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James's Journal

james
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05/25/2008 13:49 #44446

Allentown Athletix: Hold on a sec
Category: gym
Hi,

Due to something, I am not sure what even though it was explained to me, we have to wait until Wednesday to sign up...

Bill, the owner is on vacation and can't be reached. Ya, the people there know two of us have already signed up and they have the list of people. But, we have to wait.

Sorry everyone.

-James
james - 06/02/08 18:56
yippy skippy!

I saw you riding to work this morning while I was on my way to the gym.
libertad - 06/02/08 17:58
I'm in.

05/23/2008 14:02 #44431

Allentown Athletix: Extra Awesome
Category: gym
Hi,

I signed up on Wednesday and have worked out there twice so far at different times. Seriously, I have never had to wait for a machine. Even if I am doing three part supersets I still don't have to wait. They must run the cleanest gym. Not only do they keep the place sparkling clean, they also compel their clients to be clean. I never see anyone leave a machine dripping sweat like a fountain and not clean up with sanitizer.

The test of any gym is the locker room. Bacteria and mold should be right at home thanks to the warmth and humidity of four private shower stalls, a sauna, and jacuzzi. But I could see no mold anywhere and there was not a funky smell to be found. It is seriously clean.

For you cyclists you don't have to lock your bike up on Allen like I did when I went there to talk to them. You can park your bike right in the building and it is under video surveillance, so no one will mess with it.

Bill Mahr is the owner and the one who arranged our group rate. Not only is he super easy to work with but he is also one of the nicest guys I have ever met. We got to meet the day I signed up and we chatted for ten minutes. He is the kind of guy you would love to get a beer with.

So, everyone should sign up. Go, do it now.

-James

  • edit*

Oh, we don't have a group name. Just go in and say that you are part of that group signing up.
tiburon1724 - 05/25/08 14:45
When I first went over there just to check the place out, I mentioned james group to the girl and she knew what I was talking about. When I went back to sign up, the guy had no clue, but then Bill came out and took me into his office and took care of it. Sounds like Bill has to do it and I got lucky he was there because it was like 8pm one night.
libertad - 05/25/08 13:47
They wouldn't let me again even though I told him that two people already signed up. The guy was really nice, but he couldn't do it and asked that I wait until Bill comes back on Wed. evening.
libertad - 05/24/08 21:18
i'll sign up tomorrow.
james - 05/24/08 19:41
Tad: Peter is mistaken. I have signed up. And someone else has already signed up. If they give you a hard time next time you can tell them to look up my name on the list to see that I have already signed up.
libertad - 05/24/08 13:15
So I finally work myself up to start working out today and they wouldn't let me sign up. He said we all have to go in together because there was no guarantee we would all sign up. I think his name was Peter.
fellyconnelly - 05/24/08 10:49
well if there isn't sweat dripping off the machines i just aint interested...

seriouisly though. jealous.
james - 05/24/08 01:09
Taddy: You can pack up all your worldly possesions then work out your aggression on a punching bag. Do it!

Paul: Oh yes you can. Do it!

Dakechick: Sign up. Do it!

I would love to go to Mia's class tomorrow, but I just beat the shit out of my shoulders and legs today. I think if I showed up tomorrow I would just be a moist noodle.
dragonlady7 - 05/24/08 00:13
Man I gotta sign up.

Tomorrow morning is THE LAST Mia Mauler class-- she WON'T be doing it over the summer after all.
Show up at 11:30. I swear you won't be sorry.

I had sore muscles on Wednesday from last Saturday's class, and I've been doing it since January.

Anyway-- she may start it up again in the fall, but tomorrow is not to be missed!!!
paul - 05/23/08 23:22
Can you sign up on the weekend?
libertad - 05/23/08 14:07
I'm thinking about signing up tomorrow. We shall see cause it is definitely a packing day for me.

