Things I Love Thursday

Witnessing moments of growth

Lovingkindness practice (in Buddhist terms) is based on cultivating loving kindness towards yourself, then your loved ones, friends, teachers, strangers, enemies, and finally all sentient beings. It is something I struggle with only when I am conscious of it. I would be happy to struggle with this daily, but it is regardless immensely gratifying to witness a moment of growth, and it was only with therapy and sporadic lovingkindness practice that I have even been able to identify these moments. It could be that you are fighting with your significant other, and the fight and the anger could carry over for days. Then, in a moment of clarity, you might realize what separate issue you were fighting about all along. The anger dissipates, and eventually recedes, and you two are left closer than ever. Or it could be that a family member surprises you by catching a habit that they would like to stop participating in before they are helped. Either way, it's a brief and beautiful reminder that no matter who we are, we can still grow.

Nintendogs

I adopted a new pup a few weeks ago. His name is Snausages O'Houllihan, and he's smart as a whip and really great at agility training. He's a corgi.

Oh. And he's a Nintendog—trapped in my Nintendo DS. I watch videos of real dogs doing real training, and I'm all, "My nintendog totally does that. Whiffed it. Geez. Dogs." We also recently moved into a country home. It was a good move, lots of birds and nature and stuff, very relaxing.

On other fronts: oh my god my husband needs to get me a dog. Or professional help.

Music Monday

Gotye — Somebody That I Used To Know


J: People on the Internet were saying this video was really weird.

And as a graphic designer, I responded "Weird? This is beautiful." It reminded me of Stefan Sagmeister. Also, it's a really great song! Reminds me a little bit of Sting.

Things I Love Thursday

Texts from Dog
These hilarious conversations between an owner and his pit bull are priceless. You can see all of them here at Text from Dog's tumblr. Some of them are kind of vulgar, so be warned.

<---This Guy

Nothing to brighten up the day like an Anchorman reference!

Music Mondays

Garbage—Blood for Poppies

Here is the video for the latest single from Garbage, invoking the likes of Salvador Dalí and Georges Méliès in a grainy black and white that really contrasts with the catchy pop song that Shirley Manson is singing. I am torn as to whether or not this is really a good thing. I don't understand what Surrealism has to do with this song, and I am so over people misusing vintage medium to needlessly demonstrate how edgy they are, or involve their own art with art that already invokes pretty strong feelings (this from the woman with a large collection of vintage Polaroid cameras that listens to vinyl just because). Also, I am loving the vintage dress Manson is wearing at the beginning of the video. LOVING. Spoiler alert, there's a little bit of Un Chien Andalou in there, so if watching eyeballs being sliced open is not your thing, maybe only watch the first 3/4 of the video.

I knew Garbage was on tour to promote their new album, Not Your Kind of People (dropping 5/15), but I had no idea when it was dropping, or what their sound would be like these days. On the other hand, I really like this song, and I really like Garbage. At 15, Garbage was my first live concert, ever. My friends and I drove all the way out to New Mexico to see them, and I loved every minute of it, bought a bright orange T-shirt that was three times too big (they were out of Smalls), and listened almost exclusively to the two CDs of theirs that I owned on repeat for about six months afterwards.

I thought I'd include this song, not just because I like it a lot, and am strongly considering getting this whole album, but for nostalgia alone.

What To Do About Poo

Recently, I've had the pleasure of dealing with neighbors who think that their backyard is a great place to let dog feces do what it does best: bake in the sun, melt in the rain, and basically smell up the whole joint. My bike gets parked at a prime spot inside the radius of poop smell, and it's been fantastic thinking about how this summer is going to be when we try to barbecue while the smell gets worse because we weren't proactive about it.

I find a lot of articles online about ways to deal with neighbors. They all say the same things in the end, though literally zero of them are about what to do when your neighbor won't pick up their own dog's shit in their own yard (what are we—in Texas?), but this is how I've been dealing with it.

Talk to your neighbors. In my case, I tried to talk to them a few times, but I am a sissy and the opportunity never presented itself. Eventually I left a (nice) note. No threats, no nastiness, just what I would have said face to face if we were ever outside at the same time: the poop smells pretty bad, and it's been getting worse lately. We want to enjoy our backyard, since it's one of the reasons we moved into this place, and we understand that it can be difficult to be on top of this, but we'd really appreciate it. Simple and to the point (not passive aggressive) and not anonymous; I signed my name and let them know which unit I was in.

