More Walkin'

I walked back and forth to the office again today. Reading this sentence makes me realize the Norwegian saying for it - "frem og tilbakke" (forth and back) actually makes more sense. You have to walk forth before you walk back, but I digress.

I guessed the distance pretty accurately. It's 1.75 miles one way, so 3 1/2 miles round trip. Why on earth do I feel so good about not driving 3 1/2 miles today? It is such a short distance and doesn't seem like that big of a deal. I guess I'm just trying to make a difference and do my part, however small it may be. It does feel good and I suggest you try it.

I have learned a thing or two about walking to the office. I mentioned before, you need to be prepared. I was better prepared today.

Canvas tote bag. Check.
Sunscreen on face and neck. Check.
Sandwich for lunch. Check.
Files to work on. Check.

Looking in the mirror this evening, I realize I may need a stronger sunscreen. My face is pretty pink and I don't need the extra sun. Maybe a hat?

My legs are killing me. I do work out regularly, but this walking stuff apparently uses different muscles. I'll hang with it. I think I need to walk a little differently, as I am prone to shin splints and I feel them tonight.

I stopped by Whole Foods again to pick up stuff for dinner and this time I was prepared. I had my canvas tote bag and got a nickel off my groceries. Woo hoo!

My goal is three days per week to walk to work. We'll see how long this lasts. I can do it as long as the weather is at is has been - high 60s to low 70s. We'll see how this goes when it gets hot or starts raining.

Green Day

I decided to walk to work today - and back. I figured with the price of gas and the state of the environment, I'd give it a try. I usually do an hour of cardio a day anyway, so I would just skip the gym and walk.
I'm not sure how far it is, as I obviously take a different route when walking vs. driving. I figure it's probably 1.75 to two miles to walk. I'll check it out tomorrow.
What I found interesting is how much stuff I have missed while driving. I had no idea there were so many hair and nail salons on Bascom Avenue! Yeah, my hair salon is on that street, but I've been with my same hairdresser for 20+ years and have followed her wherever she goes, so I never paid attention. There's also a Russian Deli and Tea House and an psychic. I never saw these places before.
I talked to Pat around four and he asked if I wanted a ride home. NO. I am going to do this all the way.
I walked home, stopping at Whole Foods to get some lettuce for Chicken Caesar Salad for dinner. The clerk asked if I wanted a bag and I said, "No, thank you" and took my lettuce home in the clear produce bag. I'll use it later to pick up Lucy's poo. It will be recycled. I must have at least a half a dozen canvas tote bags. I'll bring one along next time.
When I walked through E Bay the lame security guard was giving me the stink eye. Sheesh, your employees walk through my neighborhood ALL the time, let me walk through yours. Yeah, I know technically, it's private property, but I was just walking through with my lettuce.
I liked the exercise I got, enjoyed the walk and time to think about stuff. I'll be doing this again. I'm thinking maybe a couple of times per week. Time will tell.
It does feel good to feel like you are doing something, however small it is. I found out today you can do something to help the environment, you just have to think about it a little bit.

Two Pieces of Evidence

This pic was taken the day Kristen came home from the hospital. Note bad hair. This was when the perm had started to grow out and was actually better than it was a few month prior to this. I have some pictures taken that May that were truly horrendous. (In fact, Kristen was laughing her butt off last night looking at them. Glad I can amuse my children). By August, when this was taken, some sense of normalcy (at least in the hair department) had started to come back. In my defense, I had just given birth to a 9 1/2 pound baby. No new mom should try to apologize for looking like crap after giving birth.

Flash forward 16 months..... Now THIS picture is the epitome of my point. Gawd. Look at that hair! It's huge! Too much makeup, long dagger nails. What the hell was I thinking? Hey, at least my bunad doesn't have shoulder pads, cuz just about everything else in the 80s did.

80s "Fashion"

The 80s were a bad fashion decade. The late 70s were all disco - shiny, polyester shirts and skin tight pants for the dudes. Just watch Saturday Night Fever and you'll see what I mean.
Then the 80s came along and we just went from bad to worse. Big hair, too much makeup and shoulder pads, for crying out loud. I'll have to see if I can dig up some old pix of myself. Ghastly. I mean, I was in my mid 20s. Why the hell did I think I needed all that big hair, makeup and long fake nails?
When I was pregnant with Kristen, I thought it would be a good idea to get a perm. I guess my body was getting so big I figured I'd poof out my hair for balance. Baaaad idea. Toward the end of the pregnancy, not only was I huge, but I had this mass of frizz on top of my head. Very attractive. Not.
When I got pregnant with Laura I told my hairdresser, I don't care how much I beg, plead or cajole you. I don't care how big I get or how crappy my hair looks, DO NOT GIVE ME A PERM! She agreed and I went though nine months of okay hair.
During said pregnancy a friend of mine was co-writing a book on labor and delivery. She needed some pictures. A couple of weeks ago she sent them back to me with a nice note (I guess she was cleaning house). A woman in labor does not look her best and I was certainly no exception to that rule. But... Pat looked at them and said "your hair looks nice". I guess the ban on perms worked.

