Pentagenarians & Beyond: W/B 6/10

fox2star

fox2star

Cathlete
Good morning all,

The trial was fun yesterday, I was manning the auction table for most of the day. I got to watch all the dogs, which is different from when I have to work in a particular ring. Then you only get to see those dogs run.

Keegan was measured for the second measurement requirement for AKC agility and made the cutoff for jumping 16 inches!!
banana016.gif
If he did not, I would not be entering him in AKC agility, since it would be nasty having him jump 20 inches.

As for the Little Guy, he is falling behind a Border Collie, ( of all things!) and needs a big push of votes to get him caught up. I vote multiple times a day, and if you have multiple browsers, ( I have Internet Explorer and Safari) you can vote on each. Also, you can use multiple devices. This is nerve wracking, I want to see him win, but the damn contest is too long. I think it said it goes to July 31!!
icon_eek.gif
...crazy. please vote again...http://www.takeyourdog.com/Gallery/photo-detail/2036/Company-Secrets-Secure

Valerie, good job on STS 2!

Joan, sad about the waiter, and how he was found. My friend died last Saturday, but she had a housemate, ( another friend) and at least she was found in the morning, after she had died. She was only 58. You are so right about how things have changed. My co-workers and I have all kinds of "tales" about what it was like where we are working 30-40 years ago. The "kids" as we call them shake their heads in disbelief. When I was hired as an analyst. the men were paid higher ( nothing new there) but they also kept us on separte sides of the room, with a half wall between us, not sure what that was about, keep fraternazation down or something? :rolleyes:. The employees today do not know how good they have it, but now I am sounding like an old fuddy-duddy...;)

It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day, at least right now.
sun.gif
I want to get a workout in, and there are lots on the HouseMax list. My spelt is made, Fritz ( bird) cleaned, lots left to do. I need to get out and attach those pesky weeds as well.. **sighs** it's never done.

Take care,
 
Hi Deb, Joan, and Valerie--

This morning I did STS Total Body (66 min.).

Still have a bit of congestion, but I am feeling much, much better. When my eyes stop watering then I know the cold is on its way out.

Deb, I can't vote again on this computer, but I did vote on DH's. They say "You already voted" when I try. Sounds like Keegan is a real athlete.

Joan, I have a lot of stories about sexism in academia. But also about mentoring by senior male colleagues. The women students who take courses from me know that I'm a feminist, so I don't get the ones who think they will be able to get a good job, then drop out when they marry and have kids, and return to the job market and resume their initial career where they left off. You can tell them the world doesn't work like that, but it falls on deaf ears. They just don't know how little control they have over the shape of their lives and the consequences of the choices they make about career aspirations, marriage, and kids. I did not have children until I had my first book published, and it was a good thing, because after they were born, I did not have time to do scholarly work in addition to teaching and spending time with them. I didn't really get back to my own work until they were teenagers and somewhat independent.

Hi to Valerie!
 
I was remembering when "help wanted" ads were divided into "men" and "women". I'm sure you all remember that too.....it seems so crazy now. I remember getting into an argument with my manager at the grocery store where I worked about getting a job slicing and wrapping cheese. the job paid more than a checker, but it was a "mans job" so I couldn't even apply for it.
No gym facilities in H.S. there was a girls gym "section", but it was closed to us and given to the boys whenever they needed to practice. the girls got locked out of the one crummy little section they had!

They used to complain ( at the hospital where I did my Medical Technology internship) about the girls skirts being "too short". this was 1969 or so. I found a pants uniform and wore it the next day to work and the chief pathologist got a glimpse and came after me like he was going to throw me out the 10th floor window. I was faster than he was and ducked into a room and laid low until things cooled off. no official words ever were uttered about it. I wore it often, and many other women started wearing them too. so many things were way more important, but those two ridiculous things come to mind first. so silly. people always saying getting their "MRS" degree came first.

Think just for a minute how "cathe" workouts would have been perceived back then!
 
