what are you doing right now?

[anciana]

Jul 25, 2022 12:06:57 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Dad said mom is doing better.  They are going to start weaning her off more stuff.  She is aware he is there and has been opening her eyes.

This sounds encouraging, hope she continues to improve! Hang in there, Drama!

[azucena]

Jul 25, 2022 11:45:10 GMT -5 giramomma said:

I met with the personal coach.

OMG. It's like the professional  finishing school I've needed for quite some time.

You're going to have to share more like Drama did.  I'm intrigued and could probably benefit from one too.

[giramomma]

Jul 25, 2022 12:19:14 GMT -5 azucena said:

Jul 25, 2022 11:45:10 GMT -5 giramomma said:

I met with the personal coach.

OMG. It's like the professional  finishing school I've needed for quite some time.

You're going to have to share more like Drama did.  I'm intrigued and could probably benefit from one too.

I will! Our work for me is that we're going to get a 1, 3, and 8 year plan decided upon for me, in terms of my career.

I only bought 4 sessions. (That was like $600) I figure I can implement a plan myself. But, I need help figuring out what the paths are.

At a high level, we spent today starting a conversation on figuring out how to get my needs met at work while influencing others. And, making sure my needs get prioritized.

[daisylu]

bean29 I do stuff like that all the time!

[Deleted]

Jul 25, 2022 11:58:32 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

Jul 25, 2022 11:02:21 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

We used sand and salt water to scrub off the slime (hurts like hell when you do this-do not get slime on hands-use gloves or a plastic bag over hand!) and then rubbed meat tenderizer onto the area.  It helps, better than nothing until you could get to an ER.    Supposedly it's the papain enzyme in the tenderizer that counteracts the toxin.  They recommend mixing it with vinegar to make a paste but we never had vinegar.  Some folks say it works on bee and wasp stings too

ETA:  We also used gloves if we had to change a tire because you couldn't avoid running over jellyfish on the shore

The only meat tenderizer I'm familiar with is baking soda.  
What tenderizer are you talking about?

Like this one www.mccormick.com/lawrys/flavors/adolphs/adolphs-original-meat-tenderizer

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Jul 25, 2022 11:24:00 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Jul 24, 2022 19:17:41 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Atmosphere is everything.  So is cost.

I was in the best shape I had ever been in my life when I joined a gym that had an obscenely expensive membership (about 5% of my take home salary).  I also paid each month, in person so my brain would associate that much money with the gym.  In addition, those people were largely professionals, who went to look out and not a pick up joint.  When I walked out, I looked like I had gone through the wringer…..and I had.

I once heard an interesting Planet Money episode about the business models of gyms. Most operate on the same model as Planet Fitness, the last place I used. Only a tiny % of members actually use it regularly. They'd be overwhelmed if everyone who signed up used it several days a week. They keep the infrequent users with non-exercise features such as tanning beds, massage chairs and in the case of Planet Fitness, free pizza one day a month, free bagels another.

The other is they type you describe- serious costs, committed users, sometimes even requirements that you be there regularly. I'd probably fit in there but (a) I'm too cheap and (b) I can't keep up with 30-something workout leaders even though I can do a lot more than chair yoga. I've found great on-line workouts and I think I'm in better shape than I was in the gym days.

You are under a HUGE misconception here.  At 35, I was one of th3 younger members there.  The vast majority were 50+ years old.  

Even when I was rehabbing back from my first orthopedic surgery, I got phenomenal support while I was in that period of recovered for PT, but not quite there for normal workouts.  

The other thing to consider is that those that were there were paying to use excellent facilities.  There were no broken machines, worn or ripped equipment was replaced.  Those people who were there were there to work out and get home, not socialize.  However, it is easier to do it when you are meeting up at an assigned time with an assigned instructor.  I found the same thing out when I was working on my doctorate.  I function better if I am physically in a class at an assigned time.  The few online classes I did were mentally difficult until *I* assigned a class time for me, and treated it as such.  

[Deleted]

Jul 25, 2022 12:59:23 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Jul 25, 2022 11:24:00 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

The other is the type you describe- serious costs, committed users, sometimes even requirements that you be there regularly. I'd probably fit in there but (a) I'm too cheap and (b) I can't keep up with 30-something workout leaders even though I can do a lot more than chair yoga. I've found great on-line workouts and I think I'm in better shape than I was in the gym days.

You are under a HUGE misconception here.  At 35, I was one of the younger members there.  The vast majority were 50+ years old.  

