the art of the speaker phone

my boyfriend has stopped using his headset. i worry it will end our relationship. seriously. all day long i listen to men rattle on about how important and great whatever it is they are referring to or taking about is in a LOUD voice. the last thing i want at the end of the day is to call the sfo to hear a yell in response.

is there an art to the speakerphone? Yes. Apparently there are well documented protocols out there that people are writing about but when do folks inside the walls of the office get a chance to learn about these hard and fast rules? (hard and fast is added her for emphasis) its clear there is a decline of mental capacity inside America, and I fear items like this one, that seem so small and insignificant, are really very very very very important.

So lets look over the simple rules people are talking about:
1.) DONT YELL.
This seems simple, but everyone yells into their cell phone like its a two way radio so I don't envision this habit declining rapidly.
2.)Announce your name in a group setting.
Again, simple manners. People tend to forget that others do not recogonize your voice. Just think of it this way..your not howard stern. or jerry seinfield. or ted kopel. Those are the only people that pop to mind outside of the NPR gang that I would "recogonize" if they called me on the phone.
3.)Don't talk over others.
Stop talking and start listening America. I could use this sentence repeatedly over and over again and it would be applicable to just about everyone I meet. SHUT UP!!!!
4.)Don't take another call when you are on one already!
How many times have you heard Ralph pick up and tell his wife that yeah, he will pick up some wine on the way over to the Howard's that evening? enough said.
5.)Avoid multi-tasking.
Stop shuffling papers and typing while you are on the phone. Trust me, you have TIME for this call that you are taking. Are you Donald Trump? Then maybe you don't have time but then ask your self, Donald, why did you accept the call in the first place?
6.) Turn off your other phone.
I love listening to the macarena or other ridiculous tunes flow out of cell phones (that people have not learned how to turn off??)
7.) Do not EAT or COOK while on the phone.
How about some flames and sizzle please? Some chomping? No thanks. Also, don't take me to McDonald's with you! I am sitting at my computer working and don't need the hunger pangs evoked by listening to your order.
8.)Make sure others can hear you.
How many times is there someone on a call talking and I speak up asking them to increase their volume and everyone else is like yeah, I couldn't hear them either. Make sure people can hear you--and ask people to speak up!

so will the speakerphone end our relationship? no. but i have asked very nicely for him to stop using it all together..... :--)

being sick of being sick

Ugh. When is the last time you have been really, really sick. It hit light a flash of light on Friday, suddenly I was down for the count. And I mean DOWN. I have not slept this much since I was like 10 years old. Today is Wednesday and finally feeling like being vertical is workable.

When you have nothing to do but stare at the wall its amazing what you can contemplate...consider...and really evaluate. I have spent the last days thinking about life, my house, moving, my relationship, whether I want a family, how my life should be shaping, and where my passions are going to take me next. I have only come up with a few answers but I look forward to the coming weeks to see how the change that I have invited feels inside my life.

I don't think I have mentioned the a fore mentioned "change." I put the house up for sale...or at least its going up for sale tomorrow. Trying to spark some inertia to get the wheels of change up and running again. Its time for a stretch. I am stuck. Stuck. Stuck in the same position and need to be challenged a bit. I am so stressed, freaked out, and otherwise just plain scared about making this change, but in my mind those flags mean....its right.

SuperFood

Its January and we are all thinking about eating healthy. Everyone of course accept my mother who surprisingly seems to be eating boxes of cookies, cake, chocolate, pie, brownies, and muffins without any recourse. Your right--just returned from a trip to see my family. I survived their attempts to fatten me up and have jumped back into my attempts for finding delightful foods this January that taste good and are good for you.

Over Christmas P and I enjoyed lunch at Mark & Spencers. Next time you find yourself in London, enjoy a bite to eat at their lunch counter that reminds me of the pictures Norman Rockwell painted of past lives. The English have an amazing ability to evoke memories of the past while serving you in the present. They have found a subtle agreement between our attempts to change and hold on to memories.

