Life of Red… and then some

Get off your Toucas!

11 Jun 2011 1 Comment

by Red in boyfriend, Mini Red, sports, TV

“I wish I could be a fly on the wall…”

We all have that curiosity… to see into another person life. Is my day to day so very different from theirs? I think this stems from wondering “Am I normal?” Ummmm NO!

There is the curiosity into the life of a person of a different status, race, sexual orientation, celebrity or athlete. I’m sure this list could go on. From this came the inception of reality TV.

Reality TV is like a car crash and we couldn’t seem to turn away. It seemed to start with MTV’s The Real World, New York (1992). I know… 1992!!! I can’t believe it was that long ago. I was so young back then; even I could have been a Real Worlder. Later in the Nineties movies came out about Reality TV and watching people live their lives, The Truman Show (1998) and Ed TV (1999).

Since it began it has really changed. Shows like Real World and the Housewives aren’t the real world. These shows group similar people mix them up like a recipe then watch. Or there are shows like Gene Simmons Family Jewels, which is obviously scripted. Not to say I don’t enjoy watching Gene and his Fred Flintstone antics but I do tire of it since it doesn’t seem real.

We want REAL reality. What do people do with their free time? I’m not talking about those that sit on their butts watching TV. I mean those that get out there and enjoy life. If I’m going to watch Reality TV I want ideas for things I can try. There is so much out there to do and see, personal experience is so much better than watching someone else experience.

So for reality TV these days I might tune into The Discovery Channel or National Geographic but better yet go out and experience my own. Having the blog has given people insight into my world, my reality-ish. The more I write the more I notice around me that’s interesting. Things that people take for granted day-to-day. Since I haven’t been writing as much I haven’t noticed as much, which I didn’t realize until I read a post written by Joshua Becker titled “15 Reasons I think You Should Blog”. This blog post is so right on. Number three he says “You’ll live a more intentional life” and this is so true and can be seen in Facebook. People are tired of boring statuses and pics especially when they see others doing fun things and they want to do, they want to post fun interesting pics and statuses too. They want people to see they are having fun and comment on it. The comments validate “YES! You are having fun! Keep going!”

I want to have my own experiences but then there is this thing called work that gets in the way. Most of us have this burden to bear because we need money to buy us a roof over our heads and food for our bellies.  That damn money! It’s hard to get out there and experience more when time is limited. I’m a single Mom with a full time job. On top of that I have a killer commute and just getting home can take up to 2 hours. I try to take advantage of that time and listen to audio books. I have finally read/listened to books I have always wanted to read but never had time for like Atlas Shrugged.

So for me I have running. I really do suck at it and it comes and goes but it is always there when I need it. Last year I set goals and accomplished them. I ran the Army Ten Miler and I did a half Marathon in Las Vegas. After Vegas it came to a halt. I was tired of it the weather had gotten very cold and I made a ton of excuses. I have finally started back and it is a Beotch starting again but I am having small experiences every morning plus connecting with SIL who is running with me.

Ginja is a rower. She has just finished up her second year of Crew and I might add her team kicked some serious DC Area butt this year. Rowing takes a lot of time especially in the Spring. Practice was 5 days a week after school. The kids were bused to the water and wouldn’t get home until 7pm. This is a 12.5 hour day for her. Homework started on the bus either to or from the water. Then weekends are for regattas, this means getting up at 4am to get her there on time. Ginja’s rowing is not only an experience for her but it is for me as well. Any of the parents will tell you that. The first year of rowing was so time consuming for me that I ended up hiring Merry Maids to come in once a month to help me out. That was after a nice little break down after being disgusted on the cleaning I was missing.

Since meeting Hophead I have been experiencing so much more. Hophead is a mountain biker. He has taken me mountain biking and I really can’t wait to do more especially now that I have my own bike. Even Ginja wants to ride. Hophead has a group he gets together with once a week and they ride the trails up in Germantown.

So the three of us all have a little something and we involve each other. Hophead supports Ginja and I with the running and rowing and even gone running with me. We are expanding our experiences and loving it. Last year I had Vegas and took Hophead and this year he has Ireland and is taking me.

Experiences come in many packages and some of it is from others. I don’t want to row but experiencing the rowing world as a parent is fantastic. To experience Hophead mountain biking world and the skills these people have is so wonderful. It’s amazing to see what people have going on out there in the world.

Hophead has a friend that, at this very moment, is mountain biking the Great Divide. I have never heard of the Tour Divide but it is fascinating. We are tracking his friend, who is Northbound, since it started yesterday (6/10/11). THIS is more fascinating than those reality shows. The Tour Divide is from Canada to Mexico (or vice versa), 2745 miles and three weeks to complete. This is bikepacking at its most challenging. I have to admit I am very curious as to how these people are making it through this challenge but as always there is a film (documentary), Ride the Divide, about it and you can be sure I will be checking it out because, of course, I would love to be a fly on the handlebars.