Report it to the city (or HOA, if that applies). No one can be less surprised than I that my note tactic didn't work, and I didn't want to leave any more because as nice as it was, more notes could be considered harassment. Once I left the note, I realized that it was silly and pointless, since now I couldn't really talk to them about it. Besides, I pay taxes so that the local government bodies responsible can take care of crap like this for me (pun intended). Since a government official has gone over there, the problem has diminished greatly, and by that I mean I haven't seen a single poop stay on the premises for more than two days, and I call that a win, even if my neighbors don't like me (I could have gone over with wine/brownies/flowers, but I'm not that person. I don't like them, either, but I'd rather be the person calling the city than the person letting feces fester in my (and my pet's) environment). The only important thing I learned by doing this step was the next step:

Call Animal Control. We aren't there yet. Are there still steaming piles of poop out there occasionally? Sure. Do the neighbors know I am the one who sicced the City of Somerville on them? Unfortunately, I'm positive they do. On the other hand, I have this tidbit in my back pocket—animal control is a separate entity from who I contacted through the city's website (Somerville in my case, but you can always check your local ordinances), and they can issue fines. This could be your first step if you really hate your neighbors.

I meditate. I try practicing lovingkindness...but at the end of the day, I am literally dealing with shit here. City anonymity is so frustrating that it takes it to a whole new level when your neighbors who are less than thirty feet away from you are doing things they wouldn't do under a microscope. And that's why these local government offices are in place, right?

Things I Love Thursday

This is what I want our living room to look like someday. Looks like we'll need a bigger couch.

Music Mondays

This is more like Regina Spektor revisited since this track was included in her 2002 album Songs, but has been re-recorded for What We Saw from the Cheap Seats. It's snappier and poppier, and generally just fabulous.

This album drops May 29th.

Smoothie of the Week

via macskafarok

After yoga on Wednesday, I was a hungry, hungry hippo. We have been on a kick of trying to get rid of things in our fridge, and feel like we're constantly keeping up with best by dates. Using some of the things that were about to kick the bucket, I came up with this (and it was delicious):

1 cup soymilk
2 Tbsp peanut butter
1/2 cup packed fresh spinach
1 cup frozen strawberries

Yum.

Things I Love Thursday

J and I went to a birthday party last weekend and as a gift, I asked J to prepare a meme for the occasion.

There were also animated gifs.

Project 365 Update: March

I really thought that March would be my month. I started out strong—I even had a theme that emerged after the second day (round things), that was easier said than done, although I did it for a whole week! Plus two days!

There are a lot of orange squares, though...sad. And a lot of those photos are iphone photos. Sad times two.

Anyway, my favorite photo this month? I'm going to cheat a little bit. See the telescope that was taken on March 10th? We went to Salem to visit the Peabody Essex Museum, and that photo was my favorite that fit the "round things" theme. My actual favorite photo this month is a tie between this one:

and this one:

Music Mondays

The Drums – “Days (Mates Of State Remix)”

You can take a listen to the song over at Stereogum, and download a copy for yourself.

Things I Love Thursday

I have started writing haikus when I have the time and when I have my moleskine and pens in front of me. Anytime a five or seven word phrase or sentence enters my mind, I write it down. Sometimes it comes to something, other times it does not. 

None of these haikus are anything in comparison to one my friend Matt wrote a few years ago (above are literally my best work):

Bitches get stitches
When their pimps slap them around
Be still girl, don't cry

Which is still my favorite haiku of all time.

Music Mondays

What caught my eye about this song was truly the graphic. The typography made me pause and want to listen to the song. I was hoping it would be poppy and raw and animal collective-like. Instead it ended up being this really soft jazzy song that reminded me of audrey hepburn and france and a velvet chaise. It actually ended up being a really great song to work to because it's such easy background noise, but it still moves along nicely.

Here is a link to the song on stereogum.

Things I Love Thursday

Your New Favorite Song


Spring

Music Monday

The Shins—Bait and Switch

The video for this song is so nicely shot, even though it's incredibly simple. Port of Morrow will be the Shins' fourth album—their last one was released five years ago. I remember picking it up at the Borders downtown while I worked at the architecture firm and had a music addiction. It's only fitting I would include this video in my attempt to reconnect with music.

The album drops tomorrow. Your welcome in advance.

Things I Love Thursday

DollarShaveClub.com - Our Blades Are F***ing Great

Music Monday

Gaz Coombes Presents...Sub-Divider

I love a good graphically produced video, and this song starts off nice an radiohead like, but builds up to a kicky beat in the middle that drives it all the way to the end. I feel like this song would be good for the end of a warm up during a jog.

There is a free download available on Gaz Coombes' facebook page.

