My 100 Days, post #1

YA author and Vlogger John Green decided to have a healthy mid-life crisis last year.  He and his best friend set out to develop healthy habits with exercise, meditation and diet.  Due to the magic of YouTube and John Green being a popular YouTuber, we all got to follow their progress. You can watch for yourself, if you want, by going here.

I find most things John Green does enjoyable and this series was no different.  However, the series went in a predictable way.  Experts were interviewed at the beginning and one of the recommendations was 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily.  Very little of the exercise in 100 Days was moderate in scope.  In what I think of as a very American way to go about exercise, nearly all of the workouts were intense, caused a lot of groaning and, in the early days, some dry-heaving by John.

I and several other people pointed out that the exercise that was happening wasn’t very moderate. The response was that they wanted to do more intensive exercise. John Green deals with OCD issues and found that an exhausting workout helped him a lot with his symptoms.

In the end, John Green found that he really loved exercise in a way he couldn’t have imagined when he began the project.  I enjoyed watching his progress, and found myself deciding to do my own 100 days project, tailored to what I think will work for me.

Like the original project, my 100 Days project will encompass exercise and meditation. Rather than diet, I will focus on food habits.  I plan to use the month of May to track where I am currently then begin my 100 days project on May 29, which will bring my project to a close on September 6. This is a project I would be better off doing during the winter, as summer is the time of the super me, and everything tends to be better, but no matter.

Between now and my first pre-100 days check-in post on April 30, look for posts on where I am right now with exercise, mediation and food habits.

Surgery day

Today is the day the boyfriend has a surgery to remove a growth on his head.  Here are all the things I brought along: my work computer, my phone, my tablet (Matt brought that so he could play games while he waited. But then I had to hold onto it while he was in surgery), two books, my camera (not pictured because it was taking the picture) and some tea.

It struck me that I had about $3000 worth of devices with me.  Yikes.

Some wild post-surgery hair.

His surgery went well and the lump is gone.  The patient is recovering.

REI Co-op Member #2

I don’t read the obituaries on a regular basis, but at times I’ll skim them.  What I have been doing for years, is match the birthdates of the current people listed in the obits with people in my life.  For many years, the people dying had birth years similar to my grandparents, 1908 and 1912.*  It’s now incredibly rare to find someone who was born in 1912, and the 1908 people have been out of the running for some time now.  Now I mostly find people my parents age, or my own age.

But here!  Mary Anderson!  Only one year younger than my grandfather, and three years older than my grandmother. What an exciting find!  As was the news that she was member #2 in the REI co-op.  My co-op number is much higher than hers.

*My other grandparents were born in 1898 and 1900, but by the time I started playing this game, everyone their age was more-or-less dead.

New Cap

In the 80s, when I swam on a summer swim team, the only caps available were made out of latex.  They were hard to get on by yourself because the latex would pull your hair. Putting them on involved two people.  I would hold the edge of the cap to my forehead and someone else would stretch the cap backward over my head.  They would hold it while I shoved my hair into the cap.  Then they could let the cap go.

The caps were prone to ripping, which meant you never bought just one, because you had to always have one on hand.  The best part about them was that they would stretch a lot in the water.  Sometimes at the end of a swim meet we would jump in the pool and carefully stretch the cap out in the water until we could put one of the younger swim team members inside.

Now they have invited silicone swim caps.  Which are much better in every way but stretching to small-child size.  They don’t stick to your hair and they last forever.  My cap that just broke lasted for years.  (Granted, not all of those were swimming years, but it didn’t even break down like the latex ones would.)

So welcome to the new cap.  And thank you, new cap, for showing me how to properly treat you through graphics and Engrish.

I am owsam

One of the fun things about being an “expert” at The Emerson School, is the thank you note that arrives in the mail after your informative talk.I was tasked with discussing why we use pickling salt instead of normal salt when pickling.  I imparted that knowledge (additives such as anti-caking agents and/or iodine cloud the liquid and can discolor the items being pickled) and assisted the class in making refrigerator pickles.  For my troubles, I got this very owsam thank you note.

