Bon Vivant, Glamour Girl and International Woman of Mystery

"Eating fruit is fine. Drinking juice is not."

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:07:59 GMT

Saw this article today, thought I'd post it because, well, because it supports one of my personal dieting mantras*. "No fruit juice!" is something I'm militant about. To my mind drinking fruit juice is exactly the same as drinking regular soda - a giant calorie bomb of sugar with no feeling of fullness. The process of making juice is the process of extracting the beneficial part of the fruit - the fiber - and leaving the part that's there to make humans want to consume it - the sugar. There's nothing magical or special about fructose that makes it healthier than the sugar used in soda. Sugar is sugar, it all exists to carry calories into your body.

If you are dieting and thinking that having fruit juice is your healthy option, you are shooting yourself in the foot. Ounce for ounce, soda has fewer calories, and neither one is providing any significant health benefits. You might as well have a Coke and a smile, because (from the article), "The upside of juice consumption is so infinitesimal compared to the downside that we shouldn't even be having this discussion," said Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist at UC San Francisco.

* Nobody said I had to be impartial!

Weight check in

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:36:11 GMT

This week I lost .4 pounds, which I consider a total victory because I know that I'm carrying 1-2 pounds of water. I know this isn't news to women, nor any men that read my journal or live with women, but women tend to retain water during their period. I expect that one week out of four I will have no loss, and indeed my home scale told me I was up 2 pounds Monday morning, so any loss at all for my "official" check in was unexpected and absolutely welcome. My four week total is 9.6 pounds.

Now, on to my thoughts for the week...

It's all about long-term behavior modification. Losing weight is great, but keeping it off is the goal. I've said this many times before: I don't care how you want to lose it - fast, slow, upside down in a basket, it doesn't matter to me and it doesn't matter to your body if you lose it fast or slow (although, obviously, very fast weight loss needs to be monitored by a doctor), just understand that keeping it off is a long, slow, boring, tedious endeavor. It will last the rest of your life, so it behooves you to find tools - behaviors, foods and exercise - that you can sustain over the long haul.

It's not just having the tools that matters though - it's using them. A quote from my class on Monday night that resonated with me enough that I wrote it down: "It takes a collection of tools and consistent use of those tools to stay in control of what happens to your weight." Knowing is not the same as doing, and frequently I've discovered, in the course of using tools, that I didn't know as much as I thought I did. I know the basic math - calories in minus calories out equals weight change. But just knowing does not magically keep me from consuming too many calories. I have tools for that. And the only way to build the tools into something useful is to practice with them consistently.

Another quote: "Commitment to a goal is like a muscle - you have to keep working it over and over again or you lose it." (*) That means using the tools every single day, practicing until it is habit. One of the things I like most about the program I use is that when I started I was required to sign on for 18 months of Maintenance classes after I finished weight loss. I saw this as a selling point, not an onerous requirement. I know that behavioral modification takes time, and I wanted to practice maintaining with the training wheels on! Until making the right choices and organizing my life to make my health a priority is a habit or instinct, not just a task on my to-do list, I risk losing it. When it's instinctual it no longer matters if I have a lot to do today, I don't have to make a decision to eat right, I just do. I don't have to make a decision to go to the gym or exercise, I just do. But getting to a point where it is habit means making that right decision every day for a long time, practicing and consistently using the tools until I don't have to think about it.

(*) Note: THIS IS NOT AT ALL LIKE WILLPOWER! Willpower is not like a muscle - the more you use it the weaker it gets. Don't confuse these two!

Weigh in tonight, challenges this week, and meeting them

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:05:59 GMT

As I mentioned previously, last week saw no movement on the scale whatsoever, despite executing my program flawlessly. I noticed over the last week that my resolve wavers on a week after I've had no loss - there were a couple of times where I found myself thinking, "Well, it's not like the program is working anymore, I didn't lose anything last week so I might as well eat the (roll/bite of pasta/candied pecans/etc)." I managed to catch myself though and give the program a chance to work for me this week despite some challenging situations.

Saturday night we met up with an old friend of cathyn's for dinner. We went to Max's in Burlingame where the mantra is "Eat! Eat!" and I managed to find something on the menu to order - I had a greek salad without the cheese, dressing on the side - just a plate full of tasty vegetables. It was delicious, and I was able to enjoy the setting and company and still meet my goals. I am a firm believer that I can find something supportive almost anywhere. Almost. I consider it a personal victory when I do and I enjoy the challenge. But, just for a little extra insurance, I used a few of my other tools to help assure success. To start with, I didn't go there hungry - I made sure I wasn't ravenous so that I wouldn't let my hunger guide my menu choices. Before we headed out to meet them I had a substantial (supportive) snack, which allowed me to be satisfied with a small, light meal. I ordered a diet soda despite desperately wanting a cocktail - I can have a cocktail when I've met my goals and not before. When the bread came out I made sure it was placed far from me on the table, so that I wouldn't smell it and getting to it would require asking for it. That worked very well, I hardly even noticed there was bread on the table except when one of my dining companions apologized to me for eating bread in front of me. I wish people wouldn't do that - I'm not judging anybody else's food choices, ever. I am very mindful of my own restrictions, but I don't have the bandwidth (or interest) to police anybody but me.

