blind for a day

Challenge: experience life without sight for a whole day.

There were several quiet highlights early in the day: eating chocolate while sitting in the warm sun, listening to Vivaldi while lying on the carpet letting my mind paint pictures.

But several hours into the day frustration set in as I slammed into a set of shelves when attempting to enter the "bathroom" (aka. linen closet). Challenges ranged into the kitchen as well and some highlights were identifying items in the refrigerator, making tea (while parents are hovering and telling me not to hurt myself), and chopping an apple (very slowly).

My mother an I went to a 60 min walk to the library and back, which I returned from completely exhausted and overwhelmed. After the first 2 blocks of the walk my mother noted " I feel like I am pulling you" and I replied "there is a good reason for that"...every time a shadow passed over me my muscles contracted, I was clutching my mother's arm and I had the persistent feeling that I was about to get walloped in the head. However, with practice I was able to relax and get walking pretty quickly. Unfortunately, the movement on and off curbs was a work in progress: early up-steps aren't a problem, but late up-steps result in slammed toes. Here is a picture I took of the two of us on the walk.


There were many points during the day where I said to myself: "Screw this! I really need to see now," but I stayed in the dark and struggled through the frustration. I realize how much I am motivated and stabilized by constant visual input: I was mentally exhausted half-way through the day and disoriented by not noticing the movement of the sun or seeing clocks.

Later in the evening I took requests for items to be made of clay.

BONUS: Cactus in the SF arboretum.

My sister shoveling a scoop of dirt over some of my grandfather's ashes in our back yard. My grandfather Jim passed away almost one year ago.

exercise over the holidays...

Needed:
1 Disney movie DVD
48" HD flat screen TV
1 open living room floor
1 nearby pull-up bar (or margarine)
1 or more equally psycho friends or family

Rules:
30-40 situps (your choice) every time an animal appears in a new scene
6-15 pull-ups and 15-20 push-ups at the beginning of every song

Discoveries:
There are 6-7 songs in Cinderella
Cinderella only has one scence with no animals! (the ball)
Cinderella is apparently the longest Disney movie ever
Your lats (the next morning)



Rewards:
Stuffed mushrooms
OR Catherine's mushrooms with banana (vanilla yogurt optional)
OR Catherine's mushroom and baked feta

(NOTE: some rewards in experimental stage)

Alternative-to-TV programming

Hello friends,

if you were the recipient of an anonymous - yet admittedly hilarious - letter made from magazine cut-outs within the last two weeks then you can stop posting in the craig's list "missed connections" section, such as the one pasted below:

"I recently received this letter regarding the edibility of turkey and was hoping it was from you - girl stacking packages in the cookie-aisle of the Cambridge Whole Foods - please send another sign if you are interested in a relationship."

...okay, not really. In fact - thank you Rayna - for being the only one who receives and publicly reacts to mail!!! Eight unique letters were designed and hand-crafted by roommates at Putnam House brought to you by "Alternatives-to-TV" programming.

BONUS PICTURES:

Part of the volleyball team at pratice:
Red tree on Magazine Street on my last day in Boston
What a cute, hip family!

Dr. Cat

I am taking a hiatus from my planned weekly adventures while I spend quality time with my wonderful (and sometimes shirtless) Boston friends...spontaneous adventures with said friends may be documented.

The frontal lobe

The frontal lobe (the part of our brain immediately behind our forehead) was once thought to be inessentialby psychologists. This was assumed because there were case studies of injuries (including a man with a giant steel bar penetrating the front of his skull), where the subjects were capable of most daily tasks despite the massive damage to their frontal lobe. What has been since realized, is that the frontal lobe assists our ability to plan and execute events in the future, and that without it we would be confined to the present.

I contemplated practicing not thinking about the future for a day as my adventure, but I completely chickened out - party because I had a seriously hard time going 60s without thinking about the future. However, given this strong drive to think about the future, we humans find it very difficult (..almost impossible) to remain consistently in the present - an ability that almost all other creatures posses (without choice in the matter). In fact, humans spend lifetimes in the pursuit of staying present through meditation, and the rest of us struggle on a daily basis to stay present to the "now". For example, anytime I almost pass right by a good friend in the hallway without seeing them I realize how far my mind has drifted. ...to address this in your life - I recommend: ...breathing.

today's challenge: despite that interesting intro, I ended up doing something not really related. I tried not to speak the self-referencing word "I" during dim-sum with friends, a meeting with my adviser about my thesis defense, or during volley ball practice ...

This challenge was pretty much a total MISS. After 5 minutes at Dim Sum people asked me why I was so quiet...it was really hard! It was probably painful to hear me speak - because stories you over-thought and awkwardly expressed. In fact this exercise removes me even more consistently from the present because I have to be in my head planning instead being with the people I am with an enjoying their company. I noticed when it is almost impossible to bring up a topic without the word "I" and that some conversations do not need any "I"s at all...interesting, but certainly one of the most half-baked adventures so far...

breathing quickly makes you feel "funny-good"

Adventure: go to "breathwork" class - whatever that may entail.

It turns out to be 90 minutes of intense breathing to latin-flavored, feel-good, techno music - and is AWESOME! I decided while laying on my blanket and pillow, surrounded by about 50 reclined, audibly breathing individuals that I needed this in my life regularly. The first five minutes you still have doubt: "can I realy keep this up for 90 minutes?" - but then you start to tingle...my ears and lips were first...then my whole face, and all of a sudden I was laughing uncontrollably and so were the people around me. Screams of joy broke out and high energy waves rolled through the room swelling into intense manifestations of palpable joy for life.

While breathing, the body and mind are able to unravel themselves - a response different for every body. Several teachers walk around guiding people through particularyly challenging physical or emotional states (cramped hands or sudden saddness) and otherwise walk around (also breathing) guiding the energy in the room. Interesting note: About an hour into the breathing I needed to go to the bathroom and must have hit 3 walls walking down the hall...dizziness upon standing is just a bonus effect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breathwork

Anyway...David's lightness of being is glorious. (David has been my yoga teacher for over 2 years)

http://oneyoga.net/about.html

Also, for those between the ages of 24 and 30 or for some reason are '80s cartoon fans: this was my Halloween costume: