Archive for June, 2011

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June 10, 2011

I Play Like A Girl

Growing up, I heard a lot of “you can’t do that, you’re a girl.”  Not that I payed attention much, being a tomboy and all.

But it was still there. PE classes where the boys played baseball or basketball, and the girls will handed jump ropes or, if we were lucky, the lone softball in the bucket. Pop Warner football teams that handed the girls pompoms and called it good enough. And even when we all had class together (running), the girls only had to run half the distance the boys did. Which is great, unless you like to run.

But then, even when you did manage to break through, you were either compared to the boys, or told you weren’t acting “ladylike”. Pssh. Who wants to be a lady, if it means you can’t have FUN?

As we got older, some of us broke out. Joined the football team, the hockey team, the track team. Found places to practice yoga that was anything BUT relaxing. OR, in my case, dance. Of every kind I could get my hands on. I have a habit of telling my marathon runner husband that I’ve been an athlete at a caliber he can only DREAM of for the last 20 years. Anyone who says dance is not a sport (or is easy) needs to sit through ONE rehearsal. That’ll shut ’em up.

But until recently, there hasn’t been a lot of respect for female athletes, and on an even bigger level, women who just LIKE physical activity. Mass media tells us women should be thin and graceful, but not have the muscle definition regular sport provides. Look good in a sports bra, but don’t have strong shoulders. Pippa Middleton is revered for her crazy thin legs, but you can find people who think Kara Goucher looks deformed because her record-breaking runs have built up some serious muscle, and it shows.

Which is why it’s so, SO encouraging to see companies coming out in support … and LOUD support at that … of women. To be able to say to a little girl “Find something you love to do and DO IT. However that shapes your body is perfect. See? Here are a bunch of people who think so, too.”?  EXCELLENT. And long-awaited. We’re girls. We play hard. Get used to it.

Ad campaign courtesy of Nike Women.

Click and read them. Some are better than others (Thighs and Hips are my favorites) … and Butt is just hilarious.

Posted in Serious Biz-ness, Whip Me Into Shape | 7 Comments »

June 9, 2011

Hrumph

Let me preface this by saying I do commercial property management for a living.

Knowing that will help you make sense of the rest of this.

I had plans tonight. Big plans. I have a run to do. A wedding gown to bustle for a lovely lady who’s soon to be married. A dinner to cook and enjoy. A husband to spend some much needed time with.

But no. An elevator needed to break down at the building. More specifically the elevator to the roof. On an evening when I have over 100 people on said roof for a party. A party thrown by our resident law firm tenant. While it’s 100 degrees outside.

Needless to say, they are NOT pleased. The best I could do in the short term was open a stairwell and ask them to walk up and down 5 flights of stairs to access. (No one acknowledges that this is a good thing … if I hadn’t been able to open a higher floor, they’d be walking up and down 10 flights. And yet, it’s not enough.)

Technicians have been called. I got an “I’m on my way right now” oh … just under an hour ago? I get that DC traffic is a nightmare, but seriously? GET HERE. This one constitutes an emergency. In an hour and a half I have musicians and caterers who need to be able to move their equipment. If it starts raining (as it’s been threatening to do) I need them down sooner than that. Just get here.

All of this is irritating, but not enough to piss me off. It’s highly inconvenient, but it’s part of the job. I manage the building. Things go wrong, it’s my problem. (This is all true.) It’s all in a day’s work, right?

Except that it isn’t. THIS is the engineer’s job. The maintenance of the mechanical equipment in the building is SOLELY his responsibility. He was the first call security made when we realized there was a problem. His response? “I can’t, I just sat down to dinner. Is anyone still there? They can handle it. Don’t call me again.”

WHAT. THE. EFF.

::fumes::

So for now, I sit, and I wait for the technician. But tomorrow? Oh, tomorrow there will be hell to pay. You can bet on it.

 

PS – I WILL learn how to properly schedule things on WordPress. I will. The silence of the last two days was due to the fact that the two posts I THOUGHT I had scheduled are ACTUALLY set to go up tomorrow and Saturday. Hmm.

