A Blog about Everything

I am not really dead!

2010-03-14T21:08:00.001-04:00

Haven't been inspired to write anything for months. Blame job-related problems. First, I had very little to do at work but had to look busy. Now, I have so much to do that I cannot get it done in the time alloted. Both scenarios lead to mental malfunction.
Will try to do better this week. We are now on DST, so will not be able to go to sleep for an hour later than usual, anyway.

Indiana State Fair

2009-08-17T19:44:00.006-04:00

Childhood memory: At about age 8, I thought I wanted pet chickens. My parents said "no". I still like looking at the fancy birds that probably won't end up as dinner.

Busted for making bad TV ads?

What you feel like after eating State Fair food.

This was a hot air balloon participating in a race. They lifted off at 7 am Saturday morning. Imagine waking up after having a few beverages the night before and seeing this. It would be enough to make you take the sobriety pledge. Or get another drink.

Michigan

2009-08-01T14:35:00.012-04:00

Now I am going to randonly upload photos (by selecting them only by number) from our recent mini-vacation to Michigan. All the excitement of the casino (which we did not go to despite its proximity to our lodging) without that annoying loss of cash.

Cool and foggy morning at Harbor Springs, on Little Traverse Bay. It doesn't warm up there until about 2 pm. This village has its own yacht store.

Sea gull, or more correctly, ring-billed gull.

These are everywhere, even the Meijer parking lot.

Lighthouse at Whitefish Point on Lake Superior. This is near where the Edmund Fitzgerald wrecked in November 1975.

Whitefish Point also is known for birding. I think this is some kind of grosbeak. I forgot to bring the bird book, of course.

What to do when you have forgotten your bird book? Take pictures of all the signs along the nature trail. Note: this didn't help very much.

Tahquamenon River in the state park Tahquamenon Falls. The water is clean, and the scenery is beautiful. It would be a great kayak trip except for the 50 ft waterfall.

And here it is. Yellow coloration of the water is from tannins (plant compounds).

Well, enough photo gambling for today.

Can you hear me now?

2009-07-21T19:38:00.004-04:00

News item: you can now download an app that lets you text message God. Who found out that cell number? Does that mean he also gets those annoying text messages saying you can upgrade your phone? I could not make up stuff this weird even if I tried. This is even better than "take you gun to church day".

fireworks

2009-07-08T19:29:00.003-04:00

Keeping with my habit of procrastination, here is my July 4 post. Actually, our local fireworks were delayed until July 5 because of all-day rain on the 4th. So I'm only 3 days late. Plus, I was sick then but now I'm not. So....let's celelbrate!

Where's everybody at?

I coulda been a contender

2009-07-01T12:09:00.006-04:00

I've been demoted from fish electrofishing surveys because I'm too slow and uncoordinated to net the fish. Being short does not help, either because the person carrying the fish shockng equipment is typically tall. When you are short, you get a reflective glare from the water that the taller person is not subject to. Maybe I should have thought of that years ago when I was doing my career planning. I was short, slow and uncoordinated then, too.

Probably not the way to do your career planning.....

Maybe I shoulda been a wetland biologist. The plants don't move very fast, and there seems to be a demand for this type of service.

My birthday is comiing up and I'm over 50, so I have reasons to be in a contemplative mood.

The eagle has landed

2009-06-15T19:31:00.008-04:00

From Eagle creek reservoir Indinapolis. Apparently, they have been nesting for several years here. I didn't know about it until yesterday. Very majestic birds with impressive talons. We were in kayaks only a few yards away. Fortunately, they didn't mistake us for carp. The red-winged black bird sharing the limb with the eagle didn't seem too worried.

update

2009-06-15T08:07:00.003-04:00

Thanks to my loyal readers (both of you). My work situation is at a low point lately. Relationship with my boss is so tense that it is starting to exceed my coping capabilities. Friday morning we had a brief, tense interchange that ended with him leaving the office while extremely angry and me having a mini-breakdown. We haven't spoken since. This morning's staff meeting should be a joy. I am at the stage where I am starting to pack up all my stuff. This is a formidable task because I have accumulated debris from graduate school (both MS and PhD), and almost 11 years of paid employment in 3 different venues.

I remember the lesson I learned in Michigan to not quit before you have another job lined up. It's going to be a challenge.

unfortunately

2009-06-08T21:41:00.003-04:00

Unfortunately, it seems that due to my sloth and inattention, I have lost the readers I did have. So now this will be my own journal. Well, it seems like my blogging is in shambles.

Unfortunately, it seems like the biggest shambles is my career. The first thing I should have done differently to facilitate success in the world of aquatic biology was to have accepted a Y chromosome instead of an X. Picking out taller ancestors would have helped, too.

Then I should have started on career path this earlier in life, so I wouldn't have entered the job market in The Middle Ages. The medieval attitude of hiring managers that if you're over 40, you're almost too old to function. You're "over-qualified". (Of course, if you're female and under 40, they don't want you because you might leave to have kids! ) They can't come right out and say all that of course. "We'll let you know" they say. If you're lucky, you get a letter that starts out "Dear Applicant". Usually, you never hear anything at all.

Finally, someone hired me. Everything was great, for awhile. Then, fast forward a few years....

So now, not only am I over forty, I'm over fifty and teetering on the brink of unemployment. Why? Maybe it's the sorry state of the American economy. Maybe it's my sloth and inattention again.

spring flowers-May edition

2009-05-29T20:09:00.004-04:00

Columbne

Yellow ragwort, or somethng similar

Miami Mist

Errors of identification are always possible

random photos from Spring Mill state park

2009-05-04T16:15:00.007-04:00

I'm home from work on a sick day, so I have nothing to do except upload random pictures

Ask the chicken which way the wind is blowing

The park's name sake

Leave it to Beaver

Turtle I should be able to identify.

Wandered into a tractor show. Gotta love Allis Chalmers orange!

just wondering

2009-04-08T16:59:00.002-04:00

Why do gas prices always go up on Tuesday? Am I the only one who has noticed this? There is one gas station on my way home from work that always is the last in the neighborhood to raise prices. Every Tuesday afternoon, it is a mob scene of people trying to fill up. Just plan ahead!

not dead, just comatose

2009-04-06T08:27:00.003-04:00

This blog is not dead, just comatose lately. I have many excuses: I have been training for a spring triathlon (pool swim, fortunately), work-related stress, our computer was ill and then expired, ect. The more realistic reason is that I started using Facebook. There I post even less thought-out "pearls of wisdom".

Depression is not a "lifestyle choice"

2009-01-21T20:19:00.002-05:00

I was telling someone yesterday that I had been feeling somewhat down lately. Unexpectedly, this person became quite upset with me, saying he was tired of hearing about my low moods and that whether someone is of a happy or sad disposition is a choice, and not the result of genetics, body chemistry, or earlier experiences. Basically, his argument was that my episodes of feeling low were a "lifestyle choice". Sort of like deciding what color socks to wear each day, I choose what my emotional state will be.

Whenever someone talks about a "lifestyle choice" it is never meant in a positive way. You never hear (in disparaging tones) "yeah, that' s his lifestyle choice to be a law-abiding citizen and have a successful career". It's always said in a critical way if someone is does not meet so-called "approved standards", whether it be for sexual orientation or whatever. But I beg to disagree. Just as people have different sexual orientations for reasons that we don't completely understand yet, people also have different emotional dispositions. Just don't call it a lifestyle choice.

Today's random post

2009-01-12T17:38:00.005-05:00

I've been pretty much out of inspiration to take pictures or write anything meaningful lately. The weather has been dismal. Not enough snow for skiing, too cold to enjoy outdoor activities, and frequent freezing rain making driving a hassle. So I thought of a remedy: first, pour a drink. Then pull out an old picture CD and randomly upload an image.

Well, that upload wasn't totally random, as the files had labels on them. I have to look at pictures to remember what a good winter day is like. This is Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan. There are miles and miles of wonderful trails available, many with spectacular views of Lake Michigan. There are also hills MUCH bigger than this one. Note to Laurie: this is where I often put to use my downhill ski skill set, including "butt slide" and "face plant".

My work place attitude resolution for the New Year

2009-01-08T16:52:00.004-05:00

Goal: a calm, zen-like state at all times....

Reality: Wanting to rip off some heads

More New Year's improvements

2009-01-05T16:47:00.002-05:00

New Year's resolutions and *what they really mean*
1. Lose weight *get weight down to what I didn't want to get up to*
2. Post intelligent blog updates on a regular basis *update often enough so friends don't think I'm dead*
3. Be happy and productive at work *try not to get fired*
4. Keep house clean and organized *clean enough that I don't need to hide when the doorbell rings*
5. Keep mind sharp by learning new languages *watch the Spanish channel to check out the guys*
6. Start making more lists *just like this one*

New Year's fitness goals

2009-01-03T11:59:00.004-05:00

Photo of me at the beginning of a triathlon last summer.
Well, not exactly, but my goal for this year is to improve my performance from "painfully slow" to "sorta slow". To help me with this goal, I received a heart rate monitor as a Christmas gift. It beeps at me when I am below or above my target range for heart rate. It calculates a target range based on my age. In the past two days, it has beeped a lot. (Note to self: do NOT take this gadget to airport for any reason). I knew my fitness level needed improvement when my heart rate soared 30 beats per minute above my resting rate just from putting on a hooded sweatshirt. I had not even taken a single running step yet.

This is an exercise in self-discipline and self-improvement. Running is the quickest way to improve fitness, but does not come naturally to me. In the winter, it's too cold and I would rather be in the gym lifting weights. If there is snow, I need to be out cross-country skiing. Spring is a good time to bring out the in-line skates. In the summer, it's too hot and I would rather be riding my bike. In the fall, I would rather squeeze in one last kayaking session or bike ride. I can't figure out why the running portion of triathlons are so difficult for me.

Today is day 3 of the new, improved version of me. It's kind of cold and windy outside. Maybe it's time to head back to the gym and lift weights while dawdling between sets, listening to the MP3 player.

