So I'm catching up on the RSS and one of the sites that often has some interesting stuff about Old Hollywood, Allen Ellenberger, had a story today about Hugh Jackman getting his star on the Walk of Fame.
I have a few things to say:
1. Jazzhands!!
2. This mismatched blue-on-blue ensemble is awful. Blah blah, burlap sack, yada yada.
3. Oh who am I kidding? All I can see is his package.
This week I learned a couple things I already knew but since I didn't have confirmation, could ignore.
I love chicken wings. C-Bus has decent ones everywhere, including our hospital cafeteria. I had always thought that if I just had 2 or three, that was moderation so Hooray for me!! NCH has started posting nutritional values of most of their offerings. A serving of 4 has 1060 calories and 101 g of fat. Wait, did I read that right? Holy cow! If I am "being good" I am having 75 g of fat!!?? I could slam down a pint of haagen dasz for that! Even 1 has 25!! I could go on, but since this math is pretty basic, you can figure out 2. So, I now assume they cook theirs in lard and continue to eat the 911 wings at the Lizard and the Mango Habanero at Gallo's.
I was getting dressed at the gym and there were 2 jock women chit-chatting in the locker room right next to my locker, because they apparently wanted to boost my self-image. Anywho, they started talking about the best spot for cardio. So they could people-watch and make fun of them. "The spot behind the pole is the best because you can see everything, especially the ________ at the ________." Great. Thanks. I thought I was only imagining it, but now that I know it was true I can be even more self-conscious.
Speaking of Doubt, I went to the library website to reserve Doubt the movie. The search engine is this discover thing where you can flow from one topic to the next. I thought the flow from this search was interesting:
doubt, faith, dooby, skepticism.
Go in the other direction and you get Douglas Adams.
I have had my Yahoo account since somewhere around '95. It has served me well, as folks always know where to find me, particularly helpful when I was more nomadic. I had to laugh on my past birthday getting reminders of the many mailing lists I've been on. This email address has been passed around like a one-hitter at a Phish show. I especially got a kick out of the last one. Click to biggify.
Every year @ valentine's day, I tell Mr S that I absolutely do not want flowers. While I appreciate the thought, I don't really like them (hate the smell) and I think V day is kinda dumb. So I woke up this morning to a dozen roses and an apology that there weren't enough of them. And a card with a caveman that he was veeeeerry proud of. How can I stop him from buying something I do not like if he won't listen to me? I know he thinks he is doing something good and I don't want to hurt his feelings, but what I really feel is insulted that he doesn't listen to me. The cats on the other hand, think they taste wonderful.
0545 this morning, Mitzi hops up on the bed and onto my chest. She paws at the covers to remove them from my face and sneezes at point blank range. Really? Thanks for sharing.
Truck no biggie.
Housejacking went off without a problem. Had to go down 33 feet to find solid ground. Very exciting to come home to no front steps and a 5-foot moat across the entire front of the house.
Door replacement by Lowes was really good with a few minor kinks. Apparently people still really like brass hardware. I only had 2 storm doors to choose from because I wanted nickel. The installer comes, tears out the entire frame puts it all back together, very snugly. Looks tight with our newly-level entrance. He had to stop by to install a part that was not working as expected. A few days before he was due back, I looked up and noticed that they had installed brass hinges with the nickel door hardware. What? You've got to be kidding me. Kinda thought that would be understood and I was never consulted about hinges. To Lowes' credit, they said they'd send him with the correct ones and fix us right up. He showed up to compete and they were the wrong size, although the correct non-ugly color. We got a call from our salesperson that he would be stopping by to change the hinges. Guess they figured they guy who made the initial mistake would fix it. I was really impressed with the whole project and will definitely use them again. Plus there is the added bonus that I now have a "Project Card". And Mr S doesn't. 
Our holidays began with Father asking me if I would mind hosting Christmas. 2 days before. Of course I didn't have to go to any trouble. Fine. Burgers and chips it is!! Just kidding, turkey and the standard squishy food. MMM I could go for some stuffing right about now. Us, Dad and Grandma, with the added bonus that G-Ma always stays over so I get some good quality time with a fabulous Octogenarian. Everything turned out tasty and perfectly timed, so life was good. G-Ma also helps with dishes so that was covered too. They left to visit, Mr S went to work and I hit the couch with pjs and some Just Pies pumpkin pie, the best in all the land.
Decided that the gym at work was too puny so I started looking at local fancy gyms. Urban Active is brand-new, the location is decent and they have a corporate discount so low $$.
Stopped in the preview center for one that hadn't opened yet and got the spiel. The girl wasn't making an immediate sale, so the guy came over like "I'm the musclebutt manager and she's just a girl". I wonder if they know how off-putting that is? I left with only a list of non-corporate prices and a tour of the ...picture of the gym. By the time I got home, the girl had called and said they did have a corporate membership. Could I come back in that night? Sorry, in general my home has a one-way door on weeknights. Once I'm home, I'm home.
Found out that the Gahanna location was already open and the corp membership was for all gyms so I could start up right away. Mr S and I went and told the saleguy that we just wanted a tour and we could skip the sales pitch. For once, they listened. A thing most gyms do is a "fitness assessment". Translation: sales pitch for personal trainers, of which they have an army. I meet this guy named Napoleon, um Terry. He sits me down, tells me how fat I am, asks me questions designed not to get info, but to humiliate me into paying for personal training sessions. He asked me what I hoped to gain from the session and I said I wanted him to show me how to use some of the machines safely. He said. And I quote: "You don't want to use the machines. You sit all day". I told him that I did indeed want to use the machines. He could show me 600 f&$king ball exercises and I wouldn't do one of them on my own. So then he proceeded to walk me through a workout made up entirely of ball exercises. A lovely bonus service was twice while he was "helping me up", he grunted as if under extreme stress from the sheer immensity of me. Totally out of proportion and after the 2nd time, I'm sure it was again intentional to shame me into a personal trainer. I then had to sit through him hard-selling me in to training, covering the spectrum of again ridiculing the magnitude of my girth to criticizing my income since I said I didn't want to pay. I did not purchase and the first thing I said to Mr S as we walked out the door was "I f%*king hate that guy!"
The following day, I called and asked to speak with the manager, with whom I had spoken at an NCH health fair. I told him about my experience. I was even nice. He said to come in the next morning and there was a person who could show me what I needed. That evening I got a call from Terry who said, while they do not train for free, he'd be happy to show me the machines. I said I'd prefer to work with someone else. he said he'd be happy to show me. I again said I'd prefer to work with somebody else. He asked why and I said I didn't feel particularly comfortable with him so I'd prefer to work with somebody else. He said we got along great. He'd be happy to work with me. 2 more times around this loop and he hung up saying "Fine. Come in at 6 tomorrow and you will work with somebody else!!!" For the life of me I can't figure out why I was so nice to such an asshat. The next evening I got a call from the "manager" of the trainers. He said to call him because "His people don't train for free." So called the manager manager and explained that I was just going to let it drop because at this point I was really soured on the whole gym thing. He said "I don't know why it is such a big deal. It is such a simple request. I'll be here in the morning whenever you want and I'll train you myself". I showed up the next morning and he showed me exactly what I needed in 30 minutes, was very friendly and that was that. I think he missed training. He was really good at it. He saved a membership and I love the gym, as long as the only person I have to talk to is that nice Allen up front. And I'm getting some serious butt muscles and can find my waist again.
