I had been using an electric toothbrush--an Oral B--but got to the point where I couldn't easily find replacement brushes. I bought the original electric toothbrush--my first ever--in Jan. 2003. I know that because i was in the drugstore purchasing the toothbrush when word came that the Columbia shuttle had crashed. (I didn't actually remember the date, but the incident, so I just looked up the date.) Anyway, I tossed the electric over a year ago, and went back to manual brushing. I had read somewhere that good manual brushing was just as effective as electric, and I was trying to save money. But in my case I must not be an effective manual brusher. When i went to the dentist recently for my 6-month checkup, the hygienest said my teeth were hard to clean, and that next time they might need to use a water treatnement (?)
I didn't like the sound of that, and I noticed that the backs of my teeth upper teeth were feeling a bit gritty after brushing, soon after my checkup. So I researched electric toothbrushes. I had bought the original Oral B because it was rated highest by Consumer something. That's still the case--Oral B still wins out over Sonicare. Something called Consumersearch rated the Oral B Professional Series Smartcare 4000 the best electric toothbrush. Consumer Reports mentions a "top-rated Oral B" in its (free) overview, but makes people subscribe to see the ratings.
My local CVS and Walgreens both had the Oral B Pro series 4000 (aka the Triumph--can they be more confusing); both were selling for about $140. I also checked the Oral B website and found that they have a 5000--one has to assume the 5000 is newer and/or fancier or both. I checked Amazon, which sells both the 4000 and 5000--the 5000 sells for $103.99; the 4000 for $4 less ($99.99). According to a chart Oral B developed that's on the Amazon site, the only difference between the two models is that the 5000 has something called the "Wireless Smartguide" which helps "maximize your routine". Whatever that means, right? Luckily, one 5000 product review was very helpful. Here's what B. Johnson from Cleveland OH said about the 5000 vs 4000 that swayed me on the 5000:
When I was making the decision to buy this model, I went back and forth as to whether to go with the SmartSeries 5000 with its separate "Smart Guide," (as opposed to the only slightly-cheaper 4000) but I'm glad I opted to pay the extra money for this additional gizmo. Aside from the fact that it doubles as an unobtrusive bathroom clock, I actually find that the visual guidance on brushing times, brushing mode, and brushing pressure help me to use this product to its full potential.
With a difference of only $4, and priced well below CVS and Walgreens, the 5000 on Amazon seemed like the best bet. And it was over the price threshold for free shipping, so I didn't pay for shipping. Amazon.com is clearly the winner for purchasing items like this--what a huge difference!
I've just started using the toothbrush--it is a bit complicated and took some reading and re-reading to figure out how to use the Wireless Smartguide. But my teeth do feel cleaner, and it has a separate "whitening" mode with different brush head. Not sure how well it works, but it sounds good. I haven't tried some of the other modes, like deep cleaning. Who know brushing teeth could be so complicated?
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
An Agent?
A few months ago I sent my voice acting demo, along with head shots and a resume, to a local talent agency. Trying to figure out how to look for voice acting jobs is overwhelming, and could be quite costly. I'm trying to avoid spending money-it seems like such a long shot. Seems like having an agent is a way to potentially find jobs without wasting a lot of time. Well, I got an email from the agency asking me to come in for an open call. Not sure how significant this is--do they email everyone who sends them a request? But I'm excited--it's the first concrete step I've taken on this front in a while. I'm hoping they'll represent me--we'll see. Should be an interesting experience, anyway. Now I'll have to review the materials and tips from my voice acting training. The email doesn't really say what I'll be doing--it says "..we will collect your information, put you on camera, and answer any questions you may have..."
What does "put you on camera" mean? Will they ask me to read? Interview me on camera? Maybe people who know what they're doing know what to expect. And this agent always says "don't call us, we'll call you..." So I can't ask them what it means. They also represent actors and models, so having them on camera makes sense. And I already sent in my demo disk and head shots, but they tell me to bring those. So what did they do with the stuff I already sent in? (Which they asked for.)
