Monday Music Mambo

As a prize for actually doing some of my homework:
1. Do you have an iPod or similar device? Tell us about it.
I sure do have an iPod. See a picture of it here. It's a big picture. I have a Palm TX I also use as an Mp3 player. It's older and harder to sync but carries more information and I can have more than one play list.

2. If the answer to question #1 is no, what do you use to listen to music?
I also use my computer. iTunes and Songbird are my favorite two players.

3. How many songs do you have on your mp3 player?
161 songs or 700MBs on the iPod. 2G on the Palm. I haven't listened to that as much recently.

4. What situations make you want to bring your mp3 player with you?
Car trips. Plane trips. Days when I have to drive all over the Twin Cities, any time I have to be in my car during rush hour so as to avoid the commercials and Djs droning. Also, running and working out at the Y.

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Order :: dinner, from a menu, in a restauarnt
2. Mortician :: Morticia?
3. Determine :: decide, determine the facts
4. Ignore :: "I can't hear you" and "Not my problem"
5. Guy :: Dude, Dilbert (how'd that get in there?)
6. Train :: The A Train, Jazz
7. Garlic :: Mmm, vampires, Harry Potter and Professor Quirrell
8. Wacky :: Oh, that's so bad, I just thought of someone I know who reads the blog from time to time and so shall remain nameless
9. Parent :: I also thought of someone I know who will be a parent soon
10. Burning :: is Paris burning? (NYPD Blue episode) and the crash and the freeway in California

The Friday Five

From The Friday Five:
1. What is your all time favorite book?
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

2. What is your all time favorite movie?
Pirates of the Caribbean is almost always in my DVD player, sharing time with Love Actually and Pride and Prejudice. In the category of movies without Keira Knightly, I love The Sound of Music which was my "sick day" movie as a kid, Alladin and The Lion King.

3. What are you reading right now?
A text book or a journal article. Why?

4. What is your favorite show on tv?
Studio 60 but I'm learning to enjoy Brothers and Sisters

5. What is the last movie you saw in the theater?
Wild Hogs, an hysterically funny movie, part of which was filmed in my hometown.

In other fun news:
10 Signs You May Be a Blog Addict. I'm actually only guilty of number 1.

And finally 16 Articles to Get the Most Out of Your Blog. I think I need number 1. Remember when I had time to post pictures and write more than whatever meme is today?

The Dog: Redeux

Remember the dog incident? I do. I met that dog again today. He followed me farther than last time, although I went farther than last time. I had a similar internal struggle although less pronounced this time.

I did try to get a look at the dog's tags at least twice, the only two times it was really close enough, and asked a few people if they knew the dog so I could run by it's house. Alas, all attempts to find out where the dog belonged failed. I had a plan for if it followed me all the way to my house. You see I had my car key with me (because it's on the same ring as my house keys) so I was going to get the rope out of my trunk and tie the dog to a tree or something. If it wouldn't come near me at least at home I could go get food and lure it near me that way. Then I'd call the dog owners. I really thought the dog was going to follow me home. It got distracted by a kid at the school bus stop and a rabbit.

I still felt bad for letting the dog follow me. Although this time I made a more conscious effort to get the dog to come near enough to get a look at the tags and so was reassured. I really felt bad for the dog's owners who were probably out looking for the thing. I was also slightly annoyed at said owners for not being more careful with their dog when obviously the dog will follow anyone and has gotten out without a leash before.

I'm having an easier time letting it go this time around. Hopefully the dog will get home safe and the owners will be able to keep it on a leash or tied in the yard from now on.

10 on Tuesday

Top 10 Things You Like to Do Alone

1. Sing in my car, loud
2. Listen to music
3. Watch movies, especially on Sunday morning. Sunday morning is my prime movie watching time. And people distract me, unless it's in a theater. Also, if there are people I can't lay down on the couch and take up like five spaces.
4. Play on the computer
5. Sudoku
6. Run. Most of the time I like to run alone, but I liked running with Amanda the one time we did it a long time ago. If I run alone I can take a longer route, or a different one and not bother anyone or worry about when I need to be back.
7. Write
8. Cook dinner. I can't have too many other people in the kitchen when I'm cooking. If you are hungry come over and I will share my food with you. Don't feel bad about not helping cook, you can do the dishes if you really feel guilty.
9. Write music, although it's been a while since I've done that.
10. Whose mind went in the gutter when you read the topic? Come on, be honest now.

The shopping anomaly

I went to Ikea tonight because I needed goodbye or thank you gifts for the place where I did my internship and where else can I get like 20 candle holders for $10? while I was there I found my new ottoman so I came home to check it out on line. (I haven't bought it yet, but I've found it.) It's not on the Ikea US website. Wtf? It's on the Ikea Kuwait webiste, check out the Backa model, and the Ikea China site. It's in our store. Seriously...

