Simple Observations: Stop and Spot the Space Station

For those of you who know me, you're already aware of this fact.  For those of you who don't, I have a shameless confession to make: I'm a science nerd.  Autotrophs, phototrophs, chemotrophs, octotrophs (nom nom octopus), spontaneous combustion, whale-cats, aromatic rings, amebae, virions, jumping genes, etc.  It's fascinating to look at the world around us and question how it works, without taking for granted that it does.  For example, the third brightest object in the sky is the International Space Station.  The third brightest object that we can see from Earth is man-made!  That is a pretty incredible accomplishment considering how many giant balls of gas there are in the universe.

This week, I stumbled upon a NASA program called "Spot the Station"; essentially, if you sign up, NASA will send you a text message or e-mail whenever the International Space Station is flying above your head.  And in that space station, scientists are conducting medical experiments, sleeping in a cubby, drinking water-blobs, and combing their hair that's standing up straight.  All. The. Time.  That's going on in the tiny blip in the sky; it's enough to fuel an imagination explosion.  So, that tendency to check your e-mail, like checking the fridge out of habit even though you're not hungry, might pay off one of these days!

To sign up for the Spot the Station: http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/index.cfm

And for some super-fun videos about what it's like to live on the station:  http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/suni_iss_tour.html

Enjoy a little science fun, and have a fabulous day!

~Katie Healy

Simple Observations: Five Minute Rule

I love running.  If I'm told for certain that I could never run again, some psychiatrist is going to make a lot of money off me.  Not only do I feel healthier and stronger after a run, I also feel more even-keeled and happy; thank you endorphins!  It's my kind of meditation.  The recent discovery of the Zombies, Run! app on my phone has made running even more fun than it was before.  Now, not only do I run 5k's with music, I also gather supplies and evade zombies.  Not to mention it's a great motivator when you hear zombie groans in your ear; you run faster or get eaten.

And just because it's my meditation doesn't mean running is always a breeze (although I make breeze).  There are parts of running I have to will myself through, and I'm sure there are other runners out there who've experienced the same thing.

The Five Minute Rule

The first and last five minutes of a run are the worst, and everything in the middle is that beautiful rhythm of running shoes on pavement, dirt, grass, asphalt, etc.  But in order to get to, and lengthen, this cadence, the runner must make it past those five minutes.

The First Five

It's one of those mornings.  The sun is barely up over the apartment complex, and it's frigid (for California).  I'm yawning and stumbling worse than a zombie, but at least I'm up, jacketed in a fleece, and out the door.  Never mind I still have bed-hair or the imprint of pillowcase folds on my cheek!  Yesterday my time was 29:04, and today the goal is to run until I collapse (or get eaten, as the Zombies, Run! case may be).

So, I start running.  At first my legs are stiff from cold, and my ankles don't want to move. Then my lungs start warming up, and my body is telling me, "Hey!  What the freak is this!?"  The cramping and breathing start to peak at about three minutes and decline into warm happiness after, so just make it through the first five, self, and it'll be fabulous!  Piece of cake, er, carrots!

The Last Five

"Why did I think this was a good idea?!"  I"m no longer bleary eyed, and in place of pillow-prints is a nice sheen of fuming lobster red across my face; also, that bed-head hair has become a tangled mess from tightening my ponytail.  And my lungs are BURNING!  All across my right side it feels like I'm being raked with jagged fingernails.  Ahead of me on the sidewalk is a man giving me a sheepish grin while his tiny Chihuahua barks furiously at me.  If I wasn't so out of breath, I might have said good morning.  The three-story apartment building casts a huge shadow over a dinky playground I'm running towards, and water sounds so nice right about now.  This might be a good time to stop.

"Zombies, 100 meters," says the autobot warning system from my headphones.  You're kidding me?  Now?  Maybe if I keep at this speed, I'll outpace them.  So, I turn left, away from the apartment building.

"Zombies, 70 meters."  Fudge.  Okay lungs, we're dying, but let's do this anyway!  A little faster.  Oh fingernails, it's worse!

