SITM Post Plus Half a Rant
Posted some sartorial musings on SITM. There are pics of some of my new shirts and ties there, too.
In other news, let's see...
On Saturday some people from my church and I went for a hike at Edgewood Park, led by Rebecca who was our intern minister last year and was a naturalist before she went to seminary. She knew the names for pretty much every plant we saw, and I can now identify Blue Eyed Grass, Scarlet Pimpernel, and the many forms of Poison Oak (which I brushed against but didn't come down with. Actually I've never had poison oak or poison ivy, despite many opportunities.) Also Miner's Lettuce, and two that cracked up our group of gay hikers and turned us into twelve-year-olds: Blue Dick and Sticky Monkey Flower. Yes. Really.
We hiked for about two hours, and gained enough elevation that we got a gorgeous view of the Bay Area. It convinced me that I seriously need to go hiking every week if I can, because it was invigorating and spiritual and good for my soul as well as my body. Also I need to do it regularly because OMG I am so out of shape and my poor calves still hurt like crazy. I'd never noticed before how clumsy having pulled muscles in your calves makes you, but I am stumbling around like I've never used these legs before. So I need to hike once a week and get used to it. I wish I had someone to go to the gym with. It's hard to have discipline alone, at least for me.
Sunday was church and then dinner with amethyst73 and her Huz, which was really nice and low-key. And then today I was sickly and slept a lot, which was annoying. I did get a little writing done in the morning, but then I crashed. I seem to be back in a pelvic pain cycle, which is annoying. It's just enough to distract me and kind of sap my enthusiasm for getting anything done, but not enough I want to take serious drugs for it. I'm mainlining ibuprofen again, though, and it's starting to take a toll on my stomach. And then there's the part of me thinking I seriously need to shut up with my whining and just get on with it.
In other other news,I have a rant brewing about prejudice against the obese and prejudice against disorganized people manifesting in those Biggest Loser and Hoarders reality shows. The rant's just on the edge, not yet cohesive, but there's something that really bugs me about those shows, and not just because I'm fat and disorderly. There's a sense of condescension and superiority, which isn't the marginally more attractive "there but for the grace of God go I' sentiment you used to get from stuff like that. I have this sense of these shows and their kin sharing a shaming methodology, like maybe they're shaming about people not being in control? Not in control of their stuff, not in control of their eating, not in control of their lives. Which come on, is that really what's going on there? And when has shaming ever worked to change people's behavior for the better? You can shame me into being defensive and suspicious, sure, but that's not really the desired outcome, is it?
I'm kind of het up about this because this morning I stumbled across a New York physician's blog where he made some pretty nasty comments about fat people and disabled people who use scooters or handicapped parking placards but aren't paralyzed. It's been nagging at me all day, and yeah, okay, so there's one douchebag internist in New York who looks down on people who have problems he thinks they've brought on themselves, but for some reason it's bugged me all day. I think it's symptomatic of a change in cultural assumptions and behavior, and it worries me.
Anyway, that's what's on my mind at the moment. Also I'm still bummed I had to miss the Keith Urban concert Saturday night because in the end I couldn't convince myself I had the money for the trip down to Coachella. Maybe someone will go read the new posts at Fallen Leaves and leave a review that will cheer me up.
In other news, let's see...
On Saturday some people from my church and I went for a hike at Edgewood Park, led by Rebecca who was our intern minister last year and was a naturalist before she went to seminary. She knew the names for pretty much every plant we saw, and I can now identify Blue Eyed Grass, Scarlet Pimpernel, and the many forms of Poison Oak (which I brushed against but didn't come down with. Actually I've never had poison oak or poison ivy, despite many opportunities.) Also Miner's Lettuce, and two that cracked up our group of gay hikers and turned us into twelve-year-olds: Blue Dick and Sticky Monkey Flower. Yes. Really.
We hiked for about two hours, and gained enough elevation that we got a gorgeous view of the Bay Area. It convinced me that I seriously need to go hiking every week if I can, because it was invigorating and spiritual and good for my soul as well as my body. Also I need to do it regularly because OMG I am so out of shape and my poor calves still hurt like crazy. I'd never noticed before how clumsy having pulled muscles in your calves makes you, but I am stumbling around like I've never used these legs before. So I need to hike once a week and get used to it. I wish I had someone to go to the gym with. It's hard to have discipline alone, at least for me.
Sunday was church and then dinner with amethyst73 and her Huz, which was really nice and low-key. And then today I was sickly and slept a lot, which was annoying. I did get a little writing done in the morning, but then I crashed. I seem to be back in a pelvic pain cycle, which is annoying. It's just enough to distract me and kind of sap my enthusiasm for getting anything done, but not enough I want to take serious drugs for it. I'm mainlining ibuprofen again, though, and it's starting to take a toll on my stomach. And then there's the part of me thinking I seriously need to shut up with my whining and just get on with it.
In other other news,I have a rant brewing about prejudice against the obese and prejudice against disorganized people manifesting in those Biggest Loser and Hoarders reality shows. The rant's just on the edge, not yet cohesive, but there's something that really bugs me about those shows, and not just because I'm fat and disorderly. There's a sense of condescension and superiority, which isn't the marginally more attractive "there but for the grace of God go I' sentiment you used to get from stuff like that. I have this sense of these shows and their kin sharing a shaming methodology, like maybe they're shaming about people not being in control? Not in control of their stuff, not in control of their eating, not in control of their lives. Which come on, is that really what's going on there? And when has shaming ever worked to change people's behavior for the better? You can shame me into being defensive and suspicious, sure, but that's not really the desired outcome, is it?
I'm kind of het up about this because this morning I stumbled across a New York physician's blog where he made some pretty nasty comments about fat people and disabled people who use scooters or handicapped parking placards but aren't paralyzed. It's been nagging at me all day, and yeah, okay, so there's one douchebag internist in New York who looks down on people who have problems he thinks they've brought on themselves, but for some reason it's bugged me all day. I think it's symptomatic of a change in cultural assumptions and behavior, and it worries me.
Anyway, that's what's on my mind at the moment. Also I'm still bummed I had to miss the Keith Urban concert Saturday night because in the end I couldn't convince myself I had the money for the trip down to Coachella. Maybe someone will go read the new posts at Fallen Leaves and leave a review that will cheer me up.