Blogging for Jesus on work time

2008-12-03T15:59:00.003-05:00

OK, the title is misleading. I'm not at work, and this isn't a religion blog. What I have been thinking about lately is work place ethics. What is acceptable? Does it vary by situation? There was an episode of the NBC show The Office that aired on 10-09-08 that took a hilarious spin on this topic. Michael and Holly decide that the employees need a refresher course in workplace ethics. Dwight says he does not waste any company time, so Jim decides to use a timer to track how much time Dwight spends on activities such as yawning, bathroom visits, ect.

While this episode of The Office was funny, it did raise questions. Where is the line between acceptable and unacceptable use of work time? What about a person who blogs about his Christian faith and church involvement, but does it on work time? Unlikely to win any converts among your coworkers. What about briefly checking personal email (probably OK) and spending hours on message boards/Facebook/MySpace/twitter.com (probably not OK). Is there a difference between shaving a few minutes off your day and not showing up at all for work (while still claiming a full shift was worked) when you know no one else is scheduled to be in the office?

I'm not saying I'm perfect either. I have been guilty of the following work-place crimes and misdemeanors:
Reading the postings of previously mentioned "Christian blogger". This can be explained as inter-office communication, as this person is rarely in the office at the same time I am and does not talk to me when he is there.

Using full water sample bottles as weights to do arm exercises. I figure this falls under the category of "employee wellness".

Mailing personal bills. This can be explained as motivation to remain employed when I see how much money is going out.

Studying Spanish. This could be called professional development in case our company ever expands into global markets.

One thing I can honestly say is that I have never participated in the newly minted phenomenon of Cyber Monday, when people do their on-line Christmas shopping from their work computers. The connection is way too slow.

Lighthouses, Then and Now

2008-12-02T15:51:00.006-05:00

During a recent visit to Michigan, my husband and I toured the coast of Lake Huron to photograph lighthouses. One of our stops was at Tawas Point, the location of which is shown by the barely visible red circle on the map on the sign.

This was the historical lighthouse, now used only as a museum and gift shop (both closed for the season when we visited).

Over the years, the shifting sands and changing coastline required the placement of a new navigational beacon a half a mile from the original lighthouse. This is what our government constructed. Which do you think is more photogenic?

BE GODS vs IN GOD WE TRUST

2008-11-25T12:43:00.003-05:00

This could be called "News of the Weird", which is pretty much assumed when we're talking about the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV). The Indiana BMV has rejected a renewal request for a personalized license plate that reads "BE GODS". The intent was for it to be interpreted "Be God's", but the BMV isn't big on punctuation. The irony of this was that Liz Ferris had this plate previously but was late with her renewal, so the BMV rejected her request. The other irony of this is that the BMV offers (for no additional charge above the generic state license plate) a state plate that reads "IN GOD WE TRUST". After the ensuing lawsuit, the BMV relented and allowed Liz her BE GODS plate. However, all other requests for personalized plates must not be religous. The reasoning is that atheist plate requests would also be allowed, such as GODLESS or GOD CANT. These types of plates would be "offensive to most Hoosiers".
This is Indiana! We can't have freedom of speech or freedom of (or from) religion.

Links to full stories: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200881118058
and
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008811200481

Birds of Michigan

2008-11-20T21:43:00.008-05:00

Birds seen during a recent week-end trip to Michigan. Some of these are considered to be nuisances.

Mute swans at a Grand Traverse County nature preserve

Canada geese, probably NOT migrating to Canada

Ring-billed gull cruising the shore of Lake Huron

Flight from Charlevoix to Beaver Island. How did this photo get in here?

Tagged

2008-11-18T16:56:00.006-05:00

I was tagged by Laurie of Chinaera contemplations. Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random (or arbitrary) things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

1. My only problem is that I don't have 6 people to tag. I was thinking about this at 2 this morning. One person deleted their blog, another blog is dormant, and yet another reader does not have their own blog. Other people have only left one commnet on my blog, so does that give me tagging rights? And if I tag Laurie back, will it start a chain reaction that causes the destruction of the Earth? So here is random item #1 about me: I tend to obsess about stuff.

2. I went to a basketball game at Moo U. with my husband last Friday night because someone had given us free tickets. The guy sitting behind us was loudly doing a play-by-play commentary to no one in particular. He was even shouting at the opposing team during their warm-up. At least I try not to disturb others when I'm being obsessive.

3. The high point of my day yesterday was that I found Count Chocula cereal at Meijer and it was even on sale. Sometimes it's the little things in life that make all the difference.

4. I was watching TV the other night and decided maybe I should wear my hair in dredlocks. Or is it "dreadlocks"? I dunno. The person on TV looked great. Then I realized I probably have the wrong genetic background to make that look work for me.

5. November is my least favorite month of the year. Warm-weather activities are over, and there isn't any snow yet for cross-country skiing. Plus, I'm already tired of Christmas songs and decorations in the stores, and we're not even past Thanksgiving yet.

6. I'll try to be better about posting to this blog. I"ll put that on the to-do list along with: organizing my house, garage, and office; losing weight and getting in tip-top shape; reading more so that I become a fascinating conversationalist; finishing all of those incomplete projects at work and home.....

Still alive, continued...

2008-11-13T00:11:00.002-05:00

To continue the last post:
Life has gotten in the way of blogging lately. First, as mentioned, I bought a new vehicle. The vehicle itself is fun, although more upscale than I've ever had before. For example, I never knew what satellite radio was all about. It came with the vehicle as a pre-installed option with six months of "free" service included. Now (after less than a month) it seems to be a basic life essential, like water or food. The stressful part was making the final decision to trade in my old, paid-for vehicle and then to endure the actual process of buying a new one. It took an entire afternoon of listening to descriptions about extended warranty plans, financing applications, options for anti-theft system, ect. Sign here, and here, and here. In triplicate.

Then there was the computer virus. My husband opened an email that appeared to be from a company he's done business with, but actually was malicious spam. Despite having up-to-date anti-virus and anti-spyware software, this virus persisted. After great effort and frustration, we THINK the virus is gone, although the computer still does not function at an optimal level. The problem is likely that all of the new protection programs are competing with each other.

Then there's work. I won't elaborate upon the details, but suffice it to say I don't have any break time for blogging there, either.

Oh yes, Laurie, I've been tagged. I"ll respond at some point, but it's way past midnight and time for me to try to sleep.

still alive

2008-11-06T16:59:00.004-05:00

to my devoted readers:
I'm still alive although I haven't posted lately. My excuse is that I bought a new vehicle (seen above) and the stress was just too much.

a bad omen?

2008-10-06T20:16:00.003-04:00

My husband and I went kayaking the other day. Immediately after launching, we saw a group of turkey vultures roosting nearby and watching us. They are magnificent birds, but I couldn't help but wonder if this was a bad omen.

They had to find their meal somewhere else. We exited the water four hours later, tired but still alive.

What I learned from a PBS special on baboon stress

2008-09-26T15:25:00.002-04:00

As I was aimlessly clicking through the TV channels two nights ago, I happened upon an intersting PBS show titled "Stress: Portrait of a Killer". A study has been done on primate stress responses, in particular baboons and British government workers. It seems that those of lower social rank have more stress hormones in their blood. People who feel they have little control of their work situations and baboons that were at the bottom of the pecking order experienced elevated blood pressure and accelerated cardiovascular disease. The result that interested me the most was that this type of chronic stress also resulted in increased abdominal fat depositon. Now this would explain my lack of results from doing abdominal exercises. It's not the pizza, ice cream, ect that I've consumed over the years. It's all from job stress.

The link to the web page for the show is:http://www.pbs.org/stress

Dinosaur joins the 21st Century

2008-09-22T19:27:00.002-04:00

So I finally broke down and bought an MP3 player. Not an iPod, mind you, but something that costs much less. A product that is called a "Sony Walkman" but bears little resemblance to the item of the same name that I owned back in the 1980's. For one thing, the controls are much tinier. Almost invisible for someone of my advanced age. On the plus side, the sound quality is much better. My ears are holding up better than my eyes.

I thought I would never need any of this new-fangled stuff. I've been around long enough that I've purchased some music multiple times on multiple formats-vinyl records, 8-tracks (sorry to admit that), cassette tapes , and CDs. I didn't want to start with anything new. Why the change? Simply put, it's now officially autumn and that means cooler weather and frequent work outs in the gym. The gym where the overhead music system plays the group Creed almost constantly. I heard Creed all last winter. If I have to hear it again this year, I'm going to go crazy. Or crazier.

Scenes from my not-so-new job

2008-09-12T12:33:00.014-04:00

This post was inspired by Laurie http://www.ichthyologistbright.blogspot.com/

who wrote about "Delta in Distress" and "Scenes from my new job". This is also a continuation of yesterday's post about the extinction of freshwater fishes. My career is being an aquatic biologist. I spent x years in graduate school and incurred 2000x dollars of debt to launch this career. It's been 10 years since I quit being a "student biologist" and became a "professional biologist". I've been at my current job for 5.5 of those years. Some days are better than others, like any job. Some days there seems to be hope that maybe what I'm doing will improve the aquatic environment. But problems are widespread and numerous.

Tile drains dump field run-off directly into waterways. Rumor has it that some of the older farm homes dispose of all their waste water (including sewage) this way too.

Who knows what was in this 55 gallon drum that was dumped into the river. I try to ignore it as I go about my business of collecting macroinvertebrates (one way we can assess the health of an aquatic ecosystem).

Stream-side trees and shrubs are good for aquatic ecosystem health. Mowing right up to the edge? Not so good. This was not a golf course.

Riverside land ends up in the river. Erosion produces sediment that smothers aquatic life and eventually ends up in the Gulf of Mexico.

Despite all the problems, some relatively sensitive fish species are holding their own in many places. Here I am holding a rock bass that we electroshocked out of the Tippecanoe River, considered to be a priority for conservation by The Nature Conservancy. The fish was released alive immediately afterward.

