The Despised Gym

a draft saved from July 2011…

I like to stay active and be in shape. But I have realized I highly prefer doing outdoor activities more than going to the gym. I finally have cancelled this gym membership. I had spent some $370 plus only in about 7 months. That's ridiculous. Especially when I see I could've bought a Total Gym off of QVC for that price. I had to log some of my gym observations. And then maybe you'll see where I'm coming from on this.

Apr 25 6:24pm

Smelling the old man's BO next to me as I've just started my work out.  E! Channel is on, hate their shows. I really don't want to be watching a former playboy seducing some guy. Secondly, girl stationed on the tredmill in row in front of me thinks swaggering her hips while she runs AND walks either gives her a better workout, or will help her get noticed. UGH people!! soo gross, I'm just trying to get a workout in b/c it's either too cold and or raining out and or I don't want to be breathing exhaust fumes. And can't forget those that put the tredmill incline at 4.7 and hold on with both hands for dear life while their ponytail is bobbing back and forth like Marsha on the Brady Bunch. 

May 16 9:04pm

Tonight it wreacks of cigarette smoke. It was as if I was sucking on a nicotine patch! Some girl in the locker room had it soo strong on her. Ick ick, ick.

What is the E! Channel's obsession with "Kendra"? So sick of seeing her on the designated E tv each time I'm at the gym. Not really a life to be modeled. 


This girl beat me to it - and she has said it well. See her thoughts and stories from the gym-abyss. http://theessenceofnonsense.wordpress.com/2011/07/11/club-culturefitness-faux-pas/

Easter, over the past 3 yrs.

to recount the past 3 years on Easter…
3 yrs ago: in Jerusalem. Got to be at the Garden Tomb for the most beautiful, moving Easter services I've been to.
2 yrs ago: was excited to pick out a hot Easter outfit because I had someone to look good for. after 12 yrs w/o a boyfriend, finally I had one and it felt great. We took pictures after church with my 'big' camera and he had the biggest smile I had seen - at all within the time we dated.
1 yr ago: attended church by myself. It was a really hard time. Went up after the service b/c I felt compelled to pray with the couples up there afterwards. Which moved me to further tears and I then retreated to the bathrooms to sob. I still can't describe it, but whatever happened was moving. It was an experience for sure.
Now to this year. Will attend church by myself, again. And I wonder as I progress in my 30s owning a home, how much of this is gonna be like this? Going thru life alone? I wanted a companion.

Growing up I had always prayed for the man who I'd marry.
How bout that - growing up. Easter. Man, we got dressed up. Mom always sewed our Easter outfits. We'd wear tights and white shoes. I'd attach a picture, but my computer doesn't cooperate with high[er] memory needed these days.

Here's to all the upcoming Easters and the memories you'll develop.

Osama is dunzo

Well it's been quite awhile, eh?

Let's just get right to it.

Here's my 5 cents worth of the whole Osama mourning / no mourning? Is it okay to celebrate his killing or is that 'unchristian-like'.

Yeah it's too bad he had to lose his life, but he was the mastermind behind thousands of lives lost. Kinda goes back to the death penalty debate. Welp, I am for it. If some person came in your home and killed your family, wouldn't you be glad / relieved the day of (if) he got the death penalty? Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't be watching the execution cheering. I would be solemn. But inside your heart, there would be some peace and relief most likely. I would want that! That's Justice!

And, we're celebrating a job well done -- this war was put in play because of what this man planned for the destruction of our country to happen on 9.11.01. Our troops, all the men and woman who have served, fought, been away from their families, sacrificed so much- many their lives even- we celebrate a job well done - the purpose for the fight. Bin Laden was tagged as the one responsible for the 9-11 attacks.

Now i know full well this doesn't mean the war is over now. But don't you celebrate an item on the to-do list that is finally completed after being on there 9 years? Woohoo! The Americans executed (pardon the pun) what they set out to do!!

I feel like all these people who are woos-ing out on Osama's death... why would you mourn this guy's death? Claiming all this about peace and he was a human too. Kind of seems to cheapen all the lives lost in pursuing this mission - War on Terror, and all the lives lost on 9/11.