Afterward we spent some time at a food-heavy gathering of friends. I drank a diet soda and munched on tasty grapes. It would have been very easy to reach for a some cheese, crackers, meat and nuts, but after being so virtuous all week and at dinner, it just wasn't worth it. I employed the best tools I know of in that situation, which are to place myself as far from the tempting foods as I can, have something in my hands (in this case a diet soda) and get myself enmeshed in a good conversation, although I fear I may have monopolized ermine_rat off in the corner for too long, but he didn't seem to mind much.

Sunday was fighter practice at the home of my hosts, misagillian and leohtulf, followed by a court meeting at same. Sometimes the best I can do in a challenging food environment is place myself physically as far away from the temptations as possible. It's amazing to me that this works so well, but the combination of being mindful of my goals and needing to make an extra effort of walking over to the food to sabotage those goals, makes the trip seem vastly unrewarding. If I can couple that with a plentiful supply of supportive foods such as grapes, roasted veggies, strawberries, etc. on hand, I can almost always make it through a tough, tempting situation with my goals and my resolve intact.

This week I was rewarded for my diligence with a loss of 3.8 pounds. My 3-week total so far is 9.2 pounds, not too shabby. I'm pleased with my progress so far - although I can't see it in the mirror yet I feel better. As I knew I would.

In other news, I have been diagnosed by my friendly neighborhood physical therapist with a groin strain. Awwww yeah!!

You know what that means? It means that cathyn has to massage it. My groin! Every day! For two weeks! Awww yeah!!!

I'm so 12 years old.

Quote I liked re: grammar cops

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:33:41 GMT

"The only truly unbreakable rules of grammar and usage are the ones that, when broken, result in a genuine failure to communicate." (Laura Miller in Salon)

Running report

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:12:48 GMT

I could definitely do a 5K race now if I wanted to. It wouldn't be fast but I'd finish. Today I ran almost 3.8 miles in 50 minutes.

My left leg has been giving me trouble since I started running again, right where the thigh bone connects into the pelvis. At first I thought it was just the muscles and tendons getting back into shape and being sore, but now I'm starting to wonder if I might be doing some damage by persevering. But I'd feel really stupid going to a doctor with, "Well, when I start running it feels kind of...off for the first mile or so. Like the joint wants to pop but never does. It just feels kind of tight and sore. But only like a 3 on a scale of 1 to 10. And then after a mile it sort of settles down to a low-level weakness." Yeah, they tend to frown on people coming in with really vague complaints so I try to put it off until it's a real problem that's stopping me from living my life. Right now it's just keeping me really slow. Not sure what to do but to persevere and wait until I've caused some real damage or it's sorted itself out through the Magic of Healing. Onward!

Weight and Diet and Head Space

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:50:00 GMT

Day 2, no headache. I could get used to this.

This week I didn't lose any weight whatsoever, despite executing my program flawlessly. Were I a less experienced hand at this game I'd feel sad about that, but my total so far averaged over 2 weeks is still pretty good - remember last week I was down 5.4 pounds. That's still a decent total for a 2 week period and likely my body is resting after the shock of that.

I noticed something in a conversation with Cathyn yesterday. He was trying to reassure me that he loves my body just the way it is and I was trying to convince him that he didn't need to bother because I'm not unhappy with my body right now.

Four months ago at this EXACT SAME WEIGHT I was miserable, thought I looked like a barge that was going to need to put out tires on my port side soon to dock. This week, I have no body issues whatsoever. What gives?

One possibility is that it's harder when I'm going up than when I'm coming down. When I'm approaching a weight from the bottom side I see where I was (and still want to be) and despair. When I approach from the top side I'm just happy to be there and on my way to my goal. But I think there's something else going on as well, something that's making up a larger percentage of the actual reason.

When I'm eating right and exercising consistently I feel better physically. This is so simple as to almost be laughable, but when I feel better physically it bleeds over into everything, most especially my mood. When my eating is disordered I feel like I am out of control, I have no handle on how many calories I'm consuming and no idea where I will land on the scale when next I weigh. In this situation my innate pessimism sets in and I assume that I am gaining (and I usually am). But even if I am not, my perception of my body comes in line with my general feelings of discontent and helplessness and I don't like what I see and feel.

When I'm planning my intake and eating within the set bounds of my program, I feel confident, powerful and in control. I exercise regularly, track my calories, eat healthy foods and my body feels good. So I don't need outside validation, I'm getting what I need by taking care of myself.

I'm sure I could analyze all day why keeping my weight under control has such a heavy psychological effect on me, but whatever the reasons (and I know them, I just choose not to always share them), I don't like being heavy. I did that already and I didn't like it one bit, I'm a happier person when I take care of myself and that includes keeping my weight under control. I have the tools to do it, and I never regret the "sacrifices" I make regarding food choices because it's not just my weight I'm working on, it's my mental health and overall happiness.

