Making My Way Through Life

Orange Belt

2009-05-28T11:03:00.002-04:00

Since I have started numerous other social networking pages I haven't blogged on this page in a long time. I thought that since this is where it all started that it would be fitting to write here about my last few accomplishments. May 3rd, 2009 was our 2nd annual 5 boros tour, and all I have to say is we survived. The entire day was cold and rainy. When I say rainy I don't mean a few showers. I mean a deluge that cleaned the streets of New York. The temperature was about 45 degrees with the rain and win chill hypothermia was a real threat. We arrived in New York at 6:00am to line up, in the rain. We got back to our car, in the rain, at 4:00 pm. This was only accomplished after 3 flat tires on my still fairly new bike. 2 flats in the front and one in the back. In any event you can tell from this that I'm still alive.

The very next weekend my husband and I passed our Orange Belt in Krav Maga. We started our next level of training last night!

Krav Class

2008-06-26T13:18:00.001-04:00

Last night we went to our second Krav class. Going forward we will be going at least twice a week, so we will go again this Saturday. I am really enjoying the class. Last night, the aerobic workout portion of class almost did me in. During the previous class we had done a lot of jumping jacks, crunches, and push ups, so the week since then I have been practicing those moves every morning. Well, our instructor must of been wise to my training because last night's workout consisted of a lot of running, which by the way I had not practiced or trained for. Needles to say, it was another intense workout. After the workout we were broken in to two groups once again. Our group worked on getting up from a take-down position. At first, the move seemed overly complicated. I mean doesn't everyone know how to get up from the ground? However, once the instructor broke it down I finally understood. The move started from a sitting position. To get up, kick your attacker with your strong leg, for right handed people this would be your right leg, then at the same time brace yourself with your strong arm and hop back on your left foot to get distance from your attacker, then bring your right foot around and end up in your fighting stance. When done smoothly this is a quick and effective way to get up from the ground. In any event, I am a little sore today; however, I am really enjoying the class.

Krav Maga

2008-06-23T15:30:00.000-04:00

Last week my husband and I signed on for a new adventure. We went to a Krav Maga class, and ended up signing up for the program. Krav Maga is a self-defense and military hand-to-hand combat system developed in Israel. It emphasizes maximum threat neutralization. It came to prominence following its adoption by various Israeli Security Forces. The class is broken up in to two parts. The first part is an intense aerobic workout consisting of timed drills of jumping jacks, push ups, crunches as well as punching and kicking. After the half hour aerobic workout the class is split in to levels, and each group works on learned and new skills. The part I found most interesting was holding the target pad while someone else hit the pad. The force, even with the pad, of a punch or elbow hit is amazing. I think it is very important in self defense to know what it feels like to be hit, so you can expect it to a certain extent. This was for me was the most intimidating part of the class, but I think in the end it will be the most important. We also worked on getting out of a choke hold. For me, this was the first time experiencing anything like this class, and all though a little scary I already feel more confident. I look forward to my second class this week, and to getting in to a routine.

Hike Around The Falls

2008-06-08T20:16:00.000-04:00

This weekend my husband and I took a drive to a beautiful state park not too far from our house. It was on oppressively hot day but we decided to hike anyway. The scenery was amazing, and while on our hike we were able to take our shoes off and put our feet in the river to cool down. After making it to the top of the falls we actually crossed the river bare foot, and rested on the rocks before putting our shoes back on and heading down.

Even though it was a pretty short hike we had still worked up an appetite, so we changed and left the park in search of food. We came across a sushi restaurant. We ended up having a great meal, and we look forward to going back there for dinner in the future.

In the end, it was a great day to get out and enjoy each otheres company. We got in a little exercise and a good meal.

Rainy Days

2008-06-04T17:36:00.000-04:00

Why do rainy days get us so down? Is it the darkness, or the dampness? I look out the window and up at the sky. The colors that are normally there are gone. The bright greens of the trees and the blues of the sky are replaced with shades of grey. The vitality and noises of the world are drowned out by the sounds of the rain as the drops hit the ground. Yet rain is such a cleansing phenomenon. It washes away dirt and nourishes life. So why do I feel so depressed? Why do I keep looking out the window? Just watching and waiting for that glimmer of sunshine to peak through the darkness.

Memorial Day

2008-05-28T14:42:00.000-04:00

Memorial Day is a United States Federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. This year it was on May 26, 2008. Memorial Day was formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in military service. It was first enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War, it was expanded after World War I to include American casualties of any war or military action. Memorial Day is significant for me because my grandfather fought in both Korea and Vietnam and retired from the United States Army. Our family honors him, along with all soldiers, on this day. My brother followed in our grandfather's footsteps by enlisting in the U.S. Army, when he was in his last year of high school, and was shipped off once he graduated. Similar to our grandfather, my brother too was stationed in Korea. Fortunately, for our family he did not have to see battle, and his military service ended shortly after September 11th, which was a great relief to me. This week I want to honor all of our soldiers, my grandfather, who has since passed, and my brother. I love you all! Thank you for your service. I am truly proud to be an American, and I am indebted to you for protecting me and my family. Thank you!

