2011

Greetings for 2012

May 2012 offer you wide open opportunities,

Adventures o'er the distant hills,

Challenges to explore and surmount,

And a wonderful companion by your side.

I'm Trying to Put on Socks

Goddammit, dog. I'm trying to put on socks.

Comments:

JG: She doesn't want to wear socks.

ES: Is "Sox" the cat?

JM: @JG, ES: My socks. I sit down, they sit in front of me to be petted. Unmovable, they are until satisfied. I lean over to put socks on, they lick....why am I explaining this to two people who are having me on?

JG: You wouldn't have posted it if you didn't want the attention....:-)

PL: You're missing the point - the dogs want your socks to be better insulated by adding some of their fur as you put them on. And dog spit acts as a lubricant while wet, but an adhesive when dry, so the socks go on "easily" and stay where you put them... See how helpful they are?

JM: @PL: *facepalm* 'cos what I need more than unmovable dogs are helpful engineering friends, right? And while you are technically right about the lubricating and adhesive properties respectively, you missed the little detail about the smell of dry dog drool...why am I responding to this?

Putting on Socks and Shoes

Putting on sock and shoes is one of the most time consuming parts of my day. If you've ever had 4 year old kids, you'll know what I mean.

Comments:

SR: your dogs wear shoes now????

JM: @SR: Wouldn't want them to get muddy feet in this rainy weather, would I. Pink striped socks for Devka 'cos she's a girl, blue socks for Aleksei, and red socks for the Big Mama 'cos she'll bite me if I put her in pink. And Saucony makes this nice line of form fitting lightweight footies with little rubber nubs that helps their grip on wet tiles.

SR: hahahahaaaa!!!!!!!

MAFM: I have an image of you wrestling your doggies while trying to catch a paw to put a sock on.....glad The Kid learned to put her own socks on.

AK: a pic or two of the doggies in socks would be lovely!

The Fastest Way

The fastest way to turn a roly poly doggie into athletic doggie is to trim her. Wish that worked on me.

Christmas and other Holidays

Christmas sunsets are here in their green gold glory.

Sigh. I suppose it is acceptable to put up decorations.

Though it's gonna get complicated next year with Divali so late.

Comments:

TT: Christmas?!? What about Thanksgiving?

JM: Nope. Don't got that here. Eid Mubarak, by the way.

NMR: We have Hannukah@Christmas this year.

JM: @NMR: Do they interfere with each other or do you just celebrate both?

NMR: @JM: Celebrate both with caution, especially if both the candles and the trees are real, as they will be at the Christmas party. We don't put up a tree, so the fire hazard in our house is limited. It's actually nice not to have to squeeze in Hannukah between homework and bedtime.

SC: @NMR: Hannukah and Christmas are important because they are both opportunities to make LOTS of LIGHT, which is critical around here where the sun goes down in the middle of the afternoon that time of year. Probably not such a big problem for JM.

JM: @SC: Nope we get enough warmth and light. We do use any excuse for a fire - NMR, you'd be horrified by the safety issues related to Divali - it's the kids who keep the deyas lighting (bottles of cooking oil and flames, what could possibly go wrong!). We don't celebrate Hannukah publicly because I think there is exactly one (extended) Jewish family in the country - I loved the quote about Jews in Trinidad - "Today the community numbers 25-67, depending on who you talk to and who is on the island at any one point".

Hajj

One of the most beautiful buildings I have seen.

Comments:

JA: did you go?

JM: Yup. My reason wasn't religious, but noble enough - I accompanied my parents to make sure their pilgrimage went well. But arriving at the heart of one's religion surrounded by six million other pilgrims was an incredible experience - I was in tears when I first saw the Kaaba. That's when the Hajj / pilgrimage became real for me.

Yes, I spent 4-5 hours on the plains of Arafat praying. The other rituals were important, but none as meaningful as simple prayers.

The Masjid-al-Haram picture above is deceptive - it's about the size of a New York City block and can hold about 800,000 people inside. And despite its size it always felt personal and warm - which is what happens when you get the proportions and details right (it helps though that mosques are expected to be used in many ways by people attending).

It also turns out that my presence did make a meaningful difference to my parents who were able to enjoy their pilgrimage more fully. So I feel twice blessed.

KOC: Great picture and a great story.

Trapped on a Chair

Trapped in my house on a chair by a dog.

'cos he's wrapped around the chair and I don't wanna wake him up.

Fat Clothes

Packing away the fat clothes. Yay!

Don't fit in the thin clothes yet though.

Meanwhile, I've found a pair of new 29" jeans and was thinking 'When did I, ever, in any dream, think I would fit into a 29" waist'

Bike Prep

So, taking out my bike for the first time in many many months. In doing prep I've found one pair of trail sneakers I forgot I owned and a watch I've been looking for for about four months. It's been a good morning and I haven't even gotten on the bike yet.

Dogz r yur frenz

Serving size = 51 pieces x 6 servings per container = 306 goldfish fed to a dog at the rate of 5 seconds per goldfish = 1530 seconds ÷ (6 minute dog attention span (even for treats) x 3 dogs) = the cheapest and fastest way to ensure 'Dogz r yur frenz'.

Crepuscular Constitutional

Apparently four and twenty late blackbirds CAN get the worms unless disturbed by the black hounds' crepuscular constitutional.

Recognising Oncoming Depression

Thank you to my friend at the coffeeshop for recognising the signs of my oncoming depression before I did. You made me aware in time for me to do something about it - and I won't have to spend the next week being down.

Comments:

JK: It does help to have close friends who know the signs, and whose opinion you trust. I'm slowly learning to ask "How do you think I'm doing?" -- a literal sanity check -- before appointments.

JM: @JK: You've got lots of friends to trust. Trusting yourself to believe them is harder to do, especially if you're manic or depressed. But you get it after a while. Then you get amazingly casual who you tell or ask for feedback, because really, it's not that big a deal. And I've found that life becomes so much richer, because given a choice, people choose to help you.