Pssst, Ames, call me!

So, I'm sitting here watching The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All, trying to decide if I can write about it tonight since I let Cheeseboy down last week.  Nothing of consequence has happened in the first 16 minutes, when Chris Harrison gives me the first reason to write about the show.  As he throws to commercial, he actually says, "When we return we'll take an exclusive sneak peek at the exciting new season of Bachelor Pad...Yeah.  It is uh-MAY-zing!..."  Really, Chris?  I'm not sure you have a good handle on the English vocabulary if amazing is the word you use to describe the previews of Bachelor Pad.  Just sayin'.

Then he promises that Bachelor Pad, the second season "...WILL BE the summer's most exciting show."  Yeah, right.

Wait... men crying?  A woman threatening to punch someone in the face over and over again until she breaks their nose?  Challenges like this?

And Jake the Bachelor looking like....this?

I'm sorry, Chris Harrison, I owe you an apology.  Now I'm pretty sure that WILL be the best show of the summer, and I also now know that sneak peek was uh-MAY-zing!  Just like you said.  I'm sorry I ever doubted you.

Why does Ryan seem to be putting off the gay vibe to me?  I agree with everyone who is saying ABC is obviously considering him for the next Bachelor, but I'm not sure he's the best choice.

I kind of have a crush on Ames.  Ames, if you're reading this, call me.

Blah blah blah...Bentley's not on tonight... blah blah blah... bloopers and funny moments... blah blah blah...

Ali, a former Bachelorette shows up and says, "this season was hard for me to watch..."  Yeah, Ali, we know.  It was hard for us, too.  Mostly because each episode is so.  Long.

Ok, before tonight, I thought she'd choose Ben, but now I'm thinking it'll be JP.  I guess we'll see tomorrow.

For some reasons, I'm not writing about the show tonight.  My apologies to the 3 people who regularly visit my blog.

Rest in Peace, Amy Winehouse

As we lose another 27-year-old, talented artist to mental health and chemical dependency struggles, I am reminded of my post from March 10, 2010, which was brought about by Corey Haim's passing.  When will we fix this??  Wishing Amy Winehouse's soul, and her family, peace tonight.

Despite yet another loss, I find today that I have hope that one day there will be no stigma against mental illness and substance abuse; that people (including celebrities) will be treated for these illnesses like people are treated for cancer, without the shame that perpetuates the deadly cycle and so often claims their lives.

The following is a Re-Post:

Drugs and drug addicts have touched my life deeply, and in many different ways in my thirty-something years on this planet.

In the past, I have lost friends and relationships to this seemingly hopeless disease.  I have counseled addicts and been unable to help.  Most recently, I am faced with the inconvenience of living near someone who chooses to sell illegal drugs out of his dwelling.  This results in unsavory strangers knocking on our doors when he will not answer his, loud banging and noises late into the night, and car break-ins in our parking lot.

Every time another celebrity loses his battle to move from being an active addict to a recovering addict, I am reminded of each of these connections, losses, and inconveniences that scar my soul.  Today I find myself unable to write a fun, lighthearted blog entry as Corey Haim's untimely death preoccupies my thoughts.  How long had he been struggling to try to leave these substances behind and begin dealing with reality on reality's terms?

On days like today I wonder when, as a country, we will change our health care focus from one of acute care of symptoms, to one of ongoing creation of health, wellness, and prevention of disease.  When will we teach our children to fill their lives with balance, enlightenment, awareness, and living in the present, instead of allowing them to learn that self-medication and escape are the only things they can turn to for coping with less than ideal circumstances?

Will there be a time when we can give up even our so-called "soft addictions" in exchange for living in the present?  Will we help ourselves learn to skip that junk food that would only serve the purpose of numbing the pain?  Will we spend more time with our kids and less time with the computer or tv?  Or could we ever even learn to be ok with some silence in our lives without reaching for a phone to find a friend to fill the empty space?

My hope for us all is that we can begin to address the fact that these celebrity deaths are not only tragic, but also a symptom of a country that is ill; an indication that our way of life is toxic in many ways.  Of course there are wonderful things about our culture and I love my life most days.  I just feel like drugs and addictions are creeping in as a subtle problem that has been ignored for too long.

I am curently on a quest to become a minimalist.  I believe the consumerism in this country is part of the problem, and I want to try to fix my own part in that.  But it's not easy.  It's downright HARD to live in the moment.  To experience pain and suffering for what it is, and then move on to the next moment.

Someday, there will be balance, but only if we continue to seek it even when it doesn't come easily.

 Today I'm wishing for peace for our country, our world, and for Corey Haim's family.

Show her the full Ames!

I'm so bored with this season,  Tonight might be a short post.  Hometowns.

Ummm, Cumming, GA?  That's an unfortunate name.  And on the water tower.  Nice shot, cameraman.

Ames's sister tells him that he needs to make sure Ashley "gets to see the full Ames."  Hmm.

Ben's mom and his sister are all that he has.  Them, and a giant winery in Sonoma, California.  That's all.  Oh, and P.S. his sister's kind of a jealous bitch who wants to keep her brother all to herself.

Ohmygosh!  Air Supply with a couples skate and a disco ball!?  I knew I liked JP best.  Except wait.  I don't think that's really Air Supply.  But whatever.  It still works.

