thoughts on social conditioning

It feels a little strange to be writing this while i watch the first game of the world series, but oh well!

Last night I had an assignment for my marketing class to take an association quiz, which would measure how closely i associate gender to career. Going into the quiz, i knew my results would show at least some association between males & career and females & family simply because of our society - which is still not completely blind to gender. However I definitely did not expect my results to tell me that I, personally, make a strong association between gender and career.

For most of my life both of my parents had very demanding careers. Seven years ago my dad decided that his career wasn't fulfilling anymore. So my mom has been the only one that I've associated with a career for a while now. Considering this, my quiz results got me thinking about how big a role social conditioning actually plays in our lives. It amazes me how much we learn without knowing it & the associations we make even while blatantly trying to avoid making them.

Even though there were several design flaws in the quiz, the inner-feminist inside myself cringed as i considered my results. I actually felt ashamed for a little while.

But I do have to admit: as feminist as I may be (which isn't as much as people generally think), i have always wanted to be a housewife. It's one of those little contradictions i'll never quite understand. :)

WOW it's been too long

sometimes i feel guilty that i only use my blog when i need it, but that's what they're for, right?

i'm feeling very overwhelmed this week & i don't even have any exams.. yikes!

I have had three marketing quizzes in a row, which seems a little overkill to me. 3 quizzes on one section? really necessary? Also in marketing, I have a group experiment/paper/presentation AND a group analysis paper all due next week. In between this week & next is what's supposed to be my fall break, & since i'm the only one of my group members who's not going home for fall break, i'm anticipating i'll get stuck with all three assignments....

sometimes i hate being a leadership major, people automatically expect you to organize every meeting, everyone's schedules etc. I am not the only person who is capable of this! and actually, it would be much easier for everyone if it was a group effort!

In other news, this is going to be a very significant year for me.

• i was recently nominated to the Exemplary Leaders Circle, a group of elite students in my major who get to partake in several activities organized by our main professors & faculty. Our first adventure is to meet with the new provost of the University

• i'm the president of the registered student organization associated with my major & we've had a very successful first meeting & first outing. The club's bigger than it's ever been!

• I'm taking a class called "Assessing Obama's First Year," which is exciting on its own, but even more exciting because the lecture series includes David Axelrod, senior advisor to Obama, David Plouffe (Obama's former campaign manager), and Colin fucking Powell, among others..
• I'll start looking for grad schools/ seriously considering the peace corps... wtf
• I'll be traveling to Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Thailand & Jordan.

This is the part of my year i'm most excited about! I leave January 1st which seems ALL too close for my liking. I still need to mentally prepare for the 5 wonders of the world i'll see & the harsh realities i will encounter in these countries. Destitute poverty & children with literally no one in the world who cares if they live through the night, other children who sell their bodies for money, and a prevalence of men & women who entertain the notion (and then act on the notion) that it's okay to kidnap people in order to make money.

Not to mention, i need to physically prepare, get supplies and get packed... but i'm getting a little ahead of myself. Maybe I should just finish this paper for now...

peace & blessings, peace & blessings!

Well. I've been having a rollercoaster of a month so far.

But since I'm focussing on the good these days:

• I got a 94 on my Bio Exam which means I could actually get an A in that class... if i do really well on the final
• I got recognized for my volunteerism at Honors Day
• as well as my leadership potential. this is definitely a good thing considering that's my future!
• summer starts in T-minus two weeks exactly!
• i'll have my car this weekend (small victories are important too)
• my grandparents came to visit - still kickin' and crackin' me up
• matty's sister Kate came to visit & we had a great time
• my circle of friends is quickly expanding and i'm enjoying it very much

I guess this is all for now. I should really be pushing to finish... or start my research paper, but i needed and deserved a break.

P&L

LOOSE TOOTH!

I have this condition where most of my permanent teeth never developed in my gums. My doctors say it's genetic except no one in my family, as far back as we can trace, has ever had this condition [although, strangely my mom's best friend, Sue, has it].

So when everyone was raking in cash from the tooth fairy in second and third grade, I lost eight teeth. I started out with only 20 teeth as opposed to the normal 24, and I lost only 8.

To this day I still have 11 baby teeth - I had to get one of my molars pulled to make room in my mouth for orthodontic business that I don't really understand. The point of the story is that as my second decade of life is coming to a close and I merge into adulthood, I will bring with me my baby teeth.

Well, now one of those teeth is loose! When there isn't a permanent tooth breaking baby teeth's roots, apparently you can keep your babies well into your 20s, but eventually the roots become too weak to hold the tooth in place as your gums develop.

