Broken But Reassembled Like New

How many of you out there find successful outlets to venting anger or releasing stress and anxiety? Sometimes life is just so annoying or messed up or worriesome that you have very little recourse than to exhaust yourself in a fight with a pillow, a good bitch session with a friend, journaling, or an attempt at relaxation techniques.

Well, I know I have. Often, Stitchy, my fearless stuffed bear takes the brunt of my frustrations, both in becoming "SuperStitchy" (which means he gets hurled across the bedroom in hopes of hitting a wall) or playing kleenex to my more oft found faucet of tears. I guess psychologists say there is a "good way" to deal with stress and frustration and a "bad way." A good way would be to go and exercise. A bad way would be to exercise your fist into someone else's face. A bad way would be to drink yourself into a drunken oblivion. A good way would be to smash a tomatto and drink a home-made V8. (This is not being mean to veggies but creating a healthyoutlet) Of course, I'm not advocating combining the two (Bloody Mary) and calling it even.
The levels of stress and anxiety or frustration that many Americans feel today are prevelant. A look at the number of prescriptions for anti-anxiety medications can easily tell you this. It is no wonder that not managing stress/frustration can lead to so many physical health problems.

Mind over matter isn't just a saying folks. But maybe matter does play a part. Perhaps there is a reason why companies are able to sell "Stress balls" to squeeze, and mini punching bags for your office desk. That emotional outlet when directed toward an object instead of a person is better for sure, but then, that also can lead to some damage. What we all really clamour for, is a way to express our anger without suffering irreparable consequences. This guy has the right idea.

I don't have the answers. I just have random mussings. But I'll leave you with one image that often comes to mind when I think of frustrated, stressed-out folks...Click here.

Dead and Gone Like Me

Actually this title comes from a t.v. show I just discovered via Sci-Fi, which I now want to go out and rent the entire first season to watch. It's totally the type of shows (movies) I like. Dark Comedies are the defence mechanisms of the mundane daily existence for the rest of us I guess. Dead Like Me is an interesting premise with a well written script and it is also well acted. I caught this last night while my father and I watched t.v. and mom and I played Scrabble ( i beat her 219 to 216. yes, that's right TOm, I BEAT someone at Scrabble, imagine after all these years playing with you online, I simply needed the board in front of me to win, though I don't count a 3 point differential "kicking ass" or anything.)
In other news the "gone" part. I will be gone to Okoboji Iowa this weekend, through Tuesday for my family reunion. Much rejoicing and such will occur (or so I hope) though this gal has to apparently stay out of the sun! WHAT!?!?! stay out of the sun on a LAKE? are you kidding me? Doctors are on crack btw. Or at least those I apparently wind up seeing. I've been on an antibiotic (which I'm posed to be on for the whole month which says on the bottle "avoid prolonged exposure to the sun) okay, well, fine, I heed bottle warnings. I was out for all of an hour on Monday, wearing a new bikini (which makes me self-conscious enough anyways right?) and low and behold about half an hour later, I start to itch on my stomach...well surprise....rash city! lovely right? so I'm thinking, okay, go see the doc. Tuesday morning, i see the doctor, and he's like, stop taking that antibiotic, this is a photo-sensitivity rash, and you can develop allergic reactions to drugs even after taking them for a week and a half. so, tah-dah, I stop taking it call the doc that prescribed it, and she says, "NO, keep taking it, it doesn't cause photo-sensitivity." - Except that it has to, b.c otherwise they wouldn't put a label on the bottle warning about it right? and besides the other doctor that saw me actually saw the rash and diagnosed it...so I go with his answer.
I seem to have rotten luck with health these days :( blah. otherwise everything else is going well...still looking for that full time job, so I can move out of the basement, and the ability to pay rent somewhere else (perhaps moving in w. laura or pete or cassi? who knows!)
anyways, the "gone" part also means I'll be in Naperville next weekend - going to see the King Tut exhibit with Erik and his folks...hooray. I am looking forward to that. and I promise I won't collapse in the museum ---been there and done that already.
Hope all is well with the rest of you out there.

I heard a surprising and horrifying statistic just two days ago that I'm sure many of you are aware of, and maybe some of you are not. Regardless of whether or not you are aware of the statistic itself, more than likely you can put a name and a face of someone YOU actually KNOW with this statistic, even if you don't know they've had this type of experience, or maybe you can put your own name to it.
Perhaps it is just that I am, by nature, a very emotional and empathetic person, but, hearing these types of statistics does in deed make me want to mourn (and in fact, it did make me cry).
Statistics
Myths and Facts
So I urge you to do what you can to contribute to the efforts to combat these acts of violence.

Lamenting the Sick and other odds and ends

This may be the only post you guys get from me for awhile. Awhile being at least until i get my desktop hooked up to IU's network...stupid Get Connected CDs and RITS not being open over the weekend...I know I know, everybody needs weekends off. fair enough. I have just realized how dependant I am on the Internet for my news, reviews and updates from friends. How much I am dependant on email to communicate far and wide, and hello ---who needs access to ELLA to fix their earlier website constructions...I Do! I Do!
So, guess why i'm complaining. My Sony Viao laptop - my gorgeous little baby - being one of 2 children I have - the second being Bessie, my fantastic 2004 Civic - is in computer hospital. or rather, being shipped today to the Best Buy corporate service center. God Speed Viao. May you return to my home in Iowa city in one piece, and working. SOOO very nervous letting them send her away AND send her back to me in Iowa in three weeks or so...but what can I do? I won't be in Bloomington past May 21st, (except for one weekend in july) so ack!
This means I'll probably have to borrow a laptop from the family reserve --or rather, mom's old one which was my old one before I got Viao. at least I am fortunate enough to have a laptop to begin with, and one to use for backup to boot. (haha, okay, insert joke about "re"boot here if you so desire.) So, perhaps my desktop will work for the next few days - until the 8th when i return to IC. I hope so!