Things I Love Thursday

Dog's Dreams Come True

May your dreams one day come true, too. After all:

Breaking Up With Bank of America

via prendio2

Last week, I called Bank of America to close my account. It was one of the final steps in merging my finances with my new husband's, but it's also something I've been eager to do for a while. Two years ago when I was working on tips, my income was uncertain, and some months I'd have a windfall and some months, I'd basically be broke. Because of those days, I had to downgrade to their e-checking account. This means that I had to carry a balance over some threshold, I had to pay to transfer money out of my account, and the clincher: I had to pay $5 any time I spoke to a teller.

Personally, I am okay with online bank accounts, and I loved ING and HSBC. I could do anything online/over the phone, and do it more efficiently than in person. Besides, I got higher interest rates because less B&M stores meant less overhead. But Bank of America has B&M locations and they have a lot of them. I always thought it was a given that as a customer, I could enter one of those locations, but this a la carte method of banking was new. And annoying. This $5 fee was really the nail in the coffin, even though I have never spoken to, and now will never speak to a BofA teller in person.

I'd been dreading the phone call, because I am never in the mood to speak to a retention salesperson. I've only called a handful of times to see what a company can do for me, and gone through the rigmarole when I needed to, but most of the time I am simply done with that company, and answering all those questions is so painful and aggravating.

Maybe it was because I had less than $400 in my accounts. Maybe it was because I've never had more than I've needed to pay my bills in those accounts (I keep my savings elsewhere, with higher interest rates and no fees for transfers), but they were not sad to see me go—I got the feeling they couldn't have cared less. Throw a girl a bone BofA—you are worse than my high school boyfriend.

Marie walked me through the steps, gave me confirmation numbers, and told me that my check should be cut by March 7th, and that I should receive it within a reasonable timeframe after that date. Easy peasy. She was very nice, and didn't fight me too hard on closing the account, but then again, they're probably getting a lot of calls like this these days. Maybe I did good to call on a Friday. Maybe I will be updating you in two weeks about my second phone call to Bank of America to try to close my account again.

Music Monday

Is anyone else as excited for the Hunger Games as I am (besides basically all of my awesomer friends minus my husband)? Well, if you're not pumped for the Hunger Games (well, not the Games themselves, unless you're some jerk from the Capitol of Panem), get pumped by listening to this sampling from the Hunger Games track list.



For some reason the soundcloud link is not working...so here is a terrible video version (just listen, don't watch)



Anyway, this post is about music and not about the Hunger Games or why so many people approaching thirty are excited about the movie version of an insipid YA trilogy—this post is about music, and the music that will be accompanying said movie.

The lineup looks pretty good, including this Decemberists song. Some Arcade Fire, some Neko Case...not too shabby:

Hunger Games Track List:
01. Taylor Swift (feat. The Civil Wars) – “Safe & Sound”
02. Taylor Swift – “Eyes Wide Open”
03. Arcade Fire – “Abraham’s Daughter”
04. Kid Cudi – “The Ruler & The Killer”
05. Miranda Lambert (feat. Pistol Annies) – “Run Daddy Run”
06. The Civil Wars – “Kingdom Come”
07. The Decemberists – “One Engine”
08. Glen Hansard – “Take the Heartland”
09. The Low Anthem – “Lover is Childlike”
10. Punch Brothers – “Dark Days”
11. Secret Sisters – “Tomorrow Will Be Kinder”
12. Birdy – “Just a Game”
13. Ella Mae Bowen – “Oh Come & Sing”
14. Jayme Dee – “Rules”
15. Carolina Chocolate Drops – “Reaping Day”
16. Neko Case – “Give Me Something I’ll Remember”

Project 365 Update: Feburary

I was a little bit better about making sure to capture a picture on most days, but some days I felt myself phoning it in (pun intended). Still, there are less orange boxes than there were in January, so even though February is an abbreviated month (albeit less so on a leap year), I think I did better than last month. My favorite photo from this month was the one of the succulents on my windowsill:

Things I Love Thursday

Surprise Visitors


We were surprised on Saturday with a visit from my cousin. I didn't even know that work had recently brought him up north, but since he had a free Saturday, he took the Megabus up to Boston. We had a blast at the Sam Adams brewery tour, and we took him to Giaccamo's in the North End, followed by a mandatory cannoli trip at Mike's.

Things That Made Me Smile
Breaking up when the relationship is not right for you, or at least taking a break. Of course I am not talking about my husband, but about Tommy Doyle's on trivia nights. A toxic relationship is a toxic relationship, whether it's a boy or pub trivia  ♥ New days and fresh beginnings.

