Poking the wasps' nest

Could someone please explain to me why the individuals, and seemingly the whole world, is insistent that they must poke poke poke at the marabuntas, jack spaniard, bee, fire ants nest that is Islam?

Some dolt made a movie - we all saw the reaction.  Right after, with the world in the throes of Islamic, anti-US, mash up all the US embassy protests, a French magazine decides it makes sense to publish a cartoon re Islam. I mean, seriously?  How badly do we want to get stung here?

I truly believe that anti-Islam forces (which, quite possibly, and most probably) consist of folks who never tried to understand what Islam is about but are content to ride the negative stereotyping and hate hype) are actually pushing conservative and moderate Muslims to become radicals, thus keeping this violent, discriminatory, hate wheel turning.

What's the point?  Big steups.

Sigh.

We all have to answer one day.  We will all be in the same boat.  I hope souls will be able to rest in the face of God's judgement.  

All of our souls.

I'm baack....

Hello, all.

I have been absent for quite some time, so guilt has me returning to this blog.  What have I come to say? Hmn...

Well, for one, I must say that I am now quite hooked on audiobooks, and have read/listened to plenty plenty plenty already for the year.  One of the best narrated books (or rather, THE best narrated book) I listened to was The Woodcutter, by Reginald Hill. Boss story, boss characters, boss narration, boss writing.

Have also fallen in with The Mortal Instrument books (Cassandra Clare). Enjoyable.  Last night I finished listening to Robert Jordan's The Eye of the World. Very good story; think a movie is in the works for next year. Also part of a series.

The reason I like audiobooks so much is that you can be busy with cooking, ironing, bathing, exercising....anything, and you can listen to all the books you want. Most excellent.  

Apart from books, I have good news!  Well, for me anyway (and it can be for you, too!).  I've been drinking green tea at least once a day for some time, and I have noticed that I am slowly but surely losing weight.  Yay!  The tummy is going down - I soon say goodbye.  I like to put cinnamon powder in it, as well.  Did some reading, and both green tea and cinnamon are good for you.

Green tea is high in catechin, which is a compound that increases the availability of noradrenaline (yeah, you know what I'm talking about) in the central nervous system, which in turn increases the rate at which a process called thermogenesis occurs.  This big word simply refers to the body burning fat to increase its core temperature - and voila! you lose weight.

Cinnamon, too, is good for weight loss, as it helps the body process sugar faster by improving the way insulin works.

So, slowly but surely.  Imagine if I were using the trampoline instead of watching it cokey-eye every morning.  Would really speed up weight loss, I bet.  Interesting theory, that..... It also helps that I really only have time and energy to have popcorn and green tea for dinner almost every night after I get home from class. Great combination, yes?

Boy, this blog is long. Whew!  This is what happens when you stay away too long.  Anyhoo, it's late, and I really ought to stop torturing my body with awakeness when it's screaming at me to pleasepleasepleasesleepsleepsleep.

So I'm gone for now. 




 

Book Club

Yes, I know, I know - who reads books anymore when there's Facebook, right?  But I know there must be some real readers out there yet....so let's start up our own book club, why don't we?  Tired of trying to talk to my friends about what I'm reading and having them roll their eyes and pretend (not very well, mind you) to be interested.

I'm currently on Book 4 of Game of Thrones, so if there's anyone out there who wants to discuss it, please, let me know.

Thanks. I'm waiting........

So.....tired

Ok, remember the Fun Exercise post? Right. About that. I was not lying, neither was I exaggerating about the amount of fun I was having.  But that was all before the fatigue set in.

I continued jumping twice a day, morning and night, and all was well, until suddenly each day, my body began wearing down.  I was tired all the time.  I walked slower, felt heavy and sluggish, was forced to turn my back on Mr. Jumpsport because of sheer fatigue.

And then I realized what it was.  I was jumping too often. I vaguely remember reading that I should use the trampoline no more than three times a week.  Right.  A week.  NOT twice a day, 5 days a week. Apparently, I had overdone the darn jumping.

For the following three weeks I completely ignored the trampoline, hoping to rest my body so that I could jump again.  Unfortunately, as we all know with any exercise machine we have ever bought (yes, even with this fun trampoline), once we stop using that sucker for any amount of time, it suddenly turns into an invisible piece of furniture (or a handy clothes hanger).

So, then, even when I was ready to begin using it again, I kept putting it off, and any jumping that I actually did felt like I was just beginning again, calf muscles and feet hurting in no time at all, tiring quickly. Pressure!