Good morning,

Not too much going on here. I have to take a sample in for Keegan, keep your fingers crossed etc, for no infection or inflammation. Poor little guy. I sure hope it is ok this time. I don't want to have to put him back on that bladder drug. He acts fine, no signs of UTI etc.

Garance, funny, you can't vote again on a differnt day? I just wait a couple of hours, and I can vote twice, once using Internet Explorer, then again using Safari. ( that is the Apple browser that I have on my Pc for some reason). So basically if I was here I could vote 6 times a day.

Valerie, funny story, looking back but I bet not funny then. Things were so different. The men used to get an automatic raise when they got married. They had a family to take care of now right? We actually had a boss that said women only worked to buy shoes. In other words, their income was for frivolous things, not important. He said this seriously, not in jest. Most of the men that were managers back then would not make it today, just in the harassment area!

Hi to Joan, and Josie ( are you back from the ride?)

Take care,
 
Hi Ladies,

Im back! The ride was amazing and I enjoyed it more than the first time. I felt more confident on my bike and was faster too. I got to enjoy the pit stops and lunch without having to rush trough to make it to the next stop as I did the first time. My legs were never sore and I just felt great overall.

I will post some pictures to your e-mail address is you send me a message. Yesterday I did all the laundry, put everything away and never took my PJ's off. I was a couch potato most of the day ;) I'm still on vacation today and tomorrow, so today I will be getting a manicure and a pedicure which I desperately need and maybe a massage.

Have a great day!

Josie
 
Hi Deb and Valerie--

This morning I did After Burn (54 min.).

My most surreal experiences were when I was put on all these committees composed of all men (I was a token woman on almost everything because there were so few women.). I would contribute something that I thought was useful and I swear, they just didn't hear me, because a man would say the same thing I had said 10 minutes later and be praised for it. I finally stood up when this had happened for the umpteenth time and just told them, "I said the same thing 5 minutes ago! If you're hard of hearing, let me know, and I will speak louder." That seemed to work. High school gym for girls was really pretty good, although competition was confined to golf, tennis, track, and cheerleading. No contact sports.

Off to see Prometheus with one of my colleagues later this afternoon.

Nope, Deb, I cannot vote again, I've tried.
 
I bought a house for myself in the early '70's and the bank was going to try to have my father sign for me! I ended up buying the house thru a different bank that for some reason was more "lenient". Not to mention my father lived 2000 miles away and had never been to Seattle. Hadn't lived at home in years. It was bizarre.

We had no competitive sports for girls (that I remember) other than cheerleading and drill team. maybe there was more, but my parents were not willing to support anything like that so I couldn't have participated anyway. No, no one would believe the way things were.
Linda, that is so true... used to happen in classrooms too but especially in business. Same suggestion, different voice. Used to think the men were deaf until I realized what was going on.

Josie. so glad you ride was so good. we did a ride yesterday but only 25 miles. my butt simply does not like more than that, padding or not. Love to see some pics. I'll forward my email.
Deb, I'll try to vote again but the linke above does not work for me so I'll use last week's link.

Deb I went to last weeks post and when i tried to vote it said I'd already voted too.
 
Last edited:
Good morning,

Not really that great. Up at 3:40 with Kylee, and could not go back to sleep. Not good results from the analysis yesterday, he has oxalate crystals and some inflammation. He is back on the piroxicam. The inflamation is one thing, not good, but the crystals ae scary, as this is what starts the stones forming.

Josie, good job on the ride. I'll send you an e-mail.

Garance, I guess working in the 60's and 70's was a challenge for all women. I remember when I was the only woman working at our Peace Bridge office, ( this is a border crossing from Canada) and all my co-workers, the truck drivers and most of the Customs officials etc were all men. I really wanted the job, and the big boss that promoted me kept trying to talk me out of going there, because he was sure I would be so overwhelmed by the environment. I guess I was the "pioneer" for that job, when it came to women working there. Strange times, that's for sure.

