Friday Fun: Made You Laugh!

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Every now and again (okay, maybe more now than again), I could use a good laugh. Scratch that.  I could always use a good laugh! Not one of those ‘laugh inside to yourself’, nor one of those contagious laughs that can wash over a room like a wave – but a good hearty from the belly, squealing and almost crying  laugh.

I spend a lot of time in my head, circling the days events and looking to the past for clues on how to handle myself in the present.  I love the keen introspection and perspective I gain on myself and the world.  The sheer notion of self discovery is amazing and I wouldn’t trade the mini-epiphanies I get on the daily for anything.  Now, don’t get it twisted – those moments of self discovery are hard earned and most of us have the emotional battle wounds to prove it. There are some crazy fucked up things that happen in this world; but without those moments, would we honestly be able to speak to the amount if pure beauty we see around us?

And shared laughter, even if that person you’re sharing that ‘howling like a five year old who got a unicorn that shits candy for their  birthday’-laugh just with yourself – is one of the most beautiful things in the world.

So, without further ado – I bring you the things that have put a smile on my face this week!

First things first, it’s that time of the season again – election time!  One thing that I can mostly promise is that I will not try and argue politics with anyone; I like facts, and from what I can tell – political opinion has little to nothing to do with facts 😉

Photo: It's that time of year again. Voter "alienation"?

 

Secondly, I love cats.  I have two furry faces that run around my apartment and they’re the lights of my life.  They also are what comprise roughly 40% of my Instagram feed and 60% of the pictures on my phone.  I love my cats so much that I talk about them to random strangers and my friends; and my friends sometimes like to fuel my cat loving fire.

Third, being the nerd that I am – I have an admiration for scientists and a love for discovery.  And this bottom image sums up pretty nicely how I feel about movies based on science but not based on fact.

And last, but certainly not least -this might be one of the best videos of the whole summer and I’m still not sure how I managed to avoid it for as long as I did; so if you’ve been hiding under an equally fun rock or just didn’t get the memo – check out PSY – GANGNAM STYLE (강남스타일) M/V.  It does not disappoint.

Quotable: Where The Wild Things Are

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“I have nothing now but praise for my life. I’m not unhappy. I cry a lot because I miss people. They die and I can’t stop them. They leave me and I love them more…What I dread is the isolation. … There are so many beautiful things in the world which I will have to leave when I die, but I’m ready, I’m ready, I’m ready.”

― Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are

[Wednesday Watch] Daft Punk Interstella 5555

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It’s not so often that you can find your favorite movie in a hat trick like this – for free, in its entirety, and online.  Well, someone’s gone and done it for Daft Punk’s Interstella 5555.  Set to their album, Discovery – this is one of my all time favorite animated flicks to pop in during a lazy day.

Hands down, they’re one of my favorite DJ Duos (ironically, I had to explain their musical influence to my team at work to better market the movie Tron for Walt Disney Studios);  if they were start touring again, believe you me: I will spend my last pretty penny to see them do their thang.

So, without further ado….the video that started it all for me:

 

Interstella 5555 by pyke369

Quotable: Kindness

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Before you know what kindness really is
you must lose things,
feel the future dissolve in a moment
like salt in a weakened broth.

– Naomi Shihab Nye-

Tech Tuesday: An App a Day keeps the Doctor Away

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I’ve always been an Android lover; in fact, I can’t recall ever wanting an iPhone….granted, I’ve also had Verizon Wireless for my entire life so I didn’t exactly have the option of getting an iPhone when it came out…but, I digress.   I’ve watched the Android market evolve and expand over the past few years, and I’m almost in love with what I’ve seen.  The OS has gotten sleeker, potentially even sexier – if you could call an OS sexy, that is. Though the phones have gotten larger in height x length dimension, they’ve also become thinner, lighter and with better quality resolution on the display.  Not to toot the horn for the HTC Rezound, but beepbeep: it boasts the first HD screen for a carried branded phone in the United States.  How you like them apples, Apple?

Now,  originally – one of the great things about the Android phones is the fact that unlike the iPhone – it contains(-ed) Adobe Flash.  I have to phrase it that way because Adobe has decided to discontinue its use after this November, and has started with devices that have already upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich 4.1  One of the draws of having Flash was that you could view any web page in its full entirety.  But who needs fully supported web browsing when there are so many fantastic  applications for the Droid?!

Sometimes, it can feel overwhelming figuring out which ones you should download. Not to mention, how to handle re-downloading applications after upgrading to a new device. Well, first things first -in the Google Play Store you have the option to view every single application you’ve ever downloaded on your phone.  Simply go to the Play Store, toggle the Menu button (the middle left button on the bottom of your phone) to access the pop-up menu and you’ll have an option at the top called “My Apps“.  Click through and swipe your finger from right to left to see “All Applications.”

The pink oval represents an application that was downloaded in the past, paid for even, yet not reinstalled when I upgraded my phone.  The blue oval is an application that’s currently on my Droid.

Now – onto the fun part, the applications. Some of these are pretty straight forward, especially ones for social media and some deserve a little bit of an explanation. The great thing about the Google Play store, is once your Google account is linked to your phone you can actually pick your applications out online in a more hunt and peck friendly atmosphere, and then send them to download on your phone.  It’s pure genius.

Hit the jump for my should have applications, and anything that is in italic or bold is a “must-have” – enjoy!

