Ridiculous

Ridiculous day.

Sick. Yucky sick. You'll just have to guess what I mean. Dehydrated. Painfully sunburned. Upset stomach. Just yuck.

Fainted in my bathroom. It wasn't at all the romantic experience Anne Shirley would have us believe.

Charming helped me into the living room so I could lie down in front of the AC ... yeah, the one in my room was having an off day. Charming also got me water to drink, then blessedly left me alone.

Toilet base broken. Don't know how. The only thing that could have remotely done it is the leather case Spork got me for Christmas a while back. Even then, it's a mystery to me.

TiVo not working. Totally unacceptable. Had to flip a few breakers before it came back, and I could console myself with past episodes of SYTYCD.

Ridiculous.

And then Bork came by to drop off the suitcase they want me to bring to SLC in August. Was able to give me a blessing, and suddenly the day didn't seem so ridiculous anymore.

Our four hour tour

After the inital meet, Perky, Charming, DaveX and I were off to Santa Barbara for a day of kayaking! I've had a hankering to try it for about a year, and Perky's suggestion came at the perfect time, ie: during the massive heat wave.

Being as DX is a soundtrack critic, we discussed movies and soundtracks all the way up. The one produced soundtrack we can all agree on is Garden State, which we all love. My produced list also included Phenomenon, Holes, and Hope Floats. As for scored music, I love the music for
The Last of the Mohicans, and can remember being stirred by the music of
The Piano ... although my favorite all-time scored song is the full orchestral version of the theme song from Love Story.

When we finally made it up to the marina, who should we see in the rear view mirror ... BH! and Wooloo, the very people we were meeting. Trudged over to the kayak store, irritated the cute and tatted rental guy, and ate breakfast. Back at the kayak store, we paid separately (furthering the irritation factor), but CATRG must have liked us, because he only charged us the 2 hour rate for the 4 hours we planned on being gone. After a quick lesson on the basics of kayaking, we were off!

Before we had left (the rather extensive) harbor, I had reason to be grateful for the basics lesson. I fell over. Yup, in the nasty and absolutely disgusting harbor water. If FGITW had been there, she would have commiserated with me over my impending gonorrhea (not giardia, mind you)! I felt so icky that I decided to do it again once out in the open water, much to the delight of the sea lions on the nearby buoy, who woke up enough to bark for an encore. And after two dips in the ocean, I decided to not do any more acrobatics until I had a paying audience (by which I mean that I learned to lean back, not tense up, and paddle at right angles to the waves).

We paddled over to the beach just up the coast. Got out and did a litle frolicking, but decided that kayaking was more fun. So out we went again. BH! was the last on shore, as he helped me and Wooloo to get on and out past the breakers. We continued up the coast, and decided to round the point. When we reached the area, we beheld a beautiful small cliffy area with trees bordering the top. Also at this point, the water smoothed out and assumed the appearance of molten glass. I stopped paddling so I could just contemplate the sheer perfection of it. I felt as I were flying over a kelp forest. Every once in a while a dark shadow beneath would move, giving me shivers as I imagined large sea beasts meandering beneath my insubstantial piece of plastic.

A bit further we went, and then I started heading back. Not that I was through for the day, but I wanted to check out the surfers ... both traditional and those using kites to harness the power of the wind. Amazing.

BH! and Wooloo eventually caught up with me. We found that going back, while easier due to the pull of the tide, was also more screwy, as it was impossible to move in a straight line; half of our energies were spent trying to stay on course. When we got to the ramparts (I know there's a more specific word, but can't think of it now ... anyway, a rocky barrier with a walkway on top), the other two paddled out a distance and battled the surf, but I let the tide carry me along. Occassionally I dipped my paddle in the water to direct my path, but the swirling water did all the propulsion work. Once back at the shop, we returned the gear and surreptitiously used the hose in the back to clean off the mucky water. It was here that I discovered the awful sunburn that extended the length of each leg, and made my face look like a veteran ski bum's. Alack and aday ... my sunglasses and hat didn't protect me from the reflection off of the waves, and I'd forgotten to slather stuff on my legs!

Quick dinner at Acapulco (where I satisfied my craving for fish tacos), and we were back on the road to LA. At home, after surveying the damage, I decided that Camp Hollywood would have to wait for another year.