North American Freshwater Fishes Fading into Extinction

2008-09-11T06:04:00.002-04:00

Today's reason to be depressed
Just when I was feeling better yesterday (after my dentist appointment and after realizing a black hole hadn't destroyed the earth yet), this was sent out to the Indiana Chapter of the American Fisheries Society email list:

North American Freshwater Fishes Fading into Extinction

GAINESVILLE, Florida, September 9, 2008 (ENS) - Fishes that once were abundant in North American streams, rivers and lakes are now disappearing, with nearly 40 percent of all species in jeopardy, according to the most detailed assessment of the conservation status of freshwater fishes in the last 20 years.
The report shows that 61 fishes are presumed extinct, and 280 species are classed as endangered. In addition 190 are considered threatened, and 230 fishes are listed as vulnerable to extinction.
The new report, published in the journal "Fisheries," was conducted by a team of scientists from the United States, Canada and Mexico, led by scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey. The team examined the status of continental freshwater fishes and those that migrate between rivers and oceans.

Link to full story: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/sep2008/2008-09-09-02.asp

Today's reason to be depressed

2008-09-09T07:55:00.004-04:00

Anyone paying attention at all to the news will never lack ample reasons to be depressed. Wars, homicide, natural disasters, environmental degradation,...the list goes on and on. But this morning's news yielded a unexpected reason. It seems that the earth is in danger of being destroyed by a black hole if an experiment in Switzerland does not go as planned. The Europan Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) will put on-line the Large Hadron Collider, the most powerful atom-smasher ever built. The plan is to collide and shatter protons, thus yielding information about anti-matter and conditions that existed an instant after the Big Bang. Critics say this will create a micro black hole that will that will eventually consume the planet. Opponents to the project have filed suit in the US District Court and the European Court of Human Rights. Because the project starts tomorrow, I'm not sure how successful they will be trusting the legal system to terminate it.

Do I still have to go the dentist tomorrow?

Car Shopping

2008-09-02T14:34:00.007-04:00

It seems that a bout of car shopping is in my future. This thrills me about as much as hearing my dentist mentioning a root canal. My vehicle is at the point where expensive repairs are going to be frequent and inevitable. I've had this vehicle for almost seven years. It's been said that one should never love something that doesn't love you back, but when you've been through so much together, it's hard not to get attached.

Typical winter morning in Traverse City Michigan. Days like this were fun with four-wheel drive. In an entire winter living there, I only got stuck once, when I drove off the road in a blinding snowstorm and into a low spot that was lined with ice.

Enough room to haul three days' worth of camping gear AND four years' worth of non-sorted macroinvertebrate samples back from Michigan when I returned for a short vacation and a visit to The Reservation for some work to be done on a contractual basis.

Years of hauling bikes, cross-country skis, a snowboard, and diving gear. Additonal cargo: garden supplies; papers, cans, and bottles to recycling: and stuff from Lowe's that my husband just had to buy THAT VERY DAY.

Making a decision that involves large amounts of money and dealing with car salesman is never easy or pleasant. Do I go for another four cylinder engine? This one was economical and adequate for the Midwest, but barely made it up Look Out Mountain in Tennessee. What about Escape hybrids? Are they worth the extra cost? Do they come in any color other than barf green?

I only hope I make as good a choice as I did last time. I knew I had a winner when my normally reasonable Unitarian friend looked at me, slightly horrified at the sight of a dreaded SUV and said "what would Jesus drive?'.

Olympic burn-out

2008-08-18T20:00:00.003-04:00

Ten days into the Games and I've reached the stage of Olympic burn-out. It happens every four years. The first few days, I watch everything with great interest. Arm-wrestling between two countries I've never heard of before? Bring it on!! Now, I'm overwhelmed with swimming medleys, swimming relays, different swimming distances, gymmastic team medals, gymnastic individual events, gymnastic all-around, preliminary rounds, ect. And wonen's beach volleyball....how many matches of this can I watch? And why are the competitors almost naked? (Note: I have no complaints about events featuring scantily clad males). It would be better if the TV people showed all of the sports, just in shorter segments. I"d like to see some of the equestrian events, for example. But I guess because there are no semi-nude women riding horses, the TV programmers don't think it will draw audiences. Make no mistake: I have great respect for all the athletes, it's the TV schedule that I have issues with.

I might be related to Julia Child

2008-08-16T09:49:00.002-04:00

Or perhaps, I should say was related, as she is no longer alive.

There was a story on the NBC evening news a couple of nights ago about how the late, great gourmet chef Julia Child had been a spy for the USA during WWII. Now this story would have been of only slight interest to me, except for one thing. A photo of her original application for spy service was shown, and her name was not "Child"... it was "McWilliams". A quick Google search revealed that Child was her husband's name. The name McWilliams is somewhat unusual and also is in my family lineage not too far back. Perhaps I have some money coming from her estate?? What about family resemblance? She was 6'2" tall and an excellent cook. I'm short and can barely boil water.

When I was in Ireland, I went to a reputable source (a vendor kiosk near the Blarney Castle) and purchased a family history of the McWilliams clan. I received a family crest and scroll describing the unpronouncable Gaelic form of the name and the family origins in Northern Ireland, migration to Scotland where they rose to prominence but then were booted out after some kind of falling out with the authorities. They then returned to Northern Ireland. Some later emigrated to Australia and the US. One of the more famous descendents was economist and broadcaster David McWilliams, who in 1994 coined the term "Celtic Tiger" to describe the surging Irish economy.

On a similar line of thought: another name in my family lineage is "Irwin". Perhaps I'm related to the late Steve Irwin, crocodile hunter! Crickey!

Overcoming a fear of heights

2008-08-10T12:59:00.009-04:00

Warning: more vacation photos

I'm pretty much a chicken when it comes to heights. So, what do I do on vacation? Confront it head-on!

Nervously navigating a ladder at Badlands National Park.

Wondering what holds up this roadway at Yellowstone.

Getting ready to ride elevator to top of Seattle Space Needle and wondering if there were any bathrooms at the top (there were).

Taking a tour of the Grand Coulee Dam. You get in an elevator car and descend down this track to access various areas within the structure. The elevator car had glass sides so you could appreciate how far you would fall if there was a mechanical failrue. The tour guide cheerfully noted that all parts and labor for the elevator were provided by the lowest bidders.

Someone other than me para-sailing over the Puget Sound at Seattle. Now, that's just plain crazy.

Yellowstone Park Part II

2008-08-08T15:36:00.006-04:00

Alternative title: Wild Kingdom

Everyone who goes to Yellowstone, myself included, expects to see a bear. Early childhood spent watching cartoons of Yogi Bear at Jellystone Park imprinted this idea. Unfortunately, there are no bear photos to display. Twice we came upon traffic jams within the park. Each time , we stopped and asked what was happening. "There's a grizzly over there!!!" were the responses. The scenes were general chaos, with kids yelling and parents jockeying for the best position from which to take pictures. Each time, we were about one minute too late, as the alleged grizzly fled the area.

There was also a traffic jam caused by a herd of bison. The bison didn't flee from the people. They had no fear of anything or anyone.

The most abundant form of mammal life in the park was people. Here people wait for Old Faithful to erupt. It was competitive to get the best vantage point for photos.

This overlook from which one can view the Yellowstone River in a waterfall and a spectacular canyon would be a great spot for quiet contemplation. Except: we had to work our way through the crowd to take this photo.
I'm still glad we went, despite the crowds. The last week of July probably isn't the best time if you want peace and quiet, though.

Yellowstone Park

2008-08-07T20:40:00.008-04:00

Alternative title: I shoulda taken an elective course in Geology.

My lack of knowledge in geology became apparent during a recent visit to Yellowstone National Park. The entire park seems to be volcanic. Hydrogen sulfide odors fill the air. Geysers spew, mud pots bubble, and hot springs boil. Do I know the definition of a fumarole? No. This may not even be spelled correctly.

Bubbling mud pot.

Warning signs tell you to stay away from the geologically active areas.

Old Faithful is right on schedule (plus or minus 10 minutes).

Thermophilic bacteria living in a hot spring. Finally, something this bio-nerd can understand.

Quarry Scuba Diving

2008-07-16T16:31:00.005-04:00

Diving in an Indiana quarry may never be portrayed on a Discovery Channel special, but it can be pretty fun. This quarry has an average depth of about 20 feet, with some spots of about 25 to 30 feet deep. My husband and I went on Sunday. We didn't take the underwater camera because we thought there would be nothing interesting of which to take pictures, and besides we had taken pictures of everything last time we were there. That is why these pix are marked 2005, but the scenery is the same. We should have taken the camera this time, because we finally spotted the elusive paddlefish for which this quarry is famous, plus a huge flathead catfish, numerous largemouth bass, and various schools of sunfish. The catfish gets larger everytime I tell the story. He's at least 5 feet long by now.

We're all different but all the same

2008-07-15T11:10:00.002-04:00

There's one aspect about me that makes me a minority. Only about 10% of the population have this tendency. You probably wouldn't notice just to look at me, but after a while, my mannerisms would give it away. When I was a kid, my parents thought this tendency was something quite bad and tried to "convert" me to the majority. I tried for awhile to pretend, but finally realized I just had to be the person I was born to be. I can understand their concern, because the world is not set up for people like me. In their youth, people with this tendency were considered to be quite abnormal. Fortunately, society is now more accepting and accomadating. Still, our English language reflects the view that people like me are not as good as those in the majority.

I'm left-handed... .what did you think I was talking about???
My hope is that some day, being gay or straight will be as much a non-issue as being left-handed is today. Like I told a gay co-worker once who was "coming out" to me: Relationships are relationships. It doesn't matter the genders of those involved, the issues are pretty much the same.

Bod Pod

2008-07-11T08:12:00.004-04:00

I have another Bod Pod scheduled for less than an hour from now. Once again, I will have my percent body fat evaluated, data entered into a computer, and results printed off "for my records". I know that a person's character and personality are what are truly important, but this morning I feel like this:

Update: I should make this my profile picture. Despite training for and finishing a triathlon, in the past month I supposedly gained three lbs. of pure fat. Lard. Adipose. Flab. It must be middle age spread catching up with me.

And to add insult to injury, some kids called me "Gramma" while I was taking my daily three mile walk the other evening.

Sheep

2008-07-09T22:28:00.005-04:00

There's no actual point to this post, except I vaguely recall my reader requesting a blog about sheep awhile ago. Maybe "requesting" isn't the right word...how about "mentioned". This is from last fall's Irish Fest in Indianapolis. Part of the fun and festivities is watching the sheep dogs herd the sheep within a small pen. I supposed they have to keep them enclosed, with all the Irish dancing and Guinness drinking going on everywhere else on the festival grounds.

