No Sunday Blues

All the Sunday life maintenance stuff is done: garbage collected, fresh towels up, fresh sheets on, lunch made, clothes out for tomorrow and (ugh) alarm set. Now I'm about to chill and read some more of Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach. Her writing is witty and always chock full of fascinating facts and stories. A previous book, Stiff, is one of my absolute favorites. So the prospect of reading makes me happy plus I'm really excited to show off some logo design ideas on Tuesday for the place I just started rowing at. There was a quote in the movie A Family Thing that goes something like, "Being happy ain't nothing more than having something to look forward to."

Sleeeepy

What a momentous and hope-filled day. I don't know how Barack is still awake let alone lively looking. I am whooped. It's a let's-see-how-many-sports-I-can-fit-in-one-week kind of week. Sunday - 1.25 hours cross country skiing. Monday - 1.25 hours cross country skiing. Tuesday - 1.5 hours rowing (my first class, indoor tank, way fun). Wednesday - 1.5 hours gymnastics. I'll throw a run in eventually just to show off or maybe I'll just pedal to a podcast at the gym.

Waking up is not pleasant. I have a strong suspicion that bending legs to lift them tomorrow is going to be especially unpleasant. I will sleep well though - from sheer exhaustion and with happy thoughts of the Obamas doing the same in the White House.

Hello Monster

 
This is my new iPhone wallpaper. Isn't he cute? He makes me smile every time I turn it on. You can get him or some other one that strikes your fancy here.

If you like design and illustration consider making this your go-to place for amazing quality desktop wallpapers.

Ha ha haaaa ha ha

A friend sent me an email today that had the kind of joke in it that most people are like "meh" about while it makes me laugh later in the day just thinking about it.

Ready?

If a fly didn't have wings, would it be called a walk?

See? I can just with my face 6" from the screen because I took my contacts out before I thought of posting this. That's funny, too, no? Fellow myopics, do you ever think about how we would be the village idiots way back in the day?

Saturday + Shark Bites

It's a typical sleep-in Saturday. Breakfast is consumed, fresh towels and sheets, light cleaning and basic life maintenance tasks are ensuing.

I sure would like to get out and enjoy this winter day, but the snow is crusty and it's too darn cold! Now, I am a hardy sort folks. I went cross country skiing at the park yesterday and ended up having to put my toes in warm water when I got home. Visions of surfing danced in my head as I scraped through the forest. It occurred to me that both sports risk body parts: surfing to shark lunch and skiing to frostbite. It also occurred to me that I'd rather have my toe bitten off than frozen off simply because the environment - delicious warmth, sweet ocean, beautiful beach - is a way more pleasant place to have something go horribly wrong. (Of course I could lose more than a toe surfing, but let's not think about that.) Sure, it could be argued that I could simply stay inside to avoid potential frost bite, but that's like saying stay out of the ocean so you don't drown and whatnot. The risk is worth the pleasure of living.

Things I Learned Today

1) Female ducks have vaginae that spiral with some tubes that are dead ends.

2) Male ducks have penises shaped like corkscrews - that go the opposite way.
(Click here 'cause you know you gotta see this.)

3) Humans who are asked to remember a seven-digit number and then interrupted to see if they want chocolate cake or a bowl of fruit, will most often choose the cake.

4) Humans who are asked to remember a two-digit number and then interrupted to make the same choice almost always choose the fruit.

5) The reason for #3 is because so much of the brain is being used to remember the longer number that the snack decision is made more on feeling than analysis, and that feeling is, "I want chocolate cake!" The folks who only have to remember 2 digits have more analytical power left to think that the fruit will be better for them, less calories, etc.


Where did I learn all this amazing stuff? From WNYC Radio Lab - my new favorite podcast. iTunes describes it: Science meets culture and information sounds like music. Each episode of Radio Lab is an investigation - a patchwork of people, sounds, stories and experiences centered around One Big Idea.

These particular episodes are entitled Sperm and Choice respectively. Go check them out! And see, that chocolate cake picture wasn't as misleading as you at first thought. This is an actual dessert that B had at Max Brenner's in New York City Last week called The Golden Heart. Mine was similar but had raspberries instead of bananas. I'll have fruit and cake whether I am trying to remember number or not!

Instant Gratification

The weather looked relatively mild in New York City, and I could not fit one more thing in my bag so I decided to leave my hat at home. It's a pretty hat, handmade and knit in the colors of the sunrise: orange, purple and pink. One evening I spent a couple hours looking for it on Etsy.com.

The first day was tolerable walking under gray skies and through the chilly air and so was the second. The third day, New Year's Eve, B and I ventured down to Times Square in the afternoon. We had plans to be inside and warm dining with friends in the evening, but right then the snow had started blowing, the wind was making me squint, I was longing for the hat I had left within arm's reach as we headed out the door three days ago.

B, ever the voice of reason, points out that I could just buy another hat. This kind of thing is irksome when i already own a perfectly good hat, but he is right. So without a Dick's Sporting Goods or EMS in sight, we go into a Gap. Times Square is already filling up with merrymakers, the weather is forcast to feel like 0, and I'm thinking pickings will be slim. They are. I tried on a toddler's hat as I have a small head (don't worry - it's proportionate to the body), but it was just a touch short.

Back into the arctic wind again, we spot a sidewalk vendor ahead selling those cute hats that come over your ears with the braided strings hanging down. I always wanted one of those! The first one I try on is really cute so I try on five more and end up getting the first one. B pays the vendor, and I pull my pretty new hat in cream, olive and deep orange snuggly over my head. Instantly the blowing wind is hushed, my hair isn't blowing into my mouth and my head is warm. There is something intensely gratifying about buying something precisely when you need it. Buying a hat for the possibility of frozen earlobes isn't nearly as delightful as providing immediate relief for ones that already are.