SUCK IT, DOUBTERS
I just surpassed 5,000 walking miles for the year, and I did it one day sooner than I did in 2007, the last (and only) time I hit 5,000 walking miles.
So for everyone who didn’t think I could do it again, take THAT!
I’m also going to likely beat 2007’s total mileage of 5,100, too.
Ha.
VO2-The-Max!
Aloha. Let’s talk about my VO2 max.
According to this site, “VO2 max, also known as maximal oxygen uptake, is the measurement of the maximum amount of oxygen a person can utilize during intense exercise. It is a common measurement used to establish the aerobic endurance of an athlete prior to or during the course of training. It is one of several tests used to determine an athlete’s cardiovascular fitness and performance capacity.”
Typically, the more endurance sports/activities you do, you are more likely to have higher VO2 max scores. And of course, correlation does not equal causation, but there does tend to be, you know, correlation between these two things.
So what have my VO2 max scores been since the start of the year? Let’s see.
Ohhhh, okay. Random. Cool.
Note that there’s a break in the graph because I had to stitch together two different display screens from my Garmin app.
Of course, another disclaimer here is that I’m not getting my VO2 max professionally measured here; these readings are coming from my Garmin. But I would think any measurement error would be somewhat consistent across time, right?
I just find it weird that there seems to be no pattern whatsoever, and I bet if you looked at this you couldn’t be able to tell if I’d started seriously running at any point during the year and if I’d stopped seriously running at any point during the year.
(Serious 13+ mile runs twice a week started around the end of April I think; I have kept those up ever since, so there hasn’t been a stopping point.)
And like…I am very consistent with the type of exercise I do as well as the duration. It’s not like I’m doing dramatically different exercises on these days. I’m either a) running 14 miles or b) walking 16 miles. That’s basically it.
I also find it weird that I think my circulation has gotten worse since I started running, but that’s whatev.
Body, you’re strange.
Book Review: Main Street (Lewis)
Have I read this before: I don’t think so. When I chose this book I thought I’d read it in junior high as one of my first books off my list, but I feel like I certainly would have remembered this story if I had.
Review: The alternate title for this should have been “An Anti-Tourism Pamphlet for the Small Town American Midwest.” I get that it’s a satirical take on small towns in the US, but holy crap. Lewis does do a good job of making Gopher Prairie (one of the said small towns) incredibly unappealing to Carol, the main character who came from a bigger city, but very homey and endearing to her husband, who is from the town. This was a very frustrating (but engaging) read because it’s hundreds of pages of Carol trying to better the town, the townspeople shutting down her ideas, Carol trying to conform to their ways, the townspeople shunning her because of where she came from, and this constant war she has with herself over feeling like she is basically losing every aspect of herself by being beaten down by the small town life (and trying to conform to it) and feeling guilty about wanting out and wanting to go back to the city.
Favorite part: As someone who grew up in a relatively small town (Moscow) and moved to a big city (Calgary), I really related to Will (Carol’s husband) upon returning to Gopher Prairie after an extended time away. He finds joy in the smallest, simplest changes about the town that he notices, like a new sign on a store or a neighbor’s new roof. I feel like I have that same sort of reaction every time I go back to Moscow, haha.
Rating: 7/10
DJ Earworm, you magnificent soul
This is so freaking cool.
I love that it’s an instrumental so that you can hear how the basic sounds of songs have evolved over the past 50 years.
I also love that once it hit the early 90s I was like “I KNOW MOST OF THESE YAY!”
Earworm is amazing.
2020 Absolutely Sucks
COVID? Yes, of course that’s the main reason.
But another reason came for us today after we took Jazzy to the vet/ophthalmologist for a follow-up on her previous appointment. Her right eye is responding to the meds we’re giving her and her inter-ocular pressure is back within the normal range in that eye. But her left eye has not responded; in fact, the pressure is higher.
So they recommended that the best option for Jazzy is to have her left eye surgically removed. The pressure will eventually cause her to go blind and will cause a good amount of pain in the meantime.
She will have the eye removed next Tuesday.
I guess we should be looking at the good in this in the sense that the bloodwork they did on her came back completely normal, so there’s no underlying condition like leukemia or diabetes causing the eye issues, but it still completely sucks. They think the cause of it might just be from a virus she had when she was younger (probably in the crappy living conditions she was in before we got her) that triggered some sort of auto-immune response where her immune system started treating that eye as a foreign body.
