Tuesday, February 15, 2011

A truly gleeful Tuesday


So I'm not sure if you know this, but Tuesdays are terrible days. I've been saying this for years and it holds true in my life week after week. Bad stuff happens on Tuesdays.

But today I broke the curse. I had an exceptional day. I woke up and for the first time in a week I didn't have a terrible, sharp pain in between my shoulder blades ( a gift from last Tuesday, thank you very much). And I was in this good mood that I couldn't pinpoint. Like I had something to look forward to.

The day was well-paced. I was on top of my work stuff. I even got to help out a co-worker, which always puts me in a good mood. I got TWO nice emails from authors, thanking me for my help on their book. I had some good conversations with friends. The music on Pandora was great. I sent an email to my congressman and senator to let them now how much I appreciate Public Broadcasting, and they shouldn't cut the federal funding for something that is so important to so many Americans. And I didn't feel like I needed to run away from the office as soon as the clock struck 5, which is a feeling I know pretty well.

I went to the store, and for once I picked the fast check out line. I made some tremendous guacamole and enchiladas. Watched Big Bang Theory episodes from season 1. Worked out a little. Cuddled with Kota on the couch and watched Glee. And now I'm writing, listening to the classics station on my Pandora ("Sitting on the Dock of the Bay"), and it feels good. It was a good day. The best Tuesday in recent memory.

It almost feels like a Wednesday :)

It was a great day.


Saturday, February 05, 2011

The comeback kid

So I haven't been writing. Not even a little. No words on paper or typed into a keyboard unless I was paid to do it. And I'm sitting here and I am not even sure if I'm going to be able to finish this blog. Who is reading this? What do they want to hear? What do I have to say that is worth taking the time to transcribe into this completely public yet muffled forum that will get drowned out by anyone who has a clearer, sharper, better voice than mine...

I'm only sitting here struggling through this today because I started doing yoga again. And it has been painful and awkward, and lets face it, I'm just a fat girl rolling around on the floor. There are moves that I am no longer able to do, like the tree pose... But it is okay because I'm doing it by myself, in my apartment, where it is safe to look stupid.

It has been so nice just to stand and focus on my breath. At work, sometimes I get so stressed/frustrated... I will read a particularly nasty email and I clench my jaw, start in on my overly-polite reply and get through half of it before I realize that I have forgotten to breathe. How do you forget and involuntary action? I guess I'm just special.

So my two weeks of practicing yoga again--as well as some other exercise--has made me remember how good it feels to do things that are good for me. And I really think that this thing, writing, is probably the most valuable habit I've ever had. Because I've worked out a lot of nasty stuff this way.

I wrote a column in college about how yoga is like blogging. The medium that I've chosen to help myself become a better writer. Healthier. It was the place where I really think that I found my voice when I was in college. I look back through some of the posts, and sure, it brings back a lot of memories. But I don't actually remember writing them. How I came up with the ideas--the words--where I got me motivated to pick up my computer and let loose... I don't remember what it is like to be good at this. To feel fulfilled by it. I think that's the reason that this one blog post has been one of the hardest things to get down. It has been painful.

But I finished it. And there will be more. There has to be more. Because I'm a writer. It is my favorite thing about myself. And you cannot be defined by something without doing it. Pen to paper, keystrokes clicking and clacking away.

So I'm writing again. Let's see what we find out.