So tonight I grabbed the bull by the horns and I went to my first alumni event. I had forgotten a little how much I really am head over heels in love with my former university. I was very apprehensive initially because I did not know anyone else who is going, but over the years, talking the ears off of complete strangers has become a specialty of mine. I just love to meet new people and hear what they have to say.
Everyone was sooo friendly and they swarmed me because a) I was the youngest person there by at least 10 years and b) apparently I hold the magic key to mobilizing other recent graduates to get involved.
Regardless, the speaker was fascinating (An analyst and statistician for the elections bureau of a major news outlet. He says that Obama is going to win without a doubt unless something unpredictable happens in this country in the next two weeks.) and the conversation was scintillating. The time really flew and I barely wanted to leave.
At the end we sang our school "fight" song. I nearly teared up (SAP! I know I am... can't help it). I really did forget how much love and pride I have for my school. It also makes me miss it. But through my alumni network, I know that wherever I go, there is always a little bit of Penn there somewhere.
I left practically giddy and felt very fulfilled. Even if I did unwittingly agree to interviewing college applicants and helping to plan future events.
Here's a toast to dear old Penn.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Gyms are for Working Out, Not for Working It...
So a quick post before I head out on this starting to get chilly Friday night.
I have been working crazy hours these past few weeks and have not been making it to the gym. Therefore, I have been irritable, tired, out of shape, fat-feeling, etc. So when I finally get to the gym in time to train last night, I was excited. Until, much to my chagrin, I spotted a horde of stiletto-clad, plastic-surgeried, short-skirted and dressed to the nines Short Hills woman parading through the front door of my gym. I contemplated getting back in my car and just quitting while I was ahead. Apparently, the gym was hosting a cocktail party/fashion to benefit breast cancer awareness - a good cause, yes - but I am at the gym, not the club. I go to the gym to relax, to get out my aggression, to escape the world. The last thing I needed was loud obnoxious decked out women parading around when I'm breaking a sweat. It really threw me for a loop. The workout was unfulfilling and I just could not focus. I deal with those kinds of "trendy" events for work on a regular basis and my all-consuming work was exactly what I had gone to the gym to get away from.
Another thing I don't like is when people go to the gym with the goal of making a love connection or try to pick up people at the gym. My friends are the gym are always pointing out trainers or gym-goers who they think are cute (which is mind boggling in itself being that there are about eleven men total in this gym) and I just don't get it. When I go to the gym I am either just waking up after a long night out or I am coming directly from work. I'm tired, I'm wearing workout attire, I generally am not wearing makeup and throughout my workout I become sweatty and smelly - what part of that combination would anyone find attractive? The LAST thing I want to do is find a man at the gym.
Besides, I'd like to think that I am so focused on my workout that I'm not paying attention to anything going on around me. Which is exactly why the whole fashion show debacle threw me for a loop by messing with my concentration.
I have been working crazy hours these past few weeks and have not been making it to the gym. Therefore, I have been irritable, tired, out of shape, fat-feeling, etc. So when I finally get to the gym in time to train last night, I was excited. Until, much to my chagrin, I spotted a horde of stiletto-clad, plastic-surgeried, short-skirted and dressed to the nines Short Hills woman parading through the front door of my gym. I contemplated getting back in my car and just quitting while I was ahead. Apparently, the gym was hosting a cocktail party/fashion to benefit breast cancer awareness - a good cause, yes - but I am at the gym, not the club. I go to the gym to relax, to get out my aggression, to escape the world. The last thing I needed was loud obnoxious decked out women parading around when I'm breaking a sweat. It really threw me for a loop. The workout was unfulfilling and I just could not focus. I deal with those kinds of "trendy" events for work on a regular basis and my all-consuming work was exactly what I had gone to the gym to get away from.
Another thing I don't like is when people go to the gym with the goal of making a love connection or try to pick up people at the gym. My friends are the gym are always pointing out trainers or gym-goers who they think are cute (which is mind boggling in itself being that there are about eleven men total in this gym) and I just don't get it. When I go to the gym I am either just waking up after a long night out or I am coming directly from work. I'm tired, I'm wearing workout attire, I generally am not wearing makeup and throughout my workout I become sweatty and smelly - what part of that combination would anyone find attractive? The LAST thing I want to do is find a man at the gym.