Other odds and ends:
Fixing pathfinders/syllabus has been halted due to lack of internet.

Thanks to Jill for hosting a great condo-warming in Verona. I had a fantastic time, and was so happy I was only minimally allergic to her wonderful kitties. One of which, Rayden (raven?) I didn't ask for clarification on that one-whoops cuddled up with me at night. Oh yea, she's awesome. Kept my feet warm and everything. Made me miss my kitty Scotty, who went to kitty heaven (or purgatory, I'm not sure which) September of 2004.

I find that I am cold a lot lately. Goosebumps seem to be permanent additions to my arms and legs these past months. Since I lost about 10 lbs in February. I guess what they say about fat as insulation is really true. (Don't to worry folks. The weight has stayed off due to healthy eating habbits and little exercies ---can't get the muscle back which weighs more...that will be remedied soon...)

My computer desk/shelf/stereo have found themselves a new home. YAY. Really nice girl as well.

Happy Birthday to Rena! Your fruit tart and spinach artichoke dip await.

Oh, and on the AFI front- watched Mr. Smith Goes to Washington last night (#29), and will be watching On the Waterfront (#8) with Traci tonight. Wells Media Services is kind to me.

That is all.

Just got back from jazz dance class at the HPER. Fun stuff! I like the teacher, and the moves are fun (so far) though I could do without dancing to Britney Spears, - in whatever form it happens to be. Oh well. Guess I'll muddle my way through the moves still and see what happens. I'm starting to feel like these are the only sane moments of my day -when I work out, and I can stop thinking about everything else. It's like I allow myself to concentrate on something else and relax and just enjoy the movement. Otherwise it's usually just my brain that's moving, or rather, racing. It was a good weekend, fun,, saw phantom of the opera (movie) and hung with some gals from my floor...and also lots of reading, surprise surprise. Seems like my life consists mostly of reading. But that's okay. I will accept occasional phone calls from friends to rescue me from that task any time ;) for those of you that read this thing! Now though, i will return to the books...

thankful that...

Okay, it's roughly 3:30 in the morning, IA time on Thanksgiving. I've thrown off my sleeping schedule significantly this week. I've caught a cold (pretty much since i got back last friday) cause I'm burning the candle at both ends. I hate that my internal clock still wakes me upa t 9 am every day regardless of what is actually slated to happen that day and whether or not it will be occuring during the morning hours. I've been staying up too late each night for that to be the case.
Wow, I felt old hanging out with folks the other night. What's really funny, the new people I met had no idea i was nearly as old as I am upon meeting me, so I consider that a victory for my passing myself off as younger than I really am. haha. not that I really look old I guess, and a certainly tend to act younger in a lot of situations and I am totally a kid at heart, so I guess it makes sense. I also blend well in different types of groups based on behavior i think. or at least I hope so. Regardless, it was kind of a nice feeling to hang with younger folks...wow, talk about the whole "feeling old once you think about having your five year high school reunion" because well, that should happen this year for me...if it happens. scary. I did have a great time though. Watched the hawks lose :( but managed to get in a few good games of billiards at Brothers while watching them suck it up - NO defense. seriously. I was actually doing pretty well w. some shots I didn't expect to make too. We all ate 10 cent wings and socialized. Q, Will and Rolling Rock split off to go hop the bars, and I wasn't entirely up for joining in their plans when i discovered they'd gone to a townie bar (after the game was over) that is not really near downtown. Sounded like they had a good time though. Instead I opted for hanging w. kath, Chai and Jon and Chai's friend from camp from the summer. was pretty fun to just go back to his place and chill and watch Harry Potter 1. He'd watched HP3 with us the night b.f at my place, and had NO idea what was going on, having not seen the other two. I'm pretty sure he still has no idea what was going on, since he didn't get to watch the movie really b.c we were all chatting and joking around. haha...funny quote from that night "if Chai and Jon had a child, it would be 3/4 asian." After we left Chai's, I had great fun exercising my long lost skills at Duck Hunt. I'd forgotten how much that dog annoys me when you miss a duck, and also, how close I used to sit to the screen in order to hit them. I think Grand Theft is more my speed, but retro is classy too :)
Turkey day has been very lazy, as turkey days should be. We went to see National Treasure (my parents and I) it was quite good. Very entertaining, very much Da Vinci Code meets Indiana Jones, which was the way it as described to me b.f hand as well. Then back here to sleep -because well, I'm sick and need my rest. so i had a pre-turkey nap and a post-turkey nap, as any self-respecting person should on a national holiday where we celebrate things we're thankful for, including naps in the afternoon :) Steve arrived home at about 6:30 pm and by then I was starving, so ate too much food and then watched Pieces of April, which Steve had rented b.f leaving San Fran. kinda a depressing movie, but with thanksgiving theme, so fitting for the day. and I promptly fell asleep for a number of hours. now, my sleep schedule being all messed up, I'm fully awake at 3:40 Iowa time.
In honor of thanksgiving though I'll say what I"m thankful for - ooh, yes, waxing self-reflective for a moment!
I'm thankful for my family, extended and immediate.
I"m thankful for my friends, IC and otherwise :) You guys keep my life both entertaining and somewhat more sane that it would be if I didn't have ya.
I'm thankful for chance to get a higher higher education, with which I hope to make something out of myself.
I'm thankful that I've only got 4 more years of having to deal with president bush. hopefully he'll do better the second time around.
I'm thankful that I've been able to travel and explore so much of the world already, and hope to continue to do so.
I'm thankful that I've been blessed in so many ways!
okay folks, I'm outta here....