Interesting
Posted on July 16th, 2008 by Beast
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59 As a 1930s wife, I am |
Mental Menagerie
….from here to there and everything in between….
Blah blah blah…….shpadoinkle!
Posted on July 3rd, 2008 by Beast
Both my family and the Bear’s are coming to town to spend some time with us, meet each other, celebrate 4th of July and have a belated Wedding dinner with us.
The first wave is arriving tonight, the rest tomorrow, at two different times.
If anyone (three people who read this) is curious about what the bikes in the previous post entail, the Bear and I have decided to ride bikes while we’re in Okinawa and them are the bikes we’ll be riding. I expect it to be a year before I can claim to have any type of endurance on it. But by gosh, I’ll get there!!!! We also bought a bike cargo trailer so we can haul stuff around, like groceries, etc.
Funny thing is, that people keep thinking that we have a baby in the trailer. They keep worrying that we’re piling heavy bags of groceries on top of a child. It’s both amusing and disturbing.
I’m also considering becoming a doula. Very interesting profession and it comes hand in hand with a lot of things I’m interested in. I’m probably going to start of as a labor doula, then work my way to postpartum doula and childbirth educator.
In the long run, I’d love to get involved with Operation Special Delivery
So many things to do, so little time!!
Cafe updates
Posted on May 31st, 2008 by Beast
I’m slowly updating the website. There’s a new gallery (same old link), and have uploaded about half of the stuff up to it. I like this gallery program much better.
Vox and Links are still awaiting their update.
6 Questions
Posted on May 27th, 2008 by Beast
Mini-meme stolen from Re:Becca
1. What was I doing 10 years ago?:
Ten years ago today (May 27th, 1998), I was at the end of my final term exams for Semester 2 of the Psychology Major. I was also going through the list of shrinks to choose one and get the mandatory 7 month therapy run for the degree. I ended up choosing Dr. Caballero, who looked a lot like Raul Julia and was a Gestalt therapist. One of the best decisions I’ve made.
2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today:
Go shopping, cook, organize my hardrive, start Session 3 of Medical Transcription,…..watch a movie?
3. Snacks I enjoy:
Although I will get sudden urges for something sweet, I am more of a salty/spicy snacker. When no salty stuff is available (and I hardly ever buy it to avoid temptation), I resort to carrots, tomatoes and cucumbers (which I haven’t bought in a while).
4. Places I’ve lived:
Tampico, Tam (Mexico); Westminster, CO; Arvada, CO; Rapid City, SD. Soon, Okinawa, Japan.
5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Pay off any bills I and my loved ones have, build the house of my dreams and decorate it myself, finish my Nursing degree, learn carpentry then build my own furniture, learn to spin. Make sure my parents have enough to retire on comfortably, help my brother and sister through another degree in school if they wanted to, donate to charity. Set up accounts for any children we might have so that they can go to college without worrying about scholarships.
6. Jobs I’ve had:
Library assistant (8 years), cashier/jewelry sorter (1 1/2 years), Resident Assistant/Cook (9 months), CNA (10 months officially, 4 years unofficially), Sales Associate (1 month), LSI (…..don’t know the exact time).
7. Peeps I want to know more about:
Whoever I happen to meet that doesn’t run away screaming at my eccentricities.
Oi vei…..
Posted on May 14th, 2008 by Beast
While waiting in the express line to pay for a package of sliced mushrooms, I browsed over the headlines of the magazines for sale. One had all sorts of pictures of celebrity legs with cellulites and the promise that buying the magazine would reveal who they were.
I had to fight the urge to yell: “Oh my God. Do you mean celebrities are human?! I would’ve never believed it! There goes my alien theory!!”.
It never ceases to amaze me, in a very sad way, how modern society only cares about is postponing the natural process of aging.
On the Age vein, it’s interesting when it starts catching up to you. The husband and I have found a few gray hears on our heads and my legs are starting to get tired. My right foot in particular. After the pain in my foot started shooting up my leg and driving my sciatica crazy, I went to a chiropractor, who in turn sent me to have my walking observed by a shoe people. Apparently, the arch in my right foot is starting to degenerate and I’m overpronating (basically, I’m developing a flat foot).
I got a pair of running shoes that have started to help reduce the damage and I just spent a good wad of money on a pair of sandals. Never thought I’d have to get into orthopedics, har har. It seems that lifting and transferring people for a living broke down my arches.
I’m very (read, extremely) slowly making my way through the MT course. While trying out the sandals today, I ended up talking to another customer about feet and shoes (I’m overly glad to know I’m not the only other weirdo out there), and almost immediately she asked me if I was a nurse. Funny, how the way you talk and the vocabulary you use label you. It’s not the first time I’ve been asked the same question. The other lady turned out to be a CNA.
I’m not entirely sure where my love for all things healthcare/medical comes from. According to a guy I once emailed about the genealogical background of the Beaton surname, Beatons where the healers of old Ireland. My greatgrandmother on the Mejia side used herbs for healing. There’s doctors on both sides of the family. Is it embedded in our genes maybe?
I’ve always been interested in learning how to make the body and mind sound. I went into Clinical Psychology and also wanted to get into Criminal Psychology. Understanding the criminal mind is part of my interests, and studying Criminology, something I considered at some point. Now that I think about it……..Humanity in general seems to be my field of study: I love History, Anthropology, Archeology, Medicine (modern, ancient and alternative), Psychology, Mythology, Art, etc. Which leads me to be interested in the Earth itself, since Mankind interacts with it. Geology et al comes into play. So does technology in general.
……. And then people wonder why I have such a large library.
Flickr Meme
Posted on April 11th, 2008 by Beast
Thought it was fun. Go to Flickr. Type the answer to each question in the search box. You can only use pictures from the first page that comes up. Have fun!
