Riverwalking

Greetings, Earthlings!

I've put up some pictures of Augusta's Riverwalk that I took a year ago. Enjoy!

[Edit: I've removed this gallery and placed the images on smugmug.]

Plans, plus a brief edit

[Edit, because I'm feeling too lazy to make a whole new post: I don't even know what to say! What is there to believe in anymore, now that this has happened?!]

I don't feel like going to the store. I imagine no one ever really feels like going to the store, and yet it must be done.

This week I've been settling into my new job as "business manager" (O_o) of 2go-Box. I am still very much learning the ropes. However, I must say that I am really enjoying the four-hour workday. I still have my free early afternoon hours to spend as I please, yet I am required to get up and move in the morning. It's a winning combination! The only thing I'm unhappy about is my lack of time in the morning to go for a walk/exercise. I can't set my alarm for 6 am because that would disturb Sean's sleep. It's best for me to get up when he does, at 7. Unfortunately, this means a mad rush, since I not only have to get up and take a shower and get dressed, but also tidy up, empty the dishwasher, make the bed, make breakfast, and make lunches if I didn't do so the night before. There is no time--literally--for exercising. I'm thinking I might have to add it in after my work shift, but I'm not sure. We'll see.

I am going to have to revise my daily routine, regardless. Some of the morning things are unnecessary (such as "hit the hotspots"--I don't have any piles of stuff to clean up in the morning because I deal with them as they appear, and "start a load of laundry", which I could technically do, but that would mean I would have to leave the dryer running while I was at work, which is not a good idea). I also need to put "tidy Sean's bathroom" higher on the list so I don't keep forgetting to do it.

I will then need an "after work" routine. I may abolish the "late afternoon routine" entirely in favor of this, or try to make both. It just depends on what fits best. Of course, my schedule might not stay as it is now, unfortunately :> My boss is anticipating many more hours for me once certain things that I can't disclose get going with the business. Since it's a restaurant service, it's really best for me to work during lunch and dinner...but I really don't want to do that. I like being home during the times Sean is home, so I can make dinner and spend time with him. I'm going to have to see how that shapes up. The later I get off work, the harder it's going to be for me to make a good dinner every night :/

Anyway, today is Errand Day, and I really need to get over to Wal-Mart to grab our supplies for this week. I also need to stop in at Advance Auto Parts and replace some fuses in my aged Subaru. I better get on that before the after-work rush.

(Oh, and by the way, new color scheme on the LJ. I was trying to match this site, but it ended up looking even better. I need a new site design...)

Calming the ire

A recent post on Sushicam has inspired quite a few comments that have, in some cases, escalated into flames. The owner of the site, Jeff Laitila, wrote a story about how he gave some food to a homeless woman while visiting Kamakura. Many people wrote in to say that they found this action noble and inspiring. However, one person has popped up presenting an alternate view. While this person's posts are relatively well-written, there is a tone of condescension in them that has enraged more than a few of the other posters. I took a crack at calming some of the ire; since I thought what I wrote was fairly interesting, I figured I'd reproduce it here for you guys. (Am I egotistical or what?)

Well, I think it's okay for someone to disagree with the "general concensus" concerning the homeless, picking up stray cats, etc. I do think it could be done more politely, but that's just a personal preference.

I don't think continuing to respond to perceived insults is productive, however. Some of the responses to these opinions have been downright rude! I think we should all concentrate on the meat of the posts and ignore, for the most part, the manner in which they are written. Sushicam doesn't particularly need a flame war.

Jeff has made it obvious that informed, insightful discussion is welcome here. Jumping all over someone for offering a different outlook doesn't provide a conducive environment for that kind of discussion.

So, to that end, I will respond to the meat of the issues instead of the tone.

I have only been to Japan twice, once for five weeks and once for ten days. As such, my breadth of knowledge is slim, although I did travel quite a bit and see many different areas. Based on my experience, I would have to agree that Tokyo feels very unfriendly when compared to the rural parts of Japan.

For example, when I was in (I believe) Akita, I was walking along a little road when I saw an elderly gentleman slowly--so slowly it was almost surreal--fall to the ground. I wasn't sure if I should pretend I hadn't seen it, in order to protect his pride, or if I should try to help him. As I stood there trying not to stare at the man in embarrassed indecision, a little old woman moved towards him and asked him if he was all right. He thanked her and said he was fine. So, obviously, helping him would not have been a bad thing.

