Incommunicado

"Writing and travel broaden your ass if not your mind and I like to write standing up." - Ernest Hemingway

I'm going to be incommunicado for a while.  I may have some internet access and I'll try to post when I have the opportunity.

Important Question

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Affaire de Coeur

"All my life, my heart has yearned for a thing I cannot name." - Andre Breton

I have been having a love affair with the Eiffel Tower. 

I've been crossing paths with pictures of it all over the place lately and saving them.  Going back later to gaze longingly...

I went to Paris once in my early 20's.  I had no interest in Paris, or any part of France, for that matter.  I only went because my travel companion really wanted to go.

I fell in love.  I fell in love with the city and the people.  But, since it wasn't my part of the trip, my friend chose the places we visited and things we did.  She, like me at the time, wanted to stay away from the "tourist attractions".  So, much to my continuing regret, we took a pass on places like The Louvre, Champs-Elysees, and...La Tour Eiffel - The Eiffel Tower.

This is as close as we got:

Regrets.  Someday I'll go back to Paris and erase this particular regret.

Stand Up Straight!

 “Good posture and an attitude let you get away with anything.”  - Lorna Landvik, Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons

It has been five weeks since I started logging my weight "loss" on my blog.  The only problem is...there isn't any actual loss.  This wednesday, I was exactly the same weight as I was 5 weeks ago.  There was some fluctuation, but I'm back where I started.

I guess it's time to start the next effort in changing my life.  I am walking 3 times a week and bringing healthy lunches to work.  Obviously, I need more.  But what to do?

I've decided to start working on my posture.  The only time I ever had good posture was when I was sitting on the back of a horse.  Except I haven't ridden a horse since my car accident.

My mother was constantly trying to get me to pay attention to posure.  "Sit up straight!"  "Don't slouch!"  Stubborn teenager/tomboy that I was, I had to do the opposite.  The more she commented on my posture, the worse it got.  (Wait!  Could I possibly be admitting my Mom might have been right about something?  Shhhh!  Don't tell her I said that!  Never happened.)

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I've decided on posture because it goes toward several things I'm trying to accomplish.  I'm trying to be more feminine and what is more feminine that "proper" posture of the book on head variety? 

Posture is a huge factor in my neck pain levels.  Bad posture agrivates my condition.  The more you round your shoulders, the shorter those muscles become, so over time, it becomes even harder to stand up straight.

And weight loss.  To improve posture, one has to imrpove the muscles in the back and core.  To improve muscles, one must exercise.  Weight loss by default.

I searched many web sites and found Spark People had a simple, yet comprehensive article about improving your posture with exercises and other tips.  Although I have to suggest one I didn't see mentioned.  Pull your keyboard closer. 

Every site mentions sitting at a desk all day as a major factor in bad posture, chair postion, hight in relation to desk, but none seemed to mention keyboard postion.  I tend to keep my keyboard prety far from the edge of the desk, which makes it nesessary for me to reach forward, thus rounding my shoulders.   I'm making an effort to pull the keyboard back toward me, making it easier to work on sitting up straight in my desk chair.

These exercises will be the new tier in my exercise regime and maybe I'll begin to see some results.

The Loss of a Fine Teacher

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops."  - Henry Brooks Adams

In this country teachers are a hugely undervalued asset.  They are underpaid, overworked and generally taken for granted.  The truly great ones are the ones who take the time to not only impart the required material, but also take the time to connect with their students and open up the excitement and possibilities of learning and life.  Those are the teachers you remember throughout your life. Their wisdom and encouragement.

I can count on my fingers the teachers that have truly made a difference in my life.  Miss Milke my 3rd grade teacher.  Mr. Babb and Mr. Roberts, high school chemistry and physics.  A few others whose names are escaping me in my old age, but their influences continue on.
  
I found out one of my favorite photography instructors is leaving teaching this semester.  

Ben Stephenson of Wizards International is an extremely talented photographer and a wonderful teacher and I'm sorry to see him leave. 

He brought energy and enthusiasm into his classroom and always took the time to thoroughly answer every question I asked.  In class.  After class.  In the hall on the way to another class.  No matter how silly or ignorant the questions may have been. :)

** Mr. Stephenson, if you ever read this, I appreciate the time, knowledge and enthusiasm you shared with me and the rest of your students and I wish  you all the best. 

I don't have a signed release for this photo.
Please don't sue me...
(For educational purposes only).

Enjoy

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Discourse of Fools

"Change of weather is the discourse of fools." - Thomas Fuller

 It was completely dark when we began our walk this morning.  Sunrise was at 6:52 and getting later.  So next week we start walking at 7.  Makes for a rather rushed effort to get to work on time.  To look on the bright side, I get to sleep in a little bit. 

And it was blessedly cool this morning.  (relatively speaking that is).  We had an unusually heavy rainstorm on Tuesday which managed to break the heat.  Very rare at this time of year.  Generally, after it rains in the summer, it's still just as hot, only humid as well.  But, I'm not complaining.  It was a balmy 77 degrees at 6:30 this morming.  Very pleasant for most of our walk.  And Tuesday's deluge livened up the spillway at the bottom of the lake, making for some pretty water sounds and movement. 

These shots are from my iPhone, so take them for what they are worth.