We’ll have to keep special watch on her right eye to make sure it doesn’t happen to that one as well, though there was no visible sign of issues in her left eye until we first saw that blurriness on the 27th (I checked other Jazzy pics I had on my phone; there was no blurriness prior to that day).
I feel really guilty about not taking her to the emergency vet that first night we noticed it now, but I’m not sure if that would have actually made any difference (except maybe getting her some painkillers and some treatment faster) given that her left eye isn’t responding to the meds at all.
2020 blows.
Hippity Huppity, I’m Feelin’ Uppity
I finally organized my earrings after having them in several chaotic piles around the house. Observe!
Yes, I have a lot of earrings. They’re the only type of jewelry that I wear. And the more ostentatious, the better.
(I know, I know, no one cares about any of this.)
Book Review: Look Homeward, Angel (Wolfe)
Have I read this before: Nope
Review: This is a very beautifully written and insightful coming of age story in the early 1900s. It’s long and covers a lot of the family’s history and Eugene’s growing up, but I like how it all works together and how it all is shown to shape who Eugene becomes when he finally leaves home. Also, the way it is written is very engaging and beautiful. Some of the descriptions used are so specific and perfect that they really stand out.
Favorite part: Ben’s death was particularly heartbreaking, because he’s built up (at least in my opinion) as a very sympathetic character and because of how close Eugene was to him. Also, a few phrases:
Gant trying to wake up his sons in the morning:
“‘When I was your age, I had milked four cows, done all the chores, and walked eight miles through the snow by this time.’
Indeed, when he described his early schooling, he furnished a landscape that was constantly three feet deep in snow, and frozen hard. He seemed never to have attended school save under polar conditions.
Ben, Eugene’s older brother, to Eugene after they have a fight over Eugene’s inability to let go of a woman he’d fallen in love with:
“‘There are a lot of bad days. There are a lot of good ones. You’ll forget. There are a lot of days. Let it go.’”
On Ben’s death:
“We can believe in the nothingness of life, we can believe in the nothingness of death and of life after death – but who can believe in the nothingness of Ben?”
Rating: 6/10
HEY YOU!
YES, YOU!
Are you thinking of traveling to see people this Christmas? Are you thinking of driving or flying or taking a bus somewhere?
If so, I have a tip for you:
DON’T
DO
IT
You are not immune to catching COVID, and you are especially not immune to spreading it to others, even if you don’t have symptoms.
The rules apply to you, just like they apply to everyone else. Do. Not. Travel.
Stay home.
Please.
Does it suck? Hell yeah it does. I haven’t seen my mom since the beginning of January, whereas in a normal year I would have seen her at least once over the summer and would probably be visiting her right now.
But it’s worth it to know that I’m choosing to actively try to prevent the spread of COVID by staying home. It’s worth it to know that I’m not going to inadvertently give my mom COVID and possibly cause harm to her or anyone else due to my inability to suck it up and not travel.
Is your family worth it? Are your friends worth it? Of course they are. But if you’re planning on traveling to visit them, you’re not treating them like they’re worth it.
So please.
Stay.
Home.
ZOMG MASHUP TIME
It’s here it’s here it’s here!
I live for these.
He used Blinding Lights as the main beat, which makes me SUPER HAPPY because that’s my top song of the year. I would have guessed Dynamite as the main beat, but I was wrong.
As usual.
I know I’m not doing my Decade of Music project anymore, but would y’all still like to see an end-of-the-year music recap?
(Does anyone care?)
(Does anyone even read this blog anymore?)
The Joy of Lego + The Bow
Things I learned today:
There is a Lego-building group that focuses on constructing landmark Calgary buildings.
It took Roy Nelson five years and about 8,500 pieces of Lego to build my favorite Calgary building, The Bow.
Here’s a side-by-side comparison:
(Actual building pic from here, Lego building pic from the site linked above)
Isn’t that a beautiful building? The fact that he’s got a giant Lego head as that wire mesh head statue is pretty awesome.
If I had money to spare to buy this, I totally would. I dig this kind of stuff.
The Jazz
So our sweet kitty is having eye issues. Back on November 27 (a Friday), I was playing with her by throwing her toy mouse at her as she sat in my chair, and I noticed in the sunlight that her left eye was blurry and her pupil was fairly dilated. Pic:
This was the first time I noticed it, so I told Nate about it when he got home and we decided to call our vet. Jazzy was just getting over pink eye in her right eye, which we had been giving her an ointment for. We figured that maybe whatever was going on with her left eye was its manifestation of pink eye as well. The vet said we could either take her to an emergency vet that was open 24/7 or we could try giving her the pink eye ointment in the left eye for a few days and see if that helped clear things up.
