Months one and two of your New Year’s resolution have probably gone by the wayside….the one that had you going to the gym at least 5 times a week.
Ah yes, that one!
Has the guilt set in yet? Well, maybe the best way to avoid that guilt is to take the gym to work with you…and I don’t mean lugging along an elliptical machine. All you need are a couple of pieces of easy to transport equipment. In fact, I keep a few of those items here at the station.
What I’d do is to start small….say, with a set of resistance bands. You’ve probably seen them in the gym…long tubular rubber bands with handles on each end. Very functional and easy to find. (You can probably get an inexpensive set at your nearby Walmart or Target.)
When time allows, and if your clothing will allow you to move around freely, you can start by standing in the center of the bands with your feet shoulder width apart, elbows at your sides. Then, with an underhand grip, slowly curl the bands up, then back to the starting position. Try and do as many curls as you can....curling both arms up and down at the same time. Once you've done a set of those, you can then try to alternate curling each arm at a time.
There, that wasn't so hard!
Now, try a one arm seated curl. Again, just step on the center of the band, and while grabbing the two handles of the band with an underhand grip, rest your elbow on your inner thigh, and curl the band up to your chin.
Not so bad! Next, try a shoulder press, by again standing in the middle of the bands and with your elbows at a 90 degree angle, press the handles of the bands over your head.
Other movements you can do will allow you to work other muscle groups like the triceps (the horseshoe shaped muscle in the back of your upper arm) and rear deltoids, which I’ll go into in future blogs.
Some of the other things you might want to consider bringing along could be a set of leg weights, small dumbbells, a small kettle bell, and perhaps even a balance ball….assuming you have room to store all of these. If not, just using the chair and desk will allow you to do a daily routine.
These are good for a start. Keep checking in as I'll be looking to update this spot regularly with some other suggestions….and, of course, if you have any of your own, feel free to share!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
I thank God….
This issue of UNICO taking exception to the depiction of Italian American youths on the upcoming MTV show “Jersey Shore” got me thinking. Just what is a “guido” and what perpetuates the “lifestyle”? If by “guido” you mean a 20-something male of Italian extraction who drives a fancy car, needs to have his hair done up a certain way, visits the gym religiously, brags about his female conquests; and still lives at home with mom who dutifully cooks his meals and washes his clothes…then you’re probably on the money!
I, thank God, never gave myself the luxury. Oh sure, there were always “guidos” around, even though we didn’t call them that….(the term would have been “cuzhine”, which is the Italian term for “cousin”.) And while I lived at home for a short while after I graduated college and may have even contented myself with a civil service job as many of my peers were…..no, I had to aspire to something different….I had to be on the radio! And in order to be on the radio, I had to leave the protective cocoon of my neighborhood, friends, family, and girlfriend…and go off to find myself! In Middle Georgia, of all places! Imagine the culture clash that was! (If you saw the movie “My Cousin Vinny”, you’d be close!)
There are days when I tell myself that perhaps that the path of least resistance path would have been far better. Days when I say that had I taken that job with the New York City Transit Authority back in 1978, I’d probably be retired today. And you’re probably reading this and saying, “….so who’s the dummy?”
But leaving the bubble I’d been living in gave me an education I would never have gotten had I stayed behind.
Things like “how the other half lives”, “self reliance”, “doing what you love”, things like that…and most all, having the kind of support system in a wife and family that saw me through it all!
So as I sit here and write this, I really can’t help but kind of feel sorry for those kids in that show! I’m sure that one or two of them will wake up out of their stupor and realize they’re on a path to nowhere going fast! So do you blame MTV for holding up a mirror to them…albeit somewhat of a trick mirror? They’re merely the conduit for what passes for “entertainment”. Hopefully these kids will see that the joke’s on them.
Happy thanksgiving,
Ray
I, thank God, never gave myself the luxury. Oh sure, there were always “guidos” around, even though we didn’t call them that….(the term would have been “cuzhine”, which is the Italian term for “cousin”.) And while I lived at home for a short while after I graduated college and may have even contented myself with a civil service job as many of my peers were…..no, I had to aspire to something different….I had to be on the radio! And in order to be on the radio, I had to leave the protective cocoon of my neighborhood, friends, family, and girlfriend…and go off to find myself! In Middle Georgia, of all places! Imagine the culture clash that was! (If you saw the movie “My Cousin Vinny”, you’d be close!)
