R.I.P. Rocking This Week

So I am now one of the busiest girls I know.  As such, Rocking This Week is going to expire.  I can’t post all the time, but I will continue to give motivational advice (highly non-professional, to be sure).  My first advice before you listen to anything else I say is to go to the store and buy some salt.  Now put a grain of it on my words, and swallow quickly so you don’t gag.  Your Knockout is here for you to lean on still, and I will always try to keep you grounded in the midst of hellacious Orange County.

This being said, I would like to speak to you about some profound ideas that were shared with me by the most level-headed dreamer I’ve met recently.  Think about those times when you say, “I’m a klutz”, or “I don’t think I can do this…”, or “I look so ugly today”, etc.  Now think about when you go to a get-together and someone says “You look ill, are you feeling dizzy?”.  Usually it takes multiple people telling you that you look sick for you to start thinking, “Am I sick?”  That is the power of suggestion though, and eventually you will reach for your forehead for a temp check or start looking for a chair to sit down in.  But you have that power too, and with it you can create your reality as you see fit.
 
Don’t believe me?  Try this…next time you are somewhere and you are feeling tired or worn out, find a place where you can talk out loud to yourself without people cutting their eyes at you.  Say to yourself ten times over, “I feel great; I don’t feel tired at all.”  Try to use forceful statements that empower you!  Amazingly, this works better than coffee to pep your step.  The reasoning behind this is that your thoughts are up in your brain brewing like an electrical storm…with no real guidance, they ebb and flow and can be intangible.  When you vocalize, you have to form the words with the muscles of your mouth…you have to focus those thoughts and produce them out loud.  Your ears then hear the words and re-translate to your brain, giving you instant reaffirmation.  It’s quite simple in theory, but the results are nothing short of sensational.  

The man who broke this down to me cited examples, his affliction was that he was notoriously afraid of bees.  There was actually a time where he jumped in a pool in a RENTED TUX to escape a swarm that attacked a wedding he was attending.  Another example:  he jumped out of his car while it was in motion to get away from a bee.
 
Using this out-loud self-convincing technique, he began to tell himself, “I love bees; bees are cute.  If they sting me, they’ll die, why would they want to do that?  Bees are more afraid of me than I could ever be of them.” and so on and so forth.  Later in life, someone snapped a picture of him with a bee on his face.  Amazing, right?
 
I’ve been trying it with my self-confidence, and I’m quite happy to report that Inside Knockout definitely is listening to Outside Knockout…and the results of my Stuart Smalley-esque affirmation rampages are starting to show.  Let’s stay positive, and remember, I think you are beautiful, every blessed last one of you women improve the world in ways you can’t fathom.  If I didn’t think you were worth the time, I surely wouldn’t write you all of this!

Until next we meet again……………Hugs, Dags

The Pacific, A SW The Clone Wars Update, and What I’ve Been Up To

The Pacific.  Being of a type that falls asleep as soon as I see monochrome, anything with propellers, maps, and bombs in black and white usually causes me to turn the channel.  Although I listened enraptured to amazing stories from my family about their service time, the particulars of Army politics (much like algebra) confuse me a little.  Anyone who has ever served could tell you about being alone in the middle of a hundred people.  As far as my opinion, nobody has so far been able to put you in the laps of the individuals as candidly (er…graphically) as the Pacific.  The Norman Rockwell-esque checkups on the families of the soldiers and their trials at home throw my dirt-and-blood-vision off a little though.  It’s like when we first watched the cast of Survivor get dirty immediately: they fall victim to insects and diseases of the jungle…although friendly fire and love pangs seem to do more to the characters than the malaria.  I did have to do some fast-forwarding of humpy parts, and the gore factor is pretty amped (it doesn’t help that the three main colors are green, dirt, and blood).  Definitely for adults only, war buffs, and anyone who wished A Thin Red Line didn’t suck so hard.
Brain: 8
Heart: 10 
Stomach: 10



Star Wars: The Clone Wars is my favorite action show as of this season.  Any SW fan is going to get a kick out of this show in the first season, but as you progress to Season 2, the trials of Anakin and Obi Wan are story-specific, and there are a couple of nods, one to film noir and one in memoriam Akira Kurosawa.  The most notable differences to me between the first and second season were a) the over-the-shoulder swooping cam style that puts you right where you need to be to catch every breathtaking detail, and b) the intense escalation of gore.  I am of the old school of movie watchers that expects PG to save me or something.  Truth is – the second season benefits from the additional violence.  It’s kinda how you always wanted Star Wars…driving, dramatic…and 22 minutes per episode.
Brain: 10
Heart: 10
Stomach: 5

p.s. Combining two of my reasons for existing...



What I’ve Been Up To:

Typing my face off…getting ready for the semester to start…connecting with old friends…exploring my dimensions…and waiting breathlessly for a VIP Hug :)


Stay strong.  I see that a lot of us are going through hard times. If it makes you feel a little better, I’ve noticed something about myself that has attributed to the greatest gain in emotional growth yet…I have found that it’s the moments I spend empathizing with others (instead of only myself) that polish the mold.  Although blogging is self-directed, it has opened me up to a world where free speech and personal revelation is rewarded with posterity if not empathy.


Listen more.  You will hear things that would blow your mind.  I didn’t even know that my neighbor was a soprano!

Until next time take care - Dags