Monday, March 31, 2008

Back Patching

Have you ever asked to take a survey or try out new products and get paid for your response/experience?

OK now how about at work?

What's that?

You haven't.

Well I got just such an opportunity today! $25 for testing out different adhesives. I'm guessing they will probably range within the realm of barely hanging on by a "thread" to "was that supposed to be a wax job?"

Hopefully it will be less of the latter. I think they are also testing for skin responsiveness aka sensitivity to the different types of adhesives...

Currently my back has that same feeling of when you put Smellementary brand glue on the back of your hand and let it dry then see how big of a piece you can peel off at one time.

You know you've done it. Whether in elementary school or not. It was always good to pass the time especially when class is super dull.

The only drawback to this whole thing is that I have to keep them on for up to two days. If they fall off by themselves I am to note the time etc. This is like those lame projects you do in 6th grade except this time around I get $$ instead of wasting it...

Yeaaaah. Who's the sucker now!?!

Hopefully not me...

Which reminds me, I need to find me some Elmer's

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Speaking of Axes...

Chop off her nose. One of my favorite scenes of this particular film.

Hit Me Up One Time... THUD!

I always laughed at this one. Although they didn't have any clips of the truly favorite parts. Truly a classic of my demented childhood viewing pleasure. ;D

Monday, March 24, 2008

Good News Minute

I thought I would share this article that I read this morning. I like articles like these. They help us me see that there are some good things here.

What Matters Most?
That simple question can play a powerful role in healing our lives.

Dean Ornish M.D.
Newsweek Web Exclusive
Updated: 6:25 PM ET Feb 27, 2008

Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote: "He who has a why to live can bear almost any how." Rachel Remen, M.D., has spent much of her 40-year medical career helping patients and doctors find their why. A colleague of mine at the University of California, San Francisco, and founder of the Institute for the Study of Health and Illness, she has been a pioneer of integrative medicine, exploring the powerful ways in which our emotional, mental and spiritual states may directly affect our health. Dr. Remen is also the author of the best sellers "Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories That Heal" and "My Grandfather's Blessings: Stories of Strength, Refuge, and Belonging" (both from Riverhead Books). I spoke to her recently about how understanding and pursuing what matters most to us can help to heal both body and soul. Excerpts:

Dean Ornish: There is a lot of suffering in the world right now, and it's experienced on so many different levels—a lot of edginess, anxiety and fear. You often describe how suffering can be a catalyst for transforming our lives. In what ways?

Rachel Remen: Very negative experiences, including anxiety and fear, have the potential to cause us to question the way we've been living. They're a wake-up call. They make people think more deeply about things and ask themselves questions like: What's important? What really matters? How do I want to spend my time, my money, my energy? How do I live more deliberately according to the things that are important to me? Just a very simple two-word question—"What matters?"—can change your life and the lives of people around you.

Why?
Because most of us live by habit. We often spend our time and energy on things that, if we were to ask ourselves, "Is this really important to me?" the answer would be, "Not very." But we don't usually ask ourselves this question. We're not living our lives closest to what has meaning and passion and value for us.

Why not?
We get distracted. There are lots of pressures in life. We're multitasking a lot of the time. Many of us have become disheartened or depressed. We tend to want to numb ourselves out rather than go deep inside and find the well of renewal that is in every person. We spend a lot of time in front of the television set, maybe we tie one on over the weekend. And we're often looking for comfort rather than renewal, and those are two different things.

What's the difference?
Comfort is a temporary Band-Aid. But whatever you are trying to numb yourself from usually comes back. Renewal is healing. If you go deep within and look to live your life with greater integrity, closer to your genuine and authentic values, according to what is really true for you, then you permanently diminish the pain. You don't just numb it temporarily. Food is one of the ways we numb ourselves. Or we drink too much, or we go from relationship to relationship, constantly seeking something new.

A patient once told me, "When I get depressed, I eat a lot of fat—it coats my nerves and numbs the pain. It fills the void." Another said, "I've got 20 friends in this package of cigarettes. They're always there for me; nobody else is."
In the effort to heal our pain, we often numb it so we don't look at our lives. The real healing comes from asking ourselves what really matters and having the courage to let go of what doesn't matter and take hold of what does.

When people are diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, they often realize this, as well.
Yes. There is a moment of clarity where you know what's important to you. And it often isn't the way you've been living your life but something different than that. I've worked for years with people who have cancer, listening to their stories—the view from the edge of life is a lot clearer than most of us have.

