Common Sense
Posted on February 26, 2017 by Brian under Funny Musings.
Common sense, it’s such an over looked commodity that humans possess. Yet, it seems that not all people have it, or they have just not been put in a position that allowed them to develop the common sense needed in order to survive in this world without the need for intervention from people that have it in droves and feel the need to assist those that lack it.
For example, the seat belt laws. Here’s a brief history on seat belts for those of you that didn’t know. Back in the late 50s to early 60s, test were done to determine if seatbelts were something that would need to be required on cars and could they really save lives. In 1968, Title 49 was implemented in the federal code that required all cars manufactured to have seat belts designed into them for safety. Now we go on for years with no laws requiring you to wear a seat belt, it was just common sense at this point. The government felt it was important enough to implement a law that required manufacturers to design these devices into your cars for safety and this should have been (and probably was for the vast majority of people) the sign that you should wear this whenever you are in a car. But no, there are those out there with no common sense and they chose not to wear a seat belt.
Now we fast forward to the mid 80s. States realize that they have idiots behind the wheel of these vehicles and they need to do something to save their dumb lives because lord knows, we have to many people on this planet as it is and we can’t let Darwinism take its course and thin the herd. We need these dumb people to pay taxes and vote for stupid presidents…sorry, I got on a tangent.
Anyway, mid 80s, New York decides they have had enough and becomes the first state to implement a mandatory seatbelt law that went into effect December of 84. Shortly after many other states started passing laws that required you to wear a seat belt for your own safety. To this day however, not every state has passed a law that states you are required to wear a seat belt.
Here’s my two cents on the whole matter and the point I’m trying to make. We were given common sense for a reason. If you choose to not use it then you should be met with the consequences of those actions. Who are we to create (what I call) common sense laws? I mean, if you want to get in your car and drive down the street and not wear your seat belt, then go ahead. Common sense says you should wear the seat belt because it will save your life, but if you get into an accident and fly through the windshield threading your face and then shattering your skull as you slam into the pavement and only a slightly reduced speed that you were initially traveling, then go ahead…the world will be a better place now that your stupidity has left it.
I’ve always said, stupidity should be painful. Creating these laws that stop people from using common sense is just breeding a less than intelligent society that will rely more and more on their governments to tell them what to do. It’s just a matter of time before we have a law that tells us that we need to breathe daily, and that it’s illegal to hold your breath because it may result in your death…just saying.
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Pictures from the 23rd Annual Heart Ball
Posted on February 26, 2017 by Ching under Life.
Here are pictures from the Heart Ball, an event that we attended a couple of weeks ago. I know grandma has been patiently waiting to see these. This event happened on the same day as the Stupid Cupid 2 Mile Run. It was quite a Saturday!
I always have to take pictures of table place settings because they always do it up so fancy! I guess we shouldn’t expect anything less from a black-tie optional event.
This is probably the fanciest event we attend all year. This year they upped the ante with a champagne pyramid right as you walked in the door.
They also had a champagne fountain which was a lot of fun. It made me want to drink my champagne quickly so I could keep refilling my glass. I had a photo of champagne fountain but I can’t find it now. I guess you’ll just have to settle for one of me with the champagne pyramid.
This is the first of many selfies we took that evening.
This is one of us with the Batchelders. We found out that night that mom’s boss is Sara’s mom. What a small world!
Another selfie…
The funniest part about this photo is our conversation. Brian goes, “I think the bartender likes me. She keeps giving me free drinks.” I was like, “I thought all the drinks were free?” LOL. This event is open bar. (Another reason why this is one of our faves. Not that we drink a lot.)
This selfie is remarkable in that the tablecloth looks blue in it. It’s actually black. It reminds me of the blue dress that everyone thought was white.
Here are a few more selfies, just ’cause…
Actually, now that I have seen the tablecloth as blue, I see it as blue in every picture. It’s so weird how our eyes play these tricks on us.
We had to get a picture with Alan, one of the guys from bowling. We’ve seen him at a few of these events and, I guess, he has been attending the Heart Ball since the beginning of time. All of his daughters were Sweethearts – meaning they all completed the American Heart Association‘s Sweetheart program.
It’s kind of a big deal. You have to submit an application, agree and sign the Sweetheart Code and Mission Statement, provide two letters of recommendations from non-relatives, pay a huge sum of money (or apply for a scholarship), AND be selected. Anyway, the Sweethearts are required to complete community service and other activities geared toward furthering the AHA’s cause of public health education and providing CPR training.