Besides, I'd like to think that I am so focused on my workout that I'm not paying attention to anything going on around me. Which is exactly why the whole fashion show debacle threw me for a loop by messing with my concentration.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
You know it's going to be a long week when...
So it's Monday night. I have been to the gym twice in the past two weeks. Work is insanity and I am insanity without the gym. Monday night I work until 8:30 and rush home for the one thing that can brighten my week in a second: The New York Football Giants.
We go into the game against the Cleveland Browns with a 4-0 record. Respectable for the defending Super Bowl champs. With a win against the ailing Browns we grab a two game lead. Somehow, Eli decides to be the interception king, the Giants decide to take a nap both offensively and defensively and the Browns run the Giants up and down the field for a decisive victory.
How? The 1-3 Browns? Seriously? It is maddening to me. Did the Giants feel the need to remind everyone that they really still are the Giants that I have known my whole life? They don't have to remind me. It's been painful enough over the years to watch the drubbings and the squandered leads. The Super Bowl run last year was a lifelong fan's ultimate redemption.
Monday was very sad for me. I needed something to lift my spirits and instead my team let me down. The rest of the week has followed suit. I am exhausted and dejected.
All I know is we better beat SF on Sunday or else I may no longer be "ridin' the bandwagon." (Okay, okay... I know I threaten but I would NEVER abandon my team. They are my life.)
We go into the game against the Cleveland Browns with a 4-0 record. Respectable for the defending Super Bowl champs. With a win against the ailing Browns we grab a two game lead. Somehow, Eli decides to be the interception king, the Giants decide to take a nap both offensively and defensively and the Browns run the Giants up and down the field for a decisive victory.
How? The 1-3 Browns? Seriously? It is maddening to me. Did the Giants feel the need to remind everyone that they really still are the Giants that I have known my whole life? They don't have to remind me. It's been painful enough over the years to watch the drubbings and the squandered leads. The Super Bowl run last year was a lifelong fan's ultimate redemption.
Monday was very sad for me. I needed something to lift my spirits and instead my team let me down. The rest of the week has followed suit. I am exhausted and dejected.
All I know is we better beat SF on Sunday or else I may no longer be "ridin' the bandwagon." (Okay, okay... I know I threaten but I would NEVER abandon my team. They are my life.)
Blogger troubles...
Just for the record, I need to say that it took me about a half hour to log into blog. Yes, it has been a long week, but still! Ugh. Glad I'm here now.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
The Gym.
Thinking that nobody will ever read these posts puts me in an interesting position because I feel that I can just ramble about all of the useless things I think about or react to in the world and discuss things that are important to me and nobody else.
I love my gym. In fact, my life is often planned around my gym schedule. My gym is called Can Do and it is a magical place. Now I am not the kind of person who can just walk into the gym, hop on the elliptical and do my thing for two hours. I need to be instructed, I need to be yelled at, and usually, I just plain need to have my butt kicked. So I take classes. Ah yes, the dreaded aerobics classes. But these are no aerobics classes - I dance twice a week, kickbox once, take step once (yes, it is outdated, but my friend and instructor, Amy, is fantastic and makes up intricate and challenging choreography), take "muscle definition" twice, take "on the ball" once and work once with my personal trainer (god of all personal training gods).
Now, don't get my wrong, the fantastic classes keep me coming but, what really does it is the fact that I have a large group of friends at the gym. In fact, these people have become some of my best friends who I talk to and hang out with outside the gym. You better believe that if I miss class one day that I will have at least one text or voicemail yelling at me and asking where I am.
The gym is like a second home for me. I feel very comfortable there. Yes, the workouts are grueling, but they are also enjoyable. Beyond that, I love being with my friends and acting like idiots. It is definitely the most motivating workout environment. And trust me, if you knew me or have ever seen my body, you'd know that when it comes to the gym, I need A LOT of motivation.