Dora-Do-Right

Had Bork and Genie drop off the Beans today for a little couple-time. BB and LB were occupied enough eating their cheeseburgers (before the fries), but soon the absence of age-appropriate toys, and one super tired auntie were enough to have me turning on the boob-tube an hour into the visit. Beauty and the Beast in all its animated glory. The kids have good taste.

Genie was telling me that her brothers have labeled BB as a fox, and LB as a (whiny) panda. BB is energetic and wiley. LB is easy-going and tends to lumber around, but does tend to wail when he’s very tired. I’m so interested in their developing personalities, and can’t hardly wait until they’re old enough to travel with me.

After the Beans were picked up by their parental units, ordered and delivered pizza and dinner accoutrements to the missionaries at the Visitors’ Center. Felt so Dora-Do-Right* that the only thing left to do was to finish watching SYTYCD and collapse in bed.

*Okay, maybe not so DDR (ha HA!), since dropping off dinner to missionaries at the VC is not the same as having them over to dinner at my home, but you get the picture.

Rather wasted day

Was supposed to pick JLITH up at 1100. The plan was to relax at my apartment with the a/c, I was going to do some errands in the early afternoon. Then I would drive her to LAX, and I would meet up with some friends from work to have dinner and go to the Dodger Game (not that I really like baseball at all, but Tan Shaggy was going, and I thought it would be fun).

At 1000, right before I was going to leave, JLITH called and pushed back our time to 1200. Fine. Got a few things done at my apartment, and left at 1100.

A 1130, as I was on the road, JLITh called and said it would be more like 1200.

When she got back to the house, she pushed it back to 1230. We didn't end up leaving until 1300.

When we got back to my apartment, I dropped her off and went to do some of my errands. Got back, showered, and tried to relax and cool off before leaving for LAX at 1615.

At 1530, my mother calls. "I have the bag that JLITH was looking for!" Turns out that my sister had left a bag of stuff at my parents'. However, the bag she was looking for was not the bag my mother had ... this was another bag that my sister had left that had important things in it. Being as there was not enough time for us to drive back to the valley, retrieve said bag, and make it to the airport in time, my mother drove the bag to my apartment. We ended up leaving for LAX at 1630. My fault because I was showing my favorite, most accessible dance bits from SYTYCD. Before we left, I told JLITH to be sure that she had everything. EVERYTHING.

Dropped JLITH off at the airport and started the painful drive out to Hollywood. Thirty minutes out, JLITH called to say that she didn't have her pager. Her work pager. The one she needs when she's at work, and for no other purpose. After chewing her out about even bringing it to So Cal, I asked her where it was. Apparently the last place she saw it was at my apartment. Absolute exasperation. I'm stuck in traffic on the 105 freeway, and there's no way I was going to make it back to my apartment and to the airport in time to get it to her. Said I'd fed-ex it when I got home.

Then she called back to ask if I had a key secreted anywhere, that mom or dad could pick up the pager and bring it to her at LAX. Nope. Sorry, you're going to have to wait until I can Fed-ex it.

Finally get to my destination. As I'm exiting the car, I see her pager on the floor of my car. Oh well. I go in and have dinner with my co-workers. Eventhought I'm 40 minutes late, they're just finishing their drinks and getting ready to order food. Fun dinner, good to be at a non-work place to relax and get to know each other on a personal level.

After dinner, I end up riding with a new person to Dodger Stadium to meet up with the rest of the crew who didn't come out to dinner. We follow KiDo's directions ... take SUnset back to the hospital and turn right on Elysian Park. When we pass my gym, I start getting a little worried. Aly gives KiDo a call, but she doesn't pick up. As Aly is in a rented car, she has no maps, and we continue on. By the time we pass the Laugh Factory, I know something is dreadfully wrong. We give KiDo another call, and it appears that they realized they were going the wrong direction on Sunset, and righted themselves without giving us the heads up. Aly and I laugh our heads off, and she turns the car around ... no small feat at 1945 on the strip.

Around Western, I get another call on my phone. It's JLITH. Her flight was delayed until just before 2200. Oh. I get off the phone and struggle inside myself. I unload my story to Aly, and have her drop me off at the parking structure. Luckily, she's able to get a friend on the phone and use my ticket, so the night isn't a total waste.

I drive back to LAX and give JLITH her pager, but not before making her do the L-pose.

