I'm a fairly avid sports fan, though unlike you, I don't have a single team I'm all in for. It used to be Arizona basketball, but over the last few years, I've become increasingly disillusioned with big-time college men's sports. The influx of money from tv and shoe companies has been extremely corrupting, and the plantation disparity between multi-millionaire coaches and assorted associated fat cats and unpaid black field hands has really begun to eat away at my enthusiasm. Things like this fucking debacle at Ohio State just fuel the flames.
What a wonderful way to use your inheritance...to honor your dad by getting healthier, rather than pissing it away on some temporary material indulgence like most people do. Good for you. The phrase "older and rounder" stood out (and forgive me if this seems too personal), but It made me laugh. A point of departure I have with my one brother who's still single is that, to his credit he keeps himself very fit, but along with that is this juvenile concept of the feminine ideal being these 20 year old college girls who work at the bars and restaurants near the UofA. The women I'm attracted to are like me...some scars and scrapes, some miles under the hood. I don't see these things as defects...I see them as the result of being human, living a real life rather than this pathetic quest to maintain a youthful appearance, often at a surgically gruesome cost. Where some people see the cost of age, I see beauty.
Some of the people I build furniture for get really bent if the piece gets a scratch 5 years down the line. I tell them, your home isn't a museum, it shouldn't be. It's where people live and toil and kids spill things. Abuse is one thing...normal wear and tear is a sign that something is being used for the purpose for which it was intended...to eat off of, to sit in, to rest one's feet after a long day. I mean, shit, you should see my old Martin guitar...I love that thing like a member of my family, but it looks like it went to war with the Russian army. Forty years and a couple thousand gigs really giving it a hard workout...that's what it was built for, that's what it was meant to do...not sit preserved-toneless and sterile-behind a glass case.
Ohhhh that game was purty!! I'm so glad we finally have a quarterback and a kicker... and neither seems like they're likely to get high and go to a casino while carrying a gun and get suspended, which is a not-unheard-of fate for team members, so I'm feeling good about the season.
I'm glad the gigs are going well... it's great to have a solid gig to base things on, but you're right, things can change in an instant. It sounds like you've got good things going on with both fans and bookers, so that's a big plus - the ex had the loyal following, but his band was too cool to develop relationships with bookers (management? what's management?), so they didn't get as many gigs as they could have. They crumbled from internal pressures, but that wasn't helped by the frustration that came from lack of exposure.
The yoga thing grew out of my own practice - ten or twelve years ago, thanks to a bad response to some medication, I started having panic attacks, and a co-worker told me about a free yoga class in the gym at work during lunch. I loved going, but then my job changed and I stopped, but I missed it.
A few years later, I started to notice more and more aches and pains, and had developed a painful range-of-motion issue with my left shoulder (from leaning on it while watching TV, of all things). Without ever being what anyone would call athletic, I'd always been active, but as I got older, I started to feel like the body wasn't obeying me anymore - it felt like I wasn't fully inhabiting it, like it was a slightly-too-large glove that had bits that just flopped around. I didn't think just going to the gym and walking on a treadmill would help, so, remembering my previous practice, I looked around for a yoga studio and found one in my town.
They only did hot yoga back then, so the studio was always set at 95 degrees (40% humidity) at the beginning of class and only got hotter as we moved, and I remember lying on my stomach toward the end of my first class thinking I was actually going to die...but I kept going back.
Over the years, I've stopped practicing for months, but always went back. Last year, I stopped practicing for well over 6 months, but was drawn back earlier this year and started my practice in earnest again.
Every once in a while over the last few years, I'd talk idly about taking the teacher training - mostly to deepen my own practice, not necessarily to be a teacher - and El Dad was all for it.
He had started working out in his late 40s or early 50s and loved it - he was still doing 2 - 3 miles on the stationary bike and swimming daily until two weeks before he died - and he was very proud of how strong and flexible he remained while a lot of his friends were almost immobile. He always stressed how important it was to keep moving, and encouraged me to keep going - he would say things like "I won't call you on Tuesday because I know you have your yoga class" (which always made me laugh, because I had yoga like five nights a week) and he always praised me for making the effort.
