On the subject of engagement...
They just did a mass live marriage proposal on the Today Show. You know something? This whole idea of proposing on national television or in front of thousands of spectators really bugs me. What if she wants to say "no"? It's humiliating for her if she's too polite to to turn you down immediately in front of all those people, and it's humiliating for *both* of you if she does have the guts to tell him to piss off. Not to mention the fact that, in doing *anything* in front of thousands of people (especially if you have trouble with being in front of an audience of any kind), it is putting a *lot* of stress on the poor girl (or guy if she's direct enough) which indicates that this person on his/her knees in front of you a) doesn't give a damn about your feelings and is doing the public proposal entirely for themselves or b) he or she *knows* that there is a chance, slim though it may be, that you are going to say no so they decided to do it in front of everyone to give you less of a chance to escape. It just isn't polite, people! If that ever happens to me, I will say no just to spite him. I don't care how much I love the guy, he should *not* have put me in that position and it serves him right to have his heart handed back to him on a plate.
They also did a special on engagement rings. Personally, I really don't see the appeal of diamonds. They are useless except to look sparkly and you can get a pretty, sparkly Austrian crystal or cubic zirconium (only spelled right) which are just as useless for far less money. Diamonds do more good on the end of a saw then they do around someone's finger.
Also, diamonds have absolutely no story behind them. "Once upon a time there was a hard rock that was under ground. Then, by luck or determination, the hard rock was dug up and taken to a jewelers to get cut up into sparkly gem stones. The end." Absolutely no soul what so ever. I think the *real* meaningful, priceless gems are those that have a story behind them. A black pearl (or any pearl for that matter) that started off as a grain of sand and spent years growing and becoming a pearl inside an oyster, or a black rainbow opal that was once upon a time, thousands of years ago, part of a living tree (and I think that applies to most other opals, too, but don't quote me on that). Even an amethyst that spent thousands, if not millions of years growing inside a geode has more of a story behind it than one measly diamond. Come on, people... I know they're just rocks, but even *rocks* should have a story to tell. Go outside and pick up any of the stones you see lying on the side of the road and you're holding a piece of physical history in your hand, so the least you can do is give your loved one something to think about and put into perspective.
Okay, yeah, so that got a bit longer than I was thinking it would be. Will shut up about it now.
On an entirely different note, I'm currently skipping gym. Shame on me, but I figured I could use a break, especially with this tendonitis acting up so bad again (and I've also been working my ass off 6 days a week for the last two weeks, going from incredibly unactive to incredibly active all within a few days. So my body - my legs and feet especially - could probably use a reprieve, too). Besides, I'll still get my 5th workout in tomorrow since I have to teach swim lessons and will be swimming laps between my first (and only) class at 9-9:45 and my private lesson at 10:30.
They also did a special on engagement rings. Personally, I really don't see the appeal of diamonds. They are useless except to look sparkly and you can get a pretty, sparkly Austrian crystal or cubic zirconium (only spelled right) which are just as useless for far less money. Diamonds do more good on the end of a saw then they do around someone's finger.
Also, diamonds have absolutely no story behind them. "Once upon a time there was a hard rock that was under ground. Then, by luck or determination, the hard rock was dug up and taken to a jewelers to get cut up into sparkly gem stones. The end." Absolutely no soul what so ever. I think the *real* meaningful, priceless gems are those that have a story behind them. A black pearl (or any pearl for that matter) that started off as a grain of sand and spent years growing and becoming a pearl inside an oyster, or a black rainbow opal that was once upon a time, thousands of years ago, part of a living tree (and I think that applies to most other opals, too, but don't quote me on that). Even an amethyst that spent thousands, if not millions of years growing inside a geode has more of a story behind it than one measly diamond. Come on, people... I know they're just rocks, but even *rocks* should have a story to tell. Go outside and pick up any of the stones you see lying on the side of the road and you're holding a piece of physical history in your hand, so the least you can do is give your loved one something to think about and put into perspective.
Okay, yeah, so that got a bit longer than I was thinking it would be. Will shut up about it now.
On an entirely different note, I'm currently skipping gym. Shame on me, but I figured I could use a break, especially with this tendonitis acting up so bad again (and I've also been working my ass off 6 days a week for the last two weeks, going from incredibly unactive to incredibly active all within a few days. So my body - my legs and feet especially - could probably use a reprieve, too). Besides, I'll still get my 5th workout in tomorrow since I have to teach swim lessons and will be swimming laps between my first (and only) class at 9-9:45 and my private lesson at 10:30.