Hee! A piccie from Coronet Saturday

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:11:38 GMT

Taken by the incomparable sarahbellem...

Situation update and tournament results

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:15:03 GMT

Yesterday was Mists Coronet, my first event since I've been back in California. The very warm welcome home I received was heartwarming, people I wasn't even sure knew my name were welcoming me as warmly as friends I've known for more than a decade. I can't even begin to convey how happy and loved I feel. By far the most common question I got was, "Are you just visiting or are you here for good?" Just to clear things up - I'm here for good. I live here now, back at home where I belong, for the rest of my life, forever and ever, world without end amen. This is where I belong and nowhere else will do.

Just in case there was any ambiguity.

cathyn and I did not enter the lists yesterday, for what I felt were fairly obvious reasons - we are currently unemployed and technically homeless. It seemed vastly irresponsible to enter a Coronet lists under those conditions. We are currently staying at the home of misagillian and leohtulf upon their very kind charity until the house situation and/or the work situation solidifies. We've put an offer in on a house which is a short sale, and are awaiting approval from the seller's lending bank. This could take up to 4-6 months. I'm hoping for much less, but there's no way of knowing or hurrying the process along. As with the job search - I have my resume circulating, and based upon past experiences I expect that to take about 3 months. I don't know what the current economic situation will do to that timeline, but in the past my job searches in the Bay Area have always taken approximately 3 months. Anybody with a lead on a data architect position (for me) or project/program management work (for Cathyn), would be greatly appreciated for getting our resumes in front of the right people - shoot me an email or private message to get the ball rolling.

Now on to the awesome news - yesterday our generous hosts Gillian and Leohtulf prevailed in the lists and will step up as Prince and Princess of the Mists in 4 weeks. Let the sewing commence!! Our little sewing pod is giggling with glee at the prospect. That's gonna be one well-dressed Princess, my friends. And now I know what to do with my time while I'm waiting for a job and a house.

Male privilege is such an ugly term

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:29:49 GMT

My friend ekatarina posted an article this morning with a line that perfectly summed up something I've been pondering on over the last couple of years. The article is aimed at a male audience and asks: Is preventing violent assault or murder part of your daily routine, rather than merely something you do when you venture into war zones? Because, for women, it is.

This triggered some thoughts in me based upon experiences I've had over the last couple of years. Before cathyn and I got together I lived alone or with a weak partner. I constructed my life and routes in a way that made me feel comfortable. Cathyn, on the other hand, goes where he will, when he wants because he has nothing to fear. This has lead, on occasion, to emotional crises on my part. Cathyn doesn't feel the fear I do when he's walking or driving in a bad neighborhood. When I am with him in those situations my instincts scream at me to GET OUT and I am almost unable to interact normally until I feel safe again. It's not that I don't feel he's capable of protecting me, whether he is or isn't my instincts are going to have the same reaction based upon years of conditioning. And so I am caught in the middle - my highly-strung instincts from years of being a single female in urban settings versus his confidence based upon being a strong, physically imposing man.

This came up once in Chicago last year. We were lost looking for our hotel in a VERY BAD area and I was scared. I tried to explain to him, once we found our hotel, why I was frightened and he shrugged and said, "It's the middle of the day." For him that's enough to ensure safety. To me that's only a slightly mitigating factor.

This is something SO MANY MEN struggle to understand, and want to debate or deny. There is no debate. I have had to construct my life, my routines, my actions *every single day* with this in mind. I don't just walk out the door into a bad part of town for a concert (or anything else) without preparing, without bringing as many friends with me as I can. I am not free to just wander aimlessly in a rough neighborhood because it's a straight route to my destination - I will take a longer route because it's safer. Every single day.

I'd love to say that I can live my life without fear but it would be a lie. There are places I won't go at night, there are walks I won't take alone. Now the article I've linked above is not quite hitting it on the head for me, because my fear has less to do with rape and more to do with general assault, but the line I've highlighted bears repeating: "Is preventing violent assault or murder part of your daily routine, rather than merely something you do when you venture into war zones? Because, for women, it is.” It's a very good summation of the concept of "male privilege." It's not a term I use often, or lightly, because it inherently expresses a bias against men which I don't harbor. I have no bias, I don't blame the men in my life for the world we live in.

I love men, I love the men in my life, I love Cathyn with a hot, burning love that knows no bounds. But there is a male privilege - that as men, you don't have to think about physical safety except in extreme situations. You don't have to construct your life with safety as a goal. You can focus on other things. I think about it all the time, every day, it's automatic. It's so automatic and ingrained that when we found ourselves wandering in that rough neighborhood in Chicago I froze and couldn't explain what was going on in my head for several minutes because it was absolutely instinctual.

I'm sure there are women for whom this is not the case. Congratulations. The vast majority of women I've broached this subject with burst forth in a torrent of examples and situations and techniques the moment it's brought up.