I'm excited and nervous--plus this place is in Baltimore, so I have to figure out how much time to allow to get there. With DC traffic, who knows. The open call is from 11am-2pm. I figure I should be there before 11am, get on whatever list they have and wait my turn. I'll bring a yog book or two so I can study while I'm waiting. I guess I could blog about waiting, but that would probably make me more nervous.
Good think I'm not desperate for money...
What does "put you on camera" mean? Will they ask me to read? Interview me on camera? Maybe people who know what they're doing know what to expect. And this agent always says "don't call us, we'll call you..." So I can't ask them what it means. They also represent actors and models, so having them on camera makes sense. And I already sent in my demo disk and head shots, but they tell me to bring those. So what did they do with the stuff I already sent in? (Which they asked for.)
I'm excited and nervous--plus this place is in Baltimore, so I have to figure out how much time to allow to get there. With DC traffic, who knows. The open call is from 11am-2pm. I figure I should be there before 11am, get on whatever list they have and wait my turn. I'll bring a yog book or two so I can study while I'm waiting. I guess I could blog about waiting, but that would probably make me more nervous.
Good think I'm not desperate for money...
Un-Friend=ly
Surprising how many days can go by without blogging--still struggle with self-discipline. But I'm also doing (or trying to do) so many different things at the same time: develop a voice acting career (OK, get some voice acting work); train to become a yoga instructor; write a blog; maintain my public policy and analytical background via community service. And strengthen my singing voice.
So back to the blog. I joined Facebook shortly before I retired, as a way to keep up with people from work. Network also includes family and high school friends. And now I have my first dilemma--whether to unfriend someone. According to a recent article in the WSJ (I think), one of the biggest reasons people "unfriend" is when someone writes too frequently about mundane topics. So that's what I'm faced with--one person who writes daily, and sometimes several times a day. Some recent examples: "c'mon Bills"..."so happy to be home off my feet..." "heading to bed soon...: "bought my first Christmas gift tonight..." These blurbs clog my Droid, which has a "social media" app. Often her blurbs are the only new items to show up. Everyone else with whom I am friends is pretty judicious about posting items on Facebook. (Including me--my dog posts more items on her wall than I do on mine.)
According to my son, writing about one's every move is common among teen/young adult Facebook users. But not so for boomers. Among other things, I don't want people to think I have nothing better to do than write on my FB wall. I've been considering unfriending the prolific scribbler for some weeks now, but get nervous about doing so. My son assures me that she won't get a "you've been unfriended" message. She apparently won't know unless she tries to contact me specifically, or notices that I'm not on her list of friends any more. But I still feel uncomfortable unfriending someone--I keep thinking her next blurb might be interesting; that I'll miss something. And how do you refriend if you want to? Guess I need to ask my son--maybe they find out then that they had been unfriended.
Today's Washington Post had an article about Facebook and infertility--how difficult it is for people who are trying unsuccessfully to have kids to be bombarded with postings about children. Someone called it Facebook envy. Guess I'm glad I didn't have to deal with that while trying to have a second child. But I'm starting to feel some of that toward grandparents; I don't think that's in the cards for me. I try not to think about it; but that will get harder as the years go by.
I still haven't decided whether to unfriend; not until I find out more about refriending...
So back to the blog. I joined Facebook shortly before I retired, as a way to keep up with people from work. Network also includes family and high school friends. And now I have my first dilemma--whether to unfriend someone. According to a recent article in the WSJ (I think), one of the biggest reasons people "unfriend" is when someone writes too frequently about mundane topics. So that's what I'm faced with--one person who writes daily, and sometimes several times a day. Some recent examples: "c'mon Bills"..."so happy to be home off my feet..." "heading to bed soon...: "bought my first Christmas gift tonight..." These blurbs clog my Droid, which has a "social media" app. Often her blurbs are the only new items to show up. Everyone else with whom I am friends is pretty judicious about posting items on Facebook. (Including me--my dog posts more items on her wall than I do on mine.)
