Noggin Thought

Finally an action-filled, dramatic thriller. I started watching Body of Lies on Sunday night (1/24) when I got back from Mammoth, with the intention of only watching maybe an hour. I planned to finished it the next day…That didn’t happen. After the first 30 minutes I was really enjoying it, so I just kept going. I’m not usually a fan of Leonardo DiCaprio movies but this one worked for me. I don’t think he’s a bad actor I just haven’t liked his stuff. Okay, that’s not exactly true, I did like The Departed. Now back to this one…it wasn’t about romance and bullshit (well, most of it). It was about the hard decisions that are made during a time of war and the impact it can have on the people in the field. It also stars Russell Crowe as the CIA desk man making the hard decisions and Golshifteh Farahani as Leo’s love interest.

It has a little action, a little deceit, a little fun, and I guess a good resolution. Check it out.

You’ll notice (you should, it’s right in front of you) that I’m adding the release year for movies now. I may add more pertinent information to future posts, we’ll see.

I learned (maybe realized) some things today. But let’s start with last night.

Trying to write a blog post in a room full of people is not a good idea. I’ll set the scene: Role Models is showing on the TV, quite loudly. One person is watching cricket on his computer (without headphones) and commenting on it. And everyone else is having disjointed conversations that occasionally refer to cricket or the movie, but are mostly about nothing. I was barely able to collect the thoughts that I did have and compose an entry. So I’m proud of myself for overcoming the obstacles that were around me, but annoyed at myself for being in the presence of the obstacles at all. Net result: 0. I could have (should have) written the entry upstairs away from all of the social activity.

On to today. I had forgotten the little things that are necessary to make snowboarding ultimately enjoyable. Probably because it’s been about 10 months since I last strapped in. These little things are why yesterday was just a cold day and today was a good day, and it reminded me of why I look forward to these “somewhat draining weekends…whenever I get the opportunity.”

Yesterday was cold. I think it was colder than today. That’s interesting because my friends felt that today was the colder of the two. Let’s examine this. Day 1, my fingers and toes were numb too many times on the mountain. Day 2, I wore an extra layer (for some reason I chose not to on Day 1; why would I do that?) and made sure not to lace my boots up too tight. Result: very few instances of numb fingers and toes which allowed me to take a picture here and there. Yesterday my technique was “a little off on the steep runs”. This, I’m sure now, was an equipment problem. Day 1, my bindings were set at -12° and 12°. Day 2, I changed them to -18° and 18°. I didn’t even realize that a 12° total change would make such a difference. Result: riding was almost effortless. I could do whatever I tried without a struggle. I even did a few jumps today. Last and most important: breakfast. Day 1, “granola and other empty carbs”, not a good way to fuel my system for a day of activity. Day 2, leftovers from dinner on Day 1. This wasn’t the best of meals (chicken fried steak with gravy, vegetables, and potatoes) but it was still more balanced (and tastier) than the Day 1 breakfast. Result: energy for every run and a clear mind to focus on my riding and listen to my music.

Compared to last night this entry was written under much better conditions. I’m sitting in my comfortable chair. I have my studio headphones on, listening to the sounds of Om Radio (available on the Om Records website). Very nice music to kick back to. Ooh is here. I can’t really hear her with these headphones on but I can see her. I look over at her every now and then. She’s fun to watch…all this contributes to better thought composition.

Last night I was only optimistic about today because all I could focus on was what I wanted to change. Today I was able to enjoy it. And now that I have the little things under control again I think it will remain that way.

I told you I took one:

Bonus: I’m trying this out so here are these.

I’m in Mammoth Lakes, CA right now. It’s the end of a very cold day of snowboarding, and I’m tired. We had a 6 hour drive up last night. I got maybe 6 hours of sleep. Definitely not a good breakfast (granola and other empty carbs). Then 5-6 hours of snowboarding. I did have a nice lunch somewhere in there which helped. So I guess it’s been a long 2 days. I have one more day of boarding tomorrow before we do the second 6 hour drive back to LA. It’s a long, somewhat draining weekend and I look forward to it whenever I get the opportunity. Every 2 or 3 weekends would be just fine.