Quit trying to be so politically correct.

from BBC news live feed: 2236: The UN Security Council welcomes the death of Bin Laden, describing it as a "critical development" in the fight against terrorism, according to the AFP news agency.

Bush was quoted saying "It is a victory for America" - and that is the truth!!!

Another live feed from BBC.co.uk 2313: Lia in New Jersey, writes: "It feels good to be an American citizen today. Not simply because we kept firm in our promise to bring down a terrorist icon, but because the world feels just a little bit safer. What has happened in the past can finally be laid to rest. We can concentrate, now, on fortifying efforts to continue conquering world terrorism; rebuilding peace and prosperity across all walks of life, all cultures and for every person in the world who deserves life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

Well said.

I feel like I'm being redundant in efforts of getting my point across! Death penalty! And if you're so concerned about his well being, just know the military gave him a proper muslim burial at sea. Body was cleansed & so forth. I personally don't feel he even deserved that. I mean, just toss his lifeless body over board and be done with it!

No, I'm not throwing a party with cake and balloons, but I will say feel happy about it. Our neighbors put up an American flag, and I put up ours too!

Had to get my thoughts out on this one because I actually was somewhat appalled at people--mainly just in the Christian circles by how much they were condemning those who were in the streets celebrating the victory of what the troops did.

However, I was pleased to see the unity that did occur-- Democrats/Republicans, etc. weren't so divided. And for once I didn't mind listening to Obama talk about such things.

And let me just say this: I've seen a lot of people trying to get their view points across indirectly by posting scripture verses about not celebrating your enemies death & whatever. Well I came across Psalm 54 a few nights ago.

Psalm 54

⁵ May the evil plans of my enemies be turned against them.
Do as you promised and put an end to them.

⁶ I will sacrifice a voluntary offering to you;
I will praise your name, O Lord,
for it is good.
⁷ For you have rescued me from my troubles
and helped me to triumph over my enemies.

Psalm 57

⁶ My enemies have set a trap for me.
I am weary from distress.
They have dug a deep pit in my path,
but they themselves have fallen into it.

Amen & amen.

ok, while I'm not in favor of my blog being taken over by email forwards, I've either been too busy, too lazy, or too out of touch with the news lately to be writing my own stuff... thus, a quick read on a forward, which I agree with, so why not post. Hope I don't loose any credibility.
The following is directly from an email forward. take it or leave it.

So, Let's Recap--
1. The American people elect a black president with a total of 142 days experience as a US Senator from the most politically corrupt state in America whose governor is ousted from office. The President's first official act is to order the close of Gitmo and make sure terrorists civil rights are not violated.
2. The U.S. Congress rushes to confirm a black Attorney General, Eric Holder, whose law firm we later find out represents seventeen Gitmo Terrorists. (An honest mistake!)
3. The CIA Boss appointee, Leon Panetta, has absolutely no experience, has a daughter Linda, we find out, who is a true radical anti-American activist and a supporter of all the Anti-American regimes in the western hemisphere. (There were socio-economic factors involved!)
4. We got the second most corrupt female (Pelosi is #1) in America as Secretary of State; bought and paid for. (You can put lipstick on a pig, but it still says oink!)
5. We got a Tax Cheat for Treasury Secretary who did not properly file his own taxes for 12 years. (He misspoke!)
6. A Commerce Secretary nominee who withdrew due to corruption charges. (Another honest mistake???)
7. A Tax cheat nominee for Chief Performance Officer who withdrew under charges. (Hmmm... another screw-up?)
8. A Labor Sec'y nominee who withdrew under charges of unethical conduct. (Ok, maybe this person was just plain stupid)
9. A Sec'y HHS nominee (Daschle) who withdrew under charges of cheating on his taxes. (I'm running out of excuses for these idiots!!)
10. Multiple appointments of former lobbyists after an absolute campaign statement that no lobbyists would be appointed. And that's just during the first three weeks... but who's counting?

America is being run by the modern-day Three Stooges ~ Barrack, Nancy and Harry ~ and they are still trying to define stimulus..."it's spending!!!"...

