A FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH?

I cannot recommend the tv series, 30 Days, enough. What better way to test your opinions than experiencing, first hand, the other side. The second episode of season one is about the fight against aging. I'll be honest, I foolishly believed that growing old is just a part of life. Imagine my surprise in learning that there are a significant amount of doctors (yes, trained professional doctors) who treat aging as a disease that can be cured. Huh?
Well, this episode introduces a 34-year old man who has decided that he wants to get back the 8-pack (not six, he says eight) abs he had when he was in high school and college. With the blessing of his wife, he goes to one of these doctors and begins a regimen of weekly testosterone shots, daily hgh (growth hormone) shots, and enough micro-nutrients to make him rattle when he walks-a total of almost 40 pills a day! Along with all this, he begins a strict diet, and both cardio excercises and weight training.
He and his wife decide to go to the sperm bank and 'make a deposit' before things begin because they want to have another child and are told that sterilization may be a side-effect of the treatment-along with high blood pressure, heart problems, abnormal bone growth, mood swings, diabetes, etc.
Not even two weeks into the program, he is contacted by his anti-aging doctor who informs him that his liver is not functioning properly. The decision is made to suspend the program and run further tests. In the quest for answers, he and his wife show his weight trainer (who is a professional body builder) everything else he is doing/taking in the program. The body builder tells him that the amount of micro-nutrients he is taking could be very dangerous and probably what is causing the liver problems. The decision is made to stop the pills and continue the shots. As the days progress, his mood becomes more unpredictable which begins to cause a strain on his marriage. I can't remember why, but nearly 3 weeks after starting they decide to go back to the fertility clinic to see if there is any change there. After the initial 'deposit', he was told that his sperm was very healthy-over 60 million and mostly alive. This time, they find somewhere around 1 million and all are dead. Incredible! After such a short period, the effects are that damaging. At the end of 22 days, he and his wife decide that this program is too dangerous to continue and stop. Luckily, everything done to his body was temporary.
So what's the lesson in all of this? We are ALL going to die some day. If you spend your time focusing what was and not embracing what is, you will have wasted the time you have. I speak this as if I practice it every day. I don't. I try to, but I frequently need to be reminded of it. Do I wish that I could look better/younger? Not really. To be honest, most people don't believe that I'm as old as I am. O.k. I do color my hair to hide all the grays, but I'm still not ready to let that go. I think I look much better than I did 10 years ago.
Next question: would I take a 'cure' for aging if it were proven to be a disease? No to that one, too. Death is a part of life. It's all just one big journey. So strap in, keep your arms and feet in the car at all times, and get ready for the wildest ride you can make of it!

30 DAYS OF...

So I've started watching Morgan Spurlock's show, 30 Days, finally and I've only made it through the first episode before succumbing to the need to blog. I'll warn you, there will probably be several rants about this show. The first episode finds Morgan and his girlfriend living for one month on minimum wage. Ah, the memories. To be honest, I've never had a minimum wage job; however, I spent 18 years at the mercy of the generosity of strangers. Let me tell you, they ain't that generous. And if you think being paid $5.15 an hour seems degrading and humiliating, try $2.11 an hour which was waitress minimum in the sunshine state of FLA until I left the service hell that was my life for an eternity. I shouldn't complain too loudly, it did go up when the national minimum wage increased from $3.65 to the current rate. Yeah, it went up a whole 10 cents!
But I knew this going into it and with tips you should be making well over $5.15 which I did. What struck me about this show is how much I could relate to what they were going through-living day to day, focusing on how every penny is spent, constantly worrying about whether bills will be paid. Yup, that was my life for nearly 20 years. And, unfortunately it still is in many ways. I rarely splurge and buy something just because I want it. Now I have to decide whether I really need that frivolous purchase. Hell, I fretted over a $10 puzzle while on vacation! I'm happy to report two things as far as my vacation is concerned:

• I never once used my credit card. It was with me, but I didn't even think about using it.

and

• I bought that damn puzzle! To hell with it, I was on vacation.

So how have I changed after years of living in poverty. I do think more rationally about buying things (perhaps it's a downfall, but I am learning to treat myself again). I am much better at saving money now. And the biggest thing I'm proud of is the fact that, after some help from my parents, I am out of credit card debt and have not relapsed. I even have a card that hasn't had a balance in over a year and a half. That's amazing for someone who owed well over $15,000 at one time. Learning to respect money is important. The only thing I wish is that I could relax just a little more about things. I still worry from time to time about whether I will be able to pay my bills. But that is a fact of life when you live in lovely Silicon Valley. I deal with it because I do really like it here.