CO121 Final Grade

2008-05-20T12:15:00.000-04:00

I completed my final paper and turned it in last week. Final grades have been posted, and I received an A for the class. I'm proud of myself. I worked really hard on my blog paper as well as the class assignments. I won't actually get my paper back for a week or two, but then I'll be able to see what corrections were made and any comments. This was a very informative class that focused on mass media. One of our text books, UnSpun, was really interesting and opened my eyes to how bias news stories can be reported by the media. From news broadcasts, to commercials, and political candidates, different media outlets put their own spin on what is reported. A great website to debunk political spin is http://www.factckeck.org/ which is organized by the same people who authored UnSpun. Now, I'm off to American Government which also looks like it'll be very interesting!

Annual Barrel Tasting

2008-05-19T13:06:00.000-04:00

Bicycle riding isn't the only hobby my husband and I have in common; however, we did go for a couple of nice rides this weekend. We also love to go to wine tastings and visit different vineyards. Connecticut actually has numerous vineyards, and a few of them are worth visiting. The wine trail website has a listing and directions to all of them http://www.ctwine.com/. This weekend my husband and I visited Hopkins Vineyard. Every year they have a barrel tasting. Hopkins' annual barrel tasting is a great place to visit for an afternoon of food, wine, and live music. Their grounds are beautiful, and you can bring chairs and blankets to lounge around on while eating their assortment of artisan cheeses, pates, and fruit. This year they offered a barrel tasting of their Pinot Noir, along with a regular tasting of all of their wines. They also sell wine by the glass and bottle, so you can hang out with family and friends and relax. We enjoyed a picnic lunch and a couple bottles of wine. It was nice to hang out and be with each other. It was a beautiful day well spent.

Pretty New Bike

2008-05-13T20:29:00.000-04:00

Happy days! I picked up my new bicycle on Friday afternoon. Somehow, I was convinced to get "clipless" pedals. This term makes no sense to me because the "clipless" pedal actually requires special shoes used to clip into the pedals. Notice where the confusion is added? In any event, I hesitantly had these pedals installed on my bike. The gentleman at the bicycle shop is a very talented bicyclist and teacher, and he instructed me how to use this type of pedal. However, not only was this going to be my first road bike, but other than my quick test ride around their parking lot, this was going to be my first time riding this sort of bike. Many people would assume that if you've ridden one bike you'd be fine on any bike, well that's not really the case. The gears, handle bars, frame, pedals, and brakes on this bike are completely different than those items on my mountain bike. In the end, we brought the bike home in the car that night; however, we went for our first bike ride on Saturday morning. We road along a local bicycle trail, which was pretty quiet because it was a little cool out that morning. We road 12 miles without incident. Then, Sunday we decided to bike to my in laws's house for Mother's Day. That was a 15 mile ride basically up hill the entire way. I've heard, that everyone who tries "clipless" pedals falls at some point. I guess, most tumbles happen at stop signs, where the person just forgets to unclip. Well, I didn't fall at a stop sign. No, I stopped at many traffic lights and stop signs, and I unclipped every time, very smoothly I have to add. Then we stopped in a parking lot, and I unclipped and was resting on a curb. When it was time to go, I was a little more tired than I realized. I got one foot clipped in and I guess I forgot I was riding a bike, if that can happen. I just fell over on to the curb and grass. I caught myself, which isn't the best thing to do for your arm and wrist, and I didn't get a scratch on my new bike. I did end up with a good sized bruise on my hip where I landed on the curb, and my pride still hurts a little. However, I got up and we continued our ride. We made it to the parents's house without any additional incidents, and until now, no one but my husband knew I fell. We are hoping to get out and ride a couple of nights during the week as well. We have plans for a ride after work tomorrow night.

