Flirt While U Shop

Spring has sprung people! I am feeling warm all over, and I am ready to do something about it. Hee hee. Forgive me, I don't hold back much.

Seriously, I feel as though my vibe is stronger than ever. I am a magnet. The only thing missing is some follow through. Such is the story of my dating history. That is about to change. I'll make sure of it.

Do you ever notice how the warm weather can make people act kinda funny? Take today, for instance. I was driving home from my regular meeting and hit a stop light. A fire truck had just been there to check on someone, and they were driving in front of me. They were gorgeous, as is the requirement for being a firefighter, I guess. At least from my subjective opinion, they are all attractive in some way. Anyway, I waved to them as they turned right. For some strange reason, I thought I saw a green light. I drove through the intersection, noticing all the cross traffic coming toward me. I honked, and so did they. It took me a second to realize I was running a red light. Whoa.

Later, at Butterfly Beach, I was driving toward a good parking spot. It was late in the day, around 4:30. I did this on purpose so as to avoid heavy traffic everywhere. I saw someone packing up to leave on the other side. I made a U-turn near the end of the drive, but not quite. Suddenly, I saw a cop car facing me, stopped. I rolled down my window. I realized I had just driven across a double yellow line.

I apologized profusely, telling him I completely forgot. I was totally being honest. I do it frequently without thinking about it. I was driving about 2 miles an hour, so I did not expect to get the reaction he shot out at me. This cop was really pissed off. He barked at me, "It's not a question of forgetting. Do you realize if I gave you a citation right now, it would be over $300? And for what?" He even hurumphed. I said I was really sorry again, about to tell him I would never do it again. He let me go. I have never experienced such an aggressive response to such a minor infraction. I was not in a hurry, and would have gone all the way around, had I remembered what the hell I was doing. But it was like 95 degrees and humid. He was obviously not thrilled with his patrol route either.

I swear the heat definitely went to my head today. I have been really inattentive in the worst way. This whole weekend has been kinda nutty anyway. Lust is in the air, and I am not alone in feeling it. I find it especially interesting to go grocery shopping lately. What fun. Odds are definitely in my favor, as far as getting a date anytime in this century. In fact, I might even be busy as soon as the next few weeks. Who knows? It's been awhile, so I am unaccustomed to being treated to a meal, walk down State Street, a hike, or maybe even a sunset beach stroll. There are some ideas for any of you who would like to take me out. I told you, I am ready.

The Sound of Silence

Last Wednesday, I participated in the Day Of Silence, which honors those being silenced by harrassment and violence every day in the GLBT community. Lawrence King, a 15 year old Oxnard boy, was one of these people. He was shot by a classmate for being homosexual and gender expression. If you would like to know more about this, please visit this website: http://dayofsilence.org/

I am rarely silent. I have plenty to share, and talk all the time. I always have something to say. Being completely silent (save a few accidental peeps) for about 5 hours was a spiritual experience for me. I plan on being silent once a week now, for a full day or at least a partial day. I found myself able to pick up on the chatter in the classroom, as well as the lectures. I was really listening. Often, when we have a burning desire to share something, our ears turn off. I found relief in not responding. There were times I would write in a notebook, out of necessity (group work) or to clear confusion about what I was communicating. Other times, I just wrote because I felt like talking. I feel like that was the most difficult part of the experience, because I had to make such an effort.

There are times when saying nothing is better than any words spoken aloud or even written down. I did notice that when I wrote an in class essay on "Love", I could express myself well, as though my thoughts were clearer when freed from the clutter of words spoken.

As I left campus for the day, I entered the freeway to begin my commute back home to Santa Barbara. I attempted to merge, as I noticed a woman driving too fast to let me in swiftly approaching. I had to veer to the right, almost off the road, to avoid her crashing into me. So, the first words out of my mouth were, "Oh my God, what the f*ck are you doing?!"

Once I recovered from the panicky feeling of the potential disaster, I had to laugh. However, I was disappointed that negativity poured out of my voice, after 5 hours of peaceful nonresistant silent time, so I remained silent for another 30 minutes of the drive. This included being mute to Jack Johnson and Ben Harper singing "With My Own Two Hands", but could not hold out for the entire song. It is just too beautiful not to sing along to.

What I thought would have been a challenge became a wonderful learning experience and quite calming. Who would have thought this chatterbox would actually welcome keeping quiet. But I did, and I will again. You may see more blogs from me on those days. I still have lots to share.

