Face Plant
Sometimes you have to fall flat on your face in order to begin again. Maybe the unfortunate slip on black ice this morning that landed me face-down in a parking lot was just a way of helping me to really get back on my feet?
And now I am ready to stand up for myself and be strong.
Or maybe it was just falling on my face, smashing my apple and getting some bruises.
Either way, I suspect I am stronger for the experience.
Now I hope to go for at least a month without falling.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
Aah New Mexico
Two news stories about my home state have cropped up over the past week that have had me in stitches. Basically, they typify New Mexico in so many ways and show a little bit of what I love and hate about the Land of Enchantment.
First there were the talking urinal cakes that were deemed so interesting they showed up in the Washington Post's free daily newspaper given out at Metro stations all over DC (Of course, Turtle Mountain was one of our favorite Albuquerque establishments.):
By Tim Korte, Associated Press Writer | February 17, 2007
RIO RANCHO, N.M. --New Mexico is hoping to keep drunks off the road by lecturing them at the last place they usually stop before getting behind the wheel: the urinal.
The state recently paid $21 each for about 500 talking urinal-deodorizer cakes and has put them in men's rooms in bars and restaurants across the state.
When a man steps up, the motion-sensitive plastic device says, in a woman's voice that is flirty, then stern: "Hey, big guy. Having a few drinks? Think you had one too many? Then it's time to call a cab or call a sober friend for a ride home."
The recorded message ends: "Remember, your future is in your hand."
The talking urinal represents just the latest effort to fight drunken driving in New Mexico, which has long had one of the highest rates of alcohol-related traffic deaths in the nation. (The new tactic is aimed only at men, since they account for 78 percent of all driving-under-the-influence-related convictions in New Mexico.)
"It startled me the first time I heard it, but it sure got my attention," said Ben Miller, a patron at the Turtle Mountain Brewing Co. bar and restaurant. "It's a fantastic idea."
Jim Swatek, who was drinking a beer nearby, said: "You think, `Maybe I should call the wife to come get me.'"
Turtle Mountain Brewing owner Niko Ortiz commended the New Mexico Transportation Department for "thinking way outside the box."
Department spokesman S.U. Mahesh said the bathroom is a perfect place to get the message across. In the restroom, "guys don't chitchat with other guys," he said. "It's all business. We've got their total attention for 10 to 15 seconds"
Similar urinal cakes have been used for anti-drug campaigns in Colorado, Pennsylvania and Australia, and for anti-DWI efforts on New York's Long Island, said Richard Deutsch of New York-based Healthquest Technologies Inc., which manufactures the devices.
But Deutsch said he believes New Mexico is the only state to buy the devices.
New Mexico had 143 alcohol-related deaths in 2005, for the nation's eighth-highest rate per miles driven. The problem is blamed in part on the wide-open spaces that make it necessary to drive to get anywhere, and the poverty and isolation that can lead people to drink to relieve their boredom or misery.
Also, some have complained that the state has only recently begun to emerge from years of lax enforcement.
Gov. Bill Richardson led a successful push two years ago to require ignition locking devices for anyone convicted of DWI -- a first in the nation -- and each year the Legislature has agreed on tougher penalties for repeat offenders.
New Mexico also has started a toll-free "drunk buster" hot line, boosted DWI enforcement in problem areas and increased police checkpoints. The state also has a DWI czar.
In November, a wrong-way drunken driver slammed into a car near Santa Fe, killing five family members, authorities said. The governor has since directed state regulators to issue cease-and-desist orders against three airlines to stop serving alcohol on flights to and from New Mexico. The culprit in the fatal wreck had been seen drinking on a flight into Albuquerque hours before the accident.
At the Turtle Mountain, the urinal cakes have proved so intriguing that three have been swiped already.
"I'm mystified why someone would stick their hand into one of our urinals," Ortiz said. "But I'm sure we'll see them on eBay. Hopefully, the seller will advertise it as, `Stolen from Turtle Mountain.'"
And then there were the foul-mouthed CD players that got detonated in front of the cathedral in my home town:
SANTA FE, New Mexico (AP) -- Three CD players hidden under a cathedral's pews blared sexually explicit language in the middle of an Ash Wednesday Mass, leading a bomb squad to detonate two of the devices.
Authorities determined the music players were not dangerous and kept the third one to check it for clues, said police Capt. Gary Johnson.