Valerie, now that you mention it, we had no competitive sports for girls either in HS. Just cheerleading. Of course, being a city school, we really didn't have much for boys either, only football. I joke with John all the time, comparing my HS to his. He was on the golf team. Golf?? Are you serious? He comments that I had "Switch Blade 101" at my school. BTW, he is trying to talk me into looking at a bike. We'll see. He just put a gadget on his that measures miles, time and speed. "He that doesn't believe in all these electronic gadgets" LOL

Off to get ready, and more coffee!

Take care,
 
bummer on kylee needing meds again but at least it's something treatable.
Definitely go look at bikes. we have devices for mileage, speed, registers total distance from all trip. Really like it and it's very useful for longer distance rides where directions are often given in mileages. I got a new rear view mirror for mine. and a bell. so many oblivious people with ipods in their ears. now I can ding my bell instead of yelling 'behind you" all the time.

Josie I sent you a PM with my email.

I vaguely remember team sports.... but only for the boys. know there was football, hence the need for cheerleaders and drill team. think there was basketball. we did at least have a girls gym and gym classes and did a fair number of things like swimming and tumbling. volleyball I think. Golf is a sport? a big part of the problem was my parents who simply didn't support anything that cost a cent or where I needed a ride somewhere. so extracurricular activities in general were much out for me.
when I got to college there still was nothing. I went to a univ extension not the main campus. I worked so hard thinking I would earn a scholarship but did not, so ended up at the in-city school that felt exactly like a bigger high school.

Linda how was Prometheus?

we drove all over the place yesterday trying to get in a last xc ski but either the snow was gone, or it had been snowmobiled. there's still plenty of snow but now it's up higher and you need to be a better skier for that terrain. ended up coming home and doing garden chores, plenty of those.
 
Hi Deb, Josie, and Valerie--

This morning I did S & G (52 min.).

I will also try to email you Josie. Would love to see some pictures. It sounds like you had a great time.

Deb, that must be so frustrating with Keegan. Are the side effects from the drug very debilitating? It sounds like you were definitely a pioneer. My problem is that I had never had any difficulties until I came here, which had been an all-male school. My high school, college, and grad school were all co-ed, and I was a very good student and won lots of awards, scholarships and fellowships. Not a quiet or reticent bone in my body. By the way, I wouldn't make fun of golf. It's an extremely difficult sport and takes strength and concentration. My younger son played soccer, basketball, and golf, and strongly believes golf is by far the most challenging of the three. He was a star on all teams. DH was on the downhill ski team in college and taught both of our boys how to ski when they were 4, so they are both really good skiers. The nice thing about golf and skiing is that these are sports they still engage in for fun. My younger son still plays in a men's league for basketball, but my older son was a 400 meter and 800 meter runner in college and a wrestler in high school--neither of which are adult pastimes, although he still runs and still does a lot of serious lifting. In high school I played tennis and was mediocre, but I did well in modern dance--which is probably the origin of my passion for Jacob's Pillow.

That's strange Valerie about money and transportation. Never paid anything for our sons playing sports, and there was always a bus to take them to competitions. Sounds like your school was not supported very well by the local government if you had to pay to do these things.
 
Ha ha... no, didn't mean to sound like I thought golf was 'easy", I just can't picture it as a high school "sport" where you need to accommodate hundreds of people. righties, lefties, tremendous ranges in height. and you would need a golf course! I used to golf before I discovered how allergic to grass I was, and it was even good exercise if you walked and carried your clubs. I was not a bad golfer either but the itching and sneezing were intolerable and all the meds made me sleepy so moved on to other activities.

Linda, you are lucky your sons got good access to so many sports. with all the state budgets getting hammered now, it sounds like a lot the schools (here) have retreated to having students pay for a lot of what was free 20 years ago.

we used to buy student bus passes to use on regular city buses. the hours they were valid were limited to right before and right after classes. then we'd have to pay regular fare. It was a city public high school and I don't remember about funding, I just know there were pretty limited options especially for girls. anything that required buying anything extra, uniforms, sports gear, was out of the question. After I started earning some money I learned to ski, bought a bicycle, golf clubs, tried to make up for lost time. I'm not sure what my parents were thinking but they said "NO" and that was the end of it. I was a straight A student and they gave me $125 for college. that was it.

