Re-evaluating the relationship...maybe later...

Hotmail's sign-in page looks different. Different font. I mean, couldn't you just make the service better instead? Still love you, though. I caved in and got Gmail a while ago after finally getting a taste of it at my old office. I do love Gmail now and it is a better service than Hotmail, but, you know...I just can't break up with Hotmail. We're too attached. I've cleaned things up and tried to make it easy to migrate all of my stuff. But, that will just have to be a day that I set aside to do all of that. I almost don't think that I should delete it since it is useful for receiving e-newsletters and notifications from websites and organizations. I don't mind using the account for that communication. It's mostly all of the old things that I need to wade through.

I'm a packrat of sorts. Even with e-mail!

I hate to be a hater, but...(Part 2)

I really wanted to spontaneously jump back into being active and I did not want to pay for gym "privileges." I wanted to be more in control of my money and...do something different.

I started looking for stand-alone classes and for climbing gyms. The stand-alone classes were easy to find and there are basically only two good climbing gyms in the area, as far as I know. I needed something more concrete than a room of workout options, machines and brightly colored polygons and starbursts.

Climbing is pretty expensive and what are you gonna do? There are only so many options for climbing gyms. Yoga classes, and I guess other classes, are at least $10 a class and of course cheaper for a package deal. But I can't hate on that.

I went outside the box to find active things to do. I'm just not an active person--never did sports or worked out on a regular basis. I actually enjoyed my time and experience at the Y downtown but, again, I got stuck in the elliptical rut. But those fresh towels, every time you came in the door. Now that was worth the membership.

Anyhow, all I have to worry about now is stretching. I never do it! That'll keep me a sore and sorry body that won't be able to get to the next class in the week!

All's well that ends well, eh? Now, on to my diet...

=)

I hate to be a hater, but...

If there is one business that leaves a bad taste in my mouth, it's the Rush. Now, I know enough people that go there and that don't negatively comment on the experience and even without knowing those people, I can see that they have enough members to keep them afloat.

My experience, though, was...annoying, inconvenient, costly...and so, I got out.

I went to the Rush in the first place strategically/on a whim to sort of force myself into an exercise routine. Well, not force. I just wanted to be spontaneous, not think about it too much and just do it. Just walk through the door.

The Rush was a close and I guess safe place for me to go to get in gear to work out. Honestly, its proximity to where I live was probably the biggest factor in me choosing it as a gym. Also, as I told the--let's be real--salesman, I was choosing the Rush at the moment instead of any other gym because it had a climbing wall, which are few and far between in Greensboro.

I wanted to get out of my non-active rut but I also didn't want to fall into the work-out rut that I had at UNCG--socializing and trying my damned-est to read a (free) magazine while doing 35 minutes on the elliptical. Besides the random few-yer stint I had where I climbed the climbing wall almost compulsively (it was great), I didn't really move too much (does dancing at clubs count?).

At the Rush, with the orientation by the trainers, I knew a few more moves I could do to add to my workout routine. I still defaulted to the elliptical. I never used the sauna (bummer), the climbing wall paled in comparison to a climbing gym, and I finally felt like I was paying too much.

I was relatively paying too much because I chose to pay month-to-month. By the way, I caught the salesman trying to write me into a 2-year contract but my upside-down reading skills caught it before I signed without reading (which I may have done).

At the end of the day, I was just sick of looking for a gym.

Exploring "Community"

According to social reproduction theory, each generation simply reproduces itself and quite frequently so at a lower level. Is this proof of "Kids these days..."? I hope this isn't true. Well, I'm sure that there is research to tell me that it is and that it isn't.

I will use "community" as the catch-all term like many of us do anyhow. There are many valid and/or upsetting reasons why we all don't live in a utopia (or various utopias differentiated by...what?). Humans, civilization, groups, politics...it's all gotten complicated. But, that's what makes us charming, right?!


Is social cohesion stronger than aspects of society such as poverty? I mean, do we think that fostering and maintaining social cohesion that eliminates social conditions like poverty is worth it? I guess everyone and every group has their interests.

