Month-End Review, January

I considered getting a Women of Rock Climbing calendar, thought about making my own and, ultimately, took Gingersnapper's advice and followed through on making my own calendar; it's not exclusively filled with rock climbing photos but an assortment of action shots. My Publisher and Shutterfly both ran free calendar promotions -- so cool.

I set a modest goal of doing, every other day, Jackie Warner's 15-Minute Upper Body Circuit on the Personal Training With Jackie: Power Circuit Training DVD. I didn't quite get that done but I'm satisfied with the eight times that I did do it.

Here's what else I did:


10 Minute Solution: 5 Day Get Fit Mix

Cardio Kickboxing, 1 x

Power Yoga, 1 x

10 Minute Solution: Fitness Ball Workouts

Lower Body, 1 x

Upper Body, 1 x

10 Minute Solution: Kickbox Bootcamp

Basic Training, 1 x

Fat Burning Blast, 1 x

10 Minute Solution: Rapid Results: fat burner

Low Impact Fat Blaster, 2 x's

10 Minute Solution: Tone Trouble Zones!

Sleek and Sexy Abs, 1 x

Stretching, 3 x's

Total Body Tone Zone, 1 x

Personal Training With Jackie: Power Circuit Training

15-Minute Upper Body Circuit, 8 x's

40-Minute Body Circuit, 1 x

Power Yoga, 2 x's


Rock Climbing, 9 x's


Shoveling Snow, 1 x


Swimming, 5 x's


Treadmill, 2 x's


Walking, 1 x


Wii Fit Plus, 26 x's


I hope that you started 2011 with a bang. I'm all ears...



*I received the Power Yoga DVD without charge.

Mile-stone

I saw the telltale black swimming suit and black goggles and knew it was Chatty Kathleen. Someone was in the lane next to me but, apparently, not even a lane can keep us apart.

Kathleen: Can you swim and talk?

Me: Shaking my head then no.

Kathleen wanted to talk but she also saw me holding on to the edge of the pool. She advised me to keep my arms level with my shoulders then move my hands as if I was pushing sand aside.

I had actually practiced treading for a bit before she arrived and it seemed easier. Floating seems easier too; I feel as if I could do it forever. What is it about catching on to front crawl breathing that has made me more buoyant?

The most laps that I've done is 28 and, lately, I've been doing 20 or 21 and I wanted to gradually work my way up to a mile. When I was in a WOW (Women on Weights) class, the instructor said that you should gradually increase your weights.

I thought screw it. I'm always paying attention to rules and whatnot. I had the perfect opportunity. There were only five people at the pool and I didn't have to share a lane. I thought about Bob Harper saying stand up and finish what you started.

It took me almost two hours but I did it. I swam my first mile. I'm exhausted as all get out but I feel good about what I accomplished in the water -- 33 laps or 66 lengths or 1650 yards.

Catch A Fire (Reflective Friday)

A friend's sister died unexpectedly. And it is always unexpected, isn't it -- whether the person is eight or 80, ill or well?

As I was sitting in the chapel, I happened to be looking in the direction of my friend's daughter who's been away at college; I saw a smile alight on her face, catch fire then spread. Her father had just walked into the room and she followed him with her eyes and I could tell that she was eagerly waiting for him to finish a conversation with his siblings but it was so sweet; she could hardly stay seated.

I told my friend how her daughter's face lit up and she said it had been a while since she had seen her father.

All that to say, I hope that there's someone that makes you smile like that -- someone who makes your face catch a fire -- even in the midst of sorrow.

The Interrupter

Last night I was signing in at the pool, looked up and saw familiar shades and a bag on rollers and thought, oh no, Chatty Kathleen.

It's hard to swim when Chatty is around and it doesn't matter if Chatty is accompanied by her husband, children and/or grandchildren, she's going to chat you up in spectacular fashion.

I try to make sure that I am at the opposite end of the lane when Chatty is around but I'm not fast enough and I take breaks so we end up in the same territory eventually. We even ended up in the same lane because, at one point, Kathleen was trying to avoid the kids jumping off the diving board.

I know that Chatty has broken her coccyx three times, has debilitating migraines, knows the history of porters, likes Chris Rock's Good Hair documentary, has just started driving again and feels like she never belonged to her family. I was thinking, Oh My God, how do I get myself in these situations.