Speaking from hindsight, we should have probably taken her to the emergency vet. However, she was not acting any different than normal (like, not at all different. Still purring, flopping, playing, zooming around the house, eating, drinking, etc.) and wasn’t acting like she was in pain. We also were hesitant to take her to the emergency vet because a) she stresses like crazy when we put her in her carrier; b) the vet she would see would not be her usual vet and thus might stress her out more; c) at this point it was like 7 PM on a Friday evening and the emergency vet would probably just end up keeping her overnight or maybe even over the weekend – which would stress her out even more. So we went with the ointment.
But by that Monday, there didn’t appear to be much of a change in her eye, so we took her to our regular vet once we were able to get an appointment. She didn’t have the equipment to do a thorough eye exam, but again recommended the emergency vet because they did have an ophthalmologist that could take a look at her. So we took her there today.
They measured the pressure in both of her eyes and found it was elevated in both of them but more so in the left one. The ophthalmologist thought this increased pressure might be due to some inflammation they found in her eyes, so they gave us a bunch of eye drop meds (which she hates, oh my god) and we’re going to give her those until next Thursday when we take her back for a follow-up.
If she responds to the meds it’s likely they’ll just have us give her those for a while until things clear up, but if not, they talked about the possibility of having to remove her left eye, as the increased pressure causes pain and, if caused by glaucoma, will eventually cause her to go blind anyway.
So hopefully she’ll respond to the meds. It’s basically all we can do at this point.
Poor sweet girl.
December?
It’s December in Calgary and I just went running in shorts and a tank top.
It’s like 50 degrees out there.
What.
I’ve actually kind of enjoyed running in the 30-40 degree range; I don’t get nearly as hot (running is like the only time I produce actual body heat) and so I feel like I can run longer and easier, at least most of the time. When it’s in the 20s it’s a little rougher because my legs start off being really cold and thus feel really heavy and slow, but I can still do it.
I haven’t run in anything below 19 degrees yet, but I’m sure I will at some point.
But yeah, it is unseasonably warm here and it’s weirding me out. It legit feels like September.
Book Review: King Lear (Shakespeare)
Have I read this before: Nope
Review: So this is the first time since high school that I’ve read something of Shakespeare’s that I’d never read before. That is, all the other Shakespeare that I’ve read on my list is stuff that I’ve read at least once before (in high school). I also knew nothing about the play before reading it, so this was kind of my test to see if I could figure out what exactly was going on without having read it before and/or having some sort of idea of what the play was about. Does that make me sound stupid? Probably. But (and I’ve mentioned this in a previous review I think) I think plays – especially Shakespearean plays – lose a lot in translation if they’re just read without acting them out or at least having different people “play” different roles. Is that just me? Like, when I read Julius Caesar a few weeks ago, I understood what was going on, I understood the dialogue and the actions, but it wasn’t super engaging, especially in comparison to when we read it aloud in high school and we had different people reading different parts. I had the same issue with Lear, but I was able to get the gist of it. It definitely wasn’t my favorite Shakespeare…but again, the reason for that might be because I just read it and didn’t get to see it acted or read by multiple people as different parts. Stupid, I know.
Rating: 4/10
Are you there, god? It’s-a me, Mario
So ever since I searched for “Mahler Hammer” for a blog in, like, July (this one), I get Mahler-related recommendations on YouTube every once and a while. And every once and a while, I watch them.
Today I watched this one:
Okay, two things:
1. What a freaking beautiful performance of a beautiful piece of music
2. I absolutely love musicians and conductors who get the hell into it. This conductor (Christian Vasquez) is so enthusiastic and so into it and it just makes it all so much better slfjslfghalfhakghdakfh
I don’t know. It just makes me so happy to see people feel music. It makes me feel the music even more.
ALSO, 2:59 is Frisson Central, holy hell.
Alright, I’m done.
G’Bye, Fall 2020!
So this nightmare of a semester is finally over.
UGH.
Teaching online is…not enjoyable. I miss actually getting to see and interact with my students. I feel so disconnected from them and I feel like I’ve been absolute crap at my job this semester, even though I’m really trying to do the best I can given the garbage circumstances.
It’s so demotivating, and now is not the time to become demotivated. It’s also SUPER FREAKING FRUSTRATING that the first “real” (non-spring/summer) semester of my tenure-track position has been marred by online nonsense, and it’s even more SUPER FREAKING FRUSTRATING that my first actual course coordinating assignment (next semester’s STAT 213) will be during an online semester rather than a “normal” one. I feel like no matter what I do, I won’t get to show my true ability to coordinate effectively, especially since everyone is new to online teaching and there are so many things that can go wrong.
