Monday, May 21, 2012

Things That I Am Obsessing Over Right Now

Obsessed with my "hawthorne" aloe, which will bloom soon.
Preface: I once made a pact with myself that no matter how late at night it was and how tired I was, I would stay up to write out whatever ideas I had swirling around in my head. I've broken that pact more than I have adhered to it, which is Okay. At the moment, I'm going to go for it. The following format is something I started doing in my old MySpace (MySpace!), and it was stolen from a post that Neko Case wrote on her website. This kind of writing is best done with music that you love playing.

Things That I Am Obsessing Over Right Now

1. "Moving Through Time," Angelo Badalamenti from the Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me soundtrack. I first noticed the song while watching the movie on my computer one dragging Saturday afternoon while my old neighbors jumped around like children above me. In the film, it plays while Laura experiences her last evening at home. Rather than describing it to you, I suggest you simply listen to it.

2. I played the above song while soaking in the tub just a bit ago. We didn't have a tub at our old apartment, just a crappy shower stall, as if we were at summer camp or on a boat. Whenever I was in a hotel for that 1.5 years living in that old place, I would always take a bath. It's not even really bathing, it's soaking. You just sit in the cloudy water staring at your feet just under the surface. In Pittsburgh during summer as a teen, I often took the hottest baths I could stand while the humidity all around added to the steam. I created a sauna in the bathroom and listened to the dusk birds call in night. I think all that heat made me lightheaded, but it was pleasant and a little magical.

3. During that bath, I thought about the things I would write in this list, one of them being my essay that is due in less than two weeks. I'm just 1000 words shy of it being the minimum length, but it needs about a billion bits of editing, I know. I feel like I'm not connecting all the important facets of the topic, one of the missing ones being the personal connection that I and other fans of Audrey make with the character. Of course, I don't want to dwell on that too much, because it's an essay about her wardrobe. Or is it? Are the owls what they seem?

3a. What I'm trying to get at is, I was feeling obsessed with my identification with Audrey, much like a lot of the bloggers I stumbled upon in my research. Like her, I sometimes wandered around school being aloof and a loner, preferring to eavesdrop and spy on the adults around me. Why would anyone with a personality actually be interested in the kinds of day to day things that people like Donna Hayward experience? I miss being as overconfident and naive as Audrey is, but I also never ran off to a Canadian brothel only to be held hostage by the madame and her Canuck partner and shot up with drugs. But then again, I've also never been rescued by a dashing and dorky FBI agent who gets more enthralling by every regulation and self-imposed moral rule he quotes. Though, even Special Agent Dale Cooper can't escape the Black Lodge.



4. My Plants. So lucky are we to not only have a tub, but a fair-sized front porch to keep plants. I have cacti, aloe, a starfish plant, other misc. succulents, a polka dot plant, a spearmint, a chamomile, two trays of snap peas just starting to sprout, and now two heirloom tomato plants. In about a month, some of the succulents will bloom. I love to poke around and examine my plants when coming home from work or after a run.

5. Running. Both Jeremy and I have eased ourselves back into marathon training, though I'm doing a modest 5K and he's able for a half. Go, Jeremy, go! I've been walking from my place up to Church and 30th Street, where I begin my job up to Clipper and back again. The loop equals about a mile, and I can do that in about 8 to 10 minutes, which is good. I got new shoes after being convinced by both Jeremy and our running buddy Sarah, and that was a very good choice. Not only do I not have pain in my shins and knees anymore, but I now have purple shoes with hot pink laces.

5a. Part of running means that I get up early. This is a life change for me. I actually get out of bed in the single digits during the weekends now. I have been, actually, for about four or five months now. It started in the old place when Jeremy didn't work on weekends anymore. I needed "me" time. Thinking back to when my mom would get up early to have tea and toast, to read, weed the garden, or just go out somewhere and come back in time to shake us up at 11, I started doing it, too. I have tea, I work a little online, I watch nature shows, then I go for my run. I accomplish all this before noon, sometimes even 11. On the weekdays, I sleep in my running clothes, which double as PJs, and jump out of bed at fucking 6:30 AM and do the routine in an abbreviated fashion. Again, I accomplish all this by 8, 8:30 and then I get ready for work. I feel like I had a whole other day in there, and it makes being at work until 6 or later more Okay.

