Ramble

I went to the gym tonight. It's the first time I've gone in who knows how long. I've still been active, walking Linny, going on (2) bike rides... doing stuff. But I know that for me nothing compares to the gym. It's the only place I feel willing to push myself; to do the squats and the lunges and the planks. I could do them at home if I had will power, but home's for lounging, not lunging.

Anywho, I spent 35 minutes on the stationary bike reading an article (hell yeah for being productive) and then spent about 15 minutes on the other stuff (the lunging, squatting, and planking). I've been trying to eat healthier for the last oh, 5 or 6 months but I can't hold myself to it. Or I'll eat one piece of crap but then eat healthy at the next meal, telling myself that at least now I'm eating right. In the past I've had success with the food stuff after committing to good intense workouts so I'm gonna try that again. Here goes nothing.

I didn't post last week because I had too many excuses. :) I had a bit of a cold (the congestion) and was really tired. I got my homework done, watched my tv shows, and played online but other than that I was pretty lazy. Except for Monday and Tuesday night. On Monday, Ashley and I went on a walk (I proposed the walk) and a few minutes after we started walking it started pouring so we (and Linny and Ashley's two dogs) spent the next hour walking through some passing showers. It was chilly. On Tuesday, Ashley and I spent the evening at a local marching band exhibition. Some friends from Nebraska had written things about Harvest of Harmony on Facebook and it made me nostalgic for the band atmosphere, which is funny considering I was never in band. All of my friends were band nerds but I wasn't. The bands that performed were pretty amusing and one of the high schools even did a tribute to Queen that thoroughly impressed me. The night ended with a performance from the UGA marching band. Their band was about 4 times as big as any of the other bands and the sound really reflected it. It was really cool to hear such a big sound after I'd gotten used to what a "big sound" sounded like from the high schoolers.

Saturday I spent the day with a few other Sociology students at the Women and Girls in Georgia conference on campus. There were some interesting presentations on qualitative studies of women in Georgia, some theoretical cases made for why we should focus on women and girls, and a panel presentation featuring some women in important positions in Georgia. The panel was most entertaining. There were 5 panelists including two state senators, a house representative, and two (I'm assuming non-profit) executives of organizations directly related to politics/policy. They told of their decision to get involved in politics and the challenges they've faced. It was really inspiring. Personally I never plan to run for public office but I'm not shutting myself off to it. I want to make a difference in the world (aww, corny) and I don't know what my vehicle for change is going to be. All in due time. Regardless of my personal convictions, they really highlighted the roadblocks women and family-oriented persons are up against. After that was a short documentary about a woman who fought against workplace discrimination in the 70's (she fought for her right to do a "man's job"). She's around 75 now and it was really funny and touching to hear her vim and vigor over an issue we take for granted. It was a good conference, especially considering the price and location (free and at home) and I was worn out my the time it was over. So that night Chase and I stayed home and watched a movie.

Yesterday felt like Saturday and I slept in and then spent the day reading. And here we are... Monday. I'm trying to be more productive than I was last week. I've set a goal for myself... every day this week I want to work on school stuff for 8 hours. If I had taken my lunch to school today I'd probably already be done, but as it is I've got 1 hour and 15 minutes left. Anddddd.... I should go read.

(Oh, and Chase started school last week. I've got a few pictures of his first week and want to post an entry with that stuff in it. :) And I've taken a few pictures of Fall around here but I'll save those for when they're a bit more dramatic... it's still pretty leafy and green here.)

Hope all's well with you.