Thanks, ekatarina, for posting the article. Definitely food for thought today.

Update on diet and job search

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:01:31 GMT

First, the good: I had my first weigh-in last night at HMR. I'm doing their Healthy Solutions program, which is my usual default eating mode when I'm not traveling or moving or otherwise unable. I've been kind of surprised over the last week at just how easy and natural it has been to slip back into the program. I never once ate "out of the box" (their terminology for eating food that's not on the program) and I was never hungry. I was actually starting to worry over the weekend because it's been so easy and comfortable that maybe it's not working this time. It's working, I am down 5.4 pounds. Now, some of that is normal monthly hormonal weight fluctuations, and some of that is good ol' blood, sweat and tears (more with the sweat and less with the blood and tears).

I always get something useful out of the classes, whether it's something new or something I'd forgotten and needed to be reminded of. Last night two statements stuck out for me: "Being hungry is the quickest way to quit a diet." and "Focus on what you need to eat more of, not less of." These are important and they work together for a one-two punch of dieting success.

The most important thing about succeeding on a weight-management program is that you are never hungry. Most people think that to lose weight they should just eat less of whatever it is they normally eat. This is the wrong way to approach dieting as it just leaves you hungry. What most people are normally eating is the problem - foods that have a high caloric density. To reduce the amount of calories per bite is the goal, so that you can eat as much as you need to feel satisfied. If what you normally eat is 4 slices of pizza, and you reduce it to 2 because you are on a diet you will not feel satisfied. If, instead, you eat one slice of pizza, eat a bowl of minestrone soup, have a plate of spicy grilled veggies and a big bowl of salad with light dressing, you will eat fewer calories and feel completely satisfied, while still getting to eat the pizza. Now you're losing weight without being hungry, and that is how you stay on an eating plan as long as you need to (in my case, forever).

The goal is to eat more of the foods with a high water content and lower caloric density, not to eat less of anything. If you eat more fruits and veggies, you don't need to eat as much pizza, burgers, wings, fries or anything else that has no business in a human diet.

Then, the not bad: I just had a quick phone interview for a position in San Mateo. The recruiter and I agreed that they should bring me in for an in-person interview, and that he will talk to the Director about interviewing me. I don't know if that means there's a possibility they will decide not to, or if I'll definitely be getting a call to come in. The recruiter seemed to really like my experience at Gap and found it very relevant to their needs, so I'll be sure to lean on that if I get the in-person interview.

And finally, it's raining today so I need to find a way to get exercise indoors. Today appears to be the day I reactivate my 24-Hour Fitness membership. I just need to go through all the suitcases and see if I was smart enough to pack my swimming goggles or if they're in a POD somewhere in the ether...

Meme time

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 16:56:12 GMT

Wow, I haven't done a meme here in LJ in ages. So, since I have nothing other than a vague, "you should have an answer this afternoon" on any of the things I'm waiting on, here's a silly meme I got from cathyn:

The (Generic) Bucket List. Place an X by all the things you've done and remove the X from the ones you have not.

Things you have done during your lifetime:
(x) Gone on a blind date
(x) Gave blood
(x) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
( ) Been to Mexico
(x) Been to Florida
(x) Been to Hawaii
(x) Been on a plane
(x) Been on a helicopter
(x) Been lost
(x) Gone to Washington, DC
(x) Ridden in a police car
(x) Hugged a homeless person
(x) Swam in the ocean
( ) Swam with stingrays
(x) Been sailing in the ocean
(x) Cried yourself to sleep
(x) Played cops and robbers
( ) Recently colored with crayons
( ) Ran a marathon
( ) Sang Karaoke
( ) Volunteered at a soup kitchen
(x) Paid for a meal with coins only
(x) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
( ) Seen the northern lights
( ) Been para sailing
(x) Been on TV
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(x) Made prank phone calls
(x) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
( ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(x) Fed a Giraffe
(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(x) Fired a gun
(x) Danced in the rain
(x) Been to the opera
(x) Written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) Serenaded someone
( ) Seen a US President in person
(x) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(x) Watched the sunrise with someone
( ) Driven a race car
(x) Been to a National Museum
( ) Been to a wax museum
(x) Eaten caviar
(x) Blown bubbles
(x) Gone ice-skating
(x) Gone to the movies
(x) Been deep sea fishing
(x) Driven across the United States
( ) Been in a hot air balloon
( ) Been sky diving
( ) Gone snowmobiling
( ) Lived in more than one country
(x) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
(x) Seen a falling star and made a wish
( ) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
(x) Seen the Grand Canyon
(x) Seen the Statue of Liberty
(x) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
( ) Been on a cruise
(x) Traveled by train
(x) Traveled by motorcycle
(x) Been horse back riding
(x) Ridden on a San Francisco CABLE CAR
(x) Been to Disneyland/Disney world
(x) Been in a rain forest
(x) Seen whales in the ocean
(x) Been to Niagara Falls
(x) Ridden on an elephant
( ) Swam with dolphins
( ) Been to the Olympics
( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China
(x) Saw and heard a glacier calf
( ) Been spinnaker flying
(x) Been water-skiing
(x) Been snow-skiing
(x) Been to Westminster Abbey
(x) Been to the Louvre
( ) Swam in the Mediterranean
(x) Been to a Major League Baseball game
(x) Been to a National Football League game
( ) Swam with sharks
( ) Been White Water Rafting
( ) Written a book or screen play
( ) Been to a Tournament of Roses Parade
(x) Lived in more than one state
( ) Become a parent
( ) Been Bungee Jumping
(x) Been to Vegas
(x) Been to a minor league baseball game
( ) Worked on a political campaign
( ) Been to the top of the World Trade Center or Empire State Building
(x) Ridden a Subway
( ) Been to your High School Reunion