OK, OK.  Well, I'm getting corrected all over the place on another discussion this morning, too!   I should have realized that that level of fees gets you individual attention, not a bunch of "one size fits all" classes.  I'm a weird classification because I'm pushing 70 and have good muscle strength and balance but have limits because I get short of breath due to the backflow in my heart valves.  Individually-designed training might be good for me. 

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Jul 25, 2022 13:18:54 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Jul 25, 2022 12:59:23 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

You are under a HUGE misconception here.  At 35, I was one of the younger members there.  The vast majority were 50+ years old.  

OK, OK.  Well, I'm getting corrected all over the place on another discussion this morning, too!   I should have realized that that level of fees gets you individual attention, not a bunch of "one size fits all" classes.  I'm a weird classification because I'm pushing 70 and have good muscle strength and balance but have limits because I get short of breath due to the backflow in my heart valves.  Individually-designed training might be good for me. 

It’s a totally different beast.  If I could find a place like this locally, I’d be all over it.  

[raeoflyte]

Group exercise classes are an exercise is letting go of your ego.

[weltschmerz]

Jul 25, 2022 12:58:38 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

Jul 25, 2022 11:58:32 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

The only meat tenderizer I'm familiar with is baking soda.  
What tenderizer are you talking about?

Like this one www.mccormick.com/lawrys/flavors/adolphs/adolphs-original-meat-tenderizer

Thank you. I've never seen that on the shelves. You can't tenderize a big piece of meat with it, can you? Doesn't it only tenderize the outer layer? 
Baking soda works for tenderizing very, very thin slices of meat, for Asian cooking like stir fries.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Who the heck decided that Bob and I were adults now?  I don't like it.

[Deleted]

Jul 25, 2022 14:07:36 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

Jul 25, 2022 12:58:38 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

Like this one www.mccormick.com/lawrys/flavors/adolphs/adolphs-original-meat-tenderizer

Thank you. I've never seen that on the shelves. You can't tenderize a big piece of meat with it, can you? Doesn't it only tenderize the outer layer? 
Baking soda works for tenderizing very, very thin slices of meat, for Asian cooking like stir fries.

I haven't tried it on large cuts, and didn't really like it on smaller cuts because it made the meat SOFTER but really more tender, if you know what I mean.  I can't imagine it penetrating deeply without staying on long enough to make the outer part pure mush

[giramomma]

Jul 25, 2022 14:38:06 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Who the heck decided that Bob and I were adults now?  I don't like it.

I remember when DS was born, and I had to sign the paperwork in the hospital saying I was legally responsible for him..

I looked at DH and said "WTH did we do?"

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Jul 25, 2022 14:43:00 GMT -5 giramomma said:

Jul 25, 2022 14:38:06 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Who the heck decided that Bob and I were adults now?  I don't like it.

I remember when DS was born, and I had to sign the paperwork in the hospital saying I was legally responsible for him..

I looked at DH and said "WTH did we do?"

Bob's trying to run the resturant.  I got to deal with some stuff concerning grandma so we don't end up having issues there.  AND we are both trying to juggle holding dad up while holding ourselves up AND raising kids.  Bob has a toddler so that ups the ante.

I have decided that I am done with the free trial and would not like to renew my membership thank you who do I talk to about canceling adulthood?

[lurkyloo]

Looks like meat tenderizer is basically papain, an enzyme that breaks down proteins (protease, can’t remember what papain specificity is off the top of my head).  I guess jellyfish and MOW venom must be protein-based?  Personally I prefer the denaturing approach, a la the Friends episode where someone got stung and everyone had to pee on them    Scientific basis:  urea is a widely used protein denaturant (it unfolds proteins so any activity that depends on protein 3D structure, which is basically all of them, is disrupted).  

Enzymes are also too big to penetrate very far into meat, and will get recognized as xenobiotics and broken down pretty fast in a living organism, which is why meat tenderizer doesn’t just decompose you.  #braaaaaaiiiiinnnnnsssss....

[lurkyloo]

Jul 25, 2022 14:47:40 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Jul 25, 2022 14:43:00 GMT -5 giramomma said:

I remember when DS was born, and I had to sign the paperwork in the hospital saying I was legally responsible for him..

I looked at DH and said "WTH did we do?"

Bob's trying to run the resturant.  I got to deal with some stuff concerning grandma so we don't end up having issues there.  AND we are both trying to juggle holding dad up while holding ourselves up AND raising kids.  Bob has a toddler so that ups the ante.

I have decided that I am done with the free trial and would not like to renew my membership thank you who do I talk to about canceling adulthood?

