Barefooting

I bought some new ‘barefoot’ running shoes the other day. I know this sounds like an odd joke but its true. They’re running shoes that are ‘barely there’ (reminds me of bra adds) since the shoes are light and don’t really provide arch and foot support. If you’ve seen them you would probably remember since they usually have the individual toes cut out so they stand out as rather peculiar looking.

I’m always looking at new inventions and ways to waste my money and I’ve had my eye on these for a while. The theory is that you don’t need all the support we currently use and your feet and legs will adjust to the barefoot approach. This seems to go against the current belief that you need loads of support for all the pounding and impact. I did a lot of reading up on the two schools of thought and neither really seems conclusive so I decided to find out for myself.

It’s actually quite interesting in my case since I love to go barefoot or in flip flops when ever I can. But when I buy running shoes the store employees always tell me I have pronation issues really badly and needed some highly supportive shoes. They always bring out extremely old lady looking shoes that I would never wear. Thankfully they always seem to have one or two that look ok. So now I have extremely padded shoes and almost the exact opposite barefoot shoes.

One of the first things I did with my new shoes was show my neighbor. He was excited and a wee bit jealous since I had the new lace up type which weren’t even available in North America until a few weeks previous…or so he informed me. He’s a big fan in case you haven’t guessed that.

The barefoot shoe company recommends a 90-10 split so you can get used not having support. I assume this was provided for some kind of liability issue. Since I hardly ever run I wasn’t sure this applied to me but I used them for working out at the gym, some off road running and a recent ropes challenge/zip line day. They were comfy and a great conversation piece. They worked well on the ropes challenge since I felt like I could grip better until I got to a metal cable I had to walk across. That one hurt a bit as did a root I stepped on when I was running in the woods.

I don’t run often and the jury is still out for me on these shoes…much like all the articles I found about barefooting. I guess they just want everyone to decide for themselves. But my next challenge for them will be rock climbing.

Cat “Ten Toes” Cathy

I’m Smarter Than a Fifth Grader

I recently had a chance to do outreach for fifth graders and teach them a bit of engineering and science. I hadn’t prepared and I was more worried and uncomfortable about teaching this young age than the high school and college kids I’d spoken to in the past.

I planned on doing an old balloon experiment/trick my mom used to do with me when I was a kid. You put a balloon taped to a straw on a string then let go and watch it fly across the room. I remember this from my childhood but I didn’t know if it would stand the test of time. After all these kids had video games and computers and cell phones so what fun could a balloon on a string possibly be?

I arrived on campus with my string and duct tape to hold up the string. Somehow this struck me as funny and potentially hard to explain to authorities. But the ‘experiment’ worked well and was a big hit! It was a blast to teach young minds and I enjoyed the nostalgia from my childhood. I couldn’t wait to call my mom and tell her how well received her old science trick was.

The kids were adorable and I saw a few eyes light up when I explained the engineering behind the experiments and what I did for a living. I hope my small amount of time was enough to let them know Engineering is a career option and maybe encourage them to try it. Sometimes you just don’t know what your options are until someone informs you. So if you get the chance to teach young’ins I say go for it. It will be a fun day, good growth experience for you and I don’t think you can put a price on helping another person to learn and grow.

Cat “Class Dismissed” Cathy

It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I love the Christmas holiday season! I know for many people there’s a lot of stress due to money worries and buying gifts. But I find the best gift of all is the gift of time. So instead of getting presents for everyone I just do my group events and spend time with friends and family. It makes for a fun stress free holiday and brings in the true meaning of the holidays. It’s not about what you buy for someone and what they give you. It’s about spending time together, having fun, being good to each other and making memories.

I’ll pick up a few minor gifts for my closest BFFs but I’ll be spending most of my time away from malls doing the Santa stumble pub crawl, tacky Christmas outfit party, Christmas lights skates and bike rides plus many other fun outdoorsy adventures.

So think about your planned holiday activities. Are you enjoying the true spirit of the season? Does the season mean a new big screen TV or fun times with family and friends? I’ve made my choice and offer it here as an alternative to consider. But only you can decide what’s best for you and your family. Make sure its based on what you want and not what marketers have told you should want to be happy…after all they only make money by making you not happy with what you currently have.

Cat ‘Deck those Halls’ Cathy

Face Who?

I have a Facebook account. Gasp… I know this is shocking news (but you won’t find me under my Catastrophe name). I find Facebook (or fb as I like to write it) handy for catching up and seeing what old friends are doing … even though I almost never do this. Fb is also good for getting and sending party invites, sharing pictures and the occasional status update. I’m talking about things like “I got a promotion” not “I ate a burger for lunch”. But that’s it and I’m done with fb after these few uses. I totally don’t get the whole game and hug and poke and pillow fight things and anything else on facebook. If I want to play video games I will play real ones with good graphics. And if I want to poke someone…well I really don’t want to poke anyone and a real hug beats a virtual one any day.

I also don’t get the whole connect to my music and internet TV accounts. Why? I have music and TV accounts of course but why do I need to connect them to fb? Do my friends really need to know what I’m watching and listening to? I guess maybe I’d find a friend or two who shared an interest in some of my TV shows and wanted to discuss them. But let’s face it, I hardly have time to watch the shows let alone talk about them with my 400 plus ‘friends’.

I love all the new technology and I think we are truly blessed to live in a time with so many modern conveniences and ways to be connected to others. Unfortunately the most important way to be connected – face to face in person – seems to be getting lost since we are all too busy staying home and reading updates and then checking these updates while we are out with other friends.

Cat ‘A True Friend Would Plow my Field’ Cathy

Harpo

Somehow I got on an Oprah emailing list. I’m not sure how this happened since I’ve never been a big fan of her show. Quite frankly I just don’t get the appeal. I’ve watched a few shows and tried but it just wasn’t doing it for me. You’d think I’d like the show with my Greek ancestry as Oprah sounds much like OPA! But nope.

I saw a couple episodes with Dr. Phil or as I like to call him, Dr. Obvious. He would state very basic things like you really shouldn’t hit your wife. Really? Do you have to be a PhD to know this? Seems like common sense to me.

Then I saw an episode with a supermodel showing ‘bargain’ fashion finds. She showed a dress from the Oscars (or one of those entertainment events) made by some famous designer that was selling for $10,000. Then she showed a knock off she found for the bargain price of $1,000. News flash, $1,000 is a pretty hefty amount to pay for one dress. Sadly I think that’s more than my whole wardrobe costs!

Then there was that episode where a guy was sleeping with his best friend’s wife and everyone was shouting “Oprah, Oprah, Oprah”. No wait that was ‘Jerry’….sorry wrong show.

Lately my weight has fluctuated about 15 pounds so I like to tell people I’m a small scale Oprah or ‘Oprah light’. Perhaps the weight gain is due to all that Fried Oprah I’ve been eating…I mean fried Okra. It’s all so confusing.

Cat “yhtac” Cathy

Food, Glorious Food!

I’ve been planning to do a ten day fast for several months now but something always comes up. Namely a nice meal event always comes up that I don’t want to miss. When I think about it I’m surprised just how many of my activities involve food. Even if I go out for sports we always have food afterwards. That time dining together and socializing is very much a part of the fun and I don’t want to miss out.

I happened to catch part of a movie about juice fasting and I realized I had put my fast off for far too long. So on a whim I decided I would start my own juice fast the very next day! After all, it had been about 10 years since I’d completed a fast longer than 24 hours and I was well overdue. I drank fresh squeezed veggie and fruit juices, fresh brewed green tea with no sweetener and water for 64 hours straight. This was a personal record for me since the longest I’d ever fasted before was around 55 hours.

I really didn’t feel bad during the fast. I would get a minor headache and hunger pangs but these were short lived. The hardest part was answering the same question of ‘why’ over and over again. To me the answer would seem obvious. Most people fast for religion, health or to lose weight. For me it was mostly for health reasons. I wanted to cleanse and detoxify my system. I also just thought it would be interesting to try it and challenge myself. But after telling friends this several times I made up some better answers:

“To please my gods”
“The voices told me to”
“Chewing is so last year”
“I like all the pretty colors”

My results were good. My weight reduced a few pounds but I’m sure most of that was just no food in my belly. My health was fine and I felt slightly more clear headed than usual during the fast. Not only would I do it again I’ve already started planning it since a coworker wants to join me. I’m shooting for a new PR of 72 hours.

Juicy ‘Cat’ure

Mother Goosed

For four years running (or skating I should say) I have been a parade performer at a local theme park. Generally I get a role as a skater or backup skater doing other characters when skaters are not needed. I really enjoy this parade. It puts me in the Christmas Spirit and I’m always happy when I’m skating OR performing so combining the two makes me especially happy!

I auditioned this year and I thought I did really well. I even got a call back to learn a dance routine. That was a bit humiliating but I tried and I never claimed to be a dancer. So when I got my phone call I expected my usual skater role. I was all excited until they offered me…you guessed it…Mother Goose!

This is not a skating roll at all. The lady making the offer was acting like they were doing me a favor. I looked around at my fancy new office and professional engineering license and laughed. The thought of the extra stress and leaving work early every day for this piddly little role at about ¼ my current salary was somehow amusing in an insulting sort of way.

So naturally I turned the role down. I guess this is what happens when you are over 40. Suddenly you have to take the ‘Mother’ roles. I’m disappointed to say the least. My skating skills are still great and this role always makes the holiday season that much more fun for me. But I guess all things must come to an end. This is not the first or worst rejection/loss/disappointment I’ve had this year.

I chose to be happy in spite of all the disappointments and assume there’s some reason this wasn’t meant to be. I practiced for the audition and got a good night’s sleep. So I did the best I could and no regrets there. Maybe something better will come along or maybe I will get my parade fix in another local parade or somehow other good things will come along to make up for this. Wish me luck and best of luck to you in dealing with your losses and disappointments too!

Cat “Sk8er” Cathy