Yes--about that super food salad...

We enjoyed lunch and I was delightfully inspired to retreat to the other side of the pond and cook up something similar: Super Food Salad



2cp butternut squash
3 beets
1.5 cp broccoli or brocollini
.5 cp of tomatoes
enough lettuce to cover your plate
2 tbls olive oil
1 tps salt
about 1 tbls poppy seeds

Turn the oven on to 400 and peel the squash. Cut into small peices. Attempt to AVOID cutting yourself (I need to be more careful). Place squash into glass dish and lightly toss with olive oil and salt. Roast for about 30 minutes or until cooked. (no longer firm)

While the squash is cooking, take beets and wash them. Poke holes with a fork about 5 times around the fruit (careful...beet juice is used to color things for a reason...) Wrap up each beet in tin foil and place in the oven with the squash. Beets will take about 60 minutes to cook. When you remove the squash, turn the oven down to 350.

As you cook the squash and beets prepare the rest of the salad. First cut up the tomatoes into small pieces or use cherry tomatoes, which make life really easy, and cut them in half. Set aside.

Cut up broccoli and place on a baking sheet covered with tin foil. Set aside until squash and beets are finished cooking. Then spray broccoli lightly with olive oil and place the baking sheet under the broiler for about 5 minutes until the tops start to brown. WATCH the broccoli to make certain you have control over your broiler...which will crisp things quickly.

Place everything you just cooked into a bowl and mix well without squishing the squash. Toss the "salad" with poppy seeds. Salt to taste. If mix seems to dry, add a little olive oil or put some on the dinner table so your guests can doctor it to their taste.

Plate up a bed of lettuce and place the salad on top. Enjoy!

And why is this SUPER?
Poppy Seeds have: "Thiamin, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Zinc and Copper, and a very good source of Calcium and Manganese."

Butternut Squash: "very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium and Magnesium, and a very good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Potassium and Manganese."

Broccoli: "this food is low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Protein, Thiamin, Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Potassium and Manganese."

Tomatoes: "This food is low in Sodium, and very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Potassium and Manganese."

Finally, this recipie should feed about 4 servings at:

157 calories
8 g fat
20g carbohydrates
4.9g sugars
4.8g protein

100% Vitamin A
60% Vitamin C
9% Calcium
9% iron

WOW! That is super!

Drumroll Please: Enter 2007

Life is catching up with me..slowly and I am on my way back to focusing on the things I love...like writing this blog. This year I am shifting my focus to tell you about two things: my ashtanga practice and my gluten free food quests. I hope the plan will work....fingers crossed.

Today I will simply start by saying I am working to find a balance. My mother used to tell me that I am good at so many things...that it will be difficult to choose. Mastery. Mastery of one item where we focus, and focus, and focus again. This is what ashtanga yoga takes and until a few weeks ago I realized that I was hiding from the commitment. One of the instructors at my studio said:

WHY--WHY are you coming to this class????????? You know what you are suppose to be doing.
Feeling sheepish-I said yes.
You are never going to move, shift, and develop your own practice until you make the commitment.

The "commitment" is Mysore. Mysore is morning practice. Starts at 6am. Ends at 8am. My practice is small so it takes me about 1 1/4 hr. I love Mysore. I hate getting out of bed at 5am. the studio is 35 minutes from my house. I have a dog. I have a job. I have a life.

And this is what George Leonard writes so beautifully about in his book title "Mastery". The commitment that Mastery takes and the process you have to endure along the way. Endure is the wrong word....lets use enjoy as Leonard would like us to...

This book is getting its point across in a lot of ways. I hear people talking about what they want to accomplish instead of where the journey will take them. People quit when they can't win the 12 triathlons they compete in during a summer. People ditch school / marriage / cars/ old pets / boyfriends / hell even their kids!

I am working on enduring the path--enjoying the path--and recording the small, small, small changes it brings me each day.