Only 2 more months till the next Irish Fest. But before then, there's the Indiana State Fair and MORE chances for blogs about farm animals. This is, after all, the blog about everything.

The Demise of Relationships

2008-07-07T17:10:00.003-04:00

Or as I could title it: WTF did I do wrong this time?

This is NOT about the demise of romantic relationships...that is its own kind of hell. No, I'm talking about the end of other relationships: specifcally, friendships. Some friendships are for a lifetime. I'm learning as I get older to greatly value those friendships. Most friendships, though, have an end date to them. If both parties agree that it's over, then, all is well. The usual case is that one person phases-out the other without explanation. This may be an attempt to spare feelings, but it can lead to bewilderment and wondering: what did I do wrong? Case in point: I had a friend who worked with me at Moo U after I graduated. We bonded while collecting aquatic bugs from noxious field sites in Indianapolis and doing water chemistry tests with noxious chemicals. We talked about anything and everything. Then she got another job in another state but the friendship continued. I even visited her for three days and we had a great time (I thought) biking, talking, roller blading, ect. The email correspondence suddenly dropped off a few months later. I tried emailing at least 3 more times. No bounce-backs, but no answers either. It's been over a year and I'm still wondering what happened.

This rant was inspired by a boss/friend who today made a passing comment (again) that perhaps I should find another job or line of work. He's the one who says he's my "friend"'; I consider him to be my "boss". Perhaps there are special rules for the demise of these types of hybrid relationships.

tri-ing not to drown

2008-07-01T22:37:00.004-04:00

After a hiatus of almost a year, I decided to give triathlon another try. I'm a half-way decent cyclist, and had done a run/walk event recently, so I was comfortable with those parts of the race. Not fast, but at least able to feel confident. The swim was another matter. I had not been in a pool since I couldn't remember when and was not a good swimmer even when I was training regularly. I can swim back and forth in the pool easily for forty minutes, but swimming in open water with waves and other competitors kicking me makes me very anxious. But after four pool training sessions in four weeks before the race, I was as ready as I was going to be.

The swim segment of the race was a quarter mile, as this was a sprint triathlon, the shortest kind generally offered. I am the person in the yellow cap in the foreground of the picture. This event was well-organized, with lots of safety people in the water, as you can see from the boat that appears to be following me and a couple of other ladies. The orange floats on the left side of the picture were on a rope that marked the course. If you look closely at the swimmer in the green cap behind me, you can see lots of weeds (aka aquatic macrophytes) dangling from her arm. The dark object in front of me is my hand, functioning as an aquatic plant survey sampling device.

I finished the swim in 20 minutes. And no, I was not in last place.

Art in the Park

2008-05-19T17:15:00.006-04:00

Yesterday, we visited a park in central Illinois that has many sculptures on display. The 6,000+ acre park is owned by the University of Illinois, and is named Allerton Park after the donor Robert Allerton. This park is not well-known but has beautiful formal gardens in addition to the sculptures. Of course, I especially enjoyed the male body being represented as an art form.

These were called "Fu Dogs" and there were two long rows of them, all slightly different.

We were only able to tour a small portion of the park when the prospect of a 2.5 hr drive back to Indiana after already been on a 30-mile bike ride earlier made us call it a day. Perhaps next time we will be able to stay longer.

Somwhat plagarized meme

2008-05-15T10:12:00.002-04:00

First, I have to reference my friend Laurie's blog http://ichthyologistbright.blogspot.com
for this post. I wouldn't have ever thought this up on my own. Plus, I'm not sure what a "meme" is....it just seemed like a cool idea!

1.What I was doing 10 years ago: I was in the final stages of finishing up my Ph.D. at Moo U. I had less money, but more optimism than I do now.

2.Five things on my to-do list today:
Pay car insurance bill (d0ne)
Show up for work (done)
Update blog (being done right now)
Meet friend after work for coffee and/or a walk
Learn Spanish (probably will take the rest of my life)

3. Things I would do if I was a billionaire: I dunno. Probably travel the world.

4. Three bad habits I have: I'm actually perfect, but some might disagree. I hate housework, I hate cooking, and I hate getting up early.

5. Five places I've lived: Not much geographical range here...Chicago, IL, northern Indiana (IN), north-east IN, central IN, Traverse City, Michigan.

6. Five jobs I've had:
Dairy Queen (got fired after 2 months)
Medical Technologist in clinical chemistry lab (good job but high stress)
Graduate Teaching Assistant for Anatomy & Physiology lab class (almost hurled during cadaver demonstration)
Aquatic Biologist at Indian Reservation (beautiful area to work in!)
Aquatic Biologist at tiny consulting firm (current job)

7. Five books I've recently read: Probably can't answer this...I just read bits and pieces of books. Many of them are Spanish language instructional books.

You're supposed to tag seven people at the end of the meme. I don't have that many readers (that I know of).

a month of racing in Indianapolis

2008-05-08T15:57:00.004-04:00

I'm normally not a big fan of auto racing, but along with other freebies included in each mini-marathon race packet were free tickets to go to opening day (Sunday) at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I had never been to the track when there were race cars using it. So being too sore and tired the day after the mini-marathon to do anything physically demanding. my husband and I decided to use the free tickets.

The first thing I noticed upon arrival was the noise. I thought perhaps there were jets taking off nearby, but no, those were the race cars. Watching on TV does not give you the full effect of the decibel level. The next thing I noticed was that many spectators were wearing earplugs. That's a good idea, I thought to myself.

Then I noticed the variety of people who showed up for opening day. A few were wearing mini-marathon shirts and hats, having also used the free tickets. There were several fashion statements made by those dressed up from head to toe (complete with Mad Hatter hats) in black and white checkered flag material. Others were following the Cone Head advice to "consume mass quantities" and probably didn't care where they were.

The most disturbing person I saw was a guy wearing a "White Pride Ride" shirt. He was quite large, had many tattoos, and a shaved head. Plus, he brought along a friend that was just as big as he was. We didn't stick around to find out if anyone with alcohol-enhanced courage was going to challenge them.

The picture is of one of the several race cars you could look at but not touch. There were security people stationed everywhere to make sure of that.

Indianapolis mini-marathon

2008-05-05T07:59:00.003-04:00

Two days ago (Saturday May 3) I participated in the Indianapolis min-marathon. This is the largest half-marathon (13.1 miles) event in the country, with 35,000 registered participants. When one registers, they ask what your estimated finish time will be and group the participants accordingly. Runners and walkers were grouped into alphabetical corrals, with corral "A" being the fastest. Being honest when I registered, I was iplaced n corral "W". Even that far back, I could barely see the large orange sign indicating the location of corral "Z". This picture shows what the view was from my vantage point. The start line is somewhere far ahead. By the time I arrived at the start line, the elite athletes were near the half-way point at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. When I saw the Kenyan winners later on TV, I could see that they were focused on only their perfomance. Our back-of-the pack group was busy taking pictures, calling friends on cell phones, and waving to the many spectators along the course.

I finished in 3 hrs 24 minutes, even improving last year's time by 5 minutes. And I had time to read the many signs spectators were holding along the course. The best sign: "You're all Kenyans to me".

Thanks for the encouragement!

The worst sign: "All viruses are male".

What is that supposed to mean?

Registration is already open for next year's event. The race organizers expect it to sell out months in advance, just like every other year. And yes, I'll sign up again.

Not quite ready for Roller Derby

2008-05-01T16:53:00.004-04:00

It's been awhle since I updated this blog. First, I was depressed because I didn't have enough to do at work. Later, I was exhausted because I had too much to do at work. But now it's back to my random entries.

This picture was taken this past Saturday. I am on the new Rollerblades (yes, that is the brand I bought), carefully navigating a rail-trail. From my about-to-crash posture, you would never guess that I bought my first pair of in-line skates back in 1991. Back then, all skate boots were hard-shell plastic with no ventilation. The new skates have a softer feel, more like an athletic shoe, with a breathable boot. This should help with my "hot feet" issues during the summer. Unfortunately, my balance/coordination/confidence issues are still the same as with the old skates.

Just for the record, Laurie, I did NOT fall down. Almost fell down several times but managed to stay upright. And for the record, a former railroad bridge that now has a surface of wooden planks does not make for a smooth skating experience. Fortunately for me, I could grasp onto the handy iron rails of the trestle.

Not getting older, just better...

2008-04-09T16:52:00.002-04:00

I thought I was having a good day. The sun is shining, and the work day went by quickly and without too many problems. I arrived home in a unusually good mood. Then I picked up the mail and found this addressed to me:
"You may qualify for a Senior Final Expense Insurance Program that can alleviate financial burdens your family may face after your death"

Huh? Why do they think I'm about ready to expire? I exercise regularly and make sure to have a diet rich in anti-oxidants (red wine, chocolate). I manage stress by often leaving work early to go play in the park. In fact, I'm so young at heart that I just bought new Rollerblades.

Wait. Maybe that's what alerted them.

One of those days

2008-04-03T16:38:00.003-04:00

It's been one of those days. A day when I started eating baking chocolate right from the bag as soon as I came home. A day when I felt like this picture. The day started when this cat woke me up by being sick right next to the bed. At least she didn't barf ON the bed. The off to work, where the boss seems to be constantly irritated by the fact that I am breathing. Nothing I do is good enough. And if I hear "have an attitude of gratitude" or "count your blessings" one more time, I may cough up a hairball.

Scuba diving locations

2008-04-01T16:01:00.005-04:00

Scuba diving in Florida

Scuba diving in Indiana

Today is the first day of April... time to start thinking of warm-weather activities.

COWS

2008-03-28T16:50:00.002-04:00

My friend Laurie http://www.ichthyologistbright.blogspot.com/ wrote about and posted a photo of Scottish Highland cows called Helian Coos. Now I'm not a bovine expert, but these cows are different enough from everyday Midwest cows that even I would notice. Even the name of the breed is unusual. I have a Gaelic vocabulary of only about 15 words, so I dug out my Scots Gaelic book and looked up Helian Coos. No luck. The word for cow is "bo"...sort of like "bovine".

