Friday Bullets

• Okay, the Giants are pathetic. Their East Coast performance has been embarrassing thus far (swept by the Mets, first game with the Cubbies lost).

• This weekend I have zero plans of the typical "Social Sheila" variety (parties, dinners out, etc - you know the type of plans that require makeup and wardrobe planning) but rather have plans to walk with Anna and Julianne in Tiburon Saturday morning. Maybe a hike with Amy Sunday morning. Other than that, nada! Yay, that means I could get away with wearing shorts, t-shirts & flipflops all weekend long.

• Today I went to lunch with my mom. As I described my acupuncture treatment, she actually asked me, "was she (as in the practitioner) Chinese?" followed with, "was the place clean?" - had to do a bit of educating about the world today. For those of you who are scratching your head, this will explain it: my mother is Japanese and grew up with a very competitive and anti-Chinese/Korean mentality.

• Lucy managed to lose her collar today. I have no idea how she got it off nor where she put it. I am thinking it somehow got lodged somewhere and came apart. She took one look at it and thought, "a-ha! here's my chance", buried it in the backyard and said, "good riddance!" Now she's back wearing the stinky collar she was wearing when she got skunked.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Making like a pincushion

Okay, I know you all have been waiting with bated breath to hear all about my acupuncture experience, so I'll put you all out of your misery.

Well, I survived. Seriously, it wasn't that bad. Strange, but not unpleasant. A bit anticlimactic really.

My practitioner had me lay down on the cot in the doctor's office (very clinical environment). First thing she did was take my pulse. "Great pulse!" she cheerily informed me. Cracks me up. Hello! I'm alive, just infertile.

In all casualness, she proceeded to stick these teeny-tiny needles in areas on my legs, feet, hands, ear and head (yes, you read that right, needles in my head!) Seriously, I could barely feel them going in... except for the one close to my ankle.

The worst part of the experience was having to lie on the cot for 25 minutes bored out of my skull. I am not a napper, so 25 minutes in the dark with nothing to do or think about is excruciating. I ended up singing "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" to myself.

Note to self: if this all pans out and we do end up with a real-life child of our own, totally use this experience as ammunition. ie: "I got needles stuck in me so you could be here today... now go wash my car."

No longer mad

My mom used to say, "I get mad because I care. One day, I will no longer get mad and you will regret it." Of course she didn't really mean it. She was simply reacting to me or my sister being Pills when we were kids.

I am watching a really ugly Giants game. In years past, I'd be ranting and raving, steaming mad. Throwing things at the tv, saying mean things to Pete. Interestingly enough, I find myself numb. I'm almost laughing. It's ridiculous how bad this team is.

Does that mean I've stopped caring?

I'm sure the love will come back one day, but more than likely NOT this year.

I hate needles

I do not like needles, however today I am going to get needles poked into me. I made the appointment a couple of weeks ago and it is finally sinking in that in a few short hours, someone will poke needles into me. What have I done?!?!

My girlfriend recently went for acupuncture and they put needles in her head (!!!) I'm not sure I'm ready for this.

Luckily, I have my "massage: just beforehand... please reference my previous blog post,
http://tinyurl.com/5pbptj

It's gonna be a "fun" afternoon.

Anti-Terrorism Exercise in China

These are great photos... it comforts me that they are preparing so diligently for the big event,

http://tinyurl.com/6r964e

Quotes that speak to me

"How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours." --- Wayne Dyer

"It's my experience that folks who have no vices have generally very few virtues." --- Abraham Lincoln

"You wouldn't worry what others thought of you if we knew how little they did." --- Unknown

"We do not have to stay in the boxes that we are shipped in." --- Unknown

"Be as good as your dog already thinks you are." --- Unknown

This is a joke right?

http://tinyurl.com/6y2qp6

Calling Darwin?

4th of July Parade in Danville, CA

Definitely a fun experience in Danville, CA. Lucy made lots of new friends and it was just amazing how many people came out for the fun.

Not me

A worrywart is not something I'm known to be. I tend to let stuff wash over me and I'm not the type to let minor details get to me.

Today, I am finding myself in a worrisome mood, however. I am trying to pinpoint the problem and what is nagging at me. I know it has to do with an upcoming "consultation" at THE clinic.

This process is so slow and frustrating. Also, they have so many "rules" which only complicate things further.

But, what is my alternative?!?

Whoa, baby it is hot!

It's 106 degrees in Danville... Lucy, Beethoven and I would never know 'cause we are holed up indoors with the AC blasting.

Luckily we are in California and not in Arizona where it is like this most of the summer. Ouch!

Sick

This just makes me sick,
http://tinyurl.com/6owo2a

He is sick and I am sick just thinking about what he did. Not to mention, what if he only gets 15 years in prison, now?

I am only happy that the jury must feel a sense of relief and affirmation that they made the right decision.

Life is Precious...

I have always said it is the saddest scenario when a parent outlives their child.