The congress passes the $800,000,000,000 (that's $800 billion) pork-loaded spending bill where the government gives you a smidgen of your tax dollars ($13 per week), making you feel so good about yourself [stimulated] ,that you want to run out to Wal-Mart and buy a new Chinese-made HDTV and go home and watch Telemundo! Only in America , what a country...
Pray for our country... Here's the good news though... Obama took Air Force One to Denver to sign the stimulus package, wasting as much as 10,000 gallons of fuel FOR 24 JOBS FOR ONE YEAR. Don't you just love this guy?

Speaking of praying, Obama has now been president for eleven Sundays and yet he & wife, Michelle have not attended church since the inauguration He must really miss Reverend Wright!

In these times 'I'll keep my God, my freedom, my gun and my money. You can keep "THE CHANGE".'

putting 2&2 together...

Disclaimer: this is copied directly from an email forward. Which I obviously thought was worthy enough to be posted on my blog site.

Very Interesting questions

While I've little interest in getting in the middle of the Obama birth issue, Paul Hollrah over at FSM did so yesterday and believes the issue can be resolved by Obama answering one simple question:

What passport did he use when he was shuttling between New York, Jakarta, and Karachi?

So how did a young man who arrived in New York in early June 1981, without the price of a hotel room in his pocket, suddenly come up with the price of a round-the-world trip just a month later?

And once he was on a plane, shuttling between New York, Jakarta, and Karachi, what passport was he offering when he passed through Customs and Immigration?

The American people not only deserve to have answers to these questions, they must have answers. It makes the debate over Obama's citizenship a rather short and simple one.

Q: Did he travel to Pakistan in 1981, at age 20?
A : Yes, by his own admission.

Q: What passport did he travel under?
A: There are only three possibilities.
1) He traveled with a U.S. Passport,
2) He traveled with a British passport, or
3) He traveled with an Indonesia passport.

Q: Is it possible that Obama traveled with a U.S. Passport in 1981?
A: No. It is not possible. Pakistan was on the U.S. State Department's "no travel" list in 1981.
Conclusion: When Obama went to Pakistan in 1981 he was traveling either with a British passport or an Indonesian passport.

If he were traveling with a British passport that would provide proof that he was born in Kenya on August 4, 1961, not in Hawaii as he claims.
And if he were traveling with an Indonesian passport that would tend to prove that he relinquished whatever previous citizenship he held, British or American, prior to being adopted by his Indonesian step-father in 1967.

Whatever the truth of the matter,the American people need to know how he managed to become a "natural born" American citizen between 1981 and 2008.

Given the destructive nature of his plans for America, as illustrated by his speech before Congress and the disastrous spending plan he has presented to Congress, the sooner we learn the truth of all this, the better.

New places, New experiences.

Hola peoples.

It's been awhile, eh? yep. I've been busy. ...moving to California! woohoo. back to the motherland. I'm enjoying it.

Since coming out here I have learned & experienced a few firsts:

• how to drive a stick shift (very excited about that.) I drive it every day & I rock, thank you.
• indoor rock climb (they say I'm a natural?)
• Went to Yosemite National Park (soo pretty!)
• went on my first hike
• Climbed Half Dome. (wow, Tough! but I loved it.)
• Went to San Francisco, loved it. (which I still can't spell correctly)
  
• learning all new things for a new job
• learning my way around a brand new town

So yay for me. Oh, and of course I've met many new people and have learned lots of names & faces.

San Francisco

So let me tell you about Half Dome!!! It was incredible. For me, it was like going to Disneyland as a kid. The experience has stayed with me.

Half Dome is a high point in Yosemite at 8,842 ft elevation. The hike that we did in one day had a 4,800 ft climb in elevation. We took the John Muir Trail up and the Mist Trail down. So our hike was 15.35 miles (from the trail head).

Below is some info from this site. They suggest taking a gallon of water for this hike.

Hike Distance: 14.2 miles (22.7 km) round trip via Mist Trail
16.5 miles (26.5 km) round trip via John Muir Trail
20 miles (32 km) round trip via Glacier Point
23 miles (37) km round trip via Tenaya Lake
7 miles (11 km) round trip from Little Yosemite Valley campground

Half Dome Elevation: 8,842 feet (2,650 meters)
Total Elevation Gain: 4,800 feet (1,600 meters) from Yosemite Valley

Hiking Time: 10 - 14 hours

Difficulty: Extreme. It's long, steep at the beginning and end, and more dangerous than most Yosemite hikes. It's probably the most difficult of all Yosemite day hikes. On the traditional 1 to 10 scale, this one rates an 11.

