Personal Floatation Devices

PFD’s are normally associated with life vests but that’s what my friend and I call women’s implants. It seriously looks in many cases like they have two personal flotation devices ready to keep them bobbing with just their neck and heads above water.

Yes I’m being harsh but if I could take away one ‘invention’ of the world it would probably be these. It bothers me that there is so much pressure on women to look ‘good’ that they will undergo unnecessary surgery and then lug those bulky things around and possibly cause back problems.

This strong pressure to feel pretty comes from marketing companies who make you feel bad about yourself so you will buy crap. And it seems to me this pressure causes problems with body image and confidence in almost all women. This in turn causes problems in relationships. So we would all be better off if we could just accept ourselves in a natural state. Yes you should eat right and exercise and keep yourself clean but beyond that you should concentrate on more important things like knowledge, growth, helping others and being the best person you can and not just the one with the biggest ta-tas.

With regards to implants, I’d like to get to a point where women just say “no I’m not doing that, I have plenty to offer just the way I am”. I seriously think most guys are fine (and happy) with a woman’s natural body and the ones who would encourage you to risk your health and waste your money are probably not the right ones anyway.

Cat “A Cup and Happy” Cathy

Six Hours to Nowhere

I’ve mountain biked for many years now but I’d only raced once. That one race was such a disaster I never wanted to go again. I was in novice women and the other women were ridiculously fast. I would think novice should be for people like me who just race and ride a bit but these girls had been racing for years and must have rode all the time. I was so far behind and I didn’t know anyone so I was getting what I called ‘the pity clap’. Strangers were cheering me on with “you can do it number 658”. It was sweet but not as motivational as they might have thought. It kinda made me feel pathetic. So I decided I didn’t want to commit that much time and racing is just not for me.

Flash forward several years and I’m asked to do a 6 hour mountain bike race. This is a solo event but thankfully there is also a 3 person team category. So Team Spin Spin Sugars was born. We didn’t train except for our usual Tuesday rides and I had never ridden the actual race course. So as I took the baton from my fellow Spin Spin I headed off into 10 miles of undiscovered country. I was told the trail was a ‘blue’ which is only somewhat technical. So I went full speed even in areas that looked to be highly technical. Thankfully my teammates didn’t steer me wrong and there was nothing more than a blue. It was still a bit scary heading full speed into some of the unknown drops. It was a brutal race since I couldn’t catch my breath on my first lap and since I had never ridden there before 10 miles felt more like 20. My second lap felt shorter and my breathing was ok but my legs felt like rubber since I sat for two hours in between laps.

Our not training paid off since we took 3rd in the all women’s division! After my lousy first race experience I never thought I’d get a medal in mountain biking so that it was exciting and fun to pose on the podium.

Will I do it again? Probably but I’m not going to make a lifestyle out of it. There are just too many other things on my bucket list.

Cat “Spin Spin” Cathy

Nicaragua - San Juan Del Sur

On the way to San Juan Del Sur we saw the Nicaraguan equivalent of mass transit. I just had to take a picture of 12 people AND a motorcycle in the back of a pickup truck.

We also stopped at a wind farm. It was amazing to pass an ox pulling a cart and then see a wind farm in the background. Talk about a contrast. But as an environmental engineer I was glad to see this cleaner form of energy being used.

San Juan Del Sur is about as touristy a town as Nicaragua gets (which is not very touristy). There are several restaurants on the water but it really didn’t seem to matter which one you picked since they all had the same food. I was totally bored and over the food in Nicaragua at this point. That was quite a disappointment since food is usually a fun part of any vacation.

There’s was new Jesus statue that was just built so we took a short hike to it so we could tell everyone we found Jesus on our vacation. We also did the typical zip lining and rode ATV’s to the beaches.

The highlight came when I found this holistic place and an American guy who said his wife did massages. I decided a massage would be a great idea but I was fresh off the beach and wanted to go home and shower first. So we set an appointment for about 6 pm. I cleaned up and was looking forward to my relaxing massage. When I arrived the quite place had been transformed into a loud dance club. The American guy said he had forgotten when he made my appointment that the back of the building is used as a dance club on Saturday nights. I decided to get the massage anyway. I expected his wife to be some hippie looking American too but she was a very big and very un-hippie looking Nicaraguan who didn’t speak English. So while I got my massage music was blaring just a few feet away. Somehow it was still a bit relaxing and a fun experience. My very first (and hopefully last) disco massage! Now there is something for the bucket list.

Next we head to our final Nicaraguan stop at Ometepe Island which was the highlight of the vacation.

Cat “Where’s a McDonalds?” Cathy

Nicaragua – Most Extreme Vacation Ever!

I’m a little behind on my Nicaragua vacation blog. I blogged about the first few days but never completed the trip blog. I guess that happens when you’re busy and doing so many cool things. But it’s over a year later and I still remember the trip fondly and I really think it was the most extreme (and unusual) vacation I ever took. The food was not that great and there were times I didn’t feel totally safe but boy what an adventure!