Family Home Evening

The whole clan converged at the homestead, and my parents celebrated by turning on the air-conditioning. Hallelujah! Bork, Genie and the beans, JLITH flew in from SLC, and Spork and I came in from our glamorous apartments.

Bork mostly slept. I guess after a long, hard and hot summer working in Korea, he's allowed a little R&R before school starts.

Genie cooked a wonderful Korean dinner to celebrate JLITH's birthday. So yummy.

JLITH spent most of the time doing home improvement thingies around the homestead. I think it's her type of therapy. Good for her and the parents.


Spork took me and JLITH over to see his apartment. Must say that it's looking good. It's more polished and stylish than any other guy's place I've been to except for Gym Guy's. Spork's been getting a lot of recognition at work for special projects he's been working on. Recent promotion, etc. He's also working on a personal project that I'm very excited about. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.



Later, Spork gave us little souvenirs from his Acapulco trip. Ceramic, round mariachi figures for the girls, and action figure kites for the beans. Personally, I think he's trying to be uber-competitive for the title of Favorite Uncle. I call these pictures, Spork and Beans.

It's getting hot in here, so take off ...

Hottest recorded day in Los Angeles history. It was 112 degrees in West Hills, and 105 degrees in West Los Angeles. I knew it was going to be bad when, exiting my apartment at 0630, the air inside my locked car was cooler than the heavy, muggy and stale air on the street. Ugghhh. Felt very lucky to be at work, where there's plenty of a/c.

After work, took an hour nap in the nurses' break room. Ate, changed to go dancing, and nearly melted in the outdoor heat. What a relief to get into my car and charge up the a/c. Drove out solo to Speakeasy Blues as Teddy Lee Hooker was playing. Mistake. Big mistake. The a/c was out, and the place was steaming. Ended up dancing with Von Blue Eyes for most of the night, just in front of the fan in the corner. However, I did meet The Sign Man, and ended up having a lovely little chat. Funny, he's not as stand-offish as I'd thought. Always interesting to find other people as initially shy as I am.

Anyway, much as I love the Speakeasy, I'm going to give it a rest for a month or so. Sad to say, heat and the price of gasoline affect my love for the blues. Also, Paladino's is open for the summer, so I can afford to be a little fickle.

Contemplating

Posted this yesterday on the Exponent II blog. Mostly in a response to bad behavior I see on some various discussions in the bloggernacle and on linkup. Interesting comments. Two of the worst offences (lately) are
1) Overzealous preachiness
2) Irritating solicitations for sympathy.

Overzealous preachiness. Some bloggers irk me to no end. Their stagnant inability to consider the experiences of others in their hypervigilant states of righteousness do far more harm than good. On the other hand, sometimes, like maimonides (or chess, or any of his other handles before he got kicked off of linkup), sometimes their rants are so ridiculous that they actually boost the side of the argument that they are trying to repress. Poor strategery on their part, but good for their opponents!

Irritating solicitations. These just make me want to roll my eyes and groan. Protestations such as announcing that one is being forced to take a break because of others' posts. Or stating that one is bowing out because they fear they are no longer welcome. I think it's a ball of bologne. Regardless of whether or not said post-ers mean it, it just reeks of someone who wants to manipulate others into apologizing and trying to rerecruit. Neither of which I generally feel like doing.

Okay, the ranting is over for now. Thanks for listening.

On the sunny side, Kaimi at Times and Seasons keeps linking me in the Notes From All Over section. It's good, and bad. Good because I like the recognition and the hits to the ExII site. It's bad because the pressure is on to always post well enough that people continue to like my stuff. Pilgrim girl is trying to get people together during Sunstone conference to meet for lunch. I'm hoping for a good turnout, because I would love to meet the faces behind the handles.

On seeing young ones progress

Bork, Genies, Big Bean and Little Bean flew into LAX after having spent the summer in Korea. Amazing to see them again. Little boys growing by leaps and bounds, prattling and exclaiming in odd mixtures of English and Korean. Had a great time throwing them around before getting back into my air-conditioned can and driving luggage and Genie back home, with the XY contigent following in dad's car.

Back in the valley, we all collapsed onto the cool hardness of the floor while the beans ran wild, rediscovering all their toys and favorite nooks and crannies.