Monday Music Mambo

1. Name a few of your favorite Roy Orbison songs.
Anything You Want, You Got It
Pretty Woman

2. Tell us one of your favorite Roy Orbison lyrics.
These are from Pretty Woman.
Pretty woman, won't you pardon me
Pretty woman, I couldn't help see
Pretty woman
That you look lovely as can be

I'd jump any guy who said that to me.

3. How cool did Roy look in those dark glasses?
Not as cool as me?

4. If you aren't a fan of Roy Orbison, you can still participate - give me a music-related virtual birthday gift!
check out Mp3Realm. It's got great music downloads. It's the most decent replacement to Singingfish I've seen.

Monday's A B!tch

Yesterday was Earth day, and we like the Earth so...
Earth Day

1. Do you make an effort to be environmentally friendly?
Yes. I try to eat less meat and not use too much electricity. I haven't changed over my light bulbs but am planning on it as the old ones die out. What would make me even more happy is to get new light fixtures that can take those bulbs instead of the ugly old things currently inhabiting my apartment.

2. Did you see "An Inconvenient Truth"? Did you find it effective?
No. I have a hard time watching movies like that. I blame the ADD.

3. Would you drive a Smart Car?
Like a Prius or a hybrid? Yeah, probably. I do so much city driving it'd be a good idea.

4. How many continents have you been on?
Five: Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Asia. No Australia or Antarctica. I hope I get to go to both. It warms up in Antarctica for like a week right around Christmas right?

5. Did you ever watch "Captain Planet"?
I used to watch that show. It wasn't my favorite but it was on in between some good ones so I allowed it. I sort of forgot all about that show.

Randomness

week of April 22: name 3 of each....

1. favorite tv programs
The West Wing: This is a surprise to no one. I love Aaron Sorkin and this show seems to have been particularly charmed by talent. Other favorites from the show include Bradley Whitford and Rob Lowe who I'll come back to later.

Sports Night: See everything I just said about Aaron Sorkin. Also on this show were the amazing Robert Guillaume, William H. Macy who I think is secretly a huge nut, and Felicity Huffman before her newest hit.

NYPD Blue: Jimmy Smits. I also loved some of the stories on this one.

Honorable mentions go to: Men in Trees which has inexplicably been taken off the air by ABC for reasons passing all human understanding, Studio 60 which is has similarly been yanked by NBC, and a new show, Brothers and Sisters which has a great cast including Rob Lowe. I only watched the episode from tonight and it was repeat, but I'm definitely interested in watching more. There's a new one on next Sunday.

2. favorite foods
Chipotle.
Graeters.
Anything Mark cooks for me. He's my cousin and also a chef. You should have seen me when I was living with him. I put back all the weight I lost from going crazy in Africa.

3. favorite books
Harry Potter (any, but especially 3 and 4)
Lord of the Rings
A Tale of Two Cities
Honorable mentions to Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park

4. favorite people
Mom and Dad (they've been a couple so long, they're really one person)
Amanda and Kelly (see above)
The museum people. Which museum? If you're reading this, it could be you...

5. favorite movies
Pride and Prejudice
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (yes, I'm a geek, I'm ok with it)
Pirates of the Caribbean

Honorable mentions to Love Actualy and Little Manhattan. (I keep forgetting I own that one.)

6. favorite vacation spots
Key West and the rest of the keys, hands down
The North Shore. Now I'm from Minnesota so I know the difference between "over north" and "up north" and where the north shore really is. Sorry New York.
I seem to remember this time I was on a ship...

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Found :: A job
2. Male :: (sniffs), mmmm, clean man
3. Spoken :: language
4. Life :: the game, or my life
5. Tonight :: Jay Leno
6. Fingernail :: my cactus (I know, long story)
7. True :: dat
8. Give up :: Don't
9. Shining :: a silver coin
10. Everywhere :: Tim McGraw and Chris

Dishwasher issues

I've been trying to figure out, for quite some time, what is the best way to load the dishwasher. I can never figure out how to get the bowls to the appropriate level of cleanliness. I also seem to have issues with the top shelf. It gets crowded up there.

The Friday Five

1. How are you stereotypically female?
I have an easy time expressing my care and concern for others in a way that is "female".

2. How are you stereotypically male?
When I'm lost and frustrated I never stop to ask for directions, it just makes the situation worse.

3. What parts of you do you consider unclassifiable as either gender?
Anything related to OCD.

4. Do you think you are primarily male, female, or neither in characteristics?
I'm probably more female in characteristics. I think I spend less time on things like hair, make up, and clothes than a typical female. That's the real difference.

5. If you could be born as any gender, knowing the gender prejudices as they are now, which would you choose to be?
I like being a woman, but then I've never known anything else.

The Dress

This is the dress I'm wearing to graduation. (And to Kelly's wedding.)