Please let me know when you find out, samesies

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Jul 25, 2022 14:57:07 GMT -5 lurkyloo said:

Jul 25, 2022 14:47:40 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Bob's trying to run the resturant.  I got to deal with some stuff concerning grandma so we don't end up having issues there.  AND we are both trying to juggle holding dad up while holding ourselves up AND raising kids.  Bob has a toddler so that ups the ante.

I have decided that I am done with the free trial and would not like to renew my membership thank you who do I talk to about canceling adulthood?

Please let me know when you find out, samesies

Oh and then I got the neighborhood drama mamas knocking on my door the other day bringing Abby home saying that she needs to be disciplined because she was caught pretending to smoke with cigarette butts at Mom B's home.

DH just about died because my brain took a minute to engage and teh first thing I said was "Where the fuck is she getting cigarette butts from?"  That was NOT what she expected because then she backtracked explaining Mom B smokes and so does the grandfather.

Oh so they are copying them then?  And why are they just leaving their litter everywhere that kids can get ahold of them?

I told Abby don't do that it spreads germs and it's a bad habit to copy.  But I sure wasn't discipling her like they said I should.  

We're trying to ban her from playing with them again.  I so do not have the band with to deal with their shit.  We made it a week.  I'm pretty sure I have a good idea of who's idea it was and it wasn't my kid.  My kid is the one stupid enough to follow which I am trying to break that habit before she becomes the get away car someday. 

[Deleted]

Jul 25, 2022 14:55:26 GMT -5 lurkyloo said:

Looks like meat tenderizer is basically papain, an enzyme that breaks down proteins (protease, can’t remember what papain specificity is off the top of my head).  I guess jellyfish and MOW venom must be protein-based?  Personally I prefer the denaturing approach, a la the Friends episode where someone got stung and everyone had to pee on them    Scientific basis:  urea is a widely used protein denaturant (it unfolds proteins so any activity that depends on protein 3D structure, which is basically all of them, is disrupted).  

Enzymes are also too big to penetrate very far into meat, and will get recognized as xenobiotics and broken down pretty fast in a living organism, which is why meat tenderizer doesn’t just decompose you.  #braaaaaaiiiiinnnnnsssss....

that was another approach but some were squeamish about it and it was a very public beach

[lurkyloo]

Jul 23, 2022 21:44:26 GMT -5 wvugurl26 said:

We had bad storms last week. There were tornado warnings and the sky was very weird. Some corn crops were lost nailed straight to the ground.

I'm not so sure about my basement being safest. Maybe the back half. It's half in ground and half above ground with windows due to the townhouses being built into a hillside.

Some areas were without power for 5 or 6 days. There was a ton of tree damage.

A day later down lurkyloo's way, DH's coworker had multiple trees land on his house and deck. No one was injured. $120k is the current insurance estimate to fix it. The deck was brand new.

You rang?     I wondered for a minute if said coworker was a block away, but the destroyed deck in our neighborhood was next door to the house with big damage.  We just had a team out today to trim our trees and paid them a little extra to chip the remaining branches.  There was another area I had missed in the first recon, two broken fence rails and damaged DS‘ play fort.  When I went to move the branches to the chip pile, these 6“ diameter branches were driven nearly a foot into the ground 

We had been waffling prior to the storm about having a tree close to the house taken out-leaning toward it bc an ash tree had been blocking the sunlight on the other side.  Storm made the decision easy, glad we did bc the middle of the trunk had a lot of rot invisible from the outside.  We’ll plant a replacement nearby, maybe a sugar maple.

[giramomma]

I am fading quickly. I've had a good productive day, but still so much work.

[Deleted]

Jul 24, 2022 19:17:41 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Jul 24, 2022 15:33:56 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

I am still not exercising the way I would like to. I’ve started thinking again about joining a local gym that’s not really just a gym. It’s a partnership or something with a charity, and it’s meant to be a sort of community presence I guess, because they also have some religious type things you can attend if you like. Those aren’t required, just offered. They also offer things like yoga classes, which I am also interested in. Overall the atmosphere is that it’s not just a gym. At least not what I imagine gyms to be like.

Several years ago, Mister and I went to take a tour, and I was really impressed by the facility. But it was out of the way to and from work, so I felt like I wouldn’t really use it because of that.

Since we moved though, it IS on the way home from work, but still about 20 minutes from home. 

