Noggin Thought

I don’t like having to learn a lesson more than once, but today I re-learned a simple one the hard way: Don’t eat a crappy lunch when you have a tough CrossFit met-con (metabolic conditioning) workout. My performance was shitty, after the workout I felt shitty, and I probably need to go have a shitty. While Jody Maroni’s Sausage Kingdom can be tasty (if you like sausage), it’s just not worth it. The #1 is the Jody’s Sausage Special. It comes with any sausage sandwich, regular fries, & regular soda. Why did I do that?…You know, even while I was eating the #1 I was saying to myself, I probably shouldn’t be doing this, it’s gonna cause #2.

I still got a decent time (all met-con workouts are timed), but I think I could’ve done better. It’s not enough for me to do well by overcoming my stupidly created obstacle. But I understand that sometimes we have to be smacked upside the head cause we lose focus. That’s what today was, but it wasn’t my head that got smacked because everything else hurts…It’s fine. It’s over, and I won’t make this mistake again.

Jody Maroni’s: 0
CrossFit: 1

Tomorrow may be a nice salad with grilled chicken or some simple tacos.

Syriana appealed to me because I’ve been interested in political thrillers ever since watching Body of Lies. While that was focused on terrorism in the Middle East this was about oil, the earth’s liquid gold.

I was a tad confused in the first 30 minutes while we’re introduced to all the players. There are 2 big American oil companies, the CIA, the Department of Justice, a Middle Eastern government (can’t remember which one), a legal merger oversight firm, the nation of islam, and Christopher Plummer as the powerful old white man. And everybody has to answer to somebody (except Christopher Plummer). The 2 oil companies are trying to complete a merger which will make one of the most profitable companies in the world. They have to answer to the legal firm performing the investigation. The legal firm has to answer to the Department of Justice, which means they have to produce some sort of evidence of wrong doing, so that the public thinks everyone is doing they’re jobs and catching criminals.

You would think the CIA is all powerful, but even it has a master (in this case, an undisclosed government body, or maybe it was the people but that doesn’t sound right; when does the CIA ever answer to the peopel?). One of it’s agents, on a mission for the CIA, gets in a tight situation and what is the first thing it does?…investigates the agent on accusations of espionage. Have to answer to somebody.

The Middle Eastern goverment on one hand wants to grow it’s economy for the benefit of it’s people and the future of their nation. And on the other, is so money hungry it can’t see straight. Then the nation of Islam represented in the film by young followers only answers to God. And they’re actions, while quite drastic, are only questionable by God. In some ways that’s unfair, but in this movie I don’t really have issue with it.

I liked George Clooney as agent Bob Barnes, who tried to do his job without question until he started to see the big picture. Alexander Siddig as Middle Eastern Prince Nasir Al-Subaai, who truly wants his people to succeed. Matt Damon is an oil stock broker turned private consultant to the prince while simultaneously coming to grips with a family tragedy. And Jeffery Wright is the lawyer investigating the oil merger. He is quite stoic in his presentation (in half of the movie but very few lines or emotions) but is important in advancing the story.

The world we are shown is very real. Actions have consequences. Everyone has his own agenda.

See it.

Remember when I said follow the money because of the article supporting milk consumption. This simple info-graphic shows where the money is. And the single line of text after the graphic says it all.

So, yes we may have to spend a little more money to eat healthier, but so what. Wouldn’t you rather spend the money now on healthier food instead of later on health care? And what else are we doing with our money anyway? New gadgets? Shoes in a different color? Another latte? All that’s for naught if we develop diabetes. We can’t wear shoes if our feet get amputated, can’t have lattes because of the sugar, and gadgets won’t matter if we can’t see.

So, yes, this is why you’re fat.

My friend Kaa wears fruit scented deodorant. I guess I’m not surprised that companies make fruit scented deodorant. There are plenty of fruit scented lotions, and candles, and…fruit. But deodorant seems different than lotion. I don’t know why. It makes me think the next step is fruit flavored deodorant…which probably already exists. I’ll ask Kaa if she’s ever tried that. Maybe she wears the fruity scent for her husband. He probably wants her to smell flavorful. Now I wonder if her’s is flavored.

Angels & Demons was a suspensful mystery. It may be listed as a thriller on Netflix but it wasn’t very thrilling. I did read the book, and I know the ending but so what. I also read the Harry Potter books (some more than once) and I know all those endings, but those movies seemed more engaging.

It was successful at keeping the mystery all the way until the end. But I think it would have been more interesting if the Catholic church lost. Yes, I disagree with the Catholic church but that’s my choice. Tom Hanks as always gives a solid performance. The assassin was my favorite character. He was a professional that completed his mission while minimizing collateral damage. He had rules that he did not compromise unless absolutely necessary. I appreciated a character with that kind of efficiency. It’s the engineer in me.