3X Thursday

1. Do you consider yourself smarter than most people? Why/why not?
Oh hell yes. That's not really fair. I consider that I have been in school longer, and perhaps been more successful in school than some people. I think people have lots and lots of valuable life experience that I lack, and that's a valuable learning tool as well.

2. Do you believe that smartness can be judged with an I.Q. score? Why/why not?
I think IQ can be judged with an IQ score for upper middle class white people who speak English. It may be a good measure of how someone will do in school, but not necessarily success in life.

3. Do you think that we as humans have the potential to evolve some more, or is this the end of the line for us? Why/why not?
Yes we evolve, even the supreme court has "evolving standards" relating to decency and how we treat people. For example, we as humans have moved forward in time far enough that slavery is now totally outlawed in every country in the world. (Outright official legally sanctioned slavery anyways.) I think the move to legalize and support gay marriage and the movement to end capital punishment are also "evolving standards" of how we treat people.

Wednesday Mind Hump

1. What do you do when you need a time out from all of your daily worries and activities?
I like to listen to music and sing along. Usually I can only sing along if I'm alone, because otherwise my friends would really give me a time out. I also love to drink coffee although the caffeine typically doesn't do anything for my level or worry.

2. What celebrity needs to take a time out in the corner for naughty behavior?
President Bush?

3. What do you wish you could spend more time doing?
Playing the guitar. It's been a while since I've really sat down and played it. I've had it out a few times in the last week which has been nice. I can still play some of my favorite songs. I can almost remember some of the songs I've written too...

Hee hee

Ok, I found a big typo on the Overheard In the Office site. Go on over, and on the bottom of each quote, you can rate the quote. The tag that's supposed to read "awesome" says "alsome" right now. Wonder when they'll get that fixed...

The Tuesday Twosome

1. “Eek, I owe” or “Show me the money!”
Both actually. Here's how the state of Minnesota has screwed me for the past couple of years. I was in AmeriCoprs for two years and for each year of service I earned an education award of $4750. When I go to school, I tell the Corporation for National Service to give the University of Minnesota $4750 for my tuition. One payment in the last tax year, 2005, and one payment in this tax year, 2006. The full amount goes to school and no taxes are taken out of it, however it is seen as income. So when I fill out my federal taxes, I claim this as income. No matter, I get a huge credit for paying tuition. The IRS helps Minnesota to screw me (although it helps everyone else and I don't want them to change it) by giving me a credit for the tuition and not a deduction. So I get a big refund from the IRS. However, when I report my adjusted gross income to Minnesota there's still this $4750 that I haven't paid taxes on and Minnesota doesn't give me a nice credit for being in school. So my federal tax return usually winds up covering the taxes I owe Minnesota. Why is Minnesota screwing me? Minnesota used to be the only state in the country that considered the AmeriCorps education award non-taxable income. It's not like they don't get the whole damn thing back when I go to their schools and pay off my loans anyways.

2. “Finished!” or “How do you file for an extension?”
Usually I'm early. The past few years I've been early because it's nice to get the extra cash back. Not so much this year...

3. “Taxes suck” or “I don’t mind because some of it goes for good causes.”
I think taxes are necessary. I've been to countries that have no tax base. You think our roads are bad? I also saw what happened when Governor Pawlenty was elected and promised not to raise taxes in the midst of a huge deficit. He didn't raise taxes, suddenly I couldn't get health care coverage, my library was never open and we had fewer police officers and fire fighters. And Bloomington Ave. will forever be full of bumps and potholes I'm convinced.

4. “1040EZ!” or “How the heck does anybody understand all of this?”
I can usually understand taxes and often wind up helping other people fill theirs out.

5. ”Receipts? What are those?” or “I keep everything just in case.
I just realized that if I buy this house I'll have to itemize my taxes and so do need to keep all my receipts. I think I've still got most of the important ones.

Monday Music Mambo

Monday Music Mambo

Hi everyone! I'm back, as promised. Today is National Stress Awareness Day.

1. Name two artists who give you stress.
Mean rappers. I'm not talking about all rap or hip hop. Just the mean hateful ones. Eminem, and who is the one who talked about all the people he killed? That's just upsetting.

2. Name two artists who relieve your stress.
Amos Lee is currently relieving my stress. My favorite songs of his are "Supply And Demand", "Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight" and "Colors". Sarah McLachan is an old standby. The songs of hers I love include "Angel", "I Will Remember You", "Adia", "Good Enough", "Black and White", "The Path of Thorns", and "World On Fire".

3. Name two songs that relieve your stress.
"Move Along" by The All American Rejects and "Sunday Morning" by Maroon 5 are two of my favorites.

4. Name two albums that relieve your stress.
Ahh, the nostalgia of listening to an album. How quaint. I love Under the Table and Dreaming by Dave Matthews Band. (Really I love pretty much everything by Dave Matthews Band.) Honor Among Thieves is a great album by Edwin McCain, the first album released by that band. It doesn't sound like a lot of his later stuff, but it's got a great acoustic guitar and the Tower of Power horns play on a bunch of tracks.