There are days when I tell myself that perhaps that the path of least resistance path would have been far better. Days when I say that had I taken that job with the New York City Transit Authority back in 1978, I’d probably be retired today. And you’re probably reading this and saying, “….so who’s the dummy?”
But leaving the bubble I’d been living in gave me an education I would never have gotten had I stayed behind.
Things like “how the other half lives”, “self reliance”, “doing what you love”, things like that…and most all, having the kind of support system in a wife and family that saw me through it all!
So as I sit here and write this, I really can’t help but kind of feel sorry for those kids in that show! I’m sure that one or two of them will wake up out of their stupor and realize they’re on a path to nowhere going fast! So do you blame MTV for holding up a mirror to them…albeit somewhat of a trick mirror? They’re merely the conduit for what passes for “entertainment”. Hopefully these kids will see that the joke’s on them.
Happy thanksgiving,
Ray
Monday, October 19, 2009
A favor to ask….
I have a favor to ask on behalf of a friend of mine who desperately needs help.
If you’ve frequented gyms in the Marlboro/Manalapan area, you’d know who my friend is. His name is Brian Wecker, and he’s one of the kindest, most giving individuals I know, who unfortunately is dealing with the unthinkable right now. He’s in a desperate search to find a bone marrow match for his son who was diagnosed with leukemia. The boy is only 13, and unfortunately has a rare bone marrow type.
Plans are in the works to set up a bone marrow screening in the area in the very near future, but for the moment he’s holding one this coming Wednesday, October 21st, at Doc’s Clam Bar on Page Ave. in Staten Island from 3 till 8 PM.
I know it might be a bit out of the way, but if you have a moment, and are in the area, please make a point to stop by. Again, that’s Doc’s Clam Bar, right off the Outerbridge on Page Ave. in Staten Island.
I’m told the screening only takes a few minutes…just a swab of saliva is needed.
If you need any more information, check out the Facebook page they’ve set up:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=144025285317&ref=mf
Again, you could be saving a life, and what’s more noble a calling than that.
Thanks for caring,
Ray
If you’ve frequented gyms in the Marlboro/Manalapan area, you’d know who my friend is. His name is Brian Wecker, and he’s one of the kindest, most giving individuals I know, who unfortunately is dealing with the unthinkable right now. He’s in a desperate search to find a bone marrow match for his son who was diagnosed with leukemia. The boy is only 13, and unfortunately has a rare bone marrow type.
Plans are in the works to set up a bone marrow screening in the area in the very near future, but for the moment he’s holding one this coming Wednesday, October 21st, at Doc’s Clam Bar on Page Ave. in Staten Island from 3 till 8 PM.
I know it might be a bit out of the way, but if you have a moment, and are in the area, please make a point to stop by. Again, that’s Doc’s Clam Bar, right off the Outerbridge on Page Ave. in Staten Island.
I’m told the screening only takes a few minutes…just a swab of saliva is needed.
If you need any more information, check out the Facebook page they’ve set up:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=144025285317&ref=mf
Again, you could be saving a life, and what’s more noble a calling than that.
Thanks for caring,
Ray
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Show me your friends……..
My mom always used to say, “show me your friends, and I’ll tell you what you are!” So by that logic, I guess that if you have friends that are “schmucks”, chances are you’re probably a schmuck yourself!...with all due respect, of course.
The reason this comes to mind is the endorsement that the Reverend Reginald Jackson, executive director of the Black Ministers Council of New Jersey, recently made to reelect Jon Corzine as Governor of New Jersey. That probably wouldn’t be much of a surprise if it weren’t for the amount of face time he’d received in the movie, “The Cartel”.
By now you’re probable aware that “The Cartel” is an independently produced movie documenting the failure of the public school system in New Jersey, about how it wastes millions of dollars of taxpayer money to support an administration who’s only concern is to continue feeding at the trough…leaving children out in the cold! It’s an indictment of, among others, the powerful teacher’s union in propping up a system that rewards incompetence. All at your expense, dear taxpayer.
