It is still cold here and my toes freeze a bit in the evenings. Enter the hot water bottle! It looks exactly like the one we had when I was growing up and it is a low-tech way to keep my poor toes tosty warm before I fall asleep. Though it kind of reminds me of chin hairs and nursing home smells, I still like it.
Tag: me
March. The month in which I drink the Kool-Aid
Growing up, I loved records. I had many, many 45s (the smaller ones with the big hole in the middle) and dreamed of someday having my own jukebox. Technology changed and records went away (and that phrase nicely avoids my years of complaining about that fact.) Given my love of both music and random playing of songs, one would think that I would have jumped on the ipod wagon early. But I didn’t. I didn’t like how expensive they were and how everyone had one. But mostly I didn’t like how individual they were.
One important thing to me is that music be communal. Back in the day, if you wanted to hear music you had to create it using your voice or a musical instrument. Then there was the radio, which played music, but for a lot of people to listened to. After the invention of the phonograph, people have always had ways of dragging their favorite music with them. But until the digitalization of music, it took effort to bring your music along. Record players weren’t that portable, cassette tapes took up a lot of space and CDs scratched easily. Now that music can be bits and bytes, people can have thousands of songs in a tiny device.
And that is my point. All those people listening to ipods on the train in the morning are picking and choosing what they want to hear. It’s individualized, sure, and they get to hear what songs they want without commercials. But I can’t help lament the loss of the local radio station as a place to hear music. I realize I’m mourning something that doesn’t really exist anymore, thanks to Clear Channel and the deregulation of the airwaves. Regardless, I think our communities suffer when they lack media outlets that tie the entire community together. And that friends, is why I have resisted the ipod.
The other reason I never bought an ipod is that I never had a lot of use for it. When I am walking hither and yon, I don’t like to have music in my ears. I like to think, or I sing to myself. Most of the time I already can hear music in my head, I don’t need a device. I also never listen to music while I exercise. I need to be alert, and music blocks the sounds that keep me tuned in to what is going on around me. Plus, it is hard to get in a meditative state when I’m fiddling with a device. And all of you kids are going to go deaf, with that music playing too loudly in your ears all the time.
But then they came out with the ipod touch. My co-worker showed me how it worked and I was mesmerized. “We are living in the future!” I gasped. Because my tax refund was large this year, I drank the Kool-Aid and ordered my own. And it is magical.
Here, I’m trying to get a picture of the engraving I chose. It didn’t turn out, but I like the picture anyway.
The Navy Wants ME!
UPDATE!
The math test went well. I was pleased with the amount of studying I did. I’m not sure how they will score the three constructed response questions that are worth 33%. I worry that I should have been more wordy in my answers. But I knew how do all of them, with the exception of one part of one question. This has not been the case in the practice sessions.
I finished all of the 40 multiple choice questions. If a question was confusing to me, I skipped it to go back later and do it. I was not sure I would finish every question and I wanted to do the easier ones I had more chances of getting right first. When I got to the end, there were only eight that I didn’t do the first time around. Of those eight, seven I fiddled with and came up with an answer that seemed like a good guess. The remaining one, I had no idea and I went with “C”.
I thought I developed a particularly good time management strategy. I spent 5 minutes reading over the test at the beginning. That calmed my fears a lot as everything looked familiar. Then I spent 10 minutes on the first constructed response and 15 minutes on multiple choice. I alternated those until I had finished the constructed response. When there were 30 minutes remaining, I took a look at where I was and strategized. I think this back and forth effort helped me not only finish everything, but also not worry that I was going to run out of time before I had even attempted large sections of the test.
The other thing that was nice was that almost every time when I came up with an answer it was one of the choices on the multiple choice. When I was studying I would often puzzle my way through a problem only to find that my answer wasn’t there. It was a bit defeating. This time, even if I figured wrong, I was at least validated by the answer being present.
So overall, I think I did well. I’m not sure it is enough to pass, but even if it isn’t I have now taken the test and know what to expect if I take it again next time.
I came home, and alternately napped and read Dennis Lehane’s new book which is very, very good.
Two short rants.
Hey big-calfed, expensive biked man,
I can see that you spend a lot of time on your bike. You clearly have the physique and have sunk a lot of money into that bike you are riding. And if I cared about speed I would be so impressed with how fast you are. But you know what? One of the reasons I love riding a bike is that mostly people who ride bikes are nice people, friendly, polite. Not you apparently. When you pass someone on the right—because you are so fast and can’t stand to slow down—especially when someone else is passing that person on the left, it would be rather nice if you said something like, “Coming up on your right.” We aren’t trapped in cars, unable to communicate. I don’t listen to an i-pod while biking and can hear quite clearly. Use your words. A, “good morning” would be nice too. And I know that you can’t have fenders on your bike because they add precious weight to your superfast machine. But when you ride without fenders in the autumn/winter/spring in Portland all that road grit goes everywhere. Including on me as you abruptly pass me on the right. Nice. Thanks a lot.