According to my son, writing about one's every move is common among teen/young adult Facebook users. But not so for boomers. Among other things, I don't want people to think I have nothing better to do than write on my FB wall. I've been considering unfriending the prolific scribbler for some weeks now, but get nervous about doing so. My son assures me that she won't get a "you've been unfriended" message. She apparently won't know unless she tries to contact me specifically, or notices that I'm not on her list of friends any more. But I still feel uncomfortable unfriending someone--I keep thinking her next blurb might be interesting; that I'll miss something. And how do you refriend if you want to? Guess I need to ask my son--maybe they find out then that they had been unfriended.
Today's Washington Post had an article about Facebook and infertility--how difficult it is for people who are trying unsuccessfully to have kids to be bombarded with postings about children. Someone called it Facebook envy. Guess I'm glad I didn't have to deal with that while trying to have a second child. But I'm starting to feel some of that toward grandparents; I don't think that's in the cards for me. I try not to think about it; but that will get harder as the years go by.
I still haven't decided whether to unfriend; not until I find out more about refriending...
Friday, October 8, 2010
15 minutes prep time...
Am I the only one who takes longer (often a lot longer) to make a recipe than they say in the instructions? I generally double the time they say, and am not far off. So today I tried a new recipe--Starbucks Pumpkin Scones--and decided to track my steps and compare against the estimate. Not sure how they can use the Starbucks name in the recipe, by the way--it's not their recipe. Unless Rachel Snachel, whose name is on the recipe, baked them for Starbys. Anyway, I could tell her prep time estimate of 15 minutes was way off, given what the recipe entails--two separate mixing bowls, blending cold butter, patting the dough on a board and cutting it...and the recipe also says it will take a total of 30 mins. min (I finally figured out that the second "min" means minimum). Since just one step in the recipe calls for waiting an hour--you'd be in bad shape if you thought your family would be eating scones anywhere near 1/2 hour after you start.
I started at 7am--combined the dry ingredients in one bowl, but snagged on "using a pastry knife...cut butter into the dry ingredients until...no chunks of butter are obvious". I'd blend for a while using my pastry knife, then go on to something else--chunks got smaller, but were still obvious, unless you count the fact that they were covered in flour (but that would make them not visible, as opposed to "not obvious". I finally gave up on the butter chunks at 7:35--22 minutes later (started "blending" at 7:13. But as I said, I also was doing other stuff. Like mixing the wet ingredients and shooing the cat off the work surface.
Patting the dough onto the wooden board (after folding the wet and dry ingredients together) was messy--should have put flour on my hands. Also had to keep putting flour on the knife. I finally got the first batch of scones (too many for one batch) into the oven at 7:50; baked for 14 minutes. But then I had to wait for the scones to cool before putting on the first glaze. And letting the first glaze cool before "drizzling" the second glaze--although my "drizzles" was globs. I was done glazing and drizzling the first batch at 8:30. And then the recipe says "allow the icing to dry before serving--at least 1 hour. My son and I shaved that time a bit and ate the first scones at about 9:20am--nearly 1 1/2 hours after I started!
This is probably one of the worst estimates I've encountered--really sloppy, if you ask me. So it pays to read the recipe entirely and make your own estimate of how long it will take. So you and your family won't be disappointed!
I will say, the scones were very good!
I started at 7am--combined the dry ingredients in one bowl, but snagged on "using a pastry knife...cut butter into the dry ingredients until...no chunks of butter are obvious". I'd blend for a while using my pastry knife, then go on to something else--chunks got smaller, but were still obvious, unless you count the fact that they were covered in flour (but that would make them not visible, as opposed to "not obvious". I finally gave up on the butter chunks at 7:35--22 minutes later (started "blending" at 7:13. But as I said, I also was doing other stuff. Like mixing the wet ingredients and shooing the cat off the work surface.
