A Mizchvz Mind

Usually I sleep very deeply and dream of nothing. It’s just a really restful night; the sleep of the innocent they say. Then there are times where I dream of a story and I see it in living color, much as if I was watching a movie in my head. It’s the kind where you wish you could record it and play it for someone else to see but even as you reach to put it into words or capture it on paper, it starts to fade from your mind.

All I remember is that it involved four people, two men and two women, and it was a romance. In the ending one of the guys abducted one of the girls so that the other two would come together. When she asked him why he did it, he said, “it was the only way to bring them together and time was running out. I knew you were the key and I am so glad you agreed to come with me”.

Not the greatest storyline or ending but I wish I could have remembered more of the story.

It’s a wonderful lazy Sunday. No WORK, no rush, no particular thing that needs to be done except spend time with my family. WONDERFUL! I love days like these.

We have TV at home again. After a year of no TV at home, cable is back. The kids are ecstatic. I have to admit I like having cable. Of course, I still have to be home awake in order to enjoy it but we’ll see, right?

Went to my folks house today. My son seems ready to make the sandwiches for the competition he’s joining next week. I am so glad my sister likes cooking and stuff. I just like to bake. He seems excited. Whether he wins or not, as long as he’s happy, that’s good.

On our way home we passed a shop with a funny name - at least I found it funny. The place was called “Les Appealing Salon and Day Spa”. Hmmmm…..I don’t think I want to have anything done there. The name might be prophetic and you come out less appealing; you’d definitely have no one to blame but yourself, hey? hehehehe.

Almost time for Fandom Live. Time to start getting ready.

It’s amazing how a little thing can create such havoc. A virus is so small, you need a microscope to see it, yet it can take us down and cause us to be unable to function well for days. Even with the best medicines, it is not guaranteed that you’ll be back on your feet the next day. When you’re a bit of a workaholic like me you don’t get enough rest to make the bug go away fast enough.

Worse, the people who share your space are very likely to catch your bug. You are contagious - and not in a good way. This means family, friends, office mates and anyone sharing your vehicle may get the nasty germ you carry. They in turn may get sick and infect others. Unfortunately, one does not stay home or get quarantined from the common cold. One continues to work through running nose, coughing fits and fever. Rare do you have someone like my bosses who would be understanding and opt to send you home (I am so blessed).

Now I am getting better but by no means am I at a 100%. I need a day or two more I guess. Oh well…..

She may be categorized as a romance book author because, after all, Kresley Cole does write about love and relationship as the main idea of her books. She also created a series that is well written and delightful and yes, naughty and erotic as well on a topic that few expected - something usually left only for science fiction and fantasy. She is one of the authors of what is now called paranormal romance. In this series, she writes about the creatures of the Lore.

The Lore have been around for ages. We’ve all heard of vampires, werewolves (Lykae), ghouls, Valkyries, witches and more. In this case, they’re living really close by, closer than some think - like New Orleans, London, Paris…and a few more places. They have their squabbles and powers. They have competitions like the Talisman’s Hie and the Accession - the big shebang which happens about every 500 years which naturally is of major importance to everyone, whether one is of the lore or not, though mortals have little say in it But I get ahead of myself.

Now these are romance books so most boys will cringe rather than be caught dead anywhere near them. You bet these are by no means your chaste, general patronage love scenes. These are books to paint images in your head of scenes normally only viewed if you buy porn or are experienced yourself. That makes some happy, others uncomfortable.

Personal opinion, get past all the scenes that the publishers said must be thrown in (hey! we all know sex sells but need it be poured in so thickly?) and there is a very interesting story. For all we know, there really are creatures of the Lore hangin’ out and about. Who’s to say?

There are so far, six stories in the series. As you all know, I try to avoid spoilers so these are not going to tell you what actually happens in the books. Let me introduce you to the cast of characters and their stories. Read the rest of this entry »

My cousin introduced me to an Australian TV series two years ago. It’s called H2O: Just Add Water. It’s a TV show for teens about three girls - Emma, Cleo and Rikki - who become mermaids. They acquire some power over water and yes, tails. In this case, they become fish whenever they get wet. This was really tough on the one named Emma since she was part of the swim team. Nope, they don’t give prizes for being a fish, just for swimming like one.

At first I wasn’t sold on the show. It made me think Charmed meets mermaids. Same old, same old; gave it a chance anyway and the kids liked it. The theme is catchy too and at least, it is not your old mermaids live in Atlantis jazz.

Anyway, we used to watch the show on youtube, then that was gone. We got hold of the complete first season but finding the second was not so easy. Then we stumbled onto a youtube video from someone who introduced us to an online source - VEOH.com. it’s free and you get to watch TV online. No need to download unless you want to. Which means I have to get off this blog and go ‘thon the show.

When you are trying very hard to please people or keep them happy, one sometimes wonders, what must a person do to achieve the desired state. Is it something you say? Is it something you give? Especially when it feels like no matter what one does, one is failing at it, the hunt for the key can often feel like a hunt for the holy grail.
I find that the answer is rather like the answer of the Po in Kung Fu Panda.

**********SPOILER ALET for those who haven’t watched it **********

The truth is, there is no simple ingredient. If we treat people the way we would like to be treated - which is with respect and as intelligent individuals, hopefully with a smile and full attention, we are happy. We all know that. We learn it when we are kids. It is simply a matter of going back to basics and making it happen.

One minute you’re fine and dandy. Slowly, the pain builds, creeping up on you. First, you get slight cramps which you tolerate since we women are used to shrugging off pain. Then along come the back pains - which we put down to just having had a long day at work. But then the cramps get stronger and you realize, *&%! it’s that darned dysmenorrhea again!

