Random Things I Like

TECHNOTRONICS. Technotronics is truly fantastic. They are… how to describe them suitably?? “Classic techno” you might say. Or “Eurodance” perhaps. Or, as one review called them, a “musical savior.” Released in 1989, their big album, Pump Up the Jam, is one of my most prized possessions. Shockingly, many do not seem to remember them but one of their songs was in a Revlon commercial in the mid 90’s and I hear them from time to time on terrible dance party mixes and I would guess if I played them for you it might sound familiar. In this age of Ipods I possess a dusty old Walkman just so I can listen to my Technotronics tape when I run. It is the only thing I ever listen to when I run. And run to Technotronics I did on Wednesday. Despite school (and gym class) being in session I made use of a local elementary school’s dirt track and spent a glorious half hour running in the sun to the inspiring sounds of Technotronics. It is really fantastic running music. I run significantly faster and better with it because it makes me so much happier! It was so great that I rounded out my run with a few cartwheels across the field.

WATER. I love being in or near water. Rivers, ponds, oceans, fountains, lakes, reservoirs, BROOKS (he he he), waterfalls, pools and more are all quite dear to me. I started swimming before I could walk and, excepting the dark years in D.C. and Philly, have always lived with water around me. This last week I had several lovely encounters with water. I settled on a local gym with a decent pool and got to swim a couple of times. Except for the moment of backstroke when I smacked my skull into the wall, an interesting first for me, it was great to be back in the water after several dry months. Even more lovely though was Saturday on the Yuba River. It was downright hot for a little while Saturday afternoon and the water, dancing along so green, blue and sparkly, was exceedingly enticing. For those of you who know me it shouldn’t come as a surprise that eventually I ended up pantless and playing in the river. I couldn’t stay in for very long as the water was absolutely freezing (what with it being a mountain fed river and February) and I started to get very pink skin and sharp pins and needles pain in my legs, but my legs and feets felt great afterward!

MASSAGE. The last few weeks at school we’ve been doing some intense work with cancer clients, hospice clients, and, my very favorite – veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. I don’t know what it is about working with the vets, but I absolutely love it. Both men I’ve gotten to work with so far were so great. They seemed to love the massages I gave and I ended up feeling so energized and satisfied. My first client wrote in his evaluation, “thank you for giving me such relaxation and a deep sense of peace.” This from a man who lived through unimaginable hell, has been having nightmares for 35 years and is going through some intense therapy. I find it so amazing, fantastic, wonderful, and awesome that my simple touch can give so much. And then my second client! Throughout the session he kept saying things like, “you’re wonderful,” “thank you so much,” “I’m going to start purring now,” “you are such a kind person” and things like that. In his evaluation he wrote, “Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful – I’m in love!” And he didn’t mean it in a dirty-old-man sort of way, but a very genuine, lovely sort of way. Who wouldn’t feel great about doing work like this?

AMERICA’S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS. Makes me laugh to the point of pain. When I get to watch it I often have tears of laughter streaming down my face, have come dangerously close to either wetting my pants or choking, and one time nearly vomited because I was laughing so hard. I love it. Cheezy and lame and I got to watch it this evening and I love it!

BUBBLE BATHS. Lavender bubble bath is my favorite and I like to take a little plate with a piece or two of very good chocolate into the bath with me. I also like to bring tea, or occasionally wine, and spend a good hour soaking in scalding water while reading. Sometimes I do this all by candlelight. And speaking of bubble baths… I can hear one calling me now!

Wayward Still

I’ll be finished with massage school in less than two weeks and “what I’m doing after massage school” has yet to be revealed. Normally, for organized, responsible, rational Brooke this would present somewhat of a problem. And when I think about it too much, I do find myself feeling rather anxious about it all. The more I think about it, the more anxious I get in fact. I would, after all, like to return to independent living and get myself somewhat settled in my own space somewhere with some sense of purpose to my day, week, month, year. Unfortunately I still don’t know where I want to be or what sort of job I want to find, which makes planning challenging.