I’ve been considering joining again lately because I HAVE to do something, and so far I’m not doing too well on my own. This place also has trainers, and I’m at the point now that if someone told me exactly what to do, it would be a big relief over trying to figure it out on my own. Even if I have to pay that “someone”.

There are at least 3 gyms that I can think of immediately, that are much closer to my home. They don’t have the atmosphere that is appealing to me about this place though.

I haven’t said anything to Mister about my renewed interest in this place. If I do decide to join, I’ll tell him then. If he decides to join too, awesome! If not, it will be something that I need to do for ME, regardless of what somebody else does or doesn’t do.

Atmosphere is everything.  So is cost.

I was in the best shape I had ever been in my life when I joined a gym that had an obscenely expensive membership (about 5% of my take home salary).  I also paid each month, in person so my brain would associate that much money with the gym.  In addition, those people were largely professionals, who went to look out and not a pick up joint.  When I walked out, I looked like I had gone through the wringer…..and I had.

I poked around on their website some more today. It’s $67/month for “premium” membership, which includes (among other things) access to all the different classes, at no additional cost. Otherwise, classes are $8 each. I don’t know how much regular gyms cost, and whether that is expensive or not. They also offer something where they watch your child(ren) for up to 2 hours as long as you are on the premises, at no additional cost. That’s not something I need, but I like that they offer it for parents who want to invest in their physical health and don’t have anyone to watch their children while they do so.

8 sessions with a trainer would be another $260something. So around $330 to work with a trainer for a month. I do believe I need the guidance of a trainer, at least for a little while. Mister use to lift weights and had the body to show for it. He’d stopped doing it regularly by the time I met him, but I remember being very curious about what was under his shirts, whether it was muscle or fat.  I didn’t know at the time that he use to lift weights, but I was guessing muscle, and I was right. I’m a sucker for big “guns”, muscular arms. Swoooon.

I’ve asked him many times to teach me how to get in better shape, but I guess he only knows how to do it by lifting weights (which he got rid of the last of them before we moved here), so that hasn’t happened.

I am thinking I will go for it, sooner rather than later.

[Deleted]

Jul 25, 2022 11:24:00 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Jul 24, 2022 19:17:41 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Atmosphere is everything.  So is cost.

I was in the best shape I had ever been in my life when I joined a gym that had an obscenely expensive membership (about 5% of my take home salary).  I also paid each month, in person so my brain would associate that much money with the gym.  In addition, those people were largely professionals, who went to look out and not a pick up joint.  When I walked out, I looked like I had gone through the wringer…..and I had.

I once heard an interesting Planet Money episode about the business models of gyms. Most operate on the same model as Planet Fitness, the last place I used. Only a tiny % of members actually use it regularly. They'd be overwhelmed if everyone who signed up used it several days a week. They keep the infrequent users with non-exercise features such as tanning beds, massage chairs and in the case of Planet Fitness, free pizza one day a month, free bagels another.

The other is they type you describe- serious costs, committed users, sometimes even requirements that you be there regularly. I'd probably fit in there but (a) I'm too cheap and (b) I can't keep up with 30-something workout leaders even though I can do a lot more than chair yoga. I've found great on-line workouts and I think I'm in better shape than I was in the gym days.

I’ve never toured a gym besides the one I mentioned. But even on commercials, there are endless rows of equipment, which doesn’t spark my interest, besides me having the idea that a lot of gyms are more or less “meat markets” for a lot of people.

I don’t like the idea of just endless rows of equipment, but maybe that wouldn’t matter so much to me if I knew exactly what I needed to do, and could go in, do my thing, and leave. Otherwise, the endless rows of equipment remind me of the reason I don’t like a particular orthopedic group here, and my issue with a lot of nail salons. The orthopedic group, I felt like they shuffled all the patients around like cattle and I didn’t like how that felt. Nail salons that have dozens of chairs and stations for pedicures and dozens more for manicures, I don’t like that either. When I was going to get my nails done more often than anytime in my life, my pedicures were done in a room where it was just me and the employee, and my manicures were done at a bar that could seat maybe 6 people, but I was always the only person there. I really liked the part where the pedicure was done in an area where I was the only client. I guess that ties into how much of a private person I am, even though I tell y’all a lot of my business lol. Unfortunately, that nail shopped closed, and I haven’t found somewhere to replace it.

When Mister and I toured that gym, there weren’t a lot of people there, which worked for me. I don’t remember what time of day it was when we did the tour, so I should maybe go back during the time I’m most likely to be there if I join an see what the atmosphere is like then.

[TheOtherMe]

Joni Mitchell made a surprise appearance yesterday at the Newport Folk Festival.  