Hello parents at the school in which I work,
Yep, I stand every day at the door at the beginning and end of school and greet you and your children. Some of you even return my greeting, which is nice. You know what isn’t nice? You saying, “You look exhausted!” You know why? Most days I’m not exhausted, just someone with large bags under her eyes getting through a part of her day she doesn’t really enjoy that much. So when I’m doing the part of my job that I have settled into tolerating, and someone comments on how tired I look and I’m not actually tired at all—or, as happened yesterday, feeling the most well-rested I’ve felt in months—it doesn’t feel very good. If you are tired yourself and just projecting, don’t. If you are actually concerned about my physical state, there are better ways to ask. Just don’t assume I am tired.
Thanks.
Countdown.
I’m at that point where I am just waiting for three events to be over. Not that I am sitting passively by, all of them require much work on my part, alas. But I am looking forward to these things being done so I can catch up with my “normal life”.
The first will be done by 3:00 pm today, that is the Youth Service. It doesn’t require a lot of work, but the mental energy commitment is a bit large and every year when it is over, portions of my brain that have been thinking about it, are free to go back to their idle musings.
On March 14, I take the Praxis Middle School Math test. The test itself is 2 hours of my life, but I have spend 43 hours studying in regular half hour chunks since early September. I took a practice test last night and now can complete the problems in the time allotted with the bonus that now I understand how to tackle 95% of them, a fact that was not true when I began this process. So all my studying has benefited me, I just don’t know if I will have enough right answers to pass. Time will tell, but I’m most excited that it takes 4 weeks to get your results. So I will have four weeks of not studying.
Following soon on the test’s heels is my final paper and project for my math class. This is a tough one, because it requires me to have an actual product–the other ones will happen whether I’m prepared or not, but this requires me to not only produce a paper of some length, but also have a presentation. I can’t really fake my way through either of those. So the other back of my mind is working on that problem and I have to carve more time out of my schedule to actually put pen to paper, or rather letters on screen.
While I work on those things, so many other things are dropping by the wayside. Less vegetables are being consumed. My desk has geologic layers on it, marking the passage of time. Someone’s birthday present is underneath everything, and I hope I can mail it today. Laundry isn’t folded, blog posts aren’t finished, bank balances haven’t been updated. Goals aren’t being made.
I don’t mind rising to the occasion and “doing” all of these things, but I really hate the aftermath: I’m tired and then have to catch up all the things that have fallen by the wayside. Mostly I don’t mind making the amount of money I make (though I’m always open to more, of course) but it’s during these times that I recognize the power of money for easing your life. “It would be nice if I could hire someone to cook and clean up for me.” I think to myself. But alas, I can’t, so I hobble on. Thank god spring break is coming up. I can’t imagine trying to do the catch up without it.
An Historic Day!
Where were you when Barak Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States? I was at work, watching the ceremony with 44 forth and fifth graders and 22 kindergarten and first graders, as well as their teachers, and various parents. Both 2/3 classes and the other K/1 class watched the ceremony in another classroom.
It was an exciting ceremony and the students, crowded onto the floor, stood unprompted when Joe Biden was sworn in, and again when Barak Obama was sworn in. They stood one last time for the star spangled banner, which I sung out lustily. In between, they listened closely to the prayer, the inaugural address and the benediction. Well, the 4/5s did. The K/1s saw the swearing in and the speech, but didn’t stay after that.
Aside from the historic nature of the day, I think my favorite part was walking around referring to “an historic day.” Which I now know is actually incorrect, grammatically, because the “an” sound goes with the vowel sounds. So a word like “honor,” which would be phonetically spelled “on-her,” gets an “an” in front of it, while “historic” has the “h” sound and doesn’t. But still, fun to say.
Shampoo free.
December marks a year of alternate hair care. It started, as many good things do, with yoga class. Rachel, who was very far from a greasy-haired patchouli-scented hippy, mentioned that her hairdresser told her to stop washing her hair. Apparently her curly, curly locks would do better if they were washed less frequently say, once a month or so. She couldn’t imagine going that long, but had cut back to only washing every two weeks. Upon hearing this, another woman with wavy hair chimed in that she rarely washed her hair and thought it was better for it. I protested that with my straight hair, I had to wash it every day or it would become too greasy. We left it at that, but it did get me thinking.
One of the benefits of working in a school is the many regular long stretches of vacation. During vacations, projects can be started and finished and different ways of doing things can be tried. With the above conversation in mind, and with the encouragement of the recess helper at school who also had abandoned the daily ritual of shampooing his head, I decided to experiment over winter break, 2007.
Since puberty, I have washed and conditioned my hair every day. Though I fast figured out that the “lather rise repeat” method was invented to sell more shampoo, I could not go a day without washing. The days I did skip my shower and lather routine, my hair felt gross, very thick and oily. To begin this experiment, I decided to only condition my hair, and skip the shampooing. Here’s what happened the first three days of my experiment.
Day one: “My hair feels incredibly gross.