Hmm. This is a very odd mix of desirable and undesirable activities. Most of the ones left unchecked are ones I would never, ever have an interest in doing. Of the 33 left unchecked, only 9 are ones that I would have even a modicum of interest in completing, so the highest possible score for me to attain on this list is to leave 24 unchecked.

Very small selection of pics from our European adventure

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:03:23 GMT

Dover Castle on the outside and on the inside. They had recently refurbished and redecorated the inside as it was thought it looked in the time of Henry II, and actors were performing scenes inside, this one was a conversation between Henry II and William Marshal regarding the Crusades while Prince John (?) looks on.

Kinky Donuts in York. Best 2 pounds we spent in York, delicious, and if you read the finer print, Licensed to Thrill. Oh they did, I assure you!

Look, it's Hadrian's Wall!

Here's us at Loch Ness doing our best impersonation of theoretical battling Loch Ness Monsters:

Hairy Coo, Scotland, obviously:

Here's Cathyn on the Isle of Skye, starring in what may be my favorite picture of him ever (this week):

Here's Stockholm, which is literally what I was saying while this picture was being snapped:

We saw the Vasa, a ship that sank minutes after it's initial launch in 1628, which was recovered in the 1950's a placed in it's own spiffy museum in Stockholm:

This is the least appetizing candy bar I have ever seen, from Sweden:

These are the Sture murder clothes in the Uppsala Cathedral, if you look closely at the shirts you can see the blood from the murders still on them. You don't even have to look closely.

On to Norway and the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo. The Viking ships were much larger than I had thought, too big to get the whole thing in the photo, but maybe this will give a sense of scale:

These are two of my favorite of the Vigeland sculptures from the Vigeland Park in Oslo:

At the center of the plaza there's a giant monolith made of writhing bodies, and right as Cathyn was snapping a shot of the whole thing as we approached it some crazy girl jumped into the frame because she thought it would be funny to jump into the picture. It was.

Hardanger Fjord in Norway:

It snowed on us up in the mountains above the fjord. You can definitely see the snow in the first shot, only a little in the second but I just loved the picture so I included it anyway:

The old part of Bergen, called Brygge. Look how the buildings are kind of leaning on each other for support. This area dates from the early 1700s.

We have about 700 photos in all, so these are just a few of them. I have lots of pictures from museums of various pieces of interest, but they didn't make the cut for LJ. Anybody who wants to see them is welcome to it, I also have a CD of fruit trenchers and Armada silver pics for ppfuf and a CD of fruit trencher pics for ermine_rat.

I have a new doctor

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:00:29 GMT

I'm on my last pair of contacts, so I pulled up the provider directory for my COBRA vision plan, and put in my zip code. Third on the list was my new doctor. I knew just by scanning the names who I would pick. My new ophthalmologist is Dr. Tran. And she'll be seeing me on Friday. She's a REAL DOCTOR.

Sadly I can't link any classic Dr Tran (see icon) because it appears to have been removed from YouTube. Sigh. For those of you familiar with Dr Tran, I will be down at my ophthalmologist's office from 4 to 9 pm on Friday.

Back on the HMR program, but boy am I tired tonight!

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:55:51 GMT

Wow, 5 hours of sleep after a 30-hour death march across continents is, apparently, not enough. Damn my inability to sleep during daylight, but tonight I will be turning out the light early, probably before 9pm.

Today I went to talk to my people at HMR and it felt SO GOOD to be there. Karen S. was walking out the front door as I was walking in and did a double take, squealed and gave me a hug, then walked me into Karen H.'s office, who gave me a hug and we chatted for a while until Toni T. came over because she'd seen me walk past and wanted a hug and to say hi. It was like returning to family, all of my counselors and supporters over the years were there and just so happy and excited that I was back. It was about 4pm when I got there but since they knew I was there to figure out which class I would be in Toni T. enthusiastically insisted that I attend one of her classes tonight. Karen H. (her boss) asked her which classes she had room in and Toni T. scoffed and said that she would make room for me in any of her classes, whichever one I wanted, just to have me in her class.

I feel loved. So I stayed for the 5:30 class and I'm officially back on the program. It feels really good to be back on track.