5. When you're stressed, do you ever want to grab a guitar and smash it into an amp like Pete Townshend?
Smashing a guitar would add stress to my life, I'd be sitting there thinking, "d@mn, I don't want to pay to replace this". Usually when I'm stressed I like to play the guitar.

Fun Things I Saw on the Internet while Avoiding Applying for Jobs

1. This first one is for Amanda, who insists on letting her car warm up forever, especially in the winter. How To Get Around While Making Less CO2 is an article about being green while driving everywhere. At the bottom there are tips for fuel economy including:

It seems almost too obvious to point out, but idling cars get zero miles per gallon. According to the Department of Energy, no more than 30 seconds of idling is needed to warm up a car, even on cold winter days.

2. 22 Useless Myths That Can Cost You Money is another great installment from this blog. It's a really helpful way of thinking about money, wealth, and how we get there. If you've never see The Ririan Project check out some of the other stuff there.

3. The 20 Most Annoying Tech Products is a great list of things that annoy us all, including the ubiquitous AOL Free Trial CDs, DRM in any shape or form, and products that don't work right.

The Sunday 7

Name the last seven movies you watched on DVD (or VHS) at home.

I actually had to look at my Netflix queue for these.
1. My Family and Other Animals which was ok.
2. Tuesday's With Morrie which I really liked but felt like it wasn't totally resolved in the movie.
3. Little Manhattan which I highly recommend.
4. Two Weeks Notice which has a special place in my heart, and not only because of Hugh Grant.
5. The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio which I really liked. I thought about a school in Defiance, Ohio.
6. John Tucker Must Die which is totally cute.
7. Must Love Dogs which I think I've written about before. It's ok right up until the end when she jumps out of a canoe to get to the dude. I mean seriously, it's not like neither one of them was ever coming back to the shore of the lake.

Bonus: Pirates of the Carribean is quite frequently in my DVD player. It makes great background noise, as do several episodes of Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip which they are still filming even though it hasn't been on the air in a painfully long time.

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Freeze :: punk
2. Naturally :: (thinking, of course I'm beautiful)
3. Painting :: my Dad
4. Merits :: North Avnondale (my school)
5. Ironic :: Alanis Morrisette (can you make that song stop?)
6. Survival :: of the fitest, or Survivor
7. Cow :: moo, beef, black and white spots, milk (it's all in pictures in my head)
8. Anchor :: Man
9. Sisters :: of the Traveling Pants
10. 70 :: That 70's Show, or the number of second graders I will be forced to deal with on Wednesday

I'd like to thank the stair master and the rowing machine

I ran 5.6 miles today. (After I woke up at 10am.) There's a part of my ran that is particularly challenging. It's a big hill, usually into the wind, and it comes at about mile 5. Usually I walk it. Even last year when I ran hills a lot to prepare for the milk run this particular hill kicked my butt. Today I thought I would just go up it a little ways, until I got uncomfortable and then stop. So I started running up the hill. And then I got a little higher. Higher. And then the hill was done. My little legs just pulled me right up that hill. I credit the stair master.

This is what happens when all the coffee wears off

I'm not napping well because I know I need to update my resume and start applying for jobs. I'm thinking about running outside tomorrow. I haven't done that in a while. Right now I'm thinking about sleep for real.

3X Thursday

1. Do you ever get that 'sixth sense' feeling like something is going to happen or something of the sort? If so, how do you react to it? What do you do?

Yes, all the time. I think I've told the story of bat netting and telling other people when to check their nets for bats (or flying squirrels). I also "knew" my Grandma was going to get sick when I went away for Semester at Sea. Sometimes I tell people, sometimes I don't. I didn't say anything about Grandma.

2. Do you believe in fate? Why/why not?

Um... I'm not sure. I believe that our souls all have a purpose and our souls are always working to that higher purpose.

3. Do you ever just stop and smell the roses?

I try, although I'm not having a whole lot of luck this week.

Going strong on Homework

Really, I'm going strong on coffee. To all grad students experiencing a similar homework crunch: Medicate when possible, let the Triple Latte be your friend. (This could be why I didn't sleep so well last night...)

I have to "read" a book still and write a six page paper outlining the author's arguments about why drug companies are screwed up. Oh joy. Now you see why a double just would not suffice.

Also, for my friend Cindee: We were talking about the "Mighty Mouse" that Apple makes that allows right and middle clicks and scrolling. (Ask why they don't have right and middle clicks on their laptops. ::Looks around:: No, seriously, someone ask.) Here's an hysterically funny take on the Mighty Mouse.

