Attitude is everything

I've been watching Beauty And The Geek off and on since it started. The episode that was on tonight was the "geek makeover" episode that they have every season. In this episode the remaining geeks are sent to a salon for a total body makeover (hair cuts, facial hair trim, even chest & back waxing) and dressed in stylish clothes so they look amazingly different from the first few episodes. These guys are sometimes unfamiliar with basic hygiene (ie. never use deodorant, shower every few days, etc) so the transformation can be surprising and always for the better.

But this year one guy, Joe, was so upset with his transformation. He said it was disrespectful to his fashion sense and the style he liked to portray. This is one of the guys that had hygiene issues and desperately needed some fashion and basic cleanliness help. He was constantly complaining and bringing everyone within earshot down.

Watching this guy's attitude affect everyone around him made me realize how important one's attitude is to success in life. There's nothing wrong with vocalizing displeasure over something but letting it go on and on to the point that it's bringing other people down is unattractive and makes people want to keep their distance from you. There is so much to be learned from Beauty and the Geek LOL.

Something to look forward to

Vince & I went to the movie theater today. Before the movie they showed the world's shortest trailer for a documentary (about 10 seconds or so) but it was enough to peak my interest. So I went online to check out Spirit Of The Marathon. After seeing the trailer on the website, I not only knew I wanted to go see the documentary but I wanted to put my shoes on and go running right away. It was kind of like what I call the "Westminster Effect"... whenever I watch the Westminster dog show on TV I want to groom my dogs and take them to a dog show LOL.

The only thing is that Spirit Of The Marathon is showing on one night only... this coming Wednesday. I already had plans but they weren't set in stone so I can go see the documentary... yippee! I don't want to set my hopes up too high but if the show is as good as I expect then I'll be buying the DVD when it is released later this year. Stay tuned later in the week for a review.

The math of running

Last night I purchased the much a-stressed over running watch. This morning I decided to take it on a trial run (so to speak LOL). Once again I grabbed my iPod, put a leash on Mercedes, and we were out the door. I very quickly realized that the countdown feature on the watch (which was a big deal to me when I was buying it) was of very little use on a real life run because the chime/alarm can only be heard when the watch is fairly close to my ears - close enough that I can see the time on the watch. And if I can see the time on my watch then there is no need for an alarm to tell me that a minute has passed. Now, lest you blame the iPod, I must say that the iPod was turned down low.... just enough for me to hear the beat, when I was testing out the countdown feature on the watch.

So I turned off the coundown timer and just used the stopwatch for the run. It is set up to time how long it takes to run a lap and remembers up to 30 laps for future analysis. But since I'm running on the street and not on a track that really doesn't mean much to me.... I just plan a route and go. So the stopwatch is much fancier than I need.

But here is where the math comes in. I'll be picking up the pace a little in the coming weeks but for now I'm doing a run 1 min, walk 2 mins rotation. I found the easiest way to do that is to start running on every minute that is divisible by three. So I walked/warmed up for the first 3 mins. At the 3 minute mark I started running for a minute then switched to walking at the 4 minute mark. Then repeated the process starting at the 6 minute mark. So you can see that some simple math is involved especially when you are up around 25, 26, 27 minutes and have to remember (while running and tired) which number is divisible by 3 LOL. It'll be easier when I switch to run 1 min, walk 1 min as I can start running at the odd minutes and walking on the even minutes or vice versa. I guess this is where I earn the true title of "mathlete".

This story has a happy ending

Last night I decided to go shopping for a new running watch (see yesterday's post). I had a running watch a few years ago but seem to have lost it in one of my moves. I searched online to find one with the features I wanted and there were so many I just decided to go to Sportchek to see what they had in stock. I received Sportchek gift cards for my birthday so it made sense to go there first.

I looked at every watch available in Sportcheck but the only one that had what I wanted (basically, just a stopwatch and/or countdown timer... anything else was a bonus) was a Timex Ironman watch in the men's style (bulky, larger watch face). I knew this watch came in a women's version from my internet research and they said they could order one in for me but I didn't really want to wait if at all possible so I ventured into the mall to see if I could find a suitable watch to take home right away.

First stop was Foot Locker... they had no watches at all and recommended I look in Sportchek (thanks dude!). Second stop was The Source... they had stopwatches but no watches and recommended I look in Sportchek (thanks chick!). Third stop was Charmed Diamond Store... they had a few watches with the right features but the buttons were very small and tough/sticky to push. I didn't want to be fiddling with little buttons when running so I passed on them and the woman recommended I look in.... you guessed it... Sportchek! LOL. So I started walking back to Sportchek with the intention of buying the manly watch when I glanced out of the corner of my eye the entrance to Sears. I thought well, it doesn't hurt to look in there.

