Sorry about the quality of the photo…I found out the hard way that the zoom function on my camera should not be used. Ever. But this group is part of the reason I’ve been missing in action for the past week. It’s not a bad thing. There’s also the ongoing move and life chaos too. Hope to resume a normal blog schedule in the near future!
I really want to speak Spanish.
I took high school Spanish and loved it. I took college Spanish and probably would have liked it if I’d engaged more in classes and not extracurricular activities.
In the past year, I’ve had the urge to learn it again. I’d like to hold and understand conversations. I’d like to be fluent in it, but even just passing Spanish would be good. I have people at work who indulge me and will converse with me in the language. I also have a couple friends who support my need to speak Spanish. One of them got me the dictionary pictured here and has offered to have teaching sessions with me, since she’s fluent.
At some point, I might take a class, but for now I’ll just pick it up here and there for no other reason than that I want to. Because really, that’s usually the only reason I need.
The Felbster and I are currently in the process of moving. It’s a process I hate. This doesn’t make me a special snowflake since I assume most people hate to move, even if they’re moving somewhere better.
We’ve been “preparing” for months, but we’re still feeling rushed towards the end. Many boxes are packed and some already moved to the new place. Internet and renter’s insurance have been canceled. We’ve lined up help from family and friends. Still, it feels like this big ball of relocation is just rolling right over me.
The sad part is, I don’t do nearly as much as everyone else. Sure, I take a few bags up the stairs. But I go at the pace of a turtle and make about one trip to everyone else’s three. Our current place is a basement apartment, so we contend with one set of stairs when taking stuff to the car. Our new place is a second floor apartment so we contend with 2 flights of stairs getting everything into the apartment.
Stairs and I are starting to be okay with each other, but we’re a long way from being BFFs. Luckily, J is okay with doing the bulk of the unloading as long as I do most of the unpacking.
Besides the physical, there’s also a mental exhaustion. There are things to update: address, bills, driver’s license, etc. At this point, I haven’t even completed my mail forwarding form because I can’t find the address of our new place because I’m pretty sure I accidentally packed the lease document.
I currently have a stack of mail that needs to be handled, but with everything kind of a mess, I don’t have the energy to get them all together and go through them.
Because most of our kitchen stuff is packed up, cooking feels way too hard, so we’re trying to cheaply eat out until we get settled. This is probably not a good idea for so many reasons, but it is what it is, and dollar menus are everywhere these days.
Ever since we signed the new lease, I’ve also had bouts of anxiety where I wonder if we’re making the right move (we will now have a short commute to school and work), if we’re going to be able to afford everything (we’ll be spending more in gas and will have utilities to contend with), and how I’m going to decorate and organize (the space is bigger than what we have now, but it’s still considered small).
Even with all that, underneath the nerves and the work and the stress, I still think we’re making the right move. I’m ready for some small town living again, ready for some quiet, ready for a new space even with it’s challenges.
I’ll just be glad when the transition is made.
I have a certain perception of internet fame.
There are some people I consider to have a certain degree of popularity on the web. Usually it’s because of a blog or a podcast. These people don’t actually have to be well known by celebrity definitions. If they’re known to me, and they entertain me, I instantly think they’re super cool and internet famous.
Most of my “famous” people come from podcasts and blogs. Also, internet fame for me doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with looking good or being a movie star. It’s more about being an interesting person who has something interesting to say. That’s not to say I don’t have my share of celeb fan stalking, but it’s hard to classify them all in one.
Twitter has been the best platform for making me feel like I’ve brushed shoulders with internet fame. Not going to lie…when I get re-tweeted, I instantly feel super awesome. It doesn’t matter who it’s by, it’s a total ego boost. The exception to this is spam bots, but they mostly just follow me and send me weird links. Beyond that, I’ve gotten re-tweets from Lords of Acid and Woodchuck Cider. I’ve also gotten a Twitter reply from Chaz Bono, and I’ve had short conversations with people who’s podcasts I’ve listened to and enjoyed.
