| Being A Delicate Flower is Overrated |
[May. 16th, 2012|09:45 pm] |
My plague is leaving. Sort of.
Ends up I have a wicked ear infection, so I'm sure hoping the antibiotics kick in, pronto. My balance is off just the teensiest bit, enough to make me look like a tipsy person trying not to look tipsy, and mostly succeeding. The earache of the other night had best not make a return, or I might be pulling a Van Gogh. In the meantime, I have one seriously crappy symphony playing in my ears. The tinnitus needs some music lessons. The crackling and whistling is quite noisome.
I've had perverse cravings to do handstands, but have been resisting them on account of putting my head down throws everything off kilter and just plain feels terrible. I went in to the gym yesterday and was able to climb the ropes without any difficulty, a few low-weight squats, presses, and deadlifts, but one-legged bodyweight squats were a bit too much for my weakened lungs, and I knew it was time to pack it up and go home. I simply cannot exert myself much, right now. Bah, I say. Bah. Regardless, tomorrow is aerial silks day. If I can climb a rope, I should be able to climb the silks.
Today was terribly unproductive, but I don't mind too much. I got a huge amount of work done the other day, so I think I can bank those hours for today, so to speak.
I just put in an order for a bunch of new knee-high socks from Sock It To Me, which is the first online sock shop I've found which doesn't charge an exorbitant amount to ship to Canada. Hallelujah! Apparently, I have the reputation at my CrossFit club as the one in the funky socks. I'm ok with that. I've always liked wacky hosiery. I like wearing long socks to the gym, because they protect my calves from getting rope burn on all those rope climbs I like to do.
I took a picture today of my guns before all this inactivity has my wee muscles fall off.
![[Mini gun show]](https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/s720x720/547289_10150858614884864_511799863_10046717_1621170493_n.jpg "[Mini gun show]") |
|
|
| Activities Shelved |
[May. 12th, 2012|08:05 pm] |
Earache makes sick Shan a sad Shan. Go away, plague of never-endingness, now with achey tinnitus. Go away!
On the silver-lining side, my aerial workshop was cancelled today. It's just as well, because the way my sinuses feel, being suspended and spinning upside-down would be a special room in Hell.
I was invited to a party tonight, but I'm feeling destroyed. I was really hoping to get to the gym to do some lifting today, but it didn't take long for me to realize that would be a Bad Idea. Feh.
Despite the malaise of my head tubes, I was productive. ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1) f00dave, Meredith, and I installed a buttload of new shelves to replace the seen-better-days old shelves I had in my room. It's starting to look nice in my room, instead of just cluttered randomness. Now it's eclectic with a theme. Whoa. I never thought that would be possible.
I can't remember if I mentioned or not, but a while back, I discovered a huge abscess on Princess Tubby's face. I don't know how it went unnoticed for so long. I guess I thought she was having a bad fur day for a while until I realized the lump was the size of a marble. That would be huge on my face, let alone on a little critter like Tubby.
I took her into the vet, and he checked it out. The good news is that it wasn't a tumour. The bad news is that draining and rinsing it out then giving her a course of antibiotics didn't solve the issue. So surgery was next. She had the lump removed, and I was worried about her for quite a while after that. She lost a lot of weight overnight and was miserable. But then her appetite returned and she gained her weight back.
Alas, but the surgery site was starting to refill. The abscess was trying to return.
Ends up the bacteria in the infection was not responding to the antibiotic. For chinchillas, antibiotic options are very limited. She's been put on a new medication, and I think it is finally working.
She hated the taste of the old stuff. We had to force feed her, and she made horrible faces all the while. But this new stuff? Well, take a look for yourself.
Tomorrow morning, I'm going to Mississauga to see this: Canada East Crossfit Regionals Competition. A team from my CrossFit club qualified and I'll be there to cheer them on. I sure hope this earache is gone by then. Gah. |
|
|
| I've a Little Teapot |
[May. 10th, 2012|01:03 pm] |
I'm almost completed my teapot. Here's the B-side, as of this morning. It's in the kiln now. I just have to finish the lid and then it's done.
![[Teapot]](https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/s720x720/156239_10150841481689864_511799863_9998679_1796912551_n.jpg "[Teapot]")
My next plan, since I'm still too sick to work out, is to mosey around outside picking flowers. I think I'll make something with dandelion blossoms. I found a recipe for jelly, and another for cookies. |
|
|
| Snippets of Memory |
[May. 9th, 2012|09:39 am] |
In 1999, when I was a cashier at a grocery store, there was a big advertising campaign in the deli. The posters said, "2000 is at the door. Answer it with cheese." Uhhh....
...
