In case you haven’t been watching the news

We’re supposed to be in the midst of snowpocalypse out here. I could point out the irony of said snowpocalype in a place reknowned for its snow but, la.

Ironically, up in the mountains it’s not as bad as it was on the I-70 corridor. In point of fact, I had a perfectly uneventful trip to Frisco for a haircut and various errands and didn’t realize, until calling to speak to Spouse, that the roads were supposed to be in any way disastrous.

When I left at about 11 am, there was about 6 inches of snow on my car. It was overcast but not snowing, so it didn’t even occur to me to call 511 for the road update. Once I was over the Fremont Pass (upon which there was virtually NO blowing snow) and about halfway to Coppper, the visibility deterioriated. I have a couple of great pictures on my camera (to be uploaded later).

There was more snow on I-70 than usual and the visibility was such that you almost had to take it on faith that you were, in fact, merging onto I-70, but other than that it was okay.

In related news, if you were the douchebag in a red Land Rover who decided to just put their brakes on as though they were going to stop in the middle of the highway, you can eat a bag of dicks.

Yawn

I am tired.

I’ve checked in for my flight. I have to finish packing my bag and then I’m to bed. I have to get up at ridiculousdark o’clock in order to leave by dark:30 and get to the airport. I have a new book and will hopefully not be done with it before takeoff. 

I DID make a new playlist, so I can test it out while I’m traveling.

Got some chores taken care of at the house, got the eye doctor thing done, got to spend some more time with Mom. I’m glad to be getting home tomorrow (which means Colorado is officially home now) but I’m also a little sad to be leaving.

Delphi is awesomely planning to kill the benefits of retired employees. I thought the whole point of those benefits were to reward folks for the work they’d done? Nice. Really, really nice. It’s a good thing  the US auto industry didn’t shoot themselves in the foot by ignoring the trend for fuel-efficient vehicles and continuing to crank out expensive gas hogs.

Oh, wait.

In other news, the friend who sold out Michael Phelps to the British tabloids is a colostomy bag. A used colostomy bag.

Today’s list of errands

I went to the doctor for a physical and a thyroid function test (since Mom has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer). The P.A. (or NP) proceeded to tell me that I needed to do more weight bearing exercise and cardio because yoga provides neither. I politely corrected her. Please to not be telling me what yoga practice is, when you clearly do not a) practice or b) know anything about MY practice. I had already told her I’ve been teaching for almost three years. Yoga is ABSOLUTELY weight bearing and MY yoga provides cardio work as well. Suck it, lady. The RIGHT way to go about this is to ask how much weight-bearing and cardio my practice provides, not look at me like I’m daft and speak slowly.

In related annoyance, while HIPAA does not prevent my insurance company from providing me any and all information about my benefits over the phone – including my member ID number – apparently it prevents my prescription benefit manager (Caremark) from providing any helpful information at all. Thanks for nothing, Caremark. Love you long time.

While I’m home next week I’ve got to get my contact lenses fitted and get my medical records and breast films transferred out here. There’s a great cancer center with state of the art gadgetry about an hour away, so guess where I’LL be getting my annual boob squishing? So now I’m collecting medical release forms so that I can drop them in the mail and get all of that great stuff taken care of. Moving, gotta love it.

On the kind of funny side, she said, “Wow. So your family does the cancer thing.” Ayuh. Understatement.

My new haircut is rocking my (polka dotted) socks. I blew it dry this morning and didn’t even need to flat iron it. The stylist in Frisco was the first person who has ever addressed the whacked out cowlick on the right side that makes my hair curve differently. I wasn’t initially thrilled with having to drive an hour to get my hair cut but there wasn’t a SINGLE place open in town on Saturday. As I was THISCLOSE to taking out the scissors and chopping off the offending bits myself – a plan of action that I think we can ALL agree would be a mistake – I made an appointment and the drive. The salon was very nice and it was just the stylist and me.

The picture the day of the haircut is nice, but the TEST is a picture of the haircut after you’ve washed and dried it yourself.

While I have NOT assembled the pot rack, I DID pay all the bills. I have thus far sent it all through the Michian bank’s electronic system and all payments will clear by the time I’m back in town next week, so I can close the account for good. Yay!