I’d promise it wouldn’t happen again, but DUDE, this is me we’re talking about. ::winks::

Posted in Mow? | Leave a Comment »

June 7, 2011

Le Sigh

So, what happens when I write a post while half asleep, neglect to save it, wake up late, and then get stuck in a train tunnel for 45 extra minutes (yah, thanks for that WMATA) so I have no time to rewrite?

Well, because I love you, you get pictures of the adorable nephew.

And him. I mean, look at him!

Alright, Tuesday. Clean up your act, or you’re fired.

Posted in Baby! | 1 Comment »

June 6, 2011

Team Practical


 

Considering most of you have come into my life through APW (and are female), this may come as a bit of a shock:

I hate girls.

I’ve always hated girls. The pretty pretty princess play of the girls in my neighborhood could never compare to the games of  street hockey and dressing up as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle with my childhood best friend, Eric. To say I was a tomboy would be putting it EXTREMELY mildly. I was the 7-year-old who teachers knew to keep separated from a particular boy … because we would physically fight when in close proximity. The 10-year-old who had a royal FIT when I was cast as the princess in the school play. Who wanted to wear a gold dress and faint when there were sword battles to be had? The 15-year-old who kicked a boy when he dared to suggest a girl couldn’t play soccer.

In the 13 years since that kicking, I’ve changed … a bit. Skirts are allowed (though I’ll generally choose jeans), and there are definitely more pairs of heels in my closet than anyone really needs. But as much as things change, things also tend to stay the same: with one very big exception (that’d be Skye … you’ll hear a lot about her) the majority of my closest friends are guys. I follow hockey like nobody’s business. I’ve had my sword fights … in and out of full skirts. I play hard and rough, and generally am annoyed when I have to “behave like a lady.” Which is not to say I CAN’T … but that’s beyond the point. ::winks::

So imagine my surprise to find myself ears deep in a community of thoughtful, intelligent, hilarious, caring WOMEN.

And loving every second of it.

I don’t know if it’s that I’m finally becoming compatible with women, or that APW attracts ladies who think the same way I do … I like to think it’s a little bit of both. But it constantly amazes me that I have this awesome network of women … those that I have met and those that I’ve gotten close to online … who I can relate to, share with, laugh with, fight for, and support … women I LIKE. Women I can jump on a bus … or drive 400 miles … to see, be sure of a couch to crash on, and know, without a doubt, we’re going to get along BETTER than we do online. Women I can count on for a happy hour, for a good conversation, for sympathy and closely kept secrets. And if the last couple of meet-ups have been any indication, there will always be at least one new lovely worth keeping each time we all get together.

So … Team Practical … and all the women who’ve always been on Team Sarah (whether I’ve acknowledged it or not) … thanks. I love you all. There’s a couch and a cold beer waiting for you, whenever you want it. Just say the word.

 

Posted in Me Time, People You'll Heart | 8 Comments »

June 3, 2011

Little Pieces … of What?

Uh oh … yet another one jumping on the blogging bandwagon?
 
Damn straight.
 
So here we go. A place for me to share my (completely random) thoughts/dreams/rants/stories. A place where anything is fair game … the things that amuse me … the things that make me think … the things that piss me off … and everything in between.
 
And hey, maybe we’ll have some discussion time while we’re at it.
 
It’s a good goal.
 
But seriously, what’s with the name?
 
What it is they say? Who you are is determined by your experiences? Something like that. Personally, I think there’s a lot of
wisdom in that. I like the idea that you get little bits and pieces of yourself from all over. I mean, look at that freaking awesome bunch of photos (thank you random FB app!). FULL of people I love, who’ve helped me become, well, me. (I’ll stop now before I bust out into a Wicked song.)
 
Seems fitting for a blog that won’t necessarily be about any one thing.
 
Plus, when I first heard it, I couldn’t get it out of my head for the next three days. Sounds like a win!

Posted in Me Time | 3 Comments »

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