She has to sing from a chair due to the damage caused by a brain aneurysm in 2015.  Her voice is deeper but she looks like she is having fun and the crowd is delighted and crying happy tears.

Tonight is Monday Night Piano Bar and I'm looking forward to that.

[chiver78]

Jul 25, 2022 16:09:39 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Joni Mitchell made a surprise appearance yesterday at the Newport Folk Festival.  

She has to sing from a chair due to the damage caused by a brain aneurysm in 2015.  Her voice is deeper but she looks like she is having fun and the crowd is delighted and crying happy tears.

Tonight is Monday Night Piano Bar and I'm looking forward to that.

I heard about that via a FB post by Brandi Carlile, who was sitting right next to her. she was in awe, and her post included a clip. so good to see Joni again.

[TheOtherMe]

Jul 25, 2022 16:21:09 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

Jul 25, 2022 16:09:39 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Joni Mitchell made a surprise appearance yesterday at the Newport Folk Festival.  

She has to sing from a chair due to the damage caused by a brain aneurysm in 2015.  Her voice is deeper but she looks like she is having fun and the crowd is delighted and crying happy tears.

Tonight is Monday Night Piano Bar and I'm looking forward to that.

I heard about that via a FB post by Brandi Carlile, who was sitting right next to her. she was in awe, and her post included a clip. so good to see Joni again.

Just watched Joni play the guitar.  Brandi said it took a lot for Joni to learn to play again.

Wyonna Judd and several others were on stage, too.

Joni hasn't played live in 20 years.  This was fantastic to see.  

[Deleted]

Jul 25, 2022 14:02:35 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

Group exercise classes are an exercise is letting go of your ego.

My ego is such that I am very easily embarrassed, so I would be VERY uncomfortable in a group exercise class.

Even when I was taking yoga classes regularly, I always went to the back of the room….. fewer people to see me if I embarrassed myself somehow.

Without going into further detail, I will admit that that is part of one of the many things I need to work on.

I want to say something, and I hope I can say it without being offensive. If it is offensive, I will delete and sincerely apologize, because that’s not my intent.

I’ve said for many years that I want some white friends. It seems like when white people go out to have fun, that’s what they do, have fun. Black people joke that most white people don’t have any rhythm when they dance, but what I’ve noticed is that white people seem to know how to have fun. They dance anyway, even if they are goofy and can’t catch a  beat if their lives depended on it. I am more drawn to that kind of spirit, than the ones that just sit around talking about people instead of trying to have their own fun.

When I go out somewhere where dancing is involved, I admire the people that just go for it, even if they aren’t good at it. I want to be like them. Dancing just because it feels good, regardless of what other people think it looks like. I can’t do that. I would be embarrassed. 

The part of my issue that I’m describing probably sounds silly. But there are other, deeper issues that pertain to the same thing, but I’m n willing to get into all that right now.

[swamp]

Jul 25, 2022 16:31:16 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

Jul 25, 2022 14:02:35 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

Group exercise classes are an exercise is letting go of your ego.

My ego is such that I am very easily embarrassed, so I would be VERY uncomfortable in a group exercise class.

Even when I was taking yoga classes regularly, I always went to the back of the room….. fewer people to see me if I embarrassed myself somehow.

Without going into further detail, I will admit that that is part of one of the many things I need to work on.

I want to say something, and I hope I can say it without being offensive. If it is offensive, I will delete and sincerely apologize, because that’s not my intent.

I’ve said for many years that I want some white friends. It seems like when white people go out to have fun, that’s what they do, have fun. Black people joke that most white people don’t have any rhythm when they dance, but what I’ve noticed is that white people seem to know how to have fun. They dance anyway, even if they are goofy and can’t catch a  beat if their lives depended on it. I am more drawn to that kind of spirit, than the ones that just sit around talking about people instead of trying to have their own fun.

When I go out somewhere where dancing is involved, I admire the people that just go for it, even if they aren’t good at it. I want to be like them. Dancing just because it feels good, regardless of what other people think it looks like. I can’t do that. I would be embarrassed. 

The part of my issue that I’m describing probably sounds silly. But there are other, deeper issues that pertain to the same thing, but I’m n willing to get into all that right now.

I’d be happy to be your uncoordinated fun white friend. 

[Deleted]

Jul 25, 2022 16:50:24 GMT -5 swamp said:

Jul 25, 2022 16:31:16 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

My ego is such that I am very easily embarrassed, so I would be VERY uncomfortable in a group exercise class.

