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August 16, 2005

an addendum

I find it interesting that I am able to remember ideas, events, whatever more right before falling asleep than I am during the day. A few nights ago, I was thinking about the various things I learn during vacations and I came up with a number of examples, thus prompting me to write them down in this online venue. But when I finally sat down to write the post, I couldn't remember but two of them. Frustrating. So now, to alleviate my frustration, I'm writing as much as I can remember --
This Year:

Tanning decreases the prevalence of zits.
Waiting until your mid-twenties to see Godfather II should be considered a crime against humanity and prosecuted as such.

Last Year:
Though it may seem as though it will save a trip back to the hotel room, wearing a swimsuit without the mesh lining while working out on, say, the elliptical machine, is a terribly bad idea.
Bad white wine gives a bad name to the entire lot; it turns out good white wine is quite tasty.

Two Years Ago:
Once a book becomes wet, it will be several days before any attempt at reading it is feasible.
The scoring system in golf should not favor those who use the fewest strokes to complete a hole -- it should acknowledge good shots regardless of the outcome of the hole.

Three Years Ago:
Cuban cigars are everything they are purported to be.
I am lactose intolerant.
Riding a moped requires more balance than riding a bicycle for the sole reason that if a bicycle tips over, it doesn't trap your leg underneath.
When riding a moped in the rain, it is not particularly helpful to wear eye protection unless said glasses or sunglasses have built-in windshield wipers.
Coconut rum tastes like neither coconut nor rum.

Posted by ben at 1:42 PM | Comments (0)


August 15, 2005

lesson of the day

I am currently attempting to complete Day 1 of, by my count, 20 in which I have no responsibilities, deadlines, or anything else that could be construed as working towards a greater goal. It should be noted that my count does not include weekends, national holidays, or days on which I plan to be out of town. Having completed one weekend of nothing (which don't count towards the total) I am starting to have a problem -- my wheels are spinning. What I mean by this is that though the gears in my brain are well-greased and maintaining a significant level of productivity, they lack any particular goals or tasks to complete other than menial stuff like paying bills, vacuuming, occasionally tending to a random out-of-apartment errand. So "spinning my wheels" is not really a particularly appropriate analogy. If my wheels were spinning, I would be exerting energy and getting nowhere, as is the case when one's tires lose traction in six inches of snow, requiring the acquisition of a shovel in order to pry one's car from it's self-made ditch. But I'm certainly moving, though any effort to this effect is unintentional. I'm just not going towards anywhere. Much more of an overarching lack of direction or focus towards which I may focus cognitive energy. What I'm dealing with is more of a "circling-the-same-block" type of complex. My vacation allowed my mind to slow down, spend it's time reading novels. But now that I'm back, I can't just sit around all day. I certainly would not prefer to be in an office. Without question, 20 days of nothing is a good problem to have. It's a different type of problem that, to use another played and slightly inaccurate analogy, could be considered a "grass is always greener on the other side" sort of situation. Though really, I don't admire my neighbor's grass in this instance. I'm just bored. Which leads to thinking of random nonsense like --

Every year I learn something new during my family's vacation. Last year I learned that my iPod's battery lasts just three hours, not its advertised 12. The year before I learned that I don't much care for dishes so chalked full of curry that the plate upon which it is served is itself a brownish yellow. Though not all newly-learned facts would qualify as lessons. This year, I learned the value of the professional massage. Up until a few weeks ago, I really didn't have any desire to get a massage. I have never responded extraordinarily well to massages of the informal type. Don't know why. But Christina raves about these massages, though she rarely gets them. So I decided that it might be worthwhile to see what the hubbub was all about. Well, the hubbub is earned. Massages are extraordinary.

I must say though that I learned an extraordinarily valuable lesson. I strongly prefer masseuses over masseurs. I was signed up for masseuses each time I got a massage, but there was some sort of mix-up and my first massage was given to me by a masseur who, for no particular reason, I'll call Rufus. Rufus was strange. Highlights of these oddities include: dripping oil on me while trying to put it on his hands, jiggling my arms, and rubbing my belly in a Buddha-like fashion. The belly rubbing was clearly the oddest. Massaging of the obliques I can understand, but this was not that. It was quite peculiar. Yet despite Rufus' best efforts, I still really enjoyed the massage. I received two more during the trip, both from masseuses who appeared to have a much better idea of what it was they were doing.

I have a working theory regarding the effects of good massages. I've heard from a number of places that working out (jogging, weight-lifting, elipticaling, whatever) releases endorphins into the blood stream following the workout. The enorphines create a temporary sense of euphoria and also help the brain to function better. I think that good massages have the same effect. I felt the same sort of euphoric feeling as I used to after a working. Anyone had a similar experience?

Over the vacation, I also discovered the virtues of steams, or wet saunas. Oh man, those things are great.

Posted by ben at 3:21 PM | Comments (2)


August 14, 2005

broken hearts

Vacations are fantastic. Apologies for the lack of notice regarding my departure. As is often the case when preparing for a trip, time was short. Now, time is anything but short, as I have nothing to do for the next two months other than go out of town in short spurts. On the docket are Las Vegas (Nevada, I hope you knew that), Gambier (Ohio), and Hot Springs (Arkansas). The time between these trips will be filled with random nothings and the occasional posting regarding those nothings. I've been home from Hawai'i (the islands of Hawai'i, or the Big Island, and Kaua'i) for a little more than a day now, and I can't figure out what best things about vacations are. The majority of my waking time was spent either reading or swimming. I read A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers. What a book. Phenomenally written. His writing style is outstanding. Any who have not yet read this book really should. I intend to pick up his other, more recent novel, You Shall Know Our Velocity, as soon as possible. I also read Jailbird by Kurt Vonnegut. In my opinion, you can't really go wrong with Vonnegut. His novels are peculiar enough to keep the reader on his toes, and the writing style is, well, Vonnegut. It's unique. He expounds upon seemingly random tidbits while still tying most of these flights of fancy together in some fashion. After spending all of my time reading, I am excited to write to my own personal blend of anyone and no one.

So, I go out of town for 10 days and the Cubs up and collapse on me, dropping eight in a row. Figures. All they'll do is break your heart. Or at least mine. From an analytic perspective, their collapse highlights the importance of starting pitching, as if last year's World Series didn't make that clear. During the latest losing streak, the starting pitching just didn't put it together. I hear a lot of moaning about Wood's absence from the rotation -- and it doesn't make any sense. Wood has never truly fulfilled the expectations of the team and the city. He has a chance to be a dominant reliever, where his explosive stuff can dominate hitters without worrying about having to face the same hitters twice. He was never consistent as a starter. Sure, he dominated at times, especially in the 2003 playoffs, but he hasn't been better than average since then. He has a new opportunity and hopefully he'll take advantage of it.

But regardless, the Cubs are cooked. They're five games under .500 for the season and they've just been swept by the Mets (not extremely embarrassing) and the Reds (so embarrassing that I wouldn't want to leave the house in the morning if I were them). During the streak, they fell below the Brewers (that's right, the Brewers) into fourth place in their division. To make the playoffs, they would have to put together the kind of streak that the Astros pulled off last year. Not likely. I see no reason to believe that they're capable of winning more than 15 or 20 more games. They'll need to go at least 35-10 over the last 45 games to have a shot. That would have them 91-71, which is probably not good enough, unless several other teams collapse dramatically and open the door for someone else, like the Cubs so kindly did last year for the Astros.

At least they're beating the Cardinals. Being in fourth place is pretty pathetic, primarily because they're looking up at the Brewers. Well, as they say, time to look towards next year.

Posted by ben at 12:07 PM | Comments (0)