Afterward: So, now it's time for bed.

What are you obsessed with right now?







Saturday, May 12, 2012

Run, Angela, Run

Your author after her first race.
I whined and whined, "Everybody's running but me!" It seemed like my friends were reporting daily or weekly runs with pride, which they should, and expecting me to report mine in turn, which they should. Not only was I not running, but I was feeling "blah." I was complaining about feeling that way, and feeling guilty for it. You know what I dislike? Whining. 

At 6:30 AM Tuesday I jumped out of bed in my running clothes (because getting up at 6:30 AM already dressed really does help), I had a piece of peanut butter toast, and I ran. I actually felt really awesome afterwards. 

This whole running thing of mine started in December when Jeremy and I found the Couch to 5K program. It promised an easy way for beginners to get off the couch and get fit without intimidation. A lot of fitness programs claim that. Though it was hard at first, I actually did it. Having a partner like Jeremy to wake up early with me and run alongside me was encouraging and fun. It was something we experienced together! 

I do actually recommend that program. It was probably the only program that could have gotten me from the girl in gym class who sat on the bleachers or refused to run the track and instead take an F, if I showed up at all, to the girl who is actually running for more than five sustained minutes. 

In January, we joined some of my coworker friends for a 5K, and we all finished! I ran it in about 34 minutes, which is actually not bad. I finished right in the middle, with more advanced runners finishing 15 to 25 minutes before me. 

Not long after that, my annual physical reported a fitter meI had lost ten pounds from the year prior, and though it was a very low goal, it was my goal to actually lose ten pounds in a year. Running and yoga. I was very happy. 

I only ran two more times after that race, and I they were only follow-up runs, not more advanced ones. Though I did replace my running with Bikram yoga for a few weeks, after that I didn't do much. Some excruciating runs when we first moved, which is mostly hills, hills, hills, I just kind of quit. Then, I started to feel "fat." I probably didn't look that much different, but you may know that feeling. Sluggish, clothes don't look good on you, blah. 

So, I hushed up and ran! For real this time! I didn't feel like I needed a partner, and doing it solo actually motivates me more. I get lost The Smiths Pandora station, where songs with titles like "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful," "Cemetery Gates," and "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby." Quite motivating, trust me.

My main motivation comes from other women in my life. Directly, my friend and coworker Sarah began running regularly after moving here and feeling a little out of place, like a lot of us at work. She finished her first half marathon last year all by herself. 

Women in my family are a motivator, too. Of course I have my mom. Like Sarah, my mom moved to a whole new state and was feeling a little out of place. Without my brother and I close by, she needed something to occupy her days. When feeling depressed or annoyed, she walks. As part of that, my dad and her have began eating better. Her motivation was from seeing many of the women in our family not take as much care of themselves as they should have. 

I don't really want to be "thin" or lose a ton of weight, but I just want to not say or think to myself "I feel fat." I don't want to feel sluggish and tired just because I'm not active. There's so many exciting things to do, and being healthy with a hobby like running better assures your body that it can be there for all of those exciting things.

Only 4.75 miles so far...
The miles I'm pounding these days are being counted toward the San Francisco Marathon's Progressive 5K. I must record 23.1 completed miles from the time I registered for the race to the weekend of the race. On the race day, I complete the final 3.1 miles, or 5 kilometers, of a 26 mile marathon. While it's not nearly the same as the athletes who run a full marathon in a three or four hours, it's an accomplishment! The point is, I got my body movin' like a Beastie Boy! 