Just when I was losing my patience and internally bemoaning the fact that I was behind on the lap count, Kathleen said your swimming looks really good and your form looks better. I melted.

I was struggling mightily with front crawl breathing when I met Kathleen and it feels good that I'm not in the same place right now.

Because of chatting, I stayed at the pool longer. At 9, I did my little floating thing and listened as the lifeguard continued to give her daughter deadlines for exiting the pool. In the end, it was all good.


Do you have someone at the gym or pool who interrupts your flow?

Old Stomping Grounds

The scale is moving south -- about 3.5 pounds or so but I'm not doing any cartwheels because, first and foremost, I don't want the number on the scale to dictate my mood.

I want to concentrate on how good my body feels minus a few tweaks here and there. I haven't had a cold in ages and I'm hoping that trend continues despite the fact that my immediate coworker is taking antibiotics etc. right now and every other person sounds like they have whooping cough.

In addition, I feel like I'm on old stomping grounds. I lost weight when I was in Las Vegas and between August and December, I mysteriously gained 15 pounds. So, I still have some ground to make up but the scale doesn't make me moody like it used to and that's progress.

I was telling Hazira that maybe my body type is just chunky but I remembered something Dr. Oz wrote or said. He suggested looking at a high school picture to gauge your weight.

As a child, I wasn't chunky. I did put on a significant amount of weight in high school until I shed it playing basketball.


I have no idea what I weighed in this photo because I didn't keep track of that kind of thing back then but I was definitely not chunky. So, I'm gonna have to stop saying that chunky is my natural body type.

I even had my shirt tucked in -- something that I didn't do for decades because when I got bigger, I never wore anything tight and I didn't wear belts either.

And the posing? I definitely don't do that anymore...



How's your journey going or what's going on in your corner of the world?

Show and Tell Saturday

Climbing route tally:

Coffee Stout, 5.8

Rangerface Baby McGee, 5.8

We (Fear) The People, 5.8

Pandora's Box, 5.9, Attempted

Pandora's Box, 5.9

Rodeo Cowboys, 5.9

What's Next?, 5.9

White Route, 5.9

My rock climbing shoes are as comfortable as they get but they tend to rub my heels. I've been putting oversized bandages and/or tape and it feels much better.




I was drawn to these sisters who normally boulder or climb but they were completely absorbed in their electronics and looked absolutely at peace.


Later found out that they had been at a slumber party and had no energy to climb.



Isn't this amaryllis gorgeous?


It's made me stop in my tracks a couple of times.



And someone's been tracking in my backyard. The indentations captured my attention from the window.




Going to see Cirque du Soleil.





Can this day get any better?

Hope that you're having a superb Saturday.

The Gospel According to Hazira, The 'Fugee (Special Birthday Edition)

Do not become friends with a refugee if you know what's good for you. Besides the fact that they will make Borat-like pronouncements, the wants and needs of a 'fugee are endless. Despite my admonishment, Hazira is my friend and what follows below is her gospel:

You were so furious then you got in touch with your better self...

None of my relationships are so easily destroyed.

I think when we are spontaneous, we are at our most human.

Obama is such an example of positive psychology.

I felt safe the moment that I met you but I also sensed that you could be a tough character.

You know what energizes me? Nice people energize me...

Keepittogetherkeepittogetherkeepittogether.

In my country, we don't have to call before stopping over at someone's house.

Me: I just have one more thing to do -- get my battery checked out.

Hazira: If you go and get it checked out then you're going to need a new battery.

After demonstrating my new self-massage skills...

Hazira: Tapping. Okay, drumming...

I feel so relaxed just watching this show (In Treatment).

Nobody gives me credit...

Do I get recognition for that?

I'm going to reflect on that later.

Once you are a refugee, you're always a refugee.

Happy Birthday Bosanski Scalawag!

(More) Stuff People Say To Me

We all have something going on. I just try to keep my face off the floor., Onetime play mother that I unexpectedly ran into.

It's always good. If it's not good, I'll make it good., A colleague

My friend (Lori): Why do you have a bottle of cooking wine in your bedroom?

Me: Because it didn't make it to the pantry????????

Cousin: Are you still working out seven days a week?

Me: I rest on Friday.

Cousin: So this has become a way of life?

Me: Yes.