Here's a picture of an American cow. I don't know what kind, but I'm sure its ancestors were immigrants. Just like almost all Americans.

Springtime in Indiana

2008-03-04T15:34:00.003-05:00

Two days ago, the skies were blue and the temperature was approaching 70. I extracted my mountain bike from its winter hibernation spot, aired up the tires, and took a leisure ride around town. Today is a different story-freezing rain, sleet, and wind. This picture was taken about 15 minutes ago. It's the kind of day when I could fall on Mo Thoin (see yesterday's post) if I step outside. Rush hour traffic is going to be a mess. So of course, I left work early.

Laurie, doesn't this make you all nostaligic for Indiana?

Pog Mo Thoin

2008-03-03T20:32:00.004-05:00

That's what the T-shirt I'm wearing at the moment has printed on it, along with "have a nice day" in English and a big, green shamrock. Hey, it's March and St. Pat's Day is only 2 weeks away. When I bought the shirt last month at a Celtic theme shop, the lady at the counter felt compelled to inform me that the Gaelic writing didn't exactly translate to the English writing. When I visited Ireland two years ago, I learned just enough words by reading signs and listening to our tour guide to guess what this phrase might mean. And because Gaelic is not an official language of BlogSpot, I assume the title of this post will go untranslated. Some days when everyone seems intent on being rude, annoying, or just plain moronic, you just gotta say:
Pog Mo Thoin

more political commentary

2008-02-26T16:49:00.004-05:00

With all the fuss about the picture of Barrack Obama visiting Kenya (OH MY GOD! He might be Muslim!), I thought that in case I ever decide to run for office (yeah, right), I'll give my opposition a head start. Here I am in Ireland (OH MY GOD! She might be Irish!). Just don't tell John McCain that I'm still not voting for him, despite the "Mc" in front of his name I don't automatically pick the candidate that is most like myself without considering his/her position on the issues. Unless there is a over-50 female candidate who is part Irish American, part German American, part Native American, left-handed, and willing to give income tax breaks to aquatic biologists, bicyclists, and owners of pets. That person has my vote.

Extreme Winter

2008-02-15T16:42:00.003-05:00

The coldest place on Earth is probably The South Pole. The second coldest place is along Lake Michigan in February. Last weekend, I went Up North to the ole stomping grounds, to do a little cross country skiing, take some pictures, and visit The Reservation. This picture is of a "tourist town" that will be bustling with life during the summer. When this photo was taken, the snow and wind were coming in off Lake Michigan with wind chills well below zero. There were still a few hardy (crazy) people driving around, myself included. Indiana seems almost tropical by comparison.

Yes, that is a big wooden fish on that pole. I think it was supposed to be a Northern Pike, but the snow kept hitting me in the eyes, so I did not notice all the details.

Un-Inspired

2008-02-05T16:49:00.000-05:00

Lately, I've been too uninspired to write. Even at work, where I have external motivation like a boss telling me to wrap up my projects from 2007, the words won't flow. I sit at the computer and cannot even manage to type out routine sentences. It seems like I'm typing the same words over and over: low diversity of aquatic insects, degraded streams, poor habitat, water pollution, yada, yada, yada. So if I can't even manage to complete my work projects in a timely fashion, the blog is in serious trouble. This morning, instead of completing the "Discussion" section of my latest report in which I am supposed to correlate aquatic insect data with environmental disturbances, I tried to think of blog topics. No luck. So today, instead of a Blog About Everything, we have (with a nod to Seinfeld):

A Blog about Nothing.

Bowling for Dollars

2008-01-22T16:32:00.000-05:00

I haven't been bowling for years. So many years, in fact, that I don't remember how many. But on Sunday, the temperature was very low, and my boredom levels were very high. So, along with my spousal unit, we went to the local bowling center. In the world of bowling, I remember smoking being common, along with drinking beer and loud cussing. Also, cheating on your score was possible because you had to guess how many pins were still standing and then try to remember the arcane scoring rules.

There have been lots of changes in the past x years since my last outing. The rental shoes were not as repulsive as I expected. There were no ashtrays in sight, it was a family environment, pin counts were done by some kind of laser, and the scoring was computerized. Another thing that has changed is the price. When we had completed 3 games, we called it a day and went to settle up our bill. The guy at the desk said "that will be $29.75, please." That's about twice what I remember an afternoon of bowling to cost for 2 people.

One thing that hasn't changed is my lack of skill at avoiding the gutters.

Gymboree

2008-01-17T20:25:00.000-05:00

This post isn't going to be all about me. No, this is about all the other denizens of the gym. Working out indoors in a gym can get pretty boring. All the TV sets on the wall are tuned into ESPN Sports Center. The view out the window is of Wal-Mart and the interstate highway. So for entertainment, I turn to people-watching.

The most noticable of all is "Hefty Bag guy". He always wears a garment that appears to have been fashioned from a trash bag. It is unclear whether he thinks he can sweat off fat this way, or is just making a really poor fashion choice.

Then there are the guys who try to lift more weight than they are really capable of, and compensate by grunting in a loud, obnoxious manner. Or they try to compensate by using poor form; jerking the weights and leaning backwards instead of isolating the muscles they're trying to train.

Other bits of entertainment: loud cell phone conversations; visible boxer shorts on guys; guys who come in pairs and monopolize one weight machine for extended periods of time while they trade-off doing sets; guys not re-racking heavy weights, MP3 players turned up so loud you can hear them 3 treadmills away.

Of course, I am the epitome of gym etiquette, decorum, and good fashion sense. Except for when I put on apparently clean clothes at home, drive 5 minutes, and realize half way through my work-out that my shirt has a nasty spot on it, my sweat pants have cat hair stuck to them, and I feel a sneezing fit coming on. Someone is probably blogging about that right now.

Wish I was a fly on the wall.....

2008-01-15T17:05:00.000-05:00

It's winter in Indiana. The days are short, there's no snow for skiing, it's too cold to do anything else outside, and the doldrums are in full effect. So when I saw an orange flier on my mailbox advertising a wall-climbing gym opening in my neighborhood, I paid attention. Perhaps this would shake me out of my depressive state. I contacted my good friend who had expressed interest in wall-climbing before but I had always said "no". This time we set a date when we would be ready to "climb the walls". I've never tried this before, but how hard could it be, I thought. After all, I've been spending some serious time lifting weights and am in MUCH better shape than your average middle-aged woman.

We arrived at the climbing facility after I had a hectic day at work and I was mentally exhausted. I started to worry when I didn't understand all the words on the waiver. What does "belay" mean? They fitted each of us with a harness that fits over the pelvic region and for which I needed assisstance to adjust properly. I'm glad I didn't drink any coffee this afternoon, I thought to myself. They proceeded to give us a safety orientation, for obvious reasons. The guy who worked there was showing us how to tie the knots in the rope, thread the rope through some kind of device that keeps the rope from slipping, here's how you correctly belay, ect. I finally figured out that "belay" means you stay on the ground and control the safety rope (i.e. keep your friend from plunging to her death). The rest of the details were a little much for my fatigued brain to grasp, but I did my best.

I looked around. Little kids were clinbing successfully. I can do this!

My friend decided to climb first while I stayed on the ground. She sailed to the top without too much distress. Then it was my turn to climb. I quickly discovered that this was much more difficult that I anticipated. The holds were much too narrow for my extra-wide feet. My upper body strength did a disappearing act. I went as far as I could and asked my friend: how far up am I?

About four and a half feet, she said.

I thought it was at least five feet.

After about four more low-altitude efforts on my part, and successful trips to the top on her part, we were ready to call it a day. Then the safety-orientation guy came back. I see you're having some difficulty, he said to me.

Ya think????

Try this other wall, he said. The holds are wider, so I could get better leverage with my feet. Which was true, and this time I may have cracked the 10-foot elevation barrier. Then I got to the part where the holds were farther apart than my reach, and my progress stalled. I swung out from the wall supported by the pelvic harness, said I was done, and was gently lowered to the ground. This time we did call it quits for the day.

Just like shopping for clothes and shoes, this experience has convinced me that the world must be populated with tall people who have narrow feet.

Resolution Revolution

2008-01-03T16:51:00.000-05:00

An update on progress with the New Year's resolutions (Hint: not much progress).

1. The food journal didn't start until Jan. 2nd, and already I'm having problems. By 4 pm yesterday, I was already 222 calories over my target, and still extremely hungry. By 8 pm, I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep without more to eat. So after 2 more yogurts and 2 more string cheese sticks, I was WAY over my target calories for the day. But at least I lowered my risk for osteoporosis.

2. Attitude at work: yesterday I had a good attitude. Of course, it helped that there were no phone calls and my boss was gone all day. Today, unfortunately, was business as usual. And once again, I was in a bad mood by the end of the day.

3. Organizaton-haven't even started on house, but did manage at work to find file for project for which boss wanted to tell me (after the fact) how the data should be handled. Directly related to Item # 2.

New Year's goal setting

2007-12-31T15:57:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again, the time to admit I might not be perfect. Time to set goals for improvement. So, here goes...

1. Tomorrow, I will resume keeping a food journal. I took "a day off" from journaling when I was stressed out about house renovations in-progress. That was in early November. Then there was stress from Thanksgiving, Christmas, work, and a couple of trips to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Mysteriously, my weight loss stalled about the same time the food journal hit the skids.

2. Starting Wed., I'll try to have a better attitude about work. I'm not sure how to implement this one. I've tried various methods in the past: deep breathing, relaxing music, positive thoughts, ect as I drive to the office. Then I arrive and the same frustrations hit me in the face. I still end up pissed off by the end of the day. Tomorrow I have the day off so I have an extra 24 hrs. to work out the details.

3. Get my life organized (see blog about having a clear-out). Ideally, I wouldn't have to run to the store to buy something of which I already have multiples but can't find. Or have to tear apart the house to find some vital document. Maybe I should start with one of those junk-drawer organizers. Except my whole life is one big junk drawer.

4. Make this blog about something of world-wide significance. Ok, now that's just dreaming.

Snow news is good news

2007-12-17T18:36:00.001-05:00

During winter, my thoughts are dominated by: 1. When will the weather be suitable for cross-country skiing?
2. I think I'll leave work early to go cross-country skiing.

