madameblogalot

Is that what you call a slacking blogger? I have been pretty distracted from the blog so far this year! Between my workouts, my chasing a toddler around, taking care of household chores and taking my nephews hiking once a week, there is not much time left for blogging! I have my HIT/MISS list ready to go in a couple of days. Other than that, I will try not to be such a slogger!

I heard a clip on “The Doctors” today stating that testosterone levels in men are lowering about 20% over a generation ago. The doctor stated they don’t know why the levels are lowering but feel like there is some biological issue taking place, whether caused by pollution, the environment or some other cause. I do wonder if environment does play a role in this. I also wonder if it is just a reflection of demographics. With the baby boomers aging and getting into the years where testosterone levels will decline, then there will be more men reported with lower testosterone levels. I also wonder if the pressure we put on our boys to “feminize” them, or at least “urbanize” them (ie-the “metro male”) is somehow quashing the levels of testosterone output. All very interesting and I guess we’ll see in the future how this question can affect all of us….

I have been looking for a part time weekend job since October. I have been extremely surprised at how hard it is to get this kind of job. I thought particularly at this time of year it would be pretty easy. So far I’ve only had one interview, a handful of rejections and many no-answers.

I heard on the radio the other day part of a conversation about this very fact, that there are many advertised job openings but companies are not actually hiring! It did not really make sense to me until my latest attempt at a part time job.

I filled out an application for an “off hours stocking” job thinking that would be just perfect (evenings and weekends.) Most jobs now have to have the application filled out online, so you never really get to talk to anybody. After filling out this most recent app, I immediately got an email back saying they are unable to consider my application at this time. I truly don’t know why. But the one idea that struck me is the fact that they will hold on to my app until Feb. It’s almost as if they are just trying to collect a pool of applicants that they can pull from if needed. So I am still unsure why there are so many advertised positions and so many people looking for work and so many rejected applications….

Pirate Latitudes: I found this Michael Crichton book on sale at the grocery store. Reading the cover flap I learned that this complete manuscript was found in his files after his death. I wondered why he never had it published. While reading it I just did not feel drawn in to the story. It was fine but just felt like something was missing. I thought maybe he had not really finished it or polished it and that is why it was not published during his lifetime. When I finished the story I felt that this is the first MISS Crichton novel I’ve read. Then I read the epilogue. It was very short. Too short. And too sparse. I decided that is what was missing from the story, the depth. And there was no bibliography. So it made me wonder if he had not finished his research and that is why he never had it published. Or maybe I am just not into pirate stories….

Airframe: Back to good classic Crichton. Good story. Drawn in from beginning. Another HIT.

National Treasure 2: While I missed the beginning of this one, I was happy to watch it since I had seen the first one last month. Even better, my nephew came in before this one was over so we got to finish this one together too. All of us watching, from preteen to grandparents, enjoy these movies and rate them a HIT.

Jurassic Park (novel): I held off reading this book since I remember not being a big fan of the movie. But I have to say that while this book is pretty gruesome in the killing scenes, I sped through those and really enjoyed this novel. I like the ending. I rate it a definite HIT and am hoping to even see the movie again. I also want to go back and see how the original Lost World ends.

Secretariat: A nice family movie, though my family did not watch with me. It was neither a HIT or MISS for me (though more of a HIT than not.) I did enjoy the ending and the blurbs about the real people portrayed in the movie.

Whew! What a busy couple of weeks. We traveled to Phoenix to watch (help) my husband participate in his first Ironman triathlon. I don’t think it will be his last!

It was an amazing day (weekend; nearly a week for him) with Ironman village being set up out in the Town park. I was blessed to be able to volunteer for race day, beginning at 5:45 am with the swim exit. It was a lot of fun to see everyone get to the finish of the first third of the race. Nearly everyone made it to the cutoff time of 2hrs 20min. We cheered those who were close to the cutoff time and were saddened with those 10-12 who did not make the cutoff.

After lunch I helped in the women’s change tent for their T2 transition from the bike to the run. After their 112 mile bike ride through the desert and back to town, the athletes headed out for their 26.2 mile run. It was fun to see all the different kinds of ladies who undertook to finish the Ironman race (my husband’s aunt being one of them!) I learned different ways the ladies prepare themselves for such an undertaking and the different things they pack to help them through the day. So many asked me if I was going to do next year’s race. I think I surprised many with my “no” answer! (Volunteers get a preferred registration, after race day and this year’s athletes. Many people volunteer just to be able to get in that line! Lots of this year’s racers were last years volunteers!)

Earlier in the day I met the lady who was captain of the finish line and she said I could come help that evening at the finish to be able to greet my husband. I was glad for that, since by volunteering all day I was never able to see him out on the course (luckily he spotted me at the swim exit and came over and gave me a big wet kiss!) I sat that evening opening medals and rolling t-shirts waiting for him to come in. I was thrilled to hear his name announced and got to him seconds after he crossed the finish line, now and forevermore an IRONMAN!!

