Just a few requests (cough, alright gripes) for people who go to the gym. I'm usually pretty zoned out at the gym. Total tunnel vision, concentrating on my workout and my breathing, in my own sweaty (TMI) bubble. But I do observe some behaviors that...well, I just have to blog about.
What precipitated me writing this? Hmm, probably the man who played musical treadmills tonight. I'm at the gym, headed straight for an empty row of treadmills. I go to one in the middle. Four treadmills to my left, a man starts clodding on the machine. He gets off and gets onto another one. Five seconds later, he moves to another one...and another....and another. He ends up right next to me. Seriously? All I could think about was Goldilocks sampling the porridge and beds of the three bears.
Here are some others:
1. Get off your cell phone. If you can talk and laugh, you're not working hard enough.
2. Spit out your gum. If you're smacking, popping or blowing bubbles, you're not working hard enough.
3. Wipe off the machines. I thank you if I were a CSI, but unfortunately I'm not, and I don't want to see or accidently touch your sweat.
4. Zip it. No one cares to hear your loud and annoying chatter. (Also, no one cares to listen to you try and sing out loud what's on your earphones.)
5. Bathe and do laundry. I get it, it's a gym. But there are also things called soap and deodorant. And ladies, there may be a "club" in your gym's name, but that doesn't mean you should treat it as a "club" and douse yourself in toxic perfume or air-freshener scented lotions. Clean gym clothes are always nice.
Stay tuned for my "requests" for drivers.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
A Picture Says a Thousand Words
Priceless. A freeze frame of me anchoring a story about Bush and the economy. I think my face says it all. To be fair, I was reading the story, and my friend happened to find this clip of me.Click on the image for a better view.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
The Express Line
As I stood in the checkout line this morning at Safeway, waiting to pay for my fruit, milk and cereal, I didn't think the Express Line was going to take long as it did. There were two customers in front me: the first had a bag of Tostitos chips and the second, two flats of water and baby wipes. There was a hold up in the line. I thought it was just a simple matter of the chips being scanned twice. But that wasn't the case.
The customer, an Asian man in his late 50s or so, was trying to tell the checker that the chips were only suppose to cost $1.77, instead of the $3, or something. The woman standing next to him, I assume his wife, looked confused. She didn't say anything. As the checker tried to explain to the man that he got his discount from his Safeway Club Card, he kept on insisting that his separate cut-out coupon on top of his Club Card should have made the final cost $1.77. As the minutes went on, the transaction continued. I picked up on the fact that he didn't speak English well, and was trying to understand why the total didn't turn out to be the same as the three numbers on the coupon. The guy in front of me picked up the Enquirer and the little kid behind me picked up a copy as well. (I let out a little giggle when I saw that). I thumbed through an issue of Vogue. I admit, I was a little frustrated.
But as I stood there, superficially flipping through the glossy pages of Vogue, I was listening to the man with the chips. I think he honestly believed that he was overcharged. He and his wife glanced over at the growing line and looked embarrassed. He placed his hand on a neck and gave a nervous smile. I wanted to mouth the words, "it's okay," but part of me was also annoyed. I was foolishly impatient.
After 10 minutes or so, it was finally understood that you needed to buy two bags of Tostitos, to get a deal. There was a twofer deal with the Club Card, and with the Sunday paper coupon, you could get a third bag for $1.77. (...or something like that.) The man and the woman walked away, I don't know if they went back to get the other two bags of chips or if they left.
Every day, we read and hear stories about people affected by the recession. Families having to foreclose their homes, kids putting off college and people losing their jobs. On print, we know these people by their names. On television, we hear sound bytes from them. But we all know someone on a first-name basis who has lost a job, lost a home, lost their savings. I'm seeing more people -- strangers -- affected by the down economy. They're not people I know, or read about, they're people I see. People who stand in line in front me at the grocery store.
The customer, an Asian man in his late 50s or so, was trying to tell the checker that the chips were only suppose to cost $1.77, instead of the $3, or something. The woman standing next to him, I assume his wife, looked confused. She didn't say anything. As the checker tried to explain to the man that he got his discount from his Safeway Club Card, he kept on insisting that his separate cut-out coupon on top of his Club Card should have made the final cost $1.77. As the minutes went on, the transaction continued. I picked up on the fact that he didn't speak English well, and was trying to understand why the total didn't turn out to be the same as the three numbers on the coupon. The guy in front of me picked up the Enquirer and the little kid behind me picked up a copy as well. (I let out a little giggle when I saw that). I thumbed through an issue of Vogue. I admit, I was a little frustrated.
But as I stood there, superficially flipping through the glossy pages of Vogue, I was listening to the man with the chips. I think he honestly believed that he was overcharged. He and his wife glanced over at the growing line and looked embarrassed. He placed his hand on a neck and gave a nervous smile. I wanted to mouth the words, "it's okay," but part of me was also annoyed. I was foolishly impatient.
After 10 minutes or so, it was finally understood that you needed to buy two bags of Tostitos, to get a deal. There was a twofer deal with the Club Card, and with the Sunday paper coupon, you could get a third bag for $1.77. (...or something like that.) The man and the woman walked away, I don't know if they went back to get the other two bags of chips or if they left.
Every day, we read and hear stories about people affected by the recession. Families having to foreclose their homes, kids putting off college and people losing their jobs. On print, we know these people by their names. On television, we hear sound bytes from them. But we all know someone on a first-name basis who has lost a job, lost a home, lost their savings. I'm seeing more people -- strangers -- affected by the down economy. They're not people I know, or read about, they're people I see. People who stand in line in front me at the grocery store.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Bach: Violin Sonata #1 in G, BWV 1001
I have Nathan Milstein's beautiful version of Bach's Violin Sonata #1 in G, BWV 1001 on repeat. It is my piece of the moment. It's simply a work of art. I've included the fourth part of the sonata, "Presto."
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
"Is that like, a restaurant?"
A funny phone conversation I had with my friend today that manifests I am a (Northern) California girl. Greg lives in Wyoming.
Me: So what are you doing today?
Greg: I'm driving up to Duncan Ranch.
Me: Is that like, a restaurant?
Greg: May, you've been in California too long when you think a ranch is a restaurant.
Me: Well, I don't know...I mean, there are animals and wooden fences. But, there's like a restaurant there too with like a wheel spoke out front, right?
Greg: (Laughs.)
Me: So what are you doing today?
Greg: I'm driving up to Duncan Ranch.
Me: Is that like, a restaurant?
Greg: May, you've been in California too long when you think a ranch is a restaurant.
Me: Well, I don't know...I mean, there are animals and wooden fences. But, there's like a restaurant there too with like a wheel spoke out front, right?
Greg: (Laughs.)
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