TV Comedies

I think I may have posted about TV series on DVD before, but I've been watching a lot of TV comedies and wanted to post about them specifically.  After getting hooked by my roommate, I tore through the six seasons of How I Met Your Mother that are available on Netflix and look forward to catching up on the recently-finished season seven, maybe in time to watch the show live this fall.  Toward the end of the sixth season, I calculated how much time I had spent watching HIMYM and found it was around forty-eight hours.  That's a lot of TV, especially considering each episode is about 21 minutes long.  When you invest that much time into a TV show you start to feel like you really know the characters and really care about what happens to them.  You share inside jokes with them (which the creators of HIMYM do a great job of incorporating into the show), and remember their past failures and successes.

I realized that I had started to apply lessons from the show to my own life, and was surprised at how often a situation on the show would reveal something helpful to me in my own relationships.  It's a comedy first and foremost, but the part that keeps me coming back is the heart behind the jokes.  It's the imperfections of the characters that make me sympathize with them, and their dreams that help me notice when I have set my own dreams aside, and encourage me to pick them back up.  While I was watching HIMYM, it was something to look forward to after a long day at work.  I would come home, say hi to my roommate--he was usually working in his room when I got back--and collapse on the couch with a snack, escaping into the sitcom world for forty minutes or so before having to make plans, cook dinner, clean, organize, and put on my adult face.  There were definitely days where the episodes of HIMYM that I watched were one of the high points of my day.  It sounds kind of pathetic, but it's not so bad.  The show was a way for me to escape while also reflecting on my own life and what I needed to do.

More recently I've been watching Community on DVD.  My sister gave me season two, which she preferred to season one, and having finished that I've moved on to season one to catch up.  It took a couple of episodes to get into, but I absolutely love it now.  It's one of my favorite shows ever.  It's the show among all others that most reliably makes me laugh, and laugh deep, rich, good laughs.  It mixes utter absurdity with believable human drama, and somehow makes it all work.  Some of the characters act jaded and cynical but still possess a redemptive innocence and hope which along with the humor keeps me coming back.

As somebody who tends to avoid or postpone conflict when possible, I love the way that characters on Community dive into conflict, and throw each other into conflict all the time, with nary a thought for the consequences.  But they always work through it and learn from it.  The show reminds me that conflict is important and can be really productive.  It doesn't matter how you get into it--it's working through it that makes things better and gives you understanding.  And while I can't always jump into conflict in real life the way the study group at Greendale Community College does, it's valuable to see how they work things out, and to laugh with them along the way.

A Note on Extended Absence

Dear Readers,

You may note that it's been rather a long time since my last ducky blog post.  Ironically enough, on July 23rd, 2011, the very day that I picked up the blog after an absence, I had an accident that derailed my plans and until now I have not gotten back on course, duckwise.  On that summer Saturday I posted about false herrings, sat down with my roommate and watched the movie 28 Days Later, and then set out on a bike ride which went horribly awry.

There weren't many cars on the road but I wanted to do things properly, so about a block away from my apartment I signalled a left turn.  Leaning into the turn with my left arm still outstretched and pointing, I had only one hand on the handlebars.  Whether I hit an oil slick on the road, my new rear tire was still slippery and not yet worn in, or I just became overconfident I'll never be sure, but WOOSH! the bike whipped out from under me and WHAM! slammed me into the ground.  With my right hand on the bars and my left still in the air, I had no way to catch myself and landed chin-first on the decidedly unforgiving pavement.

Fortunately, I had my cell phone with me and my roommate was at home, only a minute from where I pulled myself from the asphalt.  He drove me to the hospital emergency room because my jaw felt weird and hurt a lot, and I was bleeding somewhat profusely from the chin.  It turned out I had fractured my mandible on the left side.  The broken piece was tipped almost 90 degrees to the inside and the bone was out of the socket.  I got stitches for my chin and had my jaw wired shut for a few weeks while the bone healed.  During that time I ate all my meals through straws, indulged in milkshakes pretty much every day, and learned a lot about patience and accepting help from others.

