Crap

So, I haven’t written in awhile. I have realized that sometimes I just don’t have anything interesting or inspiring to ponder. I would love to be one of those people who can blog every day and have something significant to contribute to the world but alas, I understand my limitations. That’s not meant to be depressing or self-deprecating. I might just be going through a mid-life crisis. Today I am reflecting on a myriad of topics. I’m actually not sure that I can pull them together into a sort of engaging epiphany that is my usual style of blog. Ah well. Perhaps today I am just not at my best.

I think the first thing that I am pondering is that I only have so many topics that I think about and that I need to express in order to work through. Honestly, if you have read my blog at all, you pretty much have the sum total of what I think about on a regular basis. Well, excluding current pop culture and Star Wars analysis – but no one really wants to read about that. So really, the total of my thoughts can be summed up rather simply:
1. How can I improve my physical appearance, or accept what I’ve got?
2. Money Sucks and by extension so does everything that costs me money.
3. Talking myself into believing that I am above my past history.

Throw in a few references to education and rants about bureaucracy and you have the total of what I think about. I’m not sure how I feel about that. In some ways it makes me feel a bit shallow or at the very least a bit boring.


I visited a web site today during my dull vacation (see 2). It was called Right To Play (http://www.righttoplay.com/site/PageServer) Anyway, it is a neat organization that tries to help developing nations with difficulties such as HIV/AIDs and education through the use of sport. Evidently there are many Olympic athletes involved with this charity. One can volunteer to work with this organization. It looked really cool. Anyway, I mention this because I’m interested even though I am not into a specific sport. However, recently I have longed to be an athlete (see 1). I just thought this site was really cool and I’ve been thinking all day about a way to incorporate it into some of the things I teach. For example, with the push for character education initiatives surely getting the school involved with a group such as this would be exciting. I think though that I am a bit jaded because when I think of all the red-tape involved with getting involved with an organization such as this...(insert rant about bureaucracy here) Ah well, check it out.

Another focus I have had lately is The 30 Day Shred. Here is someone else who describes it well (http://ashisfit.blogspot.com/2008/07/30-day-shred-review.html). If you search around on the internet you can find some before and after pictures that demonstrate that this video really works. I can tell you that it is killer, but that it is a fantastic workout. You actually do see results fairly quickly. However, it is not for those who want results with little effort. This baby is something you have to be ready to do. You will hurt and you will seriously sweat. You can’t do it half-assed. I love it. Seriously. And I loathe working out, but this makes me feel powerful. Hey, I’m all about the praise and the challenge. If you are competitive like me you will find that this video makes you want to prove you can do it. In about 15-20 days or so I may have the courage to post my before and after pictures.

This is one of my more unfocussed posts. However, I recently found out that my Dad has to go in for more heart tests and procedures at the end of August. This stresses me out significantly. I’m trying desperately to cope better with stress but lately, even though I am on vacation I am not dealing with these things well. Between worry about that and the concern about the work I have to do before school starts I am starting to feel ill. I am also going to miss important parts of the week before school starts because I am going to accompany my family to these tests. I am not complaining about being there for my Mom and Dad when they need me, not at all. That is what I have to do. Let’s face it if I wasn’t there, I wouldn’t accomplish much those days anyway, because I’d be worried. I just have to be prepared to accept that there are things that I am not going to be able to participate in or complete during the week before school. I need to not feel personally responsible for that. Life and family comes before my job...and I can’t ,or rather, shouldn’t feel badly when important things in my life mean that I can’t complete /participate in things at work in a perfect way. However, just thinking about that gets my heart-rate up and I start to feel the beginnings of anxiety. Obviously, I need better coping skills.
For my last unfocussed moment, I just watched a home alarm system commercial. Talk about fear inducing. There is a home, and expensive home in a nice neighbourhood somewhere in the states. This home looks like something that only a high-powered executive could afford, or a dual – income family where both breadwinners are doctors. It is obviously landscaped by a gardener. The husband leaves for work and sets the home alarm. A suspicious looking guy dressed in a black workout suit, with a buzz type haircut waits outside for the husband to leave. Once the husband has done so and the Stepford wife and her perfectly coiffed daughter have a quiet moment, the suspicious criminal kicks down the door and the alarm goes off. Thanks to the alarm the mother and daughter can run up the stairs to answer the phone and tell the alarm company what has just happened. The criminal is scared away by the loud noises and all is well. I wonder how often this happens. Talk about selling fear. I won’t even get into the underlying messages in this commercial. Oh okay I will. How about the fact that in this upper class neighbourhood even the criminals are white males who are athletic and well coiffed? How about the fact that the people living in this home definitely fit the rich suburban white stereotype? People who make less money and who live in smaller, more modest homes are not at risk for home invasion by the way. Interestingly enough people who are not white who live in this area are not at risk for home invasion either. Oh, and by the way, apparently this alarm system will contribute to your family being well adjusted and happy...no yelling at the breakfast table. Furthermore, this is an American company. Why would you need an alarm system...don’t they all own guns to protect their property? (Bad, bad blogger and Michael Moore fan.)

Do you see what 1, 2, and 3 has led to?