Music Monday

Jack White—Love Interruption



Jack White's first album, Blunderbuss, is due to be released on April 24th. This is his first single, Love Interruption. J and I heard this on the radio the other day and I couldn't wait to see what Jack White had cooked up this time. I am a huge fan of the Raconteurs—theirs is one of my top five concerts of all time. I never really got into the White Stripes, but I'm excited to take a listen to this album and see if it's something we'll add to our collection. I'll bet anything Jack White does would sound good on vinyl.

Things I Love Thursday

My Husband (and his birthdays)

I love celebrating his birthday almost more than celebrating my own. I surprised him with a vinyl copy of Radiohead's The Bends, and we went out to dinner with a bunch of friends to one of the most awesome restaurants in Somerville, Highland Kitchen—I ate about twelve thousand buffalo brussels sprouts. I also made red white and blue (freedom) cupcakes that were decorated with robots. Geeky fact no.157 (that people at the table did notice): the candles were J's age in binary: 11101.

Things that made me smile
I recently went to a guided meditation for the first time and we used energy as a concentration tool. This is going to sound so strange like hippie nonsense, but I actually "held" a ball of energy in my hands this week. It felt awesome and powerful and so calming  ♥ Long weekends are great—I feel refreshed and recharged, and so much brighter—for my short work week! ♥ 

Music Monday

The Submarines - Birds



"It's not so easy feeling everything"

It's been a long time since I've felt like songs like this speak to me, but I know how difficult it is to open your heart to people. I don't ever care to go back to the days wondering and waiting, but sometimes I still do just this. Only it's not people I'm waiting for. It's just me, waiting to learn, forgive, and open up to myself.

Also, I have a tremendous thing for birds.

Things I Love Thursday—Serendipity

To R.P. Salazar, with Love


Since it was Valentine's Day on Tuesday, I thought it somewhat apropos to post this video about how a couple fell in love over an email typo. It was very sweet.

Gullzilla



I love things like gullzilla, because when ridiculous things like this happen and aren't fake they're even more serendipitous and amazing.

Things That Made Me Smile

The feeling I get when I've completed a design project ♥ Having friends that are so terrible that we not only threw a surprise party for someone (such a mean thing to do in its own right), but we made it a "bad cheese" surprise party because this person enjoys a fine cheese, and we don't lose an opportunity to tease him about it. A few of us have deliberately bothered not to learn how to pronounce gruyère, so we'll call it g-cheese to his face. We are all the worst ♥ 

All is Right In The World Again...Mostly

Well, after nearly a week of waiting and emailing and calling, I finally have a conclusion from the t-shirt design committee.

They agreed that there was nothing wrong with using stock imagery. As another entrant whose design was pulled pointed out, by barring stock imagery they'd limit the accessibility of the contest to people who weren't designers. A very good point that I wish I had made!

I came to my own conclusions about this as a designer.—as someone who could produce the imagery that I used, but why? I have two jobs and am going to school. I don't have time to draw/photograph/trace yoga practitioners. Design groups frequently host contests like this and their designers are sometimes encouraged to use specific stock imagery. When they consulted with the communications department, the designers there confirmed all of this. I'm no longer defending any of my actions or theirs, just stating what my main arguments have been since the beginning.

The long and short is that even though all of our actions were above board this year, the competition has been compromised and they're just going to pull everyone's designs. An apology/explanation email will be sent to the entire getfit community, and we will all get a very nice consolation prize for our efforts. Next year the rules are going to be written so that the parameters are more clear. Whatever direction they decide to go (yes or no on the stock imagery), I'm glad the ambiguity will be removed from the rules. I think they did a very good job handling all of this, with the exception of jumping so quickly to accusations from a petty little mole rat in the first place.

The only hitch in this whole thing is that the person who originally fingered two of the designs will probably benefit from this like the rest of us, but that isn't the committee's fault. The committee will most likely have to come to the conclusion that this person was just trying to do a public service—I have a really tough time believing that Tattletale McJerkface was acting in anyone's interest but their own, and has some seriously bad karma coming their way. But maybe that's just me.

Happy Valentine's Day

Ana Montiel

However you choose to celebrate this holiday (whether you participate in courtly love or consider it a manufactured Hallmark holiday), happy Valentine's Day!

My best Valentine's day was with J in 2006. We went to dinner in Waltham, rode through a snow storm to search for Strawberry Peeps, and watched The Squid and the Whale, and it didn't feel manufactured at all.