The CD players, duct-taped to the bottoms of the pews, were set to turn on in the middle of noon Mass on Wednesday at the Roman Catholic Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.
The recordings, made on store-bought blank discs, featured people using foul language and "pornographic messages," Johnson said. He would not elaborate because of the ongoing investigation.
Church staff members took the CD players to the basement and called police, who sent the bomb squad, Johnson said.
The bomb squad blew up two players outside and kept the third one to test for fingerprints or DNA and trace its components, he said.
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, which marks a 40-day period of fasting and penitence before Easter.
Aaah New Mexico. Amazing climate, incredible culture, beautiful scenery, thriving art scene AND a source of endless entertainment.
Two news stories about my home state have cropped up over the past week that have had me in stitches. Basically, they typify New Mexico in so many ways and show a little bit of what I love and hate about the Land of Enchantment.
First there were the talking urinal cakes that were deemed so interesting they showed up in the Washington Post's free daily newspaper given out at Metro stations all over DC (Of course, Turtle Mountain was one of our favorite Albuquerque establishments.):
By Tim Korte, Associated Press Writer | February 17, 2007
RIO RANCHO, N.M. --New Mexico is hoping to keep drunks off the road by lecturing them at the last place they usually stop before getting behind the wheel: the urinal.
The state recently paid $21 each for about 500 talking urinal-deodorizer cakes and has put them in men's rooms in bars and restaurants across the state.
When a man steps up, the motion-sensitive plastic device says, in a woman's voice that is flirty, then stern: "Hey, big guy. Having a few drinks? Think you had one too many? Then it's time to call a cab or call a sober friend for a ride home."
The recorded message ends: "Remember, your future is in your hand."
The talking urinal represents just the latest effort to fight drunken driving in New Mexico, which has long had one of the highest rates of alcohol-related traffic deaths in the nation. (The new tactic is aimed only at men, since they account for 78 percent of all driving-under-the-influence-related convictions in New Mexico.)
"It startled me the first time I heard it, but it sure got my attention," said Ben Miller, a patron at the Turtle Mountain Brewing Co. bar and restaurant. "It's a fantastic idea."
Jim Swatek, who was drinking a beer nearby, said: "You think, `Maybe I should call the wife to come get me.'"
Turtle Mountain Brewing owner Niko Ortiz commended the New Mexico Transportation Department for "thinking way outside the box."
Department spokesman S.U. Mahesh said the bathroom is a perfect place to get the message across. In the restroom, "guys don't chitchat with other guys," he said. "It's all business. We've got their total attention for 10 to 15 seconds"
Similar urinal cakes have been used for anti-drug campaigns in Colorado, Pennsylvania and Australia, and for anti-DWI efforts on New York's Long Island, said Richard Deutsch of New York-based Healthquest Technologies Inc., which manufactures the devices.
But Deutsch said he believes New Mexico is the only state to buy the devices.
New Mexico had 143 alcohol-related deaths in 2005, for the nation's eighth-highest rate per miles driven. The problem is blamed in part on the wide-open spaces that make it necessary to drive to get anywhere, and the poverty and isolation that can lead people to drink to relieve their boredom or misery.
Also, some have complained that the state has only recently begun to emerge from years of lax enforcement.
Gov. Bill Richardson led a successful push two years ago to require ignition locking devices for anyone convicted of DWI -- a first in the nation -- and each year the Legislature has agreed on tougher penalties for repeat offenders.
New Mexico also has started a toll-free "drunk buster" hot line, boosted DWI enforcement in problem areas and increased police checkpoints. The state also has a DWI czar.
In November, a wrong-way drunken driver slammed into a car near Santa Fe, killing five family members, authorities said. The governor has since directed state regulators to issue cease-and-desist orders against three airlines to stop serving alcohol on flights to and from New Mexico. The culprit in the fatal wreck had been seen drinking on a flight into Albuquerque hours before the accident.
At the Turtle Mountain, the urinal cakes have proved so intriguing that three have been swiped already.
"I'm mystified why someone would stick their hand into one of our urinals," Ortiz said. "But I'm sure we'll see them on eBay. Hopefully, the seller will advertise it as, `Stolen from Turtle Mountain.'"
And then there were the foul-mouthed CD players that got detonated in front of the cathedral in my home town:
SANTA FE, New Mexico (AP) -- Three CD players hidden under a cathedral's pews blared sexually explicit language in the middle of an Ash Wednesday Mass, leading a bomb squad to detonate two of the devices.
