Awake

A Touch of Grace: Massage Therapy Aids Retired Nuns

This is a wonderful story of an 85-year old massage therapist who serves the residents of a nursing home in the Bronx. Don't skip over the video. It's great.

A Touch of Grace: Massage Therapy Aids Retired Nuns

A "Face-Lift" for Amber Himes Massage Dot Com

Today was Picture Day at the salon. I'm being added into the photo/ad for Abbinito in the Ashland Locals Guide and while he was at it, I asked the photographer for a picture of just me for my website. I received it this evening and my home page at Amber Himes Massage now features a picture of yours truly.

Thank you Gabriel!

Announcing Chair Massage at First Friday at the "A" Street Arts Building

Just this morning I arranged to be at the "A" Street Arts Building for First Friday offering chair massage! "First Friday" is Ashland's gallery tour night (akin to Portland's First Thursdays). If you're in Ashland, the "A" Street Arts Building is on "A" Street and First across from the hardware store. I'm told there will be a Blues band there as well, so I'm sure it will be a great place to be on Friday, February 1st. I'll be offering chair massage in the upstairs hallway for $1/minute starting at 5pm. Hope to see some familiar faces (and meet new ones, too)!

Link: Amber Himes Massage, LLC

Upcoming Massage CE Classes in Portland

The Institute of Advanced Bodywork in Portland, Oregon just announced their next series of continuing ed classes offered at their facility in SE Portland. Taught by Alli Longstreth, Maura Banks, and TJ Ford, these offerings make me wish 1) I still lived in Portland and 2) my business was cash-flowing a bit more. (Regardless, maybe it is time for a trip north.) TJ taught the Trigger Point class at East West College that I took last Spring. If you are a massage therapist in Portland looking for quality CE courses in Portland, I strongly recommend you check them out.

Link: Institute of Advanced Bodywork

Happy CE-ing.

Busy night of chair massage at the Ashland Family YMCA

Wednesday evening was a busy night for Amber Himes and Chair Massage in Ashland at the "Y". Usually I average about 3 massages per night. But Wednesday was crazy with a personal record of eight 15-minute sessions for six people! (Two of them with 30-minute massages!) That quite satisfactorily filled my 2-hours at the Ashland Family "Y". Providing chair massage at the Ashland Family YMCA has been a very enjoyable experience and I am looking forward to further positive experiences in the future.

Ashland Update

So Amber Himes Massage, LLC is up and, well, strolling through the Fall season here in lovely Ashland, Oregon. Here are a few highlights:

• I (Amber Himes) am now doing chair massage at the Ashland Family YMCA on Tuesday evenings from 5-7pm. It's been a very positive experience so far. (Last night was my 3rd week.) I've had 2-3 clients each week and have been meeting some very nice people as well.
• Chair massage has continued to be a popular choice for clients of Abbinito. It's been fun to see men and women of all ages experience massage—some for the first time. One person has no health insurance and has lived with an untreated injury for over a year. It seems that 15 minutes of chair massage is his health care plan for the time-being.
• I'm working on perfecting my salt glow technique and am looking forward to adding it to my menu of services at the salon.

Well that's all the news that's fit to type! Happy Wednesday from sunny Ashland!!

Last Day, Term 2 (out of a possible 6)

Well I'm 10 hours away from being one-third of the way through massage school. Finals have been going well so far. I have my Anatomy & Physiology exam tonight and then two whole weeks off (of school).

This "vacation" I plan to organize my finances using Google Spreadsheet, clean my windows, and read...a lot. I also want to color s'more in both my Anatomy and Physiology Coloring Books. (I feel like I didn't get as much quality time with them as I wanted.)

As for road trips, I have one trip to Seattle planned next weekend. My cousin Erin, who lives in Japan with her husband Bernie and new baby Jayden, will be in Bothell, WA with Bernie's parents and Jayden will be getting baptized on October 1st. So I (and most of my family) will be heading up to Seattle to Brant and Jackie's place for the occasion and to gather to celebrate my mom's birthday, which is one the 27th of September. So that should be fun.