Tumblr is another platform that makes me feel special. I recently had a post through GetGlue that got several likes and reblogs. I realize I didn’t do the work, GG did. But it was still fun. Tumblr itself has Tumblr famous people. One of those people actually follows me on there. We don’t interact, mostly because I have nothing brilliant to say, but I was completely fangirly the day she followed.
This past week, J. Felbs had his own brush with internet fame when the guys from The More You Nerd podcast took his challenge to listen to some Scrub Club Records music. He was totally geeked about it and so was I! I found TMYN just a few months ago and it’s been our go-to podcast for road tripping. It’s funny, relevant to our interests, and it’s introduced us to new movies, music, and books (it’s thanks to Mike and Drew that we are now fans of the comic Chew).
Maybe it’s not the idea of “fame” that makes things like this fun. Maybe it’s just the fact that we’re getting to meet people we admire or feel we could be friends with if geography worked differently. It’s one of those wonders of the internet, and it’s a reminder of just how much social interaction is changing. Normal people can now have a following if they’re interesting, and truthfully, I find some of the people I follow on Twitter to be more interesting than most of the media celebrities.
Who knows? Maybe someday I’ll do something awesome and have my own fifteen minutes of being internet famous.
During my lunchtime gym session on Tuesday, I received a lecture from an elderly patron on how to lose weight.
It amazes me sometimes that people have no filter and can just assume it’s okay for them to say certain things to strangers. Don’t get me wrong, the guy wasn’t being mean (I don’t think). He’s a retired physician* who reminded me of the doctor my grandmother used to take me to, and he’s definitely coming from the old school of thought when it comes to diet and exercise and weight.
By old school, I’m referring to the instant assumption that fat=unhealthy and skinny=healthy.
I wasn’t offended. This isn’t something that’s new to me and I can easily accept the fact that there is a prevalent misconception that fat people at the gym are only there to lose weight. I follow a few body acceptance blogs, and I wholeheartedly agree with the fact that people shouldn’t be bullied for their size and that loving yourself no matter what you look like is key to a healthy and happy existence.
Do I think assuming I was at the gym to lose weight was a fair assumption? Not really. But I’m a non-confrontational person and didn’t feel like arguing the point.** I knew my reasons for being there, regardless of what Mr. Doctor saw; I just didn’t see any benefit of sharing this for an argument with a random stranger.
My main goal is not to lose weight, regardless of my plussy plus size. I exercise so I can walk/move/feel better and so I can keep my depression symptoms under control. End of story. I’m not going to say no to weight loss. If it happens, I’m not going to try to put the weight back on. But I’m done making that my main focus, because it obviously hasn’t worked for me during the better part of three decades.
After Mr. Doctor flat out asked me if I’d lost weight from exercising, he proceeded to tell me that exercise isn’t enough, that the best thing I can do is “push myself away from the table.” While I knew what he meant, that’s not great advice in itself. Is he saying I should just look at the food then leave? Is he saying to eat what I want but then to forcefully push myself away in order to get a good arm workout?
Sure, I know what he’s talking about, and those responses are kind of snarky. But you know what? A younger me, or another person struggling with their weight, might not get it. They might be so upset and so embarrassed that a stranger would say something like that that they’d just stop going to the gym completely.
I’ll be back in the gym regardless. But saying stuff like that to people is probably going to do more harm than good. It’s one thing to be concerned about someone’s HEALTH. It’s another thing to assume that a fat person at the gym is not healthy when you’ve likely seen thin drug addicts on the street and instantly assumed they were fine. FYI, I don’t think it’s fair to do the opposite either. Just because someone is super thin is no reason to make disparaging comments or insinuations about eating disorders.
I don’t know if we’re ever going to change the old school way of thinking for the old schoolers themselves, but maybe it’s time to start adopting some new school ways of thinking. If you’re going to get healthy, do it to feel good, not to fit into a size. Diagnose based on real health problems, not just statistics…treat people as individuals, not as a weight. And don’t assume you randomly know what’s best for everyone else in the world based on how they look.
So thanks for the lecture, Mr. Doctor, but I don’t even own a table, I exercise to keep from throwing things at nosy people, and I’m pretty sure I know the actual scientific basics of how to lose weight. Now excuse me while I drink this protein shake and go grab a taco for lunch.
