thoughts from Osho

Someone commented on the previous post, saying I might find inspiration on his or her blog. What I did find is this:

“When you are different the whole world is different. It is not a question of creating a different world. It is only a question of creating a different you. ~ Osho

Thanks for the insight, my friend!

Incidentally, I spent the last half hour cleaning my room and feel much better. Now, to go take the dog out!! I’m sure this funk will not last my rampant productivity!

feeling uninspired

My room is a total fucking mess. My bills are sitting around unpaid. I haven’t gone to the gym since last Friday. I’m not even sure quite why I’m writing this, but I have some extra time while the coffee is brewing and it seemed like I’m reaching for something… but I’m not sure what it is. I’m not breaking out a whole bunch, so I don’t think I have PMS. I think it has to just be doldrums.

What’s to be done when I feel like this? Is there some magic trick that will make me feel creative and interested and not just troubled and put upon?

Usually when I feel like this, I can battle it with some discovery or new experience… particularly shopping-related. But I’m saving money for Hawaii and Gosh Darn It All, I’m going to Hawaii. So I can’t go shopping (except for grocery shopping, which I guess I still have to do… *sigh*). Or, alternatively, I go do some social stuff, but that mostly involves money, too, so I don’t want to do that either.

Maybe I can discover cooking something new. I made the most awesome pasta with leftover halibut, a ton of garlic, broccoli, and tomatoes. I guess that felt good and interesting… but no one was there to share it with me, so I’m just appreciating my own cooking.

And just like that… AH HA! That’s exactly it… I want to do something nice for someone. Something that they’ll appreciate! I need appreciation.

Work has been pretty unappreciating these days. With one of my co-workers on a crazed power trip and my boss so busy (I love her, but she’s really busy), I don’t get much appreciation from anyone. Maybe I’ll make a presentation that knocks their socks off… or just bring Amy some flowers.

Anyways, at the very least, I have to clean my room, walk my dog, and go to the gym before work, so I have to haul my uninspired ass out the door right now. *sigh*

“Change your TV, change your life”

While watching the news this morning, this phrase made me jump up and literally run for my computer so I could blog.

Side note: that makes me sound really into blogging, which I’m not actually. I only started this blog a few days ago and I’m always looking out for things to blog about, which is sometimes hard for me, since I have relatively little personal drama and I don’t get out all that often. And I think I would bore myself to tears if I blogged about work… which brings up an important point: I don’t think anyone’s actually reading this blog and I have no illusions about the noise-to-signal ratio of the blogosphere, so I don’t think anyone actually ever will. I don’t mean this in a self-depreciating way, but I’m just not interesting enough and I keep going on these long tangents… so back to the entry

Sharp now promises that their new LCD screen television will change your life! When I think about the potential impact of this “life-changing box” (their campaign, not mine), I think of re-arranging furniture in the living room, decreased money in my bank account, and, of course, the required re-prioritization of my life to focus on the holy television, not on things like getting in shape for the Wilderness Travel Course (eyes on the prize, Violet). I mean, I’d have to commit to spending 42 hours in front of the television to make the cost of the television worthwhile (based on my hourly pay before taxes)… most people, even more! Now, looking at that, I think “ok, that’s only 10 hours less than one hour per week, which is probably what I spend there now,” but we’re talking about re-prioritizing those hours away from other activities intentionally. Bleh!

On the other hand, through the power of a high-definition LCD Sharp television, I could watch the Travel channel and virtually visit hundreds (if not thousands) of places I’ll realistically never go, to get to know millions of people I’ll never meet in person. I could learn new recipes from the Food network (and hang out with my TV crush, Anthony Bourdain) and watch things get exploded on the Discovery Channel. I don’t watch TV as candy, I watch it intentionally (omg, thank you, Tivo!). So I’d experience a richer television experience from watching on this mammoth, gorgeously rendered television. None of these things are really like doing the real thing myself (taking cooking classes, visiting South America, and, most excitingly –and most likely to happen near, around, or on me– making gigantic explosions), but who has time to fit all that into life and work a 50 hour work week? So, in those ways, I guess it would enrich my life. *

I couldn’t believe that the blogosphere wouldn’t be up in arms about this, so I decided to do some quick searches to see what other people are saying about the television that will most definitely change your life (see above for ways it would change life). First, I found that the Sharp website is crashed. I found but was unable to access the press release about the box, so we’ll have to count on my shoddy memory to include Sharp’s announcement here. But second, not that many people blogged about the slogan, which is kind of Suckville. Are people so apathetic about their marketing?

