Author: Mitzi

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Working from home

I’m working from home this morning because there is a plumbing problem at my house and I have to stay here for the plumber.

So I always think that working from home is the best idea ever. It probably is, but just not for me. I don’t have access to information I need because it is all on the servers at work. This means I can answer e-mails but the answers I have will probably not be helpful since I don’t have the proper info to answer the questions.

In a way, this sucks. In another way, this is totally awesome. Not only do I get to sit on my bed and “work” but I’m also only needed when something is horribly, horribly wrong. I can put out fires from the comfort of my own room. Everything else can be handled by my team. Today this is not such a big deal because there isn’t really much to be done, however, on a busy day I can see this situation totally sucking for everyone that is in the office. Not only would they have to do their own stuff but mine as well.

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Adventures in Bikram

I went to my first Bikram Yoga class yesterday with my roommate.

When I’d first heard of it I thought “Oh Jesus, that’s hardcore,” but then I wanted to try it just to see how hardcore. To me it seemed like it would be really cleansing but really hard work. I figured I could probably do it, I’ve always thought of myself as a “tough cookie” if you will. Or, you know, maybe it would show me just how fucking UN-hardcore I was. So I tried it out.

Yeah, it was hot, yeah, I sweated, but not as much as some of the other people. This one guy was dispensing fluids like he was the dancing fountain at the Venetian or something. One of the other first timers had to sit out after about 10 minutes cause she was already dehydrated. I made it through the first hour, I think, keeping up with everyone but I soon started getting kind of sick to my stomach. I figured it was either my breakfast saying “Dude, it’s too hot in here. I’m out,” or it was me being dehydrated, so I sat out a couple of poses until I felt less nauseas.

Toward the end though I was getting pretty miserable and started thinking “ihateyouihateyouihateyouihateyouihateyou” to the instructor – who was just sitting on his pad in the front of the room telling us what to do. I couldn’t fucking WAIT until I could open that door and breathe cool air again. It would feel so good. Even in the relaxing poses, like just lying on your back, were pretty miserable. I thought “Everything outside this room will feel so good after we’re done. I can’t wait.”

So finally at the end of the class. I went to the changing room and ripped off my soaking clothes and put on a really thin loose shirt I had brought. It was like heaven. The women’s changing room smelt like vanilla, which made me want cupcakes pretty badly. Anyway while vegging out in the women’s changing room the girls were all talking about how it was about 5 -7 degrees hotter in there than it usually is and how they could barely stand it. My roommate was surprised at how long I held out before I had to take a break.

So today, my legs are a little sore, my neck is a little sore. I think we went through poses way faster than we should have, esp. in that kind of heat, but maybe that’s just how Bikram is, it’s not one of the relaxing yoga styles. And now I’m walking around thinking…hm, maybe I’ll go do that again this week.

I think the heat has gotten to my brain.

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Toss or Keep?

I want to just throw away all my stuff. Everything I don’t need. The ratio of “stuff” I don’t need to stuff I do need is probably 5 to 1. Having said that, I can’t ever seem to let any of the uneeded “stuff” go. Not sure if that makes me a packrat or just sentimental. I’m sure there’s something to be said about holding on to the movie ticket stub from the first date with the love of your life, but really what are you going to do with it besides look at it and say, “Oh yeah, we saw Look Who’s Talking Too.” These are pretty much useless other than to remind you how much movie tickets were back then and what was out at the time.

I have a whole box dedicated to things of this type. I have ticket stubs, train passes, airplane tickets, bottle caps, rocks, guitar picks, receipts, etc. Among all this useless stuff I also have quite a few journals. I used to write in paper journals a lot. Almost daily. This was before I ever discovered the great lines of code that are now known as blogs.

So I asked the question of whether we should toss or keep journals. My reasoning for tossing them out is pretty much when do I ever read them? I remember going over several friends’ places and noting that none of them had very much “stuff” and seemed to live in a much cleaner space than I. Cleaner = empty, in this case.

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The internet is not just for porn…

it’s also for things that are “cute.”

So my friend linked me to this Puppy or Chicken video on YouTube – which is basically where all my entertainment comes from nowadays. So this couple uploads videos of their adorable white French Bulldog. They’ve disabled embedding of their videos so you’ll have to click to it. Observe here.

It makes me wonder how long these guys just sit around and wait for their dog to do something cute, and by all means, it’s definitely cute. I just don’t think I’ve ever sat around trying to get my dog to do cute things on camera. This is why I love gay guys. They’re so excited about every little thing their baby does, just like new, hetero parents.

Here are more good videos of Percy the French Bulldog/Chicken:

Puppy or Chicken II (Note the indifferent “and here’s Kevin” moment. classic.)

Percy attacks the camera 

Percy uses his hands

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Oh the places you’ll go!

At this moment I have three friends scattered across Europe. All are there independent of each other and all are probably in different countries.

My friend Andy is in the USAF and is there working. He’s either in Berlin or Paris. He’s usually in Berlin but last he told me he was headed to Paris, for what reason I’m not sure.

My cousin is backpacking through Europe right now. Last I talked to her she was in London but that was about week ago. She was traveling with a friend but when they arrived in London her friend was sent back to New York, for what reason I do not know. Taking time to travel through Europe is something I’d really like to do. I know this is probably true for a lot of liberal Americans but I just thought I’d mention it.

My friend Sean is currently in Italy for a wedding. Can you imagine getting married in Italy (and not living there). Better yet, getting married in a castle in Italy. I think that’s what they’re doing anyway, or maybe the reception is in a castle. Either way, I’ve never been to a castle before, let alone a castle in Italy.

Meanwhile, I’m here, in Los Angeles…which may seem glamorous to some but it really isn’t, or maybe I’m just jaded. There is something to be said though about sleeping in your own bed. Sometimes you’ll sleep in better but more often than not it’s hard to fall asleep in a foreign bed.

Like I said before, I really want to travel through Europe some time. I had always thought that I would do it once I graduated from college, but I just went right into working. It’s not bad, I love my work, but I now have to find time to do the Europe thing.

I think the last time I used my passport was when I went to Puerto Vallarta for my senior trip. I can’t believe that was five years ago. Five years. Saying it out loud makes it unbelievable because it feels like I just left high school. The memories are still fresh. Does that mean I’ve done nothing as memorable since then? Or perhaps I spent so much time there with those people that it will take longer to forget. I like to think it’s the latter.

Anyway, I know I’ve done this before (not here) but I’ve compiled my travel wishlist:

  • London
  • Fiji
  • Paris
  • Rome
  • Greece
  • Denver
  • Tokyo
  • South Africa
  • New Zealand
  • Washington, D.C.
  • Iceland

I can think of more but at this point I’m just naming places. I’d also like to revisit New York and San Francisco. Always San Francisco. Now I just have to find the time and money. I guess I’ll be reading 4-Hour Work Week.