Here are some pictures of the food we enjoyed that evening.
The desserts are always the same, or they have been the last few years.
A rich chocolate cake and creme brûlée…
Since I ate all of my dessert and then some, I stayed away from the chocolate fountain which they always have at the after party.
The after party is so fun but I’m usually either too tired, too sleepy, or my feet are already killing me by the end of the evening to completely enjoy it. Brian is usually good for a couple of dances but that’s it. In the past Brian and I have only stayed long enough to claim our silent auction items. I think if we were younger then we would probably stay until the very end. We’re just too old. LOL.
Anyway, I’m glad we stayed a little bit longer this time because it wasn’t until late (almost until we were ready to leave) that we ran into Zoe and her husband.
As always, it was a lot of fun. We even ran into our friend Mike (from Splurge) who we got to know just from running into him so many times throughout the year at events like this one. The first year, I swear, he probably thought we were stalking him. LOL. Speaking of events, this may be the last time we are attending this one. Work didn’t get a full table this year so I can sense that we are starting to cut back on event sponsorships. We only had six tickets. So it was Shane and Sara Batchelder, Isaac and Crystal Perez, us and two other couples at our table.
I’m crossing my fingers for next year’s event but not holding my breath. Although, Brian and I have talked about splurging and attending the event on our own dime even if my work doesn’t give us any tickets. The ticket price is pretty steep, though. I think it was $250 per person this year. The only downside of paying for our own tickets is that we will probably have to sit at a table with people we don’t know, which isn’t really that big of a deal because I’ve never met a stranger, but still. We shall wait and see. Until next year.
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Stupid Cupid 2 Mile Run
Posted on February 19, 2017 by Ching under Events, Health, Things to Do.
My friend Andrea talked me into signing up for the Stupid Cupid 2 Mile Run at Sedgwick County Park on February 11. I truly was perfectly satisfied running on the treadmill but Derek and Andrea had both been trying to talk me into signing up for a race. I’d been reluctant because I’m not really fond of running outside. Anyway, when Andrea told me about this one I figured what the heck. It’s only two miles. If I absolutely hate it, then it will be over soon enough.
Anyway, Andrea couldn’t take that Saturday off work so her husband Donavan ended up running in her place. Here’s a picture of the two of us together.
My coworker Joe who has recently started running signed up for the run as well. Above is a picture of him with me and Brian. Brian didn’t run but he was there for moral support and to cheer me on, of course.
Derek and his friend Vicky were also there. I think they signed up for the race months before I even heard about it. Above is a pre-race picture of the five of us. From left: Joe, me, Donavan, Vicky, and Derek.
Derek is a running fanatic. He actually ran eight miles before the race because he’s training for a marathon and wanted to run fatigued. Even so, he still managed to finish first in his age group and fourth overall.
Here are a few more photos of the race. See if you can spot some of us.
Here’s Derek and bowtie guy. They finished back to back.
Here’s Donavan as he approached the finish line.
Here are a couple of pictures of Vicky as she approached the finish line.
Here’s Joe approaching the finish line.
And here’s me.
I didn’t have any specific goals, with it being my first race and all. I was pretty slow, as you can see from my race results below. Joe and I are celebrating anyway because this was a first race for both of us and now we’re no longer race virgins.
Anyway, since I didn’t absolutely hate this experience, I figured that I would give running outside a try so I went on Joe’s 5 AM run the other day. I didn’t hate it either so I may run with him again this week. He’s on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday running schedule. It’s supposed to be rainy on Tuesday so we’ll see.
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Dance for Kids’ Sake
Posted on February 18, 2017 by Ching under Events, Zumba.
I’ve been participating in Big Brothers Big Sisters’ bowling fundraiser on and off for about 15 years. It used to be called Bowl for Kids’ Sake. Now I believe it’s known as Change the Game for Kids’ Sake. Last year, I single-handedly raised $1195 for the campaign. Our team wasn’t the top fundraising team (Jimmy Martinez’ team took that honor) but we were definitely the best dressed. LOL.
Amy invited me to be on her team last year but, since she’s moved out of the Customer Relations Center and Wichita, she isn’t bowling with us this year. Faith, who I bowled with the year before, recruited me to be on her team again this year. Our team consists of Alex Weber, Alicia Grissom, Faith Roach, Mike Blake, and me.
