generally give me a taste of the artist, or a UDSA recommended portion, but I'm not one for moderation. I don't want a taste, I want a feast!

Well, Friday night a feast is exactly what I got. This new show features a massive collection of NY art from 1967-1984. I was only 4 in 1984, but I feel like so many of the ideas in this collection have been foundational to my existence, my general conception of American culture.

I've often taken Keith Haring's style for granted because it has been so copied. His images have become ubiquitous to the HIV/AIDS fight. If I see that graffiti Madonna with Child on the cover of that annual Christmas album this year, I think I'll puke. I have to remind myself that his graffiti/comic style was really something new in his day. Up close, the small drawing on display is a powerful statement with minimal depiction. There is no color, only bold outlines, but the rage and fear of the Cold War stand off is palpable.

Some of the pieces are completely ridiculous, others beautiful and sublime, while many others are indescribable. I laughed more than once, sometimes out of discomfort, other times out of sheer joy of absurdity. And I was uncomfortable often, but overall I was impressed.

I'll be going back a couple of times before this exhibit closes. There's no way to get it in one go. Anyone want to come with me?

2006-11-17T07:44:00.000-08:00

Okay, well they arrived yesterday and they were greeted with the joy in a Bacchnal of Texas hipsters. I have a new friend who is possibly the most popular and social person in Austin. He's extremely cool, gracious and completely tapped in to artistic culture.

Last night he hosted a Beaujolais Nouveau party in his ever so hip central Austin condo. There were over a hundred people cycling through this tiny space rolling in their reverie of sweet red wine and the blush of youth. The fall has finally arrived in Texas and we celebrated with wine, cheese, and Hello Dolly-s (a new cookie I've just discovered).

This wine has a delightful little history that is well worth the read.

There have been up to many very exciting things since I last posted.

I got to hang out with my Okey aunt and uncle who I haven't seen in four years.
I went to San Antonio for the first time in nearly 10 years and discovered that it's a fun little spot for a weekend trip.
I finally took the GRE on Saturday. It went well enough, but possibly not well enough to get into the program I want to. The prep CD just arrived yesterday...go figure.
I went to an event with a group called StrataTX on Wednesday. You can see what they're all about yourself, but it was multo fun times.

Then there was the wine party, as mentioned above.

I finally become a member of the Austin Museum of Art (something I've been intending to do since I moved back to Austin). They are having a members preview tonight for their next show which opens to the public on Saturday. The exhibit is called Radical NY! . It's an exhibit of NY modern artists from 1967-1984. People like Keith Harring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Cindy Sherman. It's gonna be super rad!

I've returned to my social butterfly ways with full vigor after a brief hiatus. The air is cool, the city is beautiful, and the world is my oyster -- I'm gonna let is slide down my throat.

Jews taking over Congress

2006-11-09T08:22:00.000-08:00

Okay, not really. But this guy I was in Israel with last year sent this email with these factoids about Jews in Congress.

Democrats may have conquered both houses of Congress, and so have
Jewish politicians. Number of Jewish senators rises from 11 to 13 and
number of Jewish representatives jumps to 30 thanks to six new faces
creating all-time high of Jewish politicians in Congress. Another
precedent: First Muslim elected to House

The picture isn't complete yet, but it seems that the Democrats
executed a double takeover in the mid-term elections and have taken
control not only in the House of Representatives, but also in the
Senate. It also turns out that the number of Jews in the two houses of
Congress has hit an all-time high.

An accurate count shows that the number of Jewish senators has risen
from 11 to 13, with the addition of two former representatives
Benjamin Cardin (Maryland-D) and Bernard Sanders (Vermont-I) who were
successfully elected to the Senate.

Sander's and Cardin's departure from the House didn't lower the number
of Jews there on the contrary. The number of Jewish representatives
elected to the House of Representatives also grew.

They now number 30 thanks to six new faces: Gabrielle Giffords
(Arizona), Ronald Klein (Florida), John Yarmuth (Kentucky), Paul Hodes
(New Hampshire), Stephen Cohen (Tennessee), and Steve Kagen
(Wisconsin). They are all Democrats.

I think it's kinda funny that this is only one or three articles I've been sent about how Jews are "conquering" congress. Thirty Jews is significant, but not a takeover. And I wonder what the ultra right wing Christian conservatives will have to say about this. Just one more victory for the Elders of Zion and the great Jewish conspiracy. While I'm proud to have some Jews making it good in Congress I'd be much happier to see more Blacks and Hispanics up on the Hill. Here's a revoltionary thought, let's have a Congress that is religiously and ethnicly reprisentative of the US population.

