List #1

Meandering through Target today I had a thought… I have a lot of background guilt in my life for just a few things. There seem to be some recurring players, messages of condemnation that keep popping up about the same issues. Really, they boil down to the following two puzzle pieces: Spiritual and Physical life and upkeep.
While I realize that we never truly arrive, I also know that there are some things we can put in place that will significantly increase the quality and impact of life. So, I present you to my list, and invite you to suggest new list items or join in.

1. Bible
Read daily – This isn’t rocket science here. But I’ve fallen off the wagon in a major way. So I’m starting slow, but I’ll move through Ephesians for the next month or so. And journal. Journaling is important.

Memorize – I am terrible at slowing down. I like to jam through something and move on. I haven’t slowed down enough to memorize scripture in years. But I remember times in my life where I did this, and those scriptures still jump to my mind easily. Galatians 2:20 is always there. So I think it’s time to take advantage of my sedentary work space, and hang a scripture up in front of my desk once a week. Take 20 minutes to memorize it. And marinate in it for the rest of the week. First up is Ephesians 1:4-6.

2. Eat better (i.e. less carbs and sugar) – Like many women I do a lot of tying my self-esteem with my waistline. In some ways I’ve come a long way, thanks to realizing that love surpasses the beauty I see when I look in the mirror. But… this is a health issue. I want healthy bones and organs for a long time. And I want to feel good and energetic. Less diabetes, more life. So, next stop: South Beach Diet. Ugh… I miss bread already.

3. Oral hygiene (floss and Listerine) – I used to floss 2 weeks out of the year. 1 week prior to each dental cleaning (every 6 months) to temporarily toughen up my gums to minimize pain and embarrassment as the dental hygienist realizes how much I suck at flossing. But now I am realizing that flossing is not really for that purpose. Healthy gums people, healthy gums. So there’s that.

4. Continue exercising – I already exercise but I am expanding my horizons beyond 24 Hour Fitness drudgery into mountain biking and trail running.

5. Eat calcium vitamins daily – We all age. In church this week Mark Pickrell said that age is the collision of experience and deterioration. But maybe we don’t need to live on the fast track of deterioration. While admitting that silver hair will come, might as well do as much as possible to avoid broken hips and hump backs.

There you have it. These are the same things I’ve been working on for years. But I’m writing them down and putting them out there, so I’m hoping this marks a new level in working on them. There are a few more important things (get more sleep, serve more, save money monthly), but I didn’t want to overwhelm myself. Those go on the next list. For now, first stop… Ephesians 1:4-6.

Comic Con - Where have you been all my life?

Have you ever come across something for the first time, and realized you’ve been missing it your whole life? This is how I feel about Comic Con. I wish I’d written this blog 2 months ago when it was all still fresh in my mind. But better now than never.

When Joey and I first started dating he told me he’d take me to Comic Con in July. I was into him from minute 1 on New Year’s Eve, but this was still a big selling point. I’d heard of Comic Con. I mostly knew that people dressed up like Storm Troopers and Klingons. Even that was enough to make me want to go. But then I found out it was Mecca for all things pop culture, which I love. I realize a lot of people think Comic Con has sold out… moved away from the true source material… blah blah blah. I loved it.

I’ve always been a person who likes to be around fans. Not fans in anything specific. Just fans. I just love people who love great stuff. Usually if that fandom is not within the sports category these folks are moved to the margins of society (or the lame section of lockers in high school). But at Comic Con, these guys are King.

Of course my brand of poison is in the nerd category. If you’re talking about Lord of the Rings, anything by Joss Whedon, or Star Wars, I’m listening. I love sitting in line to get into the newest movie based off a comic book, mostly for the conversations I get to overhear. At movie theaters, those numbers usually top at a few hundred people. But Comic Con… 150,000 lovers of awesome stuff.

At Comic Con you wait all day (and night) to get into the good panels. This is where we get to see all the awesome actors, actresses, directors, and authors of the sweetest movies coming out in the next year. We did it all. We stayed out all night to get into Hall H on Thursday. Totally worth it to see the Tron Legacy panel and about 8 other rockin’ panels. The Chanel 8 News people came out to the line that night to interview us weirdos about why on earth we would do such a thing. They didn’t have much interest in talking to Joey and me, but only because they didn’t realize how awesome we are.

The panels were sweet. I don’t really feel like I need to write a lot about them. We saw dozens of incredible actors. Harrison Ford came for the FIRST time ever to Comic Con and we got to see that. A guy stabbed another guy with a pen over some sort of seat dispute, we were there for that. We did it all.

But even better than the cool panels and amazing displays in the exhibit hall, were the people. Here’s what stood out to me at Comic Con: there is no hierarchy of cool. It’s just a bunch of people who like cool stuff, coming together to talk about that cool stuff. Fans, true fans. No need to worry about fashion, or hair products, or even hygiene for that matter really (no judgment here). I think a lot of these folks live on a steady diet of hot pockets and Mountain Dew in dark rooms while playing video games. But at Comic Con that’s okay! It’s just people who love stuff, loving it together. This was one of the first places I’ve ever gone where we could get our eyes off of ourselves, and onto more important matters… like the shocking lack of security on the Darth Star.

Comic Con 2011 or bust!!!