*Weekly Challenge*

I encourage any of you to be silent for at least one hour. Find a time when you know you will be uninterupted, and have no prior commitments involving kids or work, etc. Be around people talking. Share how it feels. If you have had a silent retreat before, please share your experiences. Thanks!


Enjoy the weekend all.

Reality Bites...Or Does It Simply Blow Kisses?

First things first. I am feeling so in the moment, completely present right now. Such was the case earlier at Trader Joe's. This very angry man I've seen yelling around my neighborhood walked across the driveway, as I was chatting with Mark the petition guy. As a driver waited to leave the lot, the man exclaimed, "Get your f*ckin car off the sidewalk, you bitch!" and he kicked the bumper. He felt offended by this person being in his way.

I really feel for this man. He is completely miserable. He carries multiple bags and appears homeless. His energy is as heavy as the duffle bag he carries. His anger can literally be heard all throughout the town. This is probably not the first time he has caused a scene.

I am a very friendly person. I tend to say hello to everyone I see. Seriously, I leave no one out. I also am aware that people who behave as this man does usually do not get friendly greetings. I held back today, just turning to send him some positive energy. I felt such discomfort left in his wake, and realized that saying "Hi" would not help. Brian, my favorite cashier (BTW he is such a cutie), came out to witness the event. He is from Iowa. I wonder if this is foreign to him, seeing such an upheaval. Anyway, the man is very upset because he is unable to live in the present moment. What he is experiencing is an inability to accept life as it is. This is probably one of the more extreme instances I've witnessed. I believe it is a moment I needed to pay attention to.

This man is not alone. There are so many people on our planet expressing their pain this way. They could all use some good energy. Imagine a world where we all cared for one another, regardless of circumstance. Imagine letting go of all of that anger. Wow. What a relief.

This man illustrated for me what it is like when I am in a state of nonacceptance, wanting to control the uncontrollable. Another issue is one of action. In his case, his choices included waiting, moving around, or walking slowly until s/he drove away. When I accept what IS, all of this is really simple. I don't even have to make an effort to take action or surrender.

Now, if I apply this to a relationship with someone I have had conflict with, it feels more complicated somehow. But is it? Notice I said that I have had conflict with him. I am not currently experiencing any conflict with this person. He is not even in my present space. Oh how I want to make the past and future into the present! I totally relate to the angry man on the street today.

I have been thinking way too hard about past behavior of a particular someone. I judge our current situation with our past. To put this in more understandable language to those of you who have no idea what I am getting at...I was seeing this guy for a couple of years, after 3 months of dating and a break up. Every time we saw each other, we would get intimate. He does not want to date me. I don't want to just sleep with him. We stood at a crossroads. We always do this. We are repeat offenders, continuing the same insanity until we learn something.

Let me say right now that I have flip flopped this around in my head for a few years. I used to engage in behavior with him that did not serve either of us. I no longer do this. I will put space between us. I get angry at him, in his absence (part of the process). He appears in my space, either by supposedly "random" chance (there are no accidents), or on purpose by calling. I get more angry at him for being in my space. Eventually, I come to my own crossroads. I could go yell at him to stop bothering me, tell him he hurt me, blah blah blah. Or...I could forgive him. Whenever I've forgiven before, I get the urge to call him. Inevitably, I feel like kissing him (old behavior). All of this scares me. Fortunately, it's all in my head.

Well, today I realized that I can forgive him and still have boundaries. Every time I let go of expectation of any kind, he and I get along and there is no pain. I am not blind nor stupid. Neither is he. We both know that the way we have been approaching this has not worked. We have both pushed against that, and tried anyway, to no avail. It's time to stop screwing around and show some true love to one another. I have no control over what he does, but I am sick and tired of being angry. I am grateful for a lesson learned. What a blessing. I am ready to love him for who he is, as is. Without fear of attachment issues, without obsession. Just pure love. Unconditionally, just like I love my cats. :)

All we need is love y'all. That is all.

Stream of Consciousness...

Don't know what to write about yet, so I am pulling the free association out of my head and will see what comes out. I have had a few zillion thoughts today, so I am sure it won't be difficult to find something interesting to say.

I just watched Juno last night. It is going to be or already is a cult "classic". I guess it is not classic yet, but it has some lines in it like Napoleon Dynamite that will linger and be repeated profusely, esp in the teen world. They say things like "wizard" (def: cool) and "I need to procure a hasty abortion". Juno is so freakin lovable, I want to adopt her myself. For those of you who haven't seen copious ads for this film, it's about a pregnant teen with precocious and brilliant, quirky and cute all over her face. Jason Reitman produced it, I believe? Can't remember the guy's name, but he rocks. Juno is one of the better movies I've watched in some time. A must see for people of all ages.