But the main thing? I miss my students. I miss actually teaching them in person and feeling like I’m making a difference in their learning. I’m definitely not getting that vibe this semester and it’s destroying my soul.
UGH.
So very demotivating.
And just for clarification, I’m not blaming the U of C for any of this. They (at least the Math/Stats Department) did the smart thing by making all the courses online this semester and next, especially with how Alberta’s crashing and burning COVID-wise right now. It just…sucks.
Ignore my nonsense
Aren’t those days fun where you just spend your whole time thinking about how mediocre of a human being you are and that you’ll never be the best at anything so why even try and why even give a shit about anything and why even live at all when the world would be better off without you consuming its resources?
Aren’t those days FUN?
I hate myself.
Hey Alberta: Get it together, man
So remember a few months ago when Alberta was still doing quite well pandemic-wise? New daily cases were in the 100-200 range, hospitals weren’t overwhelmed, and people were generally still following the “don’t be a moron” way of life as far as dealing with COVID?
Yeah, no, that’s not happening anymore.
New daily cases jumped into the 300s; nothing was done. New daily cases jumped into the 500s; nothing was done. Now they’re regularly above 1,000, closer to 2,000 (in fact, Alberta holds the daily new case record for Canada). And guess what? Very little is being done.
We are the only province without a province-wide mask mandate.
Only recently have those in charge shifted from “educate people about COVID safety” to “enforce the rules with fines” – something I thinks should have happened from the start of all this.
People are gathering in big groups indoors and out.
There are anti-mask rallies being held in Calgary.
Space in hospitals is running out rapidly.
It’s quite frightening.
Is it a coincidence that the most conservative province is having the biggest issue with COVID right now? No, I don’t think so. Kenney is more concerned about “tHe EcOnOmY hUrTiNg” than saving peoples’ lives. Guess what? It’s not people going into grocery stores/small businesses/etc. that’s causing the main source of spread. It’s morons gathering indoors without masks. Surely that can be better monitored without damaging the economy.
It’s so damn frustrating. Those of us who are being cautious and following the rules are continuously getting screwed over by the idiots. Not to mention, I don’t know, all the people dying or having long-term effects from the virus.
Is this what it feels like in the States?
NaNoWriMo 2020 Complete!
Yaaaay.
Here’s our good old word cloud.
Now to do something I’ve never done after NaNoWriMo: keep writing!*
In the past, I’ve always said to myself, “okay, so December is your break; once the new year rolls around, you will continue writing on your NaNo project until it’s done.”
That’s never happened, because once December has gone by, I’ve lost my little “groove” that I get into in November.
SO!
This year, I’m going to try to do 500 words a day starting…NOW!
I think 500 is a perfectly manageable amount but is also enough to start seeing some actual progress on the story, ‘cause it’s definitely not finished.
It’s a stupid story, yes, but the idea won’t leave me alone (which is why I chose to “redo” it this year), so let’s just roll with that. Yay?
*Okay, I guess I re-worked Prime a few times, but that was…like…five years after writing it? And it’s still not done? And it’s the dumbest story ever so screw it?
Bought Bits
So the year’s not quite over yet and I’m sure I’ll be making one or two more nonsense purchases before the end of next month because pandemic panic shopping is a thing and I hate that I’m that type of person though I’m trying to be better, BUT I think I can safely list my top three purchases of the year. They are as follows:
1. The treadmill
Definitely the most expensive thing I’ve bought in a while (apart from the new rocking chair), but totally worth it. It already made my life better on those days during the summer where I would have been walking in torrential downpours or on those days in the past few months where it’s been -15 with snow. I can still get my walk without having to dread horrible weather. This will also make me less dependent on Anytime Fitness once it opens back up, though I still might have to go there for early morning treadmilling if I ever need to do so. I suspect treadmilling at 4 AM would be too loud for my husband and the downstairs neighbors.
2. The Kindle
OH MY GOD this thing has made those 4-hour indoor treadmill walks so much more bearable. And it’s gotten me back into reading, which is fantastic. I’ve read around 17 books since I’ve gotten it, which is more than I’ve read in like the past five years (tragic). Also, like I mentioned in a previous blog, there are Kindle versions of a good amount of books on my list that I haven’t been able to find in libraries. So that’s a plus, too!