We received sad news this past weekend that Pete's - cousin's - husband's - nephew (follow that?) had suddenly passed away. He was 23 years old.

He had been staying with them. Apparently he went to a music festival over the weekend. The next day after he returned, he felt ill with a fever. He went to sleep and started to feel better, but in the morning felt worse. They took him to the hospital and he died within a few hours.

This is not supposed to happen to healthy 23 year old boys. He somehow contracted Meningitis and, because it was in his blood, it traveled through his body quickly.

Fortunately he had family by his side at the hospital, but it's another sad story of a life taken much too soon.

Tell your loved ones that you do. Cherish life... yours and everyone else's... cause you just never know. Life is precious.

We live in a baby-centric world

Has something changed in the world? I don't recall there ever being a time when there was so much focus on babies. It's an epidemic I tell you.

Am I right? or am I being hypersensitive cause I'm "trying"? My frame of reference may be a bit fuzzy in light of my situation.

This past weekend, it seemed like everywhere I went, all I saw were were happy mommies & daddies pushing strollers, bouncing babies decked out in Giants gear at the baseball game, babies smiling up at me as I pass by stores that craftily use the cutest thing on earth for their advertising campaigns. The first thing you see when you walk into Pottery Barn is their Baby Collection. There's a new store that just opened up in Walnut Creek called "Day One Center". It's a go to spot for expectant parents who want to take classes, buy supplies, meet other expectant parents, and other mysterious activities. Clients pay a monthly subscription fee. Sounds like a scam to me... what's wrong with the services at the local Hospital? Just curious.

I'm sure I will totally appreciate it when I finally get to the point when I actually have one of my own. Luckily I'm a sucker for a chubby, happy baby. I do love 'em and will never resist the opportunity to coo over a cutie pie. But sometimes it feels like a smack in the face reminder of what I don't have.

A parallel universe in Walnut Creek?

Those of you that follow my blog have heard me bitch about our new intern who clearly has no work ethics or drive to prove his value. Back in the days when I was an intern, I worked my ass off for almost no pay. All for the valuable recommendation and the ability to include, "Advertising Account Manager" on my resume.

Friends of mine and I have spent many times discussing and analyzing Generation I (not I as in me but i as in internet because they do not know any other way of life than a life with the internet). http://tinyurl.com/4eqj85

Generation I is the generation that has recently entered the work force or will soon enter the work force.

This group is very me-centric. They spend much of their time on the social networking sites and texting their friends in a language only they understand. They also grew up being coddled by their parents and when the going gets rough, they got used to mommy bailing them out.

So now that they've entered the workforce, they still expect to be able to act the way they've acted all their lives. They weren't taught about the importance of working your way to the top, performing grunt work, saying "yes" when you don't want to, and all the other unpleasant aspects of being an employee at the bottom of the barrel.

Instead they block their calendars for their lunchtime yoga sessions, complain to their higher-ups about workload, and feel it is well in their right to spend time during the workday editing their Facebook profile. (okay, so I do that too, but I wouldn't have dared do so if this were my very first job!)

This is a pretty interesting article about Gen I,
http://nymag.com/news/features/27341/

So what's my point? I do tend to ramble.

This morning I had to return my rental car and pick up my newly repaired Jeep - I can't recall if I blogged about it but someone backed into me while I was parked. Luckily, I happened to be dining on a patio right in front of my car!

Anyhoo, I had to go to Enterprise Rent-a-Car then Cook's Collision, both in Walnut Creek. The experience was quite strange. I'm still scratching my head wondering if it really occurred.

I walk into Enterprise, where I'm greeted by two young men dressed in suits and two young women dressed very sharply in business attire. They all had big smiles on their face and the second I walked in, one of the gals asked if I was returning or picking up? She proceeded to pull up my information. She made sure to ask me how I liked the car, and if I had any problems. She was so efficient, I was done in a couple of minutes. Immediately, the other gal stepped forward to give me a ride to Cook's Collision, even though it is only a block away. As I left with the other gal, one of the men yelled out, "have a great 4th of July". I looked back to say, "you too" and he had a huge beaming smile on his face. Almost freaky! Customer service is clearly a priority here.

When I got to Enterprise, it was almost the exact same experience. The two gals working there practically ran to the front when I walked in. The rest of the experience was pretty much identical to the experience at Enterprise. I was in and out.

Every single person I encountered this morning, I'd classify as being part of Generation I. So why were they so different from our lazy, careless intern? I am really wondering if I walked into a parallel universe.

A tribute to the Freak

I just finished reading the S.I. article on the Giants' phenom pitcher, Tim Lincecum. Fascinating stuff even though I know nothing about the biomechanics of pitching.

http://tinyurl.com/6yp6l7

A very different massage

I went for a massage today. I know what you are thinking, "lucky bitch, must be nice to skedaddle mid-day for some pampering."

we-ll I must say this massage was probably more stressful than relaxing. It was a massage prescribed to me by a medical practitioner for fertility reasons to stimulate my system to act more "normal" ie: fertile.