Deb, I never had trouble getting along in a work environment with men.I'll bet the border job was a kick. I was one of the first female outside sales reps for a major ( at the time) company. Traveling alone took some getting used to. most of the men I worked with seemed decent and generally fair. it was more the "rules" that were set up that were hard to maneuver. and silly things like there not being a womens bathroom or something. As if any of us lived in homes with separate bathrooms.....
 
037.gif


It's Hump Day! Yay! Up at 3:14 for dogs, this is really getting old. and we didn't go to bed that early.

Garance, actually there are no side effects from the meds, it;s an anti-inflamatory, but not a steroid. Wow your sons were really active boys. Good that they did things that they can still do now.

Valerie, I haven't made up my mind on the bike yet. I have had a bike hanging from the rafters in the garage since the day we moved in here, and have never taken it down to ride. That was 28 years ago. I really didn't like the bike, or know how to use it right so that was part of it I guess.

Hi to Josie & Joan,

take care,
 
Deb, I live in a very bike friendly area. there are trails for walking/biking all around here, plus we street ride on selected non busy roads. in 28 yrs bikes have improved vastly, tremendously. they shift better, brakes are better, seats better, sizing better. even the padded shorts are better.

DH and I had old bikes, unused in 10 -12 years. we had a couple bad experiences with careless drivers, and had hung them up. one day we stopped a a bike shop on the spur of the moment, and checked out new ones. the shop gave us $75 for our old ones but we felt better not just dumping them. they still "worked" but cost too much to repair/update. Your is certainly in that category.
we got Trek bikes, pretty basic but they work 100x better than our old ones and were around $600. you can spend many thousands on a bike but casual riders don't need to. go to a decent shop where someone can set you on the right size, adjusted to fit you. I'm pretty short (5'2") with a short torso so my bike is smaller than DH's because his torso is longer. our legs are the same length but still, different size bikes. IMO the shop needs an open area where you can test ride a few and have a shop person watch and make suggestions.

I would NOT buy something off the shelf at Walmart or Sears.

If the shop is a good one they want you "happy" because you'll return for accessories, tune ups, and upgrades, or like us, mountain bikes. If you feel like they're "over selling" you by bringing out the $2000 models, go elsewhere. Does DH ride his bike? It's a fun activity you can do together. I'll bet there's at least one bicycle club in the area if you look. they know where riding is good and what shops are fair. I used to ride with a club when I first moved out here.

Josie rides way more than I do so maybe she will chime in here too. I'm so glad I got back into riding. Love it!
 
Hi Deb, Josie, Joan, and Valerie--

This morning I did Gym Style Back, Shoulders, and Bis (48 min.).

Deb, maybe you should try renting a bike and see if you use it. I wouldn't want to make an investment of 600 dollars and then discover that I really don't want to ride the bike. Just me--I am haunted by bad purchases, even little ones. I am worried about these new Cathes being too full of impact. If they are, I'm just going to sell them immediately.

So, I'm listening to Morning Joe with my breakfast, and they have 2 doctors on talking about a new study on calcium. Apparently there's no proof that it helps bones or osteoporosis, and evidence that it may be bad for your heart. Geez, I wish they would try to get these things right. I stopped taking fish oil when my doctor told me I was probably doing more harm than good because the stuff comes from Mercury laden salmon. Apparently the fish oil from the wild salmon costs as much as 50 dollars a month.

I thought Prometheus was shot through with holes in the plot. I miss Ripley. It had its moments, and the android in this one is really nefarious. He sounds like Hal from 2001.
 