Psssst……in case you haven’t noticed, I like nature very much.
1. What’s your name
2. What’s your favorite food?
3. Where did you go to school?
4. And then?
5. And then?
6. …..should be who’s your celebrity crush, but since I don’t particularly have a specific one right now, I’ll just make up my own question: where will you be going next?
7. Who’s your favorite Disney princess?
8. Favorite drink?
9. Dream vacation?
10. Favorite dessert?
11. What do you want to be when you grow up?
12. What do you love most in life?
13. One word to describe you?
14. What do you dream about?
The December List
Posted on March 26th, 2008 by Beast
I am joining the “101 things completed in 1001 days” challenge. All details - plus my list - can be found on the index under “The December List”.
Merlot Dreams
Posted on February 27th, 2008 by Beast
For some reason I can’t sleep tonight.
The March schedule was posted today at work. It’s as ridiculous as it has been in the last few months.
The difference is that the amount of radically different shifts in my hours has increased.
For example……I have to be at work at noon on Saturday and finish my shift 12 hours later. Then I have to be back to work at 4 p.m. on Sunday and end at 12:30 am on Monday, only to come back - on the same day - at 7 a.m., to do transports, leave at 11 a.m. and come back - on the same day - at 3 p.m. to cover the desk for a staff meeting.
….my thoughts exactly.
I have started writing a rough ‘menu’ for next week so I at least know what to cook for a few days, when I know that my body will be running on fumes. Not my most creative menu ideas har har.
Someone posted a piano tune at the knitting forum, and it made me go look for Chopin.
Allow me to backtrack………My mother has been playing the piano since she was ten, and would often play while we were growing up. She didn’t have much time to do so over the last few years, but hopefully now that she’s retiring, she’ll go back to it.
Chopin was among her favorites. Waltzes. Chopin’s Waltzes.
Waltz No 3 always takes me back in time. I can picture Mom sitting at the piano, loosing herself in the music.
I remember buying the soundtrack for The Pianist before watching the movie. Yes, the movie’s amazing and all that, but the music. That first time I popped it into the player, slid the earphones on and pressed play. I cried with each piece. The Nocturnes, the Preludes, the Waltz…….oh, it was heavenly. In those days of cultural shock, depression and sadness, the music was a balm for my soul.
My Abuelo Pancho (that’s Grandfather for ya) collected many classical music LPs. My Dad sort of inherited much of the collection and increased it as the years went by. He used to play a classical record in the mornings to wake us up for school. I don’t quite remember why he did it, but oddly enough all three of us learned to appreciate the music in our own way.
Hanna learned the piano and tried out the cello. Frank learned piano and immersed himself in the guitar. I tried the piano, and if you poke me enough I can tell you what the keys are.
Saddly, I wasn’t good at learning any instruments, though I often dream of learning to play the violin. I did sing for the school choir for years and loved every second of it.
Oddly enough, although I can’t play the piano to save my life, music does define a lot of what I do in life. I have to have a certain list of songs playing in the background when I write, specific songs put me on different levels of melancholy, I become absolutely transformed with certain songs. Heck, I remember the song playing in the background when I first made out with my boyfriend *blows a kiss at the Bear*. And I have been known to chant under certain circumstances.
I remember back when I did theatre in school, that Rom - our valiant director - had this session in which he kept a cd of african rhythms playing in the background while we all took turns dancing in the middle of a circle. I remember everybody going with it and I remember that when it was my turn, I sort of went through the motions, but I didn’t feel it.
I was - and still am - a very private person. People find it incredibly hard to believe, specially when I add that I’m also incredibly shy. The truth is, that although I performed with all of these people, I didn’t quite trust them. I knew them outside of the group and knew of some of the things they did, and trusting them was not an option for me. Not deep down.
I have a copy of the cd that Rom played that day. I have played the song again, in private. And I have become lost in the melody.
I will never be a fancy dancer. I will never have the divine grace of those who do this for a living. I doubt I’ll ever be a virtuoso of any instrument and I’ll never have a voice that will charm millions.
But I can feel the music. I can feel the it underneath my skin. I can feel it in my blood.
Sometimes it makes me cry. Sometimes it makes me laugh.
It always makes me live.
St Valentine’s Meme
Posted on February 15th, 2008 by Beast
I’m not a meme fan, but I thought this was cute.
How long have you been together? - (married?) As of today…..28 days.
How long did you date? - About 2 years and three months.
How old is he? - 28
Who eats more? - He wuvs his food ^_^
Who said “I love you” first? - Honestly, I can’t remember. I think it was me, but I wouldn’t swear on it.
Who is taller? - Him, of course. I’m a midget!
Who is smarter? - I don’t like brain ability measurements. We each have our smarts. He does things that I wouldn’t be able to do and viceversa.
Who does the laundry? - Both of us.
Who does the dishes? - Both. Mostly me, but he does chip in.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? - ……is there a wrong side?
Who pays the bills? - Both of us.
Who mows the lawn? - That would be the landlord.
Who cooks dinner? - Usually me, although he has some very interesting ideas.
Who is more stubborn? - Hmmmmm……..I would say we’re matched.
Who kissed who first? - He did. It was shooooooooooooooo seccsay *purr*
Who asked who out? - Hmmmm……that’s a good question. We went out for lunches as friends for a while. If we’re counting those, he did. Came through Denver and asked me out for lunch.
Who proposed? - He did. Over Scrabble. It was niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice (and I was absolutely clueless, which shouldn’t come as a surprise).
Who is more sensitive? - I tend to be more outspoken, but that’s the latina in me. I’d say we each have our moments.
Who has more friends? - No idea. We don’t really count those things.
Who has more siblings? - Equal amount. I have a brother and sister. He has two sisters.