Anchiornis huxleyi

Anchiornis huxleyi, a four-winged troodontid dinosaur that lived during the late Jurassic period in China.

I love the feathers on the legs. There is generally something rather appealing about this drawing of this creature.

http://opa.yale.edu/news/article.aspx?id=7249

Yes, I said this blog was finito, but I haven't started up another yet, so this is the place I'm throwing things into for now. Surely, there are other ways to do this on the web. I'm checking out using Google Reader right now, and I'm not sure it's very good. It's just what is available, and it might be the best of several, but it's still not very good.

Day 35 - progress

Saturdays are turning into marathons. Somehow, between teaching violin in the morning to getting everything else done, Saturdays end up being the busiest day of my week. Interesting.

Well, so since I've reached the 30+ day mark with exercising, being grateful and blogging, I think I'm ready to move on to a different blog. There are interesting things to talk about, but they don't exactly mix and match with what's going on here...

So, au revoir, moving on!

Day 33 - Love

I am grateful for a heart of love, the emotions that I have that allow me to feel and understand the world the way I do. I'm grateful to have been touched by love in many ways, from parents, to sisters, to friends, to people I barely know who have reached out with natural warmth and a smile that lets you in.

And, yes, I exercised.

Day 32 - Making stuff

Exercised. I definitely noticed that having exercised only minimally the past day, I wasn't feeling as good. So, did a good bit today.

Spent some time making V-day cards: (Click on them for more detail)





So grateful for the stuff to make them with and the imagination!

Day 31- minimalism

It was a snowy, lazy day. Five minutes of exercise was more than enough.

Have a raft of topics in my head, but busy making stuff at the moment, so no serious documentation effort shall be made at this time...

Day 30 - cauliflower

Had some cauliflower (pictures below before its demise) for dinner tonight - boiled in vegetable broth, with ginger, garlic, and soy sauce. It's beautiful, and tasty!!! Each photo is different, but I photoshopped the bottom three a bit. Just love the star pattern of this plant.

As far as exercising goes, I was very active today, so whilst I did not actually do the prescribed exercise regimen, I think I burned some calories...Was a good day!

Day 29 - chickens

Did about 30 minutes of calisthenics, stretching, jogging/walking around the house. Check!!

It's really nice to feel grateful for a lot of things. Everyday things like weather reports on the internet, being able to look up things on the internet, calling people to find information, and chickens. One can never be too grateful for chickens. They eat ticks. They're funny, and they're simple.

I actually wanted to get some this past summer, but the local ordinances say I can't. I am sore tempted to say screw the ordinances. A neighbor has chickens, and there is something in the ordinances that say if you live on what used to be farm land, you can have chickens, even if you are in an area currently zoned as a denser suburb. This is slightly maddening. By most stretches, this is a rural suburb, lots of deer, wildlife, and space, so why not chickens? These ordinances were written in the seventies, and I wonder if there was something about the 70s that made people do and think dumb things...Or if I were being charitable, perhaps it's just a matter of which side the pendulum is swinging.

Anyway, chickens.

They rock.

Day 28 - Casey Driessen

Exercised requisite 5 minutes. Was feeling rather creaky, so didn't over do it. Something about the sauna - I think I require a lot more lubrication before and after the sauna...

I started researching some stuff for violin students, and checked out information Casey Driessen who is probably the coolest violinist ever. I think it boils down to his muscular percussive technique (*chop*) and a close second is his inventive rock sensibility coming through on his five string violin. I want one. Suffice to say, the world is a better place because of Casey and those like him. Mostly Casey.

Another violinist that apparently comes from a family of violinist and is now rocking out is Alex Depue. Wow.

Day 27 - organic food, organization, and orange

Exercised, taught violin, did some architectural consulting with structural engineer and owner, went grocery shopping, went swimming, came home, cooked, read, googled why I shouldn't get on Facebook. oy.

Recently, was eating standing up at the kitchen counter and noticed my food and cup colors:


This was completely random, but ever so striking. That's some exotic type of sweet potato or yam on the plate. Very tasty.

Day 26 - Go towards the light!

Haven't exercised yet, but will get to it, don't worry. (Yes, all you faithful readers....hello? Hello???)

Anyway, was feeling extremely disgruntled this morning, I believe as a direct result of the anxiety provoked by the VP of Autodesk, and needed to stop thinking about jobs in architecture and move onto much more pleasant things to think about. Like colorful sculptures. A google image search turned up this image:

Color, cool aggregate textures. This makes me happy. Such a simple thing, and something I can do without worrying about the world going to hell in a handbasket.

So I've proven to myself yet again, that when anxious and unhappy, one needs to do a complete turn and focus on things that evoke a visceral sense of pleasure and hopefully also a creative response. Go towards the light, go towards the light!

And check, exercise.

