Archives
EVERYBODY has a Name
I like nicknames. They just make my life easier somehow. It probably started when I was a teacher many moons ago, and some of my students had them. This was to help me to keep straight all the Jennifers, Mikes, etc so that when I was talking to a specific one, they knew who I was talking too.
They also come in handy when you are talking about someone and that person might be nearby and using a different name will not alert that person you are talking about them with someone else. Sure, not always the nicest thing to do, but we all gossip and have to find ways to do this without offending others. Continue reading
Fifty!
I did it. I worked out for fifty straight days. Day 50 was actually a weight day and some yoga as well. I am slowly getting used to the fact that it *is ok* to have “easier” days of working out. When I was first doing the 30-day challenge at my gym to get a month of dues paid for, I was in a go-go-go mode. To not work up a serious sweat felt wrong.
But I knew my body needed the occasional break. After the thirty days and subsequent 50-day challenge from Julie, my spin instructor I started to add more days of weights to my workouts. And also the yoga. Sure, I will take the occasional hot yoga class which can be pretty intense. But I am also starting to really appreciate the easier days of just lifting weights.
This experiment has been good for me. It has made me feel guilty if I don’t move. As a side bonus, my clothes are starting to be looser as well. Always a bonus. The best part of the looser clothes is that I haven’t really done anything too drastic to make that happen. I think my body has just decided now is an ok time to do that.
In any event, I am now on a mission to see just how many days I can work out before I feel that enough is enough and I need a break both physically and mentally. I have a had a nice by-product of this experiment in that I am addicted to working out. It’s a wonderful feeling to have this kind of addiction. I’ll be sure to let you know when my streak of working out ends and what caused it. Knock on wood I haven’t gotten sick.
Protected: The Worst Feeling
Still Hurts After All These Years
It was a nice September morning. Just like every other day recently, I had left early to go to school because the bus I took would actually stop in front of the building. Not that I was too lazy to walk the extra blocks, I just preferred to not have to walk as far when I was carrying around a ton of law books. I also had a study group that morning so I wanted to review notes and cases before.
Like other mornings, I went to the student lounge and was reviewing stuff while I was also watching the tv. It was usually on in the lounge tuned to a news station. As I was sitting in the lounge, a few other students were also in there and then more eventually came in. Soon, we were all glued to the tv watching the Today show. There were plumes of black smoke on the screen and the news ticker saying planes had flown into the World Trade Center. Continue reading
Perspective
The NFL lockout is about to end, once the players vote to accept the new deal. Our long national nightmare can finally end. As a sports-loving person, I can understand how fans have been clamoring about when this will end so that they can get back to obsessing about their favorite sport. If my favorites were headed for a work-stoppage, I am sure I’d be just as annoyed.
At the same time though the way people are keeping tabs on the lockout is a bit puzzling to me when I consider some of the other issues going on in the world today. In Oslo, Norway, there was a bombing and it took a long time before major news organizations in the US picked up on the story. Well, MSNBC was talking about it fairly quickly. It was only later that CNN or the other networks picked up on the story. That kind of stuff infuriates me. Then again, when I am looking for relevant news, I am usually forced to look at news sources not based in the US.
This kind of stuff really makes me think about what we value in society. For me, the biggest indicator of what we think is valuable is pay for work. I’m usually thinking of this when it comes to what we pay teachers to educate society’s children. Many people I talk to think that teachers are overpaid. They also believe they are paid a salary based upon 12 months out of a year, even though the teachers only work nine months. I’ve even met one person who was incredulous that he knew a teacher made the same amount of money that he made, despite the fact that he felt he was clearly more educated, having a law degree. Continue reading
A Profound Sadness
Lately, I have been feeling restless and a bit lost in what I want to do with myself. Work is not exactly what I want to be doing, though it pays the bills and keeps me off the dole. Fortunately, baseball season has beginning so I have that to look forward to as well as perk me up. Speaking of sports, recently there have been some things happening that are making a lot of female sports fans and women in general feel lesser and marginalized by our society.
Earlier in the year, MLB sponsored a contest to find the ultimate fan. This person would be in a decked out place and watch all 2,000+ games this baseball season. As part of this, the winner would write a blog about the experience as well as use social media to talk and promote it. The winner was announced and it turns out to be two guys who have on-stage and acting experience. This is all fine and dandy. At first I thought, ok cool for them. Then as more details emerged, it started to make me sad. Continue reading
In My Head 