"Community" versus "Society"

Do you ever find "community" to be a buzzword? I do sometimes. I think that people exchange the word "society" for "community," purposely or not.

I have been interested in the concept(s) of community for years now and especially after studying conflict resolution in grad school. Now that I work in a local non-profit, I use the word often. But I often think...which community? What are we all talking about? Now, I studied geography in undergrad for a reason; I think that place and one's sense of place is very important in life and in history. However, when I heard about the Glenwood, the Greensboro or the Guilford County communities, I think, Wait, those are locations, boundaries--not necessarily communities. I guess that on a small enough scale you can get away with it? I've hear a lot about but have not been active with the Glenwood neighborhood, but to me it seems like community could be used to describe this--yes--geographic area. I was going to write "local community" at some point but I thought it seemed vague...and it does. But, that's why I now like it because it could refer to one of many local communities. Great, now I'm going to obsess over what "local" means. Me and my semantics.

So, does someone's level of activity, or affinity, or something like that make them a part of a community or not? Is it your address? Have you ever felt like someone labeled you as a part of a community that you did not feel connected to?

I guess that when you use the word, you know what you are talking about. But is your meaning of "community" really being conveyed to whomever it is you are talking to? It may be since many people may accept the nebulous meaning of the word. Still, people feel like they are a part on one community or another or of many communities--jut like culture(s). So, when you bring up community, are you referring to that person's community? The group that that person has strong enough ties to that he or she is very active in it or wants to be?

There was a book (ahem, chapter in the book) I read a while back that seemed to ease my anxiety on the idea of community. I can't remember the title! Ok, now off to comb through my old bibliographies...

To sing and to cry and to smile a million-fold.

The great thing about knowing a considerable amount of language(s) different than your mother tongue is that it opens a totally different world for you. Or different worlds. Not just culture in general. I suppose you could enjoy the food, dance, sport, and nuances of a culture without knowing the language. But when it does come to language as we think of it, understanding foreign languages opens a whole new world of music. New songs to cry, laugh, dance, and sing to. Those more tangible or visible aspects of culture I just alluded to could be in addition to the telling rhythms and instruments of a particular culture and though you may understand the lyrics, it may still seem foreign to you. It just sounds that way.

But (and I say this as an American), when you hear an R&B or pop-y or rock or pop rock song in another language and you understand it and it make you cry...are you glad?! I can't shake the dilemma-ish feeling of being super glad that my translation skills made it past Top 40 wherever in the world and feeling exhaustingly emotional over the actual lyrics.

Yay, YouTube! =) Keep learning foreign languages. It will help you understand English better. Bis spaeter and see you later.

Ain't no low acid, this is fresh-squeezed!

The early bird gets the fresh-squeezed orange juice.

Last week I finally learned a bit more about Iron Hen and found my way there for a simple and filling breakfast.

And because it was me, I couldn’t order a breakfast meal or one biscuit or Danish; I had to make a meal out of sides. I got the fresh-squeezed orange juice* (and I am glad to pay the premium), a biscuit, and some home fries.

I had to resist putting in my Bojangles order of an egg-and-cheese biscuit. Not that I go to Bojangles that often, but I know that it’s that over-the-top combination of eggs and cheese that I will love until the third bite (after which I gottawannaneeda cleansing fast). I’m glad that I got out of the house early enough so I could get lost on Cridland for at least 15 minutes. I’m pretty used to seeing Cridland from driving on E. Wendover but I’ve never ventured past the intersection. Before discovering the location of Iron Hen, Cridland and Wendover’s shining glory for me was the Dunkin’ Donuts. Yet, I have never actually been in that DD location…

I really need to eat more fruits and vegetables.

The biscuit was large and in charge; I couldn't finish the whole thing so it was biscuit for lunch, too! The home fries were amazingly perfect; they weren’t too oily and if I can confirm that they aren’t prepared on the same surface as the bacon, ham, etc., Iron Hen just may need to stock up on the potatoes because I’ll be there.

*I suppose I became addicted to fresh-squeezed orange juice in Macau this summer. I got it as often as I let myself from Hyper Gourmet because, even with the exchange rate in my favor, I thought it cost a pretty pataca.