Not sure if I'll make it anywhere else, but I have a few ideas in mind. We'll see.

Anyhoo, happy Friday!

Finals Week is Here!

It's Tuesday and I'm already halfway done with my exams and assignments this week. Last night I did the Intake Form Exam. (We had to fill in all the questions on East West's Intake Form, including all the systems, common conditions, and symptoms.) Special thanks to everyone who has come over for a homework massage over the last 6 months and let me practice doing an intake on them. Without you, I would have failed miserably. =)

I also got the practical portion of my Massage 2 final out of the way. That means on Wednesday, all I have to do is take the written section and I'm outta there...to continue studying for my A&P final on Friday!

Tonight is Anatomy & Physiology's review night. I'm bringing chocolate-peanut and snickerdoodle cookies. Yum. Review night should be fun. I can't believe this is the last week of term 2.

I'm leaving many of my school buddies behind this next term, though I'll still see a handful of them in Massage 3. But, I've got a new website up my sleeve that involves a core group of friends from school--so that'll be a fun way to keep in touch. I'm hoping to launch it officially the first week of October. Stay tuned!

Next term is Pathology (diseases and special considerations concerning whether or not it's ok to give someone a massage who has a particular pathology or condition) and Massage 3 (which ties together Massage 1 and 2).

Good times.

First Week, Second Term

I'm at the tail end of my first week back to class. It's been a bit of a whirlwind. Mostly due to transitioning back from vacation (man I wish I could get a full time job as a Vacation Specialist) and getting over a minor but nevertheless very much present cold.

The good news: I got a TiVo.

The bad news: I am addicted to the WordPlay game.

Oh yeah, school. Yeah, I'm in school. (Did I mention I'm feeling a bit scattered this week?) We broke out the hydrocollator on Wednesday. That's good times right there. One of those is definitely going on my Christmas/Birthday combo list this year (or next). Anatomy & Physiology is also fun. What a fascinating subject. I'm enjoying it a lot.

Tonight, though, no class. My instructor is out of town. So I'm heading down to Powell's to study with a classmate. It's helpful if I can explain it to someone. So I'm glad to have a study partner for tonight. As fascinating as A&P is, it's a lot of info and we have quizzes every week.It's just as well; I'd hate to be tempted to cram. With weekly quizzes and no homework, I can just study and test, study and test all term long. Piece-o-cake.

I'm glad the sun is coming out again. We've had oddly crappy weather this week. But that looks to be coming to an end. Yay.

Happy Friday.

Two Weeks of Vacation Comes to an End

It is Sunday afternoon. The dryer is tumbling. The washer is cycling. The birds are tweeting. And I am blowing an inordinate amount of mucous out of my sinus cavity. And thus my vacation draws to a close.

But how it began was that I decided rather last minute that two weeks off of school would do little good to me if I did not also take two weeks off of work as well to do as I please. A good decision it was indeed.

The first few days I spent around Portland. My parents were out of town on an Alaskan cruise with my Grandpa and his brother, my great Uncle Glen. My friend Alex is in town for the summer and she stayed at my parents' house housesitting until this past Wednesday. We hung out a bit -- went out to eat a few times and saw Superman return. I saw the house on the lake too and enjoyed both movies thoroughly.

On Tuesday I got my teeth cleaned and on Wednesday I went to see the career advisor at my school to just get a feel for the job landscape. Though I still have 15 months to go, I need to always keep a strategic goal in my head in order to get through the day-to-day. I found one particularly intriguing independent contractor opportunity at a ranch in north eastern Oregon, but even more intriguing (and realistic) is a opportunity in the town where I was born: Ashland, Oregon. But that opportunity wasn't to be found in the job book. This was all in the family. Hang on a moment while I explain...

Immediately after flipping through job listings at school, I returned home and packed for the journey south. I was headed to Talent, Oregon, just 4 miles away from Ashland, where my cousin Drew and his wife Kelly live. Drew wanted some programming help and I wanted an excuse to visit two of my favorite people. I was planning on staying only through Friday, but after one day realized that I would much rather extend my visit through the weekend. And so I did. Drew and Kelly recently moved their businesses to a prime location in downtown Ashland. Drew owns a property management company and Kelly, a salon. In their new building, Drew is above stairs and Kelly below.