So off I went to the Sears jewelry counter when what should catch my eye but the exact same Timex Ironman watch that was in Sportchek but the ladies version :) So I played with it, set the timer to make sure it worked, made sure the buttons were easy to use (they were) and decided to purchase it. Just as I was reaching for my wallet the sales lady mentioned that all Timex watches were going on sale the next day for 35% off. SWEET! So they are holding my selection for me until this evening when I can go and buy it at a lovely discount. I'm looking forward to picking it up.

Running running running

Last night I turned on my iPod, put a leash on Mercedes, and went out for a little run. By "little run" I literally mean that I didn't run for long. We were gone for about 25 minutes and in that time ran for about 6 of those minutes. In that time I also warmed up, cooled down, stopped to pick up Mercedes poop... twice!, and stopped to tie my shoes. So the running portion only came in one minute spurts sporadically throughout the duration. However, I'm proud of myself for doing it.

I have Sarah to thank for the idea/inspiration. We are planning to do a 5K run together at the end of June and another one at the beginning of October. Next year I'd like to do the 8K "Ladiesfest" run in June. I've contemplated doing that run for a few years but have always felt unprepared for it. The 8K part doesn't worry me but the course elevation (going down into the coulees and back up again) sounds overwhelming.

So it looks like I'll need to buy a running watch again... the kind that has a stopwatch and alarm on it. Luckily I got some Sportchek gift cards for my birthday last week :D

Changing Names - another rant :)

When I got married I kept my maiden name. My reasons for doing so are personal but for completeness of blog entry I shall list them here.....

1. I like my maiden name. This is not to say that I DISLIKE my husband's last name... simply stating that I like my current last name.
2. I received my education in my maiden name and therefore all diplomas, certificates, transcripts, etc are in my maiden name.
3. When I got married I had been an employed professional (since I got my bachelor's degree) for about 7 years and had been known as my maiden name in that capacity. So for professional (networking) reasons I wanted to keep my maiden name.
4. I have worked hard and advertised quite heavily as Mercedes' breeder/owner/handler in my maiden name.
5. I saw what a co-worker/friend went through a couple of years ago when she divorced and had to change her name on all official documents and even with the phone company, bank, etc. It was a huge struggle for her that took, in some cases, months to complete. Who needs the unnecessary headache?

Any one of the above reasons is, to me, strong enough to make the case for not changing my name but when all 5 were combined the decision was a very easy one and I opted to keep my maiden name. All 5 arguements basically come down to professional & paperwork issues. So the implication from some that I am either A. not really married or B. married but not committed to my husband because I didn't change my name is both crazy and highly offensive!

Just because I chose to keep my maiden name does not in any way mean that I do not love my husband. It is a personal choice and one which no one should judge. I actually had one in-law say that when I switched jobs (which I did about 5 months after I got married) that I could change my name then. This woman clearly had no concept of being a professional working woman as now I had even MORE reason to hang on to my maiden name as networking with old co-workers would be even more complicated if I changed my name.

Now, having said all this, I realize that many of the judgements and questions have come because of living in Southern Alberta. Although not unheard of for a woman to keep her maiden name when getting married I think it is still very uncommon and certainly much more uncommon than in larger cities. I remember a co-worker in Calgary got married a few years ago and his wife kept her maiden name.... no one seemed to bat an eye at her decision at all. I guess that's why it came as such a surprise when so many people questioned my decision and passed judgements based on it.

Well, it has been a while

I know, I know, it has been a long time since I updated my blog. Basically what happened was I found facebook and figured my blog rantings could just be posted there as notes. But ya know what? That didn't really happen. So I'm back baby. :)

There's just so much I have to say. I have many rants stored inside me that need to come out. The first one is about one of my pet peeves.... when people say "if I can do it, you/anyone can do it". I suppose this is supposed to be motivational, as if to say I am weak and found the strength so I know you have the strength in you because you are not as weak as me. But the unsaid portion of the statement is I found the strength to do something that "anyone" can do so if you don't do it then there is something lacking in you. It's just negativity in my life that is unnecessary.

And we see this statement everywhere... usually in weight loss or exercise commercials as part of their sales pitch. If some stranger says to me that if they can do something then anyone can do it, it actually turns me completely off their product. There is a level of arrogance in it. It's as if they are challenging me to do what they did. Well I'm simply not interested in meeting the challenge of a stranger in a 30 second commercial and spending hundreds or thousands of dollars to do so. I just don't care enough. And they just irritated me enough to change the channel too.