I was hired for a different, more relative position at another company shortly after posting this, one which involves no “personal care”.
So… yay!
| 1. |
Exercise three days a week
6 entries . 7 cheers |
10 people |
| 2. |
reduce the risk of a fire in my mom's house
1 entry . 1 cheer |
1 person |
| 3. |
edit and organize my photographs from living in Tanzania
2 cheers |
1 person |
| 4. |
stop saying "awesome" so often
|
1 person |
| 5. |
spend more time with my mom
1 entry . 9 cheers |
99 people |
| 6. |
make a step-ladder of sorts for my aging cat
1 cheer |
1 person |
| 7. |
meditate daily
2 entries . 15 cheers |
4,733 people |
| 8. |
Improve my Swahili
1 entry |
8 people |
| 9. |
only smoke cigarettes while drinking or after sex
7 entries . 10 cheers |
1 person |
| 10. |
make mixed CDs for my friends
5 entries . 3 cheers |
5 people |
| 11. |
stop letting the tourists ruin my summer
5 entries . 6 cheers |
1 person |
| 12. |
see Tom Waits live
2 entries . 2 cheers |
24 people |
| 13. |
practice yoga more regularly
2 entries . 10 cheers |
10 people |
| 14. |
make a list of 10 things I'd want to do if I were going to die in 6 months
2 entries . 5 cheers |
2 people |
| 15. |
stop eating chocolate
1 cheer |
109 people |
| 16. |
Learn to navigate Philadelphia
1 entry |
1 person |
| 17. |
eat something green every day
1 entry . 7 cheers |
2 people |
| 18. |
paint more pictures this summer
1 entry . 8 cheers |
1 person |
| 19. |
take more pictures of my boyfriend and I
2 entries . 1 cheer |
2 people |
| 20. |
read all the Dinosaur Comics in order
1 entry . 1 cheer |
1 person |
| 21. |
have an affair with a professor
7 cheers |
8 people |
| 22. |
learn to oil paint
3 cheers |
104 people |
| 23. |
help others before they hurt others
1 entry . 9 cheers |
2 people |
| 24. |
Improve my posture
1 entry . 3 cheers |
2,750 people |
| 25. |
run a 5k
1 entry |
2,784 people |
| 26. |
have sex in a cave
7 cheers |
3 people |
| 27. |
get another tattoo
2 entries . 5 cheers |
3,431 people |
| 28. |
donate my eggs
1 entry . 4 cheers |
95 people |
| 29. |
take the GRE
1 entry . 3 cheers |
424 people |
| 30. |
go zorbing
5 cheers |
378 people |
| 31. |
See all the films that have won the Best Picture Oscar
1 entry . 6 cheers |
314 people |
| 32. |
identify 100 things that piss me off
3 entries . 2 cheers |
129 people |
| 33. |
identify 100 things that make me happy.
4 entries . 6 cheers |
2,532 people |
| 34. |
read the top 50 censored books
2 cheers |
57 people |
| 35. |
take another African Drumming class
1 entry . 2 cheers |
1 person |
| 36. |
read all of the Y: The Last Man series
|
1 person |
| 37. |
eat five or six small meals a day
1 entry |
1 person |
| 38. |
post 43 silly quotes/exchanges I encounter that make me laugh
|
1 person |
| 39. |
post 43 minor realizations that make my world slightly more faceted than I had previously perceived
1 entry |
1 person |
How I did it: I soaked several cotton balls in peppermint oil and placed them around the house, specifically targeting mouse-friendly places (the attic, behind the washer/dryer, low cabinets). Mice hate the smell of peppermint. We also stopped using the baseboard heating, so we only warm the parts of the house we're in. No mice. Read how I did it…
How I did it: After being told there was no hope of recovery, I turned to acupuncture, which immediately helped. Months of treatment and a change in perspective opened my eyes to more and more ways to both treat and prevent illness without medication/synthetic chemicals. Acupuncture, qi-gong, homeopathy, and reflexology all played a role in my recovery, and I couldn't be more thankful. Read how I did it…
How I did it: I wiped the outside of my La Pavoni machine until it shone spotlessly. I fully disassembled and cleaned the boiler group. I ran the machine with a tank full of 50% distilled white vinegar/50% water and then ran the machine on three more tanks of water. It runs wonderfully and my coffee tastes fantastic. I've returned to loving my espresso so much that I wake up looking forward to making it again. Read how I did it…
I was hired for a different, more relative position at another company shortly after posting this, one which involves no “personal care”.
So… yay!
There’s no way to write this without it reading like a self-pitying “wah!”, so here goes: It seems every time I show gratefulness for something, it falls apart.
My partner says I’m the unluckiest person he’s ever met, and the extent to which my luck screws me is hilarious to him (and to be honest, to me as well). In my effort to remain actively grateful for things, I spent a week praising my car to the tune of “I’m so happy about my car. I’ve had it for a decade, knew nothing about it when I purchased it, and it’s been nothing but good to me for the entire time I’ve had it.”
Boom. Stops running: $500 in repairs.
In the six horrible months we spent in Florida, we had three unrealistically crazy roommates (one so bad it resulted in a bout of homelessness where we had to live in my partner’s lab), two break-ins within the first two weeks at each of the two places we lived,
More seriously, I graduated from school in December of 2007, took a semester off, and then fell bedridden from an undiagnosable, crippling disease. Sounds less appropriate to call that kind of thing “luck”, but, you see the range in pattern.
Anyway, the reason for all of that explanation is that a little over a month ago, I finally marked my “fight my arthritis” goal as “done”. Then the symptoms started popping up. I’ve been waking up with that signature soreness and limited range of motion.
Emotionally, I’m dealing with this flare up way better than in I did with previous incidents. Having been through it before is probably helping to dissolve the panic associated with mystery. Also, having a wonderful and supportive partner who was with me through it the first time is invaluable.
So, yesterday, I woke up with both hands feeling awful, which was alarming since I just had acupuncture the night before.
The first thing I did was run outside and practice qi qong for about an hour since it was remarkably warm outside. It felt good. I liked what my eyes were seeing while closed and enjoyed the feeling of the grass under my bare feet. I took comfort in the perception of qi filtering through my body and loosening up blockages. I didn’t get nauseous as I did a couple of weeks ago while doing it.
That reminds me, a couple of weeks ago, I was able to have my partner join me again so as to help with his food poisoning. As soon as we got to the first posture dealing with the core/stomach, he ran to the bathroom and tossed every last one of his cookies.
This stuff is weird (I don’t mean that negatively). It’s been years since we were introduced to the reality of TCM and qi-related healing, and we’re *still baffled by it. I reckon it’s not just the fact that we both come from Western scientific backgrounds, but also the mere simplicity of TCM’s basis in relation to how powerful the results are.
But I digress. Things only got better from there. When I came in, I took a shot of organic apple cider vinegar because that, too, helps dramatically with arthritis (among dozens of other problems). By the evening, my fingers felt tender, but not painful. Even this morning, though I felt worse than I did going to bed, I feel much better than I did yesterday morning.
Qi gong has consistently helped me with the relief of my pain. I’m actually a fool for not doing it everyday. Maybe this will kick me into a better routine than just using it as First Aid.
Dolph Lundgren has a Masters in Chemical Engineering, and was awarded the Fullbright Scholarship to MIT.
Huh. Who knew…