Today I had to take a mental health break from Bizzaro World and go skiing. The picture is not from today, but rather was taken near my former home in Traverse City, MI. The amount and quality of snow are MUCH better there, and you have many wonderful trails to choose from. We have one city park here that has wooded trails, or you can take your chances at a golf course. Today's skiing in Indianapolis was a bit on the icy side because we had rain and sleet mixed in with our last snowfall, and barely enough snow to separate skis and bare earth. But a so-so day of skiing is still better than a good day at work.

Having a clear-out

2007-12-06T16:47:00.000-05:00

So I was in a bad mood anyway, having been to the BMV and lacking a vital piece of documentation that they demanded. I returned home and started ripping through the file cabinets and the more I searched, the more determined I became. When the file cabinet failed to yield what I needed, I kicked it up a notch and started dumping out boxes of stuff. Now I am what some might call a pack-rat. Throwing stuff away causes anxiety (what if I need it later!?!). But I decided that I could probably pitch out old class notes from undergrad. I won't tell you how long I've had my notes for Intro to Astronomy, but the hand-outs were done on a mimeograph. There were un-used napkins from our wedding reception, 26.5 yrs ago. The contents of one box had not seen the light of day since 1991, the date on the newspapers used to wrap them up. The box had been through a total of 4 moves without being opened. I kept on dumping out boxes, sorting into piles and stacks of junk.

After about 5 hours of this, I called it a day. The back room looks like a tornado hit. And I never did find what I needed.

a lifetime of pedaling

2007-12-04T19:39:00.000-05:00

Anyone who knows me at all knows that bicycling is important to me. My thoughts are dominated by 1. When will the weather be suitable for bike riding? and
2. I think I'll leave work early to go bike riding.

This picture is of my first pedaling experience. I was too young in this picture for me to remember this particular day, but I am told that I would not stop riding long enough to eat supper. Also, my color preference has not changed-green. Both my current road and mountain bikes are green. However, I now stop for food.

I have a dear friend who is close to 80 yrs. of age and still riding regularly. I hope to be so fortunate.

More random rants

2007-12-02T16:59:00.000-05:00

1. Nike has designed athletic shoes specifically designed for Native Americans. Specifically, this shoe is for a foot that is wider than "average". However, this shoe will only be available only via tribal health departments on reservations. Hello? I need these shoes! My entire life has been spent with shoes that are too narrow and either my foot is squashed or it ends up extending past the side of the sole. At least now I know why.

2. Indiana ranks as one of the most depressed states in the union (Indianapolis Star, 11/28/07). I guess all my exercise, positive thinking, and light therapy (sitting next to windows as much as possible) didn't improve the statistic.

3. However, adult obesity has leveled off. Maybe my diet helped this statistic.

4. If you're going to exercise on a treadmill in a gym in the Indianapolis area while watching football, it would help your longevity even more if you didn't cheer when Peyton Manning throws an interception. The fact that you were sweating profusely minus the benefit of deodorant didn't make me feel any more charitable toward you.

coming out of the doctoral closet

2007-11-28T16:15:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, you feel like you just don't fit in. To combat the winter blues, I've been participating in a discussion group for the past few weeks. This is a real group, not a cyber-group. Only a couple of people in the group know me very well and I haven't offered a lot of information about myself to the rest of them. So the discussion turned to "what kinds of people make you uncomfortable?" For me, it must be anyone I don't know well, as I was sitting there doing my best imitation of a clam. One person spoke up and said that persons of Middle Eastern descent made her uncomfortable. Oh good, I thought to myself, I guess she figured out that my dark hair and eyes were from American Indian heritage and not something more politically unpopular. Then another person spoke up and said people with Ph.D. degrees made him uncomfortable. At this point, I was "outed" as a Ph.D. by my friend. Everyone turned to stare. I don't remember what else was discussed after that.

I think I'll take a hiatus from the group for a couple of weeks. They could use the break.

Halloween Scrooge

2007-11-01T16:23:00.000-04:00

I wasn't in the Halloween spirit this year. No, I wasn't worried about the Satanic implications of seeing little kids dressed up like Dora the Explorer or whatever is popular this year. Unlike my neighbors (the "Ned Flanders family"), I don't usually sit in the house with all the lights off for fear that I'll be possessed by the devil if I hand out candy to kids on this particular night of the year. Maybe it was the fact that I have a cold and didn't want to hand out germs along with the candy. Maybe it was the fact that I'm on a diet and don't want to be anywhere near candy. The whole day seems to have become overly commericial. This is Geezer-Talk, I know, but back in the day, no one had big inflatable Frankensteins tethered to their front yard. No one bought pre-packaged costumes for their dog. You didn't go to Wal-Mart to buy plastic Jack-o-lanterns in every color of the rainbow. You bought a real pumpkin (orange!!) and scooped out the disgusting insides with your hand, attempted to carve a face into it, put a candle inside, and that was the end of your decorations. Last night, I saw that the stores were selling Halloween cards...who sends out Halloween cards? I'm lucky if I get my Christmas cards out before MLK day. The whole mess made me glad that today is November, and usually, November is my least favorite month, with the gloomy weather and elections and all.

We need to get back to the basics of Halloween. Jack O'Lantern...that sounds like a good Irish name. That is something to drink about.

another year, another gym membership

2007-10-31T19:48:00.000-04:00

Fall is in the air and that can only mean one thing....time to purchase a gym membership. The latest gym just opened for business a few weeks ago. So it's clean, new, and uncrowded. The bad part of this gym is that the location is awful. It is located in a strip mall near the same intersection as Wal-Mart, Lowes, Kohls, Arbys, ect. I decided to go work out this afternoon at 5:15 pm and reduce my stress. Wrong time of day. By the time I finally arrived at the gym (about a mile and a half from my home) I had road rage and had already flipped the bird at some A.H. that dared honk his horn at me.

Every place I've lived since adulthood has included a gym membership, sometime more than one concurrently. I've had memberships at the YMCA, the YWCA, two racquetball clubs (one that went out of business abruptly even though I was winning my racquetball league), the recreational sports center at Moo U and the fitness center at the Indian Reservation where I used to work. I even had a membership for the past three years at a competing fitness club here in Non-Descriptville, USA until they annoyed me by changing ownership, selling off the racquetball facility, and then losing my membership information in their database.

If the weather would just stay like it was the day I took this picture, I would just continue to exercise outdoors.

sleepless in Central Indiana

2007-10-20T03:10:00.000-04:00

It's 3 am and I'm wide awake. The events of the previous work day churn around in my mind, over and over and over. Problems loom larger than life at this time of the night. Should I look for a new job? Where do I even start to look? What will I do with the contents of my office? I don't have room at home to store the accumulated debris from the last four-plus years of working at this particular job. Maybe I should just go in to the office this weekend and start sorting out what to keep and what to toss out. Life has a way of building up tons of stuff that you have to either pitch (what if I need it later!) or store (this house is too small!) Decisions, decisions. I wish I could say that I'll sleep on it.

the joy of not cooking

2007-10-04T18:10:00.000-04:00

The health coach called again on Monday. I had failed to achieve my goals (that she selected for me last time) of planning and cooking healthy meals. I tried to distract her with other topics, but she persisted. Had I cooked anything since last time we talked? I offered up excuses... the recipes were too difficult, our local grocery store didn't have all those ingredients, yada, yada, yada. She was not deterred. Do a Google search for "easy, low-fat recipes" she said. She is not going to be satisfied until I apply heat to food and not just to warm up left-over pizza either. How can I tell her I CAN'T COOK. Home Ec class back in Public School was a disaster. I exploded a blueberry pie in the oven. I added about 4 times too much salt to pancakes. In 8th grade, I didn't know how to use a can opener.

I'm not making this up

2007-09-28T18:50:00.000-04:00

So today I had a consultation with a dietician as part of my fat-loss program. Part of my program requirements is that I document every calorie I consume. To help me determine the caloric value of foods, I now possess a book (by "Calorie King") packed full of this type of information. Did you know that a 4 oz roasted snake has 160 calories.? 1 Tbsp of ants, eggs, and larvae are a deal at only 20 calories and no fat. Yum. 2 oz of canned caterpillars are 60 calories. Lunch time in the office is going to take on a whole new dimension.

diet contest update

2007-09-25T19:10:00.000-04:00

It is now established that I will not win the prize money for the mid-way pointof the biggest loser contest. Despite getting up early to walk and jog before work most days, and having been on an exercise binge all week-end (32 mile bike ride and 5 hours of kayaking) and not pigging out for the past 2 months, I only lost 1.8 percent fat at my latest body composition test. My results still put me in the "excess fat" category. My wonderful husband lost 4.4 percent fat, despite admitting that he has been sneaking PayDay bars. What makes it even more difficult to accept is that I lost 2.5 lbs of muscle (not good) while he lost only 0.4 lbs. This is despite the fact that I improvised a weight lifting system for exercise at work. It is disguised as junk we would have around the office anyway, so the person known as "Boss" won't suspect anything. At least I didn't burst into tears when I received my results, like one lady did. Apparently, her husband also did much better than she did.

What happened next is that I admitted I needed help, which is what they always say is the first step to recovery. For an additional fee, I will have my metabolic rate tested and a dietician will tell me exactly what I need to eat. It seems I have no clue about nutrition. At least I don't have to stand up in front of a group and say "Hi, I'm Kia and I'm a snack-a-holic".

today's random rants

2007-09-20T17:10:00.000-04:00

My boss says I'm "bitching" when I try to express my observations at work. So, instead, I'll channel it here...

1. It's the Republicans' fault that I'm fat. The Republican governor changed us to daylight savings time so it's dark until later in the morning so I don't have time to run. Then when I get home, it's too hot to run (global warming, again the Republicans' fault).

2. If you have a sign on your car advertising a cleaning service, don't throw cigarette butts out the window! How do I know you won't throw them in my driveway?

3. I will NEVER buy a car from any dealer that has commercials where someone yells. Or wears funny hats. Or has annoying sound effects.

