It’s been busy here - and even the pets have been busy, creating a new episode of Guinea Pig TV, this one inspired by Ted’s passion for photography. Chatterboy is nearing retirement, so Truffles came to live with us soon after her birth on Christmas Eve. This new video includes three cavies: Chatterboy, Truffles and Truffles mother, Pearl, in a guest-star cameo role. Abigail did the writing and camera work for this episode.
I’ve been reluctant to begin blogging again because I know I can’t get started now without first saying I’m missing Anita Rowland. And I don’t think I can write about Anita and do it justice.
I first met Anita through a trackback. It was a relationship based on blogging, with an electronic beginning. Back in August 2003, I’d only been blogging for a month or so, and although I knew I had a few enthusiastic friends who were readers, and Ted had linked to me, it was mostly quiet on the blog, with familiar faces. Then the trackback appeared in my mailbox. I had no idea what a trackback was, or who Anita Rowland was either. I remember that moment of mystery and wonder…and gratitude. Soon Anita and I were having some conversations (when I search for “anita rowland” on my blog, more than 50 posts come up!) and by 2004, I was attending some of the Seattle weblogger meetups, led by Anita.
Anita connected me to Dave Winer through her post on geek boyfriend which I described and to Robert Scoble through the meetups. She connected me to many others on the Seattle scene, and to bloggers near and far. I might not have spoken at conferences or received attention for my blogging if Anita hadn’t helped me. And I would certainly have far fewer friends. I owe her. Back in the summer of 2004 she came out to the island, along with Robert and Maryam and Beth Grigg, among others, for a fun blogger picnic. Friendships were formed, thanks to Anita.
When R –, Anita and Jack’s grandson arrived, Anita and I started hanging out together here and there. Anita generously rode the ferry to Bainbridge. R— and our Elisabeth are close in age. It seemed to me Anita was an amazing mother to R—-, firm and sweet. Anita had fun ideas for entertainment. When we enjoyed the toys she brought, she would let us borrow the game. For example, Anita and R— introduced us to I Spy. By the time I got around to returning it, she would say they had bought another one and we could keep it. Now my children love I Spy. At the Apple store the other day they were playing I Spy while I waited for my appointment. And I was remembering Anita.
Anita was gracious and giving. She poured herself into people, into the blogging community, into her grandson R—. I admired her in many ways. It takes lots of courage to live a life like Anita’s, going forward with spunk and knitted hats, raising a grandson, organizing events, constantly reaching out and connecting people to each other, learning, reading, traveling, being herself always.
For the last year or two, the girls and I tried to help with R—while Anita was getting treatments. All the planets had to align in order for us to be able to go over to Redmond for a day, and I always wished we could have helped more often. But the girls and I had fun hanging out with R—- and it was good to see Anita. We last saw her in the spring. Before that I remember going into a convenience store in Vancouver and walking back to the hotel with Anita after Northern Voice 2006. Probably one of my most fun memories will be the time we stayed late after a meetup at Crossroads had ended and emptied our pockets of change, letting the children ride together on the mechanical toys in the mall, Anita, Jack, R—, my girls and me.
In writing about Anita, I have to write about cancer. My relationship with Anita started with the trackback email, and ended with another email on December 10th 2007 saying she had passed away after a long battle with cancer. 2007 was a difficult year to watch people around me receive diagnoses. Reading Derek and Airdrie’s journey this past year has been intense. I think of them often. In June, one of my high school classmates died from a brain tumor (here’s a blog post a friend wrote about him). I did not know him well but I went to the memorial service along with many others from our class. In his eulogy, the beloved English teacher our class had asked to speak at baccalaureate, revealed that he too was fighting cancer, for the second time. I came home from the memorial service and that weekend went into the garden ripping out blackberry bushes with clippers and vengeance. Then I sat down at the computer and wrote the angriest piece of writing I have written. I was mad. Mad at cancer for taking away my classmate, affecting Derek and his family, attacking my teacher who had impacted my life. And yes, I realized I was angry about my brother too who died from his third brain tumor several years ago. I was angry Anita was ill and so many others I knew. (Note: in the week since I drafted this post I lost yet another friend to cancer.)
Anita is one of the first friends I have lost in this new way of existing online. I still see her face on my Twitter page. Anita is still one of my Facebook friends. I can go read her blog. On Flickr I can read some of the last communication we shared, comments on photos she had posted. I miss her. Her face reminds me. Her words are still here with me. I will always be in her debt for what she gave me, and I will never be able to repay her. It is unfair she has gone. It is unfair she had to suffer intensely. There is much injustice in this life. But Anita also reminds me of the grace and generosity she gave. In this injust world, I can strive to be kind as she was, to build relationships and create community, to pour out mercy and love, to be brave in my battles until the end.