So now what? Well, here comes the part I'm not so happy about. I have to go to an oral surgeon. Not only do I have to see him, but he has to drill holes into my gums and my upper jaw. Then he'll screw a false root [implant] into my jawbone and once everything heals up [could take up to 6 months], I'll get my shiny new false teeth screwed on tight.

OH GOODNESS.

i'm going to stopl letting people walk all over me

I don't understand why i continue to let people benefit from all of my hard work.

And I don't understand why i let these particular leaches keep me up until 3:30 just because they've waited until the last possible minute to study for a crucial exam. Why why why do i do this?

Celebrating!

So yesterday is a close competitor for the best day of my life thus far.

It all started when a best friend gave me some news [which is incredibly relieving] & from then on I knew it was going to be a good day for both of us. I told her it was a day to celebrate & she agreed but I didn't know the extent to which my words would ring true throughout the day.

About 20 minutes after I got this life changing (for the better) news from my friend, I returned a voicemail & was offered the internship that I interviewed for over spring break. This is the one that's perfect because it's only 10 - 15 hours per week & involves the career path I'm most seriously considering right now even though I seriously don't know what I want to do with my life

About 2 hours after that I headed off to an interview for the study abroad trip I applied for called "Around the World." I was quite nervous because I want to go on this trip almost more than anything else I want for myself. As soon as I walked in the door, the professor says to me "You already have a spot on the trip, but if you don't do well in this interview you won't anymore." Well I guess I did alright because at the end she congratulated me & informed me that I would be accompanying her to Egypt, Ethiopia, Thailand, India & Jordan!

That was enough for me. Even one of those three things is the makings for a great day. But that's not even the end of it!

I also found out later in the evening that I'm receiving an award from the Leadership Department (my major) on Honors Day. Last year I got a "student of promise" award, but I don't know what it is this year...

Yesterday was a day that I felt like all of my hard work is paying off, my world is coming together. I felt accomplished & successful & i still feel that way. But today was more of a struggle. I am DEFINITELY not letting today's events get me down though. Not at all.

So besides being stressed all the time, I'm starting to realize just how wonderful my life is. Hopefully, I'll start using this blog to keep track of all the things that make me happy - and not focus so much on negative things, which admittedly, I do in almost every facet of my life.

That's another one of my Spring Resolutions

Goodbye Spring Break

As Spring Break is coming to a close, I have accomplished several goals I had going into it.

1. I kicked ass on my interview with the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce - it's just for an unpaid internship but I really just wanted more interviewing experience. Being that I don't really want an internship this summer, this unpaid 10 hour per week commitment would sort of be perfect for me. Now I just have to wait to see that I wasn't out-shined.
2. I spent a ton of time with my family
3. I caught up in almost all of my classes
4. I spent some well-deserved time with friends
5. I didn't work at all! - I haven't had a week off since PACAA and before that I hadn't had a week off since the last PACAA. I'm a work-a-holic so it was nice for me to have absolutely no commitments some days and try to force myself to relax.

It seems like I only neglected to complete two of my goals:

1. Tell my dad about my living situation next year - even though I did try to do this twice
2. Blog more

But alas, I suppose I'll have to save those two for when I go back to school. Overall, though, I'd say I had a productive, safe, successful, relaxing Spring Break & I couldn't be happier about it. I only wish it could last a little bit longer....

blah blog

well i haven't updated in over two weeks now, but i guess it's because nothing of note is really happening around here.

I went to the first UD Irish Culture Club meeting last week at school. My friend met a girl who wanted to start it but didn't want to be an officer because she's a graduating senior etc. He asked me to go & support him so I did, not expecting much to come out of it. But it turns out that I met two girls there that I used to Irish step dance with! I actually danced with the friend that asked me to go with him as well, but we were both surprised to see our former classmates show up.

Then on unofficial St. Patrick's Day, my dad was on a bar crawl or loop or something & said "your friend Erin from ICC is here." I was baffled. How did they start talking? How did he know that I knew her? I don't even think I formally introduced myself to Erin when I re-met her because I was so astonished that we were crossing paths again - so how did she know who I was based on a conversation with my dad?

The whole thing was very confusing to me, so I asked my dad what the hell he was talking about and it turns out that Erin's uncle is one of my dad's best friends from grade school.. Wilmington is small... but the Irish community in Wilmington is even smaller. It will never cease to amaze me.

