One Girl Revolution

I had a dream last night that the comics I put on eBay sold for a whopping $75. As fab as that would be, I'm currently giving the project a snowball's chance in Hell a low probability of bringing in anywhere near that amount. Frankly, I'm confused - you'd think that people would want to bid on it, given that the opening bid is about 1/3 what the collection could/should be worth. (The individual books are currently selling for $10 apiece on Amazon.com.) How much do you want to bet that if it was something ridiculous and banal that it would already have 20 or so bids on it?

I wait impatiently for the day that America discovers culture, intellect and reason. Which means I should probably run away and join the steampunk movement. Odd that it seems more DIY, more romantic, and more progressive than mainstream punk and/or the hippie movement these days. I've always thought it interesting that things like wind power and natural vegetable soaps have strong roots in the past; many of today's green solutions are just the rediscovery and refining of old technologies. It makes me curious about the possibility of a green movement within this subculture.

But then, I'm probably severely over-thinking all of this.

In a completely mundane aside, the drain in my bathroom is currently running slow, and I'm thinking that there must be build-up along the walls of the pipes. I tried using drain cleaner as a last resort a few weeks ago (trust me - I really, really didn't want to), but it did absolutely nothing for the problem. What has helped is hot water and washing soda, which leads me to believe that it is some sort of grease/gunk build-up in the pipes, most likely from soap. However, the soda hasn't completely eliminated the problem, which is why I really feel the need to try out one of the new TerraCycle products, Drain Maintainer. I like the idea of an all-natural, non-toxic product that technically works constantly, especially since I only have to add a cup of it once a month. Thing is, I have no idea where to buy it - there is a place on the website where you can see where TerraCycle is sold, but it doesn't say which products are sold at which stores. It also doesn't look like you can buy the stuff online. Has anyone seen this at any chain stores?

The weekend ended up being pretty darn cool. Friends came, we went on a walking tour of Ann Arbor proper, and we gave the now-Oprah-famous Zingerman's a big ol' chunk of our business. Fortunately, there was much walking on Saturday. Unfortunately, I still ended up feeling like these two unfortunate souls - surrounded on all sides by good food, but confronted with the possibility of either becoming overly stuffed or killed to death by beautiful, decadent things. Which is a nice way of saying that the food kicked a ridiculous amount of ass, but I'm sort of surprised I'm still alive and fitting into my pants.

It looks like the Fred Phelps Hate Machine will be in my general vicinity tomorrow. Fortunately, there is a genius plan in place to twist this around into something positive. No, no, come back. Just stay with me, 'kay?

Ok, here's the deal - according to this post:

Kate Brindle, Program Coordinator of the LGBTRC, and Dan Burns, Chair of the LGBTRC Advisory Committee, will each pledge $2.00 for every minute Members of the Westboro Baptist Church are protesting on EMU’s (Eastern Michigan University) campus to raise money for the LGBT Emergency Fund which provides financial assistance for EMU students who encounter immediate financial hardship do to issues surrounding sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.

But wait, it gets better! You - yes, you, my friends - can get in on the fun as well! Just go to this online pledge form, enter what you'd like to pledge per minute (so be careful with your amounts), then count down to the Zero Hour of tomorrow, May 9, at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Though no one wants to see them spend even a second dispensing their vile, filthy, ugly hate, at least this time around, something good will come of it. And won't they be thrilled to tears when they find out?

Even if you can't donate due to budget constraints (like myself at the moment), please feel free to pass this along to interested parties in any way you see fit. We certainly don't want to leave anyone out, you know?

So, after learning that my first plan could possibly see me charged with discouraging morality and getting no feedback as to the best course of action, I did what I should have done in the first place and plunked the lot on eBay. Opening bid is $20, which sounds high until you realize that it's for six books, each of which are going for $9.99 on Amazon.

If there are no takers after 10 days, I'll have to take my chances with a used bookstore. I'm reluctant to do that; my one foray into selling books at a brick and mortar saw me carting in dozens of books and several rare CDs, only to be told after an hour or so of waiting that the entire lot - of over 30 books - would net me just under $20. Or, as they were so smug in telling me, just under $20 in store credit. Lesson learned. I will never sell through them again.