There are quite a number of public officials given face time in the movie…voicing concerns as to how broken the system is, and whether or not it can be fixed…most notable among them is the aforementioned Reverend Jackson. In the movie, he looks every bit the caring pastor, ministering to his flock, and showing much concern for the children of his congregation…and by extension, all the state’s children!
Well then, if he truly were a man of his word, and believed that to fix the system would be to promote competition within the educational establishment, i.e. charter schools, why would he then endorse the gubernatorial candidate who was already endorsed by the NJEA…the very organization that encourages maintaining the status quo.
Here’s his quote from the website, www.politickernj.com regarding the Corzine endorsement.
"I have not in the past and am not today making this endorsement lightly. This endorsement is made after much wrestling and soul searching. But it is an endorsement that I strongly make," Jackson said yesterday. "It's hard to be popular in tough economic times, but to his credit Jon Corzine has made the tough calls."
I know, it’s a rhetorical question And I’m not the only one asking that question. So too is Herbert Glenn, a Republican State Assembly candidate from Newark. Check out his take on the situation from politickernj.com.
http://www.politickernj.com/editor/34160/assembly-candidate-say-rev-jackson-will-gain-financially-endorsing-corzine
Especially the quote:
“"I am deeply concerned to investigate the understanding how religious leaders can compromise their spiritual convictions for their own personal political empowerment. This is a typical scenario of the pulpit pimp v. Christian crusader syndrome. Money talks."
So if money does the talking, there’s probably not a lot of “soul searching” and “wrestling” involved in deciding who should govern our state for the next 4 years, is there now?
And even though my mom never said it in biblical terms, saying “show me your friends, and I’ll tell you what you are!” got the message across.
The reason this comes to mind is the endorsement that the Reverend Reginald Jackson, executive director of the Black Ministers Council of New Jersey, recently made to reelect Jon Corzine as Governor of New Jersey. That probably wouldn’t be much of a surprise if it weren’t for the amount of face time he’d received in the movie, “The Cartel”.
By now you’re probable aware that “The Cartel” is an independently produced movie documenting the failure of the public school system in New Jersey, about how it wastes millions of dollars of taxpayer money to support an administration who’s only concern is to continue feeding at the trough…leaving children out in the cold! It’s an indictment of, among others, the powerful teacher’s union in propping up a system that rewards incompetence. All at your expense, dear taxpayer.
There are quite a number of public officials given face time in the movie…voicing concerns as to how broken the system is, and whether or not it can be fixed…most notable among them is the aforementioned Reverend Jackson. In the movie, he looks every bit the caring pastor, ministering to his flock, and showing much concern for the children of his congregation…and by extension, all the state’s children!
Well then, if he truly were a man of his word, and believed that to fix the system would be to promote competition within the educational establishment, i.e. charter schools, why would he then endorse the gubernatorial candidate who was already endorsed by the NJEA…the very organization that encourages maintaining the status quo.
Here’s his quote from the website, www.politickernj.com regarding the Corzine endorsement.
"I have not in the past and am not today making this endorsement lightly. This endorsement is made after much wrestling and soul searching. But it is an endorsement that I strongly make," Jackson said yesterday. "It's hard to be popular in tough economic times, but to his credit Jon Corzine has made the tough calls."
I know, it’s a rhetorical question And I’m not the only one asking that question. So too is Herbert Glenn, a Republican State Assembly candidate from Newark. Check out his take on the situation from politickernj.com.
http://www.politickernj.com/editor/34160/assembly-candidate-say-rev-jackson-will-gain-financially-endorsing-corzine
Especially the quote:
“"I am deeply concerned to investigate the understanding how religious leaders can compromise their spiritual convictions for their own personal political empowerment. This is a typical scenario of the pulpit pimp v. Christian crusader syndrome. Money talks."
So if money does the talking, there’s probably not a lot of “soul searching” and “wrestling” involved in deciding who should govern our state for the next 4 years, is there now?
And even though my mom never said it in biblical terms, saying “show me your friends, and I’ll tell you what you are!” got the message across.
Monday, October 5, 2009
"Lunchroom View"
Opinions are like, well….you know; everyone has one, and even though you get your fill of them here; you really get them in abundance out of the lunchroom.
