karmicdragonfly

Today was the first sunny day in a week! So, I got my butt out on a bike ride.

It was a good bike ride, but there were several hills that were hard -- the worst was the hill from the Huguenot bridge up River Rd to Cary St. I took a small detour there, thinking I might find an alternative to River Rd -- and the blue arrow shows the only place on the ride that I actually dismounted and walked the bike -- I was just too used up at that point to make it up the hill on Huntley!


http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3322627

Couple of pics from the ride...all the rain and then the wind lately caused some trees to fall. This one was across the road near the Pumphouse at Byrd Park.


View of the river from Riverside Drive --


***
Afterwards, I went to the Byrd to see a "Zen Horror" flick, lol! It was called Mantra. It was odd, no doubt. Very gory. But not scary in the typical horror flick fashion -- more like watching a nightmare. It was set as a bunch of campers attending a new age retreat -- all of them bringing some major personal demons afflicting them (like the wife of one had recently died, and another had attempted suicide several times). Throughout the film, this blue demon figure kept going around and making sure to tempt people with their desires -- sex, food, regret, etc.

I can't say that I could make heads or tails of it, except that people really are caught in their own desires like that...and they don't even know it. So, I'll leave this with a couple of verses from the Dhammapada that seem pertinent to this movie...

Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Suffering follows an evil thought as the wheels of a cart follow the oxen that draw it. (1:1)

Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Joy follows a pure thought like a shadow that never leaves. (1:2)
...
By oneself is evil done; by oneself one is injured. Do not do evil, and suffering will not come. Everyone has the choice to be pure or impure. No one can purify another. (12:65)

***
Tonight, I rounded up a couple of friends to walk over to Bev's in Carytown for ice cream. It was my reward for a hard bike ride!

Lazy day so far...clouds, and the marathon, 1/2 marathon, and 8K is today, so it would be a hassle to get out in the car right now. I usually go out and clap for a while, but I have this feeling that I'm just going to hang out inside today. I only know a few people who are running, and who knows when they will come by. Last time that I actually looked for a particular friend, I saw everyone except her!

Anyways, I was disappointed with my my cholesterol level on my recent blood work. Here's the deal -- over the last few years, I have had a particular negative side effect to every statin I tried -- nothing life threatening, but also not something that I will put up with. So, I won't take any more statins.

Given that I was not on meds, I knew my level would not be in the proper range. But considering how much biking I have been doing, and that I have lost about 10 pounds since the last time I was there, I expected the level to have gone down a bit. Instead, it rose 25 points!

Since the doctor knows about my statin side effects, the suggestion is that I start taking fish oil, which I have now started.

I have no real plans today, except to do some errands and get a bike ride in. I might head out to J. Emerson to grab a bottle of Barboursville Nebbiolo -- it's one that I like very much, and I might take it with me to an upcoming get-together.

Deege and I went to Enoteca Sogno for dinner last night -- wine bar with good Italian food.

I liked it. I'll go back. One blogger suggested that it was overlooked and that is is an alternative to the crowded Edo's Squid and to Mama Zu's. I'd probably agree with that, except that I really liked the eggplant at Edo's.

It's on Broad across from Pleasant's, so you almost have to know it's there -- it's not something that you notice much as you drive by. I think the interior could be improved on -- I am not a huge fan of a big exposed brick wall. Deege mentioned that it looked like a store.

Having said that, the food was good, as was the service (waiter was a cute, pleasant guy that I recognized from his other job). I had no idea how to pick from their list of wines, so I got the waiter to help.

It was a cold, rainy Wednesday night (Thanks, Ida!). There was another 4 top in there when we arrived. By the time we left, a second 4 top arrived, and there were a few folks sitting at the bar. Not a lot of people, but the weather was nasty, and it was a Wednesday.

I had the gnocchi in marinara sauce and some butternut squash soup. I can't remember what Deege had -- something with meat sprinkled on it...totally of no interest to me.

We chose a Montepulciano wine because I had never had that grape, and because Deege said he didn't like heavy reds (blasphemy!). This was sort of tannic -- but perfectly good to me (it's hard not to please me in that respect).

We split a cannoli -- I don't remember having had a cannoli before, and I decided that a pastry with sweet cheese piped into is not my fave. I prefer fruit -- like pies and cobblers. So, I'll have to see what else they have for dessert next time.

As an aside, I mentioned the Mascarpone cheese and bagel from the other day, and Deege muttered something in Yiddish (goyish or goyemish or something)...saying that no Jew would ever eat that on a bagel, lol! I thought that was funny -- as if I was trying to eat bagels like a Jewish person. I liked my Mascarpone, thankyouverymuch! I probably deserved the comment, since I called him a NY Jew a few weeks ago (all in good fun of course, lol!)

I noticed the (cute, pleasant) waiter brought the check to me, lol! I think he was surprised when we split the check.