For three days I sat across from Drew with my laptop busily programming and taking in the unique hustle and bustle of a small business in a small town. Let me tell you, it was immensely refreshing. Below us was Kelly's salon, and therein a completely different sort of energy: the sing-song receptionist, the dramatic chit-chat at the manicure desks, the curtained oases of the pedicure and facial rooms. It would be a smart move. A fun move. An adventerous move. Kelly would add massage to her menu of services and I could start my business in a prime location with reception and scheduling support not too mention with people that I enjoy and trust. I would also bring my web expertise to both Kelly's and Drew's business. And Drew could help me find a place to live.

The interesting thing is that that Ashland was where my Dad's first job was. He worked for the planning department. When he took a job in Portland when I was two years old, they gave him a huge burl clock with a newspaper clipping about his departure. Dad says when and if I move to Ashland, I can hang the burl clock in my space as a converation piece. He wonders how long it will take for long-time Ashland residents to realize that I am Dale Himes' daughter. And that I am also Jason Lamb's cousin (Drew's brother), whose wife currently works in the same planning department where my dad held his first job out of college. I think that would make for quite an induction into a small town culture, don't you think?

As nice as it was in Ashland/Talent, I finally did drag myself up the interstate back to Portland only to drive to Seattle the next day for 4th of July festivities. That Monday, we (Dad, Mom, Grandpa, Seth, April, Adalie, Kylia, Zoie, Brant, Jackie, Pat, and Kris) hung out at Lake Union and watched the Mariners loose miserably at Safeco field. If that field wasn't such an enjoyable place to be, it would have been miserable, but even though they lost pathetically, we had a good time. The next day, we made our 2nd annual visit to the Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival, which was walking distance from our hotel as well as Brant and Jackie's apartment. Adalie and Kylia made little boats and despite sunburns, we had a good time that afternoon. That night, we watched the Lake Union fireworks on Brant and Jackie's porch and later enjoyed taking in the local civil disobedience and spectacular traffic jam on Dexter Avenue. Thank goodness we could walk back to our hotel and that Grandpa's feet could take it!

On Wednesday, I milked every minute of my stay at the hotel and checked out at noon to head down to Lacey to stay with Seth and April and get some quality time with all my nieces. April and the girls and I had a great time bonding. Seth and I managed to get the beginnings of a story out for a future project which I am going to be working up in the coming months.

But on Friday I woke up with a funny feeling in my throat and a case of the sneezes. I left that afternoon because I needed to get back and try and get a swim test before my rowing class on Saturday. That was when a pathetic sequence of events began to unravel. First, I couldn't find the bottom half of my swim suit, so I had to go over to Mom's to borrow hers. Then I tried to print out the form I needed, and at that moment my wireless printing network decided to get sassy with me and not function. So I had to plug it in. (Oh the horror, I know.) Then after all that I was feeling light headed because of my cold, so I decided to eat. Then I had to wait an hour. (You know, because I'd be swimming.) So then it was open swim time at the rec center so I headed over. And you know what happened? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. They said that it was against their policy to administer a swim test. The rec district that has practically an absolute monopoly on all the lifeguards within a 10 mile radius won't give a swim test at an aquatic center where their sole purpose is to watch people swim. I was livid. But I didn't chew them out. I just stared incredulously into the manager's eyes and stormed back to my car where I exploded in a spectactular array of tears and by-words.

But I surrendered. Call it what you will but my head was full of mucous and I was fatigued by the absurdity of it all. I canceled my registration and I'll now have my Saturday mornings free to sleep in. It's just as well. I was feeling wary of my schedule anyway.

So now it's Sunday afternoon. The Sudafed has kicked in. I've got to check my class schedule and get my books together for a long first week of a new term and a five-night-a-week course load. It'll go fast. There's no other way it could go.