Day 25 - Brilliant people

Exercised before going to my interview. Yay, me!

Went to interview, had a good time, went home, didn't get job. Oh well. Not too disappointed, but the interview was good experience. Need to work on my presentation.

Went to hear the VP of Autodesk talk about Integrated Project Delivery and Revit. Very interesting. Very smart guy, got me feeling really anxious...blah! But I'm glad for the boost of brain juice and motivation it gave me. That's what I'm grateful for today. Yeah, lame lame post today...

yawn.

Day 24 - networking

Exercised roughly five minutes, maybe a hair more - walking around the house and up and down the stairs. Check!

So I got a call for a job interview. It's a contract position, but logistically, it works out much better than a few other offers, so it's fine with me. The call came through from a bit of networking I did back when I was first laid off, several months ago. So, it shows that networking pays off, whether in the near term or long, it's good to reach out and be in touch with people. Probably best to be in touch with people who have things you may want or need, but the whole point is, you never know who that's going to be, so everyone is a good contact.

Best of all, the call came at a time when I feel ready to go back to work. Hah!

Day 23 - Work

Calisthenics and stretching/warm-up for 20 min. 10 minutes of jogging around. Good and warm.

I'm thankful for work - I've got this freelance project that I wasn't taking super seriously until just recently. As I've been making drawings for the building, I'm pleased with the product I've produced, and thereby, am fulfilling the promise work. I forget who said it, perhaps Steve Jobs, but work has the potential to be a transformative experience, truly fulfilling in that it isn't just about making a living, but creating value and interest in the world. A creative life.

So. Now I've got to go finish up those drawings!!!

Day 22 - Serenity Prayer

Excellent. Day 22 of exercising, gratefulness, and blogging.
I have to say, once you start with one habit, it's easy to pin other simple habits to it, a natural part of our inherent habit-forming mechanism. This is a really cool thing. The critical element to hold yourself to is not all the other little habits you pin on, but that you're dedicated to one or two simple habits, leaving the rest to add on as they will. But just by invoking the first good habit, you pave the way for the other good habits to come. It's that first step, man! Always, the first step needs to be taken, then the rest will follow.

So many darn first steps.

Anyway, I'm grateful for whoever came up with the Serenity Prayer.


God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

Apparently, this is attributed to Reinhold Neibuhr, whom I need to study up on. He apparently influenced a lot of major leaders. I would edit out the Christian references as I am not Christian, and I would just think of the Universe, Universal power, Nature, God as a non-anthropomorphic entity.

It's about trusting that things will turn out all right, no matter what. I was thinking about how I have many (universe willing) decades ahead of me, no matter what the state of my joints, and I can live each day with great joy, as much as I can muster, for all those decades, or resign myself to always being dissatisfied and unhappy. It's such an interesting thing to balance acceptance and willfully doing things. I've always liked the phrase "God helps those who help themselves." Perhaps this means to face your problems and do what you can to solve them. Whatever you can't control directly - like what other people think and do, what nature does - you accept, and still live with peace, happiness, and gratitude.

Hmm, how's that for a habit to tack on?

Day 21 - The Daily Show and Nerds

Exercised. Check. About 10 minutes, if you compact all of it together. Woke up feeling rather uncomfortable, and walking around and stretching helped. AND....

...watching the Daily Show with Bill Gates as special guest. I really don't presume to know what people in general think of Bill Gates, other than that he has a lot of money, but here's the thing for me...he Twitters (I don't), and he's a nerd, knows a ton, and because of where he is in life, he's a cute nerd. Hmm...that's the facts, I don't make them up, I just report them.

Anyway, Jon Stewart may be a different kind of nerd (maybe all successful people are nerds in some way, shape or form), and he is also charismatic. Put Jon Stewart and Bill Gates together, and you have some heartwarming stuff. I may be one of the few who thinks this. Oh well.

One particular exchange I loved in the segment was where JS says to Bill "you are twittering. When did you start twittering?!?" BG: "Last week!" (And he says this in such a cute, nerdy way - like a ten-year old who's been asked when did you get your new bike. And then JS askes some comic thing about if Bill can twitter with his mind... Bill Gates is a cute nerd. As a nerd, I'm glad he's there in the upper echelons of the world.

Day 20 - Grief and Resolve

I did exercise yesterday, but also had a job interview, for which I prepared extensively, and then afterwards felt really tired, so I never ended up blogging about it. So there. Today, I went swimming, combined with time in the sauna. Coming from frigid outdoor temperatures, it took a full 10 minutes before I broke any kind of sweat inside the sauna. I was all red aftewards, which I thought was really interesting because it was an even redness all over every part of my body. Being in the sauna is a strange experience - you have to really give in to the experience if you don't do it often because it's so hot, and you find yourself feeling a little panicked with so much heat around you and in the air that you're breathing in. Once you relax, though, and allow your body to soak in the heat, it's nice to feel your muscles relax. I believe that it is good for you, and they say that it's good for joint problems, but perhaps the 25 minutes of swimming afterwards wasn't as good because my wrist, fingers, and elbows did hurt afterwards. But I felt generally healthier, and happy to have done my exercise, so that's something.