Today before I went to my work study at Body Therapy Institute, I took some time to relax in my lawn and write a gratitude list. I observed a standoff amongst the DLV Kitty Posse (that's De La Vina, what I have named our hood, since we live on that street) and a cat who lives behind us named Sadie. I may have mentioned before that we have a total of 9 cats in our little community. My neighbor Starr and I each have cats who are related to one another. They pretty much get along well, and claim the area as their own.

Anyway, Sadie comes to visit, as do some other neighboring cats. Sadie likes to hang out, whether our local crew likes it or not. She just settled down behind my worn out window screen in the dirt, with a definite plan to stay a while. Well, first I heard Delilah begin to grumble. Then her brother Moses came over. I noticed Lucho creeping over from the other side. Suddenly, Sophie showed up too. They were surrounding Sadie, but she did not budge. Lucho's sister Layla made an appearance a few minutes later. I swear I need a soundtrack for this. Finally, they all sort of closed in on her and she yowled and moved about half a foot. She eventually left for the day without any of them having to scuffle with her. Brave little bobtail, I'll tell ya, what with the 5:1 ratio. She was seriously outnumbered.

My littlest kittens are Moses and Delilah, at 11 months old. They keep catching mosquito hawks. Delilah will bring them in to show off her prize. She has orange stripes with a white face, and has black lips. It's too cute to see her head buried in this helpless insect, then slowly peek up to seek acknowledgment from me.

Moses has some strange habits. He enjoys any paper product, especially tissue and toilet paper. He has an inclination to unravel the TP roll every so often. I have had to take it off the handle when he gets out of hand with it. I also hide my tissue boxes. There have been times when I left it out, like when I've watched a movie that makes me cry. I'll get up in the morning to discover tissues all over the living room. He would be adorable if he wasn't destroying stuff. He massacres any paper. He could be my shredder. Ha ha. His other habit is totally gross. He tips over the trash can in my bathroom once a month, in search of personal hygiene products. I don't even want to share any further info on that one. Ew. Of course, he makes up for his destructive tendencies by purring really loud and long. He comes over for what I call a purr session several times a day. He sounds like he has some respiratory condition, but it's just him purring his heart out. So sweet, my motor mouth.

Maxed Out

Note: written on Tuesday...


I am so worn out, burnt out, totally fried from a marathon make up study session! I have all these diaries to do for social psychology. I have been writing all friggin day. OK, it was only 6 hours...I am already becoming a PhD lunatic, saying things like ONLY 6 hours. Sheesh.

So I decided that I cannot do everything. I am not really Supergirl, at least not in the superhero sense of the word. Once again, I did not get everything done. I had 4 days. I used 2 days to relax, as I should. Perhaps next time I can actually use part of Friday, keep Saturday for myself, and study Monday or Tuesday, not both in a row. Cramming just does not work. Ugh. I am hungry. I felt like I needed to write this, though. I want to remember what it's like. I am NOT Superwoman!

That being said, I can now officially let go of all residual guilt from not finishing a paper that I had extra time for, in order to work on other make up stuff for a different class. I can get some sleep and make a go of finishing in the morning. I can be flexible.

OK, now I can eat. I can only hope that others reading this will understand that we do not have to do everything! It is OK to do what we can and leave the rest. Life happens. Oh yea, and just because I am a psych major does not mean I have to always enjoy analyzing human behavior. Frankly, I am sick of it at the moment. I am happy to just be and let be.Love you all!

Would I get arrested if I jogged in the buff?

This weekend was so hot, I actually considered ditching my clothes. I am totally serious. I don't mean in the privacy of my own home. I am talking about 7am, in the neighborhood, sweating in 80 degree weather. Or at least it felt like it. I go running every morning, usually between 7-8am. Saturday I decided that I might risk getting arrested for pulic nudity. Incidentally, we ARE naked all the time, but clothing covers our parts. Clothing keeps us warm. Well, I did not need to stay warm. So, why bother?

I pondered whether I would actually have the cajones (that's balls en espanol) to be that nonconformist. Maybe I can start my own club for athletes who are tired of being confined by the cloth on their hot, muscular bodies. We will run together, get our pictures in the paper, be featured in the news. All that crap. And we will be so comfortable letting it all hang out. Go Club Naked, baby!

