Friday, March 27, 2009

What a Wonderful Day!

My stapler ran out of staples! It is such a special occasion. It happens so infrequently. It's like the office equivalent of a lunar eclipse. I get so surprised and happy when it happens. Now if I did not have a box of staples in my desk (and about 50 boxes in the supply closet) that would be another story.

Above is the stapler that was on my desk when I started my job. The homemade note attached with tape reads "If this stapler is removed from here there will be NO REPLACEMENT!!! Therefore, be generous and DO NOT REMOVE FROM HERE!" I thought "WOW they are really serious about their staplers." I just figured they must have had problems in the past from people stealing them or something. My office is small, about 15 people, so it seemed kind of strange. I highly doubt anyone would be stealing staplers. Later I found out that mine was the only one with the note and that in fact it was stolen from one of the printer islands. Oops. It wasn't me. The stapler was here when I started.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Bicycle, Bicycle


I'm so excited that biking weather is finally here. I have six bicycles and I love them all. I guess what most girls feel about purses or shoes I feel about bicycles. You need a different one for different situations. I have a road bike for long rides. A cruiser for cruisin' the neighborhood. A mountain bike for off-road. A commuter for riding to and from the train. A fixed gear for those mid length rides and to work my legs. And the Brigdestone XO-1 just because I wanted it.
It would not be at all strange if history came to the conclusion that the perfection of the bicycle was the greatest incident of the nineteenth century.- Anonymous

Friday, March 6, 2009

Honey


Besides being one of my favorite movies (which you should all add to your Netflix que if you have not seen it), honey is an amazing product we should all be using more often. Steve turned me on to all of the benefits of honey and since his blog seems to be stagnant I thought I would pass this information on to you.

Honey has been used for centuries by human civilizations to cure common ailments and sicknesses. It’s an open secret that everyone’s grandmother knows about. Listed below are 21 common problems which can be cured by Honey.

1) For burns
Apply freely over burns. It cools, removes pain and aids fast healing without scarring. Apart from being a salve and antibiotic, bacteria cannot live in honey.

2) Bed Wetting
A teaspoon of honey before bed aids water retention and calms fears in children.

3) Sleeplessness
A dessert spoon of honey in a mug of hot milk aids sleep and works wonders!

4) Hyperactivity
Honey is a mild sedative with minerals, vitamins, amino acids etc. Replace all white sugar with honey. White sugar is highly stimulating with no food qualities.

5) Nasal Congestion
Place a dessert spoon of honey in a basin of hot water and inhale fumes after covering your head with a towel over the basin.

6) Wounds or Grazes
Cover wound with honey and a bandage. Excellent healer.

7) For Fatigue
Dissolve a desert spoon of honey in warm water or quarter honey balance of water in a jug and keep in the fridge. Honey is primarily fructose and glucose and so it is quickly absorbed by the digestive system. (Honey is a unique natural stabilizer - ancient Greek athletes took honey for stamina before competing and as a reviver after competition.)

8)Facial Deep Cleanser
Mix honey with oatmeal approx. 50/50 till thick and apply as a face-pack. Leave on for half an hour then wash off. Great as a deep cleanser for acne .

9) Poor Digestion
Mix honey with apple cider vinegar approx. 50/50 and dilute to taste with water. This aids digestion. (Also reputed to be wonderful for the joints.)

10) Hair Conditioner
Mix honey with equal quantity of Olive Oil and cover head with a warm towel for half an hour then shampoo off. Feeds hair and scalp. Hair will never look or feel better!

11) Sore Throats
Let a teaspoon of honey melt in the back of the mouth and trickle down the throat. Eases inflamed raw tissues.

12) For Stress
Honey in water is a stabilizer - calms highs and raises lows. Use approx. 25 percent honey to water.

13) Anaemia
Honey is the best blood en-richer by raising corpuscle content. The darker the honey the more minerals it contains.

14) Food Preservative
Cakes with honey replacing sugar stay fresher longer due to natural antibiotics. Reduce liquids by approx. one-fifth to allow for moisture in honey.

15) Heart Patients
These people are well advised to replace white sugar (sucrose) with honey, natural fructose and glucose.

16) Hay-fever
Chewing the tops of comb honey stimulates the immune system due to minute amounts of pollen. During the season chew for 20 minutes a teaspoon of bee capping (tops) five to six times per day. Highly effective and useful for asthma sufferers as well.

17) Osteoporosis
English research has shown that a teaspoon of honey per day aids calcium utilization and prevents osteoporosis. Essential from age 50 onwards.