And depending on your point of view, if you work with a lively bunch of “chiachiaones” (big mouths), lunchtime can either be especially annoying, or revealing! Sometimes, when the din reaches ear-splitting levels, I’ll just put the iPod on and bliss out to Yanni or something equally embarrasing. However, I am nosey by nature, so there are those times when the lunchtime "bochinche" is just too irresistible…and loads of fun!
Take the other day……I’ve learned, even as I’d been typing, that one of my coworkers is ruminating over their sexual past, and how karma is going to work itself out now that middle school aged daughters are involved. Ooofaa! That one never goes well!
Then there’s today’s edition of “Lunchroom View”….talk of claymation cartoons a la “Mr. Bill” and “Davey and Goliath”; how long have you gone without showering; Bruce at the Meadowlands not selling out; and bad cases of “ass acne”, and is it a precursor to something more heinous…all while I’m devouring last nights still partially frozen arroz con pollo. Despite the “ass acne” talk, I can’t tear myself away from the chicken! Yeah, I’m that hungry! And I never knew that ass acne requires a dermotoligist’s care, and if it’s covered by insurance!
The ghost of Rodney Dangerfield will appear every now and then to impart some wisdom…I’d give you an example, but since Rodney never got any respect in real life, why start now!
Yes, lunchtime can be truly revealing! Sort of like being a fly on the wall in a group therapy session. Now if I only can get the image of ass acne out of my head!
And depending on your point of view, if you work with a lively bunch of “chiachiaones” (big mouths), lunchtime can either be especially annoying, or revealing! Sometimes, when the din reaches ear-splitting levels, I’ll just put the iPod on and bliss out to Yanni or something equally embarrasing. However, I am nosey by nature, so there are those times when the lunchtime "bochinche" is just too irresistible…and loads of fun!
Take the other day……I’ve learned, even as I’d been typing, that one of my coworkers is ruminating over their sexual past, and how karma is going to work itself out now that middle school aged daughters are involved. Ooofaa! That one never goes well!
Then there’s today’s edition of “Lunchroom View”….talk of claymation cartoons a la “Mr. Bill” and “Davey and Goliath”; how long have you gone without showering; Bruce at the Meadowlands not selling out; and bad cases of “ass acne”, and is it a precursor to something more heinous…all while I’m devouring last nights still partially frozen arroz con pollo. Despite the “ass acne” talk, I can’t tear myself away from the chicken! Yeah, I’m that hungry! And I never knew that ass acne requires a dermotoligist’s care, and if it’s covered by insurance!
The ghost of Rodney Dangerfield will appear every now and then to impart some wisdom…I’d give you an example, but since Rodney never got any respect in real life, why start now!
Yes, lunchtime can be truly revealing! Sort of like being a fly on the wall in a group therapy session. Now if I only can get the image of ass acne out of my head!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Brooklyn Roads
You may have heard that I’m a big Barry Manilow fan. That’s not quite true. The fact is I’ve always been a huge fan of another Brooklyn native. And no, it’s not Barbra Streisand either! It’s actually Neil Diamond. The “Jewish Elvis”!
And while his voice has given way to a sort of raspy shadow of its former self, the guy’s music is timeless. Not just the usual litany of hit material, but one in particular stands out as a personal favorite. The song is “Brooklyn Roads”. I think it came out in late ’68 or ’69, and it’s his autobiography of sorts. In it, he sings of his growing up “2 floors above the butcher, first door on the right”, running into his father’s bear hug, feeling his dad’s whiskers on his face. The imagery is stark and harkens back to a time when I can remember living 2 floors above a grocery store. Hearing the lyrics makes me smell the scents in the hallway of everyone’s cooking as he climbs the stairs to his apartment. It’s all so real for me. And as the story winds down, he bemoans the fact that his life has taken a few too many turns away from this simple life. But, in the end he realizes, as he looks up at his former apartment, and spies a boy not too unlike himself; that the more things seem to change, the more they remain the same. And even if you can never go back “home”, you’re never far from it either!
So it’s with that same feeling that on October 24th, I’m going to rewind back to 1965, when those familiar Brooklyn roads lead me back to my old grammar school….Our Lady of Grace! Quite a few of us have fond memories of OLG….a school which in the last few years has become a charter school.