Biggest Loser diet contest

2007-09-19T11:35:00.000-04:00

It's almost half-way through on the local edition of the biggest loser. Next Monday, I will have my weight and bodyfat checked again. The half-way point winner will be announced on Saturday and will win $500. Do I expect to win? Not exactly. After 2 months, I have lost somewhere between 8 and 12 lbs, depending on how much salt I've eaten the day before. The Biiggest Loser contest on TV shows people losing 20 and 30 lbs in ONE WEEK. I don't lose that many ounces in one week.

the health coach chronicles

2007-08-14T20:58:00.000-04:00

A form letter came in the mail from the health insurance company last month. Fill out an on-line survey and receive a discount on your premiums, it said. OK, how bad could it be; I'll do it. So I start clicking the mouse, trying to decide which pre-programmed answers best fit my situation. This should be no problem, I thought, I don't smoke, I exercise regularly, wear a seatbelt while in the car, ect. But somewhere along the line, I clicked on something that red-flagged my survey. Maybe it was because I got a lengthy phone call from a family member in the middle of doing the survey but tried to multi-task by talking and clicking at the same time, not focusing on either task. Or maybe it was because I responded that I was frequently frustrated (job-related stress). Maybe it was because I admitted to being overweight. Anyway, I was assigned a health coach that calls me once a month to check up on my progress with my weight and my stress levels. My first coaching call was a few days later. I was feeling down about both my weight and my job situation.

Last night I had just returned from the Ohio River and had totally forgotten that it was time for the second health coach phone call. As I was pouring a glass of relaxation, the phone rang. Now I had eaten very little during the day and was also somewhat dehydrated. As the call progressed, I worked on my beverage. By the end of the call, I was cheerful and optimistic. I told her I was eating fruits and vegetables instead of ice cream and pizza (true) and that I was going to actually plan healthy meals in advance and make a grocery list (less likely to be true). She thought I had made great progress since last month.

The power of positive drinking!

stranger than fiction

2007-08-13T19:47:00.000-04:00

Today's work day could qualify for a show on America's strangest jobs. Starting at 7 am, I sat on a boat in the Ohio River while professional divers searched the murky depths for possibly endangered clams. My job was to identify the clams to species and then returm them to the water. People (some with binoculars) were watching from the walkway on the shore. The local police officer decided to watch for awhile, too. I had my state and federal collection permits ready to show anyone who asked. The mayor of this small town was supposed to show up for publicity purposes, too, but didn't. Boats were going by repeatedly, I suppose to get a better view. Fortunately, the barge captains had better things to worry about and kept a respectable distance away.
All of this for a life form that most people don't even know exists.

agony of de teeth, part II

2007-08-01T14:25:00.000-04:00

As I write this, I am feeling the effects of 10 shots of novocaine. Yes, I counted them. Yes, I still could feel discomfort from the procedure. It seemed the shots took maximum effect about the time I needed to pay my bill and make a follow-up appointment. Being unable to communicate, I decided to take off the rest of the day from work as sick time. As I arrived home, my neighbor ( whom I will call "Mrs. Ned Flanders") was outdoors and decided it was time to chat. "ablad a da danst" I said. She correctly interpreted this as "I've been at the dentist". She wanted to discuss our another neighbor, the heathen/redneck/ghetto (pick your favorite) household that has time for detonating fireworks but not for mowing the weeds. Finally, my drooling and gibberish speech must have been too much and the conversation ended.

the agony of de teeth

2007-07-31T19:14:00.000-04:00

It was just a routine dentist visit-nothing to be nervous about. I didn't have any toothache, and had been using Listerine twice a day and brushing even more often than that. My last check-up 6 months ago was perfect and I was following the same routine. I should be out of here in 20 minutes (I thought) and back on my way to Bizarro World for another fun day of work.

The hygenist probed around my gums for about an hour, looking concerned. Then she handed me a brochure about gum disease and said I needed a procedure called "root planing and scaling". Kind of like Roto-Rooter for under my gums. We'll give you Novocaine for the whole side of your mouth, she said. Also, we'll have to do the same thing on the other side at another appointment. We have an appointment available tomorrow!

This is not what I had planned. The story continues tomorrow....

diet time

2007-07-27T20:05:00.000-04:00

I hadn't weighed myself for a few months. It seemed like the best plan was that first I would eat right and exercise for a few days/weeks/months, and then weigh myself. Bit one day when I was in a bad mood anyway, I decided to dig the scale out from its storage location. I stepped on it and was immediately in a worse mood. A number more suitable for a baby elephant was displayed. There it was, in a digital read-out to the nearest 0.5 pound.

A few days later, I noticed an ad in the local free newspaper for a "biggest loser" contest. Whoever can lose the most percentage of body fat in 4 months wins $2000. At last, I thought, the answer to my lack of motivation. If improving my health does not get me moving, maybe green folding cash will. Sign me up!

At the wretchedly early hour of 7am one morning, I stepped into a high-tech egg-shaped pod that measures body mass by means of air displacement. That, along with total weight, allows the calculation of percent body fat. Mine was half a point shy of the "obese" range.

So I have to think about "eat less and exercise more". After a week and a half, I'm already sick of veggie subs. Very Veggie bagged salads are my new best friend at lunch. You will find me hanging out in the produce aisle at the grocery store, instead of the freezer (home of ice cream and Tony's pizza). I'm actually happy to wake up in the morning because breakfast is the most important meal of the day (meaning I can eat a litte more), and usually doesn't involve vegetables.

I have until November 17 to see if this works.

Birthdays that end with "0"

2007-06-11T17:01:00.000-04:00

My friend "George" has a special birthday. One that ends with a zero. One that leads the AARP to add him to their mailing list. Of course, I'm not quite there yet, despite the fact that we were in the same graduating class in undergrad. Back in the day, when Boston was a hot new group and disco was what we loved to hate. Queen had recently released "A Day at the Races" and "News of the World". We listened to all of it and more on 8-track tapes. Has it really been that long ago? Thanks for being my friend all these years!

co-worker potpourri

2007-05-22T13:04:00.000-04:00

The dishwasher in our house died on Saturday. When I mentioned this at work Monday, my "colleague" pointed out to me that most people in Haiti have never seen a dishwasher. Probably true that my attitude was bad, but I also had PMS. I wonder if they have that in Haiti. Work is annoying enough on its own without co-workers adding to it with their comments.

I think back over my years of employment and some of the strange co-workers. There was the rabid vegetarian who cried "fowl" everytime I had chicken for lunch. "You're eating dead bird!" she would squawk. At the same place, the departmental supervisor was continuously inquiring as to my future child-bearing plans. There were none; and it was none of her business anyway.

Another job, another strange boss. This one was nick-named the "recycling Nazi". A sheet of paper in the trash would set her off-recyclable paper had to be sorted from other trash. All coffee grounds had to be composted. All cardboard boxes had to be carefully broken down, folded up, and put on a special recycling pile. We barely had time to do any actual work.

Of course, I am the perfect co-worker. It is a joy to work with me. Just don't complain about my choices in lunch, recycling, family plans, religion, household appliances, ect. or I will throw a bottle of Midol at you.

13 mile leisurely walk

2007-05-07T19:35:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday was the annual Indianapolis mini-marathon, which draws 35,000 participants. This was my 9th time to do this event, not my fastest finish but not my slowest either. Everyone is assigned a starting place in a series of corrals which are labeled in alphabetical order. The fastest people are in Corral A. I was assigned to Corral X. By the time I inched my way up to the start line 28 minutes after the first runners started, they were already near the half-way point at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But not to worry, one only has to maintain an 18:00 minute/mile pace to avoid being pulled off the course and forced to return to the start/finish area in a bus. This pace was not difficult to maintain, given the cacophony of noise from all the bands playing along the way. These bands could most kindly be described as "local talent" and inspired me to move along more quickly. Perhaps this is why I saw so many people wearing iPods.

birds and other wildlife

2007-04-05T17:23:00.000-04:00

There's no actual point to today's post, just a cool picture of an osprey nest atop a manatee safety zone sign.

keep smiling

2007-04-04T17:24:00.000-04:00

No, this isn't about NCAA basketball championships....

You ever have a day when you felt like this gator? I could rip someone's head off, but instead I'll smile with all my pointy teeth showing. Like when when I have to cover (again!) for a co-worker who's a total slacker. Or when I go to the gym and the desk person finds my membership has mysteriously disappeared from their computer. Or the fact that it's snowing and two days ago it was sunny and near 80.

Maybe it is about the basketball championship...tip-off was at 9:18 pm, much too late for me.

diving

2007-04-03T20:14:00.000-04:00

I am posting a picture from my recent diving experience in Florida. It is even going to have me in the picture since probably the only people reading this are ones I know in real life anyway. This was at a facility that featured three freshwater springs. The good thing about this dive: clear, 72 degree water. The bad things: excessive numbers of teenage kayakers, swimmers and snorkelers competing for a very small recreational area. Overly high admission charges considering the fact that it was a very small area. There was also the option of doing cave diving which I avoided, not wishing to be a dive fatality statistic. Many of the other divers at the site were there specifically for the cave diving. Good luck to them...my motto about overhead environment diving is "don't go there".

I did meet a couple from Finland who came to do dry suit diving (probably the only way one can dive in Finland). They were struggling to get geared up and losing patience with each other. Even though I don't understand Finnish, frustration and irritability seem to be a universal language.

blogging quirks

2007-03-08T08:03:00.000-05:00

By checking my profile on new-improved Blogger, I saw the number increasing....there must be people reading this! But no, I figured out that it was counting me each time I looked at my own profile. An article in yesterday's paper claimed that one could earn 39K per year just by blogging. Yeah, right. No commute in winter weather, no toxic co-workers, no crazy boss, no boring cubicle. Just wake up at noon and write random thoughts for a few minutes and then take the rest of the day off. It's odd that the article didn't give any contact information so I could start my blogging career and make big bucks.

so far, so good....

2007-03-06T13:46:00.000-05:00

The new-improved Blogger let me sign on after only 3 or 4 attempts! And mysteriously, my profile said that I was 250 years old. I have a milestone birthday coming up, but it's not that bad!

unwillingly updated

2007-03-03T10:05:00.000-05:00

It seems that now I have no option but to change over to the new-improved version of Blogger. So we'll see how it goes....I've read other people's blogs that imply it may be new but definitely not improved.

