Saturday, April 22, 2006  | Income-Based Rate Scale
Current mood:  accomplished I joined the Y today. I've wanted to join a gym for a long time, but I found the costs of the good ones prohibitive. I used to have a pass to Williamson Co. Indoor Rec. Center back when I lived in the B'wood. That place is the best deal around - $140 for a year. When I stopped smoking, I went every day. I had to because I a)needed something to take my mind of the smoking and b)because I was terrified of putting on weight (by the way, that's a lost cause, you will put on weight regardless). I currently have access to MTSU's recreational facilities, which is nice, but very inconvenient when I'm home and want to work out. Plus, there are too many opportunities to bump into people I know there - students, professors, etc... I'm kind of private about the whole working out thing. I also like to walk around my neighbourhood, but it will soon be too ridiculously hot for this to be a viable option. I am certainly not one of those people you see out running in 90 degrees (are they sane? I think not).
Where is all this going, you ask? My friend Brett, fellow graduate student who is currently working on his thesis and searching for a "real" job, informed me that the Y has an Income-Based Rate Scale for memberships; all you have to do is bring your tax documents to prove how much you earned (or how much you didn't earn!) and they will give you a membership for a reduced rate. They also give discounts for age, including a special Young Adult rate for those age 18-28. They combine these discounts. I joined the Y today for $20 a month, plus $6 per month for parking (that's only for the Downtown Y though) and I paid a $25 one time joining fee. I thought that was a pretty damn good deal. They have really nice locker rooms, a towel service (so you don't even have to bring your own towel!), indoor and outdoor pools (the outdoor one is on the roof - how cool is that?), weight machines, cardio machines, raquetball courts - you name it, they've got it. I'm really excited about the pool part. I love to swim and I'm even quite good at it, and it's incredible exercise. I'm actually excited about going tomorrow.
I have workout partners now in both Murfreesboro and Nashville and I have workout facilities in both. I don't have any excuse. Since the marathon, I've really let my workout schedule slide and I can tell from my stress/crankiness level, (and my jeans) what effect that's having on me. I've done a lot of walking and running the past couple of weeks, but I know once it gets hot, I won't want to do it.
So, all in all, I think joining the Y was a good move.
I wish other things in life worked the same way. I'd like to call Nashville Gas, for example, and say "I know my gas bill is $180 dollars, but because of my income, I think I should only have to pay $65." Wouldn't that be nice?  | Currently listening :
I Am Kloot
By I Am Kloot
Release date: 25 January, 2005  | 11:31 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove | |
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| Friday, April 21, 2006 | I'm a poet and I didn't even know it. Apparently I exist to corrupt good people. That at least is the view of certain people who know certain friends of mine, and who incidentally don't know me (although they do know of my wicked actions). I turn people to drink and to blogging (both addictive and inherently satanic behaviours), against their will, of course, because we all know people don't really want to be corrupted; it happens entirely against their will.
Well every action has an equal reaction, right? Well my desire and limited success to corrupt has resulted in people corrupting me in return. Certain folk, who will remain unnamed on this blog, have desperately tried to get me to come to their definitely "suspect" Creative Writing Nights, in the hope that I might start to write creative pieces. I viewed their intentions with much suspicion (as anyone would, of course).
Now I know what they are up to in these so called meetings. They are working some kind of voodoo magic, because the other night, out of the blue, I started writing poetry. it just kind of vomited out of me, like some other force was at work (the spirits conjured by the creative-writing group folks perhaps?) and since then, I have been thinking in poetic mode.
Maybe it's not quite so dramatic and mystical. Maybe it's just the overreaching influence of peer pressure -- if everyone else is cool and writing poetry, then so must I be cool and write poetry, right? I musn't get locked out of the coolness. Whatever, I still think it's voodoo. I know I stick some pins in my "makeotherpeoplegetdrunkandblog" voodoo doll once in a while. But shushhhhh, don't tell anyone. 12:32 AM - 4 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove | |
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| Wednesday, April 19, 2006 | Am I old or just the only one who sees the ridiculous? A few months ago, I posted a blog saying that the moniker "alternative" is not adequate to describe the music it is intended to describe. I obviously didn't know what I was getting myself into.
Since then, I've felt entirely out of the loop. I've discovered that I have to move out of my mid-nineties comfort zone and accept that some of what I listen to is now deemed "emo" and that some of what I listened to in high school is now deemed "shoe gazing," although I didn't know it then. (However, if you are going to pay over a hundred dollars for a pair of maroon mary-jane Doc Martens, you ought to be able to look at them once in a while while you listen to your music). I've just read a new term that inspired me to write this blog. I'm thinking that this must be the new "in" job, created for the son or daughter of a music exec. somewhere - come up with new subgenres of alternative music. Anyway, the term is "screamo," which obviously has roots in its marginally big brother "emo." Is this where bands scream lyrics that evoke emotion? I'm guessing that's what it is, and maybe I'm listening to some of these bands (Muse seem like they would fit that classification), but maybe, on the other hand, I'm getting old, and I'll just see everything cool as alternative and leave it at that. 12:42 AM - 4 Comments - 5 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove | |
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| Tuesday, April 18, 2006 | The Economics of a Date I have heard several men of my acquaintance complain about paying for a woman on a date. Now, I'm a pretty liberal woman, not the kind who would totally freak out if I "hung out" with a guy and he didn't pay for me. However, there might be valid economic reasons why this seemingly outdated custom is still feasible.
