| Show Lunchtime pastimes: Stress reliever on the side By Scripps Howard Nbws Service High noon on the highway You should Ih-- eating lunch somewhere hul instead you are running an errand that didn't get done last weekend Trouble is g cur whose driyourc stuck behind a ver is obviously talking on a cell phone As you pull alongside to pass you notice that the business d driver is shuttling through a stuck of papers on the dashboard the car phone cradled under her left ear Your blood pressure spikes You've had it with morons who use their cars as offices on wheels endangering everyone else on the road lb show your displeasure you slum your fist on the horn then make a gesture typically used by cabbies in foreign movies The driver looks over and — no surprise here — flips you the bird She has hud it with yahoos who don’t understand the pressures of her job This much is clear: You are both stressed out and at the end of your respective ropes So why aren't it either of you taking a break and brown-baggin- g on a nice park bench somewhere? “Whatever happened to the idea that lunch time can be spent pleasantly conversing with a friend or quietly reflecting alone away from the concerns of our daily work?" asked Arthur Sokoloff author of Life Without Stress: The Far Eastern Antidote to Tension and Anxiety “Work is fine but should be taken in contest of our entire lifestyle To be ourselves to allow time for pleasure relaxation and simple enjoyment of our families and the world about us leads to the good life” Instead our nationwide tendency toward morning-to-night busyness often leads to stress Sokoloff said an d stress can lead to health problems — not to mention making obscene gestures at strangers on the freeway Blowing your top may release some of the pressure but “If you wait until you're feeling stressed before you employ some technique for managing stress it's already too late” said psychologist Robert Epstein director emeritus of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies and a researcher at San Diego State University “You need to have a bag of tricks that you can deploy pro actively” The business of managing stress has become a real industry turning out desktop Zen gardens self-slow-movin- suit-cla- help hunks and squeee toys lor !ralcd executives Hul many people hv accident or design have devised a lew tricks of their own for comhaiing stress And many of them use these tricks during their lunch hours Use your senses: One woman said she visits beauty supply stores and cosmetics counters to smell the shampoos and sample pertumes and skin creams Another dims the lights in her ollicc and then sits down to spend a few moments with Rudi the rabbit draped over her eyes “My kids bought him for me at The Nature Company" Rosemary Oonules said of the rabbit- shaped pillow filled with dried lavender peppermint and flax “It felt kind of silly at first but now everyone knows not to bother me when I have my bunny" Skeptics may shake their heads hut followers of aroma therapy believe that lavender has a calming effect while peppermint can he refreshing And they may be on to something: According to a study by psychology professor Robert Baron at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy New York people w ho work in pleasantly scented rooms tend to complete their tasks with greater confidence and efficiency Still smell is but one of the senses Beverly Becmus prefers the tactile experience of visiting a craft or fabric store during her hour away from a stressful job as an insurance claims adjuster The exchange of advice sewing tips and general conversation that goes on over the open pattern books at the back of the store is also an attraction “In my line of work” said Becmus “I don't get to hear people being friendly very often" To make use of several senses at once some people make lunch-tim- e expeditions to the verdant environs of a nursery Attractions range from the of the houscplant greenmossy othcr-worldlinc- ss house to the jasmine-scente- d breezes and the promise of row after row of plants not yet traumatized bv amateur gardeners with thumbs It's all a far cry from the office where Lee Roscn-boo- m works as an accountant “Some days I come with something particular in mind” he said "Other days it's just a nice place to wander around" For a more pampered sensory experience some go for aroma therapy manicures and massages Others order in “Bosses get them as an incentive or a reward for AP nr Lee Roseboom an accountant likes to spend his lunch hour working employees but quite a few people ask for them themselves" certified massage therapist Cheryl e Smith said of the massages she performs desk-sid- The sessions last between five and 211 minutes usually at a cost of SI a minute “It's better than a doughnut at break time" she said laughing Expand your horizons: Come lunchtime you'll find Patrick llelmer escaping the chaos of his telemarketing job in the front seat of his car and a sandwich in one hand and a Stephen King novel in the other On other occasions llelmer takes his brown-ba- g lunch for a w alk to a nearby park w here he watches children cavort on the swings or lunch-hou- r athletes play basketball On those days when he has more time he drives to the Ventura County Museum of History and Art in Ventura or the Carnegie Art in a nursery Museum in Oxnard to immerse himsclt in one the exhibits Walk it off: Stress management experts otten to exercise as a good way to relieve tension whi g one's metabolism Walking is a go choice they add because there is little or no pre sure on performance “And you generally don't have to take a show afterward" said Dee Higgins who joins n y ers for strolls “It's good exercise hi it’s also a good way to stomp out your anger or catch up on office gossip away from the source she said Celling out in the sunshine and fresh air a good idea said Paul Rosch president ot th American Institute of Stress: "Beating stress is matter of removing yourself front the situation u taking a few breaths" Just be sure to leave