Authorities determined the music players were not dangerous and kept the third one to check it for clues, said police Capt. Gary Johnson.
The CD players, duct-taped to the bottoms of the pews, were set to turn on in the middle of noon Mass on Wednesday at the Roman Catholic Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.
The recordings, made on store-bought blank discs, featured people using foul language and "pornographic messages," Johnson said. He would not elaborate because of the ongoing investigation.
Church staff members took the CD players to the basement and called police, who sent the bomb squad, Johnson said.
The bomb squad blew up two players outside and kept the third one to test for fingerprints or DNA and trace its components, he said.
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, which marks a 40-day period of fasting and penitence before Easter.
Aaah New Mexico. Amazing climate, incredible culture, beautiful scenery, thriving art scene AND a source of endless entertainment.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Hope
Sometimes, when you don't know what else you can do and you've tried everything you can think of and you finally realize that no matter how much you love someone, no matter how convinced you are of their potential to be amazing and to be happy, you don't have the power to make them happy...sometimes a miracle happens that has absolutely nothing to do with you.
In November, when I called my brother to say hello, nine times out of ten, he was too depressed to even pick up the phone. Flash forward to February when he picks up after the first ring and sounds happy and...imagine this... actually talks to me about real things, even about feelings. I can hear his smile in the way he talks and every time I hang up with him, it's all I can do to keep from tearing up with this powerful feeling that is hovering between happiness and relief.
And so, I have hope again. (thank you)
Sometimes, when you don't know what else you can do and you've tried everything you can think of and you finally realize that no matter how much you love someone, no matter how convinced you are of their potential to be amazing and to be happy, you don't have the power to make them happy...sometimes a miracle happens that has absolutely nothing to do with you.
In November, when I called my brother to say hello, nine times out of ten, he was too depressed to even pick up the phone. Flash forward to February when he picks up after the first ring and sounds happy and...imagine this... actually talks to me about real things, even about feelings. I can hear his smile in the way he talks and every time I hang up with him, it's all I can do to keep from tearing up with this powerful feeling that is hovering between happiness and relief.
And so, I have hope again. (thank you)
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Obsessions and Creativity
I have a new obsession. That obsession is Veronica Mars. In the past two weeks, I have watched all of seasons 1 and 2 and the approximately 10 hours of season three that have already aired. Last week, as a way out of my mopey shoulder-pain, Neil's Grandma slump I ate breathed and slept Veronica Mars.. or, more accurately, did not sleep. I was up at 3 am on a weeknight watching episode after episode. I've never tried crack, but I imagine the level of addiction was right up there.
So, now us thinking people must ask: Why Jodi, why do you love Veronica Mars? I'm not sure, exactly. The characters are awesome. They are attractive and intelligent. And, there's something very appealing about a small girl being the heroine. I like the father-daughter relationship, and I love the way the show reflects the human condition in a way that is so right on. Watching it lets me escape from myself while I am simultaneously learning something about being human. And that might be the crux of it... the reflection of the human condition. And so, my obsession with "mindless" television has led me to feel like I need to begin creating things again. I know that's why I am here, why I'm alive. I feel the most alive and complete when I am writing, or taking photos, or creating art of any kind and when I am using my body in a creative way to dance or ski or do something else that is somehow beautiful. So why have I not found a way to do that every day. Can't I make money while reflecting the human condition and telling people something they didn't already know about themselves? Sure, it's a tall order, but there has to be a way. Should I be making TV shows? Writing a novel? Working in Journalism (again)? Opening my own design business? Starting a dance studio? Will the answer come to me at some point? Neil said that last week when he saw his grandma's body at the funeral home, he knew it was empty - his grandma was gone, but her body remained - and he thought about how our bodies are like rentals. We inhabit them for a while and then - poof - we'r gone. And this was just another reminder along the way that I need to live as hard as I can. So I will mull this over and come up with my next move...in the meantime, only one more week until a new episode of Veronica Mars and I have an appointment with my couch.
I have a new obsession. That obsession is Veronica Mars. In the past two weeks, I have watched all of seasons 1 and 2 and the approximately 10 hours of season three that have already aired. Last week, as a way out of my mopey shoulder-pain, Neil's Grandma slump I ate breathed and slept Veronica Mars.. or, more accurately, did not sleep. I was up at 3 am on a weeknight watching episode after episode. I've never tried crack, but I imagine the level of addiction was right up there.