I felt a twinge of jealousy as I gazed at a shirtless young man walk by me yesterday. I told him my thoughts of just taking it all off, and lamented that I could not go without a shirt, although I had of course considered the possibility. I had just finished my meeting, so I was feeling a bit spiritual. I almost began a train of thought which included breaking gender norms and all that. I realize that clothing is ridiculous, really. We use it to sustain the illusion that we are different from each other somehow. We also connect it to sexuality.

So of course I had noticed that this guy was hot, in more ways than one (I am quoting 11 year old Paul, who said this of himself at my friend's daughter's bday party. Hilarious). This shirtless guy was hot, and I was horny. I admit it. Why else would I mention getting nude to beat the heat to a supposedly random stranger, while standing in a lovely sundress looking just as hot? Like I said, there's a sexual element to nudity in this country, and I am socialized this way, just like everyone else. Or I am just lookin for love in all the right places. Ha ha.

I have a proposition to make. I dare you to do something that violates a norm. I did this for an assignment once, and so much was revealed. Except my clothing...I did not take it that far. I invaded personal space, and took my guy friend out on a date which I paid for. I even opened his doors. That was silly. I will share more on that later. But first, I have a question.

*Weekly Challenge*

Would any of you risk possible ridicule and embarrassment, or even legal intervention by walking around your neighborhood in the nude?

If you could not bring yourself to do something this extreme, how far would you go to break a societal norm?

I was fully clothed all weekend. I wish I could have just gone for it, but I didn't have the guts. Please share your stories. Have fun!

Gossip Does Not Help With Levitating but Cannibalism makes me Hungry

I keep wondering if I could be offending Oral B guy. I wrote all over the internet (ie, blog) about his behavior with the ladies of Psych 312. Was this really necessary?

So...I want to say right now that what I comment on in my blog is for entertainment purposes only. I always write about what I know and what I observe. I merely tell it like I see it. With this guy, however, I feel as though I need to publicly acknowledge that I have shared a tad too many opinions about his character. Perhaps I ought to be looking at my own character instead? Hmm. Perhaps.

Other than that, life is absolutely fantastic. Today was Bizarre Behavior class. I am so fascinated by everything we learn in there. Yes, I do believe that Fridays are destined to be interesting blog days. We learned about cannibalism this morning, as Chemistry club put on a free BBQ.

**DISCLAIMER: What you are about to read is extremely graphic in nature. Although used for entertainment purposes, it is not recommended that anyone with a weak stomach read this, esp before a meal. OK, you have been properly warned.

We heard of a man named Armin Meiwes from Germany, who found a masochist named Bernd-Juergen Brande from the internet. Bernd was willing to offer his penis to be sauteed with garlic and eaten as a dinner for two. Bernd could not join Armin for this interesting meal, as he was too woozy from blood loss and too loaded on alcohol and pain killers. Two hours later, Armin slit his throat, hung him on meat hooks, cut off some chunks and BBQ'd the meat. Yum. (I am totally kidding).

Upon hearing this case study, my classmate leaned into me and said, "That's some one night stand!" (thanks Elissa). Sounds of me stifling laughter while talking about horrific acts of violence and grossness followed. Dr. Volkan even joined the fun and said he wouldn't comment on Germans not knowing how to prepare sausage. OMG I was rolling. You gotta laugh, you know, or this stuff could really get under your skin. Sorta leaves a bad taste in your mouth, doesn't it? Ha ha. I had to get another one in there.

Well, that ought to be enough bizarre behavior for one evening. That's just a taste of what we hear in class. If you want the entree, you will just have to sign up for it yourself. Bon Apetit!

Service to the Max

As Brea put it, watch me as I do some levitating. :)

I was powering out some school assignments on Tuesday evening when my neighbor Starr came to my door, asking me if I could take her to the ER. She needed a blood transfusion, she said. Whoa. I will spare her privacy and leave out the details, but let’s just say she should not have been walking at all at that point. The doc said she had like 1/3 of the blood that normal folks should have at any given time. They gave her oxygen and saline drip. The blood came later, after a few other procedures and when I had gone.

By the way, I am absolutely fascinated by medical procedures. I love getting blood drawn (or in this case, watching it being done). If I had not made some poor choices made in my past, I would always give blood. Brea, you are so vein! You can give blood for me, ok? Anyway, my curiosity about the ER, coupled by the fact that Starr needed support, kept me hanging out there for about 3 hours. Did I mention that nearly all the staff, esp the men, are totally hot?