When the wires were removed, my tongue was stained black from this mouthwash they gave me to help prevent cavities, and I could barely open my mouth.  I had rubber bands for several more weeks before being freed entirely.  Then it took a little while before things felt more or less normal.  The doctors did an excellent job of setting the bone, but my bite is slightly different than it was before the accident, and it took a while to get used to how it felt to chew.  Now things are pretty much hunky-dory.  My jaw clicks a bit on the left side if I move it around, and it's not as mobile as it was, but it works fine and looks normal.  I got back on the bike, but I confess I don't ride as much as I did before the accident.

I'm deeply grateful for the support of my Lady Duck Friend and my family during the broken-jaw ordeal, and for the encouraging words of friends near and far.  It meant a lot to me, and I firmly believe it helped me heal more quickly.  I hope to resume the duck blog, but will not be posting every day.  I'll try to do at least one or two each week.  Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the ducks to come!

False Herring

First off, I'm sorry that this blog has lain dormant for so long.  I knew that when I moved houses the blog would take a hit, but I never intended to give it up entirely.  Maybe it's more realistic to do one or two posts a week rather than one a day.  I'm not sure, but I'm intending to get back in the saddle with some fresh new posts, starting with this one.

I think the phrase "false herring" came to me when I misspoke one day, meaning to say "red herring."  I liked the way it sounded, and was convinced that it offered some nuance of meaning that the standard phrase did not.  I have yet to figure out what that nuance may be, but I use the term in my private inner monologue to refer to activities, objects, or desires that lead me away from what I really, deep down, know that I want and need in my life.  Perhaps the pursuit of another shiny guitar is a false herring, since my time would be better spent playing the ones I already have.  Perhaps watching a TV show that I don't really care about is a false herring, because at the end of the evening, I will wish that I had done some writing, read a book, or caught up with someone on the phone instead.  Some people probably know exactly what they want at any moment and have an easy time expressing that to others.  I do not.  So I'm training myself to look out for those ersatz ichthyoids and avoid them in favor of, um, genuine herrings.  Well, you get the idea.

Watching Baseball

My dad loves watching baseball, and from an early age it's rubbed off on me. Some people say that baseball is too slow to be exciting, but any fan will tell you that those people don't know what to look for. I'll be honest and say that I don't follow baseball too much, but I enjoy watching when I can. My friend is a huge Phillies fan, and I've had a lot of fun following them with him, learning the players and a little bit about their strengths and approaches. We've noticed that Phillies fans have a reputation for being boorish and rude, but hope that we can help disprove the stereotypes!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Hula Hooping

This weekend I got to try my buddy's hula hoop. It wasn't like the ones I played with when I was little. This one was much larger in diameter and weighted instead of being a hollow tube of plastic. It had a satisfying heft that counterintuitively made it easier to keep it going than the lightweight kind. I gave it a whirl and found I was better than I remembered. Then I kept going, and when I stopped I was out of breath with a huge smile on my face. My joy came not from pretending to be a kid again, but from falling into the moment and not thinking of anything but the gyrating hoop around my waist--spinning meditation. That and the endorphin rush of shaking all around!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Support

This week events both positive and not-so-positive have reminded me how important it is to have a strong support network of people you love and who love you--friends, family, significant others, friendly co-workers, etc.  In the good times, it feels great to be able to experience joy and excitement with other people.  Sharing can intensify happy emotions and also, interestingly, help to diminish unhappy ones.  When events take an unexpected negative turn, talking with other people really helps me step back and put things in perspective.  I feel very lucky and grateful to have people in my life with whom I can share the good and the bad and keep on trucking together.  Thanks for propping me up, being sounding boards, offering advice, sharing your good news, and trusting me with your bad news.  Together we're better!