Patting the dough onto the wooden board (after folding the wet and dry ingredients together) was messy--should have put flour on my hands. Also had to keep putting flour on the knife. I finally got the first batch of scones (too many for one batch) into the oven at 7:50; baked for 14 minutes. But then I had to wait for the scones to cool before putting on the first glaze. And letting the first glaze cool before "drizzling" the second glaze--although my "drizzles" was globs. I was done glazing and drizzling the first batch at 8:30. And then the recipe says "allow the icing to dry before serving--at least 1 hour. My son and I shaved that time a bit and ate the first scones at about 9:20am--nearly 1 1/2 hours after I started!
This is probably one of the worst estimates I've encountered--really sloppy, if you ask me. So it pays to read the recipe entirely and make your own estimate of how long it will take. So you and your family won't be disappointed!
I will say, the scones were very good!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Yes, but what kind of yoga?
When I started telling people that I was training to be a yoga instructor, I thought that statement would be self-explanatory. But instead I was asked, what kind of yoga? (This happened primarily at my high school reunion in Ohio--nobody here in the DC area asks me that. Not sure why the regional difference.) So I would mutter, you know, yoga, or say Hatha Yoga because I'd heard of that (without really knowing what it meant). Then I would explain that I wanted to focus my teaching practice with people who are struggling with mental health issues. Such as depression and anxiety. I even found someone at the reunion who also focuses on this population. But as far as I can tell that kind of focus doesn't have a name, unless you consider it therapeutic yoga.
So now that I'm in a yoga teacher training program, I'm paying more attention to the different kinds of yoga. There are so many, and it's so confusing, that people have written articles about the different types (and often who's associated with them).
With that in mind, I went through the Fall 2010 yoga schedule at my local yoga studio and cross-referenced the names to descriptions from a couple of articles. "My" yoga studio says "...we believe in a holistic approach to the study of yoga...bringing in teachers with an eclectic background of yoga". So that explains why I study yoga, just yoga. Level 1, 2, 3 and 4. But the studio also offers Anusara Yoga (that's John Friend's--he was written up in the NYT magazine in a less-than-favorable light. The Yoga Mogul. Anusara seems to be a type of reformed Iyengar. Iyengar, which I hear much about, seems to be very rigorous, with people staying in poses for a long time. Several minutes maybe. And during that time they're making adjustments to perfect their technique. Iyengar teacher sometimes referred to as the yoga Nazi. I've been afraid to take the class. Although the devotees apparently love it.
Then there's integral yoga, founded by someone named Dr. Dean Ornish, which our studio describes as "a holistic approach to yoga that incorporates a complete hatha routine, deep relaxation, pranayama, chanting and a short meditation". But that describes many of the no-name yoga classes I take, so I'm not sure what the difference is. And Kripalu-inspired yoga; Kripalu yoga founded by Amfit Desai, named after his teacher Sri Kripalvananda who according to one article founded Kundalini yoga. Not sure founded is the correct word. Anyway, Kripalu "focuses on listening to your mind, body and spirit," according to the class description. And Kundalini is a "unique yoga practice integrating hand positions, breath, posture, sound and motion". Then there's Vinyasa yoga, which kind of sounds like Ashtanga, which was founded, discovered, invented, by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois--oh, the Astanga.com web site says Jois "transmitted [Ashtanga] to the modern world". So Jois transmitted Ashtanga, which "involves synchronizing the breath with a progressive series of postures—a process producing intense internal heat and a profuse, purifying sweat that detoxifies muscles and organs," according to Ashtanga.com
Ashtanga sounds a little like hot yoga, but it's not--they don't turn up the heat. In fact we're always asking them to turn on the a/c in the studio. So our studio doesn't offer hot yoga. Which also is called Bikram. But if you call it that, apparently Bikram will sue. Bikram yoga was developed by Bikram Choudhury from Hatha Yoga, according to bikramyoga.com. Bikram studios are heated to 104 degrees F. Again, according to bikramyoga.com. Then there's power yoga, which we also don't do. At least I don't think so--I haven't looked it up. Well, I just did--apparently this can be another name for Ashtanga yoga. You know, the yoga transmitted to the modern world by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois.
