I woke up this morning another year older. (And thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes!) I don't feel any different...accept maybe a little wiser. That's always a good thing, to know that in the past year you've managed to wisen up a bit.
A few items of news struck me this morning. One was the school shooting in Cleveland. I was on the Octane doing HIIT when a long report was played. Unable to stop the tears, I watched as they showed terrified mothers hugging each other and crying outside the school. Students were interviewed, including one that had been shot (fortunately, he was treated and released). Once again I was speechless by the tragic senselessness of it all.
The gunman was a 14 yo boy wearing a Marilyn Manson T-shirt, black jeans and black nail polish. Known as a loner, he often said angry words and threatened others - but no one took him seriously. Apparently he was suspended from school when a fight with another student about the existence of God turned nasty. He fired at approximately 8 shots before turning the gun on himself.
Purely opinion on my part, but parents ought to wake up when their kids start dressing "Gothic" and listening to dark music. They are crying out for something - and someone needs to comfort them and get them help before it is too late. I have never yet met a child who began seriously dressing that way who didn't have serious self-esteem issues. Oh, they might have a cocky attitude but if you talk to them a minute there is a great deal of pain just under the surface. A recipe for volatility is low self-esteem, anger and selfishnss.
Another tragedy: Two drivers caught up in their own road rage drama on the streets of Los Angeles managed to hit a parked car, crushing the woman and her children. The 4 yo son is on life support and while the 8 mos old baby and the mother are still hospitalized.
It all boils down to SELFISHNESS. I deserve better. No one had better piss me off. I feel that these two stories are unified by that element. Some where - right now - people are crying and scared, worried about going to school, worried if their babies are going to be okay, or if their wife and child will make it... all because someone thought they had a right to act out in anger.
It was a relief to get news of a much nicer sort in my inbox after that. Left weepy and dejected, something uplifting was exactly what I needed.
Chuck Feeney, a frugal billionaire, who said, "I set out to work hard, not to get rich," has been giving his money away in secrecy until now. He has donated more than 4 billion dollars in 25 years to fund schools, hospitals, univerisites, medical research, human rights in the United States, Vietnam, Australia, South Africa, Thailand, and Cuba. Feeney is now in his mid 70s, and he plans to donate the rest of the fortune to The Atlantic Philanthropies, which he co-founded, in his lifetime. "There are no pockets in a shroud,â he says. He doesn't own his own house or a Rolex, or have any of the other trappings of the rich. Journalist Conor OâÂÂClery has written a book on his life: The Billionaire Who Wasn't: How Chuck Feeney Secretly Made and Gave Away a Fortune. You can also read a great bio about him at The Atlantic Philanthropies.
~o~
I think that one of the biggest bones of contention that my family has to deal with in regards to my daughter's in-laws is that we (meaning personal family unit, not family at large as my sister is the Queen of Materialism) are not materialistic. We're not broke, by any means - but we don't give a crap about fancy cars, fancy addresses, expensive vacations. We're practical people. I used to work for JC Penney and I know that they, and other department stories, buy many things from the same manufacturers that sell to Wal-mart. In clothing, a detail or two may be changed and a different label added - and the price jacked up. So I just don't care and never have - although I admit to liking to dress stylishly, I don't need designer tags. I don't need a big gas-guzzling SUV. I don't need vacations in the sun. We have better things to spend the money on. His parents, on the other hand, feel the need to impress. Impress with their vehicles, impress with their home, impress with where they head to on vacation, etc. Even if it puts them in debt (and that's the way so many people are). Already it is causing head-butting - because their son is more like us. He doesn't get thrills out of showy things.
~o~
Lest I see all full of gloom, it's been a pretty good birthday morning. Got a tough workout in this morning. I have Stephen R. Donaldson's "The Fatal Revenant" AND Stephen Lawhead's "Scarlett" to read once my crazy weekend is over. I've got a birthday cake to look forward to tonight - white cake, strawberry filling and whipped cream frosting. Mmmmm!
I also managed to serve a meal that made my daughter's friend clean her plate. They eat much junk and ick at their house, so when she comes to our place she tends to make faces. Well - I made a chicken stirfry served with quinoa on Tuesday night - and she LOVED it. Gave her some cranberry-apple cider to wash it down and she was one happy camper. She even went home and told her mom that she had the "Incan superfood." LOL.
AND I consider this a birthday present. There is a newer woman working at our dentist's office who hasn't seen all of us. She has seen me and the two younger girls recently, but never my oldest. My oldest went in for her cleaning and said her name. The woman couldn't seem to find her file. Jenna then said, "Oh, well, try my maiden name - maybe the file wasn't changed yet." Then the woman said, "Aha! I thought you looked familiar, that's because you look so much like your mother." Awwwww. Ever since she was a baby, I always heard that she looked like her father. It feels darn good to know that someone sees a resemblance to the woman who gave birth to her! Actually, last Christmas, Rhianna and I were at Target and some guys said, "Hey, isn't that Jenna and Rhianna."
~o~
I saw my first ever in all my days female garbage person (sanitation worker, whatever) today. She had to drive the truck AND get out to dump the trash in. She really stood out because she had bleached platinum blonde hair in a very Farrah Fawcett style. Her hair was almost silvery, but with very dark roots. I was impressed by her arms. She didn't look like the Incredible Hulk or a powerlifter named Helga or anything, but she lifted those big, heavy cans and heaved them like they were nothing. :) It was like having Deborah Harry on your trash route, but with guns.
~o~
Today's workout - a full-body birthday blitz. 30 minutes progressive resistance HIIT on the Octane. 55 minutes of circuit training with my heart rate definitely in the zone. 15 more minutes of HIIT on the Cybex.
The Circuit
barbell squat 15/100
1-arm incline pushup 20 (10 each side)
1-legged squat 20 (10 each side)
seated cable row 15/150
Repeat for total of three sets
--1:30 sprint like a madwoman on the treadmill
chest machine 15/95, 12/100, 10/105
leg curl 20/100, 15/105, 12/110
pec fly 15/90, 12/95, 10/100
delt fly 15/90, 12/95, 10/100
leg extension 15/100, 12/105, 10/110
--1:30 sprint on the treadmill
walking lunge 16/50 (aka Duck Walk)
shoulder press on stability ball 15/50
walking side lunge with shrug 16/50 (aka Ooga Booga)
static lunge with lat raise 16/20
Repeat for total of three sets
--1:30 sprint on Sci-Fit
hanging abs with straight legs 10
weighted stability ball crunch 25/30
alternating plank, hold 20 seconds on each side
Repeat for total of two sets