This is the first time I’ve snowboarded since starting CrossFit in June of 2009. I don’t think I got winded at all today, but my technique was a little off on the steep runs…easily correctable. I think I just need to adjust my bindings. Tomorrow I may do a few runs from the top; maybe take a picture or two, we’ll see. Now a little reading, and then sleep time.

For now I have this:

Last night was Netflix night again. Another romantic comedy, The Ugly Truth, with Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler. It was a fun little movie, not to long or boring. It definitely gets points for telling the ugly truth about what men want. Really ladies all you have to do is just ask. And then when we tell you…listen. That’s your biggest mistake. We tell you all the time but you don’t listen.

Guys, if you have a free night in with the misses give it a go. No, he never says, “This is not madness, THIS IS THE TRUTH!!!”; but that would’ve been awesome. Your woman is more likely to listen to others than to you anyway, even if they’re saying the same thing. Girls, you might like it for the feel good scenes with Heigl and Butler. You also may get some insight into how we think if you, say it with me: LISTEN. And you’ll probably want to keep the kiddies out of the room, it’s not for them.

Hopefully my next movie will not be a rom-com. I like ‘em but I need some action and thrills; maybe some drama. Variety is the spice of my…movie watching. We’ll see what the Netflix genie grants me soon.

Dinner with my In-laws last night followed by dinner with my dad tonight made for a busy weekend. I drove more than 150 miles in 2 days and I’m still here. That feels wierd.

Last night we spent much of the time discussing…I can’t remember. There was conversation happening the entire time and I can’t remember what was said. I thought I was listening. Maybe there were too many topic changes and too many different opinions. It’s really just a blur. I did enjoy it though.

I’m also pleased with our decision to take my dad out to dinner for his Christmas present instead of purchasing an item (so what if Christmas was 24 days ago…you do it your way, we do it our way). We may have spent a little more money than buying a gift would entail, but that’s ok. We got to do something nice for my dad and spend time with him. We always like to eat and hang out. So actually he wasn’t the only one receiving a gift.

Two nights ago Ooh and I watched The Proposal. It was a fun movie. I like Ryan Reynolds in comedy roles. But one of the funniest scenes in the movie was of Sandra Bullock dancing around a fire singing the lyrics to Get Low by Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. Also didn’t mind the scene with Sandra Bullock naked, covering the naughty bits with her hands. She’s in pretty good shape for 45. Being that Ooh was also watching the movie with me, I was unable to really analyze the scene and catch all the subtle nuances.

So if you’re interested in a light romantic comedy to watch with your partner (or by yourself), it’s not a bad choice. For the women there’s also a somewhat bare Ryan Reynolds scene; you all weren’t forgotten.

Yesterday Ooh received a Netflix movie in the mail. She was somewhat surprised because she doesn’t have an account. So I explain how I set up the profiles so that she can have her own queue and still be on the same account. As I’m trying to explain, I’m hit with multiple questions. Still haven’t finished explaining the account setup. Then a question about money, “does it cost more?”…Here’s where she loses it; The money difference is about $4-6 per month which equates to $48-72 per year. For some people that may be a lot, for me it’s about one meal per month. Now, at this point she doesn’t know that it’s only $4-6 but that’s her own fault (shouldn’t have interrupted my explanation).

After the outburst I decide not to talk to her for a while, finish my dinner and continue watching White Men Can’t Jump. Great movie. I watch Billy Ho (actually Billy Hoyle, but they call him Billy Ho) played by Woody Harrelson continue losing his money, and eventually his woman, because of his pride, temper, and bad decision making. In some way it could have been analogous to my situation, I don’t know…So I choose to think about the “event” and decide that something else must have been the real problem. I’ve never seen Netflix have this affect on anyone. Many people enjoy Netflix every night. This had to be a trigger to release other frustration (shouldn’t have been in my direction).