In other news, I've been struggling with how to tell my dad that Matt & I are living together next year. We've already signed the lease & I know I don't need his permission, given that I am a rationally thinking adult. His opinion doesn't matter at all in this situation, but if you know anything about my dad you know my task isn't an easy one.

It's really a very long & involved story but at this point I'm really struggling with anticipating how my dad will react & how to essentially tell him that his only little girl is grown up, making decisions without consulting him & living out of wedlock with a significant other. I don't do a lot of things wrong, especially not in my father's eyes (now that i'm in college i'm heaven-sent, but this wasn't always the case). But this one little deviation from the norm is making me feel like a criminal. I know deep down that my living situation for next year isn't wrong by any stretch of the imagination, but the truth is that i've been playing it pretty safe the past couple of years, doing everything I was supposed to do at the exact time i was supposed to do it.

Well there's more to the story but I'll save it for another day. This blog is too long as it is!

the cool thing to do... 101 things about me

I borrowed the first few from Em & Kristen because i thought some of the things we had in common were cool! 

1.     I hate the way my pinky toes look.

2.     My lucky number is 5.

3.     I can’t wait to have kids, and I know what I want to name them.

4.     I have never had stitches except for surgery.

5.     I can’t remember which letters follow each other unless I say the alphabet. And I can’t say the alphabet backwards.

6.     I have a lot of trouble donating blood because my veins are tiny and my iron is usually low.

7.     I love surprises.  It's really rare that I get surprised with something, so that makes it even more special.

8.     My favorite gum is Orbit sweet mint.

9.      I lived in 4 different houses during my childhood. 

10.  I have never liked cheese on my sandwiches.  In fact, I usually prefer no condiments either.  Just meat and bread.  

11.  I think rainbow sprinkles taste better than chocolate ones.  

12.  When I was in 3rd grade, we had an "MS Read.a.thon" to benefit a Multiple Sclerosis charity.

                                         The whole school participated and they gave out 3 awards - The kid who read the most books, the kid who read the most pages, 

and the kid who raised the most money.  I won the award for most money raised - I got to go to a Blue Rocks game & meet their mascot & a player. I also got a t shirt which I’m wearing right now.

13.  My dad wanted me to put this on my resume freshman year of college…

14.  I do not download music illegally.

15.  I don't believe in organized religion.

16.  I have never once dyed my hair.

17.  My ring size is a 7, but I usually buy 7.5 so that I can wear rings on my middle fingers too

18.  I am extremely superstitious about wearing a ring on my left ring finger. I will not do it until I’m engaged. I won’t.

19.  My favorite flowers are lilies & orchids. I hate roses.

20.  My favorite colors are purple, green & yellow

21.  My favorite cities are Boston & San Francisco

22.  I collect soda can tabs to donate to Ronald McDonald House – not to get a free keg. If it were to get a free keg, I would have gotten five by now.

                   23.  I love making PowerPoint presentations & my Presentation Strategies professor used my final presentation as an example in her class the next semester.

24.  I was born on the libra/scorpio cusp, but I’m more of a libra

25.  I really want to buy a splashguard for my nalgene but no one around UD sells them… LAME

                                    26.  I don’t like it when everything in my room is in its place… actually, some things don’t even have a place. Being too organized/clutterless is distracting to me.

                             27.  My boyfriend, Matty, is OCD & I always move his tissue box & cologne to see if he’ll notice. He always does & always gets mad at me. I started moving his contact lens solution.

28.  I really think I’m addicted to chocolate. i don’t remember a day recently that I haven’t eaten it…

                                 29.  I work at the computer lab at my school. I’m really good with computers & my whole family calls me with computer trouble, but I feel vastly under-qualified for that job.

30.  I have twenty-two first cousins & out of all of my cousins I have the most cousins, because I’m the only only child.

31.  I tried chicken salad for the first time this month (February) and it’s quickly becoming one of my favorite foods

32.  In January I taught myself how to French braid

33.  I recently ran out of fluid in my highlighter for the first time in my life. I’m so proud that I saved the highlighter. It’s pink

34.  Next I plan on finishing a whole chap stick before I lose it

35.  I hate the word soggy & everything it entails

36.  I hate eye  drops & will do everything I can to avoid them.

                             37.  I’m obsessed with weddings even though I think they’re a terrible way to spend money & completely unnecessary.   I’m considering being a wedding planner.

38.  I’m also considering being a chef.

39.  I crave grape juice sometimes

40.  There are certain songs that I have to sing when they come on the radio. There’s quite a few so I won’t list them

41.  If I sing in the shower, I sing the Little Mermaid

42.