Ten on Tuesday

10 High School Memories
1. Mrs. Draper and the time we stole her phone cord.
2. Meeting Jenny and working at the Museum Center
3. My first kiss. Yes, it was in high school and not junior high. In my defense, HS started in 9th grade...
4. Driving to school senior year.
5. Getting out of school two bells early senior year.
6. Being a TA for Mrs. Seltz, my Latin teacher. Yes, that's right, I liked the Latin teacher.
7. Latex Penguin winning the battle of the bands at Bogart's. (That's the band I was in.)
8. Tonelli Potecari (yes, that's a guys name) in Jazz Band who was not only good looking but an excellent drummer.
9. Goofing around in jazz band.
10. The gym locker rooms. I really didn't like it in there. Did anyone?

The joys of running

I ran this morning at the Y. It's too cold to run after having such a sore throat. Also, it's really just too cold to run. Although it is warming up a bit. I did 3 miles in intervals. After the last time I ran intervals I did some poking around on the internet. I found out that people who have slow twitch muscles (that's me) should do longer intervals because it takes a distance to really let the muscles relax and do their thing. Today I ran 1/2 mile at 4:30 (or so, I had to guess because I have a crappy watch), jogged 1/3 mile and so on until I did the fast 1/2 mile 4 times. That's two 9:00 miles and one mile of something else... Since that didn't seem like enough I did the rowing machine for a while too. My body should feel like it worked this hard. Instead, I'm not that sore. Odd.

Monday Music Mambo

Make a mini-playlist for Spring. Five songs about Spring, that sound like Spring to you, make you think of Spring, or are good to listen to in Spring.

1. Temperature by Sean Paul. I love to run to this song. It's got the best beat for running of any song I've heard.
2. Don't Cha Wanna Ride? by Joss Stone. I have a special place in my heart for Joss Stone. And this is just a fun song. I also relate well to the subject matter at the moment.
3. It's Five O'Clock Somewhere by Jimmy Buffett and Alan Jackson. I think how this relates to spring is fairly obvious.
4. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome by Madeleine Peyroux. I love this song, and the artist in general. I can never spell her name properly though. I discovered this song on Acoustic Sunrise (on my way home from an overnight no doubt) one day last spring or summer.
5. Sunday Morning by Maroon 5. I always picture the Sunday drives in this song taking place in nice weather. (Hey, it doesn't have to make sense to anyone but me.)

Hee hee

One of the funnier things I saw while poking around the internet today.

Viewed from http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v16/carlwinslow12345/file.jpg

The Sunday 7

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION:
Name seven of the very first things you notice about a person -- male or female -- when you meet them for the first time.

1. The degree to which this person is pleasant to be around.
2. Usually I know pretty quickly if the person is an introvert or an extrovert.
3. How the person reacts to me.
4. The type of words/language they use. Not so much if they swear but are they positive when the speak or more discouraged and negative.
5. The amount of energy they have.
6. The subjects of their conversations and stories.
7. My reaction to the new person.

This is easy because I just met a new girl yesterday. Oddly enough none of that is physical traits. I really only notice good looks and hotness if it's a guy, and then only after "the ring check".

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Freak :: (rolls eyes)
2. Open :: system
3. Important :: message
4. Magnetism :: these magnets we have at work that are super strong and always pinch me fingers
5. Lap :: dance (where did that come from)
6. Anything :: you want
7. Match :: dot com
8. Father :: Dad
9. Idea :: -s are good
10. Mirror :: image/object

Orangutang the iPod

I got a new iPod. Have I mentioned that? I got reimbursed for like ten things at once at work and so had some extra cash. I decided after the licensing exam I needed a reward. Then I saw this article on digg that gave recommendations about the timing of buying new apple products. It's based on the fairly reliable assumption that apple updates their products on an approximately semi-annual schedule. The shuffle was just updated, but the big iPod, which I also desire, is due to be updated but hasn't been yet. Although I have no doubt that if I bought it we'd hear the upgrade info on Monday.

I bought orange because at one of my jobs, the one with teenagers, we wear orange. It reminds me of that job. I named the iPod Orangutang the Orange iPod. (I had to give it a name when I registered it on my computer.) For some reason, "Liz' iPod" seemed too boring.

I'm taking a break from cleaning. Yes at 12:40am. The kitchen is clean except for the floor. Ditto for the living room. I still have the bathroom, which I may leave, the hall way which is just picking stuff up, and my bedroom which is almost exlcusively dirty clothes that haven't found their way to their final destination. We'll see if I do floors tonight. I'm not counting on it.

Yeah!

I passed my test!

After graduation I will be a licensed social worker!

I badly need to clean...

I badly need to clean my apartment. Instead, I'm sitting at my computer writing.

I exercised this morning. I did 30 minutes on the stair master at level 7. It kicked my butt. I did stay at level 7 the whole time though. Is it bad if I feel like I'm going to pass out when I'm on the machine? Then I did the rowing machine for 25 minutes. Slowly.