18) Long Life
One common fact worldwide is that the most long-lived people are regular users of honey. An interesting fact yet to be explained is that beekeepers suffer less from cancer and arthritis than any other occupational group worldwide.

19) Migraine
Use a dessertspoon of honey dissolved in half a glass of warm water. Sip at start of attack. If necessary repeat in 20 minutes. Always effective (so tip goes) as migraine is stress related.

20) Conjunctivitis (pus in the eye)
Honey dissolved in equal quantity of warm water. Apply, when cooled, as lotion or eye bath.

21) Cough mixture
6 oz. liquid honey, 2 oz. glycerin, Juice of 2 lemons, Mix well. Bottle and cork firmly. Use as required

Honey....who knew? And don't forget to watch the movie.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Rugs for Sale


Within the last month or so I changed the path on my walk to the train from my office. It is kind of a big deal for me. I am a creature of habit so I rarely change anything about my day. I don't like to make unnecessary decisions. If I keep my routine the same I will not have to make more decsions than absolutely necessary. On my new path I walk by an Oriental Rug store. It is on the corner of Grand and Franklin. The rent can't be cheap. I have never seen anyone besides the store owner in it. It makes me wonder what he does all day. I can't imagine the bordom. The picture above is not him but thats what his store looks like. A small old desk and rugs EVERYWHERE. Sometimes he is on the phone, but otherwise he is just sitting there. I don't even see a computer or a TV. Maybe he has a breakroom somewhere in there. It is interesting how many of these stores there are. It seems like there are more stores than there could could possibly be demand for rugs. Being a business school graduate, I do vaguely remember something about supply and demand. Unless he is buying the rugs for $5 and selling them $5000, I can't see how he is making ends meet.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Thank You Very Much Mr Roboto



Kunio Kato, Best Short Film Animated


"So heavy.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, my supporters.

Thank you, all my staff.

Thank you, my producer.

Thank you, Academy.

Thank you, animation.

Thank you my company, Robot.

Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto.

Thank you very much."

Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto translates to Thank you very much Mr. Roboto.

Kunio really wanted to be a veterinarian until he found out he was allergic to cats.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Get rid of your umbrella ella ella


I really don't like umbrellas. Sorry to those who use them. Here is a pictorial reason why.



1) Large Umbrellas-These are the ones that are the size of a satellite dish. They make a person's diameter 3 to 4 times wider than normal. The people that use these seem unaware of this fact and walk around like they own the whole side walk. I was hit in the head with one yesterday.

Chicago is a windier than normal city which leads me to reasons 2 and 3.

2) Most umbrellas cannot handle the the wind. So you have inside out umbrellas ditched everywhere when they finally completely fail. So what's the point.



3) The people trying to prevent the umbrellas from turning inside out, have it pulled down so it is perpendicular to the side walk and right in front of their face. They have no clue where they are going so are running into innocent others walking down the street.

Oh and 4) Isn't the rain just blowing under the umbrella any way?
I don't see what an umbrella has that a rain coat with a hood does not. Here are a few suggestions.

This is the only acceptable umbrella as far as I can see. Nice and tight around the individual. You can get right inside it and can see everyone else around you so you will not be inadvertently running into people.

I also found this which is also an acceptable umbrella.


But really, what's wrong with a nice rain hat. And these are made by the people who know foul weather. You don't see them walking around with umbrellas.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

September 2, 2010

The other day I received a link from Aaron via Steve for the latest workout program Aaron is doing. The program is Gymnastic Bodies, The Science of Gymnastics Strength Training. Right there on the home page is the workout of the day, WOD. Each WOD is followed by a number. In my case, I got the link on Tuesday February 10th. So the workout of the day was WOD 090210. Coincidence? I think not. I was confused at first. Did Steve send me this link because of the WOD number? Maybe Aaron sent it to Steve to send to me. I thought for sure there was some connection there. That's how my warped mind works when it comes to those numbers. I'm sure neither Steve nor Aaron even noticed. So I finally figured it out, that it is just the date, but written year, month, and then the day, 090210. I started freaking out. Frantically rearranging the numbers to put them in normal date format. Have I missed it? The Golden Beverly Hills 90210 Day of Celebration? OMG I have not! It will be September 2, 2010!!!!!!! YAHOO! I am going to start planning the party now. And you are all invited.

Thank you Steve and Aaron for drawing my attention to the fact that this day exists. What if I had missed it.