05/21/2008 12:31 #44408

Work
Category: work
Hi,

I quasi-left my boring job that I walk about too much when drunk. I say quasi-left because today I was on the phone for 40 minutes helping my boss out with something, which was lovely, it is good to hear from her. All week I have been working for the Working Families Party. We have been canvasing in Grease (a suburb of Rochester) on the issue of affordable health care.

But today, I have an interview to work on a re-election campaign. I wont name names, as Paul's Google wizardry is powerful. That job should be way better and should I get it/take it I will open my yapper a little more about the whole thing.

You kids have an excellent day.



drew - 05/21/08 16:13
I'll bet its Hoyt. He was setting up shop at the former Fleet Feet.
joshua - 05/21/08 15:53
Just not Louise Slaughter man.
zobar - 05/21/08 13:41
Oh man one of those working families dudes came by when I was mowing the lawn. He was superpolite and I signed his petition and the postcard because I agreed with it, but I totally blew him off when he asked for a donation. I didn't want to tell him that if I had any money I'd be using it to buy health insurance.

- Z

05/18/2008 21:15 #44388

What is Wrong with our Fish?
Category: food
Howdy,

Jim was an absolute doll and took me to Toronto for the weekend. It was such a blast. This was the first time either of us had gone on a vacation without visiting either of our parents. I highly recommend this.
I haven't been to Toronto in ten years. It has changed so much. New skyscrapers are everywhere, absolutely everywhere. We would walk down a street and see a very old period building and then notice a thirty story tower was jutting out of the top. The contrast between old and modern was unnoticeable. I mean, these towers started on the fifth floor and you didn't see them unless you were gawking skywards. Should Buffalo's population trend reverse I would like to see this sort of development.
Toronto is an expensive city. A friend of mine pays 1,200 for a one bedroom and utilities are nearly twice what we pay here. But everything else is cheap, cheap, cheap. Which brings me to the point of this journal.

What is wrong with our fish?

Twice we had sushi. Delicious sushi. As good as the sushi we had at (e:jbeatty)'s Fish Bar (which is the best I have had in town). But for nothing. Twice we had a meal of way too much sushi, where your burps taste like fish hours later, but spent $30 on it. There are what, 2-3 sushi bars in the city of Buffalo? There is a sushi joint on every block in Toronto. Maybe it is a quantity thing. You fly in a half ton of sea urchin and we will cut the price in half.

I don't know what sort of magic they have ensorcelled the fish mongers of the world with, but we need a little bit of that mojo. Spare the chicken wing and spoil the child with delicious fishous!

Thank you Jim
joshua - 05/21/08 16:14
Yeah - and it just keeps getting larger. They are continually building new tower developments and the GTA is expanding into the wilderness. It is an expensive city - cost of living is surprisingly high. Still though, I love going to visit and as a result my company sends me virtually any time something comes up in the area.
metalpeter - 05/19/08 19:38
I don't know enough about the fish industry to really say. But I'm guessing that if the fish is native to Canada that it is better and less poluted. My biggest guess is that since Toronto is so big they get a better supply. But there is another factor they have an actual Asian Population. I'm not saying there aren't Asians here but not like in Toronto where there is China town, and other Asian Areas I'm sure that gets them better product. Just ideas home you two both had a great time, it is a pretty cool place to visit lots of stuff to do.
tiburon1724 - 05/18/08 22:12
went to toronto for the first time a couple months back, loved it!! It felt kinda weird though, so many of the new skyscrapers all look the same and really have no name/branding to them....if you're looking at the skyline you can't say "oh there's the such and such building" They definitely don't suffer from the NIMBYisms of Buffalo. One point is the distillery district with an old building that is now lofts...then "phase 2" which is a huge glass skyscraper right next to it. See people, stop protesting every little thing and something can happen!!
paul - 05/18/08 21:42
Ya, it is like the magical world of fish.
tinypliny - 05/18/08 21:39
I need to go to this magical city! So near, yet so far away. :/ Damn visa regulations.