NEVER stop exercising. That should be the exerciser's motto. I mean, yes, you've got to stop in order to use the loo, and perhaps answer the phone, and ok, maybe to pay the Landlady her rent... but apart from that, NEVER stop exercising.  It makes starting back really hard.

I'm not quite back up to where I used to be, but I'm getting there.  Just remember - NEVER stop.  I'm serious. In fact, why are you here reading this blog? Get over there and exercise, darnit! I mean, if I can type this blog while rebounding, you can read it while you do your own exercise.

Good.  That's what I'm talking about. There you go.  Multi-tasking never felt better.

Congratulations.

WEP, WPA, DHCP...huh, whut?

Asked my friend for help in putting a password on my wireless router...boy, I knew I didn't know much (if any) about wireless-speak e.g. WEP, WPA, DHCP etc. but trying to read the information on the Support page was like reading a foreign language.  My eyes went glassy every time I tried.  I was laughing my head off at my illiteracy, although I knew I was probably frustrating my friend no end.  Sorry, PB.

This is probably why technicians could charge plebs like me all sorts of money to do a simple fix.  I mean, I wouldn't have a clue!  I can safely navigate through a lot of computer gobbledy-gook, but when it comes down to these types of things, I'm back in Kindergarten.  But, no worries.  We all have our strengths and weaknesses.

Long story short, my friend emailed me instructions on what to do (thank you, PB) and now I'm passwordified. And yes, it turned out to be a very simple fix. 

Now, I know what to do next time, so this was definitely a beneficial exercise.  Well, for me, at least.  Reminds me of Sesame Street - if you don't know something, A.S.K., just ASK.

COVER ME

Cover me with warm honey, thick and sweet against the tongue

Cover me with your tongue, sweet and rough against my skin

Cover me with your skin, pore against pore against pore

Cover me with your pores, inhale my breath, take me raw

Cover me with your hands, gentle please, on this virgin land

Cover me with your hands, now less a caress, more a demand

Cover me with your heat, urgent gasps, encompassing fire

Cover me with your scent, hands beneath me, lift me higher

Cover me with your essence, your light, your virile power,

Now my eyes close, taste me,

What I give is yours forever.

/lisaallen

14/03/08

Finally....fun exercise

Bought myself a mini-trampoline late last year, a Jumpsport 350.  Was delivered in the first week of January. I must give Amazon props for always delivering as ordered, and in quick time.

Can't exactly remember how I stumbled upon trampolines, but I found myself amazed at the expansive market for them and the claims re benefits of rebounding. I was especially interested in the weight loss benefits, although I soon realized that losing weight was just one part of the equation.

So, the trampoline was delivered, collected after an almost 4-hour wait at Customs at Piarco, and taken home.  That night I read the instructions, fitted on the legs, and tentatively stepped on.

Whoaow... I was bouncing! And then I was over-balancing and falling off! I laughed and laughed, stepped back on and tried again. It took me several days of jumping to learn how to balance, although it has been one month now since I have it, and still sometimes I find myself teeter-tottering a wee bit. It was a most excellent time of adventure.

At first, I thought that I was jumping wrong, perhaps my posture was incorrect, because my calves very very quickly began to hurt, as did under my feet, whether I jumped in shoes or not.  Took me a while to realize that my calf muscles were only just waking up, and as for my feet, they eventually became accustomed to slapping against the mat.

I tried out all sorts of exercises - my favourite right now is running on the spot, lifting my legs as high as I could.  I did the health bounce, twists, jumping jacks and whatever else I could think of.  Using the trampoline is actually aerobics on a rebound surface - perfect for my back and wonky knees. Only wished the mat were a bit bigger though, but the bungy cords make for a very quiet and smooth movement.

Last week, while walking to work, it dawned on me that I was walking faster than usual, and my legs were not tired.  I was elated!  Something was happening here, and I loved it! Even if there had been no weight loss yet, my legs were becoming stronger. Nice.

I jump twice a day - morning and night.  Have found that the after work fatigue is replaced by a different, more enjoyable fatigue after jumping, a 'whoo, that was good!' sort of tired.

I like it.

So, this is an account of my first month foray into the world of rebounding. By the end of February, I expect to be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.  No? How about the third month? Fourth? Jeez, then what's the point?

Ah, I remember.....fun exercise. Yes, people, those two words can be used together in a sentence.

Try it.  You'll like it.