I'm grateful for my past unfettered health. I think it's one of the most difficult things for healthy people to understand people who are having serious health problems. Most of the time, healthy people don't have any interest in unhealthy people because they're so in the flow of life. They don't see that sick people are slow because of pain and disease - literally, don't see them, don't see the problem. I know I was that way with people in the past, but now that I'm experiencing my pain symptoms, I definitely have a lot more compassion for people who are not well.

When I was swimming, I went rather slowly and deliberately, trying to make sure I didn't overdo anything. About halfway through my time, a girl started up in the next lane, and she powered through. She may have been in high school or college. I think she must have made two laps for one of mine. I used to be like her. Anyway, I could see her beautiful strokes, and feel the power she had cutting through water. I remember that grand feeling of making the water move just the way I wanted it to. I'm glad I have known that. I am grateful for this condition now that gives me insight into what it might be like for two of my friends who have rheumatoid arthritis. It's astounding that people have this disease and don't decide to just give up entirely. Healthy people really don't know what they've got until it's gone... Sick people show us the true strength of what it is to live and be human.

And people who aren't as fast or as strong any more - they have something to give still. They can contribute, and indeed, one of my friends, ML, strives to be independent and contribute, and she does, a great deal. Such a strong woman, with her knees replaced, and arthritis curling her every joint. I do think she gives more than I do, and is much stronger than me.

Perhaps sickness can make us stronger. It makes us see what's important, helps us prioritize. I've often had this problem of having too many options in front of me. Too many choices. Not enough passion. Someone said that you pick your passion, don't wait for it to pick you. Yes. I agree. Go towards things you're attracted to, do what you can, and let the universe deal with the rest. There's more than enough to go around.

My visualization:
Feel warm, soft sand beneath my feet, almost dusty.
Miles of crystalline green waters lay out in front of me, light playing into the facets, reflecting off the shallow shoals.
A palm tree shades my spot, and I sit there, soaking in the summer heat.
My immune system is a bent, distorted piece of metal, scuffed, rusted, marked up.
Out here on the calm, warm, comforting beach, I see it transformed, straightened, polished, filled in with missing parts. The instructions for my immune system are rewritten, finally, a whole, clean, shining piece that transforms back into a small metal cube that I swallow.
I lay in the warm crystal waters, waves lapping over me.
The crystal water is a tonic, a purifier.
Every time it laps over me, it washes me, clearing away the old, bad information,
making way for the clean, clear, good information.
Healing me.

Day 18 - nasal rinses and staying indoors

Did the requisite exercise, most of which felt good, but I'm definitely battling a few difficulties this morning, not the least being anxiety. Yuck. Exercise is good for that, so I will probably exercise a bit more later today.

It's snowing outside. Yuck.

Today is not an easy day to feel bright and cheerful. Excellent time to practice thankfulness. I am wicked thankful I've got some tasty food in the house and have various items and implements to make good food, so I won't have to go outside in the snow for a while. I'm grateful for the internet, yet again, so I don't have to go outside. I'm grateful for the phone, etc. again so I don't have to go outside my house...by the way, I hear Voice over IP services are going to skyrocket this coming decade, and wired communications are going to drop like lead weights. So, I'm grateful I'm not in either of those businesses. I'm grateful I am not stupid, therefore, I can figure out how to use AutoCAD and Revit, even though I don't particularly love doing so. And, today, I'm grateful for nasal rinses and clean air.

I will relay the story of yesterday's energy audit in dribbles. Today's dribble is that one of the two guys that came into my house to work on it was kind of stinky. This wasn't clearly noticeable at first, but as he went around the house checking on things and moving around, he got warmer, and hence sweatier. And I had asked both of them to take their shoes off inside the house - not a horribly unusual request, they themselves admitted. But the stinky one's feet were definitely stinky and by the looks of his socks, they weren't particularly clean...

So the guy is going around the house, and he starts doing the blower-door test to check for significant leaks through the house. They go around and find leaks by putting their hands against areas to see how much air flow is happening. In a couple of locations, it was significant. Blame the builders and the mice. OK, so they go around with caulk guns and foam, sealing around window edges, baseboard edges, etc. The guy is getting stinkier and stinkier. I can't make any judgements, but my sense is that he's a pot smoker, and the stink was pot smoke stink. He wasn't a bad person, nor was he in any way incompetent, nor did he seem offensive in any other way. He just smelled. And so, for the rest of the day, up until this morning, I've had this smell in my nose of sweaty, pot-smoking male. Not super pleasant.