Went out to Lindy Groove for some hot summer dancing. White Boy met me there, and I was able to introduce him to some people, and he also took the initiative to ask others to dance, which also freed me up to dance with some old favorites. The thing is, with social dancing, like any other skill, one needs to practice (a lot) to get better. And practicing with lots of different people keeps it new and refreshing.

Had the nicest couple dances with mini-Hulk. We were bonding over SYTYCD, and my theory that that's the reason that LG is having such a spike of beginner dancers. mH said, "That's exciting. It means that in a couple of years, we'll have a lot of good dancers." For which I gave him a big hug. Like any community, dancers need to encourage and practice kindness with new dancers. Sustainability with a view toward the future. It's for food crops and dancers.

Pot pourri

Travelled down south again today.

First to Torrance for a dental exam with Dr. Kaji. He really is the best dentist I've ever been to. Why else would I travel the 20-some miles to go down there? Recommended by Singing Dentist. We chatted about travel, vacations, and he regaled me with stories about some Tour de France cyclist who came in fourth after breaking his collar bone in a crash during the race. Also about some experiment done with rats. Two groups of rats placed in an acquarium where they had to swim or drown. One group was left in ... most just gave up after 3 hours, and died. The other group was intermittently scopped out and given a rest. This group continued to swim for up to three days. The importance of hope, which made me think of our sick heme-onc kids. Hope ...

Next, down to Irvine. I was late for Laughtear's class, but still found it fascinating. The class is exploring plays, and LT is going with the focus of Sex and Power. Sa, but I didn't ever get the name of the play or playwright, but the playwright is a woman (whose last name starts with Hell...), the play was written during the 1930's, and is explicitly about a lesbian relationship. Well, no, it's not explicit, but the subject matter is forthright. Which I found very odd, given my impression of sexual repression during that time.

LT was also exploring the difference between melodrama and tragedy. In Melodrama, people are neatly boxed into categories ... hero, villain, etc; most characters are ordinary everyday people, and characters deserve what happens to them. The prevailing premise appeared to be that if you killed off the villain, a happy ending was inevitable. Is it my imagination, or does this sound like W-Bush-administration policy? After class, LT elaborated upon the origin of melodramatic theatre ... theatre owners looking to expand their profits by marketing to women (who did not attend the theatre at the time), and creating "moral" theatre that wouldn't hurt female sensibilities.

Contrast this against Tragedy, in which horrible things happen to good people, wherein there may not be a readyily identifiable source of the tragedy that can be irradicated. LT said something to the effect that melodrama is laughable post-WWII; even though there was one person who seemed to embody the evil of the war. I think that we all can relate to tragedy because we all have had horrible things happen in our lives ... disease, death, heartache ... that may not be directly attributable to any one person. And seeing that others suffer also is one way to reconcile the fact that bad things happen to good people, and it's not just that God is punishing us in particular.

Talked on the phone with JLITH. Read her an article from The Week ... an exerpt from a book by a neurosurgeon. Apparently cutting into brain is like cutting into soft tofu. Bizarre.

Over to Pilgrimgirl's. Ellycat teased me while PG swept out the patio. And yes, it is teasing when she nuzzles her head in my hand just to see if I'll respond, then struts away. Stuffed portabello mushrooms on the patio as we talked about summer activities, blogging, spirituality, cabbages and queens.

Over to Madwoman and MM's place for Outhouse discussion. MW presenting on historical precedent of women administering and blessing each other. The article she used was “A Gift Given, A Gift Taken: Washing, Anointing, and Blessing the Sick Among Mormon Women” by Linda King Newell. Fascinating stuff. Interesting discussion also on the Proclammation on the Family. ArM said that in more traditionally masculine societies, women are very grateful for the PoF because it is very straightforward in its declaration that men are responsible for the financial support and well-being of their families. MW also asked John M to discuss issues of Father=Money, and how it affects single men in our US society. In conjunction with the recent thread over at Times and Seasons for and against women holding the priesthood, it's been a roller coaster issue.

Post topics galore. However, the one I remember most is a discussion on romance literature, something I may be blogging about in the near future.

Back to PG and Ni-chan's to return the parking permit. Great short convo on Japanese phrases such as ittikimasu, etc. Which lead to talking about Letter From Peking, one of my favorite Pearl S. Buck novels. Eventually had to tear myself away for the long drive home. Kindred spirits.

