June 2005

Kitty Kink.

Our cat Tom has decided to become a little kinky in his old age. The other night I was sleeping peacefully, minding my own business and undoubtedly enjoying a wonderful dream. All of a sudden I felt an odd sensation under my left arm. More specifically, my left armpit.

It seems that Tom wanted a midnight snack and found that my armpit tasted of kitty caviar.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of such a thing. Startled, I stopped him mid-lick. He was persistent, jumping over me and starting in on my right armpit. I stopped him again. He got mad and jumped off the bed. I shrugged it off, rolled over and went back to sleep.

He did the same thing this morning. Once again I scolded him and reminded him the chemicals in deoderant are not to be ingested. He gave me a stare of disinterest. I wonder what he finds so tasty about my deoderant. Or perhaps its all worn off by morning and he enjoys man sweat. I’ve met many men back in the day that enjoyed the same thing.

I couldn’t have cared too terribly much because I resisted the urge to lick my Speed Stick this morning to see what the fuss is all about.

Taquito Seniorito.

You know I’m just craving some wickedly delicious fast food when I spend time looking at a web site like this.

Chick-Fil-A waffle fries, a chicken sandwich and chicken nuggets with Polynesian Sauce anyone?

Inspiration.

I haven’t been really inspired to write in my blog the past couple of days. It’s not that I’m seeing the task as a chore, because I do really enjoy writing in my blog and sharing my experiences and thoughts on this and that. No, it’s just that I haven’t found many experiences to be “blog inspiring” lately.

It’s not that we don’t have a lot going on. We do. There’s the ups and downs, but that’s what it’s all about, right? For example, my grandfather is very sick with cancer. The doctors say that he’s in his final days. Earl and I drove up to my hometown to visit with him last Friday. He was in fairly good spirits. He looked very frail, but he was aware and knew what was going on and could carry on limited conversation. He looked resigned, like he’s accepted the hand that has been dealt him and is ready. We’re going up again tomorrow night to see him. My sister is going to meet us there.

My little ephinany type dream last week that basically opened up my eyes on life has had long lasting effects, because life isn’t irking me these days. Last night I was awoken at 3:05 a.m. for on-call duties. I’d usually rant and rave and scream about how unfair life and the world is. But I did none of that. I did what needed to be done without complaint and settled in to sleep on the futon so I wouldn’t disturb Earl. There are too many problems in the world to complain about what amounts to an inconvenience.

My latest health kick is showing favorable results already. I feel much better about myself. I’m making strides towards the goals I’ve set for myself. It’s all good there. My body is headed to a good place and my head is at a good place for a change.

Earl and I had a wonderful visit with his family over the weekend. It was a good time on all accounts.

I’m eagerly looking forward to getting in our new camper and going camping a week from Saturday. It’s close enough for me to close my eyes and taste the s’mores.

Perhaps I find complaining about life inspiration enough to write in my blog. It’s just that I don’t have a lot to complain about these days.

Maybe the good of it all is my true inspiration.

Day 1.




Day 1.

Originally uploaded by macwarriorny.


Well I’ve lost all interest in shaving again. That lasted two days. The new beard started today.

Bewitched: My Review.

Earl and I went to see ‘Bewitched” starring Nicole Kidman and Will Farrell last Friday night. I’ve been waiting to see this movie for almost a year, well, actually ten years or so since Penny Marshall originally announced that she was going to do it in the mid 1990s with Ted Bessell (from ‘That Girl’) directing.

This version was written by Nora and Delia Ephron, along with Adam Mc Kay (who apparently punched up the script for Will Farrell).

I give it a “B” or 3 out of 5 “oh my stars”.

I will elaborate further, but be forewarned that there’s spoilers in the rest of this blog entry, just in case you haven’t seen the movie yet.

You’ve been warned.

The movie is a *wonderful* tribute to the original Bewitched, with Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, Agnes Moorehead and Paul Lynde in all their bewitching splendor in several scenes throughout the movie, by the way of clips from the original show. There’s numerous mentions of the original cast and it definitely pays homage to all those involved with the original.

