I don't know anything about physics...

[aardogs]

...but at really highly competitive, close competitions, do you think those really fluffy shelties would be faster without all their hair, or does all that hair help them become a more-aerodynamic bullet-like shape?

In any case, summer break is here. I used to absolutely love summer but over the years I've started enjoying it less and less. Last summer was probably the worst, although I can attribute a lot of that to my summer-long mysterious illness. The biggest thing is that I like to be busy all day every day. I'm not good at relaxing. There are probably a lot of factors that contribute to my summertime blues, even thought there are even more reasons to enjoy the summer.



I am recognizing the fact that remaining mentally happy and healthy takes active and continued work on my part. I'm not sure how common this is, and I suppose it doesn't really matter, but it's just something I need to be conscious of all the time. And it is something that is easy to forget. I have to remember that filling all my days with as much stuff as possible is not exactly a solution anyway. It's a good life, I don't want to waste it feeling bad.

Comments

[nosemovie.livejournal.com]

I'm a better person under structure. Is that what you're dealing with? Meaning, if you have a plan, a routine and a goal, I"m your gal. I'm not that great with the "free flow" and actual just "laying about" makes me CRAZY! and I can only do it for like 10 minutes at a time. Hahahahah....

Relaxing -- to me -- is a very long time to do whatever needs to be done. I CAN do things quickly, but if there's no real time limit, it's very relaxing to me to just TAKE MY TIME with something. It's rare I get that luxury.

I always feel better about myself when I've accomplished something I deem worthwhile. I tend to be a person who deals with stress by SHOWING THE WORLD I can get shit done. Is that healthy?? I have no idea, but ... it works for me, and shit gets done. ;)

[aardogs.livejournal.com]

Yes, definitely. Under stress? Just DO MORE, that'll help right? Right. Free flowing is not my style.

[teaguestoy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, downtime, it's a hard one for many of us who like a lot of structure. My personal journey is that downtime allowed depression in - or rather, I wasnt' keeping frantically busy enough to ignore the feelings underlying much of my behavior. So, downtime, yeah, the big uglies came out then - nothing to stop them, particularly once I stopped drinking alcohol (well, and using other things as well). So, I ended up doing a lot of deep personal work so I can sit with some inactivity.

I found that I definitely had to structure my time to some degree during summer or I get funky too. So, structure, and personal work, yeah. Good luck :)

[aardogs.livejournal.com]

I definitely identify with that. It's been a battle for years, thanks for the luck!

[nosemovie.livejournal.com]

Oh! and I think shelties are propelled by bark=power... it's a thing! Ask Razor

[hycaliber.livejournal.com]

Not all Shelties! This is an Urban Legend. They can be trained to shut up, just as you train a dog to bark on command. People just aren't very good at that training part... :)

[nosemovie.livejournal.com]

It's a well-earned urban legend. Stereotyping doesn't just fall from thin air! ;)

I trained Razor to bark on command, TWO different types of barking. He does it nicely. It doesn't stop him from talking when he wants to. No way, no how. Now I just have a dog who can bark in two different tones on command, and also whenever he wants. Sigh.

[aardogs.livejournal.com]

Panic is rather barky when excited, and I'm afraid I'm the one that encouraged it in the first place so I can't complain I suppose. ;) He wasn't always this way...

[aardogs.livejournal.com]

Wait...training?! I thought debarking was the only solution? Lots of debarked shelties around here, yikes.

[hycaliber.livejournal.com]

As a Sheltie owner (of one very fluffy sheltie and one very non fluffy sheltie), I can tell you that while they might have a lot of coat, it's not a heavy coat. Unless you are wetting them down and then running them, their coats do not seem to bother them. I used to think Jeep ran faster with less hair, but I am quite sure that was all in my head. If you have a matted sheltie with a lot of coat, then you should be tarred and feathered and forced to jump with mats pulling at you! That's what I have to say about that.

Learning to relax can be fun and challenging! Make yourself learn to relax by tricking your mind into thinking it's very, very busy. And then it's not. And you're present.

Kind of cool. And I'm still working on it!

[aardogs.livejournal.com]

I was thinking about how swimmers and runners often shave their entire bodies, but I suppose if you are one big mass of light hair it probably wouldn't effect you too much.

[hycaliber.livejournal.com]

Also you would never be allowed to own a Sheltie again (in the US), you would be excommunicated.

Silas shaves his Sheltie, that sounded really dirty..:

[aardogs.livejournal.com]

Tricking your mind into thinking it's busy in order to relax, I might have to hear more about that. Relaxing is definitely challenging, something I will have to work on for sure.

[gumbypuppy.livejournal.com]

I think we'd have to test the Sheltie thing by running one in coat, and then shaving it and running it without. Of course, the problem is, if you ran them on the same course, they'd probably be faster on the 2nd run no matter what. So, I think you'd have to run several courses, and average the YPS. With and without coat. And you'd need to have lots of Shelties for data.

[penichops.livejournal.com]

I'll be in on this.

Can I be the one that plucks out random shelties from the astonished crowd and shaves them?

[aardogs.livejournal.com]

You're hired!

[penichops.livejournal.com]

Hey you should read this book called Galapagos I just finished reading. Or maybe you already have, or maybe you shouldn't because it just made me think more about pointlessness of everything and how all the striving and rushing is of no point. Soo.... yeahhhh no help at all except to tell you I just read a book that was brilliant and hilarious and probably not good for me ;)

[aardogs.livejournal.com]

Kurt Vonnegut? I've read a few of his books, brilliant. I would probably like it. Nihilism is often quite attractive to me.

[penichops.livejournal.com]

Yup that's him. It feels like putting on a old jumper, almost too comfortable ;)

[penichops.livejournal.com]

hang on, I mean sweater