Since Valentine's Day falls on a Tuesday this year, and J will be away on travel, I will be at pub trivia with friends. Besides, we've been having more frequent but more random date nights every now and then, so I think we'll just consider it another Tuesday, although I did decide to surprise J with a copy of The Squid and the Whale, since it was on sale at Amazon—what great luck!

Music Monday

Since Valentine's day is tomorrow, I thought maybe some people might need a balm in the form of fuzzy animals. Even when people don't love you, animals always do. This song is just pure silliness: You don't want to love me / I don't want to love you / I can find other things to do / I've got friends at the petting zoo.

Miracles of Modern Science are the Bon Joviver dudes. FYI.

It's Okay To Cry

It's been a rough week (see above). I was accused, wrongly, of unoriginal design in a tee-shirt competition (how silly those words look coming out of my keyboard). My entry was pulled, and an email was sent to everyone who voted for it:

Thank you for voting for this year’s getfit@mit tee-shirt. Unfortunately, two of our finalists, including your choice, were disqualified from the contest when it was brought to our attention that portions those designs were not original, unpublished work, in violation of contest rules.

I had to send a strongly worded letter to their office about copyright and what constitutes original work. My source material was free, and what they found was another website that used that same source material in their own way, entirely uniquely from my own design. The "portions" of work that were "published" were used elsewhere because they are free for commercial and personal use.

What constitutes original design is such a hot topic in the design and blogging community, and it makes me sick to my stomach to be put in this position, but I feel so vindicated knowing that I am right, and they are so very wrong. So why do I feel bile at the back of my throat when I think of my design in the hands of people who don't understand these concepts, and who don't even bother to follow up with such strong and serious claims, but instead jump immediately towards the liability side of things at the expense of one of their fellow employees? Why can't I move on with my day and know that I'm right and they're wrong? Why do the words "libel suit" keep swimming through my head?

All I can do is sit and wait for now. And maybe buy a new wine glass*

*No wine glasses were harmed in this hullabaloo—it simply fell down in the sink and shattered to a million little pieces. It was just a bad day all around, is all.

Things I Love Thursday

Wes Anderson




I was actually doing a little bit of JD Salinger sleuthing (trying to find a copy of Hapworth 16, 1924), and somehow stumbled on this little bit of serendipity. The only thing I have to ask is, WHEN IS SOON? My friend Matt and I are geeking out a little bit, and I hope my question is answered quickly.

Also, curiously, the post where I found this clip says that the order a person ranks Wes Anderson movies is very revealing. They did not expand on that statement, so I have no idea what they mean by that (only that their order revealed that I did not think very much of their order). So without further ado, my order:

1. The Royal Tenenbaums
2. The Life Aquatic
3. Rushmore
4. The Fantastic Mr. Fox
5. The Darjeeling Limited
6. Bottle Rocket

The irony here is that before I started this list, I did not agree with his ranking Bottle Rocket at the bottom, but here we are, and that my number one is more revealing of my love of JD Salinger than Wes Anderson. Bottle Rocket is classic Wes Anderson. Raw. Pure. Sparse. But it shows just how much promise he holds for all of his future endeavors, which is why it's at the bottom of what I consider a very elite and perfect list of movies.

Dog Delivers Receipt



People. Will someone please tell my husband to GET ME A DOG? I doubt having a snausage of my own will stop me from posting video after video of dogs, but maybe it will help a little bit.

Music Monday

Nada Surf—Waiting For Something 



Even though they've been around since 1992, every time I hear the name Nada Surf, I feel like this is not the type of band I can listen to. Well, it turns out that my preconceptions were way off in every way. Even the name is an existential reference to "surfing on nothingness," which sounds pretty cool to me. The video above is a live acoustic version that is, for some reason, performed in a museum in Paris, and is also spectacular.

For the polished mp3, look no further:

Project 365 Update: January

Every year I try to "take more pictures," whatever that means. I thought doing a project 365 would be a good way to motivate myself, but I never seem to take a picture every. day. My iPhone makes it easier. So here is my accountabilibuddy—a monthly calendar. If I do not get a picture every day, no big deal—just a bright orange square.

This may be more "scary" or less pressure. That is yet to be determined.

My favorite picture this month was one of my mountains. I call them my mountains even though I haven't lived in El Paso in over ten years, but above the landscape and above the weather, the environmental element that I miss the mostest is the mountains:

Things I Love Thursday

Beautiful Day at The Dog Park



This is a gorgeous video of a day at the dog park shot from a dog's perspective. How fun!