Even when I was taking yoga classes regularly, I always went to the back of the room….. fewer people to see me if I embarrassed myself somehow.

Without going into further detail, I will admit that that is part of one of the many things I need to work on.

I want to say something, and I hope I can say it without being offensive. If it is offensive, I will delete and sincerely apologize, because that’s not my intent.

I’ve said for many years that I want some white friends. It seems like when white people go out to have fun, that’s what they do, have fun. Black people joke that most white people don’t have any rhythm when they dance, but what I’ve noticed is that white people seem to know how to have fun. They dance anyway, even if they are goofy and can’t catch a  beat if their lives depended on it. I am more drawn to that kind of spirit, than the ones that just sit around talking about people instead of trying to have their own fun.

When I go out somewhere where dancing is involved, I admire the people that just go for it, even if they aren’t good at it. I want to be like them. Dancing just because it feels good, regardless of what other people think it looks like. I can’t do that. I would be embarrassed. 

The part of my issue that I’m describing probably sounds silly. But there are other, deeper issues that pertain to the same thing, but I’m n willing to get into all that right now.

I’d be happy to be your uncoordinated fun white friend. 

And I’d be happy to have you as a friend IRL! I am pretty sure you and I would enjoy hanging out and getting to know each other.

Besides you, I have a list in my head of posters I’d reach out to if I’m ever traveling in their neck of the woods.

[chiver78]

Jul 25, 2022 16:50:24 GMT -5 swamp said:

Jul 25, 2022 16:31:16 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

My ego is such that I am very easily embarrassed, so I would be VERY uncomfortable in a group exercise class.

Even when I was taking yoga classes regularly, I always went to the back of the room….. fewer people to see me if I embarrassed myself somehow.

Without going into further detail, I will admit that that is part of one of the many things I need to work on.

I want to say something, and I hope I can say it without being offensive. If it is offensive, I will delete and sincerely apologize, because that’s not my intent.

I’ve said for many years that I want some white friends. It seems like when white people go out to have fun, that’s what they do, have fun. Black people joke that most white people don’t have any rhythm when they dance, but what I’ve noticed is that white people seem to know how to have fun. They dance anyway, even if they are goofy and can’t catch a  beat if their lives depended on it. I am more drawn to that kind of spirit, than the ones that just sit around talking about people instead of trying to have their own fun.

When I go out somewhere where dancing is involved, I admire the people that just go for it, even if they aren’t good at it. I want to be like them. Dancing just because it feels good, regardless of what other people think it looks like. I can’t do that. I would be embarrassed. 

The part of my issue that I’m describing probably sounds silly. But there are other, deeper issues that pertain to the same thing, but I’m n willing to get into all that right now.

I’d be happy to be your uncoordinated fun white friend. 

☝️ this. it's too bad you can't travel here in a couple weeks. I think the rainbow of you, andi and me could find some solid trouble around here. 😎😇

edit: that was meant for Pink. swamp and I are the same shade of pasty white girl. 🤣 but I feel like she'd be fun to tour the Cape as well. 🥂

[Deleted]

Jul 25, 2022 16:06:43 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

I don’t like the idea of just endless rows of equipment, but maybe that wouldn’t matter so much to me if I knew exactly what I needed to do, and could go in, do my thing, and leave. 

That's pretty much what I did. No seeking partners, no flaunting my body in neon-colored spandex, no grunting loudly as I lifted giant weights and then dropping them. (Every gym has a sign asking NOT to drop weights but someone always does- makes me want to go over and suggest they not lift weights heavier than they can handle. ) Get in, do the work, get out. Since I was usually coming from and returning to home I rarely even bothered to shower and change there.

Somewhat off the subject- I usually don't get my medical info from Dr. Zuckerberg but my FB feed had a "sponsored post" about a heart valve clip from Abbott Labs meant to solve backflow issues like the one I have. It's inserted through a catheter, so no cracking open the sternum, and recovery is a lot easier. I'd say the comments were 90% "This worked for me and it was a miracle" and 10% "This didn't work for me". It made my day. My diagnosis is the first serious health issue I've had and the first time my activities have been limited. Not a lot by comparison with others my age- mostly exertion like running, or bicycling up hills- but I worry about it getting worse.

My condition has been stable between June, 2021 and December, 2021 and I don't go back till this December but I am DEFINITELY going to ask my cardiologist about this. Even if he still maintains that it's not severe enough for medical intervention (And 'm fine with his caution), it gives me hope that there's a minimally-invasive remedy if it gets worse.