Showing posts with label California. Show all posts
Showing posts with label California. Show all posts

Monday, December 31, 2012

Laughter yoga

Just took my first laughter yoga class.  I couldn't imagine what that could possibly entail!  Also, I was feeling very grumpy and resisting the idea of laughing.  We did do some fun and interesting little exercises and even worked up a sweat!  I like the laughter pill exercise, where you take a pretend pill and it sends you off into laughter and silliness.  Each pill that you take causes MORE hilarity.  I could really use a pill (pretend or otherwise).  So, we did stuff for one half hour and I called it exercise.  Laughter meditation, done with the eyes closed, almost made me want to cry, not laugh.  I was thinking about my mother at the time.

Americans are exercise maniacs, at least the ones who are bothering.  Read an article about somewhere in California where the outdoor classes are annoying to other people.  The oceanside park is filled with mats, equipment, emoting and sweating people and the cries of instructors.  They are obstructing running traffic, messing up the grass and being noisy.  So, they are thinking about charging more money for instructors to use the outdoor space or limiting the number of people per instructor.

Playlist working TOO well today.  Playing songs in order.  Usually I have to select each one, but I am used to that method now.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Hanging out naked

Just can't picture it, but some men are abusing the open-minded spirit of San Francisco by hanging out NAKED in the Castro District. Just another thing I don't GET. Are they flirting or what? So, of course, as I have noticed before, LAWS ARE GOING TO BE CHANGED to try and put a stop to it. There were actually people on the radio today debating the PROS and cons of hanging out naked. A woman was FOR it.

Being naked in itself is not always so erotic. I worked for awhile at printing press where we published a magazine for nudists. I forget the actual title, but it was billed as "a scientific, educational and cultural publication for the advancement of nudism". I just remember photos of people playing tennis wearing only socks and shoes and nothing else. The people weren't particularly attractive, either.

Hurricane Sandy losses were great. The statistics which come to mind are 10,000 trees in New York City and 100,000 cars. Not a good time to buy a used car. The prices are going to be high and how can you be sure you aren't getting a car that has been FLOODED?

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

The market's gonna do what it's gonna do in spite of the victor on November 6th

Someone (?) said this this morning on CNBC (?) I am very worried about the election. I am not a safety investor and thought one should be very concerned if the president changes. I am not buying any more stocks. I have my own little mutual fund but the losers always equal the winners and I never get anywhere.

I love rice pudding. When we were at Indian Chaat and sweets in Berkeley, California, I got all excited cause it seemed they were serving rice pudding WITH RAISINS. Raisins in your rice pudding are very hard to come by. Now, this rice pudding WAS really delicious, but when I bit down on the raisin, it turned out to be a cardoman pod. According to the Internet, they are edible, but you should have seen the look on my face.

Got in a panic this morning cause I thought I lost my water bottle. Who cares, you may ask? Well, I haven't had a new water bottle since the dangerous stuff was discovered. And my sister had bought it for me, I think for last Christmas. I just got it when I was at her wedding. But I had to go all the way to the top of the Berkeley Hills to get it. So, I even called the airport cause I thought it had rolled out of my bag on the plane. I know, I know, it was a long shot, but hope springs eternal. After called the 800 number for Virgin Air, I was referred to Philadelphia airport lost and found and thence to the "local" Virgin America number where I had to leave a message. Then I found the gosh darn water bottle. I was very heppy. I also brought home another water bottle cause it had touristic information on it about the San Francisco Bay. And a really cool Diet Coke container that we don't have in New Jersey. This is why I have a problem with STUFF.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Other people's TVs

Just returned from 12 hours of traveling to get back from San Francisco. Traveled by car and then train and then plane and then bus and back to car again. Finally broke down and bought the headphones to fully appreciate the interactive screen on Virgin Air. I enjoyed listening to songs by Bob Dylan and Jay Z. Strange juxtapositions of artists on the list...Bach or B.o.B., Brahms or Bo Diddley? Catching a glimpse of all the other people's screens, I also wanted to be watching Seinfeld, Everybody loves Raymond, Sex in the city and Vanguard, this (illegal) American life.

I have a new brother-in-law. He does a good demonstration of someone trying to use a computer while sitting in those cramped airline seats. The trip home was a bit better than the trip out in some ways. There were more noisy kids, but the trip is an hour shorter coming East and I think the headphones helped.

I was also intrigued by the books people brought on the trip:
- Me: Monkey mind : a memoir of anxiety, by Daniel Smith
- My sister: Parallel communities, the Underground Railroad in South Jersey, by Dennis Rizzo
- Her boyfriend: The nautical chart, by Arturo Perez-Reverte
- Guy behind me - Beyond the wall, exploring George R.R. Martin's A song of fire and ice, edited by James Lowder
- Woman beside me - The men they will become : the nature and nurture of male character, by Eli Newberger

Friday, October 12, 2012

People and their phones

Really, MUST you talk on the phone when you are in a stall at the Philadelphia airport!?!?!

Am really enjoying being out of town. I hate packing but once I get going...look out.
Getting up before the crack of dawn is not my idea of a good time, either. When I went into the tiny cubicle they call a bathroom on the airplane, I discovered that I had my blouse on INSIDE OUT. That is what happens when you get dressed in the dark.

Had a great time flying Virgin Air. Now I LOVE Virgin as much as I HATE Spirit. They leave on time, the seats are somewhat roomy, they serve Diet Coke, they have a cool interactive screen you can play with, and the stewards are friendly. I am fortunate to be DRIVEN for a change, TO the Philadelphia airport and FROM the San Francisco airport by my sister. We drove over the University Avenue Bridge into Berkeley and almost slammed on the brakes to stop at the first Indian restaurant we came upon. I think I deserve an extra meal today due to the three hour time difference, don't I?