Day two: I can’t believe this, it is incredibly disgusting.
Day three: This is horrible, how will I last the week?
Day four: Fine.
Note that no shampooing happened between days three and four, my head just adjusted.
From then on it was smooth sailing. Six days of the week I would condition my hair, and only on Sunday would I shampoo first. For awhile I studied my hair to see if it was greasy and even asked a few opinions, but everything seemed fine. I was pretty happy. My shower routine was shorter and now I bought much less shampoo.
Fast forward to June. I attended Monique Dupree’s Sustainable Living on a Budget workshop and learned about the “No Poo” method. I hate the name that has attached itself to this phenomenon, but it really changed my hair care world. No Poo is short for “No Shampoo” and it is a movement of women–and men I would imagine too–who have stopped using shampoo and conditioner entirely. Completely. People’s methods differ, but they have given up their former rituals of daily shampoo and conditioner. I did some research online and was amazed at the different methods. I decided to try not washing my hair during my two week trip to Hungary and Romania.
That was an interesting experiment. I came home from the trip with rather thick hair. It sort of became an entity in its own right. I think that the three different swimming venues contributed greatly to its size, but I knew that I couldn’t just quit washing my hair all together.
My next attempt was the baking soda and cider vinegar method and I’m happy to report that it works well for me. Here’s what I do. On Saturdays, I put a tablespoon of baking soda in an empty 8-oz yogurt cup and bring it and a bottle of cider vinegar with me to the shower. After I wet down my hair, I fill the cup with the baking soda part way and swish it around with my finger to mix it, then add a bit more water. This water/baking soda mixture is then poured over my head and I rub it into the scalp. I let this set for a bit (it feels very nice on the psoriasis) and rinse. Then add a bit of cider vinegar (say 1 teaspoon) to the yogurt cup and fill that with water. That gets poured on my hair and worked into my scalp.
The first time I did this, I could tell that the baking soda worked to clean my hair. I was sure nothing happened when I put the cider vinegar on. “This is not working!” I thought and almost grabbed for the conditioner. But I carried through so I could see the results. My hair seemed so tangled and not smooth. But when I combed through it, it was tangle free.
So that is what I have been doing since July. I haven’t touched my shampoo or conditioner. On Saturdays, I wash my hair and, aside from brushing, that is the sum total of my hair care for the week. I love it. My showers are shorter, my hair is thick and shiny (but not greasy), I don’t have to worry about clogged drains, I save money, and I rarely have to go outside with wet hair.
I feel it is also necessary to point out that I jog a few times per week and bike commute to work three days per week. You would think the sweaty head would contribute to disgusting, oily hair, but it doesn’t. Things dry and everything is fine. I also don’t use any “product” in my hair. I’m not sure what effect that would have with this method. But I do know from my research that many people who stop shampooing daily have lovely, non-frizzy waves and curls appear.
Below is a picture of my hair after nine days of not washing. During this winter break I was testing to see if I could go two weeks between washings. I decided to stick with once per week, mostly so I could avoid the whole, “do I wash my hair this week or next?” conundrum.
Guidelines, Friday and Saturday
Well, my Guidelines did their job, but they went out with a whimper.
Up and dressed: yes, Friday and Saturday
1 hour study: yes, Friday, no Saturday
1 hour blogs: yes, Friday, and then 20 fruitless minutes spent searching for a count up timer for the blog on Saturday
1 hour exercise: yes Friday, yes Saturday. Both days there was jogging.
4 hours work: I think I did some work on Friday, but probably not four hours. No on Saturday
Keep up with dishes and picking up: Yes on both days.
Nap maximum time 30 minutes: I think I didn’t nap on either of those days.
Eat only when hungry, stop when full. Nope.
Plan food. Nope.
Fruit and veggies while watching movie. Nope.
So overall, I would say the guidelines kept me from going into a slide early on. I count them a success and will use them on my next break.
Guidelines, vacation is nearing its end.
I took yesterday off from my guidelines and had a day of sloth. There was much consumptive entertainment. So here is the report from Wednesday:
- Up and dressed to the shoes. I did do that. Oh wait. Wednesday was the day that I hauled myself out of bed, fed the cat, read on the couch for about a half-hour and then fell asleep for 2.5 hours. So I didn’t do that.
- 1 hour study math test. I only made it 37 minutes.
- 1 hour blogs. I did do this.
- 1 hour exercise. I had a 90 minute yoga class to welcome in the new year. I also took a 30 minute walk to get the milk.
- 4 hours work. Nope. After my nap/going back to bed I did the blog/math routine and then watched Sports Night until my evening plans started.
- Keep up with dishes and general picking up. I did do that.
- Nap maximum time 30 minutes. Nope
- Eat only when hungry, stop when full. I did a good job of that.
- Plan food the day before. I did do that.
- Fruit and veggies while watching movie. I did this. I don’t actually think I ate.
So, on one hand, I missed a lot of my goals. But I am taking cheer in the fact that I’ve had portions of vacations that passed with multiple days like this day.