Wars and rumors of wars

The US is evacuating our people from Lebanon. Missile exchange between Israel and Hezbollah. Civillians suffering and dying. I wish I could see a way out of it, but no solutions are in sight. If Ariel Sharon hadn't been felled by a stroke, would he have been able to prevent this escalation?

From nurse preceptor to human crib

My preceptee A is doing so well. In about 2 weeks she is going to graduate from the nurse resident program and go on-shift. Tonight was my last day precepting her, and she is doing so well and functioning so independently that I was often bored. I as able to send her with TN down to the ED to do post-mortem care. And although TN is wonderful and sensitive and thoughtful, A still had to process afterward. She got a little teary, and said that having to "wrap the patient in plastic" was overwhelming. However, we talked a bit about the realities of the job (especially as we see some of the sickest children on the west coast), things that help (spiritual aspects, religion, having a fulfilling life outside of work), etc, and I think it was a good experience to have.

Anyway, since I had had such an uneventful day, I volunteered to stay over until 2300, for a nurse who had to come in late. Helped out around the unit until the first admission came. I won't go into specifics, but the patient was about 2 years old, hungry and mad. Grunted and screamed for an hour straight. For most of that hour, I was keeping watch and preventing him from crawling out of the crib (so that the nurse who was going to take him could chart, etc) until we could get a canopy crib. Then the bad news came that there were no vacant canopy cribs in the hospital. SS then had the good idea to take the crib from room U and swap out. At this point the docs decided that a little apple juice couldn't hurt the kid, and calm was instated. Ahhh, the wonders of a little apple juice on a hungry stomach. I held the cute toddler in my arms while his crib was removed and cleaned, then swapped out for the canopy crib from room U, which then had to be cleaned as well, until we were able to place juice-boy into it. JB was really quite content in my arms ... it may have been my comforting presence, the apple juice, or The Wiggle playing on the VCR (if I never see it again, it will be too soon). I was amazed at how much heat he generated in my lap. Then I had awful images of him peeing past his diaper (what with the AJ and being so relaxed) and blanket. So I had TB bring a plastic chux, thus increasing my discomfort due to the heat, but increasing my mental comfort in not being peed on. So ended my night: cuddled a cute toddler, and earned a few hours of double-time.

I long for the taste of truffles and risotto

Just finished reading Garlic and Sapphires, by past New York Times food critic and editor in chief of Gourmet magazine Ruth Reichl. Absolutely sumptuous and naughty, and made me want to visit New York and taste the marvelous cuisine she describes.

Really, her book is as much about discovery of self as it is about discovering great restaurants. In order to get the everyman's experience, she employs radical costuming, complete with wigs, vintage store finds and professional makeup sessions. She's honest enough to note that food critics get the best of the best, and non-celebs are often seated at the worst tables, have to wait long past reservation times, and get fruit tarts made with the smaller raspberries. Each of her personae shows a previously hidden aspect of her personality ... from reflections of her mother, to her kindest and best self, to her uptight and wenchy self, to an examination of what it is like to be invisible. I loved this exploration of the many women that constitute her total being.

And if the idea of elaborate costumes weren't enough, her fantastic descriptions of the most elaborate dishes had my mouth watering to a distressing degree. I had to comfort myself with a serving of tamago-gohan in the place of the risotto I so craved. Reichl has an amazing facility with words, and it's easy to feel as if I am at her elbow as she dines in Lespinasse ...

Braised salmon and crisped artichokes with a syrah wine reduction sounds like a dish you may have tasted before. It even looks vaguely familiar, a fat slice of salmon on a bed of crisply fried strips of artichoke in a deep purple sauce. There are bread crumbs on top and a sprig of chervil. Take a taste, however, and you know you are in new territory. Yes, there is a but of chestnut, and you can taste the wine and the tricky flavor of artichokes. But here is something else. You taste it again. Olive? Not quite. So you ask.

"Oh," says the waiter, offhandedly. "That is kokum. It is a fruit used a gret deal in Indian cooking."

Each meal is a roller coaster of sensations. Mr. Kunz has an almost Asian fascination with texture, and he loves to play with temperature as well. His risotto always comes with contrasting dish: one night the creamy rice was slicked with white truffle oil and served with a tiny casserol of sliced salsify and black truffles. The creaminess of the rice was emphasized by the crunchiness of the black truffles jus as the delicate perfume of the white truffles emphasized the deep musky flavor of the black ones."