I remember walking with f00dave along a residential street. Some 10-year-old boys were playing street hockey, when they suddenly threw down their hockey sticks and ran up to us excitedly. "Can we have your autograph?" they asked Dave.
"Who do you think I am?" he asked, confused.
"You're Wayne Gretzky, silly!"
...
I was waiting in line for boxed lunches. The woman at the counter said, "We have a vegetarian option, a beef option, and a chicken option."
A clueless man asked, "Is the chicken vegan?"
...
In grade eleven, while in a haze of too much studying for final exams and not enough sleep, I, for some inexplicable reason, hooked up a piece of surgical hose to two high-pressure water taps in the chemistry lab and turned them both on. The hose exploded off one of the taps and sprayed everyone in the room.
...
When I was too young to walk, my father held me in his arms and I remember looking up at his nose and seeing nose hairs. I reached up to pull them, and he gently pushed my hand away saying, "No, no."
...
I remember knightky in wet, green Cornwall, creeping up on some furtive sheep amongst the standing stones and thatched roof houses. I laughed when he charged the sheep and they bolted, leaving him standing there in the sodden grass saying, "But I only wanted to give them scritches!"
...
When I was 9, I was walking with my family, my collie Shep, and her litter of hyper puppies across the dunes of northern Newfoundland. All of a sudden, Shep barked, and tore off across the dunes and out of sight. The puppies tore off after her. We crested the dune and they were nowhere in sight. We could, however, see a beached whale. It was moving. As we got closer, we could smell the rot and corruption, and it became obvious that the whale was moving because it was full of rolling dogs. Dad pulled them out, covered in maggots and slime, and he puked a few times while he threw them in the ocean to clean them off. They screamed and yiked like they thought he was trying to murder them, and every chance they got, they'd try to run back to the whale. We had to keep them all tied up for a few weeks lest they return.
...
I remember the time in university when my Victorian Literature prof., Dr. Bentley, gave us a very special Victorian Literature lecture: instead of talking about Wuthering Heights or Erewhon, he'd brought in the local Natural Law party representative, who spent the hour explaining to us how if Natural Law were voted in, that they'd teach us to yogic fly, make all home entrances southern ones, and prevent the birth of national enemies. |
|
|
| 3 2 1 GO! |
[May. 8th, 2012|02:46 pm] |
On Saturday I did my first-ever timed 5 km run. I'm not going to win any races. I was the slowest person who did the run by far. BUT, I am pleased. I didn't have to stop even once. I didn't even need to slow down. And at the end, I was fresh enough to put on a block-long sprint and finish in 35:51. I know now I was overly cautious in my cadence, but since it was my first time, I didn't really know how to pace myself. Lance, the CrossFit running coach, was impressed by my time, and says I should be able to shear it down to 30 minutes by October.
Here's our running group about five minutes after I finished the course. I pretty much crawled into position.
I was afraid I might run something like this camel, but apparently my form looks pretty solid.
( Behind this cut lie photos.... ) |
|
|
| Picture This! |
[Apr. 22nd, 2012|11:49 pm] |
Hi. I haven't been here in a while. Time to fix that.
I've been been excruciatingly busy. I'm taking classical voice lessons, and am starting up with musical theory again. I'm doing much better with it than I thought, because I haven't forgotten nearly as much as I was afraid I had. I look forward to being able to sight read music again. Right now, I'm sounding melodies out slowly, kinda like learning to sight read words the Sesame Street way.
I've also been continuing with my china painting class. My painting style in this is surprising me. It's completely different from any other paintings/drawings I've done in the past. I'm currently working on a teapot. It's not done yet, but here's where it stands after about two months of work:
( Read more... ) |
|
|
| Upcoming Belly Dancing Classes avec Moi! |
[Mar. 13th, 2012|10:59 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | dance | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  hopeful | ] |
12 weeks of dance classes (April 4-June 20) for the freakishly low price of $54.65. Members get it even cheaper: $45.02. Whoa. Bargain city! Classes are Wednesday nights from 6:30-7:30. To register, go to the front desk at the Rockway Centre (1405 King St. East, Kitchener) and hand 'em your moolah.
Join me for a fun, relaxed class. This is not a class where you will be learning a choreography. You will be learning technique and improvisation, and having fun while doing so. Suitable from total novices (fresh off the couch) on up to experienced dancers. And yes, I teach guys too.
Since the City of Kitchener forgot to advertise the class in the Leisure Guide, please help spread the word around. It would be a shame if the class was cancelled due to lack of enrolment. |
|
|
| P-p-p-push it! |
[Mar. 13th, 2012|10:56 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | fitness | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  accomplished | ] |
Today I'm beginning my 100-day push-up challenge. On day 1, I do 1 push-up. Day 2, I do 2. ... Day 100, I do 100. They do not all have to be done in one go, but can be spaced out throughout the day. If I miss a day, I do them the next day, along with the next day's push-ups.