When my job was eliminated last year, after he passed away, I found I'd inherited enough money not to work for a while, and I thought the best way to honor him was to do something that he'd have been thrilled to make possible, so I worked on my practice and then signed up for the training.
I'm nervous about it, but determined. I'm still not sure about actually teaching full time. If my studio head asks, I'll pick up some classes, but teaching is pretty fragmented and gig-like, and most teachers teach at several studios, which isn't ideal for me and I'm not sure I'd want that to be all my income. But people say they like the vibe I bring to practice, and because I'm older and rounder than the usual yoga teacher, I feel like I'm unintimidating to people who might be afraid that they can't do yoga because of age or mobility issues or injuries, so I'd probably get at least some work. I wouldn't want to just do gentle or restorative classes (I do like to sweat), but if it helps get people moving again, I'm all for that.
Jeez, what a novel concept at this point, getting more healthy and flexible instead of drinking more and yelling at the tv all the time. Good for you. What inspired this? Are you going to make teaching your full-time paying gig?
I'm hanging in...still trying to get my business back up to speed....you aren't available for a few months and all the people who call with projects get impatient and find someone else, so it takes some patience to build it back again. I've found the same thing in the music scene. Pretty stable right now....ongoing weekly Monday gig which we've been doing for nine years now, plus five or so venues where we do well, I get on well with the bookers, and it's easy to book shows. But it can all change in a heartbeat...clubs get sold, change the booking person, decide they're going to do karaoke instead of live music; then you're hustling for gigs, and if you are slack for a few months, it's like starting all over again. "Your name is....and what's that band you play with?" Anyway, speaking of that Monday gig, I gotta scoot in a few.
Nice to hear from you as always. Btw, my computer issues seems to have fixed itself...I mean, how often does THAT happen. I saw your Tiggers kicked some ass and took some names last night.
IKR? Even Godwin (of the Law) says Nazi comparisons are just fine and appropriate these days because they just are.
It is good to see you!! Everything's going pretty well with me - I hope it's going well with you, too!
I've been falling behind on my non-commenting out of absolute exhaustion, but a good kind of exhaustion - I've been taking bajillions of yoga classes because I decided to go for it and sign up for training to get my 200 hour yoga teacher certification. I start at the end of September and will be a fully-certified yoga teacher by mid-December, and because I am an old, and paranoid, I've been doubling up on classes, trying to get as strong and flexible as I can possibly get before training starts - even though every single teacher tells me that isn't necessary. So I go to multiple classes a day and spend the rest of my time recovering, rinsing out yoga gear, and falling asleep sitting on the couch. I usually end up racing through days worth of Wonkette pieces, and feel like a twit replying on three-day old articles and non-comments LOL.
I do have to say that while it's more than a little embarrassing to sound so "eat, pray, love," on the plus side, I now know all the good breathing exercises to keep my heart rate stable as our country heads into the dumpster.
I hope - aside from the internets problem - you've settled in to your new workshop and know where everything is, and that everything is going well for you!
"If we had to guess, we'd speculate that this form was stolen in a 2015 Chinese hack of the federal Office of Personnel Management" Please research and report FACTS and TRUTHS, not misinformation or falsehoods. The "HACKS" you speak of were NOT HACKS! The servers were made available for access. People died as a result. https://www.westernjournal....
"I began my career in public service as a federal law enforcement officer working narcotics and money laundering cases with the US Postal Inspection Service. Following my love of country, public service, and languages, I joined the CIA as an Operations Officer. I traveled and lived abroad collecting intelligence, managing assets, and overseeing high-profile programs in service to the United States. I left the CIA in 2014 and moved back to my hometown in Virginia to work in the private sector. At that time, I started a Girl Scout troop"
*chuckle*
not a neoliberal regime-changer at all! Girl Scouts!!
doesn't support Medicare for All (prefers the plan of that Republican, Tim Kaine)... doesn't support federal decriminalization of pot... taking cash from the DCCC....
not a progressive liberal by a long shot. smoke and mirrors.