The last few times I’ve visited the emergency room has been with friends. I have fortunately never had to go for myself before. Maybe that is partially why I felt completely at ease there. I almost felt like changing careers. Maybe I’ll be a psych nurse. I was especially drawn to the patients. Starr was really nervous, and I was totally calm. She was grateful for the support. I smiled at a woman being cared for in the hall, and felt all warm and fuzzy as she grinned back at me. I took interest in an injured man being guarded by a K9 dog and 2 officers. My curiosity wanted to lead me right over to him and ask what’s up. I held back that urge, as I carefully exited.

Cottage Hospital has free valet parking, which is so foreign to me. Frankly it made me kinda nervous at first. It is convenient though. I waited for what felt like 30 minutes under their canopy in the cold gusty wind. I didn’t eat dinner until 8:30pm. I called Starr’s daughter Tegan, who was staying at her boyfriend’s house for the night. Starr was kept overnight for observation.

Tonight, after a very long day...I helped my other neighbor James jump start his new old 1988 BMW. I was already in PJs and really wanting to settle in with some dinner and a movie. But I helped him first. God knows I’ve had a ton of help pushing my VW back in the day, so I guess I sorta owe. I feel really good being there for others. I also got reminded that sometimes my routine can be shaken up a bit, and I will survive. I talked to my instructor about the paper I had not quite finished, due to the emergency with Starr. He totally understood and is allowing me extra time.

Whew.Now I am ready to take care of Michelle. I am exhausted. Good night.

Gandhi...or Ghandi?

I misspelled Gandhi when posting a forum yesterday, and was corrected. His name is not Ghandi. Someone replied and told me his friends from India told him that ghandi means something funny. I usually spell it correctly, but this time I made a typo.

Well, as motivated (read: obsessed) I am with knowing seemingly random facts, I got busy. I googled (this is now a verb, see?) the word ghandi. Turns out I am not the only one having trouble spelling his name. Even Google brought up Mahatma Ghandi as a legitimate spelling. I had to try really hard to find the true meaning of it too.

I finally found out that ghandi means "one who takes it in the ass" in Hindi. This took forever and a day to find out! I also learned that the West constantly misspells his name, partly because of the way Hindi letters are translated. I happen to believe the other reason is because we are arrogant as a nation and rarely stop to consider that the placement of a letter could offend someone from India. Although it has been done so often and for so long, I tend to wonder if they just laugh at our faux pas. We have such a drastically different alphabet too. I love the way Hindi looks. I want to learn to write like this...Here is some right now, just to demonstrate the beauty of the language.

This is actually Sanscrit: महात्मा mahātmā — "Great Soul" .
Gandhi was also called Bapu (Gujarati: બાપુ bāpu—"Father").

Here are some quotes on nonviolence from Gandhi Ji...

"When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall — think of it, always."

"What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?"

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

"There are many causes that I am prepared to die for but no causes that I am prepared to kill for."

"Be the change you want to see in the world." (this is by far my favorite quote)

I love learning new things.

Not sure yet...

I want to live my life with complete and utter abandon. That is, I am willing to just let things and people be, including myself! Living with complete abandon is not necessarily being out of control. Actually, what it means to me is I am living fully...free to express my feelings, observe my zillions of thoughts and not be attached to them, and be compassionately honest with myself and everyone around me.

On another seemingly unrelated note...I just read all sorts of opinions on the book by Eckhart Tolle called A New Earth. I got so entrenched by all the negativity and anger spewing forth, it made me just about as frustrated as the person venting. I guess an issue is that people in the Christian faith are offended. Well, some of them. No, correction. One of them. This one woman was posting like crazy about Jesus being our only savior, and we are all sinners, and essentially was mad at Eckhart Tolle, or warning us against him as a false prophet. Oh jeepers.

So of course I had to give her a little peace and love offering. Sometimes I wonder, however, if she can even hear that message, or is just reading it as her opposition to be reckoned with. And is my ego involved in what I told her, or am I truly helping by being calm and serene, and definitely spiritual? OK, I guess if I have to question it, I was not being as spiritual as I had hoped. But my heart was in the right place, clearly. See how our minds can take us where we need not go? Had I not began writing about this, I would have been satisfied with my response to her and moved on. Or not be satisfied, still moving on.

But, alas, I get sucked in. I get thrown into the chaos, and seem to welcome it, perhaps even enjoy it. Hmm. Could this be one of my character challenges. For all friends of Bill, that’s my positive version of "character defects". I just came up with that. You like? I love it.

Anyway, my addiction to drama is still alive and well. Back to this living with complete abandon. I conceptualize this as the ability to live life without the burden of fear that holds so many of us down. This fear causes us to feel pain in our bodies, and our spirits suffer. I am learning to live free from fear.