time to eat something too jump-startin- co-wo- thrice-weekl- Some of the signs of stress and how to cope with problems By Scripps Howard News Service Stress can show up in a variety of symptoms including some of the following complaints Physical: Difficulty sleeping stomachaches diarrhea or nausea ringing in the ears back pain tight neck and shoul ders Behavioral: Grinding one’s teeth at night inability to get things done during the day general irritability tendency to smoke drink or eat more than usual Emotional: Feelings of powerlcss-nes- s anger or unhappiness for no apparent reason Could be accompanied by Playing ‘Amazing Grace’ with a goat — Commentary By Mike Harden Scripps Howard News Service Ambrose Bierce once described the accordion as an instrument whose sound is in harmony with the sentiments of the devil Some might suggest that Bierce apparently never heard the bagpipe Nathan Wilds a “piper" at Ohio’s College of Wooster would not be among them “I have always had a complete love of the instrument” said the senior “If I've just bombed an exam I'll go play the bagpipes” It makes him feel better He didn’t say how it makes his dorm mates feel though bagpipes seem to make a lot of people feel better at Wooster it being a school that bears the uncommon distinction of offering an annual bagpipe scholarship to freshmen “There's a rumor around campus that pipers get a free ride at Wooster” said Tim Cummings a senior bagpipe scholarship recipient “That’s not even close to true” He and Wilds pointed out that the $2500-a-ye- ar scholarship pays only a portion of tuition Cummings added that — unlike the music program at Pennsylvania's Carncgic-Mcllo- n College — Wooster docs not offer a full scholarship or a degree in bagpipe performance Still being one of the “Fighting Scots” pipers at Wooster is not without perks Last autumn Wooster’s pipers put in an appearance on NBC’s “Today Show’’ That cameo caught the eye of the folks at Coca Cola us" Cum“They contacted manusoftdrink the said of mings facturer “They wanted to do a day in the life of a piper I was interviewed for part of it" Cummings Wilds and others were shadowed around campus by Coca Cola's Big Eye Productions and Filmed doing whatever pipers typically do — perhaps nursing the anguish of a botched botany exam by blowing “Scotland the Brave” They were not filmed “seasoning” their bagpipes a requisite maintenance chore that pipers hate almost as much as kilt jokes “It's a pain in the butt to off-col- or sea- - son the bags” Wilds complained Because many bags are elk or sheepskin they must be seasoned routinely to keep from cracking and drying It keeps them airtight “There is this goop you have to use" Wilds explained using its scientific name “It is almost like syrup You have to pour it in your bag and work it in It smells like a slaughterhouse I think it's just ground-u- p guts People (nearby) sometimes will give you a real dirty look It’s really really bad But you can't just go out in the woods and do it” Music encyclopedia histories of the bagpipe note that early bagpipes were often fashioned from the carcass of a small animal (typically a sheep or goat) or the stomach or bladder of a one larger Basically you're blowing “Amazing Grace" through a dead goat Even the most ardent of pipers will concede that the instrument they play is not universally loved often misunderstood and perfectly suited for stereotyping “There are only nine notes one octave and no sharps or flats” Wilds said Pipers gravitate toward songs whose compositions are compatible with such limitations the most obvious being “Scotland the Brave” and “Amazing Grace” “'Rocky Top’ is one of the songs that fits perfectly” he continued adding “I've heard pipers play 'Sweet Georgia Brown' 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' the theme song from 'The He chuckled when asked if any Wooster pipers have Flint-stone- s'' attempted “Smoke on the Water” or “Stairway to Heaven” Neither Cummings nor Wilds indicated that the signature jingle accompanying the lyric crying jags or panic attacks Cognitive: Forgetfulness little or no sense of humor constant worry thoughts of running away Quick Fixes: Stress Busters for Ihc Desk-Boun- d: Chained to your desk at lunch? One of these stress-bustisuggestions might ng help the world go away — even if it's just for a little w hile Close your eyes Take a deep breath Exhale slowly Repeat II) times Take lime to stretch starting with your neck and mov ing down to your feet Or curl your toes against the soles of your feet us hard as you can for 15 seconds then relax them Use the sum s technique with the in your legs stomach back in shoulders Allow yourself a few minutes to read a chapter of your new novel or to tlip through the latest pristine issue of voui fav orite magazine tense-and-rel- mu-cle- If you're getting snowballed by bills Ws ftiinme to UBOT OT o Consolidate to (lie 10) Variable A PR Debt Dissoher Loan at America First Credit I nion Every time you open your mailbox are you being hit with a new bill? Fiach one creates a snowball effect as interest charges pile up - and you end up writing check after check trying to keep up America First's Debt Dissolver tawn is the perfect defense against loo many bills and high interest charges By consolidating your debts to our low 109 annual pereentage rate all your bills get packed into one low interest payment a month v Debt Dissolxer lawn stop by a nearby America First Credit I’nion branch or toll free 5 Salt Lake City located nearest you or give us a call in Ogden: Available on approved credit at SIX To apply for the l()9C : 627-092- 1 -- 1 “always Coca Cola" presented any special problems “It will be out in the spring” Cummings said of the commercial Given the sound of three pipers harmonizing it may be a difficult commercial to ignore To some it may sound like a chef strangling the entree for the evening's Peking Duck To Wilds and Cummings it will sound like heaven AMERICA FIRST CREDIT UNION u nth t ( 7 4 4m uittil Ij ( ft thU t rtt — — — — |