So I’m trying not to think about it too much. Particularly as I’m really enjoying where I am at the moment and what I’m doing. Massage school is fantastic and I’m getting to know some really great people. I’m meeting amazing clients – both through school and through my fledgling private practice – and making lovely friends. And I’m having lots of fun. My new year’s resolution to be more social snowballed a bit to the point where it has gotten a bit out of control. In the last few weeks I’ve been out almost every night and had great fun on the weekends. There have been concerts and dancing and walks and meals and hiking and Dodgeball and more! It got to the point where I was actually pretty exhausted and craving my quiet time again. So I took a few evenings to myself but didn’t drift back into anti-social land. The quiet time was followed by a great weekend with the new friend Chris and will be rounded out with dinner tonight at the neighbors’ and hopefully Brokeback Mountain with someone or other (I’m hoping for Celeste from school) early this week.

So, for now, the general plan is to be a massage therapist here until I figure out the next move. I’ll work with paying clients to stem the drain on my savings account and also with the domestic violence shelter so I have a bit more “purpose” to my weeks. And I’ve got a few secret projects going on and a few ideas for what comes next (maybe 4 months in Santa Fe, maybe a summer in Alaska) but stay tuned for more details!

I Don't Live in Philadelphia!

"...blizzard warnings remain posted for southeastern New England as a powerful Nor'easter slams the Northeast with heavy snow and high winds..."

Today the high is 70 degrees and I went to a birthday party in the park. I also went for a bike ride and got so warm that I had to peel down to just a sleeveless top and shorts. All week it has been beautiful and warm - even at night - and I find myself jumping up and down and singing to myself, "I don't live in Philadelphia! I don't live in Philadelphia!" I hear Philly got a foot or two of snow in this last storm.

Really though, I am so happy to be back in CA. I'm gonna go play outside now.

Ass-Kicking Weekend

No, I wasn’t mistreating little donkeys. You may recall, however, the little note in my last post about needing to kick my own ass. This being necessary because for the last month or so I’ve done very little focused exercising. Yes I’ve done my yoga every morning and have gone for the stray walk or played around with tennis once or twice, but it has become a distressing pattern that I often go days with no exercise.

This weekend was great though. A very long, hard week concluded with me in an inert lump on the couch Friday night and Saturday dawned very rainy and unpromising. But around 9:00 the clouds parted and the sun started coming out. By 11:00 I was mopping up a tennis court and then got to hit around with a very good player who ran me ragged for over an hour and a half. I haven’t had the chance to play with someone who can do that to me (as well as put some pace on the ball!) in a very long time. At several points I thought my chest was going to explode and/or I would vomit. It was fantastic! Originally I’d intended to be very productive Saturday afternoon, but I was so exhausted I could barely muster up the energy for some peanut butter toast and a hot bath. I rallied later in the evening and was able to make a nice dinner but fell asleep at a shamefully early hour.

Sunday was also fantastic. I got to play outside in the mud! I’ve had a mountain bike for about ten years but it was always just my means of transportation. The most action it ever saw was the occasional moment on a dirt or gravel path. Sunday morning changed that. A new friend, Chris, introduced both the bicycle and I to mountain biking. I suspect I might be a bit of a pansy – again I had a bit of the “chest burn, wanna vomit” sensation on the uphill and I also go pretty slow on the downhill – but it was it was really fun and beautiful. The sun was out, we were playing in the woods and I ended up very tired and very, very dirty. What is not to like about that?

And now that I’m an anatomy nerd it is fun to think about all the specific muscles that are on the sore and achy side.

Happy Halloween!

I realize it isn't Halloween, but I have these lovely Halloween pictures that I wanted to put up and I've been excessively busy and lacking the patience to deal with the void of cyberspace. School full time, working with clients in the evenings and on weekends (yeah, I have clients!) and then being "social" (per my new year's resolution) takes up quite a bit of time and energy. I haven't even been excercising. And for those of you who know me, THAT is huge. Now that it is February, however, I shall refocus to include some personal ass-kicking, in an athletic sense.

Until then, enjoy the photos. One is my baby cousins (i.e. my cousin's babies, even though they aren't quite babies anymore), one is my dear friend Magnum PI (oh baby! screen saver? wallpaper??) and then yours truly (Brooke the brook) with the Cookie Monster.