My Biggest Fear

It seems that my most time consuming task upon moving to Boston has been my search for a gym (other than the house and job of course.) I know this should not be THAT big of a deal, but somehow it morphed into a giant creature looming over me. I have visited more than 5 gyms, worked out at almost all of them, and even joined one I had never even seen. You might be wondering what fuels this madness? The answer: my irrational fear of running in the extreme Massachusetts cold.

The gyms around here average $55 and greater if you want a pool and spinning classes (which I want.) Somehow I ended up joining the first club I looked at, also the cheapest, and it has no pool or classes. The reward: It is VERY cheap and I can take as many bikram yoga classes as I want (elsewhere.)

Yay for finally convincing yourself to be frugal! : (

Sweet Lies

I know this has nothing to do with living in Boston, but it is an outrage and I feel the need to comment.

So it appears the corn industry has decided to fight back against the belief that high fructose corn syrup is a bad diet staple. They launched a campaign recently with TV ads and even their own website to some how normalize sugar consumption in the minds of Americans. EVERYTHING can be twisted so that it is "normal", "natural", and therefore acceptable. We are doing this with many issues in society today, but I digress...

The website where you can view the ridiculousness first hand is here:
www.sweetsurprise.com

The thing that most Americans will miss is the fact that, although HFCS (as it is referred to on the website) may have the same caloric content as table sugar, it is such a good preservative that you find it in EVERYTHING! They suggest that we consume HFCS in moderation, well excuse me but the only way to do that is to blatantly attempt to avoid it. Only then might you actually consume it in moderation.

The real kicker here is that our wonderful FDA has actually been bought out and are allowing packing to read "natural" even when it contains the HIGHLY PROCESSED HFCS. I have never actually seen HFCS growing in a field anywhere, have you???

Life in Boston

Important Translations:

• Rotary = Roundabout
• Thickly settled = This sign should read: We've jammed a ton of people into a small space and you can forget about parking your car here
• Mass = Not a cluster or clump, but the state in which you are living
• Breakdown lane = go ahead, drive in it
• Road Lanes = Not visible and even if they were, they are just a suggestion
• Turning Signal = Invitation to be cut off
• Carpet = Nonexistent
• Health Insurance = Mandatory
• Gay Marriage = Legal

Observations:

• One of the oldest states yet now is one of the most liberal
• Out of state license plate will get you out of running a red light with a pedestrian in the cross walk and no drivers license in your purse... (No, Of course I do not know this from experience...)

A Few of My New Favorite Things:

• This American Life
• Siggi's Yogurt
• Fage Yogurt (Thank you Alissa)
• Coffee Break Language Series (Free Itunes Podcast)
• Netflix (I know I'm pretty late picking up on this, but hey)
• Dunkin Donuts Chai Tea- Its price tag of 2.33 definitely beats Starbucks
• Stop and Shop- You can scan your items as you shop, how fun is that?!
• JP Morgan's Kashmir Cinnamon Ice Cream