I’m most of the way through book 8 and anticipate that I’ll get through a lot more tonight at work.

I have not packed a single thing and am thus far mostly unprepared for my trip back to MI. Go me.

TGIF?

Spouse opened a bank account after he moved out here, because it provided an online bill-pay service. If you don’t use one of these, it’s fantastic. Rather than giving people your bank account number and allowing them to take out cash when they need it, it requires you go in and pay them either by paper or e-check, through the bank system. You can also set up automatic payments. All in all, a really great tool.

Well, the local bank mails you login and password info separately. It took about a month for mine to show up. When I tried using Spouse’s, back in October, I had a problem getting into the system so I figured I’d just wait until I got my own. So it finally arrived yesterday and I’ve been unable to login to the system. When I called for help, they told me it was my internet connection. This sounded like a load of crap, what with me being able to access EVERY OTHER SITE on the internet – not to mention my OLD bank’s billpay system – but I humored them and called the cable company. Nope. Not them.

I called the bank again this morning and discovered that it’s really frustrating to have more computer experience than the bank tech support. Now she’s calling HER tech support and is supposed to call me back. I informed Spouse last night that we will be getting a new bank TODAY unless they can fix this problem.

I’m not a tech genius by any stretch but I also get annoyed by the cable company’s automated system. I’ve already TRIED these things, or I wouldn’t be CALLING YOU. I understand I’m in the minority, but it’s still aggravating. Luckily Bresnan’s system will give up and kick you to a customer service rep if you just say “agent” two or three times.

In other aggravating factors today, I can’t get the washing machine to work. I suspect its blown a fuse but – looking at the fuse box – I can’t figure out how to tell or how to fix it. So I’m sitting here, doing nothing, waiting for the bank to call me back.

Grrr. What day is it?

Let me tell you about Panasonic

I bought a Panasonic camera on Thanksgiving, through one of Amazon.com’s vendors. I love the camera. Except for the part where the connector cables which came SEALED in the plastic (which was in turn SEALED in the box) DON’T FIT the camera. They have a mini USB connect (which I know, because my phone has one) and the camera does not.

I called the vendor. Very helpful, but don’t have a parts department. They will request the parts but it might take up to 2 weeks. They provide me with Panasonic’s number, who should be able to replace them more quickly.

Panasonic kindly suggests that I PURCHASE the cords from Panasonic. When I explain (politely) that I don’t want to pay for cords I’ve ALREADY PAID FOR, they have to put me on hold. And then transfer me to another department. Who then transfers me back, after assuring me they can replace these cords. First department tells me that I need to fax a copy of the receipt to them. Then he says Proof of Purchase. When I ask for clarification, he sounds confused and then says “Both.” Right before he suggests that I pay for the cords because Panasonic probably won’t replace them.

“Dude. They came FROM YOU. In the box. With the camera.”

“Was it an open box when you got it?

“No.”

“Well, we don’t have a record of that vendor and are not liable for parts that may be incorrect.”

“Even though the BOX WAS SEALED and the PACKAGE WAS SEALED?”

“Yes.”

“Are you kidding me right now?”

“Did you talk to the verification department?”

“I called the number you gave me, they told me you would replace the cords, and then they transferred me back to you.”

“Well, just fax us the information..”

“Did you need just the receipt or just the proof of purchase, or both? Because you said receipt and then you said Proof of Purchase.”

*awkward pause*  ”Both.”

“Right.”

“And then the replacement is subject to our verification.”

“Whatever.”

I left out the part where he kept insisting he needed part numbers from the cords (which don’t have any) and then when I explained that they didn’t have any, he got annoyed. When I eventually found some numbers, he told me they weren’t part numbers. Thanks, asshole.

Rehashing this, I’m even more annoyed. I think I’m going to call them back.

Also?

What the shit is going on with wordpress today?

Dear Michigan Residents,

It snows EVERY YEAR. It is not rocket science. Snow is slippery. Please drive accordingly.

No love,

yogagrrl

Not much yoga

I teach a class tonight before the holiday weekend and then not again until NEXT Wednesday. The gym is having an issue with sorting out their fall schedule which means I get a longer than usual accidental vacation.

