Friday, November 30, 2007

Ladies Look Like Dudes?

Ladies Look Like Dudes?




This afternoon while walking my dog, Zoe, I saw an acquaintance. We said our hellos as our paths crossed and she added, "What a beautiful boy," as her eyes glanced over to Zoe.

The words I said out loud were just, "Thank you". The completed phrase I said inside my head was, "Thank you. But this here's NO boy, Ma'am!"

Why is it that certain breeds of dogs seem male, and others seem female? People mistake my Siberian Huskies for males often. Knowing them as I do, I find them to be very girlie. I know their favorite color is pink. I know they like to play with dolls. I know they love fancy lingerie. I know they like to watch chick flicks. However, I understand how a stranger could mistake them for male dogs. I have seen large breeds, like Bull Mastiffs, and for whatever reason assumed they were male. And I've seen teacup Poodles and assumed they were female. I don't know why that is, though. Is it just size? Is it the look on their face? Is it the way they walk?

Sometimes, when I tell someone my dogs are "littermates" they make the assumption that Scout is the brother, and Zoe is the sister. Maybe the name throws them? Maybe Scout's slightly larger and huskier size fools people into believing she’s the big brother?

Even my vet, who spayed both of my dogs, has mistakenly said to Scout, "Ok, get on up here, boy!" as he tries to coax her onto the examining table. I'm sure this doubly angers her. She hates getting up on that metal table to be poked and prodded in the first place, and then to be mistaken for a boy dog! Are you kidding me? Once the doctor does his poking and prodding, doesn’t he feel pretty stupid?

I can fault him, but I guess I shouldn't fault the general public. Like I said, I have been guilty of gender misidentification with dogs myself.

So maybe we should all be a little more careful and sensitive to this serious subject. We make a conscious effort not to misidentify gender when it comes to humans. Just because someone has boobs, we do not assume they are female. And just because they have facial hair, we do not assume they are male.

We need to give the same effort with dogs because not all big dogs are boys. And not all little dogs are girls.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Woking

I decided to throw some extra ingredients in with my leftover Indian food I was heating up today. At the restaurant yesterday, I ate some of the noodles and rice, all the vegetables and all the chicken. So, I thought it would be more nutritionally sound to throw in some broccoli and tofu today.

It looked delicious by the time I had it ready to eat! And perhaps, if I hadn't been expecting to bite into Indian cuisine, I would've been happy and satisfied. But this didn't taste like Indian food anymore. My leftover Indian food had become Asian food.

How could this be? All I did was add broccoli and tofu- NO flavorings of any kind. I assumed the stuff I added in would pick up the flavors of the existing food. Maybe all of it picked up the flavors of my wok instead. Or maybe seeing tofu tricks my head into tasting Asian food.

Oddly, this mix up of my flavors reminded me of two ladies in the knitting group I'm a part of. One of the women is Asian and the other is Indian. I have never thought that those two accents sound alike. But when I overhear them speaking softly to each other as they knit, I cannot understand either of them very well, but their accents sound so similar. If I closed my eyes, I could believe I was listening to two Indian women. And at the same time, I could believe it was two Asian women.

Same deal with my food. I've never thought that Indian food could taste like Asian food. Maybe everything and everyone is just more related than they at first seem.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

What I Want From Yoga

Just in case you've been wondering:

YES! I did complete my 2-week, every-single-day yoga experiment. Yay for me. And now when I go to a class, I sort of feel like I know what I'm doing. I can't SAY, but I can UNDERSTAND the yoga words that the teachers use for the different poses. So I don't have to look up from my mat as often.

I've found different classes and instructors I like, and I plan to continue showing up 3-5 times a week. I feel best on days when I do practice. And even when I don't go to a class, I try to do at least a few of those poses on my own. Even if its just for a few minutes while I'm watching tv.

I want to age gracefully. I want my bones to stay stong and I want my muscles to stay flexible. And I want a yoga butt.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Oh, How I Am Thankful


I don't take this great life for granted, and there are many people and even things I am thankful for on a daily basis. When I sat down to write in my morning journal, I decided to write a list of those things I am thankful for. And holy smokes! It's a long, long list. But it also seems somewhat lame when written in list form. My list mixes together the very, very important with the superficial. For example, right under "Zoe", I listed "my bathtub"- Do those two things even belong on the same list? And how can I put both "Fermin" and "my car" on the same list?

Well, they all made the list because, altho certainly not all equal in significance, it all adds up to this life I live. Big things, and little things. Meaningful stuff, and stuff that's embarrassingly superficial. It's lots of people, some places, and yes, quite a few things. And I'm honestly thankful for it all. All the pieces that make up this wonderful life!

I am thankful for it all!

Friday, November 16, 2007

Yogi


For years now I've subscribed to Yoga Journal and bought numerous pairs of Yoga pants with the strong intention of become a yogi. I know it would be good for me. I know it would be a good balance to all the running I do. And it just appeals to me. In the pictures and articles in Yoga Journal, anyway.

Altho I've gone to some classes here and there, I've never been as regular with yoga as I would like to be. I want to know what it feels like to have a "yoga body". I want to know if it gets easier if I do it often. I want to know what noticeable changes it would bring about in me.

So about a week ago, I decided to immerse myself in yoga. I decided I would do at least one hour of yoga every single day, either a class or a DVD, for 2 solid weeks. That's 14 straight days. Almost as much yoga as I've done in my life all crammed into just 2 weeks!

I'm now 1/2 way thru that 2 week time frame. Going every day and making it a real priority has made a big difference. After a week of daily hour-long yoga practice, an hour no longer feels like an eternity. My body isn't really sore, like when you do a strenuous weight lifting session, but there is a weird (but good) kind of tightness going on, sort of on the inside of my body. I like the discipline of showing up for it each day. It feels like a great accomplishment.

All I promised myself at the beginning of this little goal of mine was that I would practice yoga for 14 solid days and then figure out if I ever wanted to do it again or if it just didn't seem like the thing for me. I wasn't committed to anything beyond just the 14 days.

Of course there is still another week to go, and who knows what might happen, but as of right now, I think this immersion of mine is going pretty well. "They" say it takes 21 days to develop a habit. But maybe it's possible that 14 could do it...

Friday, November 9, 2007

Yesteday My Car Had Freckles

I LOVE my Beetle. And usually, I'm very good about keeping it clean. I hand wash it myself, not really trusting what the carwash's heavy duty brushes might do to the convertible top.

But lately...urgh!- I've let it get filthy. I kept meaning to take it in for some maintanance, and I know they give it a wash there, so I kept waiting. But days kept going by, I kept forgetting to plan to take it into the shop, and it got dirtier and dirtier.

Then yesterday, I parked under a tree. A tree that evidently was a pit stop for LOTS of birds. I was ashamed and embarassed as I ran my errands afterwards. The hood of my car had become an unflushed toilet for birds and it wasn't pretty.

By the time I got my errand running done, I had so little time left that I decided to stop by the carwash right by my house that just opened. I knew just this one time wouldn't hurt my convertible top. I hadn't been to any car wash in a while, let alone a brand new one, so I was a little surprised when the attendant told me it would cost $13! That seemed steep.

But it wasn't. My car was sparkling by the time they got thru with it. There were about 4 guys drying it off and making it pretty while I sat and read a magazine.

My car's freckles, also known as bird shit, are now washed away. If it hadn't been for the birds, I probably never would have gone to that carwash, but I'm so very glad I did. I think I'm going to rethink my opinion about what the carwash's brushes might do to the top. Next time my car has freckles, I'll know just where to take it!