Unfortunately, the time is now past. Tried to get current reviews of the restaurant, only to find, much to my dismay, that it has been closed.

Interesting to note, the book is also scattered with Reichl's recipes. Someday I will want to try them. And it's generally my family who gets the results. Because in my apartment, Wonder Woman (who loaned me this book) reigns supreme in the cooking arena. No one I know comes even remotely close. I wouldn't even dare to compete. Thus, it is my supportive and loving family that generally gets the offerings from my cooking experiments. However, even that will have to wait until after summer is long gone, because the idea of using a stove or oven in the Los Angeles heat is too much to bear.

A very good day

What a blase' title. But I can't seem to do better at this time.

Slept over at pilgrimgirl and ni-chan's. Woke up in the morning and chatted with the kids as ni-chan took photos of his shoe and the lemon tree thorn branch that almost plunged into his toe. Don't worry, it considerately manuevered between his big and second toe, although I'm not sure the shoe will ever do well in the rain again.


Went to breakfast with PG for an overdue birthday celebration ... hers in May, mine in June. Champagne Bakery for french toast (how appropo) and a savory crepe. So lovely, especially as the heat was still drowsing. Took a minute to read Snowflake Bentley. And although the topic was one man's passion for what I really can't seem to connect with (ie: snow), I loved reading about his passion for this highly specialized type of photography. Bentley is on the opposite side of the spectrum from Turin ... vertical specialist as opposed to horizontal expansionist, but they share a keenness of mind and fervency for excellence.

Spending time alone with PG is a treat. Well, honestly, spending time with ni-chan and/o the kidlets is a treat as well, but there are things that are best discussed with one's close girlfriends. We tried to go to Color Me Mine and be creative (also so I could redeem myself after my hideous, cactus green platter), but they had unaccomodating hours, and there were others things to be done that afternoon.

After getting back to UCI, I headed out to Santa Ana to see Wonder Woman at work. I've decided that I love seeing my friends do what they're passionate about. Be it teaching a class, speaking at a forum, discussing books, singing, acting, dancing, doing stupid human tricks, whatever. And so I'm making a concerted effort. This week it's seeing WW in court. Next week maybe attending Laughtear's class. I see people dancing just about every week. Can't see my friends social working, but I can see their technique as we talk about the issues. Going on group hiking trips. The world is such an amazing place, and I love discovering new things through my friends' eyes.

Being in a federal court was an eye opener, until it was an eye closer. Let me first preface this by saying that I was dreadfully tired from the previous night, that I'm used to a certain Law and Order style (complete with the dat-da-dat-daa-daaaaaaa jingle), and that WW didn't actually speak in the courtroom, and maybe you will forgive me for nodding off every once in a while.

It was bizarre to be in the same room as the four defendants. It was difficult to reconcile their age and dropping handlebar moustaches with the heinous crimes they have committed. The one defense attorney that I heard came from the used car salesman school of oratory. The Brown Hornet immediately came to mind. However, even worse than the style, was the lack of organization. At one point he lost his train of thought and stalled for about a minute. Unable to remember his point, which must not have been all that important anyway, he continued on. Until he remembered the forlorn argument, and returned to it, by which time I was ready for him to be finished. He also tried to sideswipe the prosecution by saying that the federal government had planted evidence, but then exonerated the present prosecutors, patronizingly saying that it wasn't their fault.

However, the lead prosecutor was the one who finished me off. At least twice within the first five minutes, the judge had to remind him to move the mike closer, as even the typist (I know this is the wrong word, but I'm having a blank here) wasn't able to catch his words. Said LP was also very long-winded, didn't seem very organized in his presentation, seemed to blink every second or so, and wasn't interesting in the least. I know that I nodded off several times. It's a technique I've perfected at church. In the courtroom, I hoped that no one noticed. That is, until the federal agent on my right, a burly and jovial man, lightly feathered my elbow.

At about 1630, I decided that the judge and I had had enough, and left to return to Irvine before the traffic got unbearable. Yummy baked potato dinner with PG, then off to Outhouse, where PG was leading the discussion tonight, on bodies.