*I know this because he shared that with me as part of the “discussion.”
**I didn’t feel the need to argue this for my own personal reasons. I did realize after writing this post that by not saying anything, I wasn’t really helping the cause either. But I’ll be the first to admit that my passiveness makes me a really bad activist.
My FitBit stopped working last Saturday.
I’m pretty bummed about it, probably moreso than one should be over a small piece of plastic. But seriously…I had it less than a year, and somehow it had strange motivating powers that made me want to walk more.
For those who are unfamiliar with this gadget, it’s a glorified pedometer that syncs to your computer and tracks steps, miles, flights of stairs, calories burned, and activity levels. You can also use it to track sleep, and if you’re a food tracker type person, you can use the online tools to log what you eat. It also has things for weight loss tracking, and it allows you to unlock badges for daily goals.
I’ve been logging my step numbers, but I haven’t tried to go to the next level. I guess technically you could argue it wasn’t doing a whole lot for me, but I loved using it, and I loved seeing those days when I did more than usual. And I did have days where I would just walk around the apartment in order to break a certain number. Plus, it was going to be fun this coming August when I got to see just how much walking was going to happen at GenCon.
But on Saturday it started glitching out and then just stopped completely. The display no longer showed and it stopped syncing.
I’d like to say I was able to roll with it and continue on with my day, but with the death of my tracker came a mission to find a new one. To the internet I went, first to troubleshoot, then to email the folks at FitBit, then to start looking around for something else. Because if I have to buy something new, I’m going to try something new. While I loved the FB, I’m not going to buy a new one every eight months if I can find something that lasts longer.
There are a few on the market that have really good reviews. The best one was probably the Nike+ Fuelband, which you wear like a watch. It tracks everything the FB does and has some other goal setting things. It also links to Earndit.com, and that’s one of those things I’m having fun doing because I like to get rewarded for my points.
There was also the Jawbone UP, which was going to be my first choice since the price was right, but come to find out, they aren’t even selling them right now. I think there were some kinks in the first round of product that they’re trying to work out, but that does me no good right now.
The third choice is one called the Striiv (pronounced “strive”) which is a little bigger than the other ones, but tracks all the same things and includes games and automatic charitable donations for getting so many steps. It tracks other activity too, not just steps, and it offers challenges you can do at any given time. It was the same price as the UP, and it definitely sounds like the most fun, but I’m not sure how user friendly it’s going to be. Wearing the other two on my wrist would make things easy. The FitBit was nice because I could wear it on my bra and it still tracked. I think I read that you could do the same thing with the Striiv, but I’m not sure. I’d hate to get it and then have a hard time using it because I have nowhere to put it.*
At the moment, I haven’t made a final decision. I’ve sent an email to FB support to see what I can do about getting a new one, because if they’ll replace this one, I don’t have to worry about a new one just yet. But if it doesn’t pan out, I’ll have to sit down and figure something out, because even though this kind of thing isn’t a need, I really do find it helps me stay motivated to have something helping me keep track of any sort of exercise I fit into my day.
If anyone has any suggestions or comments, please let me know. The more information I have to make my decision, the better.
UPDATE: The groovy people at FitBit came through for me and are sending a replacement device! So for now, I don’t have to worry about buying anything new. However, there will come a point in the future where I’ll be looking again, so I’m still open to suggestions.
Last Friday morning (against my first choice of just staying home) I took the Sit and Be Fit class at my gym.
Pic from examiner.com via Google Images
I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy class, but knowing something and experiencing it are two different things.
The class started at 10 and I was the youngest person in there. There were several other men and women, most of whom were clearly regulars. There was a rapport between the instructor and the others in the class that was really comforting.
Though I had nothing to add to the conversation, everyone was really nice. Many of the women approached me and introduced themselves and chatted with me, asking if I was going to come back on a regular basis. One woman even helped me with my ankle weights due to some flexibility issues and just general unfamiliarity with the things.
As for the workout, one might not think chair exercises are going to be intense, but this workout kicked my tail. In some areas, the chairs were optional, so there was still a lot of standing and moving around. The instructor incorporated walks down the hall into the routine, and I came in on a day where the focus was lower body. It was low impact, but effective, and I felt it the rest of the day.