Nicole Kidman plays Isabel Bigelow (the real life witch who plays Samantha in the “Bewitched” remake this movie is about) a bit ditzy. I’m confused about a couple aspects of her character. Does she have her own aunt named Aunt Clara who resembles Samantha’s Aunt Clara, including her collection of door knobs? Does she subscribe to the Wiccan traditions (through the use of tarot cards or whatever) or is she a witch with the same ideals as Samantha? Granted, she doesn’t twitch her nose, she tugs on her ear, but things happen pretty much like they did for Samantha on the original series.

I’m not a big Will Farrell fan as I think he’s pretty one dimensional as an actor. We get to see his “cheerleader” mode, his “Elf” mode and his “antics” mode. Jim Carrey would have been better simply because he bears a closer resemblence to Dick York but he would have been full of his own antics. Overall, I thought Will’s contribution was what I would have expected and nothing more. No pleasant surprises there, but no disappointments either.

Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine, both wonderfully cast, were hopelessly under used. I believe this was my biggest disappointment with the movie, especially when it comes to Shirley. When she played Iris Smythson, she was much more Endora-esque then when she played Endora. Agnes Moorehead had a presence about her that can not be duplicated. I thought Shirley held back way too much when it came to playing Endora. Plus, the love affair between Iris and Nigel was touched upon but never fully explored. It’s like they forgot about them 3/4 of the way through the movie!

In fact, I get the feeling that a big chunk of this movie was edited out. Of course, I’ve followed the production of this movie since it’s inception, so I know that there are scenes missing, but for the most part there’s a lack of continuity that can’t be overlooked. For example, did Isabel and Jack really get married or was it part of the remake of Bewitched. Where did Abner and Gladys Kravitz come from at the end, as part of the show or as part of reality (Richard Kind and Amy Sedaris were **dead on** as the Kravitzes)? What happened to Nigel and Iris? Where did Uncle Arthur go?

Earl and I are going to see the movie again once I’m off call next week, and I’m looking forward to the experience, if only just to pick up what I may have missed on the first viewing. We’ll definitely buy it when it comes out on DVD, especially if they include deleted scenes.

It’s not a bad movie but it’s not a summer blockbuster by any stretch of the imagination, either. Its “o.k.”.

As an aside, the previews before the show included the trailer for “Rent”. OH MY GOD. I am pumped about seeing that movie this fall!

No Cheating.

With the buzzing off of my beard this morning and the positive energy I’ve got flowing through this body of mine, I decided that I need to stop cheating my way around. My way around food, that is.

For the past couple of years, I’ve drank Diet Pepsi in lieu of regular Pepsi. I’ve mentioned from time to time that I want to give it up as it wreaks havoc with my body and energy levels and such.

While Earl and I were down with his family this past weekend, his Aunt Olive and I got into a discussion about Aspartame and it’s namesakes – “NutraSweet”, “Equal”, “Splenda”, etc. I’ve always known in the back of my head just how bad this stuff is for you, but I did a little research online and just ran across horror story after horror story of what it actually does to your body. Research is showing that Aspartame consumption is bringing on blindness, ringing ears, forgetfulness, seizures, MS and lupus in individuals. It’s also wreaking havoc in kids, bringing on diabetes while kids are still in their single digits!

That doesn’t sound like “Better Living Through Chemistry” to me.

This morning when I awoke and amplified my change in attitude by shaving off my beard, doing a little yoga, etc., I decided that I would go 60 days without using a chemical substitute in my diet. No Splenda. No Aspartame. No diet soda (actually, no soda at all). No Olestra. (Actually, that last one is pretty easy since there’s no ’emergency trees’ in my office cubicle.) If I’m going to ‘splurge’ and have a soda, then it’s going to be the real deal and I’ll just pay the price in calories and at the dentist.

My new slogan is “Sugar Free? Not for me!”, since sugar free usually means “chemical substitute”.

Reading up on the effects of aspartame has led me to some bad things about dairy products. I need to do a little research there again and refresh my memory. But I do wonder how our ancestors stored and consumed the vast amounts of dairy products that we do, considering they had no refrigeration or anything like before the last 120 years or so. It does make one wonder…

I think it’s time to hit the natural foods section at the market again.

Reset.

This past weekend, as busy as it was, has completely reset my whatever makes me tick. I feel well rested, I feel energetic, I feel focused, I feel positive.

Bring it on baby. Bring it on.