Podcasts

I have a long commute to work every day, it's approximately an hour each way, which means I spend about two hours a day (five days a week) sitting in my car. So my little iPod Nano is my best friend! I've had it for several years now, and it is still working perfectly and going strong. I LOVE it.
I load up my little friend with 4 gigs of music and podcasts. I listen to Adam Carolla's podcast pretty frequently (depending on who his guest is), I have some friends here in Orlando who do podcasts, and I subscribe (in iTunes) to several NPR podcasts.

One podcast I love especially is Stuff You Should Know. It's part of the How Stuff Works website, and it is just absolutely fascinating. I really learn a lot from Chuck and Josh, two writers who do extensive research and then explain a specific topic.

The episodes usually last around 15 to 20 minutes, and can be about anything: cannibalism, animals having a sixth sense, flashmobs, urban explorers. One of my favorites was a recent episode on high fructose corn syrup. Those commercials that say it's fine in moderation are LYING.

But a podcast that I found recently has just absolutely enthralled me. I subscribe to it in iTunes and it is truly a tragedy that they only put out a new podcast once a week, and it's only around 10-15 minutes long. I could listen to this podcast for literally all of my 10 hours per week of commuting time. I want more!
It's called The Moth. It's people getting up on stage and just telling a true story of something interesting that happened to them. Some of the stories are funny, some are sad, some are just... interesting. Some of the people are good at speaking in front of a group, and some are obviously nervous. Sometimes you can tell the person is trying not to cry.

The stories they tell involve unbelievable coincidences, tragic circumstances, life-changing realizations, and all are truly awesome. I love the concept of people sharing these intense, touching, emotional moments of their lives. At the end of their stories, I feel like I know them, like I have made a new friend.

This website explains more about The Moth, which is a storytelling organization. You can listen to several of the stories here (the first one listed is Ed Gavagan - Drowing on Sullivan Street, which is an amazing story).

It's inspired me to think of stories in my own life that I could share. Has my life been very interesting, up to this point?

I guess it's had its moments. :)

Happy Tuesday!

I woke up this morning and the smoke was (mostly) gone, the sun is shining, and the sky is blue instead of gray.  Woo hoo!

I have settled into a routine of taking Allegra (non-ephedrine formula) twice a day, Patanol eye drops twice a day, and Sudafed (30 mg of ephedrine) whenever I get really stopped up, usually 3-4 times a day.  The Allegra-D has 120 mg of ephedrine, which is just waaaaay too much.   For now, at least, this combination seems to be working pretty well, although the freakin' smoke going away forever would help a lot, too.

Next steps on the photography list: 
* figure out how to use iWeb (I think I will take the free class at the Apple store in the FL Mall) and set up a website
* buy a reflector and learn how to use it correctly to fill in shadows for outdoors portraits
* buy the magical, secret professional Photoshop portrait filter
* take a whole big pile of really impressive portfolio-type pictures, ASAP!

Today at work has been relatively calm, yay.  Lately there have been a bunch of really busy, stressful days (boo). 

Instead of eating lunch today, I took a walk around the parking lot (not exactly scenic, but one loop all the way around = 1 mile) while listening to this on my iPod.  Warning to those who might dare to listen -- they say negative things about Ellen Degeneris' stand-up act!  I LOVE ELLEN!   I actually saw her perform live at the Bob Carr, a long time ago, when her show "These Friends of Mine" had aired a few times but hadn't yet been picked up and converted to just "Ellen".  This was even before she was a lesbian, although the audience was packed with mullety vest-wearing womyn... and me. She was great!  Did I mention that I love her?

So, I'm at work for approx 3.5 more hours, then 45-minute drive home to my sweetie, my kitty, my DVR with last night's Heroes, tonight's Deadliest Catch, tonight's American Idol, and a healthy snack.  Or maybe pretzels and beer...  :)