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[Oh, Snap!] You Stay Classy, San Diego

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Ron Burgundy on the origin of ‘San Diego‘

Don’t let the non-blonde hair or fact I can’t surf fool you, I’m a California girl true and true.  I was born and raised in the Silicon Valley of Northern California, found myself in Santa Barbara for college while I completed my Bachelors of Science and moved to Los Angeles shortly after I got my degree.  When I was in middle school and high school I was on a club basketball team that traveled around California, and it granted me the opportunity to visit and explore many sides of the great, Golden State. And to boot, my family loves to travel.  Combine those two facts, and that’s a lot of location scouting.  Within California alone, I’ve been to: Napa, Sonoma, Walnut Creek, Petaluma, Vallejo, San Francisco, Monterey, Carmel, Los Angeles, San Diego…the list could go on and on; but that’s not the point.   Each time I visited a new place, I would try and envision myself living there – and to this day, the more and more I consider San Diego, the more I’d like to give it a chance to woo me over.

The Gaslamp District at Night
Taken with my HTC Rezound; snazzed up in Instagram using the XPro 2 Filter.

The other weekend, one of my friends suggested a girls trip down to San Diego for a few days – and the offer couldn’t have come at a better time. Los Angeles, that magical city of sunshine and traffic, can grow tiresome if you don’t get the energy to leave every once in a while.

There’s a saying – ‘You never know what you‘ve got until it’s gone.’ – and in a way, that’s how I feel about my city of angels.

 LA is wonderful for nightlife and experiencing different types of culture; from art walks to club experiences, and from warehouse parties to flea markets – LA is a mecca of different cultures that clash and meld all over the city.  But San Diego is equally diverse and spread out over a larger area of land; the air is so breathable – and the views are so stunning.

The Glass Door, San Diego
Taken with my HTC Rezound; stitched together with Diptic.

To be honest – we had thought long and hard about what sorts of shenanigans we wanted to get into in San Diego.  There were discussions of going to the San Diego Wildlife Park or the  Zoo for their Nighttime Zoo: China Celebration, and potentially going out and dancing at Voyeur and Fluxx, two of San Diego’s best night clubs.  But, instead – we had a nice girls weekend in the apartment; venturing out only for nourishment and exercise.

For brunch(/lunch) we consulted Yelp and Metrowize; there were so many great options that it was hard to narrow our sights on just one.  What caught our attention – this article about the Booziest Brunches in San Diego.  I’m a sucker for a kickass Bloody Mary, and let me tell you – this place does it right!  They not only garnish the thing with bacon but they also use bacon infused vodka; genius!

San Diego from a different perspective.
Taken with my HTC Rezound in Instagram; edited using the Lord Kelvin filter.

Workout Wednesday: Putting a Cramp in your Style

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I think each of us has been here before:

It’s been a while since you’ve worked out, but your playlists are updated and your gym clothes are ready to rock.  You eagerly drink some water, jump into your running shoes, suit your earbuds up real nice and head out the door.  When you hit the sidewalk, your legs begin bouncing – urging you to move forward.  As your iPod shuffles to your latest favorite song, you break into a skip, then a jog…and finally a run.  You’re feeling your energy as your feet hit the pavement, you might even be singing along without realizing it – and then you notice it, a stitch in your (insert appendage here).  Then it cripples you – and you’re left wondering: what is wrong with my body?!

Well the answer, my pretties – is that your workout just got cramped. As an athlete, I can tell you from a lot of personal experience that there’s nothing worse than getting into the groove of a good workout and getting sidelined by a cramp.  In the back of my head, I’m thinking – hey, body! why are you acting like its your first rodeo?!  But the fact of the matter is that no matter if you’re a world class athlete or about to commit to your first workout – cramps happen, but you can help!

The most common cramps for me are side cramps while running, foot cramps as a swimmer and calf cramps after a workout or a long night of dancing.  So what exactly is going on and what can we do if we want to keep the workout going?

Make sure you’re warming up properly and breathing right during the exercise.  If you’re planning on going for an epic run, try walking or jogging to warm up your entire body and make sure your body is hydrated enough to sustain the ass kicking you’re giving it.  If you notice a cramp coming on, try to even out your breathing and avoid exhaling when your feet hit the floor, if it won’t go away give yourself a break and get into some stretches.  Your body is a temple, you don’t want to destroy the foundation.

On the typical, cramps have one of two causes –  dehydration or poor nutrition. 

Think about things this way – your body is approximately 80% water but your muscles are closer to 75%; so when you work out, your muscles get dehydrated faster than your body.  When this happens, the muscles lose elasticity, become taut and eventually – if not re-hydrated – they’ll spasm, or cramp. The other possibility is that  your body is lacking in essential vitamins like iron, calcium and potassium, which is key for preventing muscle cramps.

Lucky for us, these are things we can control.  At the very least, on the daily you should pop a multivitamin in the morning and get your 8 glasses of water. In this “go-go-go” world, it’s hard to avoid caffeine and soda. However, if you’re serious about treating your body well – either curb your use of diuretics like coffee, soda, alcohol and energy drinks which naturally deplete your body of water, or for every “naughty” drink have double the amount of aqua.  When it comes to nutrition, an apple a day might keep the doctor away but a dose of potassium a day will keep the cramps away.  Dried fruits like apricots, prunes, dates, coconuts, figs and raisins contain a whole lot of it. And for the fresh fruit lovers, try throwing more avocados, bananas, peaches and oranges in your diet.