Not that I think I'd get any more from a local seller, but at least they won't be jerks about it.

Anyway, here's hoping I get a vaguely decent price for everything, as I'd feel like an idiot in handing over less than the books were originally worth.

It seems that the one sentence that best describes my life is, "Grandiose ideas that turn to folly rather than come to fruition."

After being advised that my attempt at a raffle could be construed as heading up a session of illegal gambling,¹ I've decided that it will have to either be eBay or my nearest brick and mortar comic/book store. Does anyone have any advice about which would be more likely to make more money? (I ask because I seem to have horrible eBay karma - the only way I've ever gotten anyone to bid on/buy any of my stuff was to list either the opening bid or the Buy It Now price (or both) for an absurdly low amount. Anything more (and we're talking in the reasonable range) doesn't even get viewed.




¹And for those saying, "But that's in Texas!" there are two issues. First, I have no idea if my state has the same sorts of regulations, and I have neither the time nor the inclination to pour through state, county and city legal codes to find out. Secondly, if a Texan won, they could possibly get in trouble for participating. Given that this was supposed to be an easy, fun process, there's really no reason for me to pursue the idea any longer.

As already noted by cammila_radio, last night was company bowling night. Despite not having bowled since elementary school, I didn't completely embarrass myself. Which isn't to say that my score wasn't abysmal, but at least I hit some of the pins some of the time. On the whole, it was a very pleasurable time, marred only by the aforementioned hip problem. I think I pulled the muscle again when I went to leave the lane; my shoes grabbed the wood floor, I pivoted on the joint instead of properly spinning around, and...ow. I was limping pretty heavily that night and today, but this evening I figured out that it is indeed a muscular problem and not a joint one. That's fine - I can deal with muscle pain. I did some stretching, so hopefully that will help.

It had better, anyway. Even with just two days out of commission, I'm really feeling a need to get back to using the kettlebell. At the risk of making my blog sound like it has some sort of endorsement deal, I just want to say that it's unlike any other workout I've experienced, and I mean that in a good way. It's taken me only a few days to feel stronger, more energetic, and even leaner. My body's strange propensity for building muscle at a stupid fast rate is benefiting quite a bit from this too, which is all the more reason to keep going. I think I'll give it a gentle try tomorrow, or at the very least do the stuff that doesn't involve my hips and legs that much.

There's a little more news I could write about, but I'm still kind of tired (I've been tired ever since this whole hip thing happened) so I'll wrap it up for tonight.

Though I suppose I should mention that thanks to a conversation with ericadams, I now have over two hours of the stock production music used on the Ren and Stimpy show. (So if any of you are making films...) All I need now is a decent Raymond Scott CD, an extra iPod and some mini speakers to make my dream of a soundtracked life complete.

So I think I either pulled a groin muscle or had my hip dislocate on me for a split second. It's hard to tell - all I know is that there was a split second of pain followed by difficulty walking. I didn't feel or hear anything pop, but I sometimes don't when the hip shakes loose.

It happened twice in a row within the span of a few seconds, so I'm hoping it's just muscle cramps. Walking home tonight will certainly be interesting.

Also, the Damien Dempsey show tonight, if I'm lucky enough to get tickets. (It's a free show, and in a college town...yeah.) I may well end up driving out there only to discover that tickets are long gone, so I'm not completely sure what to do if that's the case. I mean, I'll come home, obviously, but I'll be rather bummed.

I'm worried about walking now, though.

Spring is here, and I'm in the mood to do some more cube decorating. Consequently, I've been looking for band posters, as I'm now settled enough in my environment to admit that I'm a shameless Zeppelin and Aerosmith fangirl. I've already decided on this Zeppelin poster; I've always liked that shot of the band, but what really seals it for me is Plant standing there, relaxed in his good-natured young lion arrogance, sporting a smirk that clearly says "Dis mah jet," in early macro speak. It's charming, and it's made all the more so by Page standing there, with his look clearly saying, "Robert, please! We are serious musicians, wholly dedicated to our craft in ways that mere mortals can never understand! At least try to look the part. Here, like me and JP - hands on hips, and...would someone get Bonzo on board, please? The cameraman's waving at us."