5 Boros Ride

2008-05-06T10:37:00.000-04:00

Sunday, May 4th 2008 was the 35th annual 5 boros bicycle tour through New York City, and I survived the ride. My husband and I left our home at 3:45am Sunday morning. We lined up about 4-5 block from the starting line, shortly after 7:00am. The opening ceremony began at 7:45am, and the ride commenced at 8:00am. We rode straight for Central Park. There was a bit of a bottle neck entering Central Park, but once inside the park the traffic flowed easily. We made our way through Manhattan into the Bronx, and then quickly out to Queens. We spent quite a while bicycling through Queens. We were held up by a medical emergency on the Queensboro Bridge. Just as we were cresting the entrance ramp to the bridge the bicycle traffic came to a stand still. An older man ended up being taken away on a stretcher. It seemed as though he may have had a heart attack, but he was conscious when the medics put him in the ambulance. Hopefully all is well with him. After we crossed the bridge it was off to Brooklyn, and then on to the long stretch to Staten Island. The big boy ,The Verrazano Bridge, looked like it would be my nemesis. Just looking up at the bridge was scary. However, I made it to the bridge and across it without incident. That was the most amazing part of the tour. Once across the bridge we entered Staten Island, and the finish line where we were able to enjoy some of the festival before hopping the ferry back to Manhattan. It was an amazing adventure, and we can't wait to participate again next year. After arriving home yesterday we decided to purchase me my first road bike. I will be picking it up later this week, and I am very excited.

Count Down to NYCity 5 Boros Tour

2008-04-28T14:13:00.000-04:00

On Sunday May 4th, 2008 my husband and I, along with 30,000 other people, will participate in a 42 mile bicycle ride through the 5 boros of New York City. We will start at Battery Park, and then make our way through the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn. We will then cross over to Staten Island on the ferry, and finally back to Manhattan. Following is the link to bike New York. http://www.bikenewyork.org/index.html Unfortunately, it is too late for anyone interested in participating to register for this particular ride; however, there are many other rides you can participate in listed on this site. Counting today we have 6 days left until the ride. It should be a very exciting day.

Blogging Research

2008-04-27T16:06:00.000-04:00

The start of this blog is to research blogging and mass media for my communications class. I can't think of a better way, or a better place to start putting my thought together than right here. I thought I should start with the definition of a blog. Move to the different types of blogs, and then to starting my own blog, reading other blogs, and my experiences in this blogging community.

A blog is an abridgement of the term web log. This is a web page where an individual, or collaborative group of individuals, can post running commentary. Some blogs are personal diaries, while others focus on specific interests, while others my focus on politics or news. Most blogs are textual with a few graphics such as pictures or logos, while other incorporate videos and or music.

There are many types of blogs.

The personal blog: personal diary, experiences, opinion.

Blogs by genre: political, travel, news, gossip etc.

The corporate blog: private or business, marketing, public relations, internal news and communications.

The device in which you compose your blog may differ. Even this site now offers mobile blogging which allows you to download blogs from your mobile phone.

Blogging and the blurred line with mass media. many journalists write their own blogs outside of their mainstream venues. Many worry that doing this may lead to uncredible stories. By blogging a journalist skips the filters set up by his or her mainstream media outlet and my push his or her message directly to the public.

Starting my own blog. Type blogging into any search engine and you will be bombarded with hits. I searched on MSN and found http://www.blogger.com/ along with many other choices. The reason I chose blogger.com was it was free, quick, and easy. I was given step by step instructions on setting up an account, and then I was given templates to chose from in order to create my page. Now I haven't figured out every aspect yet but I hope to do so before turning in this research paper.

My Fear of Writing

2008-04-27T15:47:00.000-04:00

Writing a blog can actually be a daunting task. Some people write for fun, while others write as a job. Then there are others, like me, who write for a school assignment. Writing is so personal. When you write you put your words out there for everyone to see, read, and critique, or not, maybe no one reads what you write, maybe no one cares. It's interesting the anxiety felt by some, when putting words down on paper, or electronicly. It seems like once these words are posted anyone can read them, and see into my soul. That may seem like a giant leap. I'm just writing about nonsense, just my thoughts as they come up, but aren't your thoughts and emotions what make you a person? Aren't your thoughts your very being? In a forum such as this where I sit here alone writing to no one but myself I still feel like my words are vulnerable. I know that seems silly for those who write everyday, for those whose words are read by millions, for those who are critiqued in front of the world; however, my words are hardly ever noticed. Until I recently started back to school, it had been almost 15 years since someone had criticized my writing. In most office environments no one says a word about a memo with misspellings, or a brief with bad grammar. Most seem to skip write passed the errors, and those that find the errors think it to be rude to correct you, so we just go on not thinking much about that everyday sort of writing. Then I throw myself into this. Into writing for "fun". This is for a school project but I could have chosen something I felt more comfortable with. Instead, I chose something that is challenging for me, and I am hoping in the end I will be a better person for it, and possible be a better writer, and one who enjoys writing. Hopefully, this has opened the door to my days of blogging.

The Begining Of My Blogging

2008-04-25T11:08:00.000-04:00

This is my first blog. Until now, I have never thought about blogging. Currently, I am a college student in a communications class. The class focus is on mass media. As a requirement for this class I have to complete an eight page paper on an element of mass media. Last night, I decided I wanted to write about something that I have very little knowledge on, and that topic is blogging. I spoke to my instructor, and received approval of my topic. He suggested I create my own blog as part of my research, so this is the begining.