Scrabble

This week I've become fairly addicted to an iPhone game called Words With Friends.  It's basically Scrabble, played like chess-by-mail via the interweb.  I can challenge friends anywhere to a game, then my phone lets me know when they've made a move.  I can take as long as I want to make my move, and so on.  My LDF was playing it with her sister all the time, and I finally grew curious.  I had no idea how hooked I would get.  I've always enjoyed Scrabble, but never been a fanatic.  But this game really gets me.  I have to exercise considerable willpower not to play when I need to be doing other things.  As an addiction, though, it seems pretty innocuous.  It was a free download, and if anything it's challenging the verbal portion of my brain, increasing my vocabularity.  If you have free time, I highly encourage you to look into Words With Friends.  It's available for Android as well as iPhone, and also on the computer, I believe.  My user name is GingerDana, and I'm ready to play you!

May Day

Happy May Day!  I kind of forgot it was happening until the day was nearly over, but I'm a big fan of the holiday.  I love celebrating vitality, fertility, spring, and rebirth (which I think is what the day is about, even though in North Carolina spring has long since sprung by May 1).  April showers bring May flowers, and there's an extremely enjoyable song in the musical Camelot about the arrival of this "lusty month".  I hope some of you enjoyed dancing around the May Pole today, and that this month brings much joy to you all!

Mattress Moving

These two ducks look like they could be carrying anything from a giant ice cream sandwich to a big cross-stitch frame, but in fact they are schlepping a mattress.  On Saturday I moved two beds with my friend.  We borrowed my parents' minivan and moved his bed frame to his new place, then turned around and moved my old bed back to my parents' house since I don't really use it anymore.  I've lived in my current space for almost two years now, and had forgotten exactly how tiring it is to move big furniture.  I don't mind it, and it's pretty satisfying to see tangible progress as you move and get to put your muscles to use, but phew, it's hard work!  Also, it always, ALWAYS takes longer than you think it will.  Every time I move I think about how much stuff I have, and how much stuff many of us have in the U.S.  Possessions can be useful and I get pleasure from many of mine, but I look forward to thinning my holdings a bit for the next time I have to move.

Simple Pleasures, April 2011 Edition

On Friday I caught up with some good friends over dinner.  We live in two different towns, so we rendezvous-ed at a big shopping center halfway between them.  The dining options were somewhat limited, and we picked a mass-market Asian fusion kind of place.  The food was not unpleasant, but really sub-par as far as Asian food goes.  I had a dish with tofu and broccoli, and the tofu was just as it would be if you opened a package of smooth tofu and cut it into pieces--bland and slippery, not crispy or flavorful like it often is at Chinese restaurants.  The sauce was thin and not particularly flavorful either.  Nevertheless, the whole experience was very pleasant because I was there with friends and the weather was great.  We got to be silly just like we always are when we hang out, and we got to catch up on what's been going on in each other's lives.  After dinner we had planned to see a movie, but nothing that was playing looked too good, so we just wandered through a bookstore instead.  The evening was a prime example of the power of simple pleasures to bring joy.

Comic Timing

Good timing can make or break a joke.  I think we've all experienced situations where somebody made a simple remark that was utterly hilarious not because of what it was, but because of when it was delivered.  The other night I was having dinner with some folks after an event at work, and there was a certain amount of local name-dropping going on.  Somebody mentioned a musician, then somebody else said, "Oh, yeah, I think I saw him play at Shakori Hills."  The first person said, "I used to teach him on the drums."  Then someone else said, "I remember when he used to play with a friend of mine."  The second person said, "Oh, yeah." And then, at exactly the perfect moment person number four breaks in with "He's my son," which of course was not true, but gently poked fun at the one-upmanship going on.  We all burst out laughing.  It was beautiful.

Reading Aloud

Being an adult without young children in my life, I sometimes forget the joys of reading aloud.  I was recently reminded how satisfying it is, and now I'm looking forward to doing more of it, both reading and listening.  I'll admit that I have more trouble following the twists and turns of a plot when I'm hearing it read aloud to me than when I'm looking at the pages myself, but there's a special comfort in relaxing and allowing myself to sink into the story that a well-loved voice is bringing to life.  My mom and dad read to me a lot when I was little, so the whole experience reminds me of happy times.  It's especially pleasant right before bed to read aloud and be read to.  Gets the brain ready for good dreams.

Look, Ma, new pants!