Or maybe I read too much into these things.

I was pleased to see that the Zep poster is a decent price (after all, it's only cube art), but I'm having a bit more difficulty with the Aerosmith posters, as all the decent ones are on the pricey side. (I really like this one, for example, but it seems a bit much to pay $16 plus shipping for something that's probably going to end up with pins in it.) It's a shame - the Nine Lives album was what first piqued my interest in the band - but I don't know if it would make sense to pay that much for it. Something to save for, perhaps?

And once that's bought, I think I'll have to get an Eddie Izzard poster, all because of this routine (thanks to calysto):

For those still following this story, there's been another twist in The Great Seed Debacle of 2008. As of yesterday, my seeds finally arrived in my post box, meaning that I wasn't out $13 and that the money that my beloved Boy gave me to replace what I thought was lost is now, in fact, not needed. I explained the situation to him last night and asked what he wanted me to do with his donated cash, to which he said, "You can do whatever you like with it. It's your money."

And since he knows that you can't say that sort of thing to a Gemini, it's now time for a poll:

Poll #1173268 A Seedy Situation
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

What should I do with this $13

Any other suggestions? Put 'em here.

It's Friday! So vote 'n' stuff!

You know what I love about the Internets?

I ask it to bring me things. AND IT DELIVERS.

It delivered me OldJob (which I did need at the time). It delivered me THE BEST BOYFRIEND IN THE ENTIRE WORLD, for he is, and not just because I say so. (It's because you say so too.) It brought me the best workout ever. Yesterday, during the debacle, it delivered unto me friends who were sympathetic, who offered help and advice, and who made me feel much better.

Today, it delivered unto me a kettlebell workout DVD. AND MY DAMN SEEDS.

Yes. Oh yes. They are here. Gardening of a biodiversity and historical sort will soon be going on, for I have heirloom seeds. And peat pots. And lots of them.

Strawberry seeds hit the pots tonight, with the rest to follow tomorrow.

But what's in it for me, you say? Well, how's this - if I can figure out how to collect the seeds from my plants at the end of the growing season, I will collect many and send some to whoever asks. Hopefully supplies won't be too limited. I can't imagine they will be, between the extras I have in packets and the plants producing them themselves (plants have lots of seeds, yo). I'll post my plant list tomorrow.

I want to thank you all so much for your kindness, your advice, your sympathy, and your friendship. It means a lot to know that so many people are so supportive, and it just goes to prove my belief that by and large, the world is populated by incredibly good people.

Though for the record, I stand by my debacle post. Okay, I amend "avoid" and change it to "be wary of". But still - no more with them.

And now, I write an e-mail my Boy while listening to my newly acquired Wild Zero soundtrack. Brought to me by The Internets.

The Internets. IT DELIVERS.

After writing about the debacle last night, I went over to Gmail to write my nightly e-mail to my Boy. When I was there, I saw a PayPal notice. From theycallmeboy. This is what it said:

My beautiful girl

Use this $13 to buy great seeds. Don't be sad - I hate to think of my girl sad and lonely.

How brilliant is he?

Before I head off to exercise and do some more tidying, I just want to put out a PSA for any/all gardeners to avoid ContainerSeeds.com.

If you're just tuning in, the basic background for the debacle goes like this - since getting out on my own, I've wanted to experiment with growing some of my own fruits and vegetables. I tried talking to some co-workers about buying into a communal plot sponsored by the city, but not enough people were interested to make it viable. I figured that that was okay and set about looking into container gardening. I have a balcony and a front entryway that get sun in the morning/early afternoon and afternoon/early evening respectively, and I figured that I could try my luck with some smaller plants. However, my knowledge about such things was (and still is) lacking. I knew there were some plants that would not produce fruit in containers, and I wanted to avoid making that mistake. I started searching for sites that had advice for apartment dwellers and what seeds worked best, and I came across a place that recommended this little website.