However, having only gotten 5 hours of sleep last night (I can't sleep when the sun is up) after yesterday's marathon of travel meant that once the initial excitement wore off I was yawning up a storm by the end of class. I'm getting that heavy, cotton-in-the-brain feeling of sleep deprivation. The other things I wanted to accomplish today will have to wait until tomorrow. Including visiting Mr CodyCat. He'll forgive me some day.

Well great.

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:19:08 GMT

I already have an agreement to make an appointment to talk to a recruiter about a job that's a perfect fit for my skills and, get this - it's in Santa Clara!!! (envision look of shock and disbelief on my face) First time in like, EVAR, that a job fitting my skills has turned up in the South Bay! Oh that would be something, a decent commute. Maybe even one I could undertake on public transit? Maybe that's asking too much, but a girl can dream.

In other news, still have a migraine. Cause I don't know if my (expletive-deleted) COBRA is active yet, because my head hurts too badly to get out of bed and drive to JT's and pick up my mail to find out, so that I can go and get some goddamned Imitrex. I was going to pick some up in London on my way home but the pharmacy in the airport was OUT. OUT! Can you believe that? I couldn't.

Pity me and my head full of hurting, that's all I'm asking.

Home, with a jumble of thoughts

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:38:51 GMT

Hi there, I'm home. Yesterday was a 30-hour marathon death march of epic proportions. LAX should be bulldozed and rebuilt again from scratch once they have some idea how to build an airport that isn't an embarrassment to the nation.

Other thoughts...

I spent 6 weeks in Europe eating pretty much whatever I wanted and gained a pound. This would normally be fantastic except I was already at crisis point before I left. I'm happy I didn't add anything to the damage, but I'm on HMR starting, probably, later today until I lose at least 20 pounds. I am looking forward to seeing everyone and getting back into the swing of things but if socializing involves food count me out. I'm pretty good at going for hikes, hanging out and doing other activities that aren't food based, try me!

Oslo - 3 out of 10. Knowing what I know now, I would give Oslo a day - hit the Viking ship museum and pass on through on my way to Bergen and the fjords. Oh Oslo, how can you be so mediocre?? You're in Norway! Bottom line: Oslo's not very good and can be skipped. Bergen, however, is fantastic.

I know it's time to come home when I start becoming what the British call stroppy. Stroppiness achieved about a week or so ago, our return was well-timed.

Wonder if the increased migraine activity I've been having lately is related to the weight gain?

I just applied for a job at WalMart. A Senior Architect position at WalMart, but... I don't expect anything to come of it, it's in Brisbane so the commute is not optimal. Anyway, I'm home now so I guess it's time to start throwing the ol' resume around. I'm looking for a position with any of the following terms in it: data architect, data analyst, data modeler. If anybody sees such a thing, hit me up, I've got 10 years of experience and a mind like a bear trap. (rusty, dangerous and waiting for an unwary creature to wander into range)

Wrapping up here

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 09:01:03 GMT

It's time to come home. The weather is starting to turn cold, colder than I can tolerate with the equipment I have on hand. I don't like cold. There's a part of the rail line between Oslo and Bergen that goes up to a high mountain plateau. It's beautiful, stark craggy mountains and lakes, giant boulders and steep valleys, and on the way to Oslo on Monday the snow was just starting, based on the small amounts accumulated on the ground. It was, of course, blowing sideways but we were tucked safely into the train and could enjoy it from a position of ~~safety~~ warmth.

On Tuesday when we took our catamaran tour of the fjords (don't tell Mr CodyCat I've been seeing another cat!) we took a bus from Eidfjord up to the overlook above one of the highest waterfalls in Norway, Vøringsfossen. As we arrived it starting snowing gently, little white flakes that melted immediately on the ground but stayed a few seconds on our clothes.

And Thursday night as we retraced our route from Bergen to Oslo I could see at the station stops that the snow was easily 3-4 inches deep now. It's time to come home, cut my hair and get a job.

Making a note for posterity...

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:22:29 GMT

No more overnight train trips. No matter how cheap they are.

Funicular Railway in Bergen

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:02:49 GMT

Yesterday we started the day with a ride to the top of Mt. Fløyen on the funicular railway. I'm normally a fan of funicular railways and have ridden them in Japan, Australia, the US and possibly France (my memory's a little hazy on that one). The scenery was outstanding but as we neared the top I noticed that the gravity suddenly felt very, very strong while the braking mechanisms seemed very weak. I actually got a a little nervous, as I looked back down the track and considered that we were perched on the side of a very steep slope in a little box made of glass and metal. Not pleasant. Anyway, we exited at the top into a gorgeous view of Bergen and the surrounding fjords. We'd bought one-way tickets with the intention of hiking down, which we did regardless of the rain.

Later we ate our picnic lunch on the pier watching boats come and go and then wandered up to the Bryggen Museum which is built over excavations of 12th century Brygge. Nice little museum.