I’m going to recommend this first to anyone with mobility problems, because it really is a good workout for anyone with limitations. I’ve heard of these classes before, so I’m guessing there are other places they’re held. Having said that, I think it’s a good workout for anyone. This includes people who kick it with hardcore classes because it’s something different, it’s low stress on the joints, and it’s inspiring. During the aforementioned rapport, some people talked about how they no longer had knee pain since taking the class, and one woman who had previously used a walker to get around could now walk without one.
My work schedule doesn’t allow me to take this class regularly. However, I do get a Friday off every once in awhile, and if I’m in town, I definitely plan on taking this one again.
Saturday was free comic book day, so J. Felbs and I each loaded up. He’s read some of his, I haven’t read any of mine, but I will…just trying to get through this week and our impending move. Then I can kick my feet up and enjoy. Did anyone else get their comic geek on this past weekend?
Okay, this isn’t actually going to be an ode or a poem or anything creative. I just wanted to post a picture of this bottle of Woodchuck Hard Cider (Granny Smith). This was the first of a six pack. I have three left and plan on actually drinking them before they go skunky, something I sometimes forget to do when I buy alcohol.
Woodchuck reminds me of Michigan, but I don’t remember ever drinking it in Michigan. If I did, I never went through a phase. There were other phases: Amaretto and Coke, Amber Bock, Triple sec and OJ, anything with grenadine added. Malibu. But Woodchuck didn’t happen for me until I moved to Oklahoma, and then it only happened once.
I’m still not going through a phase. I just picked this up for drinks and gaming with friends. But that nostalgia is still there. I don’t know where the connection comes from, but I’m loving it. Definitely worth a six pack of good feelings.
Another funny spam comment popped up in my filters the other day. It’s not funny “haha.” It’s more funny in the “hey, that’s kind of relevant to me” way.
This case is bothering me. If anyone is capable of answering this question, then I would be very grateful 
So what do you think ? How many drinks containing Aspartame can you safely consume each day? Thanks for constructive answer
The post that this attempted infiltrate was about a knitting project, so nothing with any relevance to aspartame. However, I find it fitting because I have a somewhat rocky and sordid past with aspartame.
I was a diet soda drinker for years, so much so that regular soda tasted really gross. I realize that neither one is considered good for you by the experts, so let’s skip that whole train of thought. The truth is…and my fellow soda lovers will agree…the stuff is hard to give up! But as most of us big gals at one time were told, diet soda is at least better to drink because it has no calories.
Scientists will tell you that this is not true. Dieticians will tell you this is not true. I’m not going to tell you anything other than that this wasn’t true for me, because a few years back I realized I was having a bad reaction to aspartame.
It makes me hurt. It makes my joints sore and my back stiff, and it makes it hard for me to move. I was told several years ago that aspartame intolerance mimics fibromyalgia symptoms. I immediately did the whole thing where I said I was sure that was true, but it hadn’t affected me so obviously I didn’t have this mysterious intolerance.
Thanks to karma, I developed one later on.
I know that pain can be relieved with exercise and weight loss,* but even before I got into a routine, I found that giving up aspartame made me feel much better. It was easier to exercise and move in general. My chiropractor found a sensitivity in my lower back that went away within a couple weeks of giving up diet soda.
So dear spammer, how much is too much? For me, a full can of diet soda would be too much, but I have been known to try something with aspartame just out of curiosity.** Of course now that I don’t drink it, I can taste it right away and it’s become the grosser tasting alternative to sugar. Once in awhile I’ll have something sweetened with sucralose, but if I’m going to drink something sweet, I’m going to go the sugar route. And I’ve even cut way back on that for my own sense of well being.
But hey, if you can drink the diet stuff with no ill effects, I say more power to you. Drink one for me!
*In my case, I wouldn’t even count weight loss as a factor. I’ve lost a little bit in the past year, but not enough to really consider it relevant. Then again, I don’t do scales for personal reasons, so who knows?
**The most recent thing I tried was Pepsi Next. Still too much aspartame. Bleh.