On the Truck-o-Pats at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade

I learned about the Truck-o-Pats from my friend Maureen.  She attended the neighborhood St. Patrick’s Day parade two years ago and was very excited to discover there was a Truck-o-Pats.  As was I. I couldn’t go last year, but this year the stars aligned.  Here are pictures from the day.

Motorcycle cops, a whole line.  I learned that the police that guide this march have double duty. In the morning, they work the Shamrock Run downtown, then head to Northeast for this parade.  This way, the parade gets the police for free.

The arrival of the Truck-o-Pats.  The vetting process to join was not difficult, Maureen asked around, we found the Pat in charge and I introduced myself.

Note my favorite detail on the truck:  green chrysanthemums in the windshield wipers, which were then extended out and turned on so they waved.

Parade participants begin to assemble.

This truck had no sign, so I’m not sure who they were affiliated with.

The parade organizer rallies the parade participants.  He has awesome pants.

The woman I suspect of being his wife also was nicely attired.

Some parade watchers.

The bagpipes are piping.

Footage is being captured.

Thus guy, who I’m a sure is not actually a zombie, stands in front of the Irish Wolfhounds.

The unidentified truck of kids watches the parade begin.

Here was a group of marchers.  I’m also not sure what their affiliation was.  They may have been festively dressed families.

And now the Truck-o-Pats is in the parade.  This is the home of the parade’s organizer, who makes good use of his yard for advertising.  He originally started this parade to lure his father-in-law over from Ireland for a visit.

Festive front porch parade viewing.

There was discussion if this priest was a dude dressed a priest, or an actual priest.  Either way, he was quite tall.

This firefighter walked behind the Truck-o-Pats in the parade.  He was ridiculously good looking in a way the camera did not capture.

Post parade, the Irish Mammies assemble for a photo.
And here I am in the Truck-o-Pats.

What a great parade. I plan to return next year.  And possibly bring my Aunt Pat.

A day of things to be grateful about

Things have been tough lately.  I hate keeping up with news (and keeping up with the news is something I love) because I come away informed, yet also angry and frustrated.  I feel powerless to change anything.  It’s March in Portland and it’s cold and rainy and there is no sun and it doesn’t seem like spring will ever come.  Every single thing I do seems like a waste of time.

And today I made myself write down one thing every hour that I was grateful for.

I’ve done gratitude journals before, and they don’t do much for me.  Having to think of five things each night means that I think of the same things every day, more or less, so it gets repetitive and feels like an obligation.

But this worked.  Something about repeatedly finding things to be grateful/thankful about during the day elevated my mood.  You noticed I wrote down the date at the bottom.  I had planned to keep doing this every day until things improved, but one day was exactly what I needed.

Phew!

Best Photos of 2016

Every December, I search back through my photos and pick ten to print and display for the coming year.  The printed photos live on the photo collage next to my bed.

This year, I trouble finding 10 photos I really liked.  I guess taking good photos is another of the casualties of the changeover to the 40-hour week.  But here are the 10 I found to be good enough.

Here’s the photo that became the Christmas Card.  I love the Fairlift and I love the bright colors in this photo.

Also from the fair, this goat was nicely framed and had a sweet expression.

Another contender from the fair.  (What would I have done if we didn’t attend the fair?).  This monster truck is completely off the ground!

The vacationing couple, or perhaps important photographer and muse.  I mostly printed this for the memory of the endless photo-ing, but I also like how her outfit stands out against the gray Washington coastline.

Another photo from vacation.  This is Lake Crescent and its very blue water.

On the way to a weekend retreat in Centralia.  There’s actually an Instagram version of this photo that is better.  But this was the one I took with my camera.

The colors and the fog made this one a winner.  it’s also a good reminder that my regular walk across the bridge can be magical.

Usually the top spot in my photo collage frame is a concert or performance of some sort.  This was a panel discussion at Wordstock, so not necessarily a performance.  But it was very entertaining, and the selfie from different angles made me laugh.  It’s also a nice showcase of the Old Church.

Early morning contrails and an alley.  This photo didn’t come out quite the way I wanted it to. It’s standing in for the picture in my mind, which is even better.

Another “performance” photo.  This one was snapped a fraction of a second too late.  During Love’s Labour’s Lost this was musical montage backed with “Theme from a Summer Place.”  This couple made me laugh.