Massage School Update

Well I officially completed Massage I yesterday. We finished a week early because of my instructor's schedule. I now am equipped to give a 1 hour Swedish massage for stress reduction and relaxation. For free. No charging until I get my license (in a year or so). Next term I take Massage 2 in which we learn treatment-oriented massage. Treatment-oriented massage involves targeting specific muscles and incorporate hydrotherapy, stretching and movement to affect specific areas of tension, pain, and decreased mobility. I'm really looking forward to it. The Saturday Homework Massage queue is pretty much open. I'm taking a beginning rowing class through the Lake O. rec district on Saturdays this summer. So homework massages will start at 1pm on Saturdays. Contact me if you're interested. Last term I gave between 1 and 3 massages nearly every Saturday from mid-April through the first week of June.

Next week I finish up Kinesiology with a quiz on the muscles of the leg and foot and a final on Friday covering the muscles we've learned since the midterm (spine & thorax; head, neck & face; pelvis & thigh; leg & foot). That should be a great time.

Also featured yesterday were words that I never imagined I would utter:

"Yes I'm interested in a Ph.D. in Anatomy."

Still processing that. Must counter decades of thinking that I'm retarded in math and science. I have this sneaking suspicion that I'm not as dumb as I thought I was. Anyway, more to come on that, potentially. The main issue is that I'd have to get a Bachelor's of Science degree and take a load of prereqs in math (calculus! yikes!) and science (chem, biochem).

Oh the irony.

Have you seen my flex capacitor?

Whoa. It's May. (Yesterday it was February, wasn't it?) Maybe they've turned the MAX into a time machine and I should file this post under conspiracy.

Only one month into school and I feel like I finally have permission to be me. That first homework massage three weeks ago felt like an entrance gate into my true life. Steph came over and we opened the massage table box that had been sitting in my living room for a week. (It had been waiting patiently for me to get over the initial shock of being back in school.) We set it up, I took an intake form, the gate opened and there I was in my living room giving my best friend a massage as if I had been doing this for years. In reality, I was two weeks into school and only "knew" a handful of strokes.

But that's the thing about touch, isn't it? You either know how to give it or you don't. Sure, there's an incredible volume of information about what's going on in and under the skin—and that information fascinates me more every day—but knowing how to touch and how to heal a person through touch my guess is that it's a gift, and no book can teach me that.

So, to answer your question, I'm thrilled to be in school. I'm happy all over and excited for what's next. I can't wait to put the letters "LMT" by my name. Not for the status, but for the permission: the permission to be me.

Article on the benefits of massage

Just a quick post - an article from the Mayo Clinic on the benefits of massage, what to expect from a massage and the risks. A quick read.

Massage: A relaxing method to relieve stress and pain - MayoClinic.com

New Arrivals and Washable Markers

This week Leah and her family arrived in Portland! As much as I love emailing with my friend, I'm looking forward to visiting face-to-face, giving lots of hugs, and seeing how much the kids have grown!

Washable markers are the item of the week. As much as I would have loved to attend Good Friday service, I was instead in my kinesiology class learning about rotator cuff muscles. Where do the markers come in? Well in my class we are now learning how to draw the muscles on our classmates. So at the end of the night I had all the muscles around my shoulder blade outlined in brilliant Crayola bold markers.

This morning in Massage I, we finally got some "table time" after our first quiz. What a way to start the morning, let me tell you. I could barely move after my massage, but giving one was great too--it's so nice having a task that doesn't require me to be leashed to a keyboard. Love it. Last night's Kines class humorously spilled over into this morning's massage as there was some residual markings of the origin and insertions of Latissimus dorsi on my back! I don't know if knowing the location of the 12th thoracic vertebrae really helped my classmate give me a better massage, but for her, seeing all the markings was definitely good for laughs. (Apparently her Kines instructor didn't utilize markers the way mine does. Who knew?)

Anyway. Good times.

You know you've picked the right vocation when...