So, now us thinking people must ask: Why Jodi, why do you love Veronica Mars? I'm not sure, exactly. The characters are awesome. They are attractive and intelligent. And, there's something very appealing about a small girl being the heroine. I like the father-daughter relationship, and I love the way the show reflects the human condition in a way that is so right on. Watching it lets me escape from myself while I am simultaneously learning something about being human. And that might be the crux of it... the reflection of the human condition. And so, my obsession with "mindless" television has led me to feel like I need to begin creating things again. I know that's why I am here, why I'm alive. I feel the most alive and complete when I am writing, or taking photos, or creating art of any kind and when I am using my body in a creative way to dance or ski or do something else that is somehow beautiful. So why have I not found a way to do that every day. Can't I make money while reflecting the human condition and telling people something they didn't already know about themselves? Sure, it's a tall order, but there has to be a way. Should I be making TV shows? Writing a novel? Working in Journalism (again)? Opening my own design business? Starting a dance studio? Will the answer come to me at some point? Neil said that last week when he saw his grandma's body at the funeral home, he knew it was empty - his grandma was gone, but her body remained - and he thought about how our bodies are like rentals. We inhabit them for a while and then - poof - we'r gone. And this was just another reminder along the way that I need to live as hard as I can. So I will mull this over and come up with my next move...in the meantime, only one more week until a new episode of Veronica Mars and I have an appointment with my couch.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Hmm
This has not been the best week. It began with a very cranky Monday. For no apparent reason, I felt like the world was coming to an end all day Monday. Then, at around 7 p.m. I discovered the reason for all crankiness as I slipped on the wet escalator in the Metro and proceeded to fall down about five stairs, dropping my groceries and, more importantly, pulling my shoulder out of the socket and smashing my shin into an escalator step (I have the lined bruise to prove it.) What followed for the rest of the week were trips to doctors and MRI specialists. On Tuesday I get to find out what's wrong with my shoulder.
To add to my misfortune, Neil got sent to Utah for work the night I fell and then, his grandmother got very sick and he flew to Portland to be with her. She died last night and in spite of three hours on the phone to airlines and on the internet with bargain airfare sites, I couldn't find a ticket under $1,500 and even those wouldn't get me to Oregon in time for the funeral. And so, here I sit, on a Friday night, with a wounded shoulder and a grieving husband and husband's family who are all on the other side of the country.
Awesome.
It has been a rough week, but I am finally feeling a little bit at peace with all of it. As today wound to a close, I felt this great sense of relief. Part of it is probably because Neil is coming home soon and his grandma is in a better place and didn't suffer long and my shoulder hurts a little less, but I think the main part of it was that the week was ending. Funny that an artifical construct like a week can so completely form my frame of reference that the end of a week makes me feel like I have a fresh start, a new beginning. But so it is...So here's to new beginnings and to a much improved set of seven days...starting now...
This has not been the best week. It began with a very cranky Monday. For no apparent reason, I felt like the world was coming to an end all day Monday. Then, at around 7 p.m. I discovered the reason for all crankiness as I slipped on the wet escalator in the Metro and proceeded to fall down about five stairs, dropping my groceries and, more importantly, pulling my shoulder out of the socket and smashing my shin into an escalator step (I have the lined bruise to prove it.) What followed for the rest of the week were trips to doctors and MRI specialists. On Tuesday I get to find out what's wrong with my shoulder.
To add to my misfortune, Neil got sent to Utah for work the night I fell and then, his grandmother got very sick and he flew to Portland to be with her. She died last night and in spite of three hours on the phone to airlines and on the internet with bargain airfare sites, I couldn't find a ticket under $1,500 and even those wouldn't get me to Oregon in time for the funeral. And so, here I sit, on a Friday night, with a wounded shoulder and a grieving husband and husband's family who are all on the other side of the country.
Awesome.
It has been a rough week, but I am finally feeling a little bit at peace with all of it. As today wound to a close, I felt this great sense of relief. Part of it is probably because Neil is coming home soon and his grandma is in a better place and didn't suffer long and my shoulder hurts a little less, but I think the main part of it was that the week was ending. Funny that an artifical construct like a week can so completely form my frame of reference that the end of a week makes me feel like I have a fresh start, a new beginning. But so it is...So here's to new beginnings and to a much improved set of seven days...starting now...