Even a well-dressed man would find it difficult to spend as much money on his appearance as the average woman does when going on a first date. Even women who go for the "natural" look have probably spent a good sum of money to look that way.
I don't really go for that look so I'll give you a run down of my face and then an approximation of clothing. Compared to a meal, it starts to look like you guys have the better deal.
Face:
(Summer Date)
Moisturizer $15.00
Tinted Moisturizer $30.00
Eyeshadow $10.00
Eyeliner $7
Mascara $12
Blush $15.00
Highlighter $20.00
Lipgloss $8
Total: $117.00
Clothing:
Skirt $35
Shirt $18
Shoes $30
Earrings $6
Total: $89
Grand Total: $206
So, I'm not saying there are hard and fast rules or these things are necessarily prescribed by society, but I'm laying out what a girl is likely to spend on a first date. Likely. Not that she will definitely. As you can see, this date stuff doesn't come cheap for us either.
My friend Ben's response to this blog 4:47 PM - 4 Comments - 5 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove | |
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| Saturday, April 15, 2006 | Thanks
Current mood: undescribable I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday in some way or another. I really appreciated the comments, the messages, the cards and the presents. It's really nice to know people care. I had moments this week when the world seemingly wanted to dump its rubbish on me and all those well wishings made me remember what wonderful people I know and helped me keep my chin up. So thanks, you made my week.
I had an especially crappy day on Thursday. Someone did something on my birthday, intentionally or unintentionally, that really upset me and that, combined with my post-birthday-mojito hangover, put me in a bad mood - the kind of mood that made me question my usually optimistic view of the world. I was driving to Dan McGuinness on Thursday night, in the beautiful weather with the top down on my car, still trying to wallow in my bad mood, when I noticed the sky. There were punches of blue sky behind red-tinged clouds which did, really, have silver linings. I pondered that phrase and thought, prophetically, that there might be a silver lining to this day after all.
At my favourite bar, I ordered a salad with honey mustard. I was informed by my favourite Irish bartender that they had ran out of my dressing of choice. He asked what else I wanted and I, with my usual brattishness, replied that I didn't want a salad after all, and that I would just order something else, but it would take me a minute to decide. He said "Well, aren't you the fussy one tonight?" I replied that I still wanted to order something else because I don't like the other dressings. He huffed and said, in that lovely Dublin accent "I'll take care of it." "What do you mean," I said. "I'll find you some" said he. And he did. He went down the street personally to another bar and borrowed some honey mustard for me so I could have my salad the way I wanted it.
I had had such a rotten day, and that kind of thoughtfulness, selflessness and desire to please couldn't have come at a better time. I am truly grateful to him for being my silver lining. That's something I won't forget.  | Currently listening :
The Optimist LP
By Turin Brakes
Release date: 01 May, 2001  | 11:51 PM - 3 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove | |
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| Monday, April 03, 2006 | Surprise Gift The Norton Reader arrived in the mail on Friday. I didn't buy it. It just arrived, a gift from the publisher, totally free. It's not the edition shown here - it's a newer, I think not yet released one. I must have signed up for it at one of the conferences I've been to this year, but I don't remember doing that. Maybe someone at Norton just figured I'd like it.
Sometimes good things just happen. You shouldn't question or analyze too much.
I'm totally engrossed in my new gift, so you might expect some musings on its contents in the future. So far, I've read an analysis of lightbulb jokes, an article on how teachers teach kids to hate reading and writing, a not-so-persuasive persuasion for the use of biomedical animal testing, and an article debunking motherhood as a biological need. If I continue reading all this stimulating, thought provoking stuff, my head might explode. I can only be exposed to a limited number of intelligent thoughts a day. 12:52 AM - 2 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove | |
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| Sunday, April 02, 2006 | Tearing up the neighbourhood
Category: News and Politics I wish someone could explain to me what's going on in West End Park, the neighbourhood that lies between my house and Centennial Park, which has been around since the 1890's. It consists (right now) of late nineteenth and early twentieth century bungalows. During my marathon training days, I walked often down Long Blvd. and admired these older homes. I noticed though, that new blocks of pseudo-retro-designed condominiums started springing up first on 31st Ave. and then on Long Blvd. Close to the end of last year, a developer bought up a string of these bungalows (which, I admit, were not in excellent condition because they had been Vanderbilt rentals) and unceremoniously demolished them. They are currently being replaced by a huge block of apartments. This demolition craze seems to have reached epidemic status in West End Park. Now, the houses across the street are for sale, each listed as, "lot for development." The thought of one house in particular being razed upsets me. It's a stone house I looked at before I bought mine. It was out of my price range in its delapidated state, but its grey stone construction, beautiful wood floors and charming architectural detail gave it enough character for me to fall in love with it. I always hoped someone with more money than me and with reasonably good taste would come along and restore it to the glory it deserves.
