2:00 a.m. - 2002-11-23
Creative Thinking
There was mold growing in the main bathroom. Not a pretty sight and not good for respiratory health. What's a mom to do. The problem is, the cleaners that work also aren't good for people, like me, who have asthma. However, I decided to choose the lesser of two evils and get rid of the mold before it took over the house. Fortunately it is still fairly warm here, so I had all the doors and windows wide open to provide enough ventilation. The least objectionable cleaner suggested was bleach - 1 cup to one gallon water. I overdid it somewhat, but the mold did just melt away - along with my nice purple (lilac) paint. I now have a tie dye, batiki bathroom. My guys thought it was cool. Maybe it'll start a new trend? Never mind.
I have alternating exercise routines right now - it fools the body into thinking it's getting a rest. One day I use a yoga tape, one day I do stair climbing, and one day I do a combination weight training/calisthenics. Today was the combo routine. Because of my artistic ventures earlier in the day, I decided I had better add an aerobic component just to be sure I blew any lingering toxins out of my lungs. Solution? I put on my tape of a Pavarotti Christmas concert and sang along while working out. Well, I might as well work with the best - right? I can't sing opera but I can sing Christmas carols. The added bonus was that Pavarotti sang selections in Italian, French, German, Latin, oh yeah, and English. Concentrating on getting the words right, or at least guessing at them, meant diverting the mind from the fact the body was protesting. Heck, during the Halleluyah Chorus I forgot to count repetitions. My guys - they were hiding out, probably hoping no one they knew would walk past the house during my routine.
Lots of interesting tidbits in the newspaper today. I always check the by-line of a story to determine how much credibility I want to assign to it. Some reporters are too lazy to do good research; some have too little time to complete their assignments, but at least they give it their best shot; some are people who consistently dig and delve so that you know that what you see is likely the best information available. Most of the stories I read were from reporters in the third group today - makes it all the more satisfying. The articles were on the city budget, the company I just finished working for, the Kyoto accord, and an annual reserves report just released by one of the major oil and gas organizations. All of them provided a piece to the puzzle that each issue has had, at least in my mind. Kind of an "aha" day. I'll have to mull over the implications for a few hours though, especially where the budget and the company I was consulting to were concerned. The insights on those two were quite startling so I'd better be sure my reasoning is solid before I draw my conclusions.
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