It's a Hoot

A few years ago, when Hooters first came to Ottawa, I thought it would be entertaining to see what all the fuss was about.

A male companion and I sat down at a table, and after a long wait a cute blond waitress skipped over to us. I admired her fit body clad in tiny tight sports shorts (the kind I had worn when I was sixteen) and her tight little wife beater t-shirt with the trademark protruding owl eyes design. She placed both elbows on the table, leaned over and cleverly aimed her tits at us.

"And what can I bring you folks today," she giggled smacking her gum.

She took our order and as she wiggled off I looked at my companion curious about his reaction.

"It's all just an act you know. She's a university student trying to earn an honest living," he stuttered as I noticed the deep blush on his face.

Workout Wednesday

Because a mind is a terrible thing to waste

Workout Wednesday

The good citizens of Lucca limber up

Ode to Yoga at the YMCA

Wow, I almost missed my Saturday blog. Yikes!

Okay, here goes. I'd like to discuss the merits of doing yoga at the YMCA above going to Rama Lotus or another of the $17 per yoga-class places. As my fellow bloggers know, for some years I've been a yoga enthusiast at Rama Lotus, and other expensive yoga establishments in Ottawa.

Recently I signed up at the Ottawa Y, with a membership that includes free access to all the classes. So, I signed up for two yoga classes: hatha and power, and attended them both this week for the first time. I was shocked by how wonderful it was.

First off, did you know that the Y is actually a charity? Your membership is going to help keep the place going, and helps those less fortunate stay healthy. It's good to be a part of that. Apparently, no-one is ever rejected from being able to work-out at the Y -- if you don't have enough money, they'll work out a deal where you pay what you can. Really, it's the yogic way.

Anyway, reasons why Y-yoga classes are better than Rama Lotus classes:

1. They provide the mats, for free. So, I don't have to lug a mat to work.
2. The instructors are volunteers. Makes me feel that I'm being taught yoga by generous souls.
3. I wore a t-shirt and gym shorts to yoga, and didn't feel I was embarrassing myself with a poor fashion sense.
4. It didn't cost $17 a class, it was free (kind of, I do have a Y membership).
5. There were between 3 and 7 people in my class, not 50 of us scrunched together. It felt like a community.
6. The yoga instructors were very good.
7. The class is one hour, not 90 minutes. After work, a one-hour yoga class is enough.(If not, I can always do a workout!)
8. I can leisurely get changed and have a shower afterward, without bumping into 40 different people sharing the 10x10 change-room.
   

That's it for now. Namaste.

Avoiding the elephant in the womb

On a recent visit to one of my ancestral homelands, I met up with an old friend who is with child. She was waiting for me on the sidewalk outside the little bakery and, being one day past her due date, I had no trouble spotting her from quite a distance. I'm sure several people using Google Earth also saw her.

But I'm glad I knew in advance that she was expecting. I still remember chatting with a colleague about her children at a Christmas party, motioning to her belly and asking, "And when's the next one due?"

I might as well have said, "I hear you have AIDS! How's that going?" or "What's it really like being a neo-Nazi?"

Her terse reply: "I'm not sure we will have another child."

Things have become even more complicated now that men are starting to give birth.

Last spring I was mildly chastised by an acquaintance in Vancouver who asked why I hadn't mentioned anything about her pregnancy when I saw her the previous day at a conference. To be honest, I just didn't notice. But even if I had, what's a guy to say? Over a drink, she and two other women agreed that none of them would blurt out, "So, you're having a baby!" if they weren't really sure.

As my Grade 12 chemistry teacher probably still says, "When you assume, you make an ass out of u and me."

Image: http://www.theflorentine.net/, Issue no. 85