I have had this overwhelming fear of not doing it right. Here is another one of my character challenges...perfectionism. So today I am writing without any edits, save spelling/grammar fixes...progress, not perfection. Ha ha. I am really good at spotting grammatical errors. I might be a good editor, actually. But this perfectionISM holds me back from fully living. I end up judging myself and others for not being perfect enough.

The spiritual, sane part of me realizes that I am imperfectly perfect, just as I am. So is everyone else. I can be at times so accepting of others, I bring out the best in them. This is beautiful. Simultaneously, I can own my own power and love myself by setting and maintaining boundaries. What a precious gift.

I wrote to this Christian woman that books and language are simply tools. I hope that my tool was used as a way to be of service to her today. I sensed great anger (fear) from her. I relate. Been there, done that.

Again, in regard to living my life with complete abandon (I want to stay on task)...I believe I am getting closer. I have expanded my weekend trips. I used to just go to Blockbuster and Trader Joes’s. I actually went to a First Thursday event at my friend’s spa (which is at this web address, btw... http://www.thehealthgallery.com/ ) and got hemp milk at Lassen’s last week. Oooh, so exciting. Ha ha. Seriously, though, that is progress.

Peace and Love to all of y’all.

My Neighborhood

I hope to post a blog a day for the entire month of April. I just noticed I missed one on the 3rd, so I am doubling up tonight.I blogged about food (is blogged even a word?) before.

I have forgotten to mention that we have banana peels, if anyone wants some. Seriously, my neighbor Ryan works at the coffee shop called the Daily Grind, which offers smoothies and freshly squeezed juices. Anyway, I am guessing that is where the huge trash bag filled with banana peels came from. My other neighbor Starr told him they are really good for the garden. Ryan and Steph are a couple, and Mike is a geologist whose girlfriend Liz moved to South America to study espanol. Liz and I became fast friends one day, when we started hiking. Ryan is studying chemistry and Steph works full time. They are all exactly 25 years old . Steph and I talk a lot when we have the time, which has not been lately. They have barbeques, play horseshoes, like to make old things new, and are totally organic. They are all so awesome.

Ryan, Steph and Mike live in the front house, and constructed a compost container a while ago. We all contribute to this pile, and Ryan mixes it up. I throw all sorts of stuff in there, like my daily carrot juice pulp. He never complains about the plethora of flies that increase with my contributions.

We live in a small alcove off of a very busy street. We have our own community, replete with roses, garden vegetables, a loquat tree, lots of cats, and a seeing eye dog in training. We all get along well, with the exception of last night, when my next door neighbors were way too loud til really late. They had too much wine. They are the couple with Suzie, the seeing eye dog in training. They are James and Jamie to us, but Jamie calls him Ryan since their names are essentially the same. Jamie wants to learn to garden, but still feels nervous about it. I am going to teach her how to transplant, one of these days.

Starr just lost a kitty named Ophelia Rose to a sudden stroke, so she has recently accelerated her plant purchases. In fact, she has taken to calling it garden therapy. We all enjoy the route she decided upon, which resulted in more than a dozen rose plants, sweet peas, freesias, and our most recent addition, the wysteria. My favorite byproduct is the aroma of our common area. We also have jasmine in bloom at the moment, and the sweetness can make a person pause in awe just passing by.

Anna adopted my kitty Tabitha, who visits me every day and has found relief and a happy life there. She just never adjusted with 4 other cats around. Anna will call me if one of my kitties is not quite ready to come inside. On occasion, she will shut the cat door, and I walk 2 doors down to her house and pick them up. What a sweet woman, Anna. She keeps to herself most of the time, enjoying a good read on a Sunday afternoon. And she adores all kitty cats. Even before Tabitha went to live with her, Anna would have food and water out for all the neighborhood cats who came to visit her. She also brought my cat Sebastian to the hospital when I was away, and paid the bill. Sebastian never made it home from there. Anna keeps pictures of him along with her Margaret who passed several years ago, available for viewing anytime on her coffee table.

Sally is my other neighbor, who always has family living with her, or coming to visit. She is my friend Gail Jean’s mom. I almost never see her, but I see her son and grandkids all the time. This is just a taste of our wonderful little ’hood. I love my home.

There is such a thing as too much research...