From barely making it into the country since they thought I had swine flu, to bribing the cops out of a traffic ticket even though we couldn’t understand Spanish to visiting a live active volcano where you back your car in just in case you have to leave in a hurry…i.e. avoid molten lava rocks… this trip was extreme! I’ve already talked about these adventures in previous posts so it’s on to new topics.

From the volcano viewing we headed to Grenada. This city didn’t really impress me much as the food was not good and somewhat expensive and I never felt very safe here. But I did enjoy watching some kids doing break dancing for tips. They were really good and I tipped them well. In a way I felt bad for them since they probably had to do this to help their families but they were very fit and seemed to enjoy the work at least. I also met two cute little boys at my hotel. They hung out in front and waited for tourists to give them money. I’m not a big fan of just handing money to people but I did share my fruit with them and took a cute picture and gave them money for that. While taking the picture I could tell one of the kids was trying to find money in my back pocket. Hence some of the reason I didn’t feel overly safe.

We took a boat trip in Lake Nicaragua and saw lots of islands formed from a local volcano spewing rocks over the centuries. These islands were mostly individual homes and some really nice ones at that. It was quite a contrast from the 3 people per bicycle I was seeing on the mainland. Many of the island owners were locals too according to our tour guide. It was tempting to buy an island there but it was pretty expensive and unfortunately the water of Lake Nicaragua is brown and not nearly as appealing as ocean waters.

From Grenada we headed to San Juan Del Sur which I will blog about soon! The best is yet to come as I talk about my unusual massage and Ometepe Island in my next posts.

Cat “Agua Fria Por Favor” Cathy

Single White Female

As a newly single person, I’m back to the online dating sites yet again. It’s entertaining in many ways. It’s like the exact opposite of meeting someone in person at a bar or other social event. In person you know if you are attracted and then you just have to figure out if they are interested and if they meet your basic requirements such as age, education, smoking and kids. Online you know if they meet your basic requirements (assuming they are honest) and you just have to figure out if you would be at all attracted to them.

Here are a few picture observations/opinions for the guys out there:

-Pictures with a big fish. Unless you just love to fish and plan on spending a lot of time doing this I would just leave this picture off. Most women aren’t into fishing and are not impressed by the big fish. If you want to prove you can provide for them then just show a picture with your paycheck!

-Pictures with hot hooters/wing house/insert sexy girl here. Especially when the guy is in the range I’m looking for (over 37) it looks like you are posing with your daughter or just very immature. You aren’t fooling anyone that you could ‘get’ a girl who looks like that and if that’s what you want than I’m not interested anyway.

-Pictures that are self taken using a mirror. If you are serious about finding someone you should put just a little more effort into it. Maybe put on a shirt and have a friend take the picture. Or use this crazy thing called a timer.

-Pictures that are cut in half but still show a portion of the other person (usually the ex). Are you telling me that was the only good picture you had of yourself or that every single picture you took had the ex in them? Seriously, find a full picture of just you or take some new ones.

Ok I’m not trying to be mean to the guys. I’ve been on several dates and most of the guys I’ve met have been pretty nice. I only have a girl’s perspective so feel free to reply with a guy’s point of view and realize this was all meant to be light hearted.

Cat “Somewhere Out There” Cathy

Off Road Biking

I’m bike shopping but I can’t decide between a cross country and an all mountain bike. I came across this funny and also helpful description of the different types of ‘off road’ bikes and types of riding:

Downhill: A race to see who can coast the fastest on a motorcycle that's had the engine removed and then riding a ski lift back up.

Free ride: Downhill without a time clock.

Urban Assault: Trying to justify spending all that money on a mountain bike for riding on the pavement.

Dirt Jumping: Falling off cliffs while holding onto a bicycle.

Cross Country: Riding skinny little fragile bikes expecting to be able to do everything downhillers/free riders do on bikes built with the strength of a road bike.

All Mountain: Overweight XC guys who ride bikes with too much travel and too much weight to really be useful.

I should be insulted since I do a lot of urban assaults but it’s a funny and somewhat true description since I have a way too expensive ‘off road’ bike that spends most of it’s time on asphalt. But I live in Orlando so our overpasses are our hills and we enjoy them the best we can!

Cat ‘for this much money they should have a motor’ Cathy

Changes Aren’t Permanent, But Change Is

Sometimes it seems like nothing changes but then I look at where I was just a year earlier and I’m amazed at all that has happened. This year I did a relay for life skate event and I was thinking about the event the previous year. A new car, a new job, a lost boyfriend and 3 vacations later…Wow a lot HAD happened and changed.

I really enjoy reflecting on where I am in my life now compared to previous years. It’s a good way to see how I’ve grown and reminds me of my life experiences. Next time an annual event occurs take some time to see where you are compared to a year or several years earlier. It can be quite entertaining and enlightening.

Cat “Change Changing Places” Cathy