Quote of My Life

"I'm not tense; I'm just terribly, terribly alert"

Updates & Random Thoughts

Well, good old Malibu's on fire again - 35 homes destroyed since 3:30 AM. Lap of luxury, huh? I'm no longer as envious as I used to be of people who live there - options for driving in and out of the area are limited anyway, and apparently Mother Nature is trying to tell us something about the area.

Moving on...I don't mean to brush that off; I know it's serious and people are once again losing homes, but I am not aiming to be CNN here so I will stop reporting on it. You guys know how to find the news...

Anyhoo. I've been so busy with the new job that I haven't really devoted much time to writing. The job is a lot of fun so far. In my old job, I was usually prospecting to mid- to low-end public schools all over California, and later, just the southern region. All I did was drive. School quality ran the gamut depending on the area and the district. I really don't blame people for the moods they were usually in when I had to call on them, having taught in a highly bureaucratic district myself. It was tough to keep spirits up when I was pushing in a clutch every 1/16 of a second in L.A. traffic for 8-10 hours a day. I was putting between 80-200 miles on my car on an almost daily basis.

With this job, I am prospecting mainly to high end private and independent schools. What a difference in how I am treated on a day-to-day basis! For the most part, I am greeted with friendly smiles when I stop by unannounced - turns out people love free food, especially when it is healthy and tasty :). I plan a small route in a concentrated area of 10-12 schools to drop samples to and I usually end up driving only 30-45 miles daily, if that. When I call to ask for someone on the phone, I am actually transferred to the person or their correct voicemail in under 5 minutes (this is nothing short of a miracle for sales). People are eager to hear about our program and if they're not, they're either polite about it or have referrals for people who might be. It's quite a difference! So far it's going very well and I hope it stays that way. If I've learned nothing else this year, it's that you need to be very happy with what you do every day or else every single thing feels like a struggle. I really was starting to give up hope that I could be one of those people that loved what they do!

Wake up and feed me!

Wow - a new post, finally! Sorry it's been so long, but starting a new job sure sucks the creative juices right outta ya. So far I am having a blast with it, but it sure is keeping me busy. I'll post more on the job later.

For now, please enjoy this example of a typical morning at our house...only instead of a baseball bat, Milo prefers to use a crowbar; it's easier for him to wield.

Curves Adjustment

OK, OK, I did not read carefully enough. I jumped up on my soapbox a little too quickly.

It IS true that the owner and founder of Curves gives money to anti-choice charities, some of which are described as militant. But apparently it can't be shown that the money comes directly from Curves as a company itself, only that Gary Heavin (the owner and founder of Curves) as a private citizen donates large amounts of money to anti-choice organizations.

Harumph. I guess that makes me feel a little better; I'm glad my money isn't necessarily going directly to anti-choice groups, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion about things. But in my heart of hearts, I have to admit that anyone who isn't pro-choice sort of bothers me on a fundamental level (heh heh pardon the pun!). I've known people who are pro-choice who don't believe in abortion. That's fine - what that bothers me is people who believe that OTHERS don't have a right to choose for themselves. Especially men making those choices for and/or about women.

Besides, Hip-Hop Abs and Yoga Booty Ballet are much more fun to do and I can exercise in the comfort and safety of my own home :). I think I'm going to cancel the subscription anyway!

Curves Not Supported

Last year I joined Curves for Women on the advice of a friend who said she loved it. At first it was great, I loved the workouts, the price was not bad, and everyone there was very nice and extremely supportive. I got myself into a decent routine of working out. It felt great to go work out without having to wait in line or be ogled by assholes.

I got a little bored with the routine after a while though and sort of fell out of it. My subscription renewal just happens to be coming up in a few days, and truthfully I probably wasn't going to renew anyway for a variety of irrelevant reasons.

Well, that decision is sealed shut as of today. I found out that Curves donates 10% of its annual profits to anti-choice groups! I stumbled upon this fact at Snopes. com, a great website for checking urban legends and the validity of any annoying emails that lecture you to forward it or else someone's daughter will die of cancer or some such horror.

Anyway. If I could display a jaw dropping, I would. I was appalled and honked to discover this little nugget. I am extremely pro-choice. This does not mean I am anti-child (have you read my other posts about being baby-hungry?). It means I am pro-make-your-own-decisions-about-your-own-body and that I am generally against the birth of unwanted babies who don't have responsible enough parents to care for them. Unwanted babies often end up being the people we shake our heads over when we read about how they blew up an office building or shot kids at school.

As usual, I digress. The part that really pisses me off is that Curves is supposed to be all about women's health and taking care of their bodies properly...meanwhile the founder and owner is giving 10% of the money WE give him to groups that will likely scream at us if we step near a Planned Parenthood for whatever reason, be it for a Pap smear or a check up or even just for birth control. These anti-choice groups have the mistaken impression that Planned Parenthood and other women's health care groups are just abortion-providers - they are not. They are about women's health care. Isn't Curves supposed to be about women's health care?

This is partly why I've posted Emily X's blog in my margin; each day there is a different story about someone who works with PP and how protestors make it hard for patients to get the health care they need. Please click on it if you have a minute to hear/read some of the stories that these people go through every day just to show up to work.

BOO CURVES!! Tell your friends please....

Word of the Day

Myrmidon: A loyal follower, especially one who executes orders without question, protest, or pity. (Source: www.dictionary.com)

Ex: George W. Bush only managed to become president by having a wealth of nepotist myrmidons at his disposal.

Last Day of Freedom

Well, the freedom clock has finally run out. I've enjoyed every minute of it, but my 6 weeks of bumhood are coming to an end after this weekend. Time to....(drumroll, please)...go back to WORK!