This afternoon I went with Amy and Alyssa and a new girl named Sarah over to the U to look at the School of Social Work and the Humphrey Institute. Sarah is from NY and she is thinking about doing the dual degree program. She seemed cool. After that we went to Pizza Luce. Everyone else loves that place. I was less than impressed. The really really good thing there is the artichoke dip but we didn't have that. The tapenade looked good but I didn't think anyone would share that with me. The Lasagna was ok but they used the wrong kind of cheese. I like mozzarella but not in my lasagna.



Now I'm sitting at home praying for Mary Poppins to come over and clean. I need to look at what Podcasts I can listen to while completing this chore. As you may know, I had my licensing exam yesterday and I was studying for most of the week. As a result I haven't done dishes in... We won't go there. There are papers strewn over every surface in my living room. My kitchen is something of a bio-hazard and I remember when the bathroom floor wasn't gross. I think. It seems like I should do all of this tonight so I can enjoy Easter. Alone. In a clean apartment. With Chipotle and all the grocery stores closed.

Saturday 8 even though it's Friday

From The Saturday 8:
1. are you a religious person?
To me this means: "Do you go to church?" No, I do not. Although I've been thinking about going to a church up here called the Unity Church. It's not the same thing as Unitarian. I know the... uh... Reverend. Ask me the difference between a Reverend, a Pastor and Minister. I can tell you how all of those people are different from a priest.

2. are you a spiritual person?
Yup.

3. were you raised in a religious household?
Again, I read, "did you go to church as a kid?" And the answer is no, I was afraid of church as a kid because I was afraid someone was going to know I wasn't part of that religion (and so didn't belong there) and make me leave. I wasn't so scared of religion itself, it was more a social anxiety thing.

4. have you/do you/would you raise your children in a religious household?
I don't have kids. I guess that's a joint decision. I think I'd fight raising the kids in most churches pretty hard though. That's just not how I experience faith.

5. i'm turning 35 years old this year, but i'm often mistaken as being at least ten years younger. in fact, people rarely believe that my 13-yr. old is actually my daughter, and swear that she's my sister. are you mistaken for being older or younger than you truly are?
Yes. I supervise teenagers and people often think I'm one of them. I still get carded all the time. It's ok. I'd rather look younger than older at this point.

6. when my husband and i first married, he looked like he was still in high school and i was often (jokingly) accused of robbing the cradle - we're the same age. a month ago, one of my husband's aunts thought that he was my FATHER (vindication!). do you and your significant other appear to be significantly younger or older than each other?
Not applicable.

7. there is an agency called the american association of anti-aging medicine that is dedicated to the advancement of therapeutics related to the science of longevity medicine. would you consult such an agency or other medical office for supplements, advice, etc. to help you increase your longevity?
A professor once told me about this theory on aging. This guy came home one night and parked his old car in the garage. The next morning he went in the garage and the entire car has fallen apart in the middle of the night. The theory on aging says right now our bodies crap out slowly over time, and it can be quite a painful process. As a species we're moving to our bodies falling apart all at once. Not literally over night, but in a much shorter version of what's happening now. I'd go to this agency for stuff to make my body quit all at once rather than the sometimes slow painful version. I wouldn't go for anything to outright make me live longer. I think that's not the point of life.

8. OT ... what are you doing for fun this weekend?
I'm all alone. That's not really fair to my friends who invited me to spend the weekend with them. It's just that none of the plans worked out.

3X Thursday

I was not in a place where I could have answered these questions yesterday (mentally, not geographically). So, I choose to do them today for today.

1. How are you? How are things in general? What's your rating on things on a scale from 1 to 10?

I'm doing well thank you. I'm only a 6 or 7. Certain parts of my day were a 10. The part where I passed my licensing exam was certainly a 10, also the "creativity fest" we had at work where the teens used all kinds of different technologies to create a project was super fun. I love seeing what the kids come up with. However, I am suffering from a sinus infection. This morning, in order to survive the licensing exam, I took more drugs that probably I should have, but it was walfed-pe. Fake sudafed is what I've got going on here. And it's not even ephedra, it's the fake version of that too. Then I took Dayquil which has some form of speed in it. I try to never take Dayquil unless I need it because it makes me loopy and makes me not eat. Seriously, people probably are using this as a weight loss drug some where. So my day was really quite good. Physical ailments and no food prevent me from rating it higher. Also, I got a new orange iPod shuffle.

2. It's spring time! Do you like spring? Why/why not? What are you up to this spring? Any major plans?

For a list of my favorite things about spring, check out this post. My big plans are to graduate and find gainful employment. I'll keep you updated.

3. Do you like your job? Do you like going to work? If so, tell us about it! If not, what would you rather be doing with your time?

I'm only answering this for the science museum because I have too many places of employ to answer for all of them. I love going to work. My newest thing at work is I have to talk to my team about dating in the workplace. Oh joy. I think it won't be that bad with the team. The part that's going to be hard is when all the adults start telling me I shouldn't do it that way.

