Placebo effect is a real thing.
On Saturday, I biked from my house to Carolynn’s house (1.7 mi), from Carolynn’s house to Zellerbach Hall (4.3 mi), from Zellerbach Hall to Lanesplitter Berkeley (2.4 mi), from Lanesplitter Berkeley to Carolynn’s house (3.9 mi), and then from Carolynn’s house to my house (1.7 mi). Google maps says that all in all, I biked 14 miles.
I am quite possibly the least athletic person I know, so yes, I am sort of patting myself on the back. Ever since Saturday night, I have been aching all over, from legs to arms (it hurts so good). I decided last night to take two Advil to ease the pain. I set them out on the bathroom counter before washing my face. After lying down, I felt the pain slowly easing up, chalked it up to the NSAIDS working their magic, and my body slowly melted into sleep. This morning I awoke, brushed my teeth, looked at the counter and noticed the two pills still sitting cheerily on the counter. Last night I was sure that the medication had been working. It’s funny to see where our minds fill in the blanks.
12:16
5-14-12
1 note
Still remnants.
I still remember some mornings when I would lie languidly, half asleep in bed, next to the still warm empty space you left. I could hear the shower running, and sometimes you whistling. Often I would fall back asleep, rolling over onto your side. You’d come back in the room and shuffle through the armoire for underwear and socks, then peruse the closet for pants and a button up. Your shirt smelled of you and clean, your breath of peppermint, and your face would be just the right balance of hair rough and skin soft as you leaned over to kiss me. Then you would walk out that door.
16:00
4-5-12
1 note
Boba drink.
Dad: Please Vy, careful with this kind of drink , VERY BAD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Sj_d3IBZKs
Me: But it’s so gooood.
Dad: Yes ! i know ! but they can give you ” Cancer” with those little balls !!! GOOOOOOD = CANCER = YOUR HEALTH + 50 YRS MORE LIVING =………… ———YOUR CHOICE ……..IT UP TO YOU !!! —— WE LOVE YOU ALLLLLLWAY !!!
16:09
12-20-11
SFSI training today.
“It’s raining, and there’s poop all over the alley. The world is like a latrine.”
“I mean, why wouldn’t you shit on the sidewalk? I mean, not like I’m saying I’d do it. NO, you know what…WHY NOT?”
“Nude and LEWD.”
“Porn that looks like kids: illegal. On the other hand, 18 year olds in schoolgirl outfits, NOT illegal.”
“…because our butts are all really big.”
“If we’re going to cuddle…I can do that. But only for a maximum of 5 minutes.”
21:30
11-20-11
I, alone, fund the city of Oakland.
Walking to my car on my way to work, I see a City of Oakland truck in the middle of the street with hazard lights on. Not too far away is a parking enforcement officer in blue, standing by some lonely sedan and punching numbers into his little handheld device. He looks up.
Me: Is it the 2nd Monday of the month?
Dude: [cautiously nods]
Me: I thought it was the 3rd.
Dude: No…
Me: [expressionless pause] Did you know that everybody hates you?
Dude: [long pause, blinky eyes]…
Me: Anyway bye!
When I got to my car, I was safe- he must have missed me, or not gotten there yet.
11:41
11-14-11
Not the first time this has happened.
I’m walking down a grassy foothill to an apple orchard on a gorgeous day, and the sides of the path are flanked by decapitated corpses, flies buzzing about. When I get to the orchard I’m hungry so I order a plate of Indian food and some sort of chicken wrap, along with a glass of lemonade. I ask the cashier about the bodies, and she says “Oh, they are just people that tried to steal apples…we thought they’d like to stay here with us. No big.”
14:59
11-13-11
Which is it today?
There’s a sign I pass every day on my way to the office. It’s one of those light-up flashing signs on the side of the freeway that often advertises a business or service. In this case, the sign flashes “HAVE A GOOD DAY” in all caps, before changing the message to “IT’S UP TO YOU.” Sometimes when I see it, I go “Ohhhh, how novel/that’s SO true/good words to follow/wow la la la” and go on my merry way. Other times, it makes me want to flip it off and punch it in its stupid light-up face.
14:46
10-12-11
Unpredictable.
There is a moth on the wall outside of my apartment door and it doesn’t move, but it could at any second, and I can’t tell if it is dead or alive, but every time I see it, it’s like I am experiencing my own personal horror film.
16:29
10-7-11
Autumn.
My eyes flicker open and I feel it. I feel it immediately in my flesh, in my bones. No need to even look outside. It never fails to arrive the same time every year, creeping into my mind and body. The changes are hard to define. Something about the light and the air forces a part into dormancy while at the same time stirring and awakening something else, deeper. I stretch to accommodate the changing of form. The mist arrives and with it comes the monster.
23:56
9-23-11