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Things I am not proud of
1) While walking
to the metro on Monday a rude woman passed me going the other direction
and coughed RIGHT in my face. Right before I held my breath and turned
away, my brain entertained the following brief thought: "I should
breathe in really deep and maybe I will get sick and not have to go to
work."
2) The U.S. is playing against Mexico in soccer right now. I am rooting for Mexico. (But I won't be sad if we win either.)
3)
This morning, I was running really really late to work. I can only take
every other train because I go almost to the end of the line and not
all trains go that far. When the third train came (only the second that
would actually get me to work) and I made it to the front of the crowd
and the door chime sounded, I actually shoved some nice people in order
to make it on the train. It's not like they wouldn't have shoved me if
I hadn't acted first. It's not like I haven't actually come home with
bruises from metro shoves. But, still, I pushed some nice people while
trying to get on the metro.
4) Sometimes when I am feeling very unhappy, I resort to online shopping.
Things that I feel good about
1) I have been to the gym every day for the last five days and I feel amazing.
2)
Tonight, when I rolled out a yoga mat at the gym and then went to grab
some free weights and a man sat on my mat and started doingsit ups, I just smiled and got a new mat.
3) My supervisee at work is doing an amazing job and I think that sometimes, I really help her and I think she looks up to me.
4) My little brother is doing awesome in San Francisco.
5) I have amazing friends and I have been getting back in touch with lots of them recently.
Interesting and/or disturbing things
1)
The prehistoric skeletons found near Verona, Italy locked in an embrace
are completely amazing to me and reading about them made me feel, in
some very basic way, that humans are good.
2) I also read today
that the KKK is increasing their membership by hating Mexicans. This
information literally made me nauseous and nearly canceled out the
goodness the Verona fossils imparted.
3) It is absolutely
freezing in Washington, D.C. and I keep dreaming of a beach vacation.
Bath and Body Works sells this amazing body scrub called Island Hot
Spot. If you are longing for summer vacation this winter, run, don't
walk, to the mall nearest you, buy the small tube of the scrub for a
slightly outrageous $13.50 and use it in the shower each morning. It's
completely worth it and will get rid of dead and dry winter skin while
cheering you with it's vacation scent. (Sadly, no, I do not get a
kickback for every tube they sell - I just really like the stuff.)
1) While walking
to the metro on Monday a rude woman passed me going the other direction
and coughed RIGHT in my face. Right before I held my breath and turned
away, my brain entertained the following brief thought: "I should
breathe in really deep and maybe I will get sick and not have to go to
work."
2) The U.S. is playing against Mexico in soccer right now. I am rooting for Mexico. (But I won't be sad if we win either.)
3)
This morning, I was running really really late to work. I can only take
every other train because I go almost to the end of the line and not
all trains go that far. When the third train came (only the second that
would actually get me to work) and I made it to the front of the crowd
and the door chime sounded, I actually shoved some nice people in order
to make it on the train. It's not like they wouldn't have shoved me if
I hadn't acted first. It's not like I haven't actually come home with
bruises from metro shoves. But, still, I pushed some nice people while
trying to get on the metro.
4) Sometimes when I am feeling very unhappy, I resort to online shopping.
Things that I feel good about
1) I have been to the gym every day for the last five days and I feel amazing.
2)
Tonight, when I rolled out a yoga mat at the gym and then went to grab
some free weights and a man sat on my mat and started doingsit ups, I just smiled and got a new mat.
3) My supervisee at work is doing an amazing job and I think that sometimes, I really help her and I think she looks up to me.
4) My little brother is doing awesome in San Francisco.
5) I have amazing friends and I have been getting back in touch with lots of them recently.
Interesting and/or disturbing things
1)
The prehistoric skeletons found near Verona, Italy locked in an embrace
are completely amazing to me and reading about them made me feel, in
some very basic way, that humans are good.
2) I also read today
that the KKK is increasing their membership by hating Mexicans. This
information literally made me nauseous and nearly canceled out the
goodness the Verona fossils imparted.
3) It is absolutely
freezing in Washington, D.C. and I keep dreaming of a beach vacation.
Bath and Body Works sells this amazing body scrub called Island Hot
Spot. If you are longing for summer vacation this winter, run, don't
walk, to the mall nearest you, buy the small tube of the scrub for a
slightly outrageous $13.50 and use it in the shower each morning. It's
completely worth it and will get rid of dead and dry winter skin while
cheering you with it's vacation scent. (Sadly, no, I do not get a
kickback for every tube they sell - I just really like the stuff.)
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