If you are lucky, it hits when you are home on your day off. If still somewhat lucky, you’re at home when it hits and can take a sick day (think olden times - we are indisposed). If you are very unlucky, it strikes while you are at work and you have to just grin and bear it because the darned meds aren’t working.

dysmenorrhea for those who are not familiar with - which means you are either male (and as such will never experience it or have no female connections who suffer this) or are among the females who have been blessed to not experience this - means a painful menstruation period. The symptoms vary as does the strength of the pains. Some, aside from the cramps and backache, also get leg cramps, headaches, migraines, are nauseated, experience vomitting or faint. Some also get diarrhea, as if the tummy were trying to dump all of it’s contents in time with the uterus. Talk about double teamed!
Oh, and let me not forget the feeling of alternately being chilled then overheated like your internal temperature just got busted. Yes, definitely no fun. You can’t make up your mind to wear a blanket or not. Best way, turn on the fan but pile on the blankets while under it you wear a light outfit in case you feel heated and choose to fling the blankets off.
Think of it as giving birth every month (though not as bad) but without the huge tummy and surgery. You look for a pain killer (Ibuprofen is usually what works), prepare a hot water bottle and try to sleep off the pain. You pray that when you wake up it’ll be gone and you bet it’s annoying when someone wakes you up when they don’t have anything important to ask you.

Guys talk about PMS - well, I wonder how they would feel when your system is acting as wonky as this. Add, by the way, the fact that you seem to have weird taste buds at this point sometimes. So yes, really rather like a pregnant woman - which if you’ll notice most of thse symptoms point you to - you do get cravings.

They say it is due to lack of exercise, lack of sleep, poor diet - in short an unhealthy lifestyle. I would say, yes, these apply to me at this point. Here’s the funny thing though. I had dysmenorrhea when I was doing ballet or cheering where the workouts are really intense. I had them even when I got 8-10 hours of sleep a day. I had theme even when I was eating a very balanced diet including veggies and liver (yuck!). So, it’s due to something else but what….science is trying to explain. You can look up their discussuion of Xenoestrogen, Natural Progesterone and obstructions which cause difficulty for the blood to get out of our system.
For now, don’t we wish the men were the one’s who had to go through this every month in our place?

The company I work for recently brought in visitors from a company that makes and sells products for dermatology. Their name - Dermailine! Hmmm… they must have noticed how our skin is now in need of TLC. Now this was a free consultation with little giveaways and of course their hope that we would be willing to buy some products of theirs. Since the product on sale was good yet not expensive, yes, most of us got at least 1.

“What did they have?” you ask. Soap! All kinds of soap. Soap to make you whiter. Soap to even out your skin - pigmentation I think was the word she used. Soap for those who are older and need more moisture. BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!

There was also a table full of other products for sale. Sunblocks, astringents, creams, and … a masculine wash! Now, I know marketing has been going for differentiating the products for men from that for women - reverse of the 80’s unisex trend - but this …I just had to laugh.

I guess this came to mind because as I listened to the RX DJ’s talking about the latest product of their sponsor - a feminine wash that’s supposedly cool - I could actually hear this guy rolling his eyes or trying to get this segment over as quickly as possible. Uncomfortable topic for men apparently. What would he say to a wash of his own I wonder. At the rate things are going, men will have as big a kikay kit as we women do - less the stuff for menstruating since unless a miracle happens, men won’t need that.

It’s amazing how much can be accomplished when one but puts one’s mind to it. I have had oodles of paper stacked on and around my desk at home. No one has been allowed to touch anything because they know that I cannot find what I need if they re-arrange my things. Today, I was in such a bad mood, I decided to attack my papers rather than get angry at someone.

Amazing! All of my bills, with matching receipts, are now separately filed so I know which is due and which is paid. If I need to find anything, no longer do I need to rifle through the many papers strewn on my table. Best of all, some useful tools that I bought some time back have seen the light of day and may now be used for the purpose they were meant for.

Now if only I can find my keys…..

I was lucky enough to get to watch the premiere of the movie Ironman and it was great! I didn’t expect much since it seemed like just another in a string of hero movies. Marvel did a great job though and made me very glad that I managed to re-arrange my sked to watch this film.

The Ironman movie focused on the beginnings of this hero. Tony Stark, genius and weapons mogul, has been kidnapped. They used weapons that he created to capture him. In the process, he experiences first hand what it feels like to be on the receiving end of one of his bombs. He ends up with metal in his body and if not for the efforts of another captive, Yinsen, he would not have survived.

Yinsen, created an electromagnetic device plugged into a car battery. The device supposedly keeps the metal shards from entering Stark’s heart. Of course it is annoyingly heavy to cart a car battery around so Stark just had to make it lighter and while at it, create a way to get out and voila! Using bits and pieces of material from the weapons stocked by his captors, he built his first Ironman suit.The rest of the story you have to watch for yourself.

The story is not complex. In fact it is utterly simple and straightforward but it was well played out. I liked that except for Gwyneth Paltrow, everyone else did not look the same as in their other shows or films. I liked that though all great actors, no one upstaged anyone. There was no overacting. As always, a great job by Jeff Bridges.

The armor is awesome! I loved the way it looked and watching the way he put it together makes me hope that indeed we are moving closer to making Star Trek a reality. I particularly loved seeing the 3D construction of the suit. The geek in me was in heaven seeing the applied science. Wish that could be done everywhere and by anyone already but I guess…that will have to wait til tech isn’t so expensive.
I would rate this 5 stars! There was something for everyone to enjoy and it rocked! I hope everyone gets to watch the film.
**** Special item of interest to Trekkies, the actor who plays the head of the Ten Rings (the group who captured Tony Stark), Faran Tahir, is also part of the Star Trek Movie coming out in 2009. He’ll be playing Capt. Robau. As you can tell, excited to see the movie already.