Very interesting topic. The LDS church and bodies. The spirit and body together comprising the soul. How many spiritual experiences are manifest through corporeal sensations ... warmth, tingling, burning in the bosom, every fiber of my being. Need for body to perform temple ordinances. The physicality of the laying on of hands. God the Father and the Son having physical bodies. The corporeal resurrection and perfection of our mortal bodies. The Word of Wisdom ... and how its importance and application has changed since it was first published/revealed. Heaven as a place where we will still experience things through our bodies. Even looping back to evolution. It was a fascinating evening.

And to top it all off, I watched tonight's episode of SYTYCD. How wonderful is that!

Word Play

Says You! A childish retort, and also the title of a radio program that keeps me sitting in my car long after I've parked in front of my apartment. Word play at its best, along with plenty of balderdash, bluff, wit, and obscure references to things you've certainly heard about at some point in your life, but decided weren't worth remembering.

Last night I sat in my car listening to the end of the show, unable to tear myself away from the piece on pneumonics. See if you can't figure out some of these.

1) May I have a large hamburger.

2) RICE

3) WASPLEG

4) Kinky People Can Often Find Good Sex

5) Oh, Oh, Oh! To Touch ... sorry, this one is so dirty that I can't in good conscious finish it.

Funnily enough, AR at work was just talking about the dirty pneumonics that medical students have used for ages to try and remember all that anatomy and physiology. #5 is a pneumonic used to remember the cranio-facial nerves ... olfactory, optic, oculomotor, trochlear, trigeminal, abducent, facial, vestibulocochlear, glossopharyngeal, vagus, accessory and hypoglossal. And yes, I did have to look them upon-line. It's been a long time since college.

#4 - How to remember the classification for living organisms. Kingdom, phyllum, class, order, family, genus, species. Who said biology's not sexy?

#3 - The seven deadly sins. Wrath, avarice, sloth, pride, lust, envy and gluttony. Could come in very handy when confronting temptation. Or would just repeating them make one more susceptible?

#2 - What to do when one has a sprain/strain. Rest, ice, compression, elevation.

#1 - Pi. 3.14159. So, the show actually used "cup of coffee" in place of hamburger, but that is erroneous, and a slur on William Jones, who first used it in its modern context, and his mathematical forebears, the Egyptians and Babylonians.

Anyone else got any others?

Heaven Scent

Just finished rereading The Emperor of Scent for the umpteenth time. I love this book, and am fascinated by Luca Turin. Not quite sure that I would like to meet him in person (sometimes he is manifestly unkind and uncivil, which is a huge detraction), but I would love to attend a lecture, or get my hands on an English translation of his scent guide sans shelling out $500. But back to the issue at hand ...

Although I love this book, I have extreme angst about recommending it to friends ... the title belies the subject's masculinity, at times it can be dificult to understand/follow the science for non-science types, and not many people seem interested in reading non-speciality-related non-fiction. However, it really is one of the most suspenseful books I've ever read, fiction or non. The first time I read it, I couldn't not finish, and was decimated at work the next day due to lack of sleep. Maybe because I have a thing for geniuses, or rooting for the underdog, or maybe I'm just invested in a better smelling world?

Turin is also noted for his extreme perfume savvy and taste. My proof? Besides his acclaimed Perfume Guide, he also praises Angel by Thierry Mugler, to the skies, and it is one of my favorite fragrances. Maybe it's the combination of bizzare chocolate-other notes? No matter. After my reread, I now have a list of perfumes I want to try out this summer: Shalimar, Beyond Paradise, Tommy Girl, Tocade, etc. I never thought I'd say it, but here goes: Thank heaven for the perfume girls at Bloomies!

A good alternative to reading the perfume guide is to read his scent blog, which I downloaded from his US-based Flexitrol (an unauspicious name for a scent company ... conjures up a whiff of Bengay) website (via Wikipedia, which I love ... talk about connections). Sad to say, the Flexitrol site is really disappointing visually, but I guess even geniuses have weak spots. Turin does have a blog-site, but I wanted the best bits, and so have 548 pages of text to peruse at my leisure. And if I wasn't already hooked, his sharp prose keeps me engagingly entertained by the hour.

Perhaps one of the most interesting things about Turin is his ability to work outside of his specialty. His PhD is in physiology, but he seems equal part physicisist, chemist and microbiologist. So many different hats for just one head. However, I'll end this post by letting Turin speak for himself on interdisciplinary wanderings.