Bon Joviver



I know this video has been floating over the interwebs for a while, but I had to wait until Thursday to post! I think this is cute and funny at the same time.

Things That Made Me Smile
♥ We were treated to dinner this weekend at the Capital Grille to celebrate J's Master's degree. He finished a year and a half ago, so it was even more special to us—babies, weddings, life just got in the way, but they still found a way to take the time to celebrate this milestone with us. ♥ I started reading Sharon Salzberg's Real Happiness. I have to return it to the library before I will be able to finish it, but just one sentence about lovingkindness was enough for me to make a major breakthrough in the way I feel about other people. ♥ 

Happy Groundhog Day!

Groundhog Day Explained by C.G.P. Grey via Laughing Squid.

I still can't spell Punxsutawney on my own, but just in case you needed a refresher on groundhog day, this quippy little video will clear everything up for you.

Apartment Project 1: Composting

This weekend, J and I started our compost bucket. Sometime in April I will go down to the Somerville DPW and pick up an Earth Machine compost bin, but for now we are planning on taking the compost we accumulate to Whole Foods. Friends of ours do this already and they say it is pretty easy and convenient, but I also want to use the compost for gardening, so I am curious to see how many of the scraps we end up using when we have our own machine, and whether we will still need to make trips to Whole Foods after we get a compost bin in the back yard.

Our bucket is a white, 5 gallon bucket that we picked up at Home Depot. We already had an orange 5 gallon bucket, but the designer in me cringed at drawing that much attention to a waste receptacle, and if this is going to be a permanent lifestyle change and not just an experiment, I need the bucket to blend. Given a choice of two lids (screw top and traditional), we went with the screw top lid, which seals in the smell and makes the bin easier to access than a traditional paint bucket lid—how easily the food will be dumped out is TBD. When we got home we lined the bin with this year's tax literature, and went to town cleaning out the fridge. I think this project will only get easier as time goes on, and I am psyched to produce less garbage, and I can easily see this fundamentally changing everything about how I operate in my kitchen. I even had pangs when I composted my juice extracts this morning because I know I can consume them in some way instead of composting them, but I contented myself with the knowledge that baby steps make for better permanent habit changes.

I have a personal challenge with myself to reduce our landfill-bound waste to one garbage bag a month or less. Dare I dream of being a zero waste household? For now, we've had fun researching what we can and cannot compost (spoiler alert: you can compost many, many things you might have thought you couldn't), but we're doing what we can, and I am so excited to start this journey.

Music Monday

Handsome Furs - Serve The People from stereogum on Vimeo.


I love everything Wolf Parade has ever done, so it's not too much of a departure to love everything that the Handsome Furs produce. This is one of their latest servings, and it has a nice steady beat and moves along quite nicely.

Things I Love Thursday: Pupperoni

This Super Bowl Sunday preview commercial for Volkswagon was SUPER cute (get it...Super Bowl...SUPER cute? eh? eh?) Seriously, though, puppies plus Star Wars=awesome. Then again, I am the type of person who can listen to Jingle dogs, so maybe I am not the best authority on the subject. It's worth waiting until the end of the video, or at least until the (spoiler alert) AT-AT greyhound makes an appearance.

A visit to the Aquarium

Some friends and I went to visit some penguins this weekend. I mean, we went to the New England Aquarium. It was a good mix of people—two of us had cameras and were viewing the aquarium through our lenses, and one of us was a scientist (and we kept teasing him for reading all the signs), and there was a lot of banter, some of it at the expense of some salmon.



Things That Made Me Smile

♥ Our wedding was featured on two places on teh interwebs this week:
100 Layer Cake and Fat Orange Cat (our photographer's blog)

Winter Riding: Lights and Safety

Bell Muni Helmet
This commuter helmet has rear lights and built in mounts for Flea Blackburn rear and front commuter lights. I look forward to being fashionable and visible this winter wearing my new Muni, although I will probably wait until next year to consider the Flea Blackburn commuter lights, which run around $50. The helmet itself is also around $50, although there are always deals to be found online. I found that I've replaced my helmet twice, which equates to every two years, but hopefully this one will last well beyond two years.



Knog Boomer USB Rechargeable Rear Light
This rear light is rechargeable via USB, and it's super cute. I did not intentionally buy pink, but it was the cheapest option on Amazon. This blinky is super bright and I can't wait to get it out on the road. I have difficulty with rear mounts because I have a milk crate mounted on my rear rack, so we'll see how this one fits. I have another rear light (that will probably stay there), but I want to be lit up like a firecracker when I ride. There are three blinky settings and one steady setting) This one costs around $30 on amazon, which is very reasonably priced for a rechargeable bike light.



