Month: July 2007

Sometimes Howard and I go to the Hudson River to work. This is what we looked out on yesterday as Howard worked and I mostly goofed off. Very pretty, right? This is Manhattan. Life isn’t bad here and there.

I recently completed a course in Mindful Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). I did it because I read a study that found that it helped for “women’s troubles” (nod, nod, wink, wink). But it turned out to be this incredible thing that can be applied to everything you do. It’s essentially meditating and learning how to be “mindful” about your life. That’s it. Just a slight shift really in how you go about your day-to-day life. Never in a million years would I have thought I’d stick with meditating. I tried it in my twenties and it gave me unbearable, excruciating back aches. Never again, I said. I’m just not a meditating type.

Sure enough, I got back aches this time too, but they teach you how to deal with that and now it’s not a problem. Also, if you’re uncomfortable you can do it laying down or even walking, which I love. I’m a big walker.

Everywhere I go I read about MBSR now. It really does seem to be all the rage. That’s got to be because of two things: it’s not hard to learn and you get almost immediate results. The class is only 8 weeks long.

If you’re in New York City, I learned from Dr. Myra Weiss, and her name is on the University of Massachusett’s website, along with listings for teachers around the country. It was originally developed there by Jon Kabat-Zinn as a method for pain management, but there have been a ton of studies that show it’s great for other things, anxiety, etc. But if you’re in NYC, I can’t recommend Dr. Weiss enough. I’m not just saying that. She is warm, direct, and well, I’m taught, and if anything, I would say I went in there pretty skeptical, although I did want it to be useful, so maybe my two biases cancelled each other out.

Chris sent this to show that I am not the only one with a pet possessed by the devil. This is her dog Belle, with a haircut, and in the throes of demon infestation. Is that her tongue — oh no! It’s something she’s chewing on, right? But yes, I see it’s true. Belle is clearly evil. (Belle is a little tasmanian devil, actually. You have to see her. A little whirling dervish speed demon of a dog. It’s very cute. It’s like she is running on a motor of accelerated love.)

Jackie sent me a new banner. Thank you, Jackie! I am very happy with the new name. I love my little Satan’s Fur Puppets.

I just finished Willa Cather’s My Antonia, and that was a real pleasure I must say. I’m going to pick up some more Cather when I’m out today. There’s nothing like a new author to love.

Doesn’t this coming up week feel like a vacation week? Like we shouldn’t work at all, all week? It feels that way to me. Normally I watch the fireworks from my roof, but this year I think I might walk over to the river to watch, like I used to when I was younger, and wanted to be right there in the thick of it. Nothing else would do.