Today the neighborhood kids strung a rope across a yard and we had a neighborhood volleyball game. It was great fun and we hated to have to leave. Later when we got home it was still going on. The little 15 month old girl I keep was with me and she ran to get in on the action. When she tripped over one of the older girl’s legs and fell face down on the sidewalk, all the kids came over to check on her. She got up squalling and a little red on the forehead but seemed ok. As I picked her up and carried her to the house to get some ice, all the kids started applauding for her! It was so cute and so sweet! While it may have been a simple playground ovation, it sure made a big statement. I sure am proud of how all those big kids treat a little one year old! (And I would bet her uncle who plays football for Tulane would be impressed that his little niece has gotten such an ovation!)

This morning before church I did the first leg of a triathlon relay event. I was the swimmer for our team. Our wave start consisted of men 45+, mens clydesdale (a weight division) and relay teams. Each wave had three minutes in between and they allowed us to jump off the dock into the bay to warm up for those three minutes. The water was pretty chilly when we jumped in. Thankfully I had on my wetsuit and that helped a great deal.

It seems in my limited experience I still have a hard time getting adjusted in the open water swim. Today it still took me some time, being one of the last swimmers to get started in our wave. By the first buoy however, I had caught up with the group. By the second buoy I was even passing a few people!

I never saw any of the women in the wave (other relay swimmers) but I know I was not the last finisher in our wave. I had estimated that I would finish the 1500 meter swim somewhere between 40-60 minutes. I was hoping for closer to 40. And I finished today in 38:38! I was thrilled with that time.

As soon as I finished swimming I ran out as quickly as I could to meet our next team member. I gave her the timing chip and she took off on her bike. Unfortunately I could not stay for more of the race but I did make it to church on time (after showering of course!) Our cyclist finished her 25 miles in 1:17 and our runner finished her 6.2 miles in 50+ minutes!! Good enough to earn us second place in our division!! And since we lost to some of my other team members, I didn’t feel too badly about it at all!!

We heard a sermon today about the effect each of us has on everyone around us. And also those we may not ever be around. It is the “butterfly effect”. What you do affects someone, who touches someone else, which leads to….and on and on. Even when you feel like what you do (for good or bad) is not a big thing, those small things touch other people in ways may we never know or realize.

It makes me think of something that has happened a few times to me as I am running. It is a sort of corny example but the first time it happened I thought it could be made into a tv commercial! As I ran by this older couple who walks every day, the man came over and handed me a small sucker. He had apparently just received it from a neighbor child of his. For whatever reason, he decided to give it to me. When he first gave it to me I just smiled and went on to carry the sucker til I got home. I did throw it away but while I was running with it, my “dream” of how it would make a commercial was if I were to hand it to someone else, who then passed it to someone else and on and on….

In this scenario the candy represents the effect we have on the people near us but also that we never know. If I had passed the candy on, it would have ended up with someone who was indirectly impacted by that little neighbor boy who first passed it on……

I have been looking for a little over a month now for a part time weekend job. You would think it would not be this hard! People are looking to hire, especially now for the holiday season. But I have not had any luck so far. I have applied at a photo studio, two Hobby Lobby, and Target. One interview, rejected. No other calls back (rejection!) So today I spent the afternoon looking online for a local job for part time, weekends/evenings, for which I am qualified. There are not many (rejections.) I did find our local JC Penney’s is hiring. So I went in to get an application. Seems like most are all online these days. So I filled one out at the in-store kiosk. After filling it out and answering fifty questions honestly, I was told “Thank you. Your responses do not match the qualifications for the job for which you applied.” I can apply there again, in 180 days!! I am not feeling too good about all these “rejections”!!

The Prestige: Wow! What an interesting movie! This show about magicians at the turn of the 20th century and their obsession with the perfect prestige was a bit confusing at first but in the end it was a good show with plenty of plot turns. I did figure some of it out before the end, but all in all an interesting show and I will rate it as a HIT.

The Great Divorce: I had been wanting to read some C.S. Lewis works and was able to get my hands on this one. I did not really enjoy the “story” though I did find the last few pages of the next to last chapter to be interesting. For the majority of the book I would rate it a MISS but since the one bit had some interest I will rate the book as neither a HIT or MISS.

Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters: This is daughter’s book for an English project. She has read it twice and said she just didn’t “get” the last chapter-even after reading the book twice. I told her I’d read it and see what I thought. I actually enjoyed this book, except for the language (WHY do they do that, especially in kids/young adult’s books!) And I liked the ending. The author left it a bit ambiguous, making it a great question in the reader’s mind. I think I “got” it, at least as far as my guess as to how it ended. And I liked the twist upon twist upon twist. With that last little twist added in at the end. I will go ahead and rate this one a HIT for older teens or adults wanting a fun, quick, quirky, easy read.

Four Blind Mice: I tried a new author this month. The book was fine, not outstanding. I liked the story (language and violence disclaimer) good enough. So I guess I will rate it as a near HIT.

Wintergirls: Haunting. Very descriptive imagery. This is a very real look at a pair of girls who struggle through the winter wastelands of eating disorders, and I hope it can be helpful to girls (and guys) who are in the midst of disordered behavior. A very thought provoking book. I can’t really call it a HIT in the sense of “enjoying” the book. But I think it does rate as a HIT in the way it deals with the subject.