High Tech Underwear

Can we talk? About underwear? I mean, don't panic, this isn't going to be racy or anything. I just am so annoyed lately about something...Okay, so I had to go the doctor for a female problem recently, and he suggested I wear only cotton underwear. OH! Thank you soooo much for pointing that out, doctor, I've certainly never been given that panacea solution before! Praise God, you've saved me with your magic voodoo medicine! Oh--no, wait, actually that's crap. Because, excuse me, I've only been told that 98 hundred bazillion times before!!

If you're a woman, you know exactly what I'm talkin' about. And if you aren't, well, let me elucidate...For some reason, doctors are required to give women this cure-all line of crap--Wear Only Cotton Underwear--no matter what the problem is. And the more I think about it, the less sense it makes. I think the original idea, back in cave-dweller days, was that polyester or satin undies don't breathe, that is, they make you sweat, like that evil invention, the Pantyhose (the only good use of which is to wear over your head when you're robbing a convenience store, and really that's not so good because, you know, it's illegal to rob and stuff), and sweating creates a tropical jungle sanctuary for germies to blossom in your pants. So. Western medicine decreed that to save women from themselves, they should not wear those naughty- pretty-stretchy panties, but instead should go for the industrial-strength cotton briefs.

Okay, so maybe cotton was the best option back in cave-dweller days. But excuse me, cotton is not so great, either. Everyone raise their hand who's had to endure sweaty cotton undies during this latest heat wave...Oooh, that's a lot of you! Shocking! And the thing about cotton is, once it gets wet, it doesn't dry out while you're still wearing it. It stays wet. I'll never forget this river guide we had on a white water trip in Colorado. He was very concerned that J. was wearing jeans for the ride. When J. said he didn't have any other pants along, the guide shook his head and looked away, saying in a low voice, "Cotton kills, man. Cotton kills."

Why is it that Western medicine is so freakin' slow to catch up with the times when it comes to women's health concerns? Wah. This is what they should be telling us: Wicking Undies. Yes, you've heard of wicking socks and wicking shirts that wick away moisture (read: sweat) and dry quickly. Well, now there are wicking undies. REI, that mecca of techno clothing, has them in several different styles and brands, no less. I went and bought several today. Spendy little suckers: like we're talking $12 and up, each. But, to misquote Scarlet, "As God is my witness, I will never wear sweaty panties again!"

Utter Geek

Am I hopelessly geeky? I have this new library job and I've been doing it for a month now and I love it so much I could marry it. Okay, just kidding. But today when my shift was over someone said to me "You're all done, go have a fun evening now," and I thought, well, wait, I want to stay here. Perhaps this feeling will wear off a little in a couple months, like when the honeymoon phase is over (there's that marraige metaphor again) but I don't know. I've wanted to work in a library forever, and now that I'm here I find out I'm in one of the top 10 public libraries in the country and I'm ever so proud. I feel kind of embarrassed about how much I like this job, like I shouldn't admit it publicly (oops, too late). I mean, I have a Masters Degree in writing and I'm all smart and stuff. How come I get so much enjoyment out of shelving books? I guess it's just being around the books, having access to them and seeing what's new and interesting in writing every day. Books are like chocolate to me, they're just so scrumptious. Really, I'm not psychologically disturbed. I know there are others like me out there, they just aren't admitting out loud how much they adore books and reading. We need a support group meeting..."Hi, my name is Merc...and I'm a readaholic. I have 26 books checked out right now. But I'm bringing two back tomorrow. Really."

yet more doggie ATC's

The background on the "good dog" card is from a stamp I carved myself.

more doggie ATC's

The one on the bottom has a brown tile that says "dirt" that's hard to read in the picture. So the whole phrase reads "she loves dirt." I only have to make 6 cards for this swap, but I'm making a whole bunch so I can choose a few to keep for trading locally. And I might have to keep one or two for myself. I already used one to make a magnet of and stuck it on my locker at work at the library. I actually like having a locker there, it's like having a big art board to display my personality on.

ATC's: Doggie!!

I'm in a swap that is all about pets, so I'm having fun making cards with pics of my doggie on them.

Summer

It's summer. Already the middle of it, really. Remember when you were a kid and summer meant you could do nothing? NOTHING all day long. Okay, not really nothing, but you didn't have an agenda. Or at least I didn't. There were summer day camps sometimes, but there was no schedule. Maybe it's different for kids today, I don't know. But when I was a kid and it was summer, that meant I could read all day long. Book after book after book. That was the life, boy, sitting in a swing outside or curled up in a chair, reading my library books. We'd go the library once a week and gets stacks and stacks of books, as many as I could carry. And really, when I think about it, I still have stacks like that in my house now, of books I want to read. I just don't have the uninterrupted time to read like I did then. And it's hard for me to sit and read during the day, I feel like I have to be up and moving around, doing something productive. I think this is the American disease, feeling like every moment has to be productive. I was talking to M. at work yesterday, and he's from New Zealand. He's lived here three years and wants to go back, says he doesn't like pace of life here, everyone is in a hurry all the time. I wonder what it would be like to live somewhere that isn't like that. I don't know if I could stand it. I like to think I would relax, but sometimes I do like the fast pace of our culture. And other times I don't. Like when I want to sit and read in the middle of the day without feeling like a lazy bum.

Back to summer memories: swimming. We always had a pool when I was growing up, in California and then Arizona. I think it's kind of required if you live in those states. I loved swimming. Swimming in a public pool just isn't the same. And don't get me started on swimming in lakes. Blech, slime! We would play Marco Polo for hours in the pool with our friends in the summer. But even more than that, I remember swimming by myself, and how I loved being underwater, the quiet blue world. And how graceful my body felt moving through the water. I miss having my own pool. But I don't know if you can have an outdoor pool in Minnesota. What happens in the winter when it's freezing? Yeah, that would be a problem. We even had diving boards on our pools when I was little. Jumping into the water over and over again was so much fun. Maybe that's why I loved jumping off that rock so much up in the BWCA this year.

More paper dolls

And here's my second robot. He's a Forestry Robot. Both of these robots are modeled on Robby the Robot, but I'd like to do some others. Maybe the Dahlik from Doctor Who? Or maybe the electric grandmother from Ray Bradbury's "I Sing the Body Electric" (classic Twilight Zone).

Paper Dolls?

We did a paper doll swap in my art group and I decided to make robots. Here's my first robot.

Squish the Ball

Notice how this tennis ball in Cocoa's mouth is not round: she is squishing it flat until she conquers it and it breaks.

Big Butt Pose

Cocoa likes to do this funny pose where her front feet are stretched out in front of her and she's almost laying down, except her butt is up in the air. Very silly.

Hot Dog

Yes, it's that time again: time for some more cute dog pictures. You really can't have too many, can you? Isn't Cocoa cute? Especially the dirt on her tongue. That's from playing fetch. Next time she gets a drink of water, she'll rinse her tongue off in her water bowl. Then she'll want some fresh water, please, cuz this stuff is all icky now...