I've thought about what would happen if I ever decided to move away from where I currently live and I just don't know what I would do. It would really make me depressed. In a weird way, my gym is the number one thing keeping me rooted to my current geographic location. People say it is sick how dedicated I am to my gym - not venturing far from home Friday nights so that I am assured I will be at the gym at 9 a.m. on Saturday, not going out during the week because I have gym classes to attend and constantly hanging out with my gym friends - but for me, it is an active community of which I am part and it is primarily responsible for my physical and mental wellbeing. It really isn't something I can even put into words... you have to experience it to understand, and I hope to be able to enjoy this luxury for a long time to come.
I love my gym. In fact, my life is often planned around my gym schedule. My gym is called Can Do and it is a magical place. Now I am not the kind of person who can just walk into the gym, hop on the elliptical and do my thing for two hours. I need to be instructed, I need to be yelled at, and usually, I just plain need to have my butt kicked. So I take classes. Ah yes, the dreaded aerobics classes. But these are no aerobics classes - I dance twice a week, kickbox once, take step once (yes, it is outdated, but my friend and instructor, Amy, is fantastic and makes up intricate and challenging choreography), take "muscle definition" twice, take "on the ball" once and work once with my personal trainer (god of all personal training gods).
Now, don't get my wrong, the fantastic classes keep me coming but, what really does it is the fact that I have a large group of friends at the gym. In fact, these people have become some of my best friends who I talk to and hang out with outside the gym. You better believe that if I miss class one day that I will have at least one text or voicemail yelling at me and asking where I am.
The gym is like a second home for me. I feel very comfortable there. Yes, the workouts are grueling, but they are also enjoyable. Beyond that, I love being with my friends and acting like idiots. It is definitely the most motivating workout environment. And trust me, if you knew me or have ever seen my body, you'd know that when it comes to the gym, I need A LOT of motivation.
I've thought about what would happen if I ever decided to move away from where I currently live and I just don't know what I would do. It would really make me depressed. In a weird way, my gym is the number one thing keeping me rooted to my current geographic location. People say it is sick how dedicated I am to my gym - not venturing far from home Friday nights so that I am assured I will be at the gym at 9 a.m. on Saturday, not going out during the week because I have gym classes to attend and constantly hanging out with my gym friends - but for me, it is an active community of which I am part and it is primarily responsible for my physical and mental wellbeing. It really isn't something I can even put into words... you have to experience it to understand, and I hope to be able to enjoy this luxury for a long time to come.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
A sexist sports double standard
In my life, I have found that a there is a gender double standard that I keep encountering. I am not always ladylike, but I am undeniably a lady. I am also an obsessive sports fan.
There is hardly a sport I do not like. I have played tennis nearly my entire life, I live for watching football - primarily NFL football, The Olympics take over my life when they are on, March Madness makes me useless for an entire month, I have recently become a fan of MMA and I could go on listing the sports I love to play or watch. Essentially, with all of the sports I love to watch, I could waste away my life doing that and little else. And I would be happy.
It is natural for men and boys to spend Sundays and frankly any other day for that matter in front of the TV, cheering like mad for their favorite teams (or rooting against their mosted hated teams). Women will complain, but in the end, this behavior is accepted as "how it is."
However, when I, as a woman, decide to devote several hours or a day or a weekend to feeding my fandom, I am treated like a freak. My mother (yes, I am temporarily living at home with my mother) yells at me to "get off the couch and do something productive" or she'll say, "Why are you watching this game? Your team isn't even playing!" etc. My little brother is a talented baseball player but he has come to dislike football for the hold it has over my attention on Saturdays and Sundays and Mondays. Forget about my friends - the girls are uninterested and the guys hate my devotion to my hobby, whether they are intimidated or unaccepting of a girl into their sports-watching "boys club," I am unsure, but they want little to do with me when it comes to sports. Even my father, who is a fellow sports fan, doesn't seem to get it.
But that's just it. Do they not get it? Or can they not accept a female being so committed to following her favorite sports?