I love how, when there are 15 minutes left in the show, Ashley and Chris meet and do a re-cap of what happened in the first hour and 45 minutes of the show.  Like we forgot what happened during the last commercial break.  Thanks for the re-cap.  We sure needed that.

Aww, poor Ames.  He's just kinda too nerdy for her.  Oh well.  I hope he finds some other beautiful nerd to spend his life with.  I don't think she's smart enough for him anyway.  I'd like him to be on Bachelor Pad.  Ha!  They just shook hands!  I guess he should have shown her the full Ames after all.

And now, the backless bachelorette.

Here we go with another 'fresh start' for Ashley this week.  No mention of Bentley so far in Taiwan, which I can only assume came as an order from the producers.

Oh my goodness, can her skirt BE any shorter?  Or more pink?

Constantine gets the first one on one date.  He's one of the 2 long-haired boys, but I can't tell you if he's the winemaker or the other one.  If I had to choose one of the 2 long-haired boys, I think I'd choose Ben.  What is with this top she has on?  It's like they forgot the back.  Or, she's all like, ooo, look at me, I don't have to wear a bra.  And those heels with another pair of painted on jeans.  Very culturally appropriate.  Put your love wish on both sides of the lantern, then put some fire in it, and let it go into the sky.  I don't see what could possibly go wrong.  I'm bored already.


Ben gets the next one on one date.  Mo-ped!  He calls her kiddo.  I don't really like it when men do that to me, but I guess some people do.  Kissing on the bridge.  "...holding Ashley feels right..."  blah blah blah...  Another very short skirt.  She says the wine kinda tasted like the one he made and brought her on their other date.  He obviously is insulted by that, and wants to teach her a little bit about wines.  Yawn.  so.  bored.


Cut to the boys in the suite, and they are finding that Ben is not at home in the morning after his date.  JP is very angry about this.  Ben shows up and it's a little awkward, to say the least.  They ask if he shared a room with her and he said they did not share a room.

Ames, JP, and Lucas are going on the group date together.  Again with a short short pink skirt.  Lots of... material.  And gathers.  On the group date, they are going to take photos with her.  What on EARTH have they put Ames in??  A powder blue tuxedo with rhinestones, a pink shirt, and a feathery white plume in the breast pocket.  I'm pretty sure JP tried to kill the other 2 guys with his eyes while they are having their pics taken.  Then Lucas tells her he had an "OK" time on the date, and dodged more questions about his divorce.  Ames shows her pics of his family and himself as a young boy.  JP then tells her how hard it is for him to watch other guys kissing her, and then he gets a rose, because she is looking for a terribly jealous man who will give her the reassurance she needs in order to feel loved.
Ryan has the next one on one.  Another backless shirt?  Seriously?  Is that even culturally appropriate in Tai Pei?  At a temple?  Make a wish to the matchmaking gods.  Uh-oh.  The thingies land in the same direction, which means their matchmaking wishes won't come true.  Oh well.  He's "on cloud ten."  Now, on our date, we'll talk about water heaters, tankless ones to be specific.  I'm gonna call the time of death on this relationship right now.  Aaaand scene.  She tells him she doesn't feel a spark.  Aww.  For a poor sweetie who said "heck" at one point, this is hard.  Really hard.  He wants to love someone unconditionally.  Aww, you'll find her someday.  I just know it.  Or him.

Rose ceremony dress?  Backless, of course.  No cocktail party.  Lucas goes home.  When you figure out what you have learned since your divorce, call me.

Now, we hear from Emily about her failed relationship with Brad.  Snoozefest.  She does not give us any answers at all about what happened to cause them to break up with each other.  I have no idea what happened.  But, since she said it 20 times, I know it was really really hard.

And now, a PSA from Olive about Plantar Fasciitis

The Bachlorette is a rerun tonight, so instead of hearing incessant whining about the B-word, we have another installment of Things that Really Tick Olive off.

First, some background info...

I have Plantar Fasciitis, so I haven't been running since May 10.  It's been a long 2 months of physical therapy at home on my own.  And a long 2 months for my friends on facebook having to read status updates about it every 2 days.  Recently, I've cut back on the whining and started cross training in earnest --signing up for swimming lessons and doing yoga at home-- because the rest and physical therapy exercises are not having the effects that I expected.  It's taking much longer to heal than I had hoped.  I'm still in pain.

When I tell people that I have this condition, it's been my experience that approximately 90% of them have the following response: "Oh, I had that once for _____ months.  It's awful!"  Seriously, 90% of people I talk to about Plantar Fasciitis, whether or not they are runners, and whether or not they are overweight, say they have had this problem!  WTH, man?  Maybe I should be a poster girl for education and prevention of this problem.

The pain started for me in February, but it's not uncommon for runners to "run through it" so I tried that for a couple months.  When the temperatures started getting to the 95 degree mark at our 6:00 PM workouts, though, it became too much for me to bear.  So, when I first had to quit running, I took my angry energy to Zazzle, thinking maybe there'd be a market for something like this T-shirt I designed (shown above).

And this morning, while rolling my foot, which has never really bothered Olive before, I learned Plantar Fasciitis seems to be really starting to tick her off*, too...

*The lighting is really bad because it was the crack of dawn and I grabbed my phone which was close.  Still, you get the idea.