Something funny?

I've got nothing to write about (and less to read as Palmer seems to have lost his muse over at Fearful Symmetries). Lately I've been relaxing into the rhythms of life (which is no mean feat for me), and working out.

Right now I've got a living room floor full of clean laundry. It had to move there because piled up on my bed, it prevented my going to sleep last night. The Netflix films I've had for 2+ weeks are just sitting there on top of the TV. I guess I wasn't ready to rewatch Children of Men after all. I thought perhaps I'd watch it this morning. But it's gonna be another beautiful and unseasonably warm day (52 in mid-November in Wisconsin!?!?), so spending the morning inside seems criminal.

Here's something funny. I'm nearly ready to start looking for a job. "Nearly Ready" means: I no longer get hives thinking about going to an office day after day. [oh, wait, writing that sentence gave me hives. perhaps I spoke too soon?]

My last exam in Anthro made me realize I've begun to catch up with myself. Actually, surpassed myself, intellectually. It's like my brains aren't any better than they were a few years ago but I've figured out how to USE them. That's a good thing. Still aimless as ever, but I seem to be able to hear and then use information well.

In the next few minutes I will be deciding what the next couple of hours will hold. My deepest yearning is to lay in bed and drink water. I'm not kidding. That sounds so wonderful to me. Hey, that's kind of funny (not intentionally so, but hey I'll take it)! There, I did it.

Cow

From the Cows on the Concourse 2006 - I wonder where all the cows are now?

Also, why didn't I really take any pictures in 2007? At least I've started up again.

If you can read this, you are a genius!

Look for the Union Label

I come from a long line of Union folks, so it's heartening to see a picket line in the news (organized labour is so passe these days!) - here's a video from United Hollywood showing office writers/cast members talking about the strike.

A hot bath

The weather has turned cold, and I'm saving up for something good so I haven't yet turned on my heat. The apartment is a surprising 70 degrees, which I'm happy about, considering it's 34 with a 27 degree wind chill outside.

I remain adamant about not being quite ready for the weather.

The one nice thing the cold brings back are long hot soaks in the tub, which is where I'm headed momentarily. I'm hoping the hot water will have a soporific effect and I'll be able to sleep closer to 8 hours (my favourite amount of sleep is 9 hours a night, but I haven't pulled that off in a long time) than I have in the past couple of weeks.

UPDATE: I got nearly 7 hours! Maybe I can do it again tonight...

Because I care

Okay, so I went to look up the telephone number of Walgreens so my poor asthmatic kid can get an inhaler refill, when I notice there is a "Sexual Wellness" tab and of course, I must click on it.

And following some interesting sounding links (come on, "STDs and Ecological Niches"? That is a must click), I get to this CRAZY image.



It is somehow deeply disturbing, I think you will agree. But wait, there's more. Here is the text:

Many sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs) invade the host and reside for long periods of time without killing the host. A good example is syphilis, which may reside in its host for 30 to 50 years. HIV also can take 10 or more years to kill its host, allowing plenty of time to spread the infection.

But really I'm super fascinated that Walgreens will ship a Liberator Wedge or some De La Cruz Super Macho High Potency Formula with Bovine Glandular Concentrate Capsules straight to my home.

It's all so wholesome seeming, but seedy at the same time.

I was born to blog/Talk to me/Thank you for being a friend

For reals, tho'. I've been a self-involved diarist since I learned how to hide a notebook. When I started blogging I felt so incredibly anonymous, it was great. In this forum I'm known to a few and that's fine. Most of the time I keep my business out of it.

Lately I have begun to see that I have a talent of sorts, and that is getting people to tell me things about themselves. It only works with people I'm actually interested in hearing about, and is strangely ineffective on Palmer. He can resist my verbal charms like no one else on the planet. At least he isn't immune to *all* of my charms.

Today I had a nice conversation with one of my professors and I left feeling as I hope others feel after we talk. As though a burden were lifted from my shoulders, as though someone understood my situation. And that was really nice. I'm not all that good of a counselor, and not always that good of a listener, but I am rediscovering the curative powers of a good conversation.

Later on I had a brief but moving conversation with a woman in my class. She looked really sad and I walked up to her and hugged her (I didn't even ask her permission, and we are not friends in class, but she looked so lost). Then she told me something really sad, her reason for looking so devastated, and I hugged her again, and this time she grabbed me back and held on. I wanted to sit next to her and just hold her. In hind sight I kind of wish I had. She was really hurting.

Apparently my misanthropy isn't as hardcore as I'd thought.

Although I can't recommend that everyone hug people without permission (I can get away with it sometimes for reasons I am hoping are not related to my becoming 'matronly'), I do encourage the offering of a heartfelt condolence to someone who looks sad.

And although it is very difficult to do sometimes, I also offer a recommendation to take the kindness offered freely by others, especially when you need it.

It's not often I get to quote the Spice Girls Movie, but it's true, "a smile costs nothing."

The past couple of weeks have been odd - I'm not sure what it is, but I've been connecting with people as I haven't felt able to in a long time. It is fantastic, but I'm afraid I'm going to overwhelm everyone with my enthusiasm. Ah, the more things change, the more they stay the same.