Floating Leaf

So, I did that free mp3 exercise lesson from Anat Baniel's website. It was... incredible. It consists mostly of lying flat on your back and moving your legs, arms & head in strange, unexpected ways, LOL - but the effects are astounding. Your whole body FEELS different afterwards. Younger, sort of. It is almost funny as the recording asks various questions about the way you're feeling ("Does your chest feel wider?", "Are your shoulders more relaxed?", "Is your breathing fuller?" etc.), and you just blink and go "hell YES". Could be autosuggestion too, since I'm very susceptible to such things - but I definitely feel less stiff & achy than I used to, even after that one lesson and just a few of those simple "desk trainer" routines I've been doing over the past week or so. I don't actually need to use the heating pad for my neck every day to ease the discomfort anymore. It's still nice to do every once in a while, but more as a way to pamper myself than as necessary tension relief. I am well on my way to making my upper body completely pain-free, nice and bendy, like a brand-new rubber doll.:P Can you tell I'm happy about this? :D

Also, I wore one of my new dresses to work today, and everyone kept saying how nice I looked. Some people were speculating amongst themselves as to whether I had a job interview or a date... LOL. I said neither, but they didn't look convinced.:P

Oh, and the bonus features on the Good DVD aren't really as exciting as they promised to be. There's a bit of raw behind-the-scenes footage (with no commentary added) and a series of short, chopped-up interviews with the principal cast & crew. But the film itself had a very strong effect on me - possibly even stronger than the first time (without the distraction of seeing the real, "live" Viggo at the premiere... LOL). ( some spoilerish reflections under the cut )

My Good DVD (preordered through Amazon a few weeks ago) just got here. It claims to include NINETY MINUTES OF BONUS FEATURES. O_O It also claims the film is the best work Mortensen has ever done. Funny how in recent years they keep saying that about each single movie he makes. Looks like he just can't help getting better & better, huh?... *giddy chuckle* (Don't mind me, I'm on a little bit of a Viggo-high at the moment. Big surprise, that. *shakes head at self* Oh well... never mind.)

Incidentally, I also just happened to take a few vacation days on the account of Chicago International Film Festival. Which is where I first saw Good two years ago. It just sort of occurred to me that I still have plenty of unused vacation, because obviously I don't go anywhere, and that I might just as well use it to see a few good foreign films that aren't likely to be shown in theaters around here. ( Read more... )

So, my chiropractor says I basically created another trigger point right there between my spine and my right shoulder blade (in addition to the two at the base of my neck). And I just have to be extra careful not to overwork that muscle. So no lugging heavy bags on my right shoulder. She put some needles in there today, applied some pressure to release the tension in the sore spot and tried to do an adjustment - but my back was too tight for the adjustment to work, so I am due for another appointment in two weeks. In the meantime, I am supposed to do some "cat stretches" and drink plenty of water (it's a good thing to remember that proper hydration can actually prevent muscle injury). The pain has eased much over the past few days, btw, so hopefully it won't get worse again unless I do something stupid (I was VERY careful with the shopping bags today and used only the left shoulder to carry the bigger ones, so I think I'll be fine).

Another thing that looks very promising as a source of long-term relief in the muscle department is this cool website I was directed to by stormatdusk:

http://www.anatbanielmethod.com

This woman basically invented a whole system of innovative exercises designed specifically to prevent and/or treat chronic pain and repetitive stress injuries - like those sustained by people who spend most of their time glued to the computer screen. Can I just say it's a godsend?... LOL. I got hooked immediately and signed up for this nifty "Desk Trainer" program, where a little animated guy tells you how to move your head/neck/arms etc. for a few minutes to avoid/relieve muscle stifness or pain. It's really cool, simple, effortless and can be done as often as needed. I'll be sure to take at least 1-2 such short exercise breaks every day. There are also CD's and DVD's with detailed exercise programs targetting specific areas of the body. I am seriously thinking of ordering some - but first I will do the free 42-minute mp3 lesson I have downloaded from the website (haven't had a chance to listen to the whole thing yet). If the exercise method is really as effective as the website claims, I should be feeling some positive change after that already. But we'll see. I just really like the holistic approach towards physical/mental wellbeing that those exercises seem to promote. I also like the idea of natural, chemical-free pain relief (like many people in the US, I have become extremely wary of the pharmaceutical industry - "taking a pill" is usually a last resort for me). So I suppose I might really get into this. I'll be sure to share the experience here if that happens.:)

( random work-related rant under the cut )

Another symptom of approaching laptop death: random error messages popping up on my screen at random times. As in, EXTREMELY random. For example, something like: "Failed to load licensing libraries." Eeeee... what??? *blink blink*

In other exciting news, I signed up for overtime this week, so I am working tomorrow.:/ We are doing this endlessly time-consuming project for a client that basically involves a lot of web research. Which, in itself, isn't too bad - I like doing web research (obviously, some topics are more entertaining than others...;). However, doing it for a good few hours every day can prove a little tedious (see, I am practicing the noble art of understatement here... LOL). Not to mention getting nervous and frustrated about the regular work that just keeps piling up on the side while we are plodding our way through all those endless spreadsheets. *sigh*

Even less exciting, I somehow managed to fuck up my back to the point where it became literally painful to move. ( Read more... )

So, instead of yet another terribly mundane and insignificant post, let's do the next installment of the 30-day meme.