This Wednesday evening, after months of wearing increasingly frayed and tired-looking pants to work, I finally bought a couple new pairs.  Actually, the situation was that I had some good fall/winter work pants, but when warmer weather arrived, I found my lighter-weight and lighter-colored pants were all showing their wear.  Recruiting my housemate (he volunteered), I went to a store likely to have cheap but durable khakis.  I was successful in my search, and am wearing one of the pairs of pants I bought as I type this very post.  They're quite comfy.  I'm not always a big fan of clothes shopping, but in the right mood, I do enjoy trying on different outfits, striking poses in the dressing room as I imagine myself strutting down the street in a jaunty pair of linen pants or slouching on the couch in a relaxed pair of jeans.  On Wednesday I think I fell into the pitfall of judging everything more positively because the shirt I wore to the store was a favorite of mine, and everything looked better in combination with it.  No matter.  Those mint-green cargo shorts will come in handy sometime, I'm sure!

Ikea

The first time I went to an Ikea home furnishings store, I was filled with wonderment.  I don't remember when that was, exactly, but it's been many years now that Ikea has been in my life.  In one sense they're just more big box stores, full of hundreds of thousands of square feet of stuff, most of which I don't need.  But in another sense they're so much more.  Besides the Swedish sensibilities, the economical prices, and the interesting designs, the element that makes the stores special for me and so many others are the little rooms they set up with their furniture and accessories.  Wandering the vast sales floors, you can poke your head into countless "rooms," each one uniquely arranged and decorated.  You can look at one kitchen after another, and if you're with a friend, you can compare your tastes in sofas, color schemes, lamps, and so on.  They also have "houses" of varying sizes, all the way from maybe 1200 square feet to under 300 square feet, and I always marvel at how much of a complete living space you can create in such a small amount of room by using bunk beds, nested tables, stacked microwave-oven combinations, and multipurpose furniture.  Being at Ikea gives you the chance to imagine yourself in all kinds of different lifestyles.  It's like a playground for grown-ups, and I relish every chance I get to visit.

Little Kids (Hunting Easter Eggs)

More from the Easter chronicles with the LDF-family.  Here's an overly hasty scribble depicting cute little kids on an Easter egg hunt.  We saw this one little girl who was almost lost in her voluminously fluffy pink dress, sitting in the grass, not quite sure what all the fuss was about.  A slightly older girl approached her, holding out an egg and communicating via the special means that babies have to talk to each other.  Finally she flopped down on the grass almost atop the pink dress girl and everyone happily snapped photos.  I love the way little kids will just do their own thing, regardless of what the grown-ups are encouraging.  "Go!  Get those eggs!  You can do it!  Go fast!" shout the parents, and the kids amiably toddle along, enjoying the cool grass between their toes, observing insects in flight and the angle of the sunlight through the trees.  They may find Easter eggs and they may not, and they couldn't care a whit either way, except that the world is a big, bright, beautiful place full of endless wonder, and they're happy to be in it.  I'm with the kids.

Road Food

This weekend my LDF and I hit the road to visit her family for Easter weekend.  It wasn't too long a trip as these things go, but by the time we were traveling, we realized we would need a snack to see us through lunchtime.  We stopped and got biscuits at a drive-through.  For some reason there was a noisome odor lingering near the biscuit place, but I think it was mere coincidence because the biscuits were delicious.  We could tell they were going to be good when we saw the grease stains on the brown paper bag.  The best road food is the kind of stuff that you would never eat on a daily basis, but it's perfect for traveling.  Maybe it's an ancestral urge in our cells to stock up fat reserves for the journey ahead.  Maybe traveling makes us long somewhere deep down for home and stability, and eating comfort food is a way to achieve that.  Maybe going to foreign surroundings pulls us away from a sense of our mortality, and the feeling of our arteries clogging is a reassuring reminder.  Maybe the heavy food is ballast that literally helps ground us during the uncertainty of physical transition.

Or maybe it's just downright tasty.