In all those years, nobody ever said to me, "If I die of this disease, I'm going to miss my Mercedes." What really matters is who you've touched on your way through life, who has touched you and cared deeply, and what you're leaving behind you in the hearts and lives of those around you. We're so busy that we may not be present in our own lives. We don't see. We don't connect. And it's all here in front of us. Many are starving in the midst of plenty.

What matters most is love. And the things that matter are very simple—they're very old—and they're very, very important. These things that can't be measured are the foundation of our lives. There is meaning in everything we do. Most of us live far more meaningful lives than we know.

How so?
Recognizing that we are all connected and, because of that, we have the power to make a real difference in the life of a total stranger without even knowing their name. We often feel powerless in today's society--that you have to be wealthy, or educated or somehow more than you are in order to make any kind of significant difference in the world. And the reality is that we've already made a far greater difference than we know, we have changed the lives of many more people than we realize because there is a web of connection between us.

You've written that our stories connect us.
They do more than connect us. They help us find meaning. Stories are about why we're here. They are the container for meaning, and they remind us of the power of being human. Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive.

You created a course called "The Healer's Art," now available in more than 60 medical schools, that focuses on the human dimensions of practicing medicine. Why?
Facts are important, but they just give us information. Stories help us retrieve our lives. There are tales that help us to live well—to recognize that nobody is alone, and that we all have far greater power than we recognize. You don't need to be on television in order to change people's lives. The meaning of medicine is not just science; it's service, to befriend life. One of my students said, "You know, I discovered that I can heal with my presence and listening what I could never cure with my science."

We have a culture that values celebrity over compassion; that values notoriety over caring. What can we learn from all of this? The entire advertising industry is based on the idea that if only you buy more, get more, do more—then you'll be happy.
Well, it's never enough because it will never fill the emptiness that only a sense of meaning can satisfy. At the end of life, when people look back to see what mattered for them and brought meaning, it's not about what they bought and what they owned. It's about what they did to help other people to live and how they related to other people and grew in wisdom. It's all about the love they gave and received, not anything else. One heart at a time.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Blogger Anatomy 101

OK so I've been on here for a while, same old blue standard programming. Not that I ever erally get tired of blue, (...please.) But a little change would probably suit me well, for the time being. I'm trying to embrace some change anyway. I figured this would be a good start. Any page structuring comments would be greatly appreciated. I'm not talking about the take this and put it here, or the leaving of rude remarks, but the this is how you change the background to whatever you want it to be...yada yada yada.

Maybe I'll just ask me some sistees.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

I am pleasant!

I like the reasoning here...quite interesting.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Two birds, one clip.

Friday, March 14, 2008

I Love To Laugh

Looking back, I think this song had a profound effect on my personal opinion of laughter.

Sister Suffragette City

Another gem from my childhood.

Who Doesn't Love A Singing Telegram?

Apparently this guy..."Your sister Rose is dead."

I'd Like To Be You For A Day...

OK maybe not, but another movie I love. Probably my favorite of all three versions, that's right there are three total.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Up Next...

I couldn't help myself it's a two for one kind of day.

OK Maybe just one more about sisterly love.

I'm sorry, I can't help but laugh.

"Have you all just comPLEETely lost your minds?"

Friday, March 7, 2008

Happy Friday


I think this speaks for itself. Besides I am currently lacking in witty repartee.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Let's Make Some Magic!

This one sticks out in my mind for no particular reason, but I certainly remember it, or at least parts of it.

I mean...who wouldn't be scarred for life remember David Bowie dressed like a Pirates of Penzance drop out meets disco diva with bad hair extensions? As a matter of fact I think I've seen that wig at the DG. And is it just me or does David Bowie look like he has vampire teeth in this movie?

One other thing I could almost swear that it sounds like slap that baby make him pee at 1:50 the first time I heard it.

I would have posted the video in the body but it wasn't behaving properly...grr.

Do You Remember the Time?

Let's be honest, after that last post, I started thinking.

What I came up with was a theme for the next little bit. Over the course of some unspecified amount of time, I will be posting snippets of movies I remember vividly from my younger days, most of which I can still quote verbatim.

It’s a gift…from me to you ;D

I think these will be running intermittently from now until my birthday. It only makes sense. …to me…

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Why?

Because I can, and because I find that this snippet holds my favorite and most heavily quoted scenes from the film. Genius.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

I Had A Dream Last Night...

That this



liked to eat this





That's right...





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This one must be for NCS