As we were walking back to our hostel, tired and hungry, we passed a little restaurant with the name Selam, and a sign in Norwegian describing it as "ecsotisc". No other description, juse "Exotic" food. Cathyn paused, peered inside and said, "I think that's Ethiopian!" And it was! I said, "OMG! OMG! We're eating here tonight!!!" And we did. We pointed to what we wanted, which worked just fine. And it was good. And we were the only white people there and they brought us knives and forks and we ignored them and used our fingers like usual and dinner was splendid.

Today we have some museums to visit before catching the 11pm overnight train back to Oslo. Sunday is the 24-hour death march home. We start by catching the 4:45 AM (local time) airport shuttle and arrive at SFO at midnight local time. It's gonna be brutal.

Two quick travel bits before they kick me off the machine: We haven't paid for internet time once since we've been in Scandinavia. Everywhere we've gone they've had an understanding that it doesn't cost them that much to provide computers with internet access, although in Bergen it's been in the library, with a 30 minute limit. Still, I like an enlightened society.

The other bit: Hotel maids of the world take note - if you open a door without knocking you deserve whatever depraved, bizarre scene of debauchery you observe. Take notes since you're here cause this shit takes years to perfect!

Oslo, Day 1

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:00:07 GMT

Yesterday's journey to Oslo from Stockholm took 6 1/2 hours by train. The hotel we have for 3 nights is a welcome break from hostel living.

This morning, after our free hotel breakfast (yummm) we started by taking a bus to the Viking Ship Museum, where I discovered that the Viking ships were much bigger than I had previously thought.

We walked in the Vigeland Sculpture Park. I found that I really, really like his work. I took many pictures and will probably post a bunch of them when I get home. Many of the sculptures filled me with warm fuzzies, but I'll save the verbiage for when I can post the photos.

Tonight we found a traditional Norwegian restaurant and tried the culture-specific fare: I had reindeer and Cathyn had moose. Delicious, soft and flavorful, however there wasn't a single bite that I ate that wasn't accompanied by the internal soundtrack of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." Honestly, it's a little early for christmas carols.

Oh, and Norwegian keyboards have an æ where the ' belongs. æ. Æ. Æ ÆÆÆ. Heh.

Travel odds and ends

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:12:47 GMT

We have been SO LUCKY with the weather here. When I was in Scotland for a month in August 2007 it rained probably 80% of the days I was here. We had one day of rain each in London and Scotland since we've been here. I saw something in Scotland a couple weeks ago I have never once seen in my years of traveling to the UK for family obligations when I was married to a Brit - a completely cloudless, sunny day. I'd never seen one of those on that isle, ever. So far, I'm thinking September is the time to come to Europe! Stockholm seems to be getting slightly chilly, but it hasn't rained on us at all. The forecast for Oslo is sunny and 68 for the weekend, but Bergen looks like there might be some rain. After the amazing weather we've had so far, I can't complain in the least. And I won't.

Other thing: Citizens of the world, I implore you - do not stop in the middle of the sidewalk, during rush hour. You will get run over. It seems so obvious to me - if you're walking along on a busy sidewalk where there's a significant flow of traffic, move to the flippin' edge to stop! Don't make everybody else have to walk around you and walk into people coming the other direction and cause a giant snarl. It's basic consideration for the flow of traffic.

*sigh* I just don't know about humans some days. Maybe it's travel fatigue. It's probably time to spend a day sipping tea and staring at the ocean, maybe.

Uppsala

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:20:34 GMT

Today we took the train to Uppsala, where we were met by a new friend: liadethornegge, a resident of Uppsala, which in SCA terms is in the shire of Aros, Principality of Nordmark, Kingdom of Drachenwald. She took us on my favorite type of tour: A tour with a native guide!

First we headed to the Uppsala Cathedral, which is beautiful in it's own right, but really we were there to see the museum attached. You gotta like a museum where the staff hands you a flashlight when you pay the admission fee! So we took our flashlight, got on the elevator and took it to the 4th floor, where their excellent exhibition of ecclesiastical garments and other regalia through the ages starts. We worked our way down to the 3rd and then 2nd floors to the real reason we were there - the clothes the Sture family was murdered in (by the King, no less. Not Elvis - the King of Sweden)! Actual 16th century suits of clothing, still with the bloodstains on the shirts! Many pictures were taken. I squeed.

After that we headed across the road to the University Museum where we saw the Augsburg Art Cabinet, which contained an array of curiosities from around the world, collected early in the 17th century. Also part of the building is the Anatomical Theater, where autopsies were performed for medical students and the paying public starting in the 17th century. It is tall, dizzyingly steep, and a little bit creepy - standing only for spectators but the rails are tall enough, and close enough together, that if you fainted while looking down on the autopsy they would hold you up.

Lunch was sushi. Mmmm sushi!

We caught a bus to Gamla Uppsala in the afternoon to take in the many burial mounds, which Emmanual Swedenborg proposed in the 18th century were the remains of ancient Atlantis. Later excavations found ancient burials of cremated humans and various equipment - weapons, games, jewelry, etc. Atlantis would have been cool too, though.