Bosnian one: I feel bad that you are not taking anything (sweet).

Bosnian two: See what you're doing to these Bosnians?

You got them in and that's what counts.

Swimming lane neighbor about my 20 slow laps.

I was waiting for you., Lifeguard

The last time I had seen the guard, my quiet entrance made her jump about three feet in the air.

Anonymous: I had a therapeutic massage.

Me: Silent but wondering about the emphasis on therapeutic...

Colleague: I would love to take a couple of weeks off.

Me: What would you do?

Colleague: I would clean, play with my dog, read, make yogurt.

Me: I have news for you; everyone wants those same two weeks off. I would skip the yogurt part though.

Your back is bigger. Is that from swimming? Rock climbing?, My Mother

Did anyone see Please Give? There's this one character who makes snide remarks about her ex's girlfriend and she's fond of mentioning that the new girlfriend has a big back which caught my attention because I've always had a big back and it is probably bigger now. But who cares? It works fabulously...

A Whole New Swimming World

The pieces have been gradually falling into place but something finally clicked. I did 21 laps and they were, by far, the best laps that I've ever done. For the most part, I get front crawl breathing. I had a few times were I sputtered towards the end of the lane but that was about it. I feel so much more comfortable.

I've been trying to breathe so carefully and so deliberately and, really, the breathing is not as exaggerated as I imagined. Just a simple lifting of the head and your body (being the miraculous entity that it is) just takes the oxygen that it needs.

I've wondered how people do lap after lap of the front crawl and I fought so hard to do just one lap -- trying to calm myself and rest before I ventured out and stuck my head under the water. I wondered how Jessica could fly down the lane and why Dana looked at me as if I were crazy when she asked Are you having trouble with breathing?

I've been overthinking it people. Overthinking it way too much. I made a mountain out of a molehill.

Ironically, chatty Kathleen was at the pool and I haven't seen her in ages. Serendipity. Circles. I find all of it amazing.

The reason I even signed up for a YouTube account is because there was this one video that captured Olympians breathing underwater. I got tired of searching for it and once I signed up for a Tube account, I didn't have to search anymore.


I kept thinking of this Edward M. Forster quote:

Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon.

I've been teaching myself the shape of the spoon and I've been coloring in between the lines.

I feel like my accomplishment today has opened up a whole new swimming world. Now, I just need to work on treading. I will not overthink it but I won't promise not to look at any videos because I've already watched quite a few and I know where to find them because they're in my YouTube favorites.

Sexy Photos of Older Ladies

It's Friday -- Return of Frivolity Day. To mark the occasion, I thought I'd chitchat about stats which are kind of like an accident for me. I see an accident and know that I should keep my eyes on the road lest I get into a rubbernecking-induced fender-bender.

I have a love/hate relationship with information and technology. Once, when I got a ticket, I got postcards from lawyers wanting to represent me in traffic court. Really?

And I still don't know how I feel when someone calls me back after I've decided not to leave a message.

Occasionally, the search stats amuse me and remind me of things I've been preoccupied with:

i got japanese peppermint oil in my eye what do i do

calories burned belaying

pickles and pinapple to lose weight

san diego "sausage king" preservatives

calories in hanuta mini

roadkill helper

drea go

eye

is moritz ice cubes gluten free

sexy sticktoitiveness

are nickers and gravy ways real

the unjustly punished child by sharon olds

"bored with the pathetic story" "it bores me"

10 minute solution картинки

"massage my own feet"

sexy photos of older ladies upper body

Gratuitous Embellished Sexy Photo of Older 'Drea's Upper Body in Oiselle Shirt Scored from MizFit

sexy yoga body

I like the simplicity of Drea Go. If I ever change the title of my blog, I think I have the name. I'd also consider Sexy Yoga Body even though I don't do that much yoga.


Any interesting phrases in your stats?

Wild Moves On The Rock, Part I of II

I met Joe when we were both climbing alone in April of 2010. I went climbing outdoors for the first time with Joe (Mike and Patti) and this interview was conducted while we were on the way back from that outdoor stint.

‘Drea: How long have you been climbing?

Joe: I’ve been climbing since 2005. So, about five years.

‘Drea: And how does your friend convince you to go climbing if you’re apprehensive about heights?