Packing a Suitcase

Packing a suitcase can be very satisfying when you know just what you want to take and everything fits in neatly.  Unfortunately, that's almost never the case.  I tend to get myself all worked up when packing for a trip because I'm always starting later than I should have, usually when I've got three other things I'd rather be doing, or things that I need to get done ASAP.  Agitated as I am, I then grow even more indecisive than usual, agonizing over which shirts to bring or how many extra pairs of socks constitute reasonable backup, and how many are unnecessary weight.  I usually find that I've forgotten to wash a garment that would be the perfect thing to bring, or have forgotten to buy something I'll need, like dental floss.  Typically I'll try for a while to pack, lay out piles of stuff, then take a break to play guitar, eat ice cream, watch TV, or go bother my housemates.  Then it's back to packing.  Eventually it always gets done, but by that time I'm utterly exhausted and unable to properly get excited about the traveling I'm about to do.  It's really too bad, but all the frustration and anxiety goes away the next day as soon as I'm on the road, boarding the plane, or lifting anchor for new adventures!

Yoga Balls

A little bonus post tonight (or a catch-up post, whichever you prefer--I like the bonus) on yoga balls!  They're big and (being made of rubber and inflated with air) bouncy.  They're roll-y and squishy.  They support your weight and let your muscles relax, your spine decompress, and your ribcage expand.  They're also a lot of fun.  I think that I'm going to get one to bring to work and use it instead of a chair at my desk.  That is, if I give up on my standing-desk endeavor or want a break.

The Power of Performance

Tonight I saw class presentations for a college oral history class.  They weren't your average "stand at a podium reading a paper" kind of presentations; they were oral history performances.  "How do you perform an oral history?"  you may be thinking.  Or you may be thinking, "why is this guy using so many quotation marks in this post?" Or you may be thinking about the really good sandwich you're going to have in a minute.  But assuming you're thinking about oral histories, the "how" of performance turned out to be very straightforward.  Many of the students held papers printed with excerpts from transcripts of interviews they had conducted.  They introduced their speaker and then read the excerpts.  But it's selling them short to say that they read the excerpts when they really performed them.  There was a big difference, which lay in the students assuming the personas of their speakers.  They had minimal costumes if any, maybe a baseball cap or glasses or a scarf.  And they were just sitting down, so there wasn't a lot of action on the stage.  But these students really committed to inhabiting the voices and gestures of the speakers they were channeling onstage, and the combination of the students' commitment with the speakers' insights and experiences was powerful.  Some of the people the students had interviewed were present, and they were moved to witness the students performing their words.  The evening got me thinking about history, about talking and listening, and most of all about the power of performance.  I experienced the strength of passionate and full commitment to the act of communication, and it was very inspiring.

Standing Desk

This Sunday in the New York Times, I read an article about how sitting is going to kill us all.  Well, kill us sooner.  The article said that studies had shown earlier mortality and increased risk of heart disease and other health problems among people who spend much of their days sitting down.  Even those who "balance it out" by exercising vigorously when they're not sitting are not safe from the deleterious effects of their bottom-bound hours.  Since I spend most of my days at work sitting and then come home and sit some more, and tend not to exercise vigorously, the article got me worried.  I had long felt that sitting down all day in front of a computer was no good for people.  I typically end the day feeling at least a little stiff and hunched-over, and sometimes have a headache from too much slouching and staring.  So I decided to be proactive.  I quickly rearranged my desk at work, moving the monitor higher and grabbing a few spare laptop stands to stack atop each other thus raising the height of my keyboard.  Then I stood up to work.  It's not perfect, but I noticed an immediate improvement in my awareness of things outside of my computer screen.  I also noticed more energy and confidence.  That was yesterday.  Today, day two of the standing desk experiment, I more noticed that my back, feet, and knees were tired, and that every chance I seized to sit down was a blessed relief from standing.  On the plus side, when lunch rolled around, my food tasted better than it had in a long time, I think because of my increased appetite.  And I ended the day with fewer stiff muscles and no headache, so it's still a net improvement over sitting.  Also, I got to startle and amuse my coworkers to no end, which is worth something.  I'm going to give it another go tomorrow, maybe with more comfortable shoes, and see how it goes!