05/15/2008 13:58 #44349

Marriage Equality
Category: gay, marriage
California Supreme Court strikes down the states ban on same-sex marriage.


From the opinion:

Third, because of the widespread disparagement that gay individuals historically have faced, it is all the more probable that excluding same-sex couples from the legal institution of marriage is likely to be viewed as reflecting an official view that their committed relationships are of lesser stature than the comparable relationships of opposite-sex couples. Finally, retaining the designation of marriage exclusively for opposite-sex couples and providing only a separate and distinct designation for same-sex couples may well have the effect of perpetuating a more general premise -- now emphatically rejected by this state -- that gay individuals and same-sex couples are in some respects "second-class citizens" who may, under the law, be treated differently from, and less favorably than, heterosexual individuals or opposite-sex couples. Under these circumstances, we cannot find that retention of the traditional definition of marriage constitutes a compelling state interest. Accordingly, we conclude that to the extent the current California statutory provisions limit marriage to opposite-sex couples, these statutes are unconstitutional.



I am so happy I could cry.
tinypliny - 05/18/08 21:36
I am so glad at least someone is thinking at Cali courts. Usually, their brains are too fried for any logical thought.
metalpeter - 05/16/08 16:48
From what I read today it means that gay Marriage is not illegal, it can't be banned. That being said there is some group that is going to try and fight it, so the battle isn't over. As per the fact the mayor of San Fran told people to go get married then those marriages would now be reconingezed but that may or may not make marriages legal but I'm not sure I think it does. I also read in the news that New York state does have a partner law so if you fly out there and get attached NYS would reconize it. I think this is a good thing but is seems tricky. What happens if you get married then something happens where you have to move to another state, but it is at least a good first step.
twisted - 05/16/08 11:18
So that's what was going on! I rode past City hall around 9am and back again at 11:30 to meet my brother for lunch. I thought maybe Barack was in town for bike to work day. Yay Cali!
fellyconnelly - 05/15/08 21:36
"like two spinsters become old cat ladies together"

Go ahead and talk about us like we aren't even here... geez.
libertad - 05/15/08 20:08
yay! (e:mike) will you marry me in the state of california only to be null and void here? Just kidding. This is great news. Yay again!
james - 05/15/08 17:25
Joshua: I think the civil rights accorded to marriage are ridiculous, all federal 1,300+ of them. They don't account for the variety of living arrangements people have (like two spinsters become old cat ladies together). There needs to be a parallel system for those sorts of unions. But, you are right. Are you alive? Check. Are you human? Check. All right, you're married.

Jenks: That is exactly why this decision is so historic. Cali already had a domestic partnership program that mirrored marriage almost exactly as far as civil rights are concerned. But this decision said that the name is just as important as the rights themselves. It harks back to Brown vs. Board of Ed. 2 where Plessy V Ferguson's "separate but equal" nonsense was smacked down; in this case, two unequal institutions.

This is big news.
jenks - 05/15/08 17:15
wait, is this as monumental as it sounds? did gay marriage just become legal in california?? like real weddings? not just 'civil unions' etc? Or is this just step one?
good news, in any case.
joshua - 05/15/08 16:20
Legally I don't think that stating the sex of those who are getting married should be relevant. Make it between two people (marrying three or more people of any sexual preference is a bridge too far I think) and ensure that they are human. Do a blood test if need be. =D
james - 05/15/08 15:48
"bi-curious marriage Elmwood Village" does not get the same results. Almost in the clear.
drew - 05/15/08 15:34
yup: google "Homosexual Marriage Elmwood Village" and this post is number 2. Amazing.
drew - 05/15/08 15:32
whoops. I have a heterosexual marriage, legal in all 50 states.

(e:strip) is so google friendly. I wonder how long it is before someone googles "homosexual marriage" and finds my picture.
james - 05/15/08 14:40
I bet you wish you could edit comments. ^_^
drew - 05/15/08 14:27
And now my homosexual marriage is meaningless. I wonder how (e:janelle) will feel about it.