God knows, the sight of the halls, the schoolyards, the classrooms, and the auditorium will bring back too many memories...and not all of them good! There’s the first day my mom dropped me off at kindergarten, and all I could remember, besides sheer terror, was the smell of burning tar from the construction of the school’s auditorium. Who’s ever challenged a nun’s authority? Well, you had to know that at that point, you were taking your life in your hands. A nun named Sister Genevieve ruled kindergarten with an iron fist. I had the nerve one day to tell her to shut up. That did not go well. Wooden sticks, smacks with both hands….I went home looking like Rocky after the first Apollo Creed fight!
Corporal punishment was the rule for nuns and even lay teachers…some were better at it than others. My 8th grade nun was so frail that when she went to smack one of my classmates for something stupid he’d done, her hand bled! No so with the other 8th grade nun. If you wore glasses and she told you to take them off, all the blood would drain from your face in anticipation of what was coming!
I often wondered whether any of these nuns could possibly have been canonized into sainthood knowing how they tortured some of us. I’d feel a little strange praying to one of them for a miracle.
But it wasn’t all hard knocks! Ringolevio, saluggi (grabbing someone’s hat off their head and flinging it around to your friends), getting initiated into the “bush club” (it’s not what you think, it’s actually getting tossed into hedges on the way to school), half days on Wednesday, pretzels at 10:30; and 8th grade prom (seeing real cleavage on girls you never thought had it!).
That’s only a small taste of where the road will lead on October 24th. I’m just wondering if I’ll find that same kid that Neil Diamond found at the end of his song!
In some ways he’s not as lucky as we were…..with one possible exception….he doesn’t have the bruises to show for it!
And while his voice has given way to a sort of raspy shadow of its former self, the guy’s music is timeless. Not just the usual litany of hit material, but one in particular stands out as a personal favorite. The song is “Brooklyn Roads”. I think it came out in late ’68 or ’69, and it’s his autobiography of sorts. In it, he sings of his growing up “2 floors above the butcher, first door on the right”, running into his father’s bear hug, feeling his dad’s whiskers on his face. The imagery is stark and harkens back to a time when I can remember living 2 floors above a grocery store. Hearing the lyrics makes me smell the scents in the hallway of everyone’s cooking as he climbs the stairs to his apartment. It’s all so real for me. And as the story winds down, he bemoans the fact that his life has taken a few too many turns away from this simple life. But, in the end he realizes, as he looks up at his former apartment, and spies a boy not too unlike himself; that the more things seem to change, the more they remain the same. And even if you can never go back “home”, you’re never far from it either!
So it’s with that same feeling that on October 24th, I’m going to rewind back to 1965, when those familiar Brooklyn roads lead me back to my old grammar school….Our Lady of Grace! Quite a few of us have fond memories of OLG….a school which in the last few years has become a charter school.
God knows, the sight of the halls, the schoolyards, the classrooms, and the auditorium will bring back too many memories...and not all of them good! There’s the first day my mom dropped me off at kindergarten, and all I could remember, besides sheer terror, was the smell of burning tar from the construction of the school’s auditorium. Who’s ever challenged a nun’s authority? Well, you had to know that at that point, you were taking your life in your hands. A nun named Sister Genevieve ruled kindergarten with an iron fist. I had the nerve one day to tell her to shut up. That did not go well. Wooden sticks, smacks with both hands….I went home looking like Rocky after the first Apollo Creed fight!
Corporal punishment was the rule for nuns and even lay teachers…some were better at it than others. My 8th grade nun was so frail that when she went to smack one of my classmates for something stupid he’d done, her hand bled! No so with the other 8th grade nun. If you wore glasses and she told you to take them off, all the blood would drain from your face in anticipation of what was coming!
I often wondered whether any of these nuns could possibly have been canonized into sainthood knowing how they tortured some of us. I’d feel a little strange praying to one of them for a miracle.
But it wasn’t all hard knocks! Ringolevio, saluggi (grabbing someone’s hat off their head and flinging it around to your friends), getting initiated into the “bush club” (it’s not what you think, it’s actually getting tossed into hedges on the way to school), half days on Wednesday, pretzels at 10:30; and 8th grade prom (seeing real cleavage on girls you never thought had it!).