"Metaphor is the curency of knowledge. I have spent my entire life learning incredible amounts of disparate, disconnected, obscure, useless pieces of knowledge, and they have turned out to be, almost all of them, extremely useful. Why. Because there is no such thing as disconnected facts. There is only complex structure. And both to explain complex structure to others and, perhaps more important -this is forgotten, usually- to understand them oneself, one needs better metaphors. If I was able to understand this, it was because my chaotic accrual of information simply gave me better metaphors than anyone else.

"My father always said if you translate a proverb from one language into another, you pass for a poet. The same for science. Work strictly within one area, and it's diminishing returns, hard to make progress. But translate a concept from its field for use where it is unknown, and it is always fresh and powerful. In buying outside, you are doing intellectual arbitrage. The rate limited step in this is your willingness to continuously translate, to force strange languages to be yours, to live between, to be everywhere and nowhere."

Super-Duper 3D ... with spoiler

Went to see my second movie of the year in the theatre. We went up to Universal City Walk to see it, which is not my favorite place to go ... parking is expensive, expansive, and sometimes traffic is bad ... really bad. However, tonight traffic awas bearable, and Improv-er brought in our parking receipt and got us $10 worth of goodies at the concessions! This year has not been a movie year, what with rising ticket prices, and there just being so much other fun stuff to do. Most movies are being relegated to the "rental" division, the exception being high-tech effects movies that really need to be seen on the big screen. The first movie this year was X-Men III, about which numerous plot discrepancies and weaknesses have already been discussed, and which special effects were pretty much worth seeing.



Tonight's movie was Superman Returns, on the IMAX-3D screen no less. And yes, we all wore those ridiculous looking glasses, and here's the proof.The problem with a film that's not made specifically for 3D, is that it isn't made for 3D. The one 3D movie I can remember seeing was an oceanic Discovery Channel type thing ... fish and seaweed and all manner of aquatic life reached out from the screen, and it felt so real that I reached out a couple times. It was fantastic. With Superman, it was made to be seen on a regular screen, and was then adapted to have a few special 3D scenes. All in all, we agreed that it would have been better without.

Some things of notice about the movie/plot:
Brandon Routh is so pretty and sculpted that he looks rather cartoonish.
Good costume. The dark crimson/burgandy of the cape, plus the detailed rippling were wonderful to watch.
Didn't know before that S regenerated from the sun's rays. When he got the mass of kryptonite imbedded crystal into outer space, I expected him to go towards the sun and regenerate, not fall nack lifeless to earth.
And about the kryptonite embedded cyrstals ... I thought S was weakened just by having it present and unshielded, but it seemed like he was only weakened by physically touching it.
Interesting about Lois ... Was she a single mom before she met Richard White? Will she continue in her involvement with Richard? Will she live as a single mom? Will she have clandestine, open, or no relationship with S?
I enjoyed seeing Clark be such a social bumbler. And I wonder if most men don't feel that way around women they are interested in, and if that's one reason why teenage boys empathize and idealize the Superman character?
I loved the hospital scene. The blunted IV needle and the exploding defibrillator made me laugh. Speaking of the hospital, why didn't Lois have them put him in a sunny room, or at least open the curtains and let some light in?

The Office ... a near-star sighting.

So, there I am at work. My only patient was a kidney transplant girl who I'd just sat up in a chair. Her (clean) hair was all tangled from lying in bed since the surgery. so I was brushing it out and french braiding it. (Note: it is extremely unusual for me to have patients who are awake, much less able to get out of bed).

Anyway, there I am, braiding her hair, when the on-call urology fellow walks in. Seen him before at work. Surgeon, tall, handsome, jocular. And as he asked me a few questions and bantered with the patient about the circus in her belly (checking for bowel sounds, etc), I couldn't shake the idea that I knew him from somewhere outside of work. Which is preposterous, because if I did, I wouldn't have forgotten.

My memory was frustratingly gray all morning. Then, in a flash, it came to me. He could be the twin brother of John Krasinski (who I love) from The Office. I was so elated at having made the connection that I wanted to share it immediately. Which is dificult when no one else nearby knows what "The Office" is. What a let down. Where is Perky when I need her?

Anyway. I love The Office. Watch it. And try and deny that you know people like that. I dare you.