Freak out Friday: Cry me the weather!!!!

This past week has been pretty cold up here in Pittsburgh. We are no strangers to the cold weather though, last year temperatures dropped below zero for a few weeks. It’s not a question of if it is going to be cold it is when will it get cold. So every year I brace myself. Not for the weather but for the remarks and the comments that will be made by the people that act like they are surprised it is cold here. Don’t get me wrong here I too am guilty of saying I hate the cold. It’s a fact I do. I don’t ski or snowboard, and I am too old to get dressed up and throw myself down a hill on a sled. My extent of playing in the snow is standing with a leash in my hand while my dog jumps around and eats the snow. I am a warm weather person who loves the heat. You will never hear me say it’s too hot or I wish it was colder out. I am a runner, the sun is my friend. The cold and darkness are my enemy. I love Pittsburgh though. This my home, my roots I have lived here my whole life except for small stints here and there. I know what to expect with the weather for the most part, so bitching just doesn't make sense.

Every year though like clockwork when we get our first real cold you will start to hear the bitching. I wouldn't mind this except I am starting to notice that those same people are the same people who bitch at the first real hot day. Ummm, my question for those people is at what weather are you not bitching? I guess those people haven’t heard that old saying, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. Choose one and stick with it. You either hate the cold or you hate the heat. I understand sometimes it does get extremely hot and you may feel like you are melting, but then think about subzero temperatures and decide which one you would want more. I mean this sounds crazy but if you hate the temperature where you live, move! No, you don’t want to move though because of other reasons. Move south, no thank you they have hurricanes and flying cockroaches. Move west, no thank you again they have tornadoes and earth quakes. No matter where you live you have to take the good with the bad. So please spare all of us who know that already and shut the hell up. We hear enough bitching on a daily basis, the last thing we want to hear is your ass bitching about the weather.

Hey while we are talking about weather here what the fuck ever happened to Global Warming? I remember 16 years ago when I was in high school that was the rave. Global warming this, global warming that, don’t use this product you’re just contributing to global warming. I remember thinking now here is something I can get behind, you mean to tell me it’s eventually going to get hot and we are not going to have winters, sign me up. What a bunch of bullshit that was. I felt like someone told me they were giving me a million dollars then at the last minute said, oh wait we made a mistake this wasn't for you. I mean how come when I just searched global warming everything I read worded it as global changing? Does global warming not exist anymore, and what the hell does global changing mean? When was the globe not changing? I want some answers. I want to know who the fuck lied to all of us. There is no way in hell I am buying Buffalo getting 6 feet of snow is due to any type of warming. Sell that shit to someone else because this guy isn't buying it. I mean last year it was so cold there were days I was afraid to pee outside, in fear something would freeze and fall off. Luckily this did not happen people. Maybe everywhere else is getting warmer and Pittsburgh is the only place getting colder each year. I guess we aren't part of the globe. Will someone just come forward and say “We don’t what the fuck we are talking about.” Do you know how many times last year I thought I didn't have to work the next day because of the storm that was coming only to wake up to nothing except disappointment. It was like waking up on Christmas and finding out all your gifts were socks, and not the good running socks. Let’s all just face the facts no one can predict the weather. Let’s also face that facts that no matter what the weather is there is always going to be a person to bitch about it.

Freak Out Friday: Social Media

This week for Freak Out Friday I am ranting about Social Media. I obviously use social media everyday so I am not against it, what I am against is the way certain people use it. I know there is no rule book or set of guide lines that a person should use when using social media, but come on people some of you need to get a grip. First let me start by saying what I use social media for. I use Facebook to keep in touch with people I may not see every day. I also use it as a way to contact with my Battle Frog Field team. Every day we get messages from the team saying what races are coming up and when people can register. I do use Facebook to promote the Battle Frog race, and I am sure people will say they are sick of me blasting out my promo code. I am just trying to make a sport I like get bigger. I use Twitter for mainly running. Most of the people I connect with are running related. I use it as a way to get tips and training methods. I also use Twitter for #runchat, a weekly discussion about running related topics. I use Twitter and Facebook for promoting my blog, and if you are reading this there is a good chance that is how you found it.

 What I dislike about both media outlets is the way certain people use it. First I will start with Facebook, where you are allowed to basically write a book as a status. We do not care about what you are doing throughout your day. If you’re at home cleaning, cooking and knitting a sweater that is great just keep it to yourself. I don’t think Facebook was ever made with the intention of letting people know your every move. On the other side of long status you have your short status. Example being “I am depressed today”. Don’t leave us in suspense all day, what are you depressed about? I mean you obviously wrote this for all of us to see so why the cliff hanger? How are we supposed to push you to the bridge or pull you back if we don’t know what it is wrong? I feel a status like that is just a tease. When did social media take the place of a therapist? People spit out every problem in their life like they are laying on couch in a psychologists office and we are the psychologist. Put the cookoo back in the clock and go get some help. Most of us have enough bullshit in our own lives and don’t need to hear about yours. My favorite status’s are the meat heads who post pictures of themselves with no shirt on and write stuff like go do a push up or get to the gym. I am all for working out and trying to get into shape, but you look like a fucking tool when you take a selfie and flex up. And who the fuck are you to judge anyone? Maybe people don’t want to do a push up or go to the gym. Maybe they are content with the way they look. At the end of the day does it really change your day? I highly doubt there is a person who reads that status and says “shit I need to get to the gym.” Most people are doing what I do, I read the status and laugh at the other idiots who back up what you say.