I overheard a radio commercial last week for a new item at Wendy’s, called the Spicy Baconator. All I heard that perked my ears was that it had 7 slices of bacon! The spokesperson claimed, "If you can’t count the amount of slices on two hands, it isn’t enough." I am paraphrasing, but you get the point. I was immediately appalled, and frankly, pretty grossed out. I love bacon, don’t get me wrong. But that portion size could feed me for 3 meals!

So, I decided to research this ridiculous burger. I went to the Wendy’s website, where they tell me, "It’s waaaay better than fast food. It’s Wendy’s." Are they actually claiming to NOT be fast food? Come on. Then, I checked out nutrition information for this Spicy Baconator. This fresh not frozen burger with 6 slices of bacon and pepper jack cheese has 1120 calories, fully loaded. The average daily caloric intake is supposed to be around 2000 calories, depending on age and body size. And...the average American is likely to order a combo meal, which includes fries and a soft drink. That makes the total close to 1500 calories. Wow.

The supersizing phenomenon began back in the 1970s, to increase revenue. So not only does the average fast food eater order the fries and drink, they get enough for 2-3 people! Portion control problems have been rising, as the weight and health issues of Americans soar. And we continue to be encouraged to consume MORE by the fast food industry.

Here’s another disturbing fact: Wendy’s and other fast foods contain enormous amounts of additives, preservatives, and artificial flavors, not to mention trans fats and loads of salts and sugars. Some of these chemicals can be found in sunscreen, semiconductors, paint, and food coloring. Ew.

I noticed that salad dressings were filled with the most additives, their ingredients list being a whole paragraph. Lettuce was the only ingredient untouched.

Anyway, whenever I get interested in knowing the facts about something in our world, I rush in like gangbusters to find out everything I can about it. If you are anything like me, you ought to check out what we have been voluntarily consuming and applying for most of our lives. Although I occasionally come off a little fanatical, I do believe it is important to know what we are being served, foods or otherwise, so that we can make conscious, healthy choices. Here are a few websites for ya.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_8231.cfm
http://www.wendys.com/
http://www.organicconsumers.org/foodsafety/fastfood032103.cfm
http://www.ewg.org/node/21319

OK, I am now stepping off of my soapbox. Have a happy, healthy evening.

Vlad Clearly had Issues, but Kappa was merely flatulent

We learned about vampires and werewolves today in our Bizarre Behavior class. I love being assigned readings on vampires. How awesome it is to study the history and different ways the myth has played out in real life. We discussed two historical vampires, actual people who maimed and killed from blood lust.

The most infamous was Vlad the Impaler. Vlad was a contemporary rogue named Dracula, which means Son of the Devil. Vlad was born in 1431 in Transylvania, Hungary. As a boy, he and his brother were kept as hostages of the Turks, where they were forced to live until adulthood. He later took over the throne and formed an alliance with the Turks.Well, he had a thing about impaling. In 1569, he had an Easter Sunday feast for the townfolk. Vlad arrested most of the guests, and impaled the rest. On another occasion, he invited all those unfortunates-the poor, crippled, hungry. He fed them, then proceeded to lock the room and set it on fire. This was merely the beginning.

Vlad impaled 30,000 people in one day, for tax evasion. He also boiled and burned people alive, and disemboweled pregnant mothers. Turks had turbans nailed to their heads after they refused to remove them. Vlad was eventually imprisoned, but allowed freedom to come and go. Personally, this makes no sense to me...it's an oxymoron to be imprisoned and free at the same time. During this time, he continued to kill, and was known to impale animals and even insects. Aside from being horrified, I wondered what he used to impale an insect...a toothpick? This was one sick man.

On a much lighter note...We learned of the Japanese mythical creature named Kappa. This monkeylike critter with reptilian features has 3 ani (that is plural for anus, by the way...), which explains the powerful fart. Kappa-Maki is a popular sushi dish, named this because the Kappa finds cucumber is delicious. Kappa can function as a vampire, and has been blamed for bad events such as violence or disease. He stays powerful by keeping his head wet.

Another funny bit of trivia...werewolves are frequently sighted in Wisconsin. They are 7-8 feet tall, 400+ pounds, look like wolves, and stand upright like men. I wonder why Wisconsin has so many? Hmm.

I don’t know about you all, but I would much rather take my chances with the Kappa then to ever be near Vlad. Vlad was beyond bad. Farts I can handle.

Oral B Guy is so not a Smooth Operator

OK, so there’s this guy in my social psych class who one day mentioned using no toothpaste and an Oral B electric toothbrush. This was during a discussion on persuasion through advertising and marketing. He swore he was unaffected by advertising. Yet, he mentioned the brand name Oral B. I did not know his name.