I intend on running at least some of Bay to Breakers, even if it's not official. When else can I dress up like, say, a Bird of Paradise, and run across the entire peninsula of this magnificent city?

Well, I gotta run! Happy days!















Tuesday, May 01, 2012

Kickin' Off Honey Month

I spoke about bees and beekeeping before, and mentioned that Jeremy and I have a dream of keeping our own hive. In the meantime, I'm lucky to live in a city that appreciates the bees and their hives - and hosts a lot of farmer's markets where you can get local honey! After attending a small presentation on the benefits of bee products, I'm inspired to eat honey every day for the month of May to see if any positive changes occur. Will I feel more energetic or alert? Not sure, maybe not, but honey tastes too good not to try!

During our experience at the New Living Expo this weekend (and it was quite an experience that I will hopefully get to in more detail soon), we attended a presentation by Charles Shipp, beekeeper and apitherapy supporter. Mr. Shipp gave an overview of the health benefits of, not just honey, but other products bees produce. How much do you know about royal jelly, bee pollen, and propolis? I know next to nothing before the presentation!

Charles Shipp's bees, as photographed by Jeremy at the New Living Expo
 Mr. Shipp, who was a friendly and slightly awkward older man, talked about popular American medicine's refusal toward bee medicine. According to him, bee medicine has been used by many cultures for ages, yet it's ignored by modern doctors in the West. That makes sense to me, since some herbal medicines produce dubious results. However, if I don't expect bee medicine to help me get fit from head to toe, why not try it?

According to Shipp, royal jelly, bee pollen, and propolis will add years to your life, supply you with complete proteins, and sooth inflammation, respectively. You may have heard of royal jelly being used in skin care recently. It's actually the milky substance that bees produce to feed only their hive queen. This is solely the queen's diet, and that's why she's bigger than other honey bees. Bee pollen sounds a little like a quinoa substitute. Meanwhile, propolis is tree sap that has been collected by the bees sanitize their larvae pods. How cool is that?

While it's amazing to hear about how and why the bees produce these substances (which I'll touch on in a bit), it's important to do your research before eating a jar of propolis for breakfast. In our enthusiasm for bee products, Jeremy and I looked up university studies online that could clue us in on more details of their benefits or dangers. Glad that we didn't spend up to $50 on royal jelly and pollen, we found that for some, sever allergic reactions can occur when ingesting these items. While I believe that Mr. Shipp, along with the other beekeepers we spoke to, each take a bit of them each day, it's not for us. It doesn't seem worth the risk when there are already plenty of other ways to eat well. We'll stick to our honey! It has been said that if you want to get over a certain region's allergies, you can ingest its local honey.

My very serious notes taken during the presentation
One of the most interesting things I got out of the presentation was the more, how do I put it, spiritual or "out there" aspects of beekeeping. A much more extreme version of this was possibly touched on in Wax. Mr. Shipp briefly mentioned the connection he and some beekeepers report about their hives. After respectfully working with the hive for some time, the keeper and the bees become friends or equals. Some keepers even come as far as not having to wear protective clothing when tending to their hive. He even mentioned that a kind of initiation occurs between keeper and hive when the keeper is first stung. Jeremy mentioned that it sounded like a hazing ritual.

Apart from their human keepers, bees do seem to have an uncanny way of buzzing about their short lives. I mentioned before the exclusive diet of royal jelly each queen intakes. In the hive, royal jelly may be produced by her bees, but only she may eat it. The temperament of the queen, which varies over her lifespan, affects the temperament of the hive, so a happy queen is very important for good honey production. Mr. Shipp likened the queen bee to a goddess by the pampering and attention she receives from and the affect she has on her bees. In short, the mysterious way of the bee almost sounded divine.

It's hard to find Charles Shipp's book, An Introduction to Bee Medicine, for purchase, but there is plenty of bee literature out there. There's so much more I can get into, and perhaps I will at a later date. One of my favorite beekeeping segments, though, I share with you below.