It was supposed to be a rollercoaster ride, but it seemed rushed.

Also starred Ewan McGregor, but it’s hard to top Obi-Wan…and he didn’t.

I say skip it.

I was in Mammoth this weekend (2/26-2/28). The forecast showed a storm for Friday night. Not sure when it was supposed to happen on Friday night, but we hoped we could make it into town before the storm…we didn’t. Except for one other trip which, sadly, ended before it started due to snow just north of Mojave, CA and me not having the right sized chains, I hadn’t seen this kind of snow on the road before. It was coming down in large, almost centimeter in diameter, flakes. I wasn’t the one driving, so I couldn’t really feel the car sliding that much, but being from sunny southern California it’s not something I’m used to. But the good thing was that we knew the next day would be a great snow day.

Saturday on chair 22 was one of the best snowboarding days I’ve had at Mammoth. Plenty of areas of untouched powder. Lots of good tree runs. And it wasn’t outrageously cold…in the morning. The group decided to eat lunch at Mill Cafe because it “has the best food”. I protested lightly because, while the food is good, you usually have to sit outside to eat. It was snowing at this point. So what happens? We go. We get the food. We sit outside to eat. It was damn cold! Just as I said it would be. After that I decided I didn’t need to continue when I couldn’t feel my fingers anymore. So I headed back to the condo. I can’t complain cause I had great riding and no injuries while another member of our group wasn’t so lucky. He had a good riding day up until the point where he collided with a skier and broke his arm. That’s all of the story that I know. Couldn’t tell you who’s fault it was, but a broken arm is a broken arm and it sucks. He’s okay now but the next 2 months are going to be rough.

Sunday wasn’t nearly as good as Saturday, but the top of the mountain was open. Occasionally when the clouds would clear we had beautiful views of the town of Mammoth Lakes, CA and the eastern sierra mountains. I didn’t take my camera this time so no pictures, but I have one more trip so maybe then. I enjoyed a few runs on the steeps and then watched the second half of the Laker game. The Winter Olympics gold medal hockey game was also on but we didn’t win that so it doesn’t matter. I only acknowledge closers and the Lakers are closers.

One thing that this trip made me remember is shit happens. I’m a fairly cautious snowboarder but at any time some asshole skier could come out of nowhere and try to take me out. So for you new up and coming snowboarders, watch out for skiers. They’re kind of wild and some of them are assholes. Just kidding…about the wild part.

Caffeine was definitely an English movie. The humor is different. It varies from very dry to right in your face. Don’t remember how I came across this on Netflix but I thought hey why not. It has a few actors I like, including Marsha Thomason and Katherine Heigl (not as much as before; maybe it’s the movies she’s done recently, or her character on Grey’s Anatomy). It had a few recognizable American faces as well (I know Katherine Heigl is not English). Breckin Meyer, whose only real claims to fame in my book are Road Trip and Clueless. And Mena Suvari, who does nice job portraying the I hate men girl with a decent English accent.

Not a bad one. Did have a few odd moments, maybe because I’m American.

Also had Callum Blue and Sonya Walger, 2 actors whose work I enjoy.

Check it out.

Just came across this article about milk and lactose intolerance and the first thing that came to mind is who funded it. It says that if you are lactose intolerant there is still hope. You can build up a tolerance by having milk products on a regular basis. This is particularly important for children and adolescents because “it’s very difficult for them to receive enough calcium and vitamin D if they avoid dairy completely”….It sounds quite narrow minded to me. And it’s probably a load of crap.

Salmon and shrimp are very good sources of vitamin D (better than milk). And spinach and greens (turnip, collard, etc.) are both better sources of calcium than milk. There are many different nutrient rich foods out there, so why the focus on milk? Why train our bodies to accept something that it may not want? And it does tell us when it doesn’t want something. You ever been in the car with someone who’s lactose intolerant after they just had a milkshake? That’s a bad road trip. And, they probably can’t make it very far before they need to stop again. Our bodies are trying to tell us something. Why aren’t we listening?

There’s nothing wrong with doctors at medical schools doing studies, and experiments, and testing the benefits of milk in our society. But somebody has to pay for all of this. Follow the money. I wouldn’t be surprised if the National Milk Producers Federation had something to do with it.

Listen to your bodies people!

Semi-rant begins [

Ever have one of those days that you can't get right. Today was one of those days. I screwed up the plumbing under the kitchen sink because I put too much stuff in the garbage disposal at one time. What's bad is that while I was doing it I was quietly asking myself should I be doing this?...I shouldn't have. In case you were wondering, too much melon in the disposal at once makes a melon slushy that probably won't drain correctly. So, that was a great start. Called the plumber. He showed up in less than an hour and took care of it without a problem. The actual clog was in the main line, he said about 15' to 20' down (I live on the top floor in my complex). Usually when that happens the HOA covers the cost, but in this case I knew it was my fault. I don't want other people to pay for my mistakes. And I'm sure I won't make this $90 mistake again.