That’s only a small taste of where the road will lead on October 24th. I’m just wondering if I’ll find that same kid that Neil Diamond found at the end of his song!
In some ways he’s not as lucky as we were…..with one possible exception….he doesn’t have the bruises to show for it!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Off the beaten path
Call me a little late in coming to the table, but sometimes it takes a while to discover those gems that are the true essence of what New Jersey was.
A recent visit to both Roebling and Ocean Grove opened my eyes to just that.
Roebling, in case you’re not familiar with it, is a small town just south of Bordentown, founded by Charles Roebling….he of the family that manufactured the cable for the Brooklyn Bridge, George Washington Bridge, and Golden Gate…among many others.
Time it was that Roebling was a bustling hub of activity as the steel mills ran 24 hours a day. The residents there all worked for the company, and lived in a sort of nirvana until the mills closed in 1974. But Roebling never lost its sense of community.
My tour guide is the town’s unofficial historian, George Lengel. His father, a Hungarian immigrant, worked the mill, as did George himself until his father prevailed upon him to find another career, because, in his words, he didn’t raise his son to be no steelworker! And even though George didn’t fancy himself to be a grade A student, off he went in search of a career as an educator!
Most of the original housing…..mainly row homes and semi attached houses, still stand; as do remnants of the original mill. It is said that, ever now and then, an apparition appears in one of the abandoned mill’s windows, and despite the fact that searching parties have been formed, no one to date has been found!
It’s one of those few places where people rarely leave since a good many of the residents are descendents of the original settlers…..the quintessential place where “everybody knows your name”. Outside of the fact that the River Line runs through the center of town, it’s as though the 21st century stops at Route 130!
So too the character of Ocean Grove…..a short drive off the Parkway or Route 18, at the end of Corlies Ave. Just past the light on Route 71, and you enter another universe….sort of like a New Hope on the shore.
Here again the homes each have a character all their own, and you never know what your going to find happening on Main Ave. Recently my wife and I were just browsing through the stores when we hear someone singing to a karaoke machine, drawing an enthusiastic crowd! And that’s not such an unusual occurrence.
There are loads of others too numerous to mention here…..I’m sure you can name a few of your own. But it’s always a treat that in a state known for bulldozing its past to make way for tomorrow, there are still a few places that time seems to have forgotten!
A recent visit to both Roebling and Ocean Grove opened my eyes to just that.
Roebling, in case you’re not familiar with it, is a small town just south of Bordentown, founded by Charles Roebling….he of the family that manufactured the cable for the Brooklyn Bridge, George Washington Bridge, and Golden Gate…among many others.
Time it was that Roebling was a bustling hub of activity as the steel mills ran 24 hours a day. The residents there all worked for the company, and lived in a sort of nirvana until the mills closed in 1974. But Roebling never lost its sense of community.
My tour guide is the town’s unofficial historian, George Lengel. His father, a Hungarian immigrant, worked the mill, as did George himself until his father prevailed upon him to find another career, because, in his words, he didn’t raise his son to be no steelworker! And even though George didn’t fancy himself to be a grade A student, off he went in search of a career as an educator!
Most of the original housing…..mainly row homes and semi attached houses, still stand; as do remnants of the original mill. It is said that, ever now and then, an apparition appears in one of the abandoned mill’s windows, and despite the fact that searching parties have been formed, no one to date has been found!
It’s one of those few places where people rarely leave since a good many of the residents are descendents of the original settlers…..the quintessential place where “everybody knows your name”. Outside of the fact that the River Line runs through the center of town, it’s as though the 21st century stops at Route 130!
So too the character of Ocean Grove…..a short drive off the Parkway or Route 18, at the end of Corlies Ave. Just past the light on Route 71, and you enter another universe….sort of like a New Hope on the shore.
Here again the homes each have a character all their own, and you never know what your going to find happening on Main Ave. Recently my wife and I were just browsing through the stores when we hear someone singing to a karaoke machine, drawing an enthusiastic crowd! And that’s not such an unusual occurrence.
There are loads of others too numerous to mention here…..I’m sure you can name a few of your own. But it’s always a treat that in a state known for bulldozing its past to make way for tomorrow, there are still a few places that time seems to have forgotten!
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