Cygolite Expilion 350-Lumen USB Rechargeable Headlight
This front light is also super bright and also rechargeable via any micro USB (a fact I discovered when I was able to charge my light with the cable for our Universal remote control after I mistook it for my light charger). It mounts very easily, even with gloves. There are five settings: one blinky setting, and four steady settings ranging from low to SUPER BRIGHT. This one was a birthday gift from J, and I use it in tandem with my Cateye OptiCube when I ride at night or in the rain.

Music Monday—Miike Snow

Although Swedish Electro-Pop is a departure from what I typically listen to, it definitely gets my heart pumping. Paddling Out, the first single from Happy to You, is a great song to clean house to. I might even be adding it to my getting ready playlist. I really enjoyed the progression of both of these songs, and can't wait to see what the album release has to offer. Also, I am a sucker for any music video that features the desert mountains, which are featured heavily in the following video for Devil's Work (the pleather pants are a weird juxtaposition, though).

Happy to You drops March 27th.

Miike Snow—Paddling Out


Miike Snow—Devil's Work

Things I Love Thursday

aivo2010

Millet
This  nutty and tender seed was a delicious addition to our salmon dinner last week. It was perfect straight out of our fuzzy logic rice cooker—I added carrots, salt and pepper, but I can see some interesting millet porridges in my future. Nom. Plus, this fulfills my requirement for January to learn how to cook something new!

scfiasco

White Sands National Monument
I love visiting White Sands. We have a blast every time and it's just such a wondrous place—miles and miles of white gypsum dunes. I wish that when I had lived here I had taken advantage of some of their events, like midnight bike rides. We only sometimes think to bring sleds, but most of the time cardboard will do just fine:

 

Music Monday

As part of my list of things to do before I turn 29, I am trying to discover new music once a week. This week's song is Location, by Freelance Whales.

This song is upbeat and melodic, with some pleasing harmony and a sweet little banjo peeking out here and there. However, the upbeat progression of the music is juxtaposed by the somewhat dark lyrics, which to me speak out about how tough relationships are sometimes, and how difficult it can be to reach the person you love when they retreat into themselves. After listening to the whole album, I think Freelance Whales remind me a little bit of Arcade Fire, a more polished Oh No, Oh My!, and a less cheery Bishop Allen. Throw in some Postal Service for good measure.

If you have Spotify, you can use the link up there to have a listen, but here's the song on YouTube:

Things I Love Thursday

Nike Training Club
This App is free and it works on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. You select a goal and level, then find a workout that meets your criteria. It's rewards based, so you get to see how your latest workout has brought you closer to your next reward, like power smoothie recipes or high energy training circuits. I can't wait to use this tool next time I am at the gym (or not!).

Sleep Stream App

I have already mentioned this app offhandedly when I did my year end summary, but I thought it was worth re-mentioning. There are three things I like about this app. One, the ambient sounds are varied, although I doubt I will ever get sick of listening to a mountain stream as I fall asleep, since camping in the Gila Mountains by a stream is my "happy place." Two, There is a guided sleep meditation, which helps with my goal of meditating more this year. Three, there is an option to add a layer of binaural beats, and I have found this to be très helpful as a relaxing white noise option.

28 Things to do Before I Turn 29

1. Overhaul my office area
2. Restyle my closet to fit my new fashion needs
   I have started buying only "sensible shoes," and more clothes with appropriate fabrics, lengths, etc. I occasionally stop into H&M and Forever 21, but I try to stock up on more quality products—like my jeans and my shoes, so that I can pick up endless tops at Target, since they don't last as long. Lots of lessons learned.
3. Sew and tailor all of my old clothes that need mending
   I didn't get to all of them, but I have mended a lot.
4. Pimp out our balcony
5. Donate our old towels to the MSPCA
6. Go sledding
7. Try a juice fast
8. Cook one new food or recipe every month
   We ended up participating in a farm share starting in June, and J bought a new propane grill. Between those two things, we were learning more about food this year than any year before. I ended up learning ways to cook millet, quinoa, beets, turnips, brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, kale, butternut squash, and way more other foods that I never thought I'd be able to make by myself, much less enjoy in the first place (I was skeptical about brussels sprouts, but they are my new favorite food. Especially when they're buffalo flavored). I know that's only 8 foods that I've listed, but at least 12 different recipes came out of them—so I think it counts.
9. Participate in group meditationI went to the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center, and it was incredibly relaxing and freeing. One of the founders, Sharon Salzberg, has written two books that I highly recommend: Real Happiness—The Power of Meditation—A 28 Day Program, and Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness.
10. Run a 5K
    This goal was originally to ride my bike more than 50 miles (in one ride). I stopped doing long rides long ago, and this didn't even become a possibility. However, I did start running, and I finished my first 5K in December!
11. Visit a new country
    We visited Italy and Croatia in August. It made me want to travel even more!
12. Take more photosI was more earnest about participating in Project 364, to take a picture every day of the year. I was wildly unsuccessful in taking a picture every day, but it definitely led to more photos, and more importantly, better photos—especially in Europe.
13. Go back to school
    I took Graphic Design I at MassArt in the spring, and Graphic Design II in the summer.
14. Complete at least three apartment projectsThe following improvements have made our apartment much better:
    