Returning to the city center we took a walk up to the University Library, then the Uppsala Castle, which has a fantastic view of the city and gardens, and finally parted ways with our intrepid guide back in the city center. She was wonderful - taking a day to show us around, filling in bits of information that wasn't obvious and translating Swedish for us where necessary. And she's a costumer, embroiderer, calligrapher and illuminator! A true Renaissance woman.

It was a magnificent day. Tomorrow we take a train to Oslo - time for me to go read up on Norway and Oslo in my guide books!

Now THAT'S what I call dinner!

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:49:32 GMT

Tonight's dinner was pork chops with apple and onion saute deglazed with Jameson's whisky, radishes sauteed in butter, vinegar and brown sugar, and a bed of spinach.

It was absolutely delicious*, but the best part was that Cathyn set off the fire alarm in the hostel 3 times while cooking it.

My first three alarm dinner!

*Me: OMG these radishes are amazing, where did you learn that?
Him: Oh those? (shrugs nonchalantly) I make those all the time.
Me: No, I'm pretty sure that if you made those all the time I'd know by now. You haven't made those in over 2 years. You've been holding out on me!!

Stockholm Day 3

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:43:13 GMT

First thing today we went to the train station to buy tickets for tomorrow and Friday. Tomorrow we are going to Uppsala, and Friday we are going to Oslo! We've got the tickets now, it always makes me feel more settled to have everything lined up. I know intellectually that everything will usually line up, but once it is actually set I feel much more content with the world.

After that we went back to the hostel so I could change into a T-shirt because today was GORGEOUS!! Sunny, with a slight breeze, a perfect day here in Sweden. We walked over to one of the many squares, bought some fruit for lunch and ate leftovers from last night, a big chunk of salmon on some bread cut from a baguette.

Yesterday we'd wandered past something called the Armemuseum which one of us (guess which) had expressed an interest in returning to. I would tell you more about this but it wasn't for me we were going and it just wasn't of any interest to me. Cathyn loved it though, so that's cool. We spent all of yesterday hitting the stuff on my list so it only seemed fair to me that I'd go see some stuff he wanted to see. I had fun reading the English brochure sections about each of the displays to him out loud because he'd forgotten his reading glasses. They give you some sheets to carry around with you that contain the translation of the text on the displays in Swedish. However, I started to get the impression, when comparing the, for example, 5 paragraphs of Swedish with 2 lines of English in the brochure that the translation might have been slightly summarized.

The sun was still shining brightly so we headed south to Slussen to look at the sights, have a brief wander through the Stockholm City Museum (not really worth much time, but free) and then took the Katarinahissen up to the top for an amazing view of Stockholm. We wandered over to Södermalm for more people watching, window shopping and meandering.

After that we walked back on tired, sore feet, stopped at the grocery store to pick up supplies for dinner which Cathyn is now making. I think we're having pork chops with some apples he's frying, radishes cooked some way I can't recognize, spinach and baguette. Yum!

EDIT: Oh, and there was a huge heist mere miles from where I am and I slept right through it!

Gamla Stan, Vasa, Historiska Museet

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:36:29 GMT

Today I saw the three things I had on my MUST SEE list. We got out the door fairly early and wandered over to Gamla Stan, enjoying the little streets with shops and cafes, kinda touristy but it was fairly early so most shops were still closed. Very cute area, wandered over to the Royal Palace with thoughts of checking out the Armoury but it didn't open until noon today (hours today: 1200 to 1500...something tells me they're not trying all that hard during the shoulder season).

Instead we hopped on a ferry over to Djurgården, the island where the Vasa Museet is, where we spent a good 3-4 hours exploring the exhibits and marveling at the ship. Amazing.

After some lunch we headed across a bridge to the Historiska Museet to check out the Gold Room, full of gold jewels and artifacts, and the Pre-Viking and Viking-era exhibits. I find that the more time I spend in museums the more I have refined what really interests me, and generally speaking the Iron Age and Bronze Age artifacts are fascinating to me, but as we go forward through time as Christianity moves across Europe I mentally check out. The minute gold and enamel crosses show up I'm bored. Interesting to me to note the very obvious dividing line, possibly because the Christian era is fairly well documented, but the pre-Christian era seems to me to be more questions than answers.

We walked back to the hostel criss-crossing through the roads and pedestrian arcades, stopping at a grocery store for salmon and veggies, which cathyn is currently making into dinner,* and pausing to buy enormous, deliciously sweet figs from a fruit vendor in a square.

Altogether a great day of sightseeing, I've seen the things I couldn't leave without seeing today, so tomorrow will be more of a meandering day, stopping wherever takes our interest and picking up some of the less urgent museums and sights.

*I've eaten better on this trip than any previous - we stay in hostels and most nights Cathyn makes amazing food from ingredients that we pick up on our walks wherever we are. Sometimes from grocery stores, sometimes from street veggie, cheese and meat markets. The food he makes is cheaper, and better, than anything we could get at a restaurant.