A RESTLESS MIND

It's after 1 in the morning and I can't sleep, so what do I do? Blog! Haven't done the whole quote thing in a while so I thought I'd share some wisdom.

• CHOICE "When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I've never tried before." Mae West
• ILLUSION "One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. The bamboozle has captured us. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back." Carl Sagan
• FUTURE "My will shall shape the future. Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man's doing but my own. I am the force; I can clear any obstacle before me or I can be lost in the maze. My choice; my responsibility; win or lose, only I hold the key to my destiny." Elaine Maxwell
• HATRED "Collective fear stimulates herd instinct, and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd." Bertrand Russell
• WORSHIP "The more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never worshipped anything but himself." Richard Francis Burton
  

Did something different this time. I don't know about you, but I'm unfamiliar with some of the names I quote. I thought, where I could, I would post a link that told who these wise and chatty people are. I found it interesting, hope you do too.

SPEED READING

No, the title does not refer to the final Harry Potter book. I'm speaking of another book that I foolishly checked out at work a day before the HP release date. I say 'foolishly' because I am not the fastest of readers. In fact, the Potter series is usually the only books I can read with any semblance of speed. But this was a book I had been waiting for for over a month.

I'm speaking of God Is Dead. When I read the synopsis of this book I was immediately intrigued. In a nutshell, it is about God coming to Earth in the form of a dinka woman who winds up in a refugee camp in Darfur. As the title suggests, he is killed there. That is only the first 20 or so pages of the story. What happens to the world after is what fascinated me. The author, Ron Currie, Jr., gives an interesting scenario of how people would react to the news-from the obvious chaos, to parents fanatically worshiping their children, to a thought-provoking hypothesis as to the belief systems that would be followed afterward and the inevitable warring that would ensue.

This is a short book, a little over 200 pages, that I devoured in a total of maybe 10 hours. This was the author's first novel and I hope not his last. I would like to reveal more about what happens, but I don't want to ruin anything. What I can say is this book is for anyone with an open mind who is not easily offended. If reading an interview with a talking feral dog and hearing Colin Powell speak like Samuel L. Jackson interests you, check out this book. Then give me a call or drop me an email. I really want to discuss this book further!

THE END IS NEAR...

I am back from a long, much-needed vacation. I can't say that I feel rested. It always seems that I need another few days to recoup from my 'relaxation.' But I digress. The story of my trip will come in another blog. This blog is about the impending conclusion to a chapter of my life that seems to have lasted an eternity. I speak, of course, about Harry Potter. Those of you who have enjoyed the journey as I have, I can see the nod and smile that greets these words. To the rest of you, the best way I can describe my feelings is to ask you to think of something (a book, movie, or even best friend) that you held dear and knew was about to end. I do have the ability to step outside of this fanaticism(?) and see how it must look to the uninitiated, so I thought I might try to explain what the series has meant to me over the past several years.


I started reading Harry late, thanks to prodding by my father. I was home on a visit and he told me I should take the first volume and read it during the week I was there. I explained that I am a slow reader and doubted that I wouldn't be able to finish it. He told me that I might be surprised and urged me to give it a try. To my astonishment, it took me only four days to finish it. For those of you who don't know, the 'first year' is the shortest of the series. I couldn't get enough of it. As soon as I got back from my trip, I bought the first, second, and third books and rushed through the latter two. I was terminally hooked. When the fourth came out, I devoured it as well. I hadn't read like this since I was young. In fact, I thank Ms. Rowling for my new-found love of reading. In between reading the Potter books, I found other authors that I have enjoyed just as much.

While reading the fifth book, I experienced something that had never happened to me before. After reading the climax, I became so emotional that I had to put the book down. I was actually sobbing because of what had been written on those pages. As I wiped away the tears, I began to laugh at myself. "Why am I crying? It's only a book." These words did nothing to calm me, so I welcomed the emotions that came and, when I was able, finished the book. Never before (and I don't think ever again) have I had such a reaction to the written word. Despite the pause, I still read the nearly 900 pages in only 3 days! And I actually slowed down to make it last.

