You Live... You Learn?

you know, there is that whole saying that goes on about being "older and wiser" or "learning from your mistakes". we (and that could be the royal we) believe that as we go through life we learn life lessons that will keep us from making the same mistakes over and over again. ha! i say, ha!

years ago, i gargled with listerine and swore, as i spat it out and rinsed my mouth over and over, never again. and yet years later, i found myself buying it again - as though there are no other choices in the stored. i took it home and, following the instructions in the commercial, determinedly gargled with the stuff for a full 30 seconds. oh my goodness!!! i burnt my mouth. i mean seriously like i had inadvertently sucked some sodium hydroxide too quickly through the pipette and gotten some on my tongue. for a couple of days my tongue was seriously tender. but i had been convinced to buy a huge bottle of the stuff. what was i to do? i could invite a whole lot of overnight guests over and hope that they were into gargling with lots of listerine. that didn't work. i did, on days when i was feeling particularly brave and strong and true, try a quick and meaningless gargle with the listerine. but the bottle would not empty out. darn economy size.

finally, last week i decided to go out and buy new mouthwash that i would actually use properly. no listerine, was the mental note. i went to the pharmacy and, no prizes for what i walked out with. the new LISTERINE vanilla mint - allegedly "less intense, equally effective". argh! is all i have to say after first gargle. will i ever learn??

i am promising myself that next time i am going to get rembrandt mouth refreshing rinse. i have read that it is alcohol free (i am assuming it is the alcohol that burns) and, in an in vivo double blind study, "Rembrandt Mouth Refreshing Rinse and Listerine inhibited all three types of bacteria, and were not significantly different from each other in efficacy".

i mean, seriously, if i can't learn from mouthwash, what can i learn from?

Yin & Yang

life is all about balance. this is why today george bush meets with tony blair to discuss the crisis in the middle east and also takes time to meet with american idol finalists. there is a lesson to be learnt there.

Muggy Outside... Muggy Inside??

just as i got used to the cooler nights, it seems that mugginess is worming its way back into my life. and who can think straight when they can barely breathe? so instead i have to settle random thoughts as they pop in and pop out of my congested head...

i hear that, on average, 100 die in iraq every day. there are so many things to say about that. first, that is a lot of people dying. the phrase the butcher of baghdad echoes in my head. talking about that, saddam says he wants the firing squad and not to be hung like a "common criminal". i will be surprised if they do not sentence him to death (the trial is a bit of a bad joke with all those lawyers dying). i wonder if they will give him what he wants.

i read today that monrovia (capital of liberia) has not had running water in 15 years!!! yesterday they celebrated 159 years of independence with running water. 15 years without running water? first of all, just goes to show what you can do with a woman in charge ;-) and second of all, can you imagine the water that came out of those pipes??

it just started raining. the lightning is so bright, it's like it's in my bedroom. tell me, is it dangerous to be on the computer at a time like this? we'll see if i live to tell the tale...

Only Monday?

i am exhausted! and i still have four more days of work left in this week? who created the work week? i mean, who thought that waking up at the crack of dawn 5 days a week was a good idea? and then just barely two days off? and sunday doesn't really count cos you are just getting yourself ready physically and mentally for the next 5 days of madness. one my way to work i see folk with coffee (usually the second cup of the day) dragging themselves into the office. no one looks happy. it just doesn't make sense.. wouldn't a 4/3 split make more sense? i mean i could do with 5 days off and 2 working, but... baby steps... baby steps...

Lazy Sunday...

there is too much going on in the world these days. i have been so caught up in the news on lebanon that i completely missed that saddam was on a hunger strike and now he is in hospital. to think that i found out, not from cnn (holla coop!) but from pink is the new blog! lol! where i get my news from - the daily show, the colbert report and, for a little balance, pink is the new blog.

oooh, oooh, oooh, so today was the final day of the british open (golf) and i got to watch the last two days of play - especially today when i was up at 7 am for no good reason. and, boy was it ever emotional. the top two have both recently lost a parent and, to watch tiger sobbing when he won got me all choked up too. so intense. all these milestones that remind you how much you miss them...

my boxing teacher is trying to kill us. there is no other explanation for the extreme torture we are subjected to in that class. but what does that say about us? it is not like he is holding a whip while teaching... or is he??? but, i'll be back in class on wednesday, like the brainwashed zombie that i am.

Popping the Cherry

i should be doing homework right now but instead i am doing this. i have been talking about starting a blog and my friend, rebecca - who has an awesome blog - has been urging me to start one.

so... i should be doing homework right now.