• Class begins with "a little massage."
• Teachers actually want you to pass your tests and expect 100% of students to be successful doing so. (No bell curves here!)
• You have to learn a lot of tedious difficult concepts but everyone—including the instructors—is clear about the ultimate vocational goal.

Day 2: Kinesiology

Brain is muuuuuuuussssshhhhhhhhyyyyyy.

Lessons learned so far:
Use time wisely
Listen, clarify, summarize.
Be present where ever I am.

Massage School: Day One

Had my first class today, Massage I, at East West College. Getting there by 8 was no problem until I boarded the train at 7:13 am at the Sunset Transit Center and we proceeded nowhere for five whole minutes due to a "medical emergency" at Washington Park. "Five minutes" doesn't mean a lot at work, but it means a great deal for class since we are credited by "clock hours" and lateness and absence records are a big deal. So I panicked, bailed on the Max, walked back home and drove to class. I should have stayed on the Max. As soon as I reached the freeway, speeding along at 10 miles per hour, the trains started going again. Arg! (It's never enough, I tell you. Never.) I made it to class on time, but I've learned my lesson. I'm transforming myself into a morning person and will leave my house by 6:30 am and will be not frazzled by the periodic dissolution of punctuality which comes from unforseen circumstances and is, fair to say, inevitable in the realm of public transportation. By leaving a half-hour early, I'll have time for breakfast and a little reading beforehand. Preparation: good. Punctuality: good. Panicking: no good. So hopefully my new plan will fall into place spectacularly tomorrow morning.

Oh yes, and the class was great. I'm really looking forward to this term. Massage I is Monday and Wednesday mornings and Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings are devoted to Kinesiology.

The Intersection of Healing and Reconciliation is Touch

As my choices have directed me to walk the seemingly parallel paths of mediation and massage, I am beginning to discover why I have chosen these two vocations and how they apparently relate to one another.

A helpful piece of this puzzle was placed the other day when I received my weekly installment of PeaceMeal: Food for thought on Biblical Peacemaking — a ministry based on Ken Sande's book The Peacemaker.

In it, the newsletter author chooses as a central to this week's newsletter, Genesis 33:4: "But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept."

Each issue begins with a quote from The Peacemaker and this week, part of this quote is that "God does not intend for people to relate to one another at a distance or through other people. Genuine relationship involves personal communication." Sande also refers to Exodus 33:11, "The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. (see also 2 John 12)."

In mediation, when I contact a party, my first goal is to encourage or coach the person to talk to the other party in the dispute face to face. In fact, we learn in training that a good indicator for mediation is when face-to-face communication has failed — spectacularly. At that point, if both parties agree, a neutral 3rd party mediator can actually render a good service by "merely" facilitating a face-to-face conversation between two or more disputing parties.

But further into this issue of PeaceMeal, the author asks the question "Do you relate more face-to-face or screen-to-screen?" The author continues by noting the abudance of "connectedness" in this day in age but challenges the nature of this connectedness (especially technology) that connects us at a distance—and keep us there. The author does not blame the tools, but keeps the blame appropriately with us and our preference of "distance to closeness, and darkness over the light" — and of course our love to be "in style". ;-) Through and because of our gadgets and access to technology we actually believe that we are connected to one another. But what Sande warns is that the ideal relationship is face to face and this connection at a distance is far from fufilling. As a matter of fact, connection primarily via technology catalyzes quite an ironic effect: I, and perhaps "we", feel lonelier than ever. Noting Luke 15:17, the question is posed that perhaps we need to come back to our senses like the prodigal son, as he returned to his father and actually felt his embrace.

It was this emphasis on touch that made me realize that the intersection of healing and reconciliation is touch. These paths I have chosen in mediation and massage are not parallel, they intersect, weaving in and out of each other's paths because of how they espouse and nurture healing, peace, restoration, however differently from one another—one in body, the other in relationship—but both dealing essentially with the soul. Both addressing the problem of disconnectedness, of brokenness, of pain. Both trying to rectify these problems with peacemaking and healing. (Whether through lavender or laughter, the goal is the same: peace and healing.)