I had no idea what to expect. Unlike typical massages, I didn't have to get naked. Like typical massages, the room was dark. Unlike typical massages, I lay face up. Unlike typical massages, I was an active participant.

The first "exercise" my "masseuse" had me do is breathe in a totally unnatural way, through the stomach. I could not grasp how to do it until she told me to pretend I'm trying to blow up a helium balloon that is in my stomach. I finally got a hang of it.

Then, she proceeded to put pressure on each of my organs: the right kidney, left kidney, heart, liver, stomach and reproductive organs. With each organ, as she put pressure, there was a different way for me to breathe, a different color light to focus on, a different emotion to focus on releasing, and a different emotion to focus on bringing into the organ. For example, when she put pressure on my heart, I had to focus on red lights and during the exhale I had to vocally utter, "vuhhhhhhhh". I can't remember the different emotions but they were things like, focusing on releasing anxiety and impatience while focusing on obtaining kindness and generosity.

A year ago, I would have thought this was wavy gravy, hokey b.s. But I guess some might say I'm getting desperate!

She then put massaged with funny movements paying further attention to each of the organs, probably more similar to a typical massage but given the pressure was on vital organ parts, it wasn't a pleasant feeling.

The end of the massage was very nice, she massaged my neck and head, much like a normal massage.

I guess I'm sold cause I have an appointment for another next week!

Friday Bullets...

... brought to you on Thursday, how 'about that! I sure as heck won't be writing tomorrow. : )

This has been a LONG week, so ready for the weekend. Do I say that every week?

Seriously, my boss left for vacation, the network has been down about 50% this week, our 19 year old intern "worked" (if you can call it that) for 2 hours today then announced he had to take off for a doctor's appointment. Rolling my eyes, revealing my advanced age and saying, "Kids these days...."

Luckily it's 4th of July weekend and I'm ready for fun.

Tomorrow I'm meeting a pal to watch the famous Danville Parade - I have lived here for 8 years and have never seen it. Supposedly 40 to 50k people come out!

Then... Pete and I are heading out to catch the Giants annihilate the Dodgers and watch another stellar performance by Jonathan Sanchez. I hope I'm not jinxing them.

Saturday is a BBQ/Party at Ayelet's house. My girl goes ALL out, she truly is amazing. It's certain to be the party of the summer.

Sunday will be recovery day I'm guessing as well as bracing myself for what is certain to be another LONG week. Boss gets back on July 13.

Bored

That is an ugly, bad word for me. I hate to be bored. I am the type of person who prefers to be "on the move" -- places to be, people to see.

My boss left for vacation and our network has been down most of the day. Perfect timing, right? Apparently our intern (this is funny: my boss fired this guy a week ago, then hired someone else who quit after 2 days, so my boss groveled for ex-intern to return) is going to go fix the network later this afternoon. I am skeptical. This kid is an immature 19 year old. I am willing to bet he shows up and plays video games all day.

I should really be researching new technology or other useful work-related things that I can do on my home network without logging in... but I'm just not in the mood. I was so bored that I actually voted 25 times (!!!) for the All-Star Game. Then I drove to Blockbuster to pick up a couple of movies, which should help me kill a few hours.

Thank goodness this is a quiet week and my lack of activity should not result in lack of business.

The power of generosity

I need to blog about something that has really been bothering me. Something happened over the past week that I recognize is a pattern with me.

I am the type of person who is extremely trusting and willing to give almost anyone the benefit of the doubt. My mother was my strongest role-model and influence growing up. She taught me the power of generosity - this applies to material items as well as generosity in the spiritual, emotional sense. I look at it as a positive, back to basics approach to treating others as you want others to treat you. Like throwing coins in the karma fountain. Those who reciprocate and share in this philosophy are the ones to hold on to. Those who take advantage of your generosity are the ones to let go.

I'm noticing that at times, this personality trait of mine does me no good. The reality is there are people (probably the majority of this world) who take advantage of good-natured, generous souls. I have been burned many times and each time the experience affects me deeply. I find it really hard to comprehend that others aren't "like me". Sounds egotistical but I think I cherish this trait of mine and don't want to change. It bums me out that the more times I get burned, the more inclined I am to become more protective of myself and less generous.

I can only learn from my mistakes. As I advance in age, I find it easier to pinpoint those people quicker than in the past. Luckily the people who are closest to me share in this philosophy and I feel very fortunate to have them in my life.

Haters...

Sure enough we ran into the ugly, mean lady with her husband & dog again this morning. I completely ignored her but if looks could kill, I wouldn't be here to document the experience. If I have to see her every day, I may need to change our route.

THEN, as we're walking along the Iron Horse Trail minding our own business, a nasty man on a bicycle bellowed, "LEASH your dog, NOW!" He was so loud that I actually jumped. I yelled out, "Jackass!" which made me feel better but the whole experience just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Morning "walkies" with Lucy are my daily spiritual time. I cherish those moments like you would not believe. So when someone or something ruins this for me, I get really angry.