At the time, ContainerSeeds.com seemed like a godsend. Here was a comprehensive site that listed a wide variety of seeds, all suited for containers or small areas, as well as some basic advice and descriptions. I started getting really excited, making lists of the plants I wanted to grow and plotting out the various ways I could fit them all into my limited space. I was also pleased with their prices - a dollar less than some of the other places! - as well as some varieties that I couldn't find on other sites. (Runnerless strawberries that produce fruit all summer? Who knew?) The site seemed a little simple, but there was an address, e-mail and telephone number, and they accepted PayPal. With the exception of one pack of seeds, I ordered my entire tiny garden from ContainerSeeds.com at the end of March. I knew it would be tight, but I figured that if I got the seeds started in April, I might be able to have some stuff ready for Boy when he arrived the first week of June. I placed my seed orders and waited eagerly.

I got one package of seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds within a week. They even sent a packet of bonus seeds as a thank you! (Incidentally, if anyone needs some Yellow Scallop Squash seeds, let me know.) The other seeds hadn't arrived yet, but I wasn't unduly worried. The PayPal payment had gone through, the site said that items were shipped one they got their payment, and I expected my seeds within a few days.

After a week, I called to check on things. I hadn't received the normal PayPal notification saying the seeds had shipped. The person who answered the phone on the other end sounded rather young. And busy. Perhaps confused about why anyone would want to call about something like a business transaction. Still, they assured me that they went to the Post Office "just yesterday," and that my seeds should arrive soon, "within days," in fact.

Another week passed.

This afternoon, I sent them an e-mail asking about the status of my order. I was polite, stating that I just wanted to make sure my order had gone through. I gave them my PayPal order confirmation number, as well as my address. I didn't expect an answer today, but something didn't seem right, for some reason. Every other online transaction I've ever had has been settled quickly and easily, with no problems. I decided to do a quick search to see if anyone else had ever had problems with the company. It's something I should have done long before ordering with them.

I have no reason to believe that I will ever be seeing my seeds. Nor will I be seeing my money back.

In the end though, it's not the money I'm pissed about. The fact of the matter is, I'm pissed that now, the garden won't happen. It was about more than lettuce and sweet peppers and strawberries and all the rest. It sounds foolish, but...

I'm in America. My boyfriend's in Ireland. We see each other twice a year, 10 days at a time, if we're lucky. The rest of the time, we're confined to AIM and Skype. We can't kiss each other, we can't hold each other, and we can't see each other. I would never give up on us - I love him far too much to break it off on account of something as silly as distance. But that doesn't mean that it isn't painfully, crushingly hard. We talk about our future together, but sometimes it's a future that seems so intangible and far away that it's hard to see it as real. During the twenty days a year we have together, we try to catch up with all the things we can't do. It's laughably routine for most couples, but it's something we don't have. Even going to the store is a cherished act for us. It's how we touch the future, even if just for a fleeting moment.

Soon after we got together, we started talking about our future together, our "years from now." I mentioned that I'd always wanted a food garden. He told me that his family once had such a garden, and that he loved it, but that it was eventually ripped out to make way for a pathway. We promised each other that when we were finally together, we would have a garden - the one I never had, and the one that he had lost. It was my hope that on this trip, we could have just a little bit of that. I wanted him to walk out to my patio and see baby lettuces, small sweet peppers, tomatoes, funny little carrots. Most of all, I wanted him to see strawberries. He calls them fancy fruit. They've been my favorites since I was a toddler. I wanted to pluck one off its stem and pop it in his mouth, let him taste it, all sweet and ripe. I wanted to sit out there with him and look at the plants, and tell him that this was just a beginning. Our own little hanging garden that would someday become the one we both wanted.

That won't happen now. I'll order new seeds and start them up, but the plants will still be too young in early June for us to enjoy. It's mostly my fault - for waiting, for being drawn in by a cheap price, for not doing my homework - and I'm furious at both myself and the company. But mostly, I'm sad. I had grand plans, and now they've all collapsed. Even if I do get the seeds eventually, it'll still be too late. So for now, I just sit here typing and crying. There will be no garden.