    • Hanging glass racks in our kitchen to hold our wine glasses, in addition to buying an Ikea kitchen shelf to get some of our bigger kitchen appliances out of the kitchen.
    • Hanging grundtal rails in the office—rails allow me to hang art supplies at an arms reach, and I also hung up a hanging file so that I could keep my Groupons at hand.
    • Patching up a hole in the wall. Yeah, sure I put the hole in the wall myself, but now I know I have the necessary skills to fix that sort of damage!
15. Find a new job
    I had a contracting position in July-September at MIT, and it was part of a thrilling and prestigious grant proposal. I am excited to add it to my resume.
16. Adopt a greyhound
    Feh. This one is happening. D-day (dog day) is January 26th. I missed this one by a few weeks.
17. Swim in the ocean
    Not only did I swim in the ocean, but I went swimming in the Adriatic Sea! The water was so beautiful—crystal clear and the perfect temperature.
18. Discover new music once a week
    Not once a week, but frequently. I posted a video a week for a while, and that helped me try to reach this goal.
19. Start knitting again
    I made an honest effort starting with a small afghan.
20. Learn to embroider
21. Redesign my online portfolio
22. Change my name
    I legally changed my name shortly after my birthday, way before 29 ;)
23. Visit a new museum
    We visited the Peabody Essex Musem in Salem, MA this past March.
24. Make the spare bedroom guest-ready (i.e. not my dumping ground)
    In all fairness, it is still a dumping/hiding ground, but we've streamlined the dumping/hiding process such that it takes a day to get it to guest-ready shape, plus we've made sure to include toiletries, internet password, and fancy guest towels.
25. Keep sparkling wine in the house for impromptu champagne moments
    I found mini bottles of champagne, and it has been simple to keep champagne in the house for impromptu celebrations or, you know, Tuesday nights.
26. Tour a chocolate factory
    This one was actually a bit of a cheat since we did it for my 28th birthday.
27. Plant an herb garden
    In May, I had mint, and lime mint growing on my balcony, and basil growing in my kitchen.
28. Compost
    I talk about our adventures composting here.

Things I Love Thursday: Corgis Gonna Corg

From the Obsessive Corgi Disorder tumblr

honorable meniton

Feeling like a road warrior for riding my bike in the winter ♥ The Dinner Party, This American Life, and Freakonomics Radio—my new rotation of podcasts ♥ Excitement about new projects and fresh starts ♥ Daydreaming about our upcoming vacations and travel plans ♥ Listening to mountain streams as I fall asleep ♥ The pile of books I have waiting for me at home ♥ 


Happy Thursday!

Whole Body Cleanse, Week 1

As part of a New Year's pact that I made with myself, I am three days into the 2012 Whole Living Action Plan. I have tried this plan before, but I didn't place any importance on the followthrough. I ended up fasting for a while, feeling great, then falling into old patterns and ordering a lot of takeout as a "reward" for all of that difficult fasting I'd done.

This time, equipped with a shiny new juicer, and some other life adjustments, I felt ready to tackle this thing and really think about what it is doing to my body, and how I can make it a lifestyle change. I am keeping better track of what it does to my depression, my anxiety, my skin, and hopefully in time, my waistline.

I have had some pleasantly unexpected results: I actually have more energy than usual, my attention has been more focused, and I have started drinking my coffee black. I'm supposed to be cutting caffeine out during this detox, but I knew I wouldn't be successful without coffee. In the long run, it's a habit I'm probably not going to give up, ever, but the benefit of cutting the sugar and milk from my daily cup (and being happy about it) is unexpected and amazing, and almost makes up for a little cheating.

Some of the recipes are really good, like these sesame kale chips, and these fruit and nut bites. Me, though? I just can't wait to start drinking wine again.