I have today off. It's been 20 years since I have worked at a place that had Veteran's Day off. It's an odd holiday because it has never been moved to Monday -- so this year, it falls smack dab on hump day.

It's been rainy and cool, but I got out early to get some blood drawn for my annual checkup...The damned place now requires a credit card in addition to your insurance information -- just in case the insurance doesn't pay everything. That just pisses me off.

So, the damned teabaggers (don't they research names before they use them?? -- it amuses me that they chose the nickname for a sexual activity) are anti national health care? I'm glad they like the crappy insurance situation we have now in the US. They are such tools.

Anyways, afterwards I went to Carytown with the laptop for coffee and quiche and to surf the web a while.

Then, ran some errands and have been doing some online Christmas shopping.

Tonight, I'm looking forward to dinner with a friend.

Update: this post was so effing whiney that the next day, even I didn't like reading it, lol! So I hid it...but I've decided that, given all the other crap I've let hang out there on this journal, why should I be concerned about airing this, right? So, here it is again...

A friend hurt my little feelings lately, lol! (God, I'm so sappy.) My first instinct was to back off for a while, which I did...but then I got to thinking --

1) I don't know him all that well, in the grand scheme of things, but I can't believe he would intentionally hurt me. I can't be that poor a judge of character -- he has a good soul.
2) Although his action/lack of action made me feel a little like day old bread, I know for a fact that I'm piping hot from the oven (!)...so I will only feel like day old bread if I allow it! I choose not.
3) He may be going through some stuff that I don't know about, so why would I add to that?

I guess I chose a more positive course of re-action.

Anyways, I'm making comfort food tonight -- mashed potatoes and baby peas -- total insulin attack, right? At least I did get a short walk in tonight!

I've been kinda doing my own thing lately...not really posting on here or Facebook very much.

I went to First Fridays -- I liked the black and white silent movie that was projected on the building on Jefferson St. -- I had not seen that before. And I was glad to go into Gallery5 when it wasn't full of costumed people.

The weather was nice enough yesterday that I got a bike ride in yesterday -- about 20 miles. Route is below.

There was a game at the UofR stadium, which I didn't expect, so the traffic was backed up. I actually dismounted and walked the bike past the parking lot because it was too hard to deal with the stop and go traffic. Today is supposed to be gorgeous (for November), so I plan to get out on the bike again!


http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3308338


I had a date last night, which was nice. That particular situation seems to be changing unexpectedly -- what started out as just a sexual romp is starting to lean more towards conversation. He's a nice guy, and I enjoyed talking last night. (of course, I enjoyed the non-conversational part too...) He speaks French, how bad could he be, right? He was last in Paris 7 years ago, so he and I are both due a visit.


Other than that, I got nothing...so here's a Rick and Steve clip.

Of course, I found this interesting --

A new study of over a thousand recorded cries from 30 French newborns and 30 German newborns found differences in the cries' melody patterns. French cries tended to have a rising melody, while the German cries tended to have a falling melody.

...
"Crying is not linguistic, yet they seem to be echoing the acoustic patterns that they've heard either in utero or every early on, very early exposure, right after birth."

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120131516&ft=1&f=1001

So, the poor baby is screaming, "hel-LOOO, a little Desinex here!" in the same tonal qualities as whatever language his mom speaks, lol!

I love the moon, even though I can't take the pictures I'd like to of it!

As usual, friends and I walked over to Hanover Avenue for Halloween. It's always very crowded and fun to look at the lights. This year, I missed the guy who usually is in the noose!

Here are pics --


I liked the mask I was wearing this year - although it was a bit scary to other people since it looks pretty fierce with no smile or anything. I was chatting with a girl in the tarot line, wondering if people could see the smile in my eyes. She was like, no, the shadow from the mask hides my eyes. So, the mask is a true mask -- you don't know what's behind it!





















Afterwards, we ate dinner, then my friends and I parted ways, and I went solo and headed off to Gallery5, like I had planned.

The Gallery5 carnival was essentially a big Halloween party...so probably 99% of everyone was dressed up. I think I had expected fire -- since it was called the "Carnival of 5 Fires," lol, but alas, there were no fires! There were bands playing. It was pretty crowded. There was a long beer line.

I stood in line to get my tarot reading done.

Reader: Do you live with someone?
Me: No.
Reader: All alone?
Me: Yes.
Reader: Take this for what it is. There's a man in your house. (I'm thinking, if only!)

She asked if someone near me was pregnant. I told her that my nephew's wife was. But she didn't seem to think that was it, so she changed it to say that I was changing into something new, like giving birth to a new me. I basically agreed, and told her that I keep telling my friends that I am in transition.

She says that a lot of opportunities seem to be offered to me.

She kept saying that whatever happens, whether in a relationship or in a business relationship, that I should be sure that it is equal -- that I'm not the only one giving. She repeated that like 3 times. Good advice, considering my last relationship.