I am very very far from being a feminist. I hate the "contributions" of the female sports commentators and feel that sports would have been better off had someone not decided to add them into the mix. Quite frankly, I could care less what Eli Manning told his team in the locker room before the game or what he carries as a lucky charm. However, I am bothered by the fact that many guys can devote a significant amount of time to watching sports and following their favorite teams and not much is thought about it. But, when I want to spend my Sundays in a blue and white #10 jersey screaming like a banshee even when the G-Men have a bye week, I shouldn't be made to feel like I am committing a cardinal sin. I wholeheartedly believe I get the reaction I do because I am a girl.
I'm sure I will have more on this later. Should anyone happen to stumble across this post, please comment. I'd love to hear what you think.
There is hardly a sport I do not like. I have played tennis nearly my entire life, I live for watching football - primarily NFL football, The Olympics take over my life when they are on, March Madness makes me useless for an entire month, I have recently become a fan of MMA and I could go on listing the sports I love to play or watch. Essentially, with all of the sports I love to watch, I could waste away my life doing that and little else. And I would be happy.
It is natural for men and boys to spend Sundays and frankly any other day for that matter in front of the TV, cheering like mad for their favorite teams (or rooting against their mosted hated teams). Women will complain, but in the end, this behavior is accepted as "how it is."
However, when I, as a woman, decide to devote several hours or a day or a weekend to feeding my fandom, I am treated like a freak. My mother (yes, I am temporarily living at home with my mother) yells at me to "get off the couch and do something productive" or she'll say, "Why are you watching this game? Your team isn't even playing!" etc. My little brother is a talented baseball player but he has come to dislike football for the hold it has over my attention on Saturdays and Sundays and Mondays. Forget about my friends - the girls are uninterested and the guys hate my devotion to my hobby, whether they are intimidated or unaccepting of a girl into their sports-watching "boys club," I am unsure, but they want little to do with me when it comes to sports. Even my father, who is a fellow sports fan, doesn't seem to get it.
But that's just it. Do they not get it? Or can they not accept a female being so committed to following her favorite sports?
I am very very far from being a feminist. I hate the "contributions" of the female sports commentators and feel that sports would have been better off had someone not decided to add them into the mix. Quite frankly, I could care less what Eli Manning told his team in the locker room before the game or what he carries as a lucky charm. However, I am bothered by the fact that many guys can devote a significant amount of time to watching sports and following their favorite teams and not much is thought about it. But, when I want to spend my Sundays in a blue and white #10 jersey screaming like a banshee even when the G-Men have a bye week, I shouldn't be made to feel like I am committing a cardinal sin. I wholeheartedly believe I get the reaction I do because I am a girl.
I'm sure I will have more on this later. Should anyone happen to stumble across this post, please comment. I'd love to hear what you think.
Welcome to me...
Wow...
Ok, so I guess this officially makes me a blogger! I can honestly say that I never intended to start a blog. Blogs are cool... very new media-ish. I like reading them. I've thought about what I would say if I had one. But I really never intended to have one of my own.
Enter Tom Coyne. The incredible head of my company who gave us all an assignment in a staff meeting today - start a blog. I mean the man is a PR visionary... you can't really say "no" to a genius.
Regardless, here I am. Jumping on the blog bandwagon. Hence the name of my blog.
With this rambling post I can already tell how uninteresting this will wind up being for anyone who stumbles upon this blog. Hopefully I will, at some point, find something to bring to the table.
For now... welcome to my blog!
Ok, so I guess this officially makes me a blogger! I can honestly say that I never intended to start a blog. Blogs are cool... very new media-ish. I like reading them. I've thought about what I would say if I had one. But I really never intended to have one of my own.
Enter Tom Coyne. The incredible head of my company who gave us all an assignment in a staff meeting today - start a blog. I mean the man is a PR visionary... you can't really say "no" to a genius.
Regardless, here I am. Jumping on the blog bandwagon. Hence the name of my blog.
With this rambling post I can already tell how uninteresting this will wind up being for anyone who stumbles upon this blog. Hopefully I will, at some point, find something to bring to the table.
For now... welcome to my blog!
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