Anyways, here are some highlights:
• Change your tv, change your life: “Research shows that television viewing is below average in enjoyment for the optional activities available to us.” (Dave Shearon) Dave seems to have a pretty cool blog (bookmarking it!) about goals, culture, and leadership. But his post on the Sharp campaign kind of leaves me feeling like there’s more there… Dave, how would owning a Sharp television change your life? What would you gain or sacrifice?
•
Sharp will change your life? “The marketing strategy revolves around a very large claim… their technology changes your life, I assume for the better although they don’t say.” (Mediamentalism) This post talks about how the slogan, paired with their other campaign about how green their products are, is really misleading. The LCD technology is a cesspool of toxins and Sharp is just jumping on the green-is-the-new-black bandwagon.

… and that’s about it. Sweet Jesus, that’s depressing. Are people really so complacent that a slogan like this doesn’t even cause a blip of outrage in most people’s critical landscape? I mean, if there’s something to blog about, a million people are out there blogging about it, but essentially two critical articles?! Eh, personal rant aside, I thought more people would write about it.

And I guess today, my television did change my life in some small way. It led me to write this blog entry and look at other blogs to research it. It led me to think about things in a more critical way. It led me to be late to walk my dog, who is currently reminding me by growling sullenly on the carpet.

I’d better go back to the default world and get my pup some exercise.

* I started out by writing this post as a rant against the campaign, but as I wrote, I realized that there are both costs and benefits to this television, as implied by their campaign. It’s the old genie-in-the-bottle situation… you get what you wish for, but it may or may not be what you really wish for.

Though actually, this is pretty damn cool

It’s TechCrunch50, and, though I loathe TechCrunch and their stupid internet Silicon Valley culture, I had to stop and go “want!” when I saw FitBit. It’s itty bitty tiny weeny.

From what I can tell, you wear it everywhere and it logs everything you do: sleeping, working out, watching TV, making sweet love to your very attractive partner… kind of like a fitness Big Brother. And then it logs all this stuff on their website where you can see it and where your mom can log in and remind you to take calcium as long as you’re not getting enough milk.

I kind of was excited about something of a similar idea, the Nike Plus back when it came out, but it requires me to have an iPod, which I keep losing (yes, three iPods down… I’ve just stopped buying anything but the Shuffle), so I have this useless piece of plastic that only fits in Nike shoes (which I wore out) and only fits on a gadget I no longer own. Totally useless.

So anyways, I signed up for their mailing list and I can’t wait to see it when it comes out… and it’s only $100, so it’s not as expensive as buying a new iPod and Nike shoes. Bonus!

Wilderness Travel Course

Last year, I really wanted to get into backpacking. Arno (the Ex who I don’t know that I’ll ever get over) introduced me to backpacking as a more than casual hobby, and I really didn’t know how to get going on it without him. I mean, it’s a lot of gear to haul around on just one really feeble body. FUN FACT: if you’ve seen me, you know that I appear to be of average build, when, in fact, I’m of small build with quite a bit of fat… 41 lbs of fat, to be exact, according to my doctor. I’m basically no muscle and have a really lame skeleton. FUN FACT: I’ve broken my arms a total of six times, collectively. So having a helpful (and strong) porter to assist in the gear haul has been absolutely essential to a fine backpacking experience.

Except when that porter dumps you and leaves you wanting the hobby but hating the memories. FUN FACT: the relationship ended THREE years ago, and, for all intents and purposes I’ve moved on — I have a new and fantastic and truly wonderful boyfriend, David, who loves me and is thoughtful and funny and interesting — but there are still several things that trigger a vomitous response in my central chest area… backpacking and camping has been one of those

Last year, I decided I had to get into backpacking to make my own memories that didn’t involve Arno… memories that had to do with me, strong and independent, doing things I never thought I could do! Exciting! Wild! Adventurous!

So a friend of mine referred me to the Wilderness Travel Course, offered by the Angeles chapter of the Sierra Club. It seemed to be exactly what I needed! Friends to go backpacking with in an equal, non-relationshipey, fun, empowering environment! I enrolled immediately and started attending the weekly courses in West Los Angeles (this was before I realized Pasadena would have been closer), reading the assigned chapters in the book, and doing all this homework on navigation, map-reading, rock-jumping, and basically everything I wanted to know.

And then I broke my arm.

I tried to stick with the program, but I could barely tie my shoes, let alone lift a backpack or operate as a functional, independent, adventurous, empowered woman. They let me know that I probably couldn’t come on the part of the trip that involved rock climbing (um, duh). I was crushed by it all, since I was finally doing something proactive about my heartache.

This year, though, my arm is much better and the course is coming up in January again. I’m enrolling and nothing can stop me, and this time, I’m training for the course before it starts. I want to be able to soar up the mountains on agile legs, lifting 40 lbs of stuff with no effort and enjoying blister-free feet because my trail shoes are completely broken in! And so I’m training daily, hiking up my mountain every morning for at least an hour with Diva, who is hardly able to keep up.

I’m going to do this and nothing can stop me.