Day 130 - 2

10 on the treadmill and 1 set of 15 and then 10 on the bike and another set of 15.  I got to each of my machines in an orderly fashion with no waiting but I'm not sure how.  The place was packed!  There was a large class going on in the classroom.  Most of the step machines were in use.  Several of the treadmills and there were all sorts of people around doing stretches and weights.  It was wild. 

Our weekend was not one in which most Seattlites were inclined to spend outside or doing much.  It was wet and muggy and very unusual Seattle weather and not in a good way.  So I'm guessing by this morning they were all itching to do something... anything... and the gym seemed like a fine idea.

It's a star and a shower for me!

Day 130 - 2

10 on the treadmill and 1 set of 15 and then 10 on the bike and another set of 15.  I got to each of my machines in an orderly fashion with no waiting but I'm not sure how.  The place was packed!  There was a large class going on in the classroom.  Most of the step machines were in use.  Several of the treadmills and there were all sorts of people around doing stretches and weights.  It was wild. 

Our weekend was not one in which most Seattlites were inclined to spend outside or doing much.  It was wet and muggy and very unusual Seattle weather and not in a good way.  So I'm guessing by this morning they were all itching to do something... anything... and the gym seemed like a fine idea.

It's a star and a shower for me!

Historical Connections

A year or so ago, I got a call one evening from someone 'are you the Susan Dennis who went to Bethany College?'  I was curt and abrupt and gave them the telemarketer hangup.  They called back and left several messages on my answering machine.  It was three girls I knew in college who were, apparently, having a few dozen cocktails and drunk dialing everyone they had ever met.  I did not call them back.

I've thought about that call many times.  Or rather my reaction to it.  I really have few and new even fewer ties to who I was.  I don't have any connection any more with anyone I went to school with at all.  Not under school, not high school, not college and that's fine by me.  I am mildly interested in what happened to them all.  But only in a very passive way. 

I did not like myself until I got out of college and I think that's part of not wanting a part of the people who knew me when I didn't like me.  And I'm not good friend material even when interested so why invest anything in people I'm not interested in? 

This morning I got a note from a woman I went to high school with.  The high school I went to had very very few people from my town and this woman was one of those few.  I not only went to elementary school with her but also with her husband, which it turns out, amazingly enough, she's still married to!  (A very Yikes aside.  As I recall Susan and Eddie were boyfriend and girlfriend in at least the 6th grade.  Ted Heefner and I double dated with them to the Patrol Boy's Roller Skating Party in 6th grade. - and, see, I'd really love to know what happened to Ted Heefner, but not enough to do anything to find out... but anyway... that means that Susan and Eddie (who are both 58 years old) have now been together for at least 46 fucking years.)

She says she got my email address from Marshall Chapman.  I have no clue how Marshall Chapman even has my email address.  Or why.  But... 

When you google "Susan Dennis" today, the first 8 entries are me.  (9, 11 and 12 are minimac.  and 13 is a woman I used to work for at IBM)...  BUT, until 1979, my name was Susan Schubert and if you google that, you will find a kazillion of them and none are me.

So while I've always thought I was imminently findable, I guess to those who knew me in school and for several years thereafter, this is definitely not the case. 

I will reply to Susan.  I'm not at all interested in reunions, giving money to the school or really being in the alumnae publication (which was the point of her note) but, I don't want to be mean.  And in her world, my saying no thank you would be mean.  I need to think about this. 

These people from my past (the pre-me, included) seem so far removed from now.  Mom was my last tie with the pre-me.  Now that she's gone, it's hard to relate and reconcile and I'm not sure I see any need or reason to anyway.

ramble, ramble, ramble

Historical Connections

A year or so ago, I got a call one evening from someone 'are you the Susan Dennis who went to Bethany College?'  I was curt and abrupt and gave them the telemarketer hangup.  They called back and left several messages on my answering machine.  It was three girls I knew in college who were, apparently, having a few dozen cocktails and drunk dialing everyone they had ever met.  I did not call them back.

I've thought about that call many times.  Or rather my reaction to it.  I really have few and new even fewer ties to who I was.  I don't have any connection any more with anyone I went to school with at all.  Not under school, not high school, not college and that's fine by me.  I am mildly interested in what happened to them all.  But only in a very passive way. 

