medium – Page 96 – The only certainty is bad grammar

“Twister for adults” — as my friend calls it

February 28, 2008 Crystal exercise, medium

So, I’ve said before that i’m doing yoga now because this book told me to. and i’ve done it everyday since Sunday. and im getting better (ish).

The DVD i bought is supposed to be for beginners, but i think i probably should have hunted around for the pre-beginners course, because i can’t really do any of the poses.

the yoga instructor continually tells me that’s ok because it’s the BREATHING that’s most important. but she can’t see how badly im screwing up, so i kind of don’t believe her.

she starts off in a cross-leg position, and then says to put my hands down if i want some grounding and up if i want some openness. but i don’t know the difference, so i usually just put my hands up.

there’s a BUNCH of different breathing exercises involved and then the poses start. and i should tell you guys, i SUCK at downward facing dog. i mean, the instructor says i can go down to my knees if i need a rest and then i kind of just go down on my knees for the rest of the leg section.

there’s some twisty poses that humans weren’t meant to do and i fall over onto my mat (YES, i DO have a yoga mat — it’s blue) like 18 times each session. and through the whole thing the instructor keeps telling me to smile to help my breathing. but since im just trying not to die, i don’t usually smile.

but i keep doing the dvd. because at the end, i really do feel better. and more open. (whatever that means)

see, my job is important

February 27, 2008 Crystal journalism, medium

So, I kind of live in a town that most of my family on my mom’s side is from ( i KNOW random) and today i went to the local library to find an old newspaper article about the day my grand-grandparents died in a fire. and i flipped through the “best copy available” of the microfilm from the Oshkosh Northwestern circa 1949. (apparently THESE are what they used before computers, or something?) and there it was. on the front page of the Dec. 4, 1949 Oshkosh Daily Northwestern “Oshkosh home destroyed. Burns take lives of three.”

and it was SO weird to read the article. because it was MY family. the people who died in that fire were the people who got together one night (maybe after a few too many drinks?? hm? hm?) and made a baby. and that baby grew up and got together with someone else and had another baby, and after a few more babies — there was me. and they were REAL people. who had REAL lives. and then died. tragically. in a fire. and there’s SO much information in that article that i never would have known if Northwestern Reporter Robert Kirz hadn’t taken the time to write that article.

but because of him, i do know. i know that the fire wasn’t started by my family, it was started by their landlord. I know how old they were when they died. i know what time it all when down. and because reporters used to get more than six inches to tell a story, i also know where my great-grandparents met and worked.

and it all made me realize that reporters are important, because they are writing our history on a daily basis. and as the media keeps changing, their main goal remains the same — to figure out what happened to who and then tell other people about it so that the next day, the next month and the next century people can know what happened in say, a fire in oshkosh, wis. circa 1949.

bein vegan

February 26, 2008 Crystal anti-meat, medium

i know. im lame. i apparently have so little going on in my life that the ONLY thing i have to talk about is how im trying to be vegan. (It’s been about 48 hours without ‘animal anything’ for those keeping track).

but it’s been a really big change for me. and i think the point of having a blog is to, well, write about whatever the heck i want. right? right.

so, for those interested: i had fruit for breakfast; vegan products tend to be more expensive; soy milk (with chocolate) tastes good (ish); sugar is NOT made from any part of any animal and i CAN still have a pop if i want to — i just think it’s not going to help me stay on track with this.

and i’m NOT doing this to lose weight (although that would be nice). i’m doing it, because i believe in it. i don’t think humans were meant to ingest a milk that a cow makes for it’s young. it would be like you drinking a random woman’s milk. (what? it WOULD). only it’s worse because it’s inter-species. ewwww.

the vegan thing really has made a difference in my body. one, im hungry more often. two, im tired more. but three, my pee is way clearer. (yes, i check that kind of thing. and you should too! btw: apple cider color=bad, lemonade color=good). also, i just kind of feel cleaner — although that could ALL be in my head.

the book i read about all things vegan (which said my body should get used to the whole thing in about a month) also suggested yoga — so i did that too (i think it’s the only exercise my animal-fat-free body has the energy for anyway). and although i pretty much modify every pose so i can, um, DO them, after each session i feel more “balanced,” which is good because that’s how the yoga teacher says i SHOULD feel after. and it DOES relax me. and one day i DO plan to hold the downward facing dog for more than 30 seconds.

Oh, and im thinking i won’t make a separate page on this blog for my vegan fascination — at least not yet. im going to try and make it week ‘animal-anything free’ before i make that kind of commitment to myself. (and i still have to actually figure out HOW to make a separate page for that).

stayed tuned for all things vegan. but don’t worry, im SURE something else exciting will happen to me soon and then you can read about THAT too.