Musical Injustice

So, I decided to download Aretha Franklin's "Natural Woman" from iTunes the other day. I love that song and for whatever reason it's not in my current iTunes library. So I searched for it in the iTunes store, but there were so many versions (vastly inferior, I'm sure) of the song that I was having trouble finding the one I wanted. So. I decided to sort the results by popularity. Surely, Aretha Franklin's recording would be number 1. What I then beheld shook me to my very core:

Um. Excuse me? Do my eyes deceive me? Carole King?!

Don't get me wrong. Carole's got it goin on in a very 1970s white-girl way, but this is a travesty.  Carole helped write this song for Aretha Franklin. It was written with Aretha's voice in mind. Carole didn't even record her version until Aretha's had already been out for years. People OBVIOUSLY do not understand that Aretha's way is the only way. I feel sorry for them. They don't know what they're missing.

Until you have experienced the joy of singing along with Aretha's "version" of this song (the only version there ever SHOULD have been...) in the shower or on the freeway or whilst doing the dishes, you do not know what it means to truly live. You just don't.

Shing Shing Shing, probably TMI.

Alright. It's high time I blog about this.

Most people who know my family relatively well know that we have this awesome tendency to contract diseases that are usually only common among the 75+ crowd. I'll make a short list and not mention any names to protect the identities of those that I love.

Age inappropriate Booth Family Diseases:

1. Arthritis at age 8
2. Interstitial cystitis (a.k.a. bladder woes) at age 15
3. Diabetes at age 7
4. Kidney stones at age 17
5. Various cancerous and non-cancerous tumors in all age ranges.

etc. etc. etc.

Well guess what kids? We can add another to the list! A couple weeks ago I was lucky enough to contract SHINGLES. Most cases of shingles occur in patients over the age of 65. Awesome right?


 WRONG.

For any of you who don't know what shingles is... I'll catch you up really quick: Shingles is Satan's version of the chicken pox, and it is a horse of a different color. Some might say, it's a bitch of a different breed. Choose your favorite mammalian metaphor.

After you have had the chicken pox, the virus that causes chicken pox lives for-ev-er in your nerves. When you have a weakened immune system, the little viral piss ants come back to life and make their way to your skin THROUGH YOUR NERVE ENDINGS. I have uploaded a nice little diagram from wikipedia that demonstrates this lovely process:




So basically, you have a fiendishly itchy rash that you CANNOT scratch, because when you do, it feels like someone lit your skin on fire and then hit it with a baseball bat.

It was unreal.

I lucky enough to develop a rash right over my sacral nerves. You know.. the ones that run from your lower back all the way down through your leg. So even though my rash was really little, it hurt all the way down to the tips of my toes. It felt kind of like getting a dry socket from having your wisdom teeth pulled. Except bigger. And hurtier. I could actually see my pulse through my eyeball as my back was throbbing. I don't even know how that is possible. At one point, ripping my leg out of my hip socket seemed like a plausible way to alleviate some of the pain.

AND, my case wasn't even that bad. I'm so lucky. I caught it early and the doctor gave me some meds that kept it from getting out of control. I'm so grateful for doctors. And I feel so so so sad for little old people who have really bad cases of shingles. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy's grandma.

Anyway. I'm fine now.

Another post about running.

I would just like to say that I think I finally consider myself a runner. No. I'm not awesome at it, but I run between 2-3 miles a few times a week. MILES PEOPLE, MILES!!!!! I only had time to run 1 mile the other night... and I felt like a cop out.

Anyone who knows anything about my physical endurance history knows that this is absurd. ABSURD. I have hated running ever since I was a wee little wildcat who had to run around the field during elementary school P.E.class. Volleyball was my high school sport of choice because it required absolutely no running. At most you would lunge quickly to get the ball or "run" two or three steps. Every time we had to run  long distances in "fit for life" I wished I would get injured or have an asthma attack just so I could avoid the awkward and cardiovascularly painful procedure.

I've now been running on and off for about a year and a half, but I never really got serious about being consistent until this last July.

I have to say, running makes me a happier, healthier person. Here is a list of ways running has improved my life:

1. My heart that has always felt like it was three sizes too small is definitely stronger and healthier now than it has ever been. I don't get winded going up stairs. UNLESS there are over like... 75 steps. I'm not a robot people.

2. Running has reduced my anxiety and depression problems significantly, even as the season change has begun to ruin my life.

3. It just doesn't feel right to sit around anymore. Like... ever. I'm so much more productive and on top of all of my homework in all of my classes. I clean my room all the time. It's weird.

4. Insomnia does not exist for runners. Okay I just made that  up. But it's impossible for me to have a crappy night's sleep if I've run at all in the last 48 hours. And trust me, I used to be the queen of insomnia.

5. My thighs are becoming less threatening and my calves are gaining some street cred. There is an epic battle going on between my calf muscles and my lower leg chub. The muscles are TOTALLY winning. I wear these stretchy capris when I run. And they look dang good, if I do say so myself.

6. Fat is slowly (ever so slowly) melting from my frame and being replaced with pure awesomeness.

7. Eating healthy is easier. There's just something so appealing about fruits and vegetables when I know that they are going to help me run faster and longer. Fatty food definitely slow me down. Literally. I can barely run a few blocks after eating fast food. My body just feels nasty. If I ever eat fast food for lunch.... it gives me the after-run runs. Sorry. But it's just the ugly truth. ALSO. Frozen apple sauce > icecream. I'm dead serious. I could eat it forever. And I don't even like apple sauce.

8.  I actually enjoy hiking. In fact, I'm going on a big hike tomorrow to look at all the pretty pretty leaves on squaw peak. My lungs don't feel like they're going to explode, my face doesn't get cherry red and my muscles don't cry for mercy anymore. It's peculiar.

9. My resting heart rate is much lower than it used to be, and my recovery time is waaaaaaaay quicker. I kid you not.... my heart rate is back down below 100  just 5 MINUTES after running 1 mile.  Contrast this with my face staying red and my heart pounding for at least a half hour after running a mile in jr high or high school. Crazy bones.

10. I sometimes feel the urge to run up the stairs or run up a hill. Like, I get annoyed that it's taking me so long to walk uphill, and running always seems like the less torturous option. Really? Yes. really. I've run up a hill or two in my day to get to my car. But only when no one is looking. And I never run to class. I'm not one of those kids...

11. I don't feel right if I don't exercise. I always run at least once every few days. I even ran the week I had shingles. That was probably a mistake. But it just didn't feel right to not.

Anyway. I'm not going to lie to you. Starting to run regularly was one of the most unpleasant habits I've ever had to make. The beginning sucks. It sucks real bad. But, it's worth it. I used to say that I would only run voluntarily if I actually had to run for my life, and even then it would be a debate. Trust me kids, it's awesome.

Dear Mean Note Writer

I found this note on my car when I left for work this morning.

It says:

"Please do not park this close to my car again unless you want me to ram your car to get out - I am disabled and won't be able to help it. Legally you need to leave 2 feet between bumpers to avoid this."

I would rather this girl ram my car with her car, than ram my heart with her words. I was trying not to block a driveway. I was only there for 2 hours. We were on the street. HOW WAS I TO KNOW?

The worst part is... When I first saw this note I thought it was a nice note from my roommate. I was sorely mistaken. SORELY.