Obviously, I’ve sent my individual fundraising emails already directing people to my fundraising page but we will also be doing fundraising as a team. One of our big fundraising efforts this year is Dance for Kids’ Sake, which is our take on Big Brothers Big Sisters’ Bowl for Kids’ Sake campaign but using Zumba® as the platform for reaching people and getting them involved instead of bowling.
I was actually really overwhelmed with the response when I put feelers out for hosting a Zumbathon® for Big Brothers Big Sisters. All of my ZIN (Zumba Instructor Network) friends wanted to help. So we have nine amazing instructors teaching for 90 minutes. It’s going to be such a blast!
Faith secured the venue for us. The Zumbathon® will be held on Saturday, March 25, at the basketball court/gym in our office on Central. Doors will open at 2:30 PM and the dancing will start at 3:00 PM. While participants are waiting for the Zumbathon® to start they can take fun pictures at the photo wall (I ordered a couple of backdrops from Oriental Trading and Faith is going to let us use her photo booth props) and buy tickets for the raffle. We are raffling off some fabulous prizes! I’m super excited just thinking about it.
I’ve been pretty diligent about getting donations for the raffle. We will have lots of Lularoe stuff; a gift certificate for 20 free yoga classes at Satya Moon Yoga; the Alley donated some free bowling; go karts, and laser maze… We will have a fabulous basket full of Zumba swag. We will have passes to various area attractions and maybe even Music Theatre Wichita tickets. There will be a wine basket and a car car basket. It will be off the chain! I hope I’m using the expression correctly. LOL.
If we get half the attendance that they had at the Zumba Love Party at East YMCA, then we will raise lots of money for Big Brothers Big Sisters. I am super excited!
Speaking of the Zumba Love Party, here are some pictures from that event.
The instructors involved were Jonie, Charis, Missy, Jenny, and Aimee. They did such a great job on this member appreciation event including decorating and promoting. The event had a fabulous turnout!
The next member appreciation event is tomorrow at West YMCA. This one is called Step Up & Dance because it consists of Hip Hop Step with Jacqueline and Kristin and Zumba with Jonie and Joel. Sounds like a blast. I’m really bummed to miss it because (a) I have to teach my own Sunday Zumba class, (b) have to celebrate a friend’s birthday, and (c) it’s bowling night.
There are just too many fun things going on. Anyway, if you’re not doing anything, you should check out Step Up & Dance because it’s free for both members and non-members. And, of course, save the date for Dance for Kids’ Sake because not only will we have a great time but we’re also doing something that benefits our community! See you there!
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ProteinHouse
Posted on February 17, 2017 by Ching under Food and Drink.
We got to try a new restaurant a couple of weeks ago. It’s located right next to the Mixx, which is our regular lunch spot on Thursdays. Last year ProteinHouse was under construction whenever we walked by. We walked by it a few weeks ago and it was finally open. The people inside seemed to be enjoying their food.
Michelle got to try it before the rest of us because she stopped there for lunch the day that she had to walk over to the Sprint Center to purchase tickets for a show.
The rest of us (Kelsey, Selena, and I) got to check it out when we had our team lunch a couple of weeks ago. The restaurant tagline is #EATCLEAN #TRAINMEAN #GETLEAN. It’s an interesting concept.
Here’s a picture of the open kitchen where all the “clean” food is made.
Selena had a wrap with a side of sweet potatoes.
Kelsey had a PH burger with no bun and also a side of sweet potatoes.
Michelle had the Southwest veggie burger which she said was really good. I’m supposed to tell Tammie about it.
I had the Aloha burger with no onions and a side of fruit. I took a couple of pictures of this towering monstrosity of a chicken sandwich for good measure.
The food was not bad. The chicken could have used more flavor but I really liked the pineapple. It made the sandwich more interesting. Other than needing more flavor and being tricky to eat, my sandwich was quite enjoyable. Selena and Kelsey said their sweet potatoes were cold but otherwise enjoyed their meals as well.
I thought the menu prices were a bit high for what you got but I guess that’s the price you have to pay for “clean” food. The decor is modern with TVs that are constantly showing body builders and workout people. I don’t know about you, but that makes me not want to eat. LOL. The space inside is small but I think they expect people to be in and out and not linger.
This place is okay but I definitely felt a bit out of place. Being around healthy food has always made me feel kind of awkward. Anyway, the place isn’t bade but definitely not one of my favorites.
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