And even though I know there will be someday, I can't help but feel that the future just slipped out of my hands.

I've been reading a lot lately about how cities in Ohio are trying desperately to cope with the foreclosure crisis, specifically the glut of abandoned homes that are one of the most visible consequences. These buildings quickly attract scavangers who strip the house of everything, including metal siding and copper pipes that are sold for scrap. From there, it's not unusual for drug dealers to move in and use the structures, making the neighborhoods dangerous for the remaining residents. It's something that worries me, especially since I have family in NEO.

That's one of the reasons why Youngstown's approach to urban renewal is so intriguing to me. Where other cities have tried desperately to redevelop abandoned areas and tried a number of schemes to bring in new industry, this city is changing its approach entirely - not by giving up, but reinventing itself. Abandoned homes (or, too often these days, abandoned neighborhoods) are torn down, roads removed, and the land returned to an open field. The city saves money in the long run, the dangers of crime and safety/fire hazards are gone, and...

...well, I don't quite know the next step, but I can't help but think of the possibilities. Perhaps there could be small farms, large community gardens, or other sustainable activities like wind/solar farms. This company in particular might be interested in such a proposition, especially since they're based in Ohio. (Warning - site plays annoying music. Turn it off at the bottom left of the page.) I'm sure there are plenty of reasons why none of these ideas would work (and I'm sure plenty of people would be happy to tell me why), but I enjoy my idealistic musings. Even if they just left things empty and let nature take its course, it's a better alternative than letting the city rot. I'm hoping Flint, Michigan, will follow its example.

Perhaps this is how America finally goes green(ish) - not with a banner-waving revolution, but with quiet, practical, positive changes. That's one of the reasons I'm proud to be a Midwesterner. We may take a lot of crap and get beaten down on a regular basis, but we pick ourselves up and get back to getting things done with little fuss and fanfare. We do what we need to do, no matter what it takes.

Way to go, Ohio.

...I have found my workout. And it is kettlebell.

I ran out and got a starter kit today, and at first I was disappointed to find that there were only a handful of basic exercises in there. I didn't think that after I went through them. The workout only lasts about 30 minutes, but it's one hell of a time. I'm feeling gloriously beat up, as Iggy Pop would say - the workout combines strength training and aerobics, meaning that you WILL get your heart pumping, and it WILL be a challenge to keep up. I'm gonna be sore as hell tomorrow. It's going to be awesome.

I'm obviously going to divvy this up with other exercises, just so I give myself time to rest a day or so in between. But I can see myself getting into this, yeah. Oh, and you can totally rock out while you work out with this method. I listened to Bullet for My Valentine. It was pretty sweet Metal. And how could it not be, when the exercise is based on swinging around solid cast iron ball weights that could TOTALLY take someone out with one swing?

*ahem* Er, sorry...

I'm all sorts of adrenalized now. Still, I'm gonna get to bed so I can get up early and get a few things done for work. Yes, I said early. This exercise program makes me want to get up early. And stay up late.

You'll never be rid of me now! BWA HA HA HA HA HA

My wildflower seeds are sprouting! Come May, I'll be able to put them outside to help out those hardworking bees!

I really, really, really really really (really) need to remember that thanks to my unique genetic make-up, I really do need to eat when I start to get hungry, no matter what the reason for waiting. Tonight was an interesting experiment in low blood sugar, which would have been fine had I not decided to wait until the very last minute to go out and grab some food. Naturally, by the time said food was ready, I was so hungry that I ate too much of it, and now I have a tummy ache. Bullocks.

Also, ate too late to exercise. And got sleepy around 11. Total, epic fail on my part. Dammit, I have Winter Hibernation Chub to get rid of. THIS WILL NOT DO!

Stupid miserable sub-zero winter. Canada, keep your evil weather to yourself. We're suffering enough as it is.

Now that spring is just around (or perhaps turning? -ed.) the corner, I'm getting excited about vegetarian meals again. I don't think I can go full veggie; thanks to the Alton Brown program Good Eats, I've learned that plants, or at least lentils, are incomplete proteins. It looks like my body functions best when it has steady access to complete ones, which makes me wonder if there's any sort of condition in which some bodies can't properly assemble complete proteins from various sources of incompletes.