My 1990 mix has been pretty popular in class but, unless there are a couple of specific students there who haven’t heard it, we’re going to be doing Hip Hop Yoga tonight.

Microbiology is pretty much exactly what I expected it would be – not fun. I’m also taking The American Presidency, which should be pretty interesting.

With regards to the move, we are having lots and lots and LOTS of conversations about what in hell we’re going to do with our house. I’m having a really hard time wrapping my head around how a $100,000 house in Michigan costs $200,000 in Colorado. It’s mildly horrifying to me. Okay, it’s more than mildly horrifying. We’re giving serious consideration to buying land and building but there are ALSO no apartments to rent (to speak of). So we’ve got that going for us, which is nice.

Packing has not yet commenced. There are a lot of decisions hinging on this weekend’s trip and I don’t want to get so far ahead of ourselves that we end up backpedaling.

Currently I’m on hold with the U’s financial aid department. I think University financial aid offices, when they aren’t run properly, are like the third circle of hell. No one really knows how to answer your question, but they THINK they do and then you end up getting transferred three times, disconnected, and then finally some old lady in the back room just tells you to come to the office and she’ll get you straightened out. It’s kind of shocking to me that this shit isn’t all online yet.

For example, I came in on Monday and filled out necessary paperwork. They can’t locate the paperwork now. But if it was online, I guaran-fucking-tee that the shit would be processed already. Unfortunately, everyone at THIS university likes to NOT apply logic to their processes. They’d rather do it backwards and then be able to whine and complain about OMG we had to see EIGHT BAJILLION students and handle OMGSOMANY problems, but we did it, even though we were understaffed and undereducated and just generally SWAMPED.

I’m like, DUDE. The students are PAYING YOUR CHECK. You should be making this stuff as easy on EVERYONE as possible. WTF? It’s as though they all lack basic reasoning skills.

It’s just one more thing in an INCREDIBLY LONG list that makes me glad to leave this godsforsaken place.

And thanks to that annoying bit of runaround, I have to do EXACTLY what I THOUGHT I’d have to do on Monday (which no one could tell me) so I’m going to get myself French Toast Sticks as a reward. Because I deserve it.

As with any good passion, there are things about yoga that make me nuts.

Not yoga itself, but the perceptions assocaited with it – for example, Christians can’t do yoga because it’s worshipping other gods. Whenever someone says that to me, the top of my head blows off. I can’t help it.

First – yoga is nontheistic. It is a series of stretches and breathing exercises designed to help you become a better person (click “8 Limbs” above). The sutras acknowledge a ‘higher power’ or ‘higher consciousness’ but if you’re part of a monotheistic tradition, insert your deity here. If you’re an atheist, stick with the higher consciousness part. Everyone can find a spot to fit here.

Second – yoga classes are as individual as their teachers. So to say that doing yoga means you have to pray in Hindi is like saying “I don’t like Captain Crunch, so there is no cereal that I will ever like.”

There are absolutely classes which involve chanting (typically in sanskrit and not necessarily as deity prayer though -again – you can insert the deity of your choice). There are classes that have a more spiritual bent. I’m a big believer that if those are the kind of classes you’re teaching, you need to advertise it clearly. That’s true of just about anything – no one wants to walk in expecting A and get D instead. Of course that would be disappointing.

But for example, I don’t even use the word ‘meditation’ in my class. Is that what savasana is? Pretty much. But if it makes you feel better to call it ‘relaxation,’ it’s that too. My classes focus on breath and asana, stretching and strength building. So do most other yoga classes.

I make myself available for students if they want to talk about incorporating a spiritual aspect into their practice, but I don’t make it a part of my classes. I don’t talk about religion, ever. I don’t lecture about the sutras, even though there are koans of wisdom I may use. It’s my goal to help each student have the practice that they want, I’m just the guide to get them there.

So yes, Christians, you can absolutely practice yoga. Stretching and breathing isn’t a conversion process or proselytization. I guarantee that no teacher is trying to make you uncomfortable, so if one class or teacher doesn’t work for you, check around (especially at gyms). There are so many great benefits of yoga that it would be a shame not to try it because of a misconception.

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