Based on Jeff's stories about people making mistakes and taking tumbles in Tokyo, and on my own unwelcome feelings in that city, I'm not sure this would have happened the same way there. I think a case could be made for the rural vs. urban argument--although, again, we are in danger of propagating a stereotype.

As far as helping the homeless, I've always been from the "help them help themselves" camp--so I tend not to give money to a beggar who is sitting on a street lined with bars, and if I could I would offer to buy a meal or two in exchange for some sort of work (whatever they were able to do). I'd rather do that and give them a sense of pride than throw them a handout. This of course means I haven't helped many homeless people, because I don't have a lot of odd jobs around for them to do...that and I don't routinely bump into homeless people where I live. But yeah, I would rather help them get a job or help them do something that would give them a sense that they are worth something and can achieve things. I realize this isn't always the case...the job market might be terrible in that area, or there might be other problems...but I think that the moment you lose pride in yourself and give up on trying is the moment you become a burden to others. And the longer you are a burden to others, the more you feel worthless and hate yourself. It's a downward spiral. Helping someone break out of that would be awesome.

However, just because I believe that doesn't mean I'm right. And I think that any attempt to help someone in need is noble. That is why I praised Jeff for his offering to the old woman.

As for picking up stray animals, I think that takes a certain amount of selflessness that a lot of people don't have. It's a lot of trouble to take care of an animal. If you're in the survival of the fittest camp, I imagine that doing something like this--and also, for that matter, giving handouts to the homeless--seems like supporting the low end of the spectrum, when those people/animals should just die, or at least raise themselves up and stop being burdens. (After all, if they aren't fit enough to survive, then why should they survive?)

However, survival of the fittest hasn't been the rule of life for as long as we've had medicine, so I think that is a fairly simplistic way of evaluating the world. If anything, we can say "survival of the richest", but with social programs and other projects/charities to help those in need, even this is a misnomer.

I don't think any economic system is perfect--or natural, for that matter. People are failed by the system and therefore need assistance...it isn't that they are unfit or not ideal for something that is perfectly natural and that everyone should conform to. They exist--that is what is natural. I believe that it has been humanity's goal for some time now to figure out how we are supposed to live. We don't know it yet. We don't know how to take care of ourselves properly. If we did, no one would starve. Social programs and charities are bandaids that at least partially cover the wounds, but they don't heal them, and we keep having to reapply the bandage.

I don't know what the solution is, mind you :) I'm just saying that no one is perfect, no human construction is infallible, and all we can do is all we can do. We have to evaluate what is important to us in the long run and work towards that sort of goal as best we can. And we have to revise our plans along the way :)

Wow, I am ridiculously behind.

28.571428571428573% of me is
a huge nerd! How about you?
They didn't ask enough Star Wars questions...or something...;_;

Ta-Da!

One of the things FlyLady suggests doing in one's Evening Routine is "Work on journal/'Ta-Da' List". I figured I'd do a smattering of both.

I haven't written anything in the past few days, not for lack of desire but because I have been simply too busy during the day (either doing things on my to-do list, or thinking about how I should be doing things on my to-do list), and at night I have been exhausted. Thursday, Friday, yesterday, and today, I have gotten up at ~7 am in order to get ready and make Sean's breakfast for him before he leaves for work. (He ate all the breakfasts except today's, because he was running late this morning.) Since this is well before the time I would normally get up, it has taken some getting used to. Yesterday I got up at 4 am; muscle soreness was preventing me from sleeping any longer. Because of that I ended up taking an extraordinarily long nap in the afternoon. Still, I was able to make it to bed at a decent hour (around midnight or one, I guess) and then I got up this morning right on time. No naps today, though I did relax in the La-Z-Boy for a bit.

But I feel like I'm getting better! I feel like I'm actually doing something instead of just sitting around all day. I have started writing up brief to-do lists for myself, and accomplishing as many things as possible. Sometimes I've had to switch priorities; updates to the family business website have taken precedence over some old data entry tasks, and when my boss emailed me with a menu update today, I penciled that in and got it done right away. In fact, here is everything I accomplished today (the Ta-Da List!):

1. Successfully followed morning routine (getting up/dressed/ready; cleaning; breakfast)
   
2. Dropped off half a year's worth of aluminum cans at the fire department as a donation to help burn victims (I have been meaning to get those cans out of our outdoor storage space for, well...a year. I'll get the rest of them tomorrow--they wouldn't all fit in my car!)
   