It's a good thing, really, as paychecks tend to be a practical thing in life. But I am very good at being a bum, I found out. True, I get restless, and tend to climb the walls. And you know you're bored when the mail delivery is the excitement of your day. Aside from that, I did throw my heart into it. Sleep till noon? Easily! Wear my bathrobe till 6? Had it covered. I really wore my unemployment well.

And after such a whirlwind summer of getting married, going on a honeymoon, and briefly attempting to fit a new job in between (and failing, as I've mentioned before), I very badly needed the break and the sanity gathering. I officially changed my last name. I re-organized my files. I cleaned out closets, gave stuff away, and re-organized shelves. I scoured frightening corners of our apartment that hadn't seen a sponge in years. My brain decompressed and defragmented along with my hard drive(s).

But that all ends Monday as I start my new job with Brown Bag Naturals. It's a tiny start-up company that's already achieved some success without much trying, and we're all curious to see what happens with a smidge of effort. I'm hired to be their first sales rep, which is both exciting and a bit scary. However, they made a pretty good offer, both the owner and venture capitalist seem like great guys, and the whole concept really seems like a lot of fun. Their mission is to provide organic, preservative-free bag lunches for schools, offices, airlines, wherever, at $5 a lunch. Both guys have experience with successful start-ups (one helped start Burt's Bees), so knowing that they've done this before is reassuring and encouraging.

My favorite aspect is that they partner with several companies that just happen to keep me alive in terms of food: Stonyfield Farm, Annie's Homegrown, Amy's Kitchen, and Kashi. My daily diet basically consists of Stonyfield plain organic yogurt, Annie's pasta meal boxes, Amy's anything from soup to frozen dinners, and I live on Kashi TLC bars. Eating healthfully is a something I push on myself on a daily basis due to allergies, past health problems and a generally cranky immune system. I didn't always eat like this (my friends used to call me the Dorito Girl), but after a weird health issue called Candida, I had to learn to eat better or face even worse problems later. It took a lot of work and a horribly strict diet for awhile, but I finally managed to get rid of the problem and by going through it I have learned how to eat in a more balanced way. It's a cause I can't wait to push on children so they can grow up with healthy eating habits and naturally do better in school because of it, among other lifelong benefits.

So there I go. My first meeting is in Malibu at the owner's house on Monday morning. Fortunately his is still standing after the fires :). I wonder if I'll still need my dust mask ??

Bush Vists Southern CA

'Nuff said. I won't even start in on FEMA and the staged press conference; I just don't have the strength for that soapbox today.

Seussical The Musical

Since my older sister and I practically raised my younger brother, we've agreed that we have some bragging rights here: our 23-year-old brother who just graduated college last April, who just moved to New York City barely 6 weeks ago, has already landed an amazing part in "Seussical the Musical", a production run by Theatre Works USA. He's going to be the Cat in the Hat! He's been acting since he was 5 years old and he is extremely talented (and no, I am not just biased). This is a lifelong goal and dream realized for him. Woo-hoo Scotty/Squirt/Prescott!

The company does other children's productions as well such as "Charlotte's Web" and "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie..." (two personal favorite children's books of mine). Check out the website for the shows they have, click on the show and enter your ZIP code and it will let you know when/if the tour gets close to your area.

We are all so proud of you Prescott!!

The Hills of L.A. Are Burning

It's that lovely time of year here known as fire season. The weather dries out, warms up, and the Santa Ana winds blow everything all over the place. The humidity drops really low and there is a sort of electricity in the air that makes you feel like you could spontaneously combust at any moment. The humidity at this time of year is usually below 15%, which is why people might be surprised to know that despite our non-existent winters and warm weather, L.A. residents are actually some of the first in the country to drag out the good old humidifier. Apparently bodies, computers and wildbrush need to be between 30-55% humidity or things dry out and blow up. This is nothing new to residents here; we get these winds every year and along with them come the seasonal wildfires.

The fires are usually bad every year in some way or another, but every few years it gets really bad in L.A. County and it looks like 2007 might be one of those years. Parts of the Malibu Hills began burning last night; the fire spread across about 1200 acres and today at 4 PM the fire was still described as zero percent contained. Flames were reportedly jumping the Pacific Coast Highway, which obviously had to be shut down. The Malibu Presbyterian Church and the Kashan Castle both burned to the ground (the 2nd picture is the church). Pepperdine and many other areas of Malibu were evacuated last night and many residents of Malibu are still wandering around in bathrobes trying to figure out what to do and where to go. In the northern hills of the San Fernando Valley, along I-5, there are more than 10,000 acres on fire in Agua Dulce and Canyon Country. I feel rather fortunate right now to live on along the southern hills of the valley right now...

The thing that most people don't know about wildfires is that they are actually very good for enriching soil and they also help prevent the brush overgrowth that can actually lead to stronger and less easily controlled fires. There's a delicate balance here of needing enough rain not to be at risk for fire without having so much rain that things overgrow, because then there is just that much more fodder to burn during the next fire season.

It's a weird balance to try to understand, and I'm not 100% certain that it's compatible with human life in this area. Los Angeles is after all a desert and the main reason people can live here is only thanks to the Hoover Dam and the Colorado River. People have hoped for decades that Los Angeles would burn and my husband and I have lately been joking that as long as we're out of town, we're OK with that. Thanks for being out of town tonight without me, honey :).

At any rate, I really feel for the unfortunate people who have lost their homes or who are in danger of having their homes burn...how scary to watch that happen, or worse - to come "home" and your home isn't there anymore. I'm grateful to have sat on my lazy bum in my home all day today!