Ready to Shake Off Da Funk

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It's a new week and I'm a new woman. Did some thinking about the "the funk" this past week and decided a few changes are in order.

#1 - Better Diet. I ate like crap for most of this week and saw it reflected in my runs. My times were okay, but my legs felt heavy and I really had to push myself--mentally and physically--to just DO the runs. The marathon is in just over 30 days so it's time to man up--whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lots of water, moderate eating habits. I suspect the poor diet affected my mood last week as well, so hopefully "good in, good out."

#2 - No e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, and checking other people's blogs before 11 am. I know. As Blair said upon hearing my declaration, "The 15th time is the charm." I've sworn off e-mail in the mornings before, but the awfulness of trying to focus last week has convinced me it's a necessity. My mind gets way too fragmented when I start my day off with short, unfocused blasts of activity. Mornings are for book writing. Period. (**Just so no one thinks I'm cheating, I will allow morning blog posts. I often find it helps to use my blog writing as a "warm-up" to the "real" writing of the day. So if you see a 9:40 am post, do not send me "You're a cheater" e-mails...)

#3 - Less TV. Again, it's the mindless crap I fill my mind with that I'm convinced makes me unmotivated and lethargic. I have plenty to fill my time--running, stretching, reading, we're finally painting the guest bedrooom, I have plants dying to be repotted, pet the cats, clean/laundry, take a walk, prepare a healthy meal, call friends, website updates, volunteer work, speech preparation, get ready for this weekend's yardsale,...

#4 - Less Politics. It's no secret I'm a lifelong Democrat (although... pretty sure I'll be voting for a Republican for Governor). I am SO uptight/angry/hopeful/worried/optimistic/pessimistic/scared on a daily basis that it's draining the life out of me. I'm cutting way back on reading/watching/discussing national politics. 

It's like New Year's in October. None of the changes are all that major though. It's just doing more of the good part of what I'm already doing, and easing up on the less productive aspects.

Wish me luck on that e-mail thing though... =)

Twitter Addiction

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When I joined Twitter, the social networking application that has you answer the question, "What are you doing?" in 180 characters or less, I swore not to let it become a time-waster in my life. I joined Twitter under the moniker "Lucy_Cat," the idea being that I'd use Twitter as a marketing tool for Kiss My Kitty Butt and Lucy as the book's lazy, sarcastic book spokesperson.

That part worked fine. What I didn't count on was becoming invested in the lives and postings of the 180+ people/animals I now follow on Twitter. My day is no longer complete unless I know what BoogerTheCat and Dingowannabe are up to. (My favorite post of BoogerTheCat is when he said he enjoys hiding in the bushes because it forces his owners to stand in their front door and yell, "BOOGER!")

Darth Vader's posts are hysterical and there are several writers I follow and take comfort from when I read that edits or new writing is/is not going well.

Has it turned into a time-waster? Ummm... okay. Yes. But I scan quickly and limit my time to 5-10 minutes per day on the site. And I frequently walk away chuckling at some saracastic or insightful post. So all in all, I'd say it's worth it.

If you Twitter, follow Lucy_Cat and I'll follow (stalk) you in return.

Why Women Should Vote

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(This e-mail was sent to me--twice--and I find it moving enough to post here. - Dena)

This is the story of our Grandmothers and Great-grandmothers; they lived only 90 years ago. 



Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote.

The women were innocent and defenseless, but they were jailed nonetheless for picketing the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote.

And by the end of the night, they were barely alive.

Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of
'obstructing sidewalk traffic.' 

(Lucy Burns)

They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air. 


(Dora Lewis) 

They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate,
Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack. Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging,
beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women.

Thus unfolded the 'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15, 1917, when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his
guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right to vote. For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their food--all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms. 

(Alice Paul)

When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was smuggled out to the press.
 
So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because- -why, exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote doesn't matter? It's raining?

HBO's new movie 'Iron Jawed Angels," is a graphic depiction of the battle these women waged so that I could pull the curtain at the polling booth and have my say. HBO released the movie on video and DVD. It is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanently institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her crazy.

The doctor admonished the men: 'Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity.'

Please, if you are so inclined, pass this on to all the women you know.

We need to get out and vote and use this right that was fought so hard for by these very courageous women. Whether you vote democratic, republican or independent party - remember to vote.

History is being made.