(No, I really don't know how to feed myself - my high school health classes were boring as hell, and the teacher seemed to have a bizarre obsession with food safety as opposed to nutrition. Consequently, I spent most of those classes reading the sections on pathology, pharmacology and toxicology, where the real money from the movie is made fun is. To this day, I know more about tuberculosis and the short term effects of cocaine on the brain than I do about food groups and what to eat. I figure that I've made it this far, so I've got at least another 26 years in me. That, coupled with my seeming ability to survive any number of traumas brought about through my own stupidity has convinced me that my time on this planet will only be ended when Death himself shows up at my door, pulls forth a sword, and says, "There can be only one." All the more reason for me to keep a 20-sider on my person at all times.)

Well, that's about it for today. Oh, and I got my Lunar White carrot seeds today. Hopefully the rest will arrive soon - I'm gonna be pissed if something happened to my order at the other place.

I added a video and a link to my Anonymous/Scientology archive, so that's alright.

In light of increasingly distressing news about the US economy (including low consumer confidence, an upswing in job losses and more people than ever - including middle class families - using food stamps to get by) and despite today's news about a Wall Street rally, I'm thinking of making another archive-style entry, this one about getting by in lean times. It'll most likely be a collection of news stories, finance sites, practical skills how to guides and sustainable living practices. While I don't consider myself a crazy conspiracy theorist, the last two have been interests of mine for a while. At best, I'll just know how to do a bit more than the average person. At worst, I'll be able to last...eh, 1/2 a day longer than some. Provided the zombies don't get me before then.

I'm also tossing around the pros and cons of getting a FitDay account. I tend to stick to things a bit better if they're written down (I'm a fan of the To Do List), and this will give me a more tangible way of charting positive and negative progress than trying to figure out how my clothes are fitting on any given day. The con would be trusting myself to maintain a healthy attitude about the whole thing; I have to remember that fitness and nutrition is not like golf, and that the lowest number(s) doesn't mean you win a trophy (or a fine green jacket, for that matter). I used something similar in college, and while it was totally unintentional (I did eat, and eat regularly), I was surprised and pleased to find that my average caloric intake for any given day was usually 1,000 calories or less. (In fact, I soon began to feel really guilty if I went over that, er, limit.) I wasn't really paying attention to portion sizes, food quality or when I was actually full, however, so the numbers may not have been accurate. Naturally, this meant I wasn't losing any weight, so I'd get frustrated and micromanage, get the numbers even lower, still not lose weight, get really hungry...eh, you all know the cycle. Some of you were even there for my waddling, whiny, "but I really don't eat a lot, I swear!" phase. God bless you all. And thank you for not smothering me in the night.

Anyway, I like to think that I'm at the age and maturity level where I can trust myself enough to be honest with myself and maintain/improve my health without playing caloric limbo, but I'm still on the fence. That's what I meant to say. Sorry about all the wangst¹ above.

Ok, enough of all this. Time to write my Boy and scoot to bed.



¹First definition. I'm incapable of the second and third, and the fourth is no longer a problem.

Ok, so did anyone else think that the Heavy Metal parody in the most recent Southpark was a) fucking awesome, and b) screamingly funny? Kudos for them using the original music, too. It's great stuff. (You can hear the full versions by checking out videos here and here, though I'd like to say now that I can't vouch for the visuals.)

Then again, this could just be all me. I'm the daughter of a man who went to art school in the late 70s, a man who, upon seeing the cover for the Wolfmother album, nodded in understanding and approval before saying, "That looks like a Frank Frazetta."

"It is," I said, looking at the liner notes. "Who's Frank Frazetta?"

"He's an artist from back when I was your age and younger. He was known for fantasy illustrations of women," he said

"Really?" I replied. "That's odd - the fantasy women you see today are usually really, really thin, but buxom."

"Yeah, but this is Frazetta. He knew how to draw women. Real women. Man, all the guys back at school, we all wanted to be Frazetta." He paused for a moment, remembering.