Favorite Election Day Missed Connection

2006-11-07T14:51:00.000-08:00

This is great...

Over a week ago I started getting excited about seeing the cuties that might be voting in my polling place this morning. I fantasized about watching you turn the dial in your private booth, futilely voting for Chris Bell since you are a resident of 78704 and couldn't possibly be stupid enough to vote for Kinky. I could imagine you getting patriotically aroused by sending Lloyd Doggett back to Washington for another term.

Alas, you failed to show up today. The voters I saw were six other guys just like me and one lesbian.

Polling place cutie, I'm not as much of a tool as the guy that was asking who made the voting machines and who was complaining about how the two minute line might discourage people from voting. I care about democracy more than he does. I missed you today. I wasn't really planning on talking to you, so you don't really have to send me an e-mail, although a picture of you in your worn jeans and thrift store t-shirt would be almost a mediocre substitute.

Yep, the people in my neighborhood are just hillarious.

I pitty the fool...

2006-10-31T13:54:00.000-08:00

This is my friend at Halloween. I didn't get to see it in person, but everytime I do see this picture it cracks me up.

Good job Samuel

unfortunately, there are no pictures from my Halloween festivities, but you must know Abby and I looked hot.

2006-10-31T11:24:00.000-08:00

The best part about Halloween are all the tiny candy bars.

I'm just back in Austin now from my birthday trip to DC. It was excellent fun times. There is so much to tell, and so little time to write it. I think the highlight was a free meal at Mimi's American Bistro followed by some excellent salsa dancing in Adams Morgan.

The weather was beautiful, the people were a little stuffy, and I got to see some of my favorite people ever. An excellent weekend all round.

Halloween Update

2006-10-26T13:43:00.000-07:00

The vata was put to rest in favor or a more glam option. Say hello to my little friend:

Ana Matronic

Female singer in the electronic-pop sensation The Scissor Sisters
This will probably turn out as some dime store version, and I'm sure no one in Northern Virgina will get it, but I'm going to look fabulous!

Save the cheerleader, save the world

2006-10-23T07:16:00.000-07:00

I got sucked into a new show. Last night was a three episode marathon of NBC's new show Heroes. I was planning on getting all kinds of work done. Call activists, study for the GRE, plan out my November calendar. But in the end, I sat like a slug for nearly three hours completely drawn into this show. It's been getting pretty good reviews, but I was resisting adding a new show to my line-up. I'm already hooked on the Thursday night ABC line-up with Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy. I'm pretty into Lost, I love House, and my DC house mates will know, I'm a total nerd for Nova. I'm trying to cut back on my TV watching because I really can loose four hours in an evening if I turn on the TV. I'm pretty sure it's rotting my brain, and there are many more things I need to be doing.

But tonight is the regular night when Heroes comes on (9pm/8pm central, NBC). And I'll be watching it. But here's my plan. I have to study for the GRE for two hours before I get to watch the show. That seems like a pretty good comprimise.

pop that

2006-10-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

Whoa, check this out: calming fun
I've just spent about five minutes virtuatlly poping bubble wrap. oh yeah..

Oh, and by the way, boys a schtupid. That's all I got to say. Now continue poping.

AMODA

2006-10-16T09:26:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went to the Austin Museum of Digita Art's 39th digital showcase. I've been meaning to go to one of these things since I heard about it back with the 15th showcase. I'm a slow sometimes.

This was perhaps the hipsteriest thing I've been to in a long time. And of course I had a GREAT time. I think this had a lot to do with the excess of gin and the absence of food I was experiencing. I also got to spend some time with a friend of a friend and work to solidify that relationship. All in all a grand ole time was had by all. That is until the next morning when I was horridly ill with possibly the worst hangover I've had in two years.

In other news, Central Market brand Veggie Chips are really good. I mean really.

I've found it!

2006-10-12T20:24:00.000-07:00

The costume idea came to me in a flash. I finally went back to the gym for the first time in nearly two months this afternoon. As I was leaving I see the billboard sign for the local uniform Dickies shop right next door. "uniforms! Work Clothes! Jumpsuits!"

Jumpsuits?

jumpsuits! eureka! That's it. I rush over there in my sweaty post-workout grossness and demand to see their finest selection of polyester/cotton jumpsuits.

The plan is to be an incarcerated gangster vata. With a lacey black bra (I already had), a navy blue banana, and this bright orange jumpsuit the costume is mine! Yo, boy donchu mess wit me. I'll cut ya.

