Reactions

My reactions to things sometimes surprise myself.

I was at the Apple Store yesterday for a One-on-One appointment to migrate my MobileMe account to iCloud.  I explained to the person I was with some of my concerns and we were working hard to make sure they didn't happen.  She had a question for one of the other guys who came over and started to try to take over.  In the process he started making happen everything I had said I wanted to avoid.  I raised my voice.  He got snippy.  I told him I wanted him to stop what was happening because it was messing things up.  He went away.  And in the emotion of the moment it became apparent what was going to happen.  I was going to start to cry.

I averted it at the last minute, but the woman who was originally helping me could tell I was upset.  She treated me gently and got things back on track.  By the time we eventually finished up - I was feeling a bit better.  I don't get that way very often and I'm not sure how or why I did last night....Hormones?  Full moon?

A little later I went out to dinner at one of my favorite local restaurants.  They're having one of the special meals as part of local Restaurant Week.  I had one of the best steaks I've had in a long, long, long time.  I had some wonderful red wine.  And I had a delightful time with a guy I've met there several times before. He makes me smile.  He's intelligent.  And all I can say is that I may make another trip back there next week in hopes he'll be there...

All things considered, the evening was a roller coaster.

Today:  I went to a see a therapeutic massage specialist.  I've got a number of aches and body issues that I've been wanting to talk with someone about.  I wasn't looking for a nice, gentle, massage with water flowing, soothing quiet music, and scented candles.  I was looking to identify body misalignment issues, some relief, and some longer term strategies.  I was looking for someone to work me over a bit.  Thankfully, I got all the above.

If you've never had your body analyzed by a sports physiologist, it's an interesting experience.  One side is more flexible than another.  One hip is naturally higher than another.  The skeleton tries to compensate, and causes other problems.  And in the end, like so many things, you end up treating the symptoms and not the root cause.

So now my back and shoulders are (temporarily) looser, we've identified a number of body issues and exercises to address them, and I'll hope this is the start of more regular opportunities to work this stuff.

Other topics:

Work It, The horrible TV show that has been causing a fuss lately, has been cancelled after 2 episodes (details here).  That's no surprise, as the show was universally panned (see the Hollywood Reporter story).  What's also not a surprise is the high-fiving, fist bumping, and self-congratulating by trans and LBGT activists thinking that they had something to do with this outcome.  In my own humble opinion - they/we did not.  It wasn't pressure that killed it, it was the nature of commercial broadcasting in general.  Bad show = horrible reviews = low ratings = low advertising revenue = quick death.  When a show is called "Awful and Embarrassing" by respected, influential industry publications it's only a matter of time before the inevitable happens.

Regardless of whether or not it had anything to do with the cancellation, I think the general public outcry was good team-building and something to feel good about.  But that's as far as I'd go with it.  Just saying....

In Houston, trans widow Nikki Araguz was jailed by the judge for being late to her sentence hearing for stealing a watch (details here).  What concerns me more than her self-inflicted problems is a sentence buried near the end of the story:

Araguz, who has agreed to participate in a documentary about that lawsuit and a proposed reality show, will stay behind bars without bail for two weeks.

All I can say is that I hope the documentary in question never sees light of day, and that any reality show is similarly preempted.  I'm more than fairly confident that neither would be good for anyone, including Nikki.

While I'm on the topic of TV - you should see all the Republican TV ads running here in South Carolina. Every ad is either one candidate ripping the crap out of another, or claiming to be the best opportunity to beat Obama.  It'd all be laughable if it weren't actually serious.  There's a Republican debate here in Charleston on Friday.  As for me, all I know is that I'm planning to go see Haywire next weekend....

Wine and cheese tonight as I watch football.  I have no strong feelings about who wins or loses.  But the early game today was amazing.....