Catch - not 11, 14, 17 or 18

It's called Catch-22, and I don't mean the novel. I mean the frustrating situation of not being able to get the desired outcome. What I really mean is this: My foot needs Aleve, but my stomach can't handle Aleve. Either I take the Aleve and suffer the stomach ailments or I don't and suffer the swelling and pain of my foot. For a short time I opted for the Aleve, and switching to the gel caps possibly helped a little? However, I have given that up after too much grumbling in my tummy. Plus, I started to feel as blue-green as the gel cap I was taking. Suddenly the foot pain seemed like a better option.

These turn into evil gremlins in my stomach.

After the track on Monday, I was kind of struggling to get in a groove. I had a nice longer run on the trails Tuesday, but felt like I was dragging the rest of the week. My energy and motivation were on vacation, so I did most of my workout Friday on the stationary bike. Yup, that's right. I played it safe.

Oh FSM, Make it stop!

Next week I'm going to get some massage done on my foot. I guess like the main character in Catch-22, I'm afraid. Of course flying missions is probably a more legitimate reason to be afraid, but I'm funny when it comes to touch. Sensitive- who me? Yeah, I guess one could say that. Generally I can tolerate pain, but there are certain kinds of pain that don't sit well with me. Internal pain is quite different from someone digging into your muscles. I've never done all that well with the kinds of massages that make you white knuckle the table, holding back tears while praying to whatever deity seems appropriate for the manipulations to stop. On the other hand, my PT feels that there is quite a lot of restriction in my foot still, and maybe breaking up the scar tissue etc. would liberate it. Perhaps in a week we can introduce my foot to freedom. Of course, that's IF I survive the massage. Gah!

It used to be that I didn't really like being touched at all. Anyone touching me made me feel a little uncomfortable. I'd stiffen up if anyone even approached me. Some of that must have been a lack of trust, but it was also that I seem to be hypersensitive. Things have gotten better since I was little though. I still don't like clothes that bind or unexpected hugs from people I hardly know, but I'm more than fine and actually crave and enjoying another's touch once they get through my invisible body armor. This might have to occur many times over, but there comes a point where I get past the brief discomfort and embrace being held or caressed. Some people say this is a symptom of OCD, and others claim it's a symptom of mild autism. I hate that I score as "mildly autistic" or "you could be autistic" on those bogus autism charts that float around on facebook and in random forums. I think this was one of them. For the record, I'm not. I'm just a little sensitive with a touch of OCD and can tend to be a bit of a loner from time to time.

I still don't like pants though. I hate things that bind my waist. I can get used to it, but generally can't wait to get home to take off my pants.

No pants day is going to become my favorite day!

No pants!
NOOOO pants!

Yay for no pants!

Ha- I'd probably never have the courage to walk around with no pants, but I love that there are people who do it! On the other hand, I have had no problem walking around in my work shoes, a Tee-shirt and no pants in the privacy of my own home. My foot does better in shoes lately, so while it is, indeed, an odd look, it's kind of working for me in other ways. I can't say I would do this around other people though.

Switching gears here...


Apparently Health and Fitness blogs are the latest rage. People are getting paid to take pictures of not so Haute Couture and less than gourmet goodies. And people get PAID for it, man! I mean these bloggers smile and take a million photos of the mundane and get fucking PAID! And they call it blogging!!! The trick is to get 5 photos for every 15 words written. The good news is that the images don't have to be anything spectacular -- a bowl of yogurt and fruit, a cup of coffee in a to go cup, or a cut up potato waiting to be sauteed. These are the things that apparently get people hysterically excited these days.

 Maybe there's something in this pic that I'm missing?

Spectacular! Look at the lighting, the angle...wwwwooooaaa! Genius shot. 

OK, I'm horrible. I shouldn't make fun of anyone's blogging style. I'm just jealous that 42 people comment about someone saying, "Look what I had for lunch!" On the other hand, I find blogs like Chocolate for Breakfast well deserving of the many comments. Sue Ann is a good writer and makes things interesting though. Her images are not excessive, and the shots are very nicely done. In fact, the images look like they're straight out of Gourmet Magazine. I love participating in the status update threads that occur on her facebook page. I guess when it comes to chocolate, everyone has an opinion. Plus, it's fun to discuss chocolate, especially if you are doing so with others who are equally passionate about it. I wish I would have thought about a chocolate blog, but I suppose a post now and then here about chocolate will have to do.

Now here's a nice shot!

Chocolate Truffle Cake

Sigh. I have a hard time letting things go. This probably deserves its own post, but just briefly, I got into a little debate with someone. I can't say it got out of hand. It really didn't, but I seem to be overly focused on it. I'll save the details for another time, because the content of the debate is interesting. Suffice to say that it's important to look at studies in their entirety if you're going to cite them. Often, people only look at one aspect and use the information incorrectly to support something that the whole study doesn't actually show. I have found too that it can help to go one step further and look at who funds any study. If a company like Monsanto is paying for "scientists" to test their own product, you can probably guess what the outcome will be. Of course it's safe! More on that another time.