Costume Ideas

2006-10-12T08:32:00.000-07:00

So I rencently recieved the cutest card from my HLP in DC. No one really sends holloween cards, but I was glad to get this one. It featured a very cute pug (dog) in several shots with a cat hissing. The inside read something like "Trick or Treat with lots of pugs and hisses" more of less. All very cute. The message from Abby was that I've got to get a good costume together since I'll be with her and Eleanore over Holoween, and that I need to update my blog more.

So here's my plan. Will you please help me with my costume? It needs to be something that's either highly transportable (I'll be taking it from Ausitn to DC) or can be made on the fly in DC with supplies from the local CVS or Giant grocery. I'm pretty open after that. I will let y'all know that I generally like an outfit that can incorperate false eye lashes and excessive eye makeup.

Abby's recommendation is Liza Minnelli as Sally Bowls from Caberet. It's Ambitious, and I'm not sure I can really pull it off. Any suggestions?

Liza Minnelli, Caberet

The Weekend Update

2006-10-09T07:11:00.000-07:00

It's Monday again, and I'm back at the office on my way out to Waco, that fabulous hamlet north of Austin, south of Dallas and in the middle of hell. So here's the skinny on my weekend.

Friday: Stood up by collegues for Happy Hour (and I was quite relieved)
Went to Shapot-luck and actually braught a friend along (Sam). I think he was unimpressed. We got drinks with his friends and then food at IHOP. In between drink and food I was properly introduced to the real world of the B-52s, and now I'm convinced I must shake my honey buns "like a frieght train with a loose caboose"

Saturday: Girly day with the sister. This included bra shopping, shoe shopping, lunch and pedicures. It was a great time. Then home for a nap. Saw the Yeah Yeah Yeahs at Stubb's with some new friends. Well, we came in late, caught three songs and the encore, it was kind of disapointing, but fun none the less.

Sunday: A little office work and A LOT of laundry.

Over all a good weekend. I finally bought a GRE prep book. The test is in a little less than a month, I really need to review for it.

Oy, my head

2006-10-03T07:41:00.000-07:00

So this morning I'm actually suffering a bit from a Yom Kippur hang over. All that praying and fasting has left me with a killer headache. I think it's a combination of dehydration and cafine deprivation. I'm a major cafine adict.

This weekend was really fabulous, however. We had highs, we had lows, there was laughter and tears and the horrifyingly hillarious sight of my dorky boss dancing the YMCA. Thank you, Village People, for making the memories.

The General Assembly 2006, by all accounts, was the best ever (or at least in the last six years). I'm so motivated, and I just talked with one of my union members who went to the GA. He came back to his office, signed up 3 new members and 5 people in COPE (out political action committee). Woo-hoo!

Can I tell you a secret?

2006-09-29T09:52:00.000-07:00

I like to log into MySpace and look at my own profile so I can listen to the song I posted there this week. Today we're featuring Tears for Fears's Head Over Heals.

Don't take my heart, don't break my heart. Don't don't don't throw it away.

Lese le bon champs roule!

2006-09-28T07:18:00.000-07:00

I've been kinda busy in the last several days thanks to the High Holy Days, preparation for my union's bianual convention (which is this weekend) and two dates earlier this week (which I must admit, one date is rare, two dates are like some kind of solar eclipse). And since I'll be swamped with the convention and Yom Kippur this weekend, everyone I know has decided to have some kind of party. I've been invited to a birthday party, a house warming party, a going away party and a salsa festival for Friday and Saturday. Sadly, I know I'll miss this great weekend of fun and then there will be no more for the rest of my free weekends. Okay, I know that's not true, but sometimes I wish I were super human.

I'm actually really excited about the convention (we call it our General Assembly). We're kicking it off with a super rad rally tomorrow, followed up with lots of political speaches and then some real work to establish our legislative agenda. Saturday night we're having a banquet that is followed up with the most eclectic dance party you're ever seen. Part of my job as staff is to dance. Really. This was layed out to us several months ago at our big staff meeting. "You will dance." This is going to be hillarious! Apparently you don't grow out of the seventh grade desire to cluster with freinds and nod to the music at dance parties. Let the good times roll!

Happy Birthday, George!

2006-09-26T08:09:00.000-07:00

Mr. Gershwin turns 108 years young today. Well, he would were he still alive. That's old.

Personally, I'm a big fan. From his Porgy and Bess era, to popular songs like "Someone to Watch Over Me" and "Embracable You" to the synphonic peices like his Lulaby for strings (my favorite quartet to play).

Happy birthday, George.

Alex Meyers was robbed!