I think I've Seen Everything....

First of all, Beans, forgive me. You said you were going to write about this, but I just can't help myself.
The City of Campbell has two major street festivals per year. The cajun-themed "Boogie on the Bayou" in May and Oktoberfest in, well, October. These are fun events with music, food, beer and wine and for the most part, crappy arts and crafts for sale. We usually go and eat, peruse the junk for sale and listen to the music. I usually end up running into people I know, either from the Chamber of Commerce or High School.
We wandered downtown on Saturday, which happened to be Syttende Mai (Norwegian Constitution Day). Since it turned out to be 100 degrees, I was really glad I was foregoing the requisite Norwegian stuff. I just could not see putting on a wool, ankle-length bunad, tights and long sleeved blouse. My shorts and flip flops were better attire for the heat.
In the promotional posters and ads for these festivals they ALWAYS say "no dogs allowed". Yup, every year people show up with Fido. This year was especially bad. Since it was so hot, I'm sure the little pooches ended up with hot feet.
There are always the guys who have a huge iguana or bird on their shoulders. This year there was a guy with a Moluccan Cockatoo. This type of guy always looks somewhat off. I can't put my finger on it, but I think they bring these exotic pets to get attention. Maybe that's the only way they can get it.
There have been a new breed of pet owners showing up lately. They have their dogs in a screened in stroller. Yes, they make strollers for dogs. You all know I adore Lucy, but I would not put her in a doggie stroller. That's just lame.
Saturday we encountered a WAY LAME pet owner. We saw a woman wearing a square back pack, which turned out to be a bird cage, and yes, she had her parakeet with her. I kid you not and have several witnesses to back me up.

Retail Peeve

Remember when retail clerks actually used to count change back to you? I think people don't know how to do it because the cash registers have been dumbed down so the clerks can't screw up their tills. Oh, also probably because hardly anyone pays cash anymore.

Let's see.... the amount owed is $3.46, amounted tendered is $10.00, and voila, the change owed is $6.54. The clerk then (almost without exception) tears off the receipt, places it in your open hand, then proceeds to DUMP a wad of bills and change into your hand, on top of the receipt. What the hell am I supposed to do with this mess?

Am I the only one out there? This drives me absolutely bananas. A) you don't know if you have the correct amount of change. B) the wad of bills are never 'faced' the same way. C) the coins and bill(s) are sliding off the receipt. I end up stepping aside, putting the receipt in the bag, counting the change, facing the bills and putting the change in my wallet. This process usually ends with the person behind me running me over. What did they do with their change and reciept?

If you really want to confuse a clerk, give them a dime or penny or two to even out the change. If you do it after they have entered the amount tendered, they will be baffled. I don't do this to be mean to simple people, I just do it to cut down on the change in my wallet. Honest.

Map vs. GPS

I am a map lover. When we went on vacations as a kid, I always had my nose glued to the map, plotting out the next town we'd come across. I have even been known to just peruse an atlas or other map just for the heck of it. Okay, maybe I'm a map nerd.

Being a Realtor and Property Manager, this love of maps has come in handy. I'm good at reading them and can generally find my way around very well. I'm also a good navigator, which works well when Pat and I go somewhere - he drives, I navigate.

I recently got a new car with GPS in it, which is pretty interesting. I had been driving a 1997 model car, so the GPS stuff is all new to me. It's really cool if you're in a different town than your own, and say, get a hankerin' for some Mexican food. Push a few buttons on your GPS and it tells you where the Mexican restaurants are. Pretty cool.

The thing that confounds me about GPS is that it's totally backwards from reading a map. Herein lies my discomfort. I had a Property Management appointment this afternoon on the south end of town. I walked out the door thinking, crap, I forgot to map it out. Then I remembered my new toy, GPS. I put the address in and it showed my destination, then started telling me where to go from my house. I find this sort of stressful - I mean - I actually left my house to an unknown destination and didn't know where I was going. That is not a comfortable feeling.

Of course, the GPS got me there. I guess I just have to have faith in it and relax. Sometimes it's hard being old-school in a modern world, but I'll get used to it.

A New Title

If you have been paying attention, you may have noticed I changed the title of my blog. I admit 'MJ's Blog' is really boring, but I had an evening alone when I started this and was uninspired. Thanks to my friend, Kristina, a fellow Norskie, who gave me a better title. Maybe it will inspire me to rant about something more interesting!