I needed to send a package today and almost screwed that up. I guess in a way I still did because I ended up paying double what I could have paid if I wouldn't have been so honest. When you want to ship something Media Mail (for books, CDs, DVDs, etc.) through USPS you can't include a packing slip (or any extra papers). This seems like a very silly practice. But because I showed the person at the post office what was in the package before I sealed it, and she saw the packing slip (which is one piece of paper, that's all), I had to send it Parcel Post. Whatever, it's done now.

So, Ooh read my recent blog post about my single weekend. For some reason she didn't like it. I know, weird huh?. She asked me, was is so hard to say I missed her. It's not hard to say, that's just not what I wanted to say. I did say it felt weird not having her around...that's something. Now, what if I said it was great when she was gone, and I can't wait for her to leave again? 1) that wouldn't be true, and 2) that really wouldn't be good. That would be a cause for concern. So I guess the fact that I was affected by her absence wasn't enough...I'm not surprised. I just won't win this one...No, dammit I will win! It took something for me to write that! So what if I take small steps; that's just how I do things! I like small steps.

Also, I've noticed that the women that have read my post on respecting women, can't seem to get past the part about me hitting a woman that hit me first (some of the guys were shocked too). I did talk with Ooh about it, and one thing that wasn't in there was an explanation on the type of person I am and why I feel this way. I think I'll address that in a future post; it should explain some things. Also, If the people with feedback would use the feedback tool (comments), or if you have a blog, write a post referencing my post then we can actually start a dialog. Don't just be mad. Say something!

Yes, I'm annoyed today. Not at Ooh or any other women, or any other person for that matter. It's just this day. And I'm realizing, as I'm writing this, that my writing is not where I want it to be. I'm trying to practice writing so that I am understood. Not for you to agree or disagree, but for you to understand what I'm saying so that if you do agree or disagree, it's with my actual point. Disagreeing with something I didn't even say doesn't help anybody. So it's still a work in progress. But...if this shit keeps happenin', I can bet it's because people just don't like the truth. And I'm gonna tell you the truth. The truth ain't all good, and it ain't all bad, but it is what it is and it ain't nothin' else. (Yeah, I just said that. Again, it's one of those days)

Well, what else happened today?...nothing! That's the problem, after a fucked up morning that I caused, I just couldn't get on track. This day just doesn't count. That's it, I've decided today did not exist in my week.

] Semi-rant ends

Ooh was out of town this past weekend. She left on Wednesday evening (2/17) and came back on Sunday evening (2/21). Her friends flew her out of state. I bet half of you (the guys half) are thinking, great, 4 days to yourself and you didn’t have to pay for the plane ticket. And the other half (girls) are thinking, aww that’s sucks, you’re gonna be alone for 4 days; you’re probably gonna miss her. Well, neither one is exactly true.

Dropping her off at the airport is neutral because nothing changes yet. That’s something I don’t do often. For some this is where their joy or sadness begins. My experience starts when I get home from work. I’m used to her being home when I get home. Or knowing she’ll be home later. So, at first it’s, hey there’s no Ooh today. I can play my game early, or watch a movie, or be on my computer, or do nothing and it doesn’t matter; no one else is affected. Then it’s, huh, there’s no Ooh today. I can only talk to her on the phone. I can’t see her. So it was weird, but I managed.

Friday night I went out with friends to a restaurant (& lounge) in Santa Monica, CA called Ma’Kai. Decent place, with good atmosphere but started to approach sardine can status and that’s annoying. You know, when you have nice area to stand in, drink your drink, talk to your buddies, and then people start movin’ in on your space. And, they wonder why you don’t move to make room for them. That’s not cool. Go somewhere else, cause I ain’t movin’!

We were there for my man Arr’s friend Bee. It was Bee’s going away party for her promotion. She’s not really going away, more like upstairs in the same building. She seemed like a really nice good woman given the limited time I got to know her in a loud, crowded bar. Except for her trying to get me to do shots with her and her group (must be a young person thing, she’s 25). I could see Arr being happy with her. I don’t really know their history, but I think he should try it. So, while we’re there my buddy Cee was jokingly trying to get a woman to hit me to see what I would do. He wanted to know if my thoughts on respecting women were true. I’m glad he was joking, cause I didn’t feel like getting thrown out of a bar that night.

It was cool, we’ll have to do that again soon. Maybe 2 weeks from now. This week is Mammoth. Should be good times.