Joe: Well, I think he helped me to frame it as an opportunity to conquer my fear of heights and the way that he described how fun it is was pretty compelling and I also loved being outside anyway. So, I thought the worst thing that could happen is that I would be unable to do it but I'd be able to enjoy a day outside.

‘Drea: That’s a good way to look at it. Did you like it the first time that you went?

Joe: Sort of (chuckling). The first time that we went, we started off with a rappel off a 90 foot overhang and I had the harness on and I was all geared up and it was time to just roll out over the edge and keep myself from plummeting to my death by pulling the break of the rope and my friend had to, very patiently, talk me through that. It probably took 15 minutes to get me to roll out over the edge.

‘Drea: What did he tell you?

Joe: He said it’s really safe. It’s really simple. It’s okay to take my time. It’s gonna be okay. You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. It’s really fun once you get out there.

(Laughter)

‘Drea: That sounds like a good friend…Did you ever take any classes at the gym?

Joe: Uh-uh.... No classes.

‘Drea: So, everything you know about rock climbing, you learned from your friend?

Joe: Mm-hmm, basically.

‘Drea: What else did he teach you about rock climbing?

Joe: Safety was always really important with him and now it’s really important with me. So, he would talk about all these different kinds of knots and pieces of equipment that you could use to make different, safe contraptions for top roping and various things you would want to do...hitches or something but, mostly, I think I learned from him how to be a little bit mentally tougher than I would naturally be able to be because his fingers would just be dripping blood and he would be just making these wild moves on the rock knowing that if he fell, he would just be caught by the rope.

‘Drea: Is this with bouldering? (Duh, bouldering is not done with ropes.)

Joe: This was with wall climbing but also with bouldering he would be 20 feet up in the air and making wild moves and it was just like whoa.

Patti: That doesn’t sound very safe to me.

(Laughter)

Joe: We had extra crash pads if we were bouldering and we had very safe equipment if we were on the wall.

‘Drea: So, it was nothing that he told you; it was just by example with him tackling problems?

Joe: I think that what I learned the most out of how to tie a figure eight and all kind of things he taught me; that's what really sticks with me.

'Drea: So, how did you feel when you went up the first route? Like, was it hard? Did you scamper up pretty easily?

Joe: It was very hard and it was at St. Francois (State Park) and there are, like, five routes at St. Francois and two of them are very moderate. So, we had very limited options but it was gorgeous and we started off at the top of the cliff and then rappelled down and climbed back up and so I was already having this kind of mystical, nature experience from being at the top of the cliff, rappelling down before we even started trying to climb back up. So that helped me even though I was scared and, even though it was hard, I kept plugging away.

‘Drea: Did you get better by following his example and just continuing to climb routes until you got it?

Joe: Yes, we did that and we also tried to -- we were really out on a mission to be able to climb 5.12’s. We did pull-up workout routines when we couldn’t get to the gym. We tried to climb at least three times a week which was the biggest part and we built a climbing wall in the garage of my house.

‘Drea: Sweet.

Joe: Yeah and then we would be bouldering, pretty much, on a daily basis.

‘Drea: Did he tell you anything else about technique or you just watched him and kinda mimicked what he was doing? Anything about drop knees? Matching feet?

Joe: He was always coaching all the time. So, yeah, all the techniques…he was both really encouraging and also telling me things to try…but it’s kind of funny; we have two pretty different techniques because he’s 6’4 and, like, over 200 pounds. I’m just under six feet and I’m like 150 pounds. And he’s really, really strong...but I really enjoy figuring out how to place my body so that I can make use of the hand holds and the foot holds and I usually tend not to be super-fast. I’m not a sprinter when I’m climbing but I enjoy really feeling the holds and feeling the different positions that I can get my body into to be helpful for getting to the next move.

‘Drea: So, you’re more like a detective on the route?

Joe: I like that idea. Yeah, but I’ve gotten more efficient. I used to be such a detective that I would be in one spot forever and my friend would be like, okay, we only have four more hours.

‘Drea: So, how many marathons have you done?

Joe: I’ve done two marathons.

‘Drea: Are you planning on doing anymore?

Joe: Heck, no!

(Laughter)

‘Drea: You’re hanging up your marathon hat?

Joe: That’s right. Yeah.

‘Drea: Did you do half or full?

Joe: Full.

‘Drea: Oh yeah, I would hang up my hat too. Do you play any other sports?