So what does "face to face" have to do with touch? Because only by being face to face does the opportunity for healing touch exist. No amount of typing colon, hypen, and right-paren combinations :-) can replace the sensation of healing touch.

If you "continue reading" I've included the whole of the newsletter and you can read it for yourself. I encourage you to subscribe to the newsletter as well. I've been a subscriber for a couple of months now and they have been consistently good and definitely, as advertised, "food for thought."

(The following is taken from the e-newsletter PeaceMeal.)

Senses and Sensibility

"But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept."

Genesis 33.4

God does not intend for people to relate to one another at a distance or though other people. Genuine relationship involves personal communication. As Exodus 33:11 says, "The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend" (see also 2 John 12). If this is the idea for a true friendship, it is also the ideal for a relationship that has been broken by conflict and needs to be restored. Although other people can sometimes help get the restoration process started, its ultimate goal should usually be a personal, face-to-face meeting between those who have been estranged, so they can express and confirm repentance, confession, and forgiveness and experience together the grace and reconciliation of God.

Taken from The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict by Ken Sande, Updated Edition (Grand Rapids, Baker Books, 2003) p. 148.

Food for Thought

Do you relate more face-to-face or screen-to-screen? Why?

We live in a time of connectedness. We are connected via e-mail, the Internet, our cell phones, Blackberries, and iPods. And those are just the avenues that readily come to mind. Being connected now ranks among the necessities of life, alongside food and shelter. But for all the beneficial ways (and there are many) that these technologies connect us, they connect us at a distance. And we find ourselves in a far country.

As Ken reminds us, the ideal for a friendship or relationship of any kind, is speaking face to face; God does not intend for people to relate primarily by way of distance. Notice the physical beauty inherent in Genesis 33.4. Jacob receives an embrace; have you ever felt the warmth of a hug from your iPod? Esau throws his arms around Jacob's neck; it's a little hard to feel the rough, hairy arms of your brother by way of a cell phone. Esau kisses Jacob; ask anyone in love if they would rather have the tactile sensations of a kiss or an e-mail full of emoticons. And then the two brothers weep; the Internet can raise the level of information in our heads, but can it cause our defenses to fall, so that tears spill from our hearts?

It's easy to blame these tools, as if they are the problem. No, the problem is where it has always been--with us. We prefer distance to closeness, and darkness over the light. These tools just help us do it in style. We stride through life, gadgets in our pockets, patting ourselves on the backs, believing we're really connected. But a close look at the eyes reveals our souls; we're lonely and wonder why. Maybe we all need one of those prodigal moments--"when he came to his senses" (Luke 15.17). True sense, as God intended, will return to us via our senses. It means being hungry enough to feel the pains in your stomach, or maybe your heart. It means feeling the burn in your legs as you run toward home or maybe the hurt from that broken relationship. It means feeling the embrace of the one you've been estranged from; an embrace that just might squeeze the tears out of you. That kind of closeness brings life out of death; it allows you to be found instead of lost. And that story always ends with fattened calves, rings on fingers, and parties hosted by the Father; none of which can be enjoyed from a distance.

PeaceMeal is a publication of Peacemaker® Ministries. Copyright 2006. Reprinted with permission. To sign up for this free weekly email publication, go to the Peacemaker Ministries website at www.Peacemaker.net.

Coming Up

A few things on the horizon...(some near, some far, some just plain ridiculous...)

Massage school is on.

It's official. I'm enrolled at East West College and I'll be there for the next year and a half. I'm guessing I'll need plenty of bodies to train on, so if you know me and are interested in a free homework massage, let me know. I'll be in a position to get licensed after 1 year and during that time I'll continue school and hopefully start to build a practice.

Being sick does have its literary advantages.

