2:07 a.m. - 2003-01-16
New Toys
My youngest son and I both received gift certificates for Christmas, so we took them with us when we went downtown yesterday. His was for a major chain music and electronics store. He had wanted one of the new games for his game system, but the store only carries them as loss leaders (special items to draw buyers in) and won't order them for you after the ten or so they have are sold out. It's kind of frustrating because the certificates mean you don't have a lot of options - most stores won't cash them and give you the money. Anyway, he settled on picking up a new video - Goldmember. That choice means he still has enough left to buy the Lord of the Rings - Two Towers and The Chamber of Secrets when they are released. I'm happy because I think he spends too much time playing video games anyway.
One of my guys gave me a "credit card" for a major bookstore. Same idea as the gift certificate - it's only good at that shop. All I was really looking for was a daytimer for work. The ones they had in stock were either really tacky looking or very expensive. Instead, I ended up picking up a volume of poetry by Rumi, "Mystics - The Soul's Journey Into Truth" which features the commentary of mystics from all faith systems, and a book of Mensa puzzles. Well, the brain is just like every other organ and muscle in the body - use it or lose it. I even have $1.32 left on my "credit card".
On the bus we met an interesting woman who must live quite close by since she had the same stop as we did. She came to Calgary 24 years ago from Qu�bec City to visit family for a couple of weeks. Met a family friend who was a student here, fell in love with him, and called her Mom to let her know she wasn't returning at the end of her vacation. She sounded like a true child of the sixties though. She talked of her experiences backpacking all through Central America and of living in Morocco for a while. When I asked her what had prompted the latter choice, she said she had taken belly dancing at the Y and learned to love it, Middle Eastern music, and the culture so it just seemed like a natural choice. She also speaks French and Spanish fluently, so she explained some of the differences that are problematic between the two when I noted how similar I thought they were. One of her brothers is working in the same Middle Eastern country my friends are just about to leave so we spent some time comparing information about what we know about conditions there right now. I asked if he was being allowed to stay - she wasn't sure. She is a lover of movies so the balance of our trip was her reviews of all the films she's seen in the past few months.
I now know what I want to rent next time I'm inclined to go to the video store, but I don't think that will be for a while. I found a Rodney Yee Intermediate Yoga video on sale when I went shopping with my Dad and sisters the other day, so I want to spend my time working through some of the poses. I love my other yoga tapes and I feel sooooo good after I workout, but they aren't challenging enough anymore. One of my sisters asked if Mr Yee was the best teacher and I found it difficult to answer. First I've only seen him on TV a couple of times, and secondly the best teacher for someone is the one who meets one's body's needs and abilities at the time - it varies from person to person. I also have a Kathy Smith advanced yoga tape, for example, that would be a great fat burner - ashtanga yoga - but since I've been ill, I'm a little cautious about pushing my body past its limits. My sister will have to decide what works best for her, when she tries some tapes out. I must say though that when I previewed the video later, my body was wanting to do some of those stretches - NOW! However, it was after midnight at the time and the brain was saying - "yeah, and then we won't be able to walk in the morning". The brain won.
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