2006-09-25T07:17:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to the first ever VJ COMPETITION: SOUNDS SEEN at the Alamo Drafthouse. I had called a couple of people to come with, but when no one returns calls, it's hard to organize awesome nights out.

So I was flighing solo for this experiemental evening of live mixing video footage with live mixed DJed tunes. It was totally awesome. It started somewhat disapointingly. DJ Manny provided the tunes, but there were too many psychodelic computer generated images mixed in with old footage of Indian dances, belly dancers and Carmen Miranda. But the second round of people really stepped it up with actual film images, stills and other graphics.

The evening was a competition for the best VJ of the night. Alex Meyers, who mixed The Electric Six's Danger! High Voltage with images of Donnie Darko with Japanese soft core porn and scenes from The Dreamers and followed it up with Brazillian pop music. But some yahoo who's name I can't even remember, who turned out all his friends robbed Mr. Meyers of his crown.

2006-09-24T14:31:00.000-07:00

The Little Girl Giant

Amazing

Early birthday reflections

2006-09-24T12:22:00.000-07:00

So my birthday in in about a month (10/27). I'll be turning 26. I'm getting older, and it's kinda crazy. Well, I guess I've always been getting older. Last night I was reflecting on what 25 has braught me. It's been a fine year, not quite as thrilling as 24 was, but approaching a much more adult existance, which is a little frightening. I'm not sure that I'm ready to give in to the whole grown-up business. I appriciate the indipendance, for sure, but along with that comes all the responsibility, which kinda stinks.

I'm planning on going to DC for my birthday. I still need to buy the ticket, but it's in the works. The only thing I really want is tint on my car windows, how booring it that? Well that and a fine young man to keep me warm at night.

I'll probably just end up with an electric blanket instead.

Your Birthdate: October 27

You are a spiritual soul - a person who tries to find meaning in everything.
You spend a good amount of time meditating, trying to figure out life.
Helping others is also important to you. You enjoy social activities with that goal.
You are very generous and giving. Yet you expect very little in return.

Your strength: Getting along with anyone and everyone

Your weakness: Needing a good amount of downtime to recharge

Your power color: Cobalt blue

Your power symbol: Dove

Your power month: September

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

A call to my fellow blogging friends

2006-09-22T07:53:00.000-07:00

I know I'm not always very consistant in updating my blog, and it really goes in waves, much like my exercising. But I'm asking all my blogging friends (you know who you are) to please update. I need something to read while a procrastinate durring office days.

And now I'm going to call you out, indivitually:

Everyday Baby: What happened since you couldn't find good work out closthes for fat atheletes? Are you knitting anything fun? Are you in some drama with your Mom/Sister/Fiance/Dad/friend? (Oh wait, I'm the one who writes that stuff)

Dear Managment @ Bicycle Built for Love: Whatever happened with that little tandem? Have you found love yet? I know you were in Central America for a while, but please it's time to get back in the saddle.

Dear HornInga, you're actually keeping up with it pretty well. Keep up the good work, doll.

Dan, I know I'm a relativily new reader, and I love your escapades. The blog is in it's early life, but I know you can keep it going (this post is actually inspired by one of your early posts).

The rest of the blogs I read I don't know the people who write them, but just incase Master Dater @ 100 First Dates is reading, I must know how the dating's going. I'm looking for inspiration.

PS: please take this in the spirit of love and gossipy curriosity this was written. I just hope that y'all are all too busy have fun in your real lives not to be updating these things.

A new Epoch

2006-09-21T20:38:00.000-07:00

There's a newish coffee house in Austin. It's called Epoch. I don't know how long ago it opened, but I feel like I've been needing to come here this week. I've heard about it from three people and read about it in several Chronicle adds and missed connections postings. I thought, "ah ha! Here's where I'll get my missed connection, finally!" I think the odds on that really happening are really quite low, but I can still dream.

Anyhow, this new coffee shop is called Epoch and is in Allendale, a neighborhood not at all close to me. I took the trek out here for two reasons. 1) My downstairs neighbor was blasting his music and annoying me and it was too early to bitch about it, so I had to leave. 2)My local coffee shop started closing early and I needed some internet.

This place is quite nice. Large yet warm and cozy. Nice seeting, ample plugs for lap-tops, ample outside areas for smokers, good drinks (so far) and it's open 24/7 wich is totally awesome. Tonight it does seem to be overly populated by slightly awkward/nerdy boys. Ther internet connection is kinda dicey too, since there are 10 people struggling with one little piece of bandwith. Over all, I approve.

You can check out Epoch when you're in Austin at 221 W North Loop, open 24/7.