I am currently plagued with Gunky Cold, the symptoms (Excess Gunk and No Sleep) of which convinced me to stay home 3 days last week. In between naps, tea, and soup, I have been practically bingeing on fiction before having to consume kinesiology and massage studies in a few short weeks. After watching the latest screen adaptation of Pride and Prejudice as well as the mini-series, I decided to read the book as well. I also have been alternating Harry Potter books with the associated movies, averaging 1.3 HP books per day. I'm now on Goblet, however and am back to work, so the average is consequently dropping. ;-) Also sprinkled into the mix are the delightful Spiderwick Chronicles as well as A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engle (I've been working my way through all the Time Quartet—four books related to A Wrinkle in Time all with the same core set of characters, who have an affinity for traveling in space in time exploring the mysteries of faith.)

Series commences on Jesus' conversations according to the Gospel of John

Pastor John started us off in John on Saturday and I'm really looking forward to this series. He's seeing the book of John as a series of Jesus' conversations with a variety of people and has consequently picked out 1 conversation per week for us to focus on—with a total of 25 over the course of the series. I'll try to remember to link to the podcasts when they are made available. Or you can just subscribe to his podcast in iTunes by copying and pasting into iTunes' Subscribe to Podcast input this link: http://johnjohnson.typepad.com/blog/rss.xml.

Optimizing the iTunes Living Room Experience

Since getting my powerbook over a year ago, I have barely even touched my G4 tower (really only to move it out of the way in my various spurts of furniture rearranging) but most of my music is actually digitized on that computer, not to mention a lot of photos. However, being so liberated from the shackles of Large Monitor and Desk and into Less Wire and More Comfy Chair Zone, I am loath to bring my G4 tower into the open. I'd rather it remain where it is, not cluttering up my space. So enter Chicken of the VNC. (I just love saying that.) This program will enable me to acces my G4 tower from the comfort of my G4 Powerbook (and purple chair with my feet up on matching chartreuse ottoman covered in my favorite wool blanket...ahhhhhhh). So that installation is slated for this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes. (I know you're dying of suspense. I'll try and be quick about it.)

What Would Chloe Do? (WWCD?)

Yes, I'm totally hooked on 24 this season and my favorite character Chloe is really pulling no punches this season. Her patented Chloe Sass is better than ever and I can hardly wait to hear who or what she will tell off next. Indeed, her performance has nearly inspired me to almost want to make buttons that say What Would Chloe Do? (Or simply, "No!" or "Whatever." —perhaps with a cropped image of her trademark soul piercing glare in the background.) The show has also been a fun source of Dadoo-bonding as I have infinitely preferred watching it in HDTV on a screen literally the size of my adolescent clothes closet (my old bedroom=my parent's home theatre) over the need to be conscientious of my neighbors by watching it at home. So I've been heading over there every Monday night and wait for my dad to come bounding up the stairs after no doubt cutting short my mom's post-life-group conversation. Sadly, Dadoo's enthusiasm for the show plummeted last week upon the supposedly trustworthy information Jack Bauer received about Audrey. (Whatever! As if they could play the Nina card again! No way! I believe you Audrey!!!) And he's been a little bummed about all the people they've killed off this season already. Has J.J. Abrams been ghostwriting this season? That guy will kill off anyone. (And bring them back. Twice.)

So that's all the news that's (un?)fit to print. Or display. Until next time.

Asleep?

Not exactly, though I am exhausted.

Just got through a slew of web design favors, best guesses, and out-of-the-goodness-of-my-heart volunteer work these past 3 months and boy am I tired. (Of it.)

So I took my first step on a path that I've been eyeing for at least 10 years: I took an intro to relaxation massage class last Saturday. Next step? Submit an online FAFSA and an application to East-West College of the Healing Arts. (I'm undecided as yet about July or September enrollment.)

It would mean putting my schedule on the Atkins-South-Beach-Jenny-Craig-Weight-Watchers diet of all time, but that, as everyone around me knows, is long overdue.

Mediation and massage, you say? Well it's all about peacemaking and healing. And that's a good direction for me to take, I think. Good for me, good for others, and honoring the Trinitarian God. You won't find this path in any worship and community book out there, but we all know that what pastors and leaders are reading ain't nearly all of what needs to be known. So when I get on the other side of this or at least heart-deep in it, maybe I'll be the one to write that book. ;-)