I talked to her later and got the whole story about her concerns over money because we are practically living on one income now. That’s fine, I get it. I’m more interested in my response to the “event”. I think I handled it very well. I would rather think about something and work through it than to answer a lash out with a lash out. Two wrongs don’t make a right, but three rights make a left…just go left.

This time I’m sitting at about 35000 feet in a seat that reclines more than 2 inches. Was that so hard Virgin America? Now the rating can be a decent 7/10. If I fly Virgin again, it could change. Last night was my final night in the Eastern timezone. Yesterday, I didn’t fall into a bread and potato coma at 1630 Eastern, but I think I was close. I did get to play basketball for the first time in over a year with G and T and A (and who doesn’t like to play with T and A). We returned home to a meal prepared by the women of the house, and against my better judgment, I ate more of the carbs and beans than I should’ve. I can deal with gas…when it passes. When it just sits in one place, that sucks! For a little while I was quite uncomfortable and I had no one to blame but myself.

We played a very fun game of Taboo. I highly recommend it. Then D or maybe NV (at some point I’ll come up with better nicknames) had the idea to say one thing that we really like or appreciate about our partners. She had to know that this would turn into an emotional few minutes, but she still started to tear up. When it was my turn I said that I like how Ooh complements me. We are very different in many ways, almost opposites. I think if we didn’t have this balance (well at least I’m balanced), we would be bored or fight all the time. Of course we need more to make a marriage work, but I think we’re off to a good start.

Over the last few days my opinion of New York hasn’t changed much. The people still can’t drive worth a damn. I think the lane markers are just notional guidelines that no one follows. Things are way to expensive. We payed $30-50 for 5 hours of parking, and a 23% (unknown beforehand) gratuity for a meal. It’s cold. Ok fine, it’s winter so I’ll give you that one. But the people (that I’ve been with) over these last 4 days have changed the feel of New York from a foreign land to a warm home.

While I am very happy to return to my home, I guess I may also be leaving another good home.

We left after 1730 Eastern. Couldn’t tell you how far after, but I know I was still looking at TV when we approached the departure time.  Thankfully Ooh wasn’t the only one still prepping. Actually, she was ready to go until everybody else was ready; then she wasn’t ready and we waited, but not too long.

The restaurant was nice. Good food at decent prices even on New Year’s Eve; two full bars and a lounge; club upstairs (unnecessary for me). But it ain’t all happy daisies…they did screw us on the dinner bill and tried to screw us on the drink bill. I don’t like to get screwed twice by people I don’t know. Instead of an automatic 18% gratuity for a party of 8 or more (sometimes 6 or more) they included a 23% gratuity. I don’t think we would have had an issue with that if we knew beforehand. With the drink bill, they included an outrageous service charge; claiming that since we ordered drinks from the bar through our waiter we incurred that charge. Again had we known that we would have walked 20 feet to the bar, ordered the drinks ourselves, gave the bartender a tip (because he should get it, not the waiter), and returned to our table in less time. If it wasn’t for the attempted double screwing I would give the restaurant a higher rating, but after the violations I can’t go higher than a 6/10.

The New Year came and went and they danced until about 0200 Eastern (I don’t really dance anymore, so it was just them). It was a nice way to spend New Year’s. I wouldn’t have chosen it, still wouldn’t choose it, but I did enjoy it. Today we visited a Hindu temple for lunch. It was very crowded. I guess January 1st is an important day, who knew? Another place with good food, but this one was definitely not a Zone meal. I try to follow a Paleo-Zone diet, which means very few grains and starches and balanced carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. This meal was bread (grains) heavy and potato (starch) loaded. So I will probably be drifting off to sleep very soon.

Update(1/19): There was a recent article in the Washington Post about the Paleo Diet here.