Renting for more than a few hours is expensive. some places will rent and apply the fee to your purchase if you buy.
I've rented bikes on vacation. It was OK but not like your own. and it was $50-$75 a day. you could get a bike for less than $600 ... but I'd still get a known brand with standard parts. Even if you don't ride huge mileage, the cables, shift mechanism, brakes etc need adjustment after a certain # of miles. after use, the cables stretch and shifting gets hard. Sears or Walmart won't do that.
It's a fun low impact exercise that doesn't feel like much work, and one you can do with DH.
Yeah, hearing lately about the calcium business.... I still take one calcium &D a day with breakfast because I don't get as much dairy as I used to. I took fish oil briefly but DH kept bringing up the mercury issue and the pills were so darn big I quit. It's so hard to prove definitively that something is a benefit or harmful. impossible to rule out all the infinite variables in diet, other meds, genetics, lifestyle, not to mention other supplements. well controlled studies try to eliminate as many variables as possible.

Bummer on the movie.... I read reviews that sounded marginal. I liked the first two Alien movies but not the ones that followed. Always was on the fence about 2001. liked parts, hated sitting thru some other parts.
Saw one the other night called "Another Year" that I enjoyed. About as far from sci-fi as you could get. Didn't think I'd like it but watched anyway, and I did.

Repeated STS disk 1 today. thought we would ride today, didn't want to do #3 legs. I increased most of the weights I'd trimmed back on. might repeat #2 also and then move on. Man, there are a lot of pushups in that one!
 
Good morning,

Valerie, thanks for the tips on the bikes. I will probably get one but don't have time this weekend to look, maybe next weekend. Class on Saturday, then a graduation party. Get this, the party is being held at a local prison. My cousin's son is graduating from HS, his sister-in-law is a nurse at the prison. They rent out this hall or building to workers cheaply, so they rented this place to have the party. She said it is really nice. You actually have to go on to the prison site etc.

Garance, I was just saying that, first calcium is good, now it can cause heart attacks, fish oil is good, now it's not. , eggs are bad, now they are not, etc etc. Make up their minds!

Off to get ready, another lovely day.

Take care,
 
Deb, I can get a little pushy on things sometimes...like with bikes. I enjoy it so much, especially with DH, I can't imagine why everyone isn't on a bike half the time. I have friends who've never ridden, even when they were kids. I LIVED on my bike. there are so many choices now and the technology is vastly better than 20 yrs ago. you need to go test out some different types, bet you love it. it's exercise without feeling like it's work.

Don't forget about HRT, first it was wonderful and would save your life and you HAD to be on it, now it'll kill you. Fat was bad and the enemy, now some is good, some still not. I try to chart a middle course.

Off to yoga. tuesday I got my leg up in the air for the first time, standing on one leg holding the other foot up and out. first time!! I was so excited I forgot what the pose is called. I found that if I'm close to a wall, it helps me balance better even if I barely touch-tap it a few times. made me much braver.
 
Hi Deb, Josie, Joan, and Valerie--

This morning I did Cardio Supersets (41 min.).

Deb, there's this really fun show on Wednesday nights called "Dogs in the City." This fellow, who is extremely good with dog behavior or misbehavior, goes around helping people in NYC with their dog problems. One family had two bloodhounds who were absolutely sweet, hilarious, but totally out of control--Duke and Daisy. Another woman had a rescue pit bull who was extremely aggressive, and another woman with a blind dog she wheeled around in a buggy. I recorded it and watched it later because it conflicts with SYTYCD. He really helped everyone.

Valerie, I published a piece on Aliens in Film Quarterly. I was so scared watching that film that I had to write something! It only took me a couple days to write, which is unusual for me. It's probably the most often reprinted piece I've written. A lot of Aliens fans out there. I disliked Fincher's 3, but find Aliens 4 rather interesting.

Hi to Joan and Josie!
 
Good morning,

Heading to Cambridge Ontario this morning for a client meeting. Lovely way to finish the week, spending hours in the car on the QEW. (that's Queen Elizabeth Way for those that are not familiar with Canada).

Garance, is that dog show on a cable station? I will google you and that article!

Valerie, I think the place that John bought the bike has a test ride area, I know he said he tested his before he purchased it.

time to hit the road,

take care,
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top