The smartest Democrat I know went on to work for State. By his locations I often suspected and kind of hoped he was working for CIA instead. He was also just a total badass in every way, athletic, educated—but bled as blue as they come.
No, only at the federal level. At the state and local level there are still some honest and honorable Republican politicians. At the federal level it appears that they've all been bought out by Russian money. The last honest Republican Senator was John McCain.
What?! Nonsense! Along with most Americans Democrats acknowledge the need for security. Yes, we distrust some of the things the CIA has done, but merely having been a CIA agent disqualifies no one.
It is the current president and the Republicans in congress who've been attacking CIA and FBI agents at every opportunity.
You know, I've always been the guy to say, "whoa, let's take it easy with the Nazi comparisons...that was a whole different deal". But that was before there were actual Nazis IN the fucking White House...it ain't hyperbole anymore.
Anyway, how ya' doing, Sarge? Good to see you from time to time. I think of you often. You were, like, the first Wonker that I thought of as a friend. Hope everything is good in your life-other than the fact our democracy is about to head over a cliff- after such a tough year.
FYI, there is something amiss either in my internets or disqus feed...I sometimes get notice someone has responded to a comment-often a day or two later-and sometimes not at all. So, if you reply and I don't, it ain't cause I don't care.
The USPS has now issued a statement saying that they DID mistakenly release her application for a security clearance pursuant to a FOIA request from the PAC. Along with those of a few other people. I'm watching coverage on the Rachel Maddow show right now.
USPS acknowledges that this was illegal - such documents are not subject to FOIA requests, they blame it on human error, and, most importantly, they say they did this to other people, too. No word yet on whether the other victims have been notified.
LOL. You use a "QAnon" avatar and expect people to take you seriously? SMH.
I'm a fairly avid sports fan, though unlike you, I don't have a single team I'm all in for. It used to be Arizona basketball, but over the last few years, I've become increasingly disillusioned with big-time college men's sports. The influx of money from tv and shoe companies has been extremely corrupting, and the plantation disparity between multi-millionaire coaches and assorted associated fat cats and unpaid black field hands has really begun to eat away at my enthusiasm. Things like this fucking debacle at Ohio State just fuel the flames.
What a wonderful way to use your inheritance...to honor your dad by getting healthier, rather than pissing it away on some temporary material indulgence like most people do. Good for you. The phrase "older and rounder" stood out (and forgive me if this seems too personal), but It made me laugh. A point of departure I have with my one brother who's still single is that, to his credit he keeps himself very fit, but along with that is this juvenile concept of the feminine ideal being these 20 year old college girls who work at the bars and restaurants near the UofA. The women I'm attracted to are like me...some scars and scrapes, some miles under the hood. I don't see these things as defects...I see them as the result of being human, living a real life rather than this pathetic quest to maintain a youthful appearance, often at a surgically gruesome cost. Where some people see the cost of age, I see beauty.
Some of the people I build furniture for get really bent if the piece gets a scratch 5 years down the line. I tell them, your home isn't a museum, it shouldn't be. It's where people live and toil and kids spill things. Abuse is one thing...normal wear and tear is a sign that something is being used for the purpose for which it was intended...to eat off of, to sit in, to rest one's feet after a long day. I mean, shit, you should see my old Martin guitar...I love that thing like a member of my family, but it looks like it went to war with the Russian army. Forty years and a couple thousand gigs really giving it a hard workout...that's what it was built for, that's what it was meant to do...not sit preserved-toneless and sterile-behind a glass case.
Ohhhh that game was purty!! I'm so glad we finally have a quarterback and a kicker... and neither seems like they're likely to get high and go to a casino while carrying a gun and get suspended, which is a not-unheard-of fate for team members, so I'm feeling good about the season.
