Visualize this

[clevermanka]

It's been so long that I've put up a post with substance. I have many little things to talk about, and I'm all over the place here, so I'm not bothering to even attempt smooth transitions. Be warned.

Yesterday I listened to a grad student and professor talk about the Bechdel Test. The student had just learned about it and the professor had never heard of it, but was excited by the idea and asked the student to send her links about it. Fandom is amazing and important, you guys. Just fuck academia. Seriously. Sometimes the ignorance, privilege, and prejudice makes me so angry. I don't judge the student or professor for not knowing about the Bechdel test before now. I am blaming The System. Hard. Fandom is important and fangirls are smart and clever and people need to understand this.

What with my elevated inflammation levels, the tendonitis in my right wrist has gotten pretty bad. I'm having problems just holding onto things with my that hand. Pens. Forks. Pieces of paper are particularly difficult. Monday and Tuesday saw me typing everything one-handed. Today I'm back to two-handed typing, but it's early in the day. If things start to hurt again, it's back to pecking. Probably three-quarters (if not more) of my social life is online, and even if it wasn't, it's not like I have the energy to do much with people in person right now. Mix exhaustion with slow typing and I'm pretty much not interacting with anyone except mckitterick. I adore him, but seclusion isn't helping my blues.

In a post about her experience with a recent unexpected purge of belongings, mildred_bobbin posted this mighty fine observation: "...the price for letting the clutter (mental or physical) get to the point (is) that a full clean sweep is the only way...to address it." This is a good thing for me to remember. I mustn't let things accumulate until they get horrible. Take care of the little things as they come. It makes dealing with the big (and unexpected) things so much easier.

One way to do that is by following the suggestions in this Whole9 article on six ways to avoid exercise-related injury. Avoiding injury is so much easier than recovering from it.

I'm not really digging Tai Chi. I think I could enjoy the movements, but the instructors (bless them) are a little too...imaginative? metaphorical? and I'm just not enjoying the classes and I don't feel I'm learning appropriately or adequately. The visualizations and pretend stuff was great at first. Pretend you're sitting on a horse, or you're reaching for a piece of fruit, or you're dragging your arm through water. Feel the horse, the fruit, the water. I understand this teaching style works for a lot of people, but at this stage I need some concrete information. Here are the particular muscle groups you want to activate for this movement. Here is the breathing pattern for this form. Here is where the movement originates and where it ends. To anyone who has taken Tai Chi classes before: Is an anatomically-focused teaching style unusual? Are most Tai Chi classes based on a sort of visualization technique?

Yesterday I was feeling in particular need of indulgence, so last night I skipped Tai Chi (there were numerous reasons I felt wretched and exhausted, it wasn't just that I didn't want to go to class) and made these chocolate chip blondies that drinkingcocoa mentioned on her LJ yesterday. I generally stay away from beans and legumes because of gut permeability issues, but I'm fine with occasional treats of things to which I am not actually, actively allergic. These blondies are even eggless, so I didn't have to use any of my duck eggs (which are expensive and sometimes scarce). Instead of chocolate chips (which usually have soy lecithin), I chopped up four squares of Alter Eco's Blackout Bar. They were fucking delicious. I ate half the pan.

I'm on a discussion panel this afternoon that's being organized by the Graduate School. They want us to talk about things that make us an effective graduate secretary. None of the questions they gave us for preparation deal with graduate students, though, except to ask how we track their progress to degree. All the other questions deal with faculty. How we get faculty to use new tracking systems. How we deal with problematic faculty. Fuck the faculty. I'm not here for the faculty. My number one priority is supporting graduate students, not graduate faculty. So guess who's going off script? CAN'T WAIT. *cracks knuckles*

Comments

[zitronenhai.livejournal.com]

Damn. I might have to make some blondies. Chickpeas are the only legume I almost kind of like. I probably eat something with chickpea in it about six times a year. I will use almond butter, and a crunched up soy-free inky dark chocolate bar. I have become extremely paranoid about soy.

I am thinking about doing a mini juice fast on the second week of November.

I have never taken Tai Chi. I don't think I would respond well to that kind of instruction, either.

Knock 'em dead with off-script awesomeness!

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

The blondies are just barely sweet, especially with the super dark, bittersweet chocolate. I think you will like them.

Good luck with your juice experiment! I hope you get good information from it.

I feel bad for not liking the classes, because really, the instructors are just so incredibly sweet and kind. It's just not an instruction style that works for me.

RAWR.

[kalimeg.livejournal.com]

Mildred Bobbin is quite right. The most freedom I ever felt was at the end of my first marriage, on the day I realized I could walk out with just the clothes on my back and be perfectly happy.

Of course I was soon burdened with 10,000 lbs of impedimenta (Love the Romans for that word!), but I have never forgotten that with nothing at all, I could possibly fly.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

with nothing at all, I could possibly fly.

What a beautiful feeling and sentiment.