Joe: I love playing ultimate Frisbee but I don’t get to often but I hope to get back to it in the future.

‘Drea: Is that a team sport?

Joe: It’s like soccer or football but it’s with a Frisbee. I love soccer. I love basketball. I still enjoy trail running just not marathons. I really like playing any sport.

‘Drea: Me too. I mean, for the most part. I don’t know anything about soccer but I like to watch it. It’s just looks like and all-around good sport to play that requires agility. You have running...

Joe: And ultimate Frisbee is like that too. You might like it.

‘Drea: Are you in a league in this area?

Joe: No, we had a weekly, basically, a pick-up game but there were regulars who always came on Saturday afternoons in Webster Groves and, then, I would try to jump into other games if I could.

‘Drea: So, how are you going to convince your wife to get into rock climbing?

(Laughter)

Joe: I’m still working that out. If you have any insights, please let me know.

‘Drea: What did she say when she went climbing?

Joe: She said it really wasn’t her thing. She didn’t feel like she could get up the rocks and she’s scared of heights. She didn’t see the point.

(Chuckling)

‘Drea: And what do you think the point of rock climbing is?


(Mike, Joe and Chuck)

Joe: I think it’s to transcend on all these different levels and I really see it as a great practice that combines spirit and mind and body and, for me, it really helped me go from being terrified of heights and limited by that terror to not being terrified and being respectful of heights.

‘Drea: It’s pretty cool when you’ve been working on a route and you have that metaphoric-feeling of getting to the top.

Joe: And it seems like anytime it’s a pretty challenging route, for me, there are moments when I think Oh, I don’t know if I can do this but then I keep going and that feels really powerful to me.

A Look At Eating Animals

Jonathan Safran Foer lulls you into Eating Animals with a story about his grandmother:

It was my grandmother who taught me that one tea bag makes as many cups of tea as you're serving, and that every part of the apple is edible. (3)

After the g'ma story, the gloves come off. I wanted to stop reading this book so many times and I was relieved when I came to the end.

Where to start?

With factory farming? Tuna "bycatch?"

The fact that animal agriculture is one of the main reasons for climate change?

Language is never fully trustworthy, but when it comes to eating animals, words are often used to misdirect and camouflage as they are to communicate. (45)

As Foer points out, don't believe the hype about your free-range chicken since the chicken might have had access to a small door but probably never wandered out.

If you didn't' get enough information about Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations in Michael Pollan's The Omnivores's Dilemma, there's more information here. I also learned about CFE (Common Farming Exemptions):

Common Farming Exemptions make legal any method of raising farmed animals so long as it is commonly practiced within the industry. In other words, farmers -- corporations is the right word - have the power to define cruelty. If the industry adopts a practice -- hacking off unwanted appendages with no painkillers, for example, but you can let your imagination run with this -- it automatically becomes legal. (51)

I did like Foer's account of sloppy slaughter at a kosher slaughterhouse. The Jewish community did not stand by silently.

I remember seeing Foer on The Ellen Show and he said that if you want to tour a grape factory it's usually not a problem but try to gain entry to a slaughterhouse and you won't get very far. Foer wrote many letters to Tyson Foods. The author appealed to them from his status as a new father but his letters went unanswered.

I can't remember where I read it in the book but Foer says that most of us know that if we see footage from a slaughterhouse it's going to be akin to a horror movie. The author includes incidents of animal torture in the book and he recounts one instance where a worker literally rubbed brine into the wound of animal. And when workers aren't doing sadistic things to animals, they just might urinate on the production line.

Other things that you'll read about in Eating Animals:

Artificially Low Meat Prices

Branding

Broilers vs. Layers

Chickens Injected With Broth

E. Coli

Fecal Mists

Frankenstein Genetics

H1N1

Salmonella

Social Hierarchy of Pigs

Unhappy Meals

Foer covers a lot of ground and, during the course of his research, he talks with many folks in the industry, including a vegetarian farmer, PETA member, factory farmer and turkey rancher.

In the end, Eating Animals makes me not want to eat animals -- at least not ones that are factory farmed.

I started reading Koren Zailckas' memoir Fury but I think that I need to switch gears. I'm in need of something lighthearted. Suggestions???