 The pictures are another thing that kill me on every social media outlet, one reason I am not on Instagram. I want to meet the first person who took a picture with the kissy face. I want to walk over to you and punch you right in the fucking head. You look like a moron. I have not seen one picture of a person doing and thought, hey they look nice. On the topic of pictures we need to have a cut off limit of how many pics you can post. I am tired of seeing your kid dressed up, dressed down, dressed like a clown, and dressed like dad. When you leave your house do you plan on snapping 1000 pictures? A picture here and there of the kid is great now and then, but when you bombard us with his or her face we start to get sick of it.

One of my favorite things is when someone writes a status about religion or politics and someone challenges what they wrote and the person gets pissed. Hey dipshit you do realize you wrote this on a site where we can all see it. When you write anything controversial you leave yourself open to the other side of the argument, and we all know everyone has an opinion. At least with Twitter you are limited to how much you can write.

 Like I said earlier not all social media is bad. Truthfully I have gained a lot from using the media outlets. My blog gets more views, I have been contacted from company’s asking me to try out products and I have even been awarded free entries into races. Everyone is entitled to use whatever media outlet they use to their own way. I am simply just saying some people need to take a step back into reality.

Freak Out Friday: That's my lane

Let me all welcome you to a new segment of my blog called Freak Out Friday. This is where I will go on a rant about whatever is bothering be, it may about running or it may be about whatever is on my mind that day. This is no holds barred, I may offend some people and some people may agree with me. I am only stating my opinion, you do not have to agree with me in fact I would love to hear the other side of my rants so some back and forth bickering is always accepted.

Today we are talking bicyclist. I am all in favor of saving our mother planet earth, so when I see a person riding a bike to work I respect them. Now here is what my problem is with certain bike riders. Notice I say certain because this is not true of all of them. Here is a scenario to picture in your head: you are on your way to work. You look down at the dashboard clock and realize you are cutting it pretty close. Now you are sweating and thinking of every excuse in the book just in case you are late. “Sorry I am late there was an accident.” “There was a fire and I happened to be the first person to drive by and I had to stop and I saved everyone, I left though before the news got there, in fact you probably won’t see it on the news.” In your mind you’re thinking please just let me get there on time. Everything is going good until your come up on to some traffic and realize it is moving at a snail’s pace. You can’t make out what is holding traffic back, but you know something is moving slow enough to keep the traffic moving but just about 20 miles short of the speed limit. After admitting defeat and knowing you are going to be late to work you notice traffic is going around whatever it was holding up traffic. As you approach the “thing” you look over and see a person on a bike riding down the middle of lane going 10 mph in a 35 zone. You wait till there is no oncoming traffic and you pass the person. The rest of your ride is smooth sailing but you are two minutes late, forcing you to walk into work and say “Sorry I shit myself and had to go back home and change my underwear.” Okay maybe that excuse isn’t the best but you get the idea.

As a runner I am constantly sharing the road with motor vehicles. I run toward oncoming traffic and if I am in their lane when they are approaching I jump up onto the sidewalk until it is safe to jump back into the street. I understand that even though I can be in the street running, it is easier for me to move then it is for a car to switch lanes. In Pittsburgh one thing we are seeing more and more of is the bike lane. I am all in favor of the bike lane, it keeps the biker out of traffic and as a runner I just assume that is for me as well. In downtown Pittsburgh they have even taken a lane away from traffic and put in a 2 lane road for the bikes. The picture below is the basic concept of what it looks like.

A lot of people are bitching up a storm about this, but I am all for it. Bikers should be able to feel safe while driving around town and this just does that. The problem is when there is no bike lane, the street I work on is about 1 mile outside of downtown and there is no bike lane. Traffic is very heavy and both cars and bikers use it to get to work. Every day as I sit at my desk I watch at least 2 or 3 bikers riding the middle of the lane holding traffic up. If they move to the right cars can still go around and traffic would flow steady. I hear bikers bitching saying they deserve the same amount of road as the cars. No problem by me, but you better be able to get the bike to do the speed limit. You want the same rules of the road then you damn well better respect them. How is it every day when I am behind one these ass monkeys they are taking up the whole lane like they are a car, but as soon as we come to a red light this fool goes through like the rules suddenly changed? Ah ah my spandex wearing friend last time I checked red light meant stop and a stop sign meant you stop for a 3 second count(unless in Pittsburgh then we just pause and coast through). All I am saying is if you aren’t willing to move to your right to let traffic by, then your ass should be just as miserable as the rest of us who have to sit in traffic and at lights. Don’t get me wrong I don’t hate all bikers. There are more bikers that follow the rules and respect the cars than the ones who don’t. If you are one of the people who don’t move or think you’re special because you can weave in and out of traffic without a care in the world then there is a good chance me and you have had some words. You’re lucky my window was up and you couldn’t hear what I was saying though.