What have I been up to?

I'm getting ready to take the licensing exam for social work, so I'm a little nervous. The past few days have involved a lot of coffee (large latte) to facilitate late night studying. Obviously when my body is this stressed out, it gets sick easily so I also have this upper respiratory thing going on. It keeps thinking it wants to move to my sinuses but my sinuses are refusing. (Good job nose.)

It's cold again in Minnesota. It's "sprinter" which is a true season in Minnesota. It's the part of the winter that comes after we've already had the first part of spring. What do we need to do to bring spring back all the way? Because of the cold (and the crap in my throat right now) I didn't run outside. I rode a bike for 20 minutes and did the rowing machine. I think my arms should be really strong now. The rowing machine seems especially good at targeting my forearms, not a part of my body that sees a lot of action.

Get bored at work? (You know who you are.) Try googling "sore throat remedies". The two most popular options: cayenne pepper, which I didn't have a ton of, and apple cider vinegar which I do have and so decided to try. Here's the run down: It works like a charm, it does not taste like one. I'm saying this as a person who eats raw lemons and limes as a serving of fruit. Eeew. But my throat feels so good...

As therapy I'm blogging

Wednesday Mind Hump: Name your favorite citrus fruits and your favorite dishes, drinks, desserts, etc. using citrus.

Limes. I think we all knew I was going to say that.

My favorite things with limes

As a garnish: any Chipotle burrito, especially vegetarian
In a salad: Mark's Spinach/onion/lime/salt salad. I still make it sometimes.
In a main dish: Ceviche. It's fish (or scallops or shrimp) cooked in lime juice. The acid in the lime juice actually "burns" the fish, so even though this piece of fish has never been exposed to a heat source, the proteins are denatured by the acid the same as they would have been by heat. (That was for Amanda who is learning about proteins and will hear about it all again in Chemistry I'm sure.)
In a dessert: Key Lime Pie. A special note here: Key Lime Pie is not green. Ever. Key Lime Pie is white, like the color of cream and sugar and graham cracker crust.
In a drink: (I think we all know where this is heading) Margaitas.

This looked fun...

Ten on Tuesday

10 Things You Love About Springtime

1. The cool clothes I get to wear. (At this point I'm totally over wool sweaters, although given the weather forecast, it looks like I'll be wearing them another week or two.)
2. Being almost done with school. (I remember when school didn't get out 'till the beginning of June. I'm loving this whole "we're done in May" thing.)
3. Eating at the outside seating at restaurants.
4. Walking around Lake Nokomis.
5. Dairy Queen opens.
6. Baseball starts. (Yes, I'm a girl. Yes, I like baseball. It helps that the Twins have been really good for a while.)
7. Getting to play games outside at work. (I work with teenagers. Who thinks they're not fun now?)
8. Good tennis comes back to television, and I can play tennis outside with... no one. I have no one to play tennis with me. (I'm also a girl who loves tennis. It helps me be able to have a conversation with my Dad when I can talk about the last tennis match.)
9. Driving with the windows open. (I can't believe I didn't think of that earlier. Seriously, that's up there with the new clothes thing.)
10. I can run outside again.

My least favorite things about spring, even though it's not part of the program:
Rain for literally a week straight. Flowers and crops do not need that much rain.
When it gets up to 80* and the next week snows again. Boo Minnesota weather.

Two quick but funny things

Despite Labor Strife, NWA Service Tops Big Rivals, a story about how locally owned Northwest Airlines jumped in airline service industry ratings. I was pretty impressed with the story and NWA until I read they were fifth out of all the airlines. Among others they were rated lower than Hawiian airlines (I'd be pretty freakin' easy to please if I was going to Hawaii too) and JetBlue. JetBlue of "we've been on this plane for 12 hours with a lousy bag of chips to eat" JetBlue. Maybe these ratings aren't so closely attached to reality we need to put a whole lot of stock in them.

Second, well never mind the second. I read found a digg link to "an inside look at the offices of Martha Stewart" and the first picture is of an office that looks like a bomb hit it after a filing cabinet threw up all over the place. Turns out that's not Martha's office. Hers was a few more on in the slide show...

Anyone out there who...

Today I woke up at 5:30am when the alarm went off and promptly decided I needed more sleep. Then I "woke up" at 7:30am and actually got out of bed at 8am. All of this meant that I had to do exercise after work. I was painfully aware of this decision since it's spring break for all of Minneapolis public schools and I wasn't sure of the level of chaos that would await me at eitehr the YWCA or Lake Nokomis.