( Day 03 - Your parents, in great detail )

First of all, let me join the flist chorus and request NO reposting of anything from this journal onto Facebook or Twitter. Not that I can even think of a reason why anyone would want to do that... but, you know, just in case. For the record, I don't have a Facebook or a Twitter account and don't intend to get either one anytime soon, so there's no danger of me reposting anything. Whoever knows me from here and has a Facebook... please don't mention "Floating Leaf" over there. This username belongs here only - and perhaps on a few LOTR fanfiction archive sites as well. That's it. If any of my RL acquaintances who traipse around Facebook ever hear of LiveJournal, I don't want them to be able to find me here. So if you know my "real" name, don't mention it here OR on Facebook either. Just a precaution. Maybe I'm deluding myself by thinking it's at all possible to maintain any level of privacy in today's online world... but let me entertain those sweet delusions for just a bit longer, please. LOL.

( Also, I thought I had other things to say, but I'm dead tired. )

So here's this meme I snagged from mellacita. Let's call it "30-Day Meme". It's supposed to be done day by day, for an entire month. But because I simply don't have enough LJ-time on a daily basis, and because I like doing things my way (which usually means "much slower than the rest of humanity", LOL) - I have decided to spread it out over however long it takes. So it will probably be 2011 before I finish.;P Which is perfectly fine, as far as I'm concerned. See, this meme is just a list of good writing prompts for when you feel like posting, but don't seem to have anything relevant to say.;) And I frequently suffer from times like these. *wry grin* So whenever I have no momentous news or profound reflections to share, there will be this nifty "topic schedule" to fall back on.:) I will create a separate tag for it, so it can be tracked back to the beginning if I ever reach the end.:D Of course, I'll be more than happy if other people on my flist pick it up too, and do it at whatever pace works for them. But I'm used to being completely ignored and happily going on with my life, so I won't cry if there is no response whatsoever. ( Anyway... here's the list of topics: )

I should probably skip the first one, since I don't think I need to introduce myself to anyone reading this journal - but what the heck.

( Day 01 - Introduce yourself )

My car failed the emissions test today. I kind of expected this, because the "check engine" light has been on for a while - but still, there was a glimmer of hope that maybe it's something minor and it will pass anyway. Well... no such luck. With a 14-year-old car, you don't get "minor" problems anymore.:/ ( You get problems anywhere upwards of a few hundred bucks.:[ )

I think I'm having a little emotional breakdown at the moment. And the reason why will probably make you laugh. A friend of mine is planning a trip to New Zealand this fall (end of November/beginning of December is the tentative timeframe). And yes, she did invite me along - she's trying to gather as big a group of fellow travellers as she can to make it cheaper. Of course, I can't go. And of course, she doesn't even have a concept of how much I WANT to go (she's not a LOTR fan; she knows about my LOTR-obsession, but I don't suppose she's even making the connection - she just loves to travel to exotic places, and this is another one of those on her list).

( Read more... )

Because I haven't posted in over a week, and because I feel like sharing, here's an interesting article on sexuality:

http://www.alternet.org/sex/147677/why_are_we_often_terrified_of_our_own_sexuality/

Yes, this is the kind of stuff I read while at work.:P (At home, I read fanfic.:D) And since I have recently discussed sex-related topics with several different people, including illuins_lair and that old friend from Poland who uses me as her private long-distance shrink (;D), I thought the above piece might provide some new perspectives on the subject. Written by a guy who describes himself as "heterosexual, but not straight". Hmmm... intriguing. Marianne, I have a feeling you will totally agree with a lot of what he has to say.:D

I wish I could somehow formulate my own thoughts that have been provoked by the above and let them run away with me... but if I try to do that, this post will take hours to finish, and I simply don't have those hours in store.:/ I am perpetually behind on emails and comment replies (I will get there, I promise!...), there is a mountain of dirty dishes in my sink and I REALLY need to be in bed by midnight every day if I want to feel remotely human at 7 a.m. the next morning (stayed up too late last Sunday, finishing a long-delayed email to a friend; as a result Monday was spent in zombie-mode and I dropped like a log around 11 p.m. - which still didn't prevent me from having trouble getting up THIS morning and being late for work yet again :|). So I have to stay really organized and basically take life one thing at a time - otherwise I will loose my tentative grip on reality and succumb to CHAOS.:P

( work-related navel-gazing under the cut )