I'm glad the gigs are going well... it's great to have a solid gig to base things on, but you're right, things can change in an instant. It sounds like you've got good things going on with both fans and bookers, so that's a big plus - the ex had the loyal following, but his band was too cool to develop relationships with bookers (management? what's management?), so they didn't get as many gigs as they could have. They crumbled from internal pressures, but that wasn't helped by the frustration that came from lack of exposure.
The yoga thing grew out of my own practice - ten or twelve years ago, thanks to a bad response to some medication, I started having panic attacks, and a co-worker told me about a free yoga class in the gym at work during lunch. I loved going, but then my job changed and I stopped, but I missed it.
A few years later, I started to notice more and more aches and pains, and had developed a painful range-of-motion issue with my left shoulder (from leaning on it while watching TV, of all things). Without ever being what anyone would call athletic, I'd always been active, but as I got older, I started to feel like the body wasn't obeying me anymore - it felt like I wasn't fully inhabiting it, like it was a slightly-too-large glove that had bits that just flopped around. I didn't think just going to the gym and walking on a treadmill would help, so, remembering my previous practice, I looked around for a yoga studio and found one in my town.
They only did hot yoga back then, so the studio was always set at 95 degrees (40% humidity) at the beginning of class and only got hotter as we moved, and I remember lying on my stomach toward the end of my first class thinking I was actually going to die...but I kept going back.
Over the years, I've stopped practicing for months, but always went back. Last year, I stopped practicing for well over 6 months, but was drawn back earlier this year and started my practice in earnest again.
Every once in a while over the last few years, I'd talk idly about taking the teacher training - mostly to deepen my own practice, not necessarily to be a teacher - and El Dad was all for it.
He had started working out in his late 40s or early 50s and loved it - he was still doing 2 - 3 miles on the stationary bike and swimming daily until two weeks before he died - and he was very proud of how strong and flexible he remained while a lot of his friends were almost immobile. He always stressed how important it was to keep moving, and encouraged me to keep going - he would say things like "I won't call you on Tuesday because I know you have your yoga class" (which always made me laugh, because I had yoga like five nights a week) and he always praised me for making the effort.
When my job was eliminated last year, after he passed away, I found I'd inherited enough money not to work for a while, and I thought the best way to honor him was to do something that he'd have been thrilled to make possible, so I worked on my practice and then signed up for the training.
I'm nervous about it, but determined. I'm still not sure about actually teaching full time. If my studio head asks, I'll pick up some classes, but teaching is pretty fragmented and gig-like, and most teachers teach at several studios, which isn't ideal for me and I'm not sure I'd want that to be all my income. But people say they like the vibe I bring to practice, and because I'm older and rounder than the usual yoga teacher, I feel like I'm unintimidating to people who might be afraid that they can't do yoga because of age or mobility issues or injuries, so I'd probably get at least some work. I wouldn't want to just do gentle or restorative classes (I do like to sweat), but if it helps get people moving again, I'm all for that.
Jeez, what a novel concept at this point, getting more healthy and flexible instead of drinking more and yelling at the tv all the time. Good for you. What inspired this? Are you going to make teaching your full-time paying gig?
I'm hanging in...still trying to get my business back up to speed....you aren't available for a few months and all the people who call with projects get impatient and find someone else, so it takes some patience to build it back again. I've found the same thing in the music scene. Pretty stable right now....ongoing weekly Monday gig which we've been doing for nine years now, plus five or so venues where we do well, I get on well with the bookers, and it's easy to book shows. But it can all change in a heartbeat...clubs get sold, change the booking person, decide they're going to do karaoke instead of live music; then you're hustling for gigs, and if you are slack for a few months, it's like starting all over again. "Your name is....and what's that band you play with?" Anyway, speaking of that Monday gig, I gotta scoot in a few.
Nice to hear from you as always. Btw, my computer issues seems to have fixed itself...I mean, how often does THAT happen. I saw your Tiggers kicked some ass and took some names last night.