What baffles me is the lack of conversation about this demolition craze. West End Park is a historic neighbourhood and the fact that most of it is currently threatened, or has already been victim, of the wreaking ball deserves at least some attention. Sylvan Park has recently enjoyed the local media spotlight because of its residents' fight over a controversial conservation overlay. The overlay would require owners to seek special approval for demolitions and new constructions with the boundaries of the neighbourhood. In short, the overlay is a move to prevent what is happening in West End Park from happening in Sylvan Park. I could write an entire other blog on the conservation overlay, but that's not my purpose here. I am baffled that I am the only one who seems to notice, or care, that this is happening on my doorstep. It makes me think there are sinister forces at work in the construction world - of course the sinister force could simply be money. (I hope that because I've said that, I won't wake up tomorrow morning with a horse's head in my bed!)  | Currently listening :
Adventures in the Underground Journey to the Stars
By South
Release date: 04 April, 2006  | 10:41 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove | |
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| Monday, March 27, 2006 | My Type I had this discussion with a friend the other night: apparently, I have a type, and this "type" is visible and obvious to everyone but me. I think I'm attracted to a variety of people with an assortment of different personality characteristics and physical attributes. Apparently, I am mistaken, because everyone I find myself attracted to apparently fits neatly into my "type."
What this type is, however, has never been definitely defined. There's a rumour going around that I like intelligent men, but how this fits into mere physical attraction, I don't know.
How do I know they're intelligent? Do they just look it? Do they have to wear glasses? No, not necessarily. Do they have to carry around copies of War and Peace? No, they don't even have to have read it. Really if you ask me, I usually say they have to wear good jeans. What covers their arses would, one would think, have no correlation to intelligence. But, maybe things aren't that simple. Maybe intelligent men are actually the ones wearing what I consider "good jeans."
I'm confused. I think it would be easier for me if I knew how to identify and classify this species that is my "type." Everyone around me seems able, but I am at a loss. Unless I encounter it by chance in its natural habitat, I have no opportunity to study it.
Sorry, this is a weird blog, but it's just a thought before I go to sleep. 1:13 AM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove | |
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| Sunday, March 26, 2006 | Irish Car Bomb?
Current mood:  amused
Category: Parties and Nightlife My friend Stephanie posted this blog this morning, so I thought I would spread the love. We really did come up with this last night. People are stupid, especially ones who cut in front of you in the bathroom line and expect you not to say anything because they're going in the stall together. Yuck. They cut in line and then they called me a bitch because I said something - the world is a strange place. So anyway, here's a drink in their (the stupid people who come out of the proverbial woodwork on Saturday nights) honour. This is what Stephanie wrote:
In honor of the raging idjits that have been frequenting our usual watering hole, Claire and I devised a nasty drink for them. Especially for the morons who order a "car crash" and then get upset when the bartender has no clue what they are talking about.
So, Claire came up with a name "Scottish fender bender" and then we came up with a recipe. Here goes:
Scottish Fender Bender
1/2 shot Drambuie
1/2 shot Scotch
10oz Tennants
Fill a shot glass with Drambuie and Scotch. Drop shot glass into pint glass with Tennants. Drink quickly. Then politely excuse yourself and throw up in the bushes outside.
 | Currently listening :
Speed Up/Slow Down
By South
Release date: 23 August, 2005  | 12:17 PM - 2 Comments - 3 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove | |
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| Thursday, March 23, 2006 | Teenage Lust
Current mood:  giddy So in my old age and boringness, I had almost forgotten what it's like to have a crush. I have recently been reminded. I've felt like I'm sixteen. I'm tempted to doodle his name on my notebooks inside little hearts. I've already called all my friends and giggled and gushed like a teenager. They're sick of hearing it now, so now I must gush to myspace.
I'm just enjoying the crush for its own sake, not for where it might take me or what it might do. It's a wonderful heady feeling but it's highly impractical, improbable and unfeasable. Who cares though, right? What's wrong with a girl just enjoying herself and living in the day? Wait, don't answer that - if there is anything wrong with that, I would rather exist in innocent bliss.  | Currently listening :
Awake Is the New Sleep
By Ben Lee
Release date: 22 February, 2005 | | |
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