Finally, I did a nasal rinse this morning and washed my hair. I think things are better. So, all you pot-smokers out there, please be considerate and when you go and sweat in someone else's house, please try to be clean and wear clean clothes, and consider not smoking pot for a few days before hand.

Peace.

Day 17 - Friends, again.

Just a quick one here. I exercised first thing this morning. It was very good. I am actually stronger, amazingly enough. Not a lot stronger, just noticeably. I was able to walk into town to pick up PVC cement from the hardware store, and not feel terribly tired when I got back. I also vacuumed the whole house, moved stuff around, fixed (hopefully) a loose PVC drain pipe in the basement, and I'm not done with the day's activities. Ack.

A couple of guys came to the house to do an energy audit...will discuss this at length when I return, but suffice to say, it took a long time, and while they did good work, there were some downsides.

I'm grateful for my friends. I get to be there for them and encourage them, and they appreciate it. I feel connected and that feels good.

Day 16 - My House

Exercise today was good. It was definitely the first thing I wanted to do when I got out of bed this morning, despite a slightly sore throat. I'm noticing that my arms don't feel quite as bad when I sleep with them over my head, which is a naturally comfortable position for me. This is great. Elbows and wrist still hurt, but I'm starting to feel that it's something I can have some control over, versus the pain bringing me down. I actually felt like I could go longer with the jogging around my house. I think as we come out of winter, it will only get easier to do more. The calisthenics and stretches are wonderful. As is the buckets of vegetables and good eating.

So, I have had this house for five years. There have been many ups and down with it, and I focused much more on the downs than the ups. They literally were driving me crazy, and I have wanted to move out almost since the first year I lived here. There was the carpet, the mice, the allergies, the cold, etc. I got white hairs because of the house. Then there were stresses at work, and I felt I had no place of refuge between work and home. Life was bad. Well, being laid off turned out to be that proverbial blessing in disguise as I've been able to really live in my house. Granted, there are still a few things that aren't perfect and that lead me to want to move still, but what I've found is that it is a cozy size, the first floor being almost a perfect amount of square footage for me, with a beautiful kitchen and plenty of light in the living room when it's sunny. It has nice hardwood floors, good working appliances, and it's not going to fall down!

I don't know why, but early on, as I was trying to fix the place up, I somehow became convinced that the house was just minutes away from going up in flames, or it was going to fall over, or have some structural issue that threatened to bring my life to utter ruin. Well, none of that has happened, surprise of surprises. What has happened, is that since I've spent more time in the house, I've learned the sweet spot for living here, and when the sun is shining, it's absolutely lovely to be in the main living areas of the first floor. It accommodates most of the things I want and need to do easily and well. I never thought I'd feel this way about this house, but I have to admit, at this point, I do. Voila. So, I'm grateful for being laid off and living in this house.

That's transformation for you. And what's an anecdote without a lesson? The lesson is to never take things to an extreme without just cause. It's bad for your health.

Day 15 - Space Heaters and Vegetarian restaurants

Oy! Last night played violin for too long, really pushed it with the elbows and knees (standing). Not sure what I was thinking, except that sometimes my need to reconnect with past excellence overtakes common sense. Not quite well enough to tackle recovering my former violin skills glory...sigh.

So, this morning took some Aleve to alleviate pain in finger joints and elbows. Did ok for most of the day. Also ate at a local vegetarian joint for lunch, good food, but not what I normally would eat - had cornmeal-crusted tempeh. Temp-eh? Tempeh is a little weird - it's fermented soybeans. Weird!?! Also had a piece of vegan coconut cake where the frosting was made from silken tofu. It was very very tasty. Even my friend who doesn't like coconut thought so. I don't know that I really believe it was good for you, though, in terms of fat and sugar.

What am I grateful for today? Besides silken tofu coconut frosting on vegan cake? My space heater. I love my space heater - fan-driven electric heat. It's quiet, compact, and it works. It doesn't rotate anymore, but that's ok. I have two of them, and they're workhorses, they're quiet, and they deliver heat to the places I need it. Especially the one under my desk, I find it really warms me up, even when I have the house set to 55 deg. F. I believe this particular model is made by Holmes, and I got one at Target and one at Home Depot, fairly cheaply. So thanks to the people who engineered up this little gem and remembered those of us who like our personal machines to be quiet.

Also, I am grateful for funky vegetarian restaurants. There ought to be more of them. Even though some of the food options still aren't the best tasting or as cheap as one might want them to be, it's nice to go somewhere to eat and know that your hosts care about what goes into your body.

I promise to do some exercising later tonight, cross my heart.

OK, did it, total of about 10-15 minutes calisthenics, breathing, and just a wee bit of jogging in place. Not much, didn't break a sweat, but the key word here is consistency! It's Day 15!!