IKR? Even Godwin (of the Law) says Nazi comparisons are just fine and appropriate these days because they just are.
It is good to see you!! Everything's going pretty well with me - I hope it's going well with you, too!
I've been falling behind on my non-commenting out of absolute exhaustion, but a good kind of exhaustion - I've been taking bajillions of yoga classes because I decided to go for it and sign up for training to get my 200 hour yoga teacher certification. I start at the end of September and will be a fully-certified yoga teacher by mid-December, and because I am an old, and paranoid, I've been doubling up on classes, trying to get as strong and flexible as I can possibly get before training starts - even though every single teacher tells me that isn't necessary. So I go to multiple classes a day and spend the rest of my time recovering, rinsing out yoga gear, and falling asleep sitting on the couch. I usually end up racing through days worth of Wonkette pieces, and feel like a twit replying on three-day old articles and non-comments LOL.
I do have to say that while it's more than a little embarrassing to sound so "eat, pray, love," on the plus side, I now know all the good breathing exercises to keep my heart rate stable as our country heads into the dumpster.
I hope - aside from the internets problem - you've settled in to your new workshop and know where everything is, and that everything is going well for you!
"If we had to guess, we'd speculate that this form was stolen in a 2015 Chinese hack of the federal Office of Personnel Management" Please research and report FACTS and TRUTHS, not misinformation or falsehoods. The "HACKS" you speak of were NOT HACKS! The servers were made available for access. People died as a result. https://www.westernjournal....
"merely having been a CIA agent"
"I began my career in public service as a federal law enforcement officer working narcotics and money laundering cases with the US Postal Inspection Service. Following my love of country, public service, and languages, I joined the CIA as an Operations Officer. I traveled and lived abroad collecting intelligence, managing assets, and overseeing high-profile programs in service to the United States. I left the CIA in 2014 and moved back to my hometown in Virginia to work in the private sector. At that time, I started a Girl Scout troop"
*chuckle*
not a neoliberal regime-changer at all! Girl Scouts!!
doesn't support Medicare for All (prefers the plan of that Republican, Tim Kaine)... doesn't support federal decriminalization of pot... taking cash from the DCCC....
not a progressive liberal by a long shot. smoke and mirrors.
The smartest Democrat I know went on to work for State. By his locations I often suspected and kind of hoped he was working for CIA instead. He was also just a total badass in every way, athletic, educated—but bled as blue as they come.
I do understand the distrust, nonetheless.
No, only at the federal level. At the state and local level there are still some honest and honorable Republican politicians. At the federal level it appears that they've all been bought out by Russian money. The last honest Republican Senator was John McCain.
What?! Nonsense! Along with most Americans Democrats acknowledge the need for security. Yes, we distrust some of the things the CIA has done, but merely having been a CIA agent disqualifies no one.
It is the current president and the Republicans in congress who've been attacking CIA and FBI agents at every opportunity.
You know, I've always been the guy to say, "whoa, let's take it easy with the Nazi comparisons...that was a whole different deal". But that was before there were actual Nazis IN the fucking White House...it ain't hyperbole anymore.
Anyway, how ya' doing, Sarge? Good to see you from time to time. I think of you often. You were, like, the first Wonker that I thought of as a friend. Hope everything is good in your life-other than the fact our democracy is about to head over a cliff- after such a tough year.
FYI, there is something amiss either in my internets or disqus feed...I sometimes get notice someone has responded to a comment-often a day or two later-and sometimes not at all. So, if you reply and I don't, it ain't cause I don't care.
The USPS has now issued a statement saying that they DID mistakenly release her application for a security clearance pursuant to a FOIA request from the PAC. Along with those of a few other people. I'm watching coverage on the Rachel Maddow show right now.
USPS acknowledges that this was illegal - such documents are not subject to FOIA requests, they blame it on human error, and, most importantly, they say they did this to other people, too. No word yet on whether the other victims have been notified.
Very good point.
That's what I thought.
His spirit pervades this administration.
Oh please yes, oh please yes.