3. Played tennis for approximately 30 minutes
   
4. Watched two DVDs (8 episodes) of Martian Successor Nadesico (hey, I've been meaning to do that!)
   
5. Fixed a problem on no-dog.com
   
6. Updated a menu for 2go-Box
   
7. Worked on some birthday club data entry for 2go-Box
   
8. Made dinner and managed to keep the counters and sink clear and clean
   
9. Ate dinner with Sean at the dining room table (I've been trying to do this more; for awhile we've just been eating at our computers ^^;;)
   
10. Did dishes (dishwasher)

So yeah, I'm feeling pretty good! Tomorrow's to-do list includes grocery shopping, taking the rest of the recycling over to the fire station, and working on more data entry. I may or may not add in AMRN stuff; it depends on how urgent I feel the matters are. There are a lot of little things in the back of my mind that are bugging me and that I want to get done...and with this system, I feel like I am slowly on my way to doing them. This is great :)

I'm also trying to make sure we take vitamins at breakfast...I think we could both stand to be more healthy.

Thursday and Friday, I got myself in the frame of mind to get up in the morning. I didn't do it Saturday or Sunday, and Monday I totally slipped up--stayed up too late the night before. But Tuesday I was ready to get back on track, and so not only did I finish my morning routine, but when I took the garbage out I decided to take a fifteen minute walk for exercise.

It was a little chilly out, so after I'd made it most of the way around the apartment complex I decided to use the weight room's treadmill instead. I obtained a key from the apartment manager, so now I can get in whenever I want, and then I finished up my fifteen minutes. My muscle soreness did end up increasing...but it felt great, really. It's kind of sad that fifteen minutes of walking seems like a big accomplishment, but that's just the point I'm at right now. I'm going to get better. I'm going to get awesome :>

I was going to take another walk today, but since Paul and I had previously decided to play tennis on Wednesday and Saturday, I figured that I should keep those appointments instead. It will throw a little variety into my routine, which is always welcome. So Wednesdays and Saturdays will be tennis, and the rest of the week will be walks.

After awhile building up my walking endurance, I'll add more to my routine, such as the stair climber or the weight machines. I'm also going to start doing kung fu stretching. But it's going to be incremental. I don't want to burn myself out early and quit altogether.

I don't know if I'll lose any weight doing this, and to be honest that's not my primary concern. I just want to know that if I needed to, I could run a long distance, or lift something heavy, or do strenuous activities without passing out. I also just want to feel better, and not be as tired as I usually am. Today I feel energized. That's how I always want to feel :)

Eliminating my back pain would be a plus, but I don't know if that's even possible :>

Cory Doctorow's new book is online, so you know I'll be reading it. Kevin linked me to Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom awhile back and it was a fantastic read. I haven't checked out Doctorow's short stories yet, but I'm sure I'll get to them. For now, though, Eastern Standard Tribe is on my short list, along with Master and Commander (I'm somewhere in Chapter Four--and yes, if I haven't mentioned it, I'm reading it because the protagonist's name is Aubrey) and The Time Traveler's Wife, which I have yet to crack open.

With that list, I'm making it appear as though I am a voracious reader. However, I have had those two books since Christmas. :> I'd like to get back into my old reading habits, but it's a struggle, especially since I spend so much time reading online. Online reading is not necessarily a bad thing, but I usually end up reading blogs and entertainment news (and occasionally real news, home and garden tutorials, and self-help articles). I am a websurfer extraordinaire, but I'm not sure if I'm getting enough meaningful input.

Well, that's about it for me. I'm going to follow FlyLady's advice for the evening routine and try taking a relaxing bath, and then I'll putter around online until bedtime. A comfortable end to a lovely, productive day.

Which Fantasy/SciFi character are you?

Sorry, I had to post it...especially since Paul kept talking like Zathras yesterday.

John Sheridan

An experienced survivor who has maneuvered around many obstacles, you are looked up to by those who rely on your good judgment.

In the last few years, we've stumbled. We stumbled at the death of the president, the war, and on and on. When you stumble a lot you tend to look at your feet. Now we have to make people lift their eyes back to the horizon and see the line of ancestors behind us saying, "Make my life have meaning," and to our inheritors before us saying, "create the world we will live in."

John is a character in the Babylon 5 universe. You can read his biography at the Worlds of JMS fansite.

"Not the one," eh? I beg to differ!

Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story

Anne's story comes to a close in this final installment. Anne and her husband Gilbert move to New York so that they can focus on their writing an medical careers, respectively. After a lengthy stay there, they move back to wartime Avonlea, where Gilbert feels compelled to join the military. He does, and is soon missing in action-- spurring Anne to travel to the battlefields of Europe in search of him.

Uh...err...yeah...erm...huh?