Last month I saw this nudibranch on Bainbridge Island’s Rockaway Beach: the low tides are returning during daylight hours. One of my goals for 2008 beachcombing was to find my first wild sea slug. Later I was told by a nudibranch expert I know that this creature is usually found subtidal. The sea slug captured the afternoon sunlight with its translucent body, appearing almost ethereal. When I returned two days later, it looked as if the creature had been eaten, leaving behind only white rings of flesh on rock.
Updating this blog to WordPress. Please email me (harrowme AT yahoo.com) or comment if you experience any difficulties. Apologies for the falling plaster.
Abigail wanted to have a birthday cake that would fit into her friend’s gluten-free diet. So we bought some namaste brand brownie and blondie mixes. Using a template Abigail had made we cut guinea-pig-shaped brownies and blondies. MnMs, frosting and chocolate turned the little cakes into cavies with eyes, ears and smiles. We were all smiling to see these nine cavies celebrating Abigail’s special day!
I have completed more than 6 weeks of my 18 week marathon training plan and I’m beginning to realize how foolish I was. I don’t yet think I was foolish for running a marathon: no, I’m sure that will come later, during the race itself or afterwards. But I miscalculated the amount of time and energy training would require. The running itself is less than an hour a day, averaged over a week. Extra sleep though also factors into the equation. As well as some extra mental energy spent mapping out the distances, trying to find creative ways to run more than ten miles on this island for weeks in a row, and yes, Googling my questions and symptoms, aches and pains, to ensure my preparation and injury prevention.
I told myself that running a marathon would only take a few months, and wouldn’t need that much time. I’m discovering though that this race is becoming a central focus of this spring season. I’m rearranging my schedule to fit in the distance runs and planning my summer around the marathon. I’m shopping and researching which items I should obtain before I get stuck in the middle of twenty-six miles as a blistered mess. It’s a delicate dance: in order to run such a race I need passion and perseverance, yet I also need to hold it with an open hand and keep my priorities in order for the other 23 hours of the day.
I’d be a fool to think that at 6 out of 18 weeks, I am a third done with the training. The longest and hardest runs - and weeks - are yet to come. Only recently did I begin to mention to friends and acquaintances my maniac marathon plan. I was afraid to look foolish, especially since my attempt last fall ended before finishing five miles. Already I feel a bit of the blahs, the excitement of the early morning rising and running competing with a need for sleep, a sense of impatience and weariness setting in before I am out the door. It is this middle of the training, as in the middle of the marathon, that requires endurance. I’d be a fool though if I stopped now, when I can start to imagine how the finish line feels.
Yesterday, I discovered my blog was broken. Entering my password only gave me error messages. Ted spent his Saturday morning researching options and hacking perl in a desperate attempt to rescue my blog. Hours later, as we left for Seattle, aggravated, exasperated and mystified, he reluctantly declared my blog dead.
I think my husband was more upset than I was over my broken blog. My main concern was with retaining my eponymous url. If my blog was dead, it might be time to start a new one. Anything other than Movable Type certainly appeals to me, I confess. I didn’t want julieleung.com forever associated with a site I could not change or move.
Ted though came home last night and began working on my blog again. I went to bed earlier than he did, as I often do. When I woke up, I found an email from him dated in the early morning hours, announcing that he had rescued my blog. Hurray!
Jenny described the love languages in her family. I think that Ted wanted to fix my blog, not because it was a challenge to his skills or perhaps even insult to his pride, but because he loves me. He’s always supported and encouraged me in all my blogging endeavors and he understands how much of myself I’ve poured into that Movable Type installation on our server. Ted worked and hacked, eventually finding a solution that would allow me to use my blog again, out of his heart and passion for me. Perl is a love language.
Tickets for The Police concert in Seattle on Wednesday June 6 go on sale to the general public this morning at 9 am, according to Ticketmaster. I won’t be going to the concert and I’ve never owned a Police album. Yet I find myself feeling some nostalgia for this band whose music brings me immediately back to middle school, adolescence, my early sexuality and first glimpses of music videos.
Everything comes around again. In particular I remember one of my classmates in eighth grade bringing the liner notes Synchronicity to our class on Homer’s Odyssey, pointing out to the teacher that the lyrics to “Wrapped Around Your Finger” referred to “Scylla and Charybdis“, characters we recognized from Odysseus’ journey. Around the time The Police announced their reunion tour, my daughters and I were finishing a history book, a book that contained the story of Cyclops as an excerpt from Homer’s tale.
Thanks tothe many fanswhohavelinked (and loved) Guinea Pig TV (some even international!). We have had some technical difficulties but are now back on the air with four new episodes posted so far this week. The girls have continued to learn, writing episodes and beginning to edit them too. Thanks again to Derek Miller for his music.
First, I have not yet linked to March of the Gummy Penguins from this blog, an episode inspired by local stop-action animators (Ed Hager and Sarah Gould respectively - with special thanks to Ed for his advice) and created by the penguin-loving Michaela.
Tea with Piggy Episode #8 was written by Elisabeth, age 4. Blooper included.