So how do I feel as I face the end of an era? I await this final book with both exhilaration and trepidation. On one hand, I want to know what will happen to these fictitious people who I often feel closer to than flesh and blood people I've known. Will Harry survive the inevitable final battle? Will Ron and Hermione? And what about Hagrid, Ginny, Neville, the Weasley twins? Will they all be by his side to help him? Will Snape and Draco fight against Harry? Will Harry find vengeance for all he has lost? Will Harry and Ginny get back together? And will Ron and Hermione finally admit their feelings for each other? They had better or I will be pissed. Well, I'll have to wait another few days to find out. Unfortunately I have to work the Midnight party, so I won't be able to get my copy until Saturday afternoon and won't start reading it until Sunday at least. The shame is that I just borrowed a book from work that I really want to read. It's short, so I'm hoping I can finish it before I have to start reading The Deathly Hallows. To be honest, I'm not in a great hurry to read it. Once I finish that last sentence, it will be over forever. And that's not something that I look forward to at all. The only reason why I won't put it off for long is because it will become impossible to avoid hearing what happens. As it is, I may not go online for a while. So if there are no new entries, don't worry or become discouraged.

I just want the joy of Mr. Potter to last a little longer.

LUV THAT FEELING!

A while ago, I posted lyrics to a song by an English band called The Feeling. Since the beginning of this year, when I first heard them, I've become a huge fan. The music itself is very pop which makes my affection for them odd because I generally don't like snappy tunes. And if you only listen to the music and not the lyrics, it's quite fluffy and happy. I'll warn you, there is depth there. Now I've found a video for one of their songs that matches their lyrics:




Unfortunately, the quality of this video isn't the best. If you go to this link you can see a better version. I love that, on the surface, it seems like a simple video. If you look closely, there is a lot going into the making of it. It mentions a new album at their website. It doesn't come up at B&N, so I guess I'll have to wait. Hopefully, it won't be too long. Patience is one of those virtues I have to work on.

SNAKES, WHY'D IT HAVE TO BE SNAKES!

So I'm proud to say I have very few strong fears. Heights don't bother me too much, crowds can be bad (but I usually can handle it), bugs don't freak me out. There is one fear that haunts me. Yep, it's snakes. I could say I'm happy that I'm not alone with this phobia, but I don't like that it is irrational. I have never had a bad experience. I've never been bitten, no one has chased me with one. In fact, the most I ever saw of them growing up was squished on the side of the road. I can't even claim the whole old testament thing because I've never been religious. Despite this, I don't like the little buggers. They make me very uneasy.
Why do I tell you this? Because I have had two very close encounters in the last three days. The first came at Warped Tour 2007. This was the fourth WT I've attended and I was excited because I was going to see my first freak show. (I'll blog about that later) So I'm waiting for the show to start when all of a sudden there is a man with a HUGE albino constrictor right in front of me! I'm not exaggerating, they said it could eat a small goat! Well, I didn't scream or run. I didn't even jump (too much). I just stood there with my hands clenched under my chin and took deep breaths. The guy eventually walked away and that was it. Later, when we were leaving the tent, the snake was out front. I was tempted to go and touch it. I don't know why I didn't-it wasn't fear that kept me, just shyness, I guess. At least I didn't freak out. I wish I had touched it though, maybe even had my picture taken with it. Oh well, next time.
At work today, a young woman asked me if I had a certain movie. She had one of those little dog totes over her shoulder and I didn't think anything of it. As I walked up to her, I noticed that was no Rover in there. You guessed it! I asked, "is that a snake?" No shit! That's not what she said. She just assured me that the tote was secure-mesh sides and a zipper secure! I was nervous, but more put off than afraid. How could she bring a snake in the store? Then I got to thinking. I've always thought it's cool how you can bring your dog into a lot of stores out here. I've even seen people bring cats, so how could I ask her to leave? "I'm sorry, your snake is not cute enough to bring in here?" "All animals brought in store must have four legs and fur?" It's not like it was crawling around on the floor (that has happened in a B&N in Florida, but it wasn't a pet). So I didn't say anything. I think it was a little odd to bring a snake in a bookstore, but it's not the strangest pet. A woman brought a chicken into the Kazoo store. Carried it around in her purse with it's head poked out. All I could think then is how much that purse must stink!
My eventual goal is to overcome this silly fear. I don't think I made any strides these past few days, but at least I can coexist in the same space without making a fool of myself.