My push-up form is not where I want it to be, and doing this will tighten up my form. I did the same thing with burpees, and although doing a couple of dozen burpees in a row still winds me, it's a hell of a lot better than a year ago when I could barely do 5 without wanting to die. And my burpees look pretty darned good now, if I do say so, myself.
Push-ups are not as physically demanding as burpees, so if the burpees had you daunted, the push-ups should not. So, won't you join me in this endeavour? Push-up solidarity for the win!
knightky is in on this with me. He just finished his 100 days of burpees yesterday. I also have a bunch of folks on FaceBook joining me, and a few on Fitocracy (if you want an invitation, just ask me. Fitocracy has a great, supportive community, and is a great way of keeping track of your training).
Join us. Join ussss..... |
|
|
| Burpee Madness |
[Mar. 7th, 2012|05:11 pm] |
Yesterday, I completed my 100-day burpee challenge. Technically, I should have completed it on Sunday, but I had a stomach flu on day 93/94, and there's just no way I was going to do them in that state. By the strict rules of the challenge, I was supposed to make up for the two missing days plus do 95 on the 95th day, but considering I'd already done an enormous workout that day and was still recovering, I figured, bite me, challenge. Purists would say I cheated, but they can bite me, too. Heh....
Six months ago, burpees were my most dreaded exercise. I loathed them. Doing 5 left me staggering and heaving like a horse with its wind broken. Burpees still wear me out, but I can do about 15 at a stretch before really wanting to stop. And as soon as I get my breath back, I can go right back to them. Doing the 100 yesterday was no big thing. I would not have believed that possible a year ago.
The two hardest days were the day before the flu made me take a break (doing burpees with what feels like half-formed churning concrete in your guts is horrid), and the second competition date for the CrossFit Opens, where I did 30 45-lb snatches (that sounds so dirty) and 8 75-lb snatches. I actually had to bribe myself to do my burpees that night. Snatches plus burpees is a cruel combination. Sadistic, even.
And yeah, I'm participating in the CrossFit Opens this year. I have no illusions that I'll be finishing anywhere in the top 25%, but I'm challenging myself to do my best. The first round was burpees. I did 65 burpees in 7 minutes. I'd hoped I'd do better, but my asthma was giving me grief that day. I can't be too disappointed, considering my lack of burpee acumen last year.
The third round of the competition is being announced tonight. I will be attempting whatever it is tomorrow afternoon. The suspense is killing me!
Now that I'm through with the burpee challenge, I want to repeat the challenge, but with pushups this time. Pushups aren't nearly as physically demanding as burpees, but my technique could use some tweaking. The challenge will do this wonderfully. I'll wait for knightky to finish his challenge (he has a few days left), and then we'll start them together. Anyone else want in on this? We can keep one another motivated.
(By the way, you've probably seen all those motivational posters and such that say you can regret not having worked out, but you'll never regret having worked out. The exception to this is when you have the flu. Specifically, ass flu. Just so you know, and don't go there....)
Also, this picture makes me laugh:
 |
|
|
| No Paradise on Earth For Me |
[Feb. 27th, 2012|01:12 pm] |
I'm currently feeling woozy and ill, and since hard physical activity is currently out of the question, I may as well do a bit of writing.
I got thinking about the things I do now (or have done) which I could not have done as a Jehovah's Witness (JW). Any one of these things could have gotten me disfellowshipped (to those not in the know, that's roughly analogous to Catholic excommunication). Here are my sins, in no particular order.
- Reading literature critical of the JWs.
- Celebrating birthdays.
- Celebrating holidays.
- Singing a national anthem.
- Singing religious songs which are not JW songs.
- Smoking tobacco.
- Reading/writing/watching pornography
- Donating money to the Red Cross
- Entering non-JW places of worship
- Attending non-JW religious services
- Taking religious studies courses at university
- Taking courses and workshops on sexuality
- Going to a women's bath house
- Playing Dungeons and Dragons
- Playing Vampire: The Masquerade
- Playing Demon: The Fallen
- Watching movies about the occult
- Reading/writing occult stories
- Knowingly eating food which contains animal by-products
- My score on the Purity Test. ;)
- Talking to disfellowshipped JWs
- Believing evolution is a perfectly logical theory
- Considering the Bible a great collection of mythology
- Thinking Charles Taze Russell was a charlatan
- Knowing that many Bible stories have mythological antecedents
- Fucking swearing
- Independent thinking
- Not keeping God foremost in my mind while having sex
There are more, I'm sure, but these shall suffice for now. |
|
|
dizzy
sick