After our exam today, about 5-6 of the women from the class gathered to compare answers and grumble about confusing questions. Essentially, we were holding a debriefing in the hallway. He approached and I said, "Oh, hey. You’re the Oral B guy, right? That’s how I remember you, from that day you mentioned using it." He did not clarify by offering his name.

Instead, he offered a kiss! This sounded so ridiculous. He was the only guy in a group of women, and we had amassed to about 8 of us. He said, "So, do you wanna kiss?" No one responded, so it was seemingly overlooked as a nonissue. I personally picked up on the cheesy pick up line, and immediately found enough humor to write about it in a blog.

I have been observing said Oral B guy for a few weeks, ever since he mentioned his dental care practices. He appears awkward and impulsive. He is the guy who will speak out when silence would definitely serve him. He strikes me as a bit socially inept. Mind you, we are all studying psychology to be either therapists or teachers. Oy vay, as my mom would say. I am so glad we are required to have our own therapy sessions before we begin our practice. I could just hear him saying to a client with relationship issues, "So, do you wanna kiss?"

He happened to be parked next to me this evening. He said a cheery "Goodbye, classmate" and took off to wherever life takes him. Thanks Oral B guy, for being our entertainment for the day.

Recycling Condoms?!? What will they think of next?

I read the following tip almost to the end, not realizing what day it was sent until late this afternoon. They sound quite serious about this. ..TR>


Is the third time really a charm?

The BiteYes, yes, yes! Everyone knows to turn used condoms inside-out for another go, but with a quick rinse, you can save additional latex and cash by using condoms three times before chucking ’em, instead of just two. Recycling just got 33% sexier.

The Benefits

Making cents while making love. Think of all the pennies you coulda saved if you’d adopted this tip during your slutty phase in college.

Saving the planet, one love glove at a time. According to science, if we don’t start reusing condoms more frequently, we’ll drive the wooly mammoth to extinction.
Pre-lubrication. Reusing saves lube too.

Personally Speaking...Condoms can tear during rinsing even if you’re careful, so be gentle. That said, we’ve been doing this for years, and it’s resulted in only three unexpected pregnancies.

Wanna Try?
Centers for Disease Control and Planned Parenthood - y’know, just in case.

April Fools, Biters! Feel free to pass this along...we’ll be busy sorting through the hate mail from readers who didn’t make it this far.

Information Police in SB?

I went for my walk this morning and noticed a woman tearing down flyers off of power poles. I had actually just been wondering what they might say, as they were across the street too far from view.

I was curious about her reason for doing this. Moreover, I was a little annoyed that she was taking it upon herself to remove what someone obviously wanted others to see. Where does she get off deciding what people should or should not read? Whatever happened to free speech? I eagerly anticipated seeing another flyer. I wanted to know what this was all about. Was she offended? If I were offended by it, would I have removed the flyers too? Perhaps the message was hateful, like a racial epithet.

Then again, freedom of speech includes words we do not all agree with. Hmm.

So, as I walked past Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church, I saw a flyer on the ground. This was different (I had seen a graphic of a face on the other ones).

This flyer said the following:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DOES YOUR FAITH ATTACK OTHER RELIGIONS?
___________________________________________
"In addition to being a lover of young boys and men, Jesus was prone to outbursts of temper and hatred." - L.Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology
___________________________________________

LEARN THE TRUTH ABOUT SCIENTOLOGY

www.bible.ca/scientology-christianity.compared.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I picked it up, I only glanced at the quote, so I believed this to be particularly offensive. Honestly, I believe it is offensive to spread negativity in general, even when exposing someone like L.Ron Hubbard for the ridiculous cult leader that he is. Anyway, I believed I had just stumbled upon the same kind of offensive material I had suspected this woman may have encountered (assuming she was offended). I burst out laughing, knowing that if I were to stand my ground, I would have to leave the other flyers alone. There were several stapled to trees, which was an additional annoyance. I had even said to myself earlier that I was glad the flyers weren’t attached to a tree.

So I kept the one, and left the rest of them on the trees. I do believe in freedom of speech, whether good, bad or indifferent.

I am grateful that I am able to own my power, use my voice to spread a message of peace, love, and compassion for all sentient beings. Even those who want to suppress it.

PS. I do not endorse nor condemn scientology or the belief in Jesus as the Messiah. However, I have strong leanings toward the teachings I’ve heard throughout my life that include messages of love and patience for all humankind. I am sure you can all guess who that might be. It ain’t Ron.