"Even you, Dad?"

"Yeah! Heck yeah!"

And he agreed that Wolfmother's a pretty damn awesome band, too.

My Dad? Awesome.

Over on the work blog, I've recently ended up posting little blurbs about bands or artists I like. They aren't big, lengthy studies, and they're not nearly as popular as some of the other posts that go up there. None of the co-workers have ever said anything bad about my posts, but I often worry that they're boring, unimportant, or obsolete. Judging by the number of comments generated, it would appear that far more people are interested in American Idol than they are in discovering new/emerging/independent/obscure musicians. There have been plenty of times when I've thought that my musical tastes were just ridiculously out of step with everyone else on the planet.

And then a co-worker shoots me a link to this blog post, and suddenly, I feel much better.

(For all of my blog posts so far - including the one where I get called a liar by one of our readers - click here.)

Never mind the icon there - it's new, and I'm trying it out for fun.

All told, the holiday went well. After an initially harrowing hour spent navigating unplowed, snow-covered roads, I arrived back in suburban Ohio and was set upon by the family. You'd think I'd been off doing humanitarian work in Sri Lanka or something, the way people enthused. It was kind of nice, if a little rushed. The good news is I got some new clothes. The bad news is that being cooped up all winter has definitely had an effect on the ol' waistline. Thankfully, the weather is starting to warm up, which means I've been walking to work daily. It's not much, but it's certainly something. I'll also need to start portioning more rigorously, and probably drinking a lot more fluids. I tend not to drink as much water in the winter, as I never really feel thirsty unless I'm hot. Given that the temperature here in the winter months tends to hover around It's Frickin' Freezing in Here Mr. Bigglesworth...well, let's just say I'm amazed I didn't collapse from dehydration or anything. I really need to just force myself to drink lots of water daily. Actually, make that green tea. The Easter Bunny would obviously approve of the latter, given that this appeared in my basket on Sunday. I'm going to need to find some loose leaf tea and get this party started. One can only presume that you burn a lot more calories when you're awake. Constantly.

After briefly browsing whordorable's LJ, I was reminded yet again that I have to get off my ass and decide what I'm going to attempt to grow in my own private hanging garden this year. According to my mom, I should be able to grow lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries, sweet peppers and possibly even carrots (though I may not be able to achieve a big yield with that last). I'm going to go with heirloom seeds, so hopefully they'll be able to thrive in containers as well. The cool thing about heirloom plants is the history behind them, which of course gets me all excited - I'm an enormous (figuratively? literally?) history geek, to the point that I flirted with the idea of majoring in it years ago. Of course, this leads to its own problems, garden-wise - for example, do I go with the Gilded Age carrots, or do I get medieval with 'em? Does anyone have any advice? (I'll probably post something over at apartmentgarden, but my rather awesome flist has yet to fail me.)

Damn - it's late once again. Time for some teeth brushing and bed.

Things I Am Symbolically Protesting Today

The breach of Obama's passport file

The fact that someone's lies got people killed

The War on Science

Media consolidation that will result in a less informed, more propagandized public

The fact that more people in this country can regale you with the intimate details of celebrity sex lives than can tell you who is at the helm of one of our nation's closest allies

The fact that many people in this country are proud of that

People who advocate the death penalty, but are content to let people suffer horribly because they deem euthanaisa an affront to God.

"Christians"* who will find this comic offensive because it involves atheists and advocates equality, reason, and science

The fact that someone's lies got LOTS of people killed

That my religion (or perhaps just my denomination) puts more emphasis on making people feel guilty about a murder to which they bore neither witness nor complicity than teaching and celebrating the philosophies and one command of its founder



Things I Am Not Symbolically Protesting Today

A company making a business decision that, while unpopular, is ultimately necessary to maintain revenues in a tremendously competitive environment and does not contribute to genocide, environmental degredation, unfair labor practices, unsafe working conditions or officially sanction and/or advocate discrimination.



*In quotes so as to symbolize those who go by the label, but use it to advocate hate and validate their own bigotry.