Stuff People Give Me

'Tis the season. Okay, it's kinda over but folks still have outside decorations and lights up. Some of the stuff people gave me was because of The Season and some of the stuff was because I was being thought of...

Exhibit A:



Gift from The Silver Cat


Exhibit B:




My Aunt Girt gave me these spicy peanuts. She got them from the Farmers' Market.


Exhibit C:



From a colleague who was shopping in a hurry and picked up an L. I was tickled pink because, before, L's were iffy. Now, I can pretty much wear a universal L. Really, it's the little things that make me happy. ☺


Exhibit D:




My friend's niece sent these my way. :o, Belgian chocolates used to make me weak in the knees.

Three pieces will set you back 220 calories. With 15 g of saturated fat, no wonder they taste so good.


Exhibit E:


Joy Cup




Contents of Joy cup




Exhibit F:





Spontaneously Given


Exhibit G:



A friend of my aunt's gave her sunflowers from her yard. My aunt boiled the seeds in salt water...



Have you gotten any interesting stuff lately? Hope that you're enjoying Saturday.

One Boulderer To Another or Overheard at the Gym, IV

Note: Most of these exchanges were overheard at the rock climbing gym.

People who rock climb are not into comfort.

Brandi while helping someone select a pair of shoes during Upper Limits' Black Friday sale.

My toes are sound asleep.

Patti's commentary on her toes which were in her new climbing shoes and weighing in at about two sizes smaller than her street shoes. Brandi, LOL, helped her select the shoes.

Marrying you is one of the smartest things that I've done...Marrying you is probably the smartest thing that I've done.

Mike to Patti

This hurts. Boy Scout who was trying to put on his rock climbing shoes.

It's supposed to hurt. Another Boy Scout

Like, I can't even get my foot in the shoe...Boy Scout

Over Here-ah? Young boy who was trying to get input from his father about where to place his foot.

Boy: I want to come down.

Father: Don't look down; just keep going.

I'm afraid of heights, a little shorty halfway up Slabtastic, a 5.6 route

His father tried to convince him to continue with his ascent.

It's okay. It's all right. Don't worry about it. You can just climb. It's okay...

A young man repeated this refrain to his friend who did not pass her belay test. He reassured her for quite a while.

Shorty (hesitant about continuing upward): I haven't been here in a while...

Mother: I'm here. I gotcha.

How do I get my fat ass off the floor?, One boulderer to another...

Boulderers will often start a route in a seated position. That's Ryan getting ready to start a route.

Lapping It Up At Night

My usual method of operation is to start exercising immediately after work and I pack workout paraphernalia plus snacks to tide me over but swimming is a different story.

The best time for swimming is usually for an open swim that starts at 7:30 p.m. but, oh, the time lag is dangerous. I get very relaxed and feel like I don't have an ounce of energy by the time open swim rolls around but I press on and it's usually so worth it.

I think that I've turned a corner with my front crawl breathing. It no longer seems like the impossible dream. The lane doesn't seem Twilight Zonish where it goes on forever and ever. I know that I can make it from one end of the lane to the other without pulling up or gasping for air. I look forward to feeling even more in sync and I would love to get to the point where I feel comfortable enough to do another sprint triathlon. The other legs of the event don't bother me but I really don't like the rushed pace of swimming...

My cousin got me this t-shirt.

Front:




Back:



I found the back funny but not funny, of course...

Do you have a designated time to exercise? If you miss your time, are you able to regroup?

Then Soak

Walgreens had Epsom Salt on sale and I went to grab a bag because, like hummus or Steamfresh vegetables, I like to have it at hand. Imagine my delight when I discovered that they were six pound bags; I stocked up. It was such a little thing but it made me happy. Crazy, I know.

When I went climbing, I noticed that my index finger (left hand), pinkie finger (right hand), hip (left side) and ankle (right leg) are all sore. I have no idea how they became sore. I do, however, know why my fingertips are sore -- back-to-back climbing. In addition, there is the on-again off-again shoulder tweak.

I am starting to feel like Allen Iverson.



Okay, I'm not that banged up.

There was a really nice article about Iverson's toughness but I can't find it. I do like how USA Today described him as being generously listed at 6-0, 165 pounds. In addition, Iverson said that his football background prepared him for the contact he got when driving lanes filled with seven footers.

Hmmm, guess what I'm telling myself is to suck it up -- then soak.