Given all these different yogas, I figure I'll come up with a sanskrit-y name to describe my practice--and/or come up with a new first name. Cindy Yoga won't get very far, I suspect. I've got several months to come up with something. But I read recently that Indians are getting annoyed with all the people who are copywriting their own versions of yoga, and a move is afoot to "...try to block anyone from cornering the market on the 5,000-year-old discipline of stretching, breathing and meditating..." (See USAToday article from 2006.) So maybe we'll go back to doing yoga. Just yoga.
So now that I'm in a yoga teacher training program, I'm paying more attention to the different kinds of yoga. There are so many, and it's so confusing, that people have written articles about the different types (and often who's associated with them).
With that in mind, I went through the Fall 2010 yoga schedule at my local yoga studio and cross-referenced the names to descriptions from a couple of articles. "My" yoga studio says "...we believe in a holistic approach to the study of yoga...bringing in teachers with an eclectic background of yoga". So that explains why I study yoga, just yoga. Level 1, 2, 3 and 4. But the studio also offers Anusara Yoga (that's John Friend's--he was written up in the NYT magazine in a less-than-favorable light. The Yoga Mogul. Anusara seems to be a type of reformed Iyengar. Iyengar, which I hear much about, seems to be very rigorous, with people staying in poses for a long time. Several minutes maybe. And during that time they're making adjustments to perfect their technique. Iyengar teacher sometimes referred to as the yoga Nazi. I've been afraid to take the class. Although the devotees apparently love it.
Then there's integral yoga, founded by someone named Dr. Dean Ornish, which our studio describes as "a holistic approach to yoga that incorporates a complete hatha routine, deep relaxation, pranayama, chanting and a short meditation". But that describes many of the no-name yoga classes I take, so I'm not sure what the difference is. And Kripalu-inspired yoga; Kripalu yoga founded by Amfit Desai, named after his teacher Sri Kripalvananda who according to one article founded Kundalini yoga. Not sure founded is the correct word. Anyway, Kripalu "focuses on listening to your mind, body and spirit," according to the class description. And Kundalini is a "unique yoga practice integrating hand positions, breath, posture, sound and motion". Then there's Vinyasa yoga, which kind of sounds like Ashtanga, which was founded, discovered, invented, by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois--oh, the Astanga.com web site says Jois "transmitted [Ashtanga] to the modern world". So Jois transmitted Ashtanga, which "involves synchronizing the breath with a progressive series of postures—a process producing intense internal heat and a profuse, purifying sweat that detoxifies muscles and organs," according to Ashtanga.com
Ashtanga sounds a little like hot yoga, but it's not--they don't turn up the heat. In fact we're always asking them to turn on the a/c in the studio. So our studio doesn't offer hot yoga. Which also is called Bikram. But if you call it that, apparently Bikram will sue. Bikram yoga was developed by Bikram Choudhury from Hatha Yoga, according to bikramyoga.com. Bikram studios are heated to 104 degrees F. Again, according to bikramyoga.com. Then there's power yoga, which we also don't do. At least I don't think so--I haven't looked it up. Well, I just did--apparently this can be another name for Ashtanga yoga. You know, the yoga transmitted to the modern world by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois.
Given all these different yogas, I figure I'll come up with a sanskrit-y name to describe my practice--and/or come up with a new first name. Cindy Yoga won't get very far, I suspect. I've got several months to come up with something. But I read recently that Indians are getting annoyed with all the people who are copywriting their own versions of yoga, and a move is afoot to "...try to block anyone from cornering the market on the 5,000-year-old discipline of stretching, breathing and meditating..." (See USAToday article from 2006.) So maybe we'll go back to doing yoga. Just yoga.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Meditation is so hard...