I did not like myself until I got out of college and I think that's part of not wanting a part of the people who knew me when I didn't like me.  And I'm not good friend material even when interested so why invest anything in people I'm not interested in? 

This morning I got a note from a woman I went to high school with.  The high school I went to had very very few people from my town and this woman was one of those few.  I not only went to elementary school with her but also with her husband, which it turns out, amazingly enough, she's still married to!  (A very Yikes aside.  As I recall Susan and Eddie were boyfriend and girlfriend in at least the 6th grade.  Ted Heefner and I double dated with them to the Patrol Boy's Roller Skating Party in 6th grade. - and, see, I'd really love to know what happened to Ted Heefner, but not enough to do anything to find out... but anyway... that means that Susan and Eddie (who are both 58 years old) have now been together for at least 46 fucking years.)

She says she got my email address from Marshall Chapman.  I have no clue how Marshall Chapman even has my email address.  Or why.  But... 

When you google "Susan Dennis" today, the first 8 entries are me.  (9, 11 and 12 are minimac.  and 13 is a woman I used to work for at IBM)...  BUT, until 1979, my name was Susan Schubert and if you google that, you will find a kazillion of them and none are me.

So while I've always thought I was imminently findable, I guess to those who knew me in school and for several years thereafter, this is definitely not the case. 

I will reply to Susan.  I'm not at all interested in reunions, giving money to the school or really being in the alumnae publication (which was the point of her note) but, I don't want to be mean.  And in her world, my saying no thank you would be mean.  I need to think about this. 

These people from my past (the pre-me, included) seem so far removed from now.  Mom was my last tie with the pre-me.  Now that she's gone, it's hard to relate and reconcile and I'm not sure I see any need or reason to anyway.

ramble, ramble, ramble

Who's News?

I watch an hour of local TV news (30 mins on each of two stations) most nights and an hour of national news (30 mins on each of two networks) and then the 1st 15 minutes or so of the 10 p.m. local news and the first 15 minutes of the 11 p.m. local news.  And I read one local newspaper every day.  Oh and listen to about an hour of NPR every morning.  (Most of this, by the way, is while doing other things....  I don't focus on this much news ever day, I promise.)

I read my LJ friends page religiously and keep up with a fair number of blogs on everything from technical tips to what bling jimcarson has added to his home appliances lately.

I do not read a lot of news news online.  I rarely go to any news websites.  Or news commentary websites. 

And it sometimes strikes me how different my view of what constitutes current event is. 

This morning on my friends page, drewan notes his surprise that there has not been so much coverage of Tammy Faye Baker's death.  (And one of his commenter's says the same thing.)  I, on the other hand, was amazed and surprised at how very much coverage her death got! 

I lived in Charlotte, NC when she and Jim were growing their little franchise.  They were the talk and the joke of what was then a fairly small town.  A friend of mine won several journalism awards covering their downfall. 

So I was more than a little surprised at the amount of coverage she got and the respect with which her life was covered.  Even as the world was far more focused on Harry Potter.

Interesting, though, the different views of current events.  I think I need to hunt up some new sources.

Who's News?

I watch an hour of local TV news (30 mins on each of two stations) most nights and an hour of national news (30 mins on each of two networks) and then the 1st 15 minutes or so of the 10 p.m. local news and the first 15 minutes of the 11 p.m. local news.  And I read one local newspaper every day.  Oh and listen to about an hour of NPR every morning.  (Most of this, by the way, is while doing other things....  I don't focus on this much news ever day, I promise.)

I read my LJ friends page religiously and keep up with a fair number of blogs on everything from technical tips to what bling jimcarson has added to his home appliances lately.

I do not read a lot of news news online.  I rarely go to any news websites.  Or news commentary websites. 

And it sometimes strikes me how different my view of what constitutes current event is. 

This morning on my friends page, drewan notes his surprise that there has not been so much coverage of Tammy Faye Baker's death.  (And one of his commenter's says the same thing.)  I, on the other hand, was amazed and surprised at how very much coverage her death got! 

I lived in Charlotte, NC when she and Jim were growing their little franchise.  They were the talk and the joke of what was then a fairly small town.  A friend of mine won several journalism awards covering their downfall. 

So I was more than a little surprised at the amount of coverage she got and the respect with which her life was covered.  Even as the world was far more focused on Harry Potter.

Interesting, though, the different views of current events.  I think I need to hunt up some new sources.