In the center of the rainbow

So I'm spending a few days in south Florida at the Asian American Journalists Association's annual convention.

I made it down here despite a delay that afforded me enough time to enjoy a paraffin manicure. FYI: it's kind of like getting a hand sculptures at the state fair, only not as much fun.

But! Perhaps if the flight were on time, I would not have seen from the plane my first "full-circle" rainbow -- the entire circle, rather than just the bows we kept stumbling upon in Hawaii last summer and in February. Gorgeous.

It reminds me of one of those moments that reinforces the fact that yes, I am getting old. During a tour through Scotland while studying abroad in Stockton-on-Tees at Durham University I was struck by the beautiful scenery, then struck by an entirely alarming thought: I must be an adult.

Because if I were still eight years old, I'd say, yeah, this scenery is nice, but Disneyland is nicer.

Okay, off to bed before a rousing day of workshops and big-picture thinking ...

bad reality tv

I stumbled on Instant Beauty Pageant on the Style Network one night and regret that I can never get that hour of my life back again ... five women randomly approached in a mall and given three hours to prepare for a beauty pageant, complete with gratuitous product placements.

The highlight of the episode I saw: when contestants almost came to blows in the bar of a chain restaurant while preparing (read: doing shots) before the big event.

It was like a bad car accident -- couldn't look away.

Just when you think your life is difficult

stories like this put everything into perspective:

Wide awake, Costa ready to fish again

By Candus Thomson

Sun reporter

July 18, 2007

It took persistence and medicine, but Tim Costa no longer sleeps with the fishes.

Today, unencumbered by two sleeping disorders that forced him from professional bass fishing six years ago, Costa begins his long comeback on the Potomac River in the Stren Series Northern Division competition, a part of FLW Outdoors.

"It's an amazing change. I was so tired all the time for so long that I didn't realize you weren't supposed to feel that way," says the Erie, Pa., native.

Obstructive sleep apnea and narcolepsy - a one-two punch that caused him to fall asleep without warning - made it impossible for Costa to drive his boat or car. He could barely stay awake at his construction job in Plano, Texas, and was a frequent no-show at family activities.

"It was a toxic-type sleepiness," says Costa, 36. "I was living my whole life exhausted, feeling worse when I woke up than when I went to sleep."

Costa admits he was crushed to walk away from his fledgling career in 2001, having worked his way up to 26th place in the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League. But he insists he could never risk harming others.

This made me happy

When I first opened the box (I get a lot of hopeful promotional items in My Line of Work) I was convinced it's was the ugliest teddy bear I'd ever seen, or as the Redhead said, like it shouldn't be fed after midnight. Now, after consultations with others, I realize it's a sheep, though it could be a lamb. Symbolism works either way, I suppose. Lined in rabbit's fur, though?

Perhaps I should have a Holy Ghost party someday ...

okay, now I'm impressed

Most of the plastic-bag reuse projects I've encountered are heavy on virtue but low on style, except for these plastic bag chickens fashioned by South African crafters. Really gorgeous.

Yup, this makes me go ew.

So, I've been roaming the craft-er sites lately, looking for directions for all kinds of projects I probably won't finish anytime soon. There's some interesting recycling-reclaiming projects out there, with people knitting iPod covers out of cassette tape and fusing plastic bags into raincoats .

But this one really made me want to hurl, and I don't know why, because I've been known to wear an animal product or two, certainly lamb's wool or sheep's wool ... why not cat?

Make felt from pets