Questions and notes, en passant...

[alexpgp]

A health "guru" (Oprah's? I wasn't paying strict attention to just which morning show Galina had on, but I recall Diane Sawyer was eager to sign up to whatever the guy was selling) outlines the "Six Foods to Eliminate From Your Life"

1. Sugared soda


2. Foods containing trans fats


3. Fried food


4. White bread


5. Milk with more than 1% fat


6. High-fat yogurt

Despite the disclaimer that came just before the cutaway to commercial, too many will look at this list as some kind of magic solution to their weight problem. Heck, I'm probably more than halfway there, as I already "do" items 1, 4, and 6 and rarely drink milk (but when I do, it's generally the 2% stuff), but the only way I can claim to be in any sort of shape is to think, "Well, round is a shape, isn't it?"

* * *A note I made to myself after reading some of Jeffrey Gitomer, where he makes a big deal of how important it is, professionally, to be seen in "public" professional venues. The importance of doing presentations at industry conferences is something I've been aware of for just about ever; what's frustrated me in recent years has been the (self-)limited scope of such conferences. My note:

It's okay to make presentations, but just not to members of your own trade association!

Making presentations to other translators is good for your ego, but does nothing to get you new clients. (Of course, getting one's ego stroked isn't necessarily a bad thing, either...)

* * *A note scrawled using a red felt-tipped pen, addressed to my mother:

You are a wonderful teacher. You probably know more French than any other French teacher. We have really enjoyed having you as a teacher. Thank you for all you've done for us. Merci beacoup beaucoup.

Your fond second period class

My mother taught high school French, and this note is from at least a quarter century ago. Sheer eloquence, no?

* * *I may have to buy my own copy of Catch-22, if only to take my time with adjectives such as "infundibuliform" (or "funnel-shaped," used to describe jowls early in Chapter 2).

* * *Manufacturers who insist on providing you with a proprietary USB connection cable make me sick.

* * *I found a set of t'ai chi video podcasts at the iTunes store, for the right price (free), as I need more visual "input" than is afforded by a one-hour-per-week regime.

The good news: they're pretty clear and easy to follow.

The not-so-good news: the movements start to deviate from what I'm being taught about 30 seconds into the flow.

I spent a little time looking at t'ai chi videos on YouTube, but most of the clips I found are oriented toward the martial artist.

I may bring along the video camera next Friday and ask for permission to tape the session, or parts of it.

Cheers...

Comments

[bandicoot.livejournal.com]

I took Tai Chi years ago and really liked the form. Then I forgot most of it and tried to find another class. None of the classes were remotely the form I originally learned, and which felt "right" to me. I still haven't found anyone who practices it. My last teacher said to invent my own form. Right.