[msmitti.livejournal.com]

"guess who's going off script? CAN'T WAIT. *cracks knuckles*" and I am eagerly awaiting on update on what happened!

Also, clutter definitely has a cost. Periodically I *must* get rid of things and it almost always happens when I am feeling stress elsewhere. Clear space = clear brain. For me anyway.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

It went over very well, actually! The whole panel was pretty great and I think we were well-received. I learned a few new things and it was an hour and a half quite well-spent, which I can't say for a lot of meetings.

[the-themiscyran.livejournal.com]

I am surprised that the Graduate School is capable of organizing anything, frankly. I look forward to your update. Unleash hell! :)

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Ha! See my reply to msmitti, above. Now that the Graduate School has gotten over their ridiculous notions of being combined with Research and are also under some different management, things aren't quite so bad as they used to be. I like everyone in the office that organized this particular meeting, so yay!

[hdsqrl.livejournal.com]

OMG, those blondies sound amaze-balls. Thank you!

Also: Scripts are for wimps. Can't wait to hear how it goes!!

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

You're welcome!

And see my reply to msmitti, above. It went really well.

Off Script?

[thetimesink.livejournal.com]

...and they say fracking causes earthquakes!

Time to notify Cal Tech to standby for some interesting stuff from mid-American...

[seascribe.livejournal.com]

Ugh, SO MUCH agreement about how very hard academia can just go fuck itself and its prejudices and privilege. I've always got a constant low-grade simmer of anger about that these days.

One of my friends just because yoga instructor certified, and we were talking today about how good she is at giving specific, anatomical instructions for poses. My roommate has had people give instructions like, "Smile your heart forward." WTF?

I hope the typing front improves soon; I can imagine how frustrating and stressful having that avenue of communication/work cut down is.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

My roommate has had people give instructions like, "Smile your heart forward." WTF?

I experienced a class like that, once. ONCE.

[splix.livejournal.com]

I'm a department admin and oh dear god:

Fuck the faculty.

You have no idea how much I want to say that now and then. I hope your meeting went well!

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

[http://users.livejournal.com/_luaineach/]

I think you would be very hard-pressed to find a tai chi class that gave anatomical instructions. And if you did, I wouldn't consider it tai chi. That kind of body focus is pretty much the opposite of tai chi (and any martial art that has forms or katas, which is pretty much all of the original ones) and the form names/visualizations are part of the whole. If you can't get into that sort of groove than martial arts might not be for you. Although I'd give it a longer go and more effort because the things you think ARE the sort of the things for you obviously aren't working out all that well. It sounds like you're going to have to make a pretty big mental shift, but tai chi isn't about tensing your tricep while moving your arm at a 45 degree angle, it's about parting the horse's mane. :)

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

HIPPIES.

[chronovore.livejournal.com]

Are you using any kind of ergonomic keyboard? Have you ever tried a one-hand keyboard?

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've used an ergo keyboard for years. Have a new one on the way (I hope) that will (I hope) fit the new adjustable standing desk. Here's the new one (http://shop.goldtouch.com/collections/ergonomic-keyboards/products/goldtouch-v2-adjustable-comfort-keyboard-pc-and-mac-compatible-usb).

With my current inflammation levels, though, there's no amount of ergonomics gonna help. I need to get this shit under control somehow.

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

I studied Wu-style t'ai chi chu'an at a fighting school. I don't remember the specifics, but it was not "airy-fairy." Everything was taught with respect to martial applications. Weight distribution, degree of tension, size of motions, etc. were all important.

That being said, the names of various combinations often have visual descriptors. It's been a long time, so I don't remember any of 'em, but it'd be on par with "monkey grabs the peach" for how to yank someone's nuts off.

I would hazard the guess you are not learning at a martial kwoon. Most places that teach "tai chi" are not martial. I also think the martial schools don't forget to add the "chu'an" to the "t'ai chi" prefix.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

No, this is definitely not a martial school. Maybe I should look into if one of the local martial schools offers this without me having to sign up for the fighting classes because no way do I have the energy or stamina for that.

Thanks for the idea!

[femfataleatron.livejournal.com]

http://youtu.be/LPDh3qgcKnQ
Issmet himmet FTW.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Holy crap that squat at about :35.

[femfataleatron.livejournal.com]

For what it's worth...
I think you are correct in wanting a technical physical explanation of the movements. I good teachers are a bitch to find. I know a couple in KC, not especially helpful, I know.
I have been doing taiqi for slightly more than 30 years now. If it has taught me anything, it is this: correct alignment is of absolute importance. Visualizing qi without correct alignment is useless. Movements with correct alignment but no visualization whatsoever, move qi as if you were the best visualizer in the universe. If you have the patience to ignore the babble and simply perform the movements, provided they are being taught correctly, you will learn.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

If you have the patience to ignore the babble and simply perform the movements, provided they are being taught correctly, you will learn.

And see, that's my worry. I have concerns about not performing them correctly because I don't translate the imagery very well. I don't want to learn bad habits.