Entries from February 2009 ↓

The first stars of twilight are winking from the sky when a voice trails over the glen. Young and vibrant and poignantly lovely, the alto grows clearer as the multicolored silk scarves of a skirt flit over the grasses, teasing them with each dancing step of the girl.

Angels, answer me,
are you near if rain should fall?
Am I to believe
you will rise to calm the storm?
For so great a treasure words will never do
Surely, if this is, promises are mine to give to you…
mine to give…

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Every generation seems to have those moments in history that they collectively look back at and can cleraly remember where they were and what they were doing when it happened. These seem to be the kinds ofmoments that help define that generation. Well, maybe not so much the significance of the event itself but in how it is a sort of catalyist for things that led up to and/or followed.

For my parents generation it seems to be the Kennedy assassination. Kennedy’s Presidency was during one of the pivotal times in our country’s recent history; from civil rights to the space race.

For my grandparents it would probably be Peral Harbor. An attack that pushed the US into WWII and culminated with the dropping of the first atom bomb.

Prior to that? I’m not sure… maybe the stock market crash that led to the Great Depression. I think as you get further back to this time period it may get more difficult to pin-point such moments because without radio, tv, and now the internet that have given us such an immediacy when it comes to the news that they did not have.

Which brings us to my generation. What will we look back at with our children and grandchildren and remember in this way?

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I haven’t posted an update about my pre-weight loss surgery drive in awhile, I’m a bit over due.

When I made this decision back in October/November, I was pretty gung-ho. I had made up my mind. I was going to do this. Then as I started finding out the hoops I had to jump through… well, the biggest one was an insurance requirement of at least 6 months of medically supervised weight loss.

I had been seeing my doctor on a regular basis because of my blood pressure, and we’ve often talked about my weight… so I thought maybe I would qualify for this right away. Heck, my doctor even took a couple minutes to do up a letter for me. But…. (there’s always a but, isn’t there?) the surgeon’s nurse felt that since it wasn’t monthly check-ins and such that the insurance company would likely balk at it.

So, to play it safe I’ve had to add about 3-4 months to my wait, per recommendation of my surgeon. And based on meeting the at dietician (another pre-approval requirement) I’ve been trying to stick to about a 1500-2000 calorie a day meal plan and checking in each month since Thanksgiving. Then there’s the psychological evaluation. I’ve had three meetings, plus the whole Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). It’s a true/false questionnaire used by professionals to assist in identifying personality structure and psychopathology. I wish I could remember some of the questions… some were rather … odd. But after getting through the nearly 600 question test it was kind of hard to remember much in the way of specifics.
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About seven months ago (wow, didn’t realize it was THAT long ago) I tried rigging up a standing-desk, or stand up work environment (SUWE). I ran in to a number of problem. The desk I had my computer on wasn’t tall enough, and my main work area for reviewing plans and papers was still regular height which required me to bend over just to grab a piece of paper. So I went back to sitting… and getting up… and sitting… Here is what my old set-up looked like. Aside from having to the constant getting up and down as I grabbed files, print-outs, did scanning.. it was kind of cramped.

So last weekend I hit Ikea and picked up the piece of what would become my new work station. I had been eyeing different options for quite awhile. I did a fair amount of Christmas shopping at Ikea, and each time there I would check out the various desk setups. What I was looking for was a decent sized area for my keyboard and things I keep right at hand. Pen, note pad, my water, paper clips, etc. I wanted the monitor to be elevated, a lower shelf area for the computer (needed to keep it accessible for SD card and CD access and didn’t want it on the floor), and additional shelves for reference materials. Then I also needed an open work area for when I need to review plans, sort through various documents, and just a general work surface.

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While most folks around the US turn their attention to the groundhog on February 2nd, this date also has a history as a Celtic festival that celebrated the lengthening days of the year and the coming of spring. Candlemas was one of the four days of the year representing a quarter of the calendar, and it was on these days the Celts practiced their Sabbaths. In Ireland and Scotland, these four days were celebrated as fire-feasts.

Later, Christianity sort of took on this holiday as it did with many other pagan holidays. In Roman Catholic churches, candlemas became the day when all the candles to be used during the year. These candles were considered symbols for Christ as the light of the world.

It was also called Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, because the Catholics believed a woman was un-pure for six weeks after giving birth and this date would have been about six weeks after the birth of Christ at the winter solstice.

Related reading: A Brief History of Candles and Candle Making.