That site also tells the number of fatalities that have occured on Half Dome.

Just 2 weeks after I had been up, 2 people died up there in one week. Here's one story. And another story with an eye witness testimony which also reported 10 to 12 people die in Yosemite each year.

This page has a google map picture that shows the various trails.

The last picture at the bottom of this webpage has a view of half dome from further inside Yosemite. A neat perspective.

It took me forever just to get this written because I had so much information I wanted to share. But I was getting tired of not getting this posted. So here it is. (It only took me 2 weeks to finishing what I started on this post!)

If you're completely enamored, here are a few more websites ...
1 - real informative
2 - Yosemite web1, Yosemite web2
3 - current conditions in Yosemite

Living so close to Yosemite, I am very hopeful to get over there again to spend more time, get many more pictures and see the huge sequoias.

Oh yeah, here is some wildlife we saw that day.

The bear was in the parking lot. He/she just snagged an abandoned cooler. A couple guys scared him off yelling "go bear go!" The deer was super close on the trail. And of course, lots of squirrels and such. Below is not a blue jay but a steller's jay (news to me.) He wanted our snacks. To the left of that this furry creature resides at the very top of half dome! Kind of a desolate place to live, but he has many visitors! He is a marmot.


It was a great trip, and I would do it again, for sure.

Obama's Youth Brigade

this is straight from an email forward. there's my disclaimer.
Subject: Obama Youth Brigade: Church Attendance Forbidden

What a deception! Check out the fine print in this “GIVE” Bill (HR 1388) and pass it on to everyone you know!

Obama Youth Brigade: Church Attendance Forbidden
By Jonas Clark

Obama has only been in office for two months. Now we have HR 1388. The Bill was sponsored by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) with 37 others. The Bill was introduced to the floor of the House of Representatives where both Republicans and this bill's title is called “Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education” (GIVE). It forms what some are calling “Obama’s Youth Brigade.” Obama’s plan is require anyone receiving school loans and others to serve at least three months as part of the brigade. His goal is one million youth! This has serious Nazi Germany overtones to it. The Bill would forbid any student in the brigade to participate in “engaging in religious instruction, conducting worship services, providing instruction as part of a program that includes mandatory religious instruction or worship, constructing or operating facilities devoted to religious instruction or worship, maintaining facilities primarily or inherently devoted to religious instruction or worship, or engaging in any form of religious proselytization.”
That means no church attendance or witnessing. Again, is this what America voted for?
Here is part of the HR1388 Bill’s wording:
SEC. 1304. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES AND INELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.
Section 125 (42 U.S.C. 12575) is amended to read as follows:
SEC. 125. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES AND INELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.
(a) Prohibited Activities- A participant in an approved national service position under this subtitle may not engage in the following activities:
(1) Attempting to influence legislation. (2) Organizing or engaging in protests, petitions, boycotts, or strikes.
(7) Engaging in religious instruction, conducting worship services, providing instruction as part of a program that includes mandatory religious instruction or worship, constructing or operating facilities devoted to religious instruction or worship, maintaining facilities primarily or inherently devoted to religious instruction or worship, or engaging in any form of religious proselytization. Here are some additional sources of info on this subject.
http://www.rules.house.gov/111/cbo/cbo_estimate_hr1388.pdf
http://rsc.tomprice.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=115008
http://beltwayblips.dailyradar.com/story/tucked_into_obama_s_civil_service_bill_hr_1388_no/
http://rightsoup.com/tucked-into-obamas-civil-service-bill-h-r-1388-no-protesting-allowed/
http://catsden.wordpress.com/2009/03/28/hr-1388-educating-students-in-service-part-ii-chicago-school-reform-1995-2001/
http://www.tsrn.us/blog/2009/03/23/emergency-senate-voting-on-the-forced-servitude-bill-hb-1388-this-monday-323-communism-is-being-forced-down-your-throat/
http://thefinalhour.blogspot.com/2009/03/hr-1388-bans-national-service.html