I'm getting to the age where I can't cope with constant change. Long ago, in my youth, I had a much older friend who just could not deal with new technology. CD players, VCRs, cable TV, telephone answering machines-she could not tolerate any of it. When the lab we worked at went to a computer-based data management system, she became extremely stressed. At the time, I didn't understand. This person had lived through the Great Depression and WWII, but she couldn't cope with what I thought was simple technology. Now I understand. I've purchased the same music over and over again, on LP records, 8-tracks, cassettes, and CDs. I'm not paying to download an MP3 file that will replaced by some other format next week. They don't make music like they used to anyway. I've purchased movies on Beta, VHS and now DVD. Now there's talk of switching everything to Blu-Ray disc. Well, count me out. They don't make movies like they used to anyway.

This year I will have a Dreaded Milestone Birthday. So I have earned the right to rant.

not quite spring, yet

2007-02-26T16:59:00.000-05:00

After my last post, the Midwest was hit with an enormous winter storm. I personally was hit at the same time with a virus somewhere midway on the cold to flu spectrum. As I laid on the couch all day feeling wretched, I heard the sleet hitting the window. Later that night (too miserable to sleep) I could see the snow drifting in the street. Now, almost 2 weeks later, the remnants of each event are still evident. Piles of dirty snow still block the sidewalks and a naggng cough still disrupts my routine. But spring can't be too far away.

Snow Zone

2007-02-12T15:26:00.000-05:00

There's another big winter storm in the forecast...and the TV weather people have assumed their battle positions. Last week, we received barely 5 inches of snow and it was an EMERGENCY. The TV station even pre-empted Oprah to tell us over and over that it was SNOWING!!! It is true that Indianapolis has some low-skilled drivers when it comes to coping with snow. A mere dusting can turn the city into traffic gridlock. You would think, seeing as how this is a northern state, snow would be expected. It snows just often enough here to cause chaos but not often enough so that people get used to it.

Personally, I like snow. I grew up in the northern part of the state, in the Lake Michigan Snow Zone. I took a job in northern Michigan primarily for the cross-country skiing opportunities in the region. Although the job was short-lived, I had a great time enjoying the abundant snowfall in the area. My idea of a great winter day is to go cross-country skiing on wooded trails or ride my snowboard down a small hill in soft snow (no mountain downhill resorts for me). The part of winter that I don't like is taking 3 times longer than normal to get home from work because of all the bad drivers on the road.

Ice Capades

2007-01-31T18:23:00.000-05:00

I had become bored with my winter routine of work, doing laundry, and exercising in the gym. There was no snow for cross country skiing and it was much too cold for outdoor running. Then I remembered an activity that I had not participated in for a long time....ice skating. It had been four years since I had crammed my feet into a pair of ice skates. So I googled the local ice rink web page to find out when they had open skating, found the skates in the closet, and informed my husband we were going to have a Sunday Fun day.

We arrived a few minutes before the session started, paid our entry fees, and started lacing up. I was not worried by the large crowds arriving, toting hockey skates. I had my good ole figure skates from a by-gone era. Back in the day (10 years ago) when we went skating on a somewhat regular basis, I could hold my own in a crowded rink. I certainly would not have been mistaken for an Olympic hopeful, but I could confidently make hard turns and weave my way through the beginners.

Then I stepped out onto the ice.

Have you ever been in the video store and seen the cover picture on the DVD for the horror flick "Scanners"? That's what I felt like. I clutched the wall as little kids sailed past me. Guys wearing hockey skates and iPods used me a part of an obstacle course. Tentatively, gingerly, and carefully I eased out away from the wall. Every tiny muscle in my feet and ankles screamed at me. I inched around the rink in slow laps, making frequent stops at the trusty penalty box when my feet hurt too much. Of course, my husband took off confidently like we had never missed a day of skating. At least he didn't use me for an obstacle course as he zoomed past.

After an hour or so, I felt a little more relaxed. Now I can resume my former skating style, ( I thought) bold and confident, weaving and bobbing through the crowd, passing all the newbie skaters. That's when I fell down and ingloriously slid back to where I had started the day: the wall.

Later that night, it was Advil to the rescue. Perhaps it is my advanced age that made the day so challenging and my body so sore from what seemed like a very moderate level of exercise. At least I wasn't bored.

be careful what you wish for...

2007-01-23T17:12:00.000-05:00

On Sunday I went on a football-watching binge. Seven hours of high-def cable gridiron glory. Seven hours of rooting for my two favorite teams, the Bears and the Colts. And guess what? They both won. They are both in the Super Bowl. Should I develop a split personality on Super Sunday, so I can cheer for both teams? Will both personalities get equal dibs on the snacks and beverages? Perhaps a third personality would be useful; one to be alert and rested and go to work on Monday morning.

Word Imperfect

2007-01-12T16:47:00.000-05:00

alternative title= a pointless rant

Where I work (Bizarro World), many of the reports I do are on existing templates and I just change the pertinent information. For some reason, these templates are all on an old word-processing program that I suspect is the spawn of the devil. Text shifts around for no reason. Fonts change mysteriously. What you see on the screen may or may not be what prints. There is a reason the rest of the world switched long ago to a much better word processing program. Long ago, when I was a Masters Degree student, I did my thesis on this frustrating program. Granted, this was in the Bad Old Days of DOS but it still had the same problems then of text being different on the screen as opposed to what printed out. When MS Word came to be popular, I thought I had seen the last of Word Imperfect. But, no.....

There, I feel better now.

belief net

2006-12-28T18:02:00.000-05:00

Christmas has come and gone and I survived. All the flap in the media about "merry Christmas" vs. "happy holidays" or some other alternative greeting started me thinking. Much of Christmas traditions are a Christian legacy and no one really thinks much about them. And why am I a Christian? In part, it's a legacy too. It's because St. Patrick came to convert the pagans in the 5th century. It's because most of my ancestors were European. I happened upon a web site called beliefnet.com. You can answer a series of multiple choice questions to define what faith would be closest to your beliefs. The first time, my best match was liberal Quaker and second was neo-pagan. I tried the quiz again, and this time neo-pagan won. It must be because of of my pro-environment and anti-sexism answers. Liberal Quaker sounds OK, but neo-pagan? I hate to think that St. Patrick wasted his time!

the old stompin' grounds

2006-12-12T18:20:00.000-05:00

I just returned from a four-day excursion to northern Michigan. The primary goal of the trip was to purchase new cross country skis and then use them on the wonderful nordic trails that are available there. A secondary goal was to visit places that were familiar to me when I lived there some years ago. My job was as a biologist for an Indian tribe, and the view from my office window looked something like this photo. I loved the area, and enjoyed working with a tribal organization. The pay was decent and the benefits were good. The main problem was that I had Major Issues with my (Caucasian) boss. I have some ancestors who spoke Gaelic, so I figure that is why I can go from zero to livid in about 3 seconds. One day my boss and I had a Major Disagreement and in a fit of anger I made the decision to quit. I didn't have another job lined up but it didn't seem to matter at the moment.

I came back to Indiana and scraped together an income from a couple of part-time jobs. It was two years before I had another paid day off. I finally was hired on full-time, but now my window looks out on a bunch of storage units and a busy urban road. And I still can go from zero to livid in about 3 seconds on any given workday. But what I have learned from all this is: don't make the decision to quit when you're angry. Go for a bike ride or walk. Go cross-country skiing if there's snow. Go home sick. Just don't make a decision you'll think about the rest of your life.

You know it's time to diet....

2006-12-06T15:38:00.000-05:00

When you find out your employer counts you as 2 people on an Equal Employment Opportunity form. Really. One of my co-workers discovered the form, tucked away in a drawer, in which our company was said to employ 2 Native American females. I work for a small company and I am the only one who even marginally matches that description.

This is even worse than when I realized I could register in the "Santa weight" division at a local charity running event. That is, if I had been motivated enough to register. Oh well, New Year's resolutions are only a few weeks away.

The office Christmas party

2006-12-04T17:16:00.000-05:00

It's time again for the office Christmas party. I work in a small office where every one is Christian (or claims to be), so we don't have to hold a generic "holiday" party. It's also that time of year when the news media offers us helpful advice on what not to do at the company party. Most of the items on the not-to-do list are inspired by alcohol. Our company parties are usually sedate compared to the cautionary tales that I read about. But we do have drinks served and this leads to a few interesting moments. Like the guy loudly proclaiming that he loves the (male) boss. I assume he meant that in a biblical, love-thy-neighbor way. Or the same guy questioning the paternity of his kids, much to the humiliation of his wife. Or the same guy insisting on giving me a big hug when normally he won't speak to me. Of course, I would NEVER do anything at the company party that would be discussed the next day. I'm usually too tense because I am wearing make-up, pantyhose, and a dress. All of these are completely non-normal attire for me. How fortunate that the Christmas party only comes around once a year.

To quote Pink Floyd....

2006-11-30T17:07:00.000-05:00

Is anybody out there?

The good thing about MySpace was that lots of people looked at my profile.
The bad thing about MySpace was the same thing. Lots of people looked at my profile. Some of them were spammers/nut cases/perverts. A few were people I would have actually liked to have met.

It seems technology can bring people together or create even more isolation, as sitting at a keyboard is a solitary activity. There is a person iI see n my daily life who will rarely speak, but will write long, detailed blogs. I must read the blogs to find out what is happening in his world. Somehow, it seems something is wrong with that.

After the holiday Thanksgiving

2006-11-27T18:49:00.000-05:00

The official day for giving thanks is past, but here's my two cents' worth. I am thankful for sunshine and unseasonably warm temperatures that coincided with my days off. I had the opportunity to be outside everyday and exercise. One day I retrieved the mountain bikes from their winter storage area and went for a ride. Another day I went birding and actually was able to identify some of what I saw. When I returned to my job today, my work-related problems didn't seem so overwhelming, hopeless, and depressing as they had the week before.

Also, I'm thankful that Count Chocula cereal is still available. I just had to try a different grocery store. It's the little things in life that make all the difference some days.