My 20-minute meditations continue to be a chore--something I almost dread. Not exactly what I'm supposed to be saying, right? But I can't be the only person whose mind gets more, rather than less, active. Because it has nothing else to do except sit there, so it wanders all over the place. Today I decided to try to keep track of the kinds of thoughts that go through my head in 20 minutes. Again, not what I''m supposed to be striving for...Some decent portion of the time, I'm trying to decide how much time has elapsed. I try to wait to open my eyes and look at the clock until I think it's close to 20 minutes. I've only once hit it at exactly 20 minutes--the worst I've done recently was 8 minutes off. More frequently, I'm 4-5 minutes short when I take my first peek. Then I end up looking about 4 more times before I reach 20 minutes. So anyway, in addition to wondering fairly frequently how much time has elapsed, and whether it's anywhere close to 20 minutes so I can stop, I also fretted over Michigan having no defense, and Denard Robinson carrying too heavy a load, and now that they'll have to face strong teams he may get injured and one guy can't possibly score enough points to make up for a nonexistent defense. I guess that's because it's Monday and the Saturday games are fresh in my mind. And wondering if my foot will fall asleep before I reach 20 minutes and maybe I should switch the cross of my legs. And trying to adjust so I'm sitting up straight, but not focusing too much on that because it could take away from the meditation. And keeping my throat and neck soft, because that helps with singing. And every once in a while I hear me saying my mantra. Then the worries and concerns about my son--and then trying to suppress them.
Are my 20 minutes up yet?
Are my 20 minutes up yet?
Weekend Warrior (I and II)
My yoga teacher training group had its second (in a row) intensive weekend session. I felt a bit like I was going to work again, because I had to drive into town on Thursday and Fridays--the sessions went from 9-4:30 (with a 1 1/2 hour break for lunch). The sessions were quite rigorous, and made me realize I'm not as in good a shape as I thought. The instructors at our studio are all very careful to remind people to know their limits and to what's comfortable. But while this out-of-town instructor said we should do that as instructors, I didn't feel that the workshop was run in quite as tolerant a fashion. So I pushed myself harder than I should have, and had a very sore left quad the next day. Very sore. Probably compensated in some fashion for the fact that my right quad is weak from injury. And I was just generally sore and worn out. I made it through the Friday session; I think he may have backed off a bit based on how many of us looked on Thursday. At one point on Thurs, he said he was modifying his plan because we didn't look so hot (he didn't say it that way, but that's how I took it). He had someone come around and "adjust" what we were doing--which can be fine, but often what he was pushing for was a more intense version of specific poses. So the less intense approaches aren't wrong (they won't cause injury). But if we tried to back off a bit, he or his helper would try to get us to readjust to be more intense.
So I learned first-hand what it's like when one is in an environment where she feels pressure to keep up, even when it may not be good for them. Yes, it was how I interpreted what was going on, but I think as instructor one has to be especially careful not to do anything that would prompt people to push it too much. I read an article on the growing numbers of yoga injuries (from the on-line version of Yoga Journal), and it seems like the biggest cause is overzealous teachers (combined with inexperience). So the "go at your own pace" message can't just be words spoken at the beginning of a session--the sentiment needs to permeate the practice. It's so easy for many, including me, to start making comparisons with others; to want to feel like we can do everything at the maximum level. The full yoga practice--including breathing and meditation--should help calm the yogini and ennable her to focus on deepening her practice in ways that are consistent with her physical (and mental) condition.
So I learned first-hand what it's like when one is in an environment where she feels pressure to keep up, even when it may not be good for them. Yes, it was how I interpreted what was going on, but I think as instructor one has to be especially careful not to do anything that would prompt people to push it too much. I read an article on the growing numbers of yoga injuries (from the on-line version of Yoga Journal), and it seems like the biggest cause is overzealous teachers (combined with inexperience). So the "go at your own pace" message can't just be words spoken at the beginning of a session--the sentiment needs to permeate the practice. It's so easy for many, including me, to start making comparisons with others; to want to feel like we can do everything at the maximum level. The full yoga practice--including breathing and meditation--should help calm the yogini and ennable her to focus on deepening her practice in ways that are consistent with her physical (and mental) condition.
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