Ta-da! ...TWOsday!!

Is it Tuesday already?! Well, in that case, it's time for me to tell you about two things motivating or inspiring me at the moment. Hopefully these particular things will not just be inspiring me right now, but will continue to motivate me for some time:

1) Recently I was digging through some old things that I had thrown in boxes and put away, but completely forgot about. One thing I found of interest was a camera my grandfather had given me before he passed away.

It's a 1960 Kodak® Retina Automatic 1 (with manually adjustable aperture/shutter speeds, too!) with a hard brown leather case, an attachable flash, four lens, and a lens umbrella. Unfortunately, I had completely forgotten it even existed until I was digging through a box of old photos. Also, I'm not sure if it still works; but I loaded it with a roll of 35mm film and snapped a few shots, so hopefully once I finish the roll, I'll be able to develop some nice pictures. Because the shutter release is on the front of the camera and a little hard to press down, I'm sure some of my pictures will turn out a little blurry, but maybe that'll give my pictures some character. Overall, though, this is a really nice, antique camera and because it used to belong to my grandfather, I treasure it.

2) Secondly, I came across some old karate uniforms and sparring pads and I realized I'm missing sports in my life...really missing them. I used to be so active and physically fit when I was a kid...now I feel like all I do is work. But I need to exercise and get back in shape; only problem is finding the motivation to go to the gym or get out and walk...then it hit me in the skull like a punch from the Great Khali, "DUH!!!" I took Tae Kwon Do for eleven and a half years, from when I was a little six year old in elementary school until I graduated high school. I had gotten all the way to a second-degree black belt and was getting ready to test for my third degree (but due to my erratic college schedule and increased work hours, I fell away from Tae Kwon Do). But still I'm a huge fan of contact sports, martial arts, and a healthy way of releasing stress while getting or staying in shape. While I'm not sure I would continue Tae Kwon Do, I am really interested in kickboxing. 

Now I just need to get up and join a kickboxing class...I know I'll enjoy it and I'll be able to benefit from it too! Someone tattoo me with the Nike® slogan!

Wacky Wednesday

It's surely been a wacky Wednesday for me. Most everything's cracked me up for some reason, and what hasn't cracked me up has terrified me. Sounds wacky, huh? Let me explain...

So the day started off with me running late; rushing to make it to work on time (I need an alarm clock with an extendable hammer to make me up)! And for no apparent reason, as I sped frantically down the interstate, I happened to look over at the driver next to me and this guy is belting--I mean BELTING--out an unidentifiable song. He had his head back, eyes half-closed, fist in the air, and with a mighty passion he was screaming the lyrics to a song I couldn't even begin to guess at. While I can't condone this frantic, wild display of one's vocal ability while driving, I couldn't help but laugh. Then I looked up at the vehicles in front of me and saw nothing but brake lights..."Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" I screamed, like a small girl trapped in a closet of clowns. Thankfully, I was able to slow down in a safe and orderly manner, but nonetheless, I had to retrieve my heart from the floor boards of my car, where it had fell in an attempt to save itself.

Throughout the day at work, I had to recover from several bouts of laughter that led to numerous mini asthma attacks. And just as I thought I'd make it out of work without yelping like a terrified elephant noticing a mouse in its path, a giant--no, that doesn't pack the level of terror I need to convey--a GARGANTUAN spider dropped from the heavens onto my nose as I meandered down the hallway. You think cats can jump when they get spooked? Dear Barbara! I clung to the ceiling like Spider-Man for a full fifteen minutes while I, yet again, watched my poor little heart escape and plummet to its demise on the linoleum floor below. Thinking surely that would be all anyone could possibly handle in one day, my heart's 563 bpm slowed to a normal 60 bpm and I cautiously pulled my claw-like fingernails out of the ceiling tiles and ventured home to do some much needed present wrapping.

Arriving home, I had almost forgotten the bipolar mix of events of the day as I was greeted by my roommate's two energetic pups. Knowing that I'm running out of time to get all these mah'velous gifts wrapped, I feverishly slung tissue paper, wrapping paper, scissors, gift bags, tape, and recently purchased merchandise into the air repeatedly until each piece landed beautifully in place as perfectly displayed presents (...too much? Yeah, maybe I embellished that a bit...maybe). Deciding to take a break to cure my latest episode of carb-craving, I went into the living room and was immediately distracted by the playful antics of the pups. I was sitting on the couch texting and apparently not paying enough attention to the pups because all of a sudden I realized I was not alone on the couch. I slowly looked up as I felt something on my right shoulder and that's when I saw the littlest pup out of the corner of my eye. I don't know why, but I gasped loudly which made li'l pup screech in terror and fly--yes, literally, fly--about four feet straight up and backwards, then she turned in mid-air and took off across the invisible ramp down the hall. After I realized what happened and shared a painful look of embarrassment with li'l pup, I was stricken by another laughing fit. Three mildly serous asthma attacks later, I still can't help but laugh.

As you can see, there's nothing "simple" in my life, I operate daily by a measure of extremes...livin' on the edge, you know? But that got me thinking about how wacky my brain's wired. Then I remembered a picture I had taken earlier today of my desk and using that picture as a metaphor for life--my life, anyway--all I could think to describe it, is "wacky."