When Daddy’s Not Home has a script that was simmering for a while in Abigail’s mind. We finally filmed it when Ted went to San Francisco in January. I had to learn some screencasting (with iShowU) to try to fulfill the plot.
First 4-H Winter Clinic Episode #10: Until this year I was not familiar with 4-H but now I am a big fan, after our first Winter Clinic. Take a peek and see what we learned. Abigail made a cage and Chatterboy got his ear tagged for future shows. Please note that this episode is rated PG: “sexing the cavy” is demonstrated.
We’ve even had a request: someone who would like to appear on GPTV. Here are two ideas: One, create a clip or picture we could post. Or send us a postcard and we’ll send you one too!
Blogging can be bad for your health. This revelation came to me a year ago, as I stood in my closet, trying on clothes, searching for something to wear to Northern Voice 2006. The black skirt I bought for Bloggercon II, the first blogging conference I attended in 2004 did not fit, two years and many conferences later, vivid and tangible evidence I could no longer deny as I tried to button the band around my waist. Somehow during the years I had been posting and presenting intensely I had also been gaining weight at steady rate: it wasn’t a coincidence.
My weight gain from 2004 to 2006 can’t be blamed on blogging alone. Certainly typing must burn some calories. And I can’t blame blogging for my own bad choices.
However, the hours I poured into posting converted into pounds on the scale. As I focussed on blogging, I developed a lifestyle and habits that were not healthy. Often I stayed awake long past midnight, reading, writing and linking, sedentary in a chair, rising too late to fit effective exercise into my morning routine. Caffeine disguised as chocolate and delivered in the shape of cookies also contributed, as I snacked on sweets to fuel my fingers.
Blogging can be good for your health
While blogging can be bad for your health, blogging can also be good for it too. Through the past year, many bloggers inspired me as I’ve tried to make better changes and choices in my lifestyle, results reflected in my new wardrobe.
Today, a year after my desperate search for a conference outfit, I can wear my Bloggercon skirt. In contrast, the pants I wore to Northern Voice a year ago are no longer hanging in my closet, too loose to be comfortable. I am at the lowest weight I’ve been in seven or eight years, and certainly in the best shape I’ve been in for a while, perhaps since my days of competitive running in high school.
Running again
Running again has helped me meet my goals, and I am finishing week 3 of an 18 week marathon training plan. Who knows if I’ll actually run the 26 mile race: my previous attempt at training last fall resulted in injury after only 4 miles, accompanied by a detour through the world of physical therapy and podiatry. But so far, complete with new orthotics, I’m up to 7+ miles this time and feeling strong. After taking nearly ten years off from intense running (initially intentionally due to infertility) I’d forgotten how good physical fitness feels.
Thank you!
I want to acknowledge and thank a number of bloggers, in no particular order, who have encouraged me by their examples, lives and posts. Thank you for helping me become healthier. I want to give credit where credit is due (forgive me please if I’ve missed you).
I’ve been interested in going vegan for a while and although I can’t say I am quite there yet, I am enjoying a low-gluten, low sugar, low fat, low sodium, low yeast and low animal-product diet. My exceptions are chocolate chip cookies, salmon, and social situations. For two meals a day I prepare three different options at each meal (one for Ted who likes meat but can’t have dairy, one for our three girls and a vegan one for me) but sometimes at dinner I eat what the rest of the family is having, for simplicity’s sake (and, I confess, I still crave meat or eggs every so often). Fat Free Vegan Kitchen blog has been a wonderful resource, with savory photos and recipes. Brown rice has become one of my favorite foods - breakfast, lunch or dinner - as well as millet, spelt, fruit and beans.
Kathy Sierra continually inspires me, and if she tries something, it’s probably worth trying. However, despite her endorsement of the Shangri-La Diet, I found it didn’t work for me. Shangri-La certainly has its devotees who have discovered how to make it work for their bodies. After a few attempts, I soon realized that I would need to ingest multiple tablespoons of oil a day in order for the benefits to kick in for my body. I also didn’t like watching the clock and adding more things I had to remember to my schedule. At the time I was undergoing some medical care and I couldn’t see myself trying to explain to the doctor why I was swallowing tablespoons of oil a day. Shangri-La also requires its share of discipline and patience, and for those who are willing to go the distance, I imagine it may be worthwhile.
What worked for me
What worked for me, though were the basics. Exercise and diet. I’d also make these recommendations.
1. See a doctor. Medical care played a big part in my return to health.
2. Try fasting occasionally. Do this with #1 above - only fast if it is something you can do medically. Fasting helped me realize that I felt better when I didn’t eat certain foods. I started fasting for spiritual reasons but I believe there are also physical benefits. I like the simplicity and clarity of a short (1 - 3 days) fast. Plus it is a great way to contemplate life, develop discipline and mental strength.
3. Keep at it. Push through the days when the exercise is difficult or when the sweets seem tempting. Set a goal you want to meet.
4. Find some encouragement and support for the journey. That may include finding some blogs to read to put some motivational posts into your RSS feed. Blogging can be good for your health!