3. The Wacom tablet
This is definitely a work purchase rather than a personal purchase, but it has made online lecturing so much easier than it would have been if I had to do everything on my laptop. Yes, my laptop can fold over and act like a tablet to write on, but recording my 50-minute lectures for the winter semester made the laptop really hot; I can’t imagine how bad it would have gotten for the 2-hour lectures (back to back, so I guess four hours total) in the summer. Plus, it’s super smooth and snazzy and I could use him for digital art if I ever got into that sort of thing.
Woo!
Book-a-Thon
So I just ordered a physical copy of I, Claudius because I can’t get that damn book out of my head. And yes, even though I already have a Kindle version of it, I got a physical copy too. I did the same with A Prayer for Owen Meany a bit earlier in the year.
I have a thing when it comes to owning physical copies of books, especially fiction. Over the years, I’ve pared down my books (again, especially fiction) to only include those books that I really, really like. It seems like a lot of people I know just have a lot of books, but I’m pretty selective about what books I actually choose to own. I don’t know why. It might be because I’ll only re-read a book if I’ve really, really enjoyed it, and so I don’t feel the need to own books that I’d never read more than once.
Like…I have The Caine Mutiny, The Great Gatsby, a collection of Jules Verne’s stories, Lolita…all those books that I would willingly read again. And that’s it for fiction. For non-fiction I’m a bit more lenient, but I’m still rather particular about it.
I don’t know. Is anyone else like this?
Do re mi fa so OH GOD NO
Y’ALL I keep forgetting to introduce you to my new succulent buddy, Captain Planet.
His name was originally Captain Spiny, but in one of my many COVID dreams, I’d named him Captain Planet and I had the actual Captain Planet bust through the ceiling of the condo and tell me that his name was copyrighted and how DARE I name a plant after him ANYWAY, ‘cause WHAT DO PLANTS HAVE TO DO WITH THE PLANET SLDFJSAFDKFJFJFJFJFJF
So I decided to change his name in real life.
But yeah, he’s my new buddy. I got him from Safeway because he looked super sad and lonely in his little planter. He needed love.
Have a music blog, ‘cause it’s been a while.
(Has it? I actually haven’t checked.)
Here are a few badass songs that I’ve found in the past little while. Enjoy!
Amazing Grace by Pentatonix:
I was worried they’d make it too pop-ish, but they do an amazing job with it. I really like this cover.
Here is Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra:
The orchestra gives this song so much more depth, oh my god I love it.
Sheppard’s Animals:
Love the energy.
Teddy Geiger’s Sharkbait:
The bassline in this song is killer.
Freaking ASLFDJASLKDJFLSAKJFDLSKJF
I miss my mom.
I miss Moscow.
I miss my office.
I miss campus.
I miss teaching in person.
I miss Market Mall.
I miss Anytime Fitness (even though I went there like five times a year, haha)
I miss public transit.
I miss long weekend walks with my husband.
I miss Westbrook Mall and the walk up there.
I miss disliking crowds of people because people annoy me rather than because I’m afraid they’ll infect me.
I miss the comfort of knowing I could travel to and from the US without any huge issues.
I miss pre-COVID normality.
I’m sure everyone else is feeling similar sentiments, but it’s US Thanksgiving today and I’m bitter about the fact that I won’t get to see my mom in a month like I normally do each year so you get to hear my whining.
Sorry not sorry.
I’m sorry WHAT
I’m assuming the reason that this article is so hilarious is because it’s 4 AM and sleep is for LOSERS, but I could be wrong.
But anyway, apparently a city in Sweden has this Christmas tradition where they construct this giant straw goat (or, since 1986, two goats). They also have a tradition where the goats get destroyed somehow (usually by arson).
“The display has become notable for being a recurring target for vandalism by arson, and has been destroyed many times since the first goat was erected in 1966. Because the fire station is close to the location of the goat, most of the time the fire can be extinguished before the wooden skeleton is severely damaged. If the goat is burned down before 13 December, the feast day of Saint Lucia, the goat is rebuilt. The skeleton is then treated and repaired, and the goat reconstructed over it, using straw which the Goat Committee has pre-ordered.”
“Goat Committee” is a phrase I didn’t know I needed to have in my life until today.
Anyway, the Wiki article has a table listing, for every year, security measures implemented to protect the goat(s), when the goat(s) was (were) destroyed, and how it (they) were destroyed. And there’s a lot more destroyed goats than ones that survived.
And some of these entries read like plot points around which a novel could be written.
Fantastic.
Did the goats survive in the year you were born?
Eigenblogger 