Monday, November 17, 2008

Brain candy indulgence continues.

New week, time to start new life again. Practice was decent today. David remembered to fold the legs first in Supta K, which made the pose not just easier, but even enjoyable. Kind of. My legs are sore from over-walking this weekend. I was doing 18-22K steps each day, thanks to the Society for Neuroscience conference, which is quite an unusual level of activity for me. I like it, though. I can feel muscles I did not know existed. I forced Tova to give me a massage on Saturday morning instead of her practice with June, so I feel physically good, while morally guilty.

So after I finished listening to the "Twilight" series (the teenage romance novel with vampires and werewolves) I found myself in need of a new brain candy. Especially because I was waking to and from the Convention Center - 11 blocks from my home - and needed something to occupy my mind. After a brief hesitation I downloaded a second book by the same author (Stephanie Meyer), "the Host", which sounded even sillier than the first one. It was about aliens who occupied the Earth by the means of parasitic attachment to the human brains. And surprise, surprise - I liked it, too! It reminded me a lot of Orson Scott Card's "Xenocide", but on a somewhat deeper psychological level. I even cried a little on a couple of occasions, but this does not say much, because I tend to do that quite often while reading books or watching movies.

Time to read a manual for a new kit for brain cell isolation. God help me.

Happy Monday!

13 comments:

crankyhausfrau said...

Alfia, you did not force me by any means! it was a choice and a pleasure! and my practice yesterday was so delightful that i do not feel bad for missing saturday. in a perfect world, i would take saturdays as rest anyways.
your supta kurmasana looked gorgeous today. it looked perfectly comfortable, not just almost enjoyable:)

Boodiba said...

Ah jus loves supta k... ahhhh... But ah loves yoganidrasan even betterer. Same thing only upside down.

Verification: oduck

Anonymous said...

Hey Alfia, Glad Supta K is coming for you too. Its a definite "Yes" moment when you get into it.

alfia said...

Hi, Tova:

You are such a darling. And your massage is magical, honestly!

When I am folded into SK, it is OK, the problem is getting into it by myself...

alfia said...

Linda, hi! I love yoganidrasana, too. Can barely bind into it, though. Sigh.

alfia said...

Hi, Kevin:

The rumors of my SK success are exaggerated. It is a "not quite there yet" moment so far. :)
How are your dropbacks, you, the king of SK?

Anonymous said...

Hi Alfia,
I don't know about being SK king, though good of Susan to take a peek across the room and notice it looked a good one. I was "not quite there" as you call it for quite a while, but once my feet got the plot and crossed it just happened, now I can just do it.Keep going you will get there.

Think backdrops are light years away, the problem being I only get to practice once a week with a teacher and I don't get dropped back very often. I do try walking back down the wall, but its not the same, I need to make the connection between bending back and my hips moving forward so my legs are taking the weight, but can't get it.

alfia said...

Thank you, Kevin. Can't wait for my SK to be there.

As for dropbacks, I learned mine during a single class (it was an Iyengar class). My teacher made a pile of blankets and had us drop back on them. It was a rather high pile. Once we all got it, she removed some of them and we did it again. No assistance. I came home and tried it again dropping first on my bed (feet on the floor), and then on the floor. It was just a psychological barrier that needed to be overcame. But I do remember how scary it was in the beginning.
Good luck!

Elaina said...

It was lovely to see you, even if only briefly! Thank you sooo much for stopping by my poster!

I am back in TX now, it was a whirlwind after I saw you.
I wish we could have spent more time together!

With a little luck, I'll end up in DC in six months for my post-doc! :)

alfia said...

Hi, Elaina:
It was wonderful to see you, too. Great work. I will keep my fingers crossed for you to get a job at NIH. That would be so amazing!

Good luck with your defense!

Anonymous said...

Omg such a nice post. Alfia, please do not feel morally guilty. Is it really worth it. :-)
Do you recommend "Twilight" series? Is there any ink online that I can read it. Thank you so much.

alfia said...

Hi, Zee:

Thank you.

I am not sure I can honestly recommend the series to you. These are the books that got tremendously popular among teenage girls. I think I loved the series because I am emotionally (and perhaps intellectually) immature.
It would be interesting, on the other hand, to hear what men think of them.

I normally download audiobooks from Audible.com. They have a very large selection, but books are not free, unfortunately...

Anonymous said...

Thank you, but no, no for teenage girls. I don't need that.

Although Alfi, my goal is to be child (always)… so your emotional (and perhaps intellectual) immaturity is really good sign of your spiritual progress. :-)

 

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