Ultimately I decided to go to the YWCA and run sprint intervals. (It's sprinting to me!) I ran 3 laps (.5 mile total) at 90 second intervals which means I ran 1/6th of a mile laps every 90 seconds. No matter how long the lap took me at the end of 90 seconds (no matter how much rest I had or hadn't had) I started the next lap. After the first three I took a break, then ran 3 more. Another break, one lap, another break and the last two laps. I picked that interval because it's a 9:00 mile. I also got faster and faster. My last lap was about 80 seconds and some in the middle were 76 or 77 seconds. My first lap was about 80 but two and three were edging up to 90.

After running I put on one of my favorite shirts.

Now for my question. A radio station in town does this thing called, "Is there anyone listening who..." and then they ask different questions every day. So for Lizzie's blog, is there anyone out there who understands how to use interval training to improve times?

This looks like fun

First, a cool website with four years of training pics. The transformation this guys body went through is incredible. My particular favorite is the picture from May, 2004 (No Picture: Recovering from hernia surgery.)

Second, Monday's A B!tch looked cool today.
1.If you were given a blank canvas and watercolours, what would you paint?

I never know what to paint. As a kid I loved to draw but stopped because I could never think of something to draw. As an adult I usually make designs or draw things that are right in front of me, whatever they are.

2.Are you more likely to be someone's partner in crime or their conscience?

That depends on several factors. Who is the partner? If it's a good friend and the "crime" amuses me, I'm sure I wouldn't want to be left out. For example, I'd kiss Alicia in public to scare off a homophobe, and I'd collude with Amanda and Kelly to... (why can't I think of anything we've done right now? I tend to be the "conscience" when it's something the partner obviously doesn't want to do but feels forced into, like writing an email (on the company email server) about your boss to a colleague. No good can come of this. If you're reading this blog it's no one you know or work with, although you can probably think of something like that happening at your job.

3.Have you ever been to see a fortune teller or card reader? Were any of their predictions accurate?

When I netted bats I would tell people when to go look in their nets. Sometimes I was right, and we had caught a bat or two. On the first occasion when I told someone they had to go check their net we found a flying squirrel in the net. One of the only things that bat mist netters and bird mist netters get together on is this: Flying squirrels are bad news.

4.Would you sponsor a child abroad?

No, because I don't have a lot of money right now. But I'd go abroad and do something to help their situation or their family, or the child themselves.

5.What's your favourite youtube video?

I was just thinking about these videos today. I used to use them all the time. I have three favorites: 8 Minute Abs and 8 Minute Arms are my old workout videos. I tried 8 Minute Buns, (or 8 Minute @ss, as it's titled on YouTube)once but I never made it all the way through. That thing is hard. As it happened, my leg started healing enough for me to run again right about the time I would have really looked at that video in earnest. (Thank goodness.)

Q: Liz, what did you do this weekend?

Answer:

Friday: Did the stair master on level 7 (instead of level 6) which kicked my butt, both literally and figuratively. Then I worked all day. And all night.

Saturday: Ran 3.3 miles in 11:00 miles to 11:04 miles. Yup, that's right. Really worked all day and all night.

Sunday: Worked and grocery shopped in the morning. Did laundry. All my work out clothes don't smell that clean. I hate that they say "wash cold" because when I do, they never come out smelling as good as when I wash them in really hot disinfecting water. I also watched "The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio", a great if not troubling movie.

Then I did this for a long long time:

The Sunday Seven

Name up to seven comedians -- male or female -- whom you think just generally aren't funny.

1. Steve Martin. Is it wrong that I just don't enjoy movies that he's made?
2. Will Ferrell. See number 1. I hold out "Elf" (which Kelly likes) as an example. I have a feeling I'll be able to add "Blades of Glory" to the list soon.
3. Mike Meyers. Are you seeing a pattern?
4. Rosie. I used to like Rosie O'Donnell. I think I'll like her again after she gets off "The View" where she's obviously the token left-wing voice.
5. Chris Farley. I just generally don't enjoy his work.
6. Was Ann Heche ever a comedian? I didn't like her until just now with "Men In Trees", one of my favorite shows that ABC has put on hiatus (boo!).
7. I have a feeling there's some other woman out there that I just can't stand. It's not Rosie or Ann Heche. For a long time I didn't like Meg Ryan. "You've Got Mail" and the one where she travels through time brought me around a bit on her. I also used to abhor Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler but the more they age, the more I appreciate their work.

From this list you can probably tell (with the exception of Rosie who just rubs me the wrong way, and Ann Heche who I have no explanation for) I don't like movies where I have to loose IQ points and listen to potty humor to enjoy.

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Trembling :: shaking hands
2. Shut up :: (quiet)
3. Heights :: such great
4. Monica :: from Friends
5. Delicious :: Del.icio.us, the Haagen Daas Mocha Chip I just ate but shouldn't've
6. Joint :: place
7. Ferry :: boat, don't pay the ferry man
8. Bliss :: that's really an image I can't explain but it's a good one
9. Rejection :: last week
10. Satisfying :: the Haagen Daas I just ate