A Moment of Zen

All the world was bathed in the warm glow of golden orange as the frost of the evening whipped through my hair. The mountains in the back drop are silhouetted by pink edged wispy clouds, only the high mountain peak winds can produce clouds like this, and the sky is so blue I have chills, but perhaps its the cold wind beginning to bite at the backs of my hands. I glove up and zip up to contain the heat still left in my inner layers. The water below me is clear and chatty as it descends the high mountains behind me. They are so powerful and breathtaking in the dieing light. It makes my heart race to look at them. I look up at the snow that lives on the peaks year round and it is swirling around in a ballet of shimmering white in the last of the sunlight. I take in one more deep breath of crisp mountain air, pull on my hat, and start down the rocky slop before me.

Mr. Hawks Would be Proud

I pricked my finger for science, twice even. In Biology lab last night we did some blood tests to find out what our blood types were. As we are working on genetics it was interesting in that way that we had no knowledge of our parents or grandparents blood types to workout our type linage for such a lab and well why should we? *scoff* Not like that's important to genetic heredity.

Anyway, moving on. We had to use a device slightly larger than what a diabetic would use with their test strips and sugar monitor. It is a small cylindrical device that gets loaded with a fine needle at the tip which sinks in so the needle is not exposed. There is a dial on the side which you set to a specific dept in the skin to puncture far enough to get a decent blood sample. Most went with 3, I like to live dangerously so I set mine to 4. This did turn out to be a better idea as most people in class had to prick themselves multiple times to extract enough blood. I only had to prick myself twice.

As my class mates winced and moaned like they might die, some of them refused to do it all together, I placed a few drops each into the alloted slots in the little plastic tray before me. The blood then was mixed with “reagents” (a term that I find science teachers use when they are at a loss for explanation of the chemicals you are handling) to produce something that I myself, nor most class members, could not discern as positive or negative for any type whatsoever. If this was the way of testing for blood types in hospitals the accuracy of this would produce tremendous amounts of concern and most blood transfusions would result in death. I myself am either A negative or B negative.

Though I am not entirely sure what this little exercise was about I can say it was the most entertaining lab I have ever done. Just watching all my classmates act like this was the worst possible thing that could happen to them. Then thinking of all the diabetics I know who do this five times a day on average just makes me giggle a little bit to see the guys in class wince and whine like little girls.

The Weekly Awesome: Adding Insult to Injury

This is a tongue in cheek entry as I was going to talk about how awesome my weekend was and all the cool projects I got done. However, Sunday to Monday, just 24 little hours changed what I was going to write about.

My weekend, uneventful till I decide to go out to my car at 10pm on Sunday. I had been home all weekend and seen very few people, we all need peace at one time or another and this was my time. I couldn't sleep so I thought I would take a drive, clear my head and perhaps get some ice cream. I throw my old jeans on with a fleece that is looking quite disreputable these days, put on my sneakers and I was off. Up the stairs, out the front door. Then I start to step down the front stoop (a small 9” step mind you) when my right ankle twists under me at an almost 90 degree angle and it makes the most sickening sound I have ever heard. Its what you would hear if you stepped on a small bag of dry kindling. In hopes I will not make it to the ground I double over in pain on the car in the drive way trying to gain purchase with my trembling hands without dropping my keys and mobile. The pain is all consuming, there is a sick sinking feeling that only pain can bring on increasing in my stomach. If the car had not been there I would have found myself on the cold evening pavement like a discarded fish.

Hobbling back inside my thoughts of a drive evacuated from my mind all together from the searing pain that is sending phantom signals strait up my right side. I get some ice and ibuprofen, take off my shoes and socks to asses the damage. The pain increases sharply for a moment as I slide the sock off to see that it is swelling and there is the presents of a bruise beginning to form. I take the ibuprofen, slide back into bed, gingerly elevating my right foot and rest the ice on the ankle in question.

I spend the next two days (Monday and Tuesday) with my foot elevated and a full regiment of anti inflammatories. Ice; check, ibuprofen; check, tea; check, movies; check. I watch as my ankle swells larger and darkens in color. Then it happens. On I wake up Tuesday examine my ankle once more and realize that my throat is sore and my head hurts. I come to the realization; I have a head cold developing.

Stuffy, headache, ankle a lovely shade of green and still a bit swollen, a cough developing, tissues at the ready, exhausted from tossing all night in pain and stuffiness, (the fever subsided yesterday afternoon) with peppermint tea steaming beside me. I sit here writing this out for you. Next week has got to be better.

A Moment Of Serenity

I have been spending more time alone as of late becoming at peace with being single. Peace, I could use more of that. I think I will grab my new book, sit under this tree and take in the crisp Autumn air with a steaming hot cup of tea.

Something that gives me pause:

"Inner Peace can be as simple as letting go, and resting under the shade of an old tree. In the end: the path taken to find inner peace is as hard or simple as a person makes the journey of self acceptance to be."

A Weekend of Awesome

So many awesome things happened to me this weekend. I went out for the first time as a single women on Halloween, it was weird, but I looked great and so did everyone around me. There were some really great Hunter S. Thompson's and one who did such a fantastic job I just had to tell him. I am always impressed when people pull off something really witty like that.

Saturday was nice and chill as I took my co-worker to DIA after his big week here in Colorado. Went home took a nap, ran some errands, and then back home for the night to chill out and work on my latest project. There was also this great hike with a friend of mine from Denver and two of his friends from work in Boulder on Sunday. The day finished off with good beers and good food with the guys. Then back home to my project. I will have to tell you about the project in another entry as its not done yet.

Zen Koans

Muddy Road

Tanzan and Ekido were once traveling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was still falling.

Coming around a bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the intersection.

"Come on, girl" said Tanzan at once. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud.

Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. Then he no longer could restrain himself. "We monks don't go near females," he told Tanzan, "especially not young and lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that?"

"I left the girl there," said Tanzan. "Are you still carrying her?"

Life, Love, and The Pursuit of Coffee

I hold a hot to go cup in my hands to keep them warm as the morning chill is trying to crush my gungho spirit for walking back to work. There is no reason for this, I own a car. I could be driving. It has nothing to do with physical fitness, I go to the gym three days a week. No, it has to do with being outside. Need to be outside. Need fresh air and to see people around me doing what their mornings entail. I sit shut at a desk all day long doing tech support and helping people understand Linux. Then in a classroom for most of the evening. Then go to the gym where I put my head phones on, shut all people out to get a bit of peace while I run. Lets just say I don't have too many opportunities to just watch people be people.

Its a short walk from my office to this little cafe. This little home away from home when I am in need of silence, something hot to hold onto, and a way of being social. I have friends, family, and co-workers. All of whom are interesting and wonderful people in their own right, but lets face it, sometimes you just need to talk to a stranger and get a new perspective. That being said I didn't talk to anyone. Just said hello to the cafe owner and walked back to the office.

I love the onset of winter.