"Zombies 50 meters."  It burns!  Oh how badly it burns!

"Zombies 40 meters."  Look at those pretty stars in my eyes.

"Eeeeggggghhhhhh," the zombie rasps in my ear.  No, I can't run any faster!  

"Zombies 30 meters."  I think I may collapse.

"Eeeeggghhhhh..."

"Zombies evaded."

That's the sweetest sound I've heard all morning.  My gate becomes a zombie-like shamble again as I turn around at the pool to make my way home. With my heart pounding through my ears, I fumble with my phone's password.  The time reads 31:52.

Sweet.

Stay tuned for another Simple Observation next Thursday.  Please leave a comment below with your own five minute rule stories!  Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful day!

~Katie Healy

Catacomb

And it's back!  After a short break this blog of writing bits shall resume with a poem, just as it started.

"Catacomb"

History is a grand scale

One-upping contest.

An archive of thick books

With bible-thin pages

Covered in ash and dust

of the infamous dead

King Tut is the most famous

Dust bin I’ve ever met.

He had a gold casket

With turquoise stripes

And a pretentious cane and scepter

Besides murals of half naked men

Kneeling before a dog-faced pharaoh

Hangin’ out in the Valley of Kings

With other smug dust bins,

What did he do in life?

Uh… die?

The Great Wall scoffs and says,

“Let me show you how it’s done,

Pyramids” and display their kings

In stone boxes with accented jade

As tempting grave-robbing riches.

Beside the lock of the stone alcove

Waits poison darts for intruding fingers

Like a sign saying:

“You can sweep me up,

but it’ll cost you!”

And sweet Anne Boleyn

With rubies, perfume, silk gowns,

And a lovely beheaded crown,

Sticks out her purpled tongue

At her kindly husband, Henry

“My daughter is more famous

than your son.  NEENER!”

Red headed Elizabeth 1 and her brother-

I’d have to google his name.

They put all the dust bunnies

Under my bed to shame

Their stories make me laugh

As I pass vast rows of shelves

Of books with mummied spines

Is this dust covering these tomes?

Or ash of the dead themselves?

And I’m gasping in their catacombs.

Thank you for reading, and have a fabulous day!
~Katie Healy

PS: Stay tuned for Thursday's installment of Simple Observations, "The Five Minute Rule".

Simple Observations: The Whale-Cat

Dear world, you're weird!

It's amazing what oddities anyone can find when they take a moment to look.  I mean really look.

For example, this little loofah was an adorable discovery from when I explored the local Japanese dollar store, Daiso, with my sister-in-law.  Like the shop-aholics we are, we put a magnifying glass to every corner of the store, and through that lens we spotted the loofahs.  They came in various shapes and sizes, all with happy faces; after all, who wouldn't be euphoric about scrubbing you clean...?

Maybe it's best not to answer that.

This little guy came home with me.  He was only a dollar, and my boring old American scrubby needed to be retired to waste bin paradise.  Then my sister-in-law and I showed it to my brother, gushing about how cute our find was.  His response?  "What the freak is it?!"

It's a whale!

It's a cat!

It's a seal?

    Naw, the head's too big.

I dub thee whale-cat!

Why are all Japanese products so freaking cute?  I mean seriously, who puts cat ears on a whale?  Whoever they are, I want to give them a high-five; I can't help but chuckle whenever I look at it.  Talk about a great way to start the day.

~Katie Healy

PS: I'm planning on making these Simple Observations every Thursday, so keep an eye out for the post the same time next week.  Thank you for reading, and as always, have a fantastic day!

How About I Start With a Poem

“Brain Shaped Birthday Cake”

~Dedicated to Justin: Happy Birthday

Lemon meringue brain

Puts tang in your veins

The crinkles in the crust

Are wrinkles in your cortex

So you and your goons

Can party like a zombie

And gorge on your forged

Brain shaped birthday cake

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas cakes, pies, and/or pizza pies (in case the turkey ran away)!  

~Katie Healy