Reader: Did you live a guarded childhood?
Me: Umm...maybe. (I'm thinking, yes, but don't want to admit that to her.)
Reader: You are now in the process of dropping your guard, and trying to figure out how to find balance in your life.


While I was at Gallery5, I briefly saw a friend of Deege's. I was like, hey...and she just looked at me...then I realized I had the mask on, lol! So, I took off the mask, so she could recognize me.

I was a little disappointed last night that I didn't make it out of the house. Earlier in the day, I did not have plans, but then a Facebook friend popped up with the idea of going to the Camel to hear a jazz band. I have been meaning to get to the Camel (I hear good vegetarian options), so I was excited to go.

Unfortunately, his daughter has the H1N1 flu, and started having more nausea, etc. than expected last night. So, they took her to the ER to have it checked. So, he couldn't make it.

C'est la vie, of course, so I just got some stuff done around the house.


Heading out tonight to celebrate All Hallow's Eve with friends. One thing I would like to do is to head over to Gallery5 for their Carnival of 5 Fires...the vibe of it resonates with me.

I never really get a costume...I always just buy a mask and wear it. I have this attraction/thing for faces, and I guess the mask plays on that attraction. If you walk around my house, you'll see that a lot my decoration involves faces hanging on the wall.


I've been listening to The Dandy Warhols lately -- I downloaded "Welcome to the Monkey House" from Amazon last night.

I haven't felt much like posting the last few days. No real reason -- things have been going fine...I guess my muse was on holiday or something. Or maybe it was the rain.

***
I posted a Facebook status about an event night, but here is more detail. I had a sort of stressful event when I started my Christmas shopping last night. The start of my Christmas shopping involves going to Bath and Bodyworks and buying a crapload of lotion and bath gels.

That's because nearly every female on my list gets (at least) this from me. Some women (like my sisters and Mom) get additional gifts, of course, but women like my nephews' wives get only this from me. I figure it's not very much money, and they can definitely use it (and usually appreciate the scents).

So, I had a coupon -- 20% off -- plus another coupon for a free travel sized item. I got to the counter to pay, and then the cashier pointed me to the selection of travel sized items. So, I squatted and moved around the display until I found what I wanted.

I stood up, went back to the counter, and reached for my wallet. There was nothing in my back pocket! So, I felt around my jacket. Nope, no wallet!

So, I went to the car. Nothing. Nothing lying around the parking space. I drove home to search and nada.

I drove back to the store and asked if the cashier had found it. She said, no, but we looked around.

Finally, we found it! Evidently, I had taken the wallet out to pay at the counter, then when I squatted to look at the display, I had absent-mindedly laid the wallet down on a shelf next to the display. I had no recollection of doing that. I remembered having the wallet in my hand before I went shopping, but that was the last thing I remembered about it.

I'm just glad I recovered it before someone swiped it!

I think the cashier was more stressed about it than I was, lol! I actually gave her a hug, lol!

***
On a different topic, you know I use Facebook in French, right -- just for kicks. But what's weird is the mishmash that I sometimes get.

For example, here is the list of notifications (in the right hand corner) from a few weeks ago (as usual, I've covered last names).

Notice that some are all in French. Some are in English, except for the French word lien --


***
This is kind of funny. A memo from Arnold Schwarzenegger (governor of California) to one of the Assemblymen contains an obscene acrostic.
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/features/view/feature/Schwarzeneggers-Obscene-Acrostic-262

***
One thing I need to do is to get some control of my finances again. When I first started working again, I put a lot of mula back into primary savings. But I haven't saved anything in the last couple of months!

That's because I have been on a spending spree -- new bike, repair work on the Subaru, a trip to Asheville (and staying in the B&B), and all along I've been buying new clothes for myself because I have lost weight and all my old clothes are too big. Now, I start Christmas shopping!

Had a good weekend. Couple of bike rides, and last night saw some friends who are back in town as they try to figure out what to do with their house -- it's not selling, even though it's in a great neighborhood, and they have lowered the price. So, they are thinking of renting it. No pictures from the get-together -- the pictures I took just didn't come out well.

Here's a pic from the bike ride yesterday. I do like Libby Hill Park --



***
On a different topic, like the writer of the article below, I too have been wondering when we'll get around to having more touch interfaces for computers.

The article is dead on about the mouse -- it mentions "touch mouse" which is somewhat similar to the "Magic Mouse" that Apple just released.

While it may be hard to imagine right now, eventually there will not be physical keyboards. Apple’s tablet may well be the first product that will get users accustomed to this idea. And yes, as I said, plenty will bitch. But eventually, technology will improve, and virtual tacile feedback will improve, and there will be no need to take up so much surface area on any device with physical keys that really serve no purpose.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/09/29/touching-all-rumors-point-to-the-end-of-keysbuttons/

Evidently, Apple is working on a tablet. Here are some ideas of how it might look --
http://www.businessinsider.com/what-will-the-apple-tablet-look-like-2009-10#perhaps-the-best-weve-seen-1