Eblend.org: Shawn’s blog

After starting to read the books Vegan Freak and Breaking the Food Seducation (the folks at PCRM are amazing), I’ve decided to take their challenge and go vegan for 21 days.  So far I am on day 3 and doing well.  For me this wasn’t a huge jump since I haven’t intentionally eaten meat for the last seven years.  This is just an extension of my desire to be healthy with a little bit of ethics thrown in for good measure.

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A great article in the Guardian addressing the myth of  unlimited broadband.  Come on, you really didn’t think that your bandwidth was like an all-you-can-eat buffet, right?  It would cost the cable/phone company way too much to offer you 1.5-10 MB of data 24/7.

So, I’m trying to get into some sort of groove with respect to my thesis reading. The ultimate fantasy is to read or write for two hours each day. Let’s just say that I went shopping today, watched Battlestar Galactica , got an oil change, and made blue banana muffins. Thesis not so much!  The muffins are pretty tasty though.

So I called DirecTV on Saturday to suspend my service for the next six months.  I was pleasantly surprised that they were willing to suspend my service without any penalties or increasing my contract commitment.  When given the choice between me canceling my account or suspending service I guess it make more sense for them to go along with my plan.

Oddly enough, I feel a little bit of withdrawal.  This is a good decision for me since I need to concentrate on reading for my thesis, but I’ll miss my friends Gray’s Anatomy, House, Brothers and Sisters, Battlestar, and Desperate Housewives.  After a week or so I’ll get used to it.  Who knows, maybe I’ll just give up cable all together.

Umm… yeah, it has been a LONG time since I’ve written anything on m blog. Time to change that.

So what have I been doing since last June?

• Changed masters programs. I’m now in the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) program
• I’ve moved to Mainstrasse from Wallace Woods and I actually have heat this winter
• I’m single again. haha
• The reading for my thesis has begun.

Well more to come in the days and weeks ahead. As part of my thesis process I’m going to commit to write something every day. Hopefully that will result in some sort of blog post each week.

I’ve become a huge fan of PostSecret. People send in postcards with their deep,dark secrets and then they get posted on the web. The postcards are pretty creative, but it is the idea behind the postcards that really intrigues me. It doesn’t really matter if all of the secrets are true

Since Kevin and Elyse are out of town this weekend, I am watching their two pugs (Brutus and Scoonie) along with Darwin. I volunteered to take Brutus and Scoonie to Petsmart to get groomed. Little did I know the adventure that was to be.

So, it is about 7:45am in the morning. I set the alarm to go off a few moments ago. Thinking that I could get another 30 minutes of sleep and still make it to Petsmart by 9am, I set the alarm to go off at 15 after instead of 45 after the hour. I go back to sleep and Darwin pounces on me trying to make sure that I know he has to go to the bathroom. I look at the clock and realize that it is now almost 8:25. Then I realize that I had set the alarm to go off at 7:15am instead of 8:15am. After letting the dogs out and taking a shower, I attempt to round up the troops and get them in the car. I assumed that this would be an easy job, but as my mother told me: “You know what assume means don’t you? You make an ass out of you and me.”. Well her wisdom sure was right. Normally Darwin is pretty good about sitting still while I put his training collar and leash on. But normally there aren’t to huge pugs dancing around begging to be put on a leash too. As soon as I get Brutus and Scoonie’s leash out of the closet they go berserk. Squeals and whines of joy can probably be heard throughout the neighborhood. You might assume that they would be happy about having their leashes and harnesses put on, but they run around and struggle like two 3 year old kids. Once I think that I have one trapped in the corner and ready to go he slips out of my hands or the other pug jumps in to make sure that he is the first one to get his harness on. After a few minutes of struggle, I have three dogs leashed up and ready to go out the door.

Once we are out of the front door and on the desk, Brutus and Scoonie make a mad dash for the stairs and attempt to pull me to the car. I steadfast NO! and a lock of the leash stop them in the middle of the stairs. They turn around and just stare at me wondering the the heck my problem is. By the time we get down the driveway and to the car, all of the dogs are stuck together and the leashes have become one large knot. At first I attempt to put one dog in the car at a time and then seat-belt them in, but I give up and just put Brutus and Scoonie in the back and Darwin in the front. Somehow Scoonie manages to fine a few stray french fries in my back seat and they go to town searching for more hidden snacks.

The car ride is uneventful and everyone piles out of the car without escaping.

A More Perfect Union: Approached as a spiritual practice, a committed relationship can be a path not only to enduring love and deep harmony but also to liberation

It interesting how the principles of yoga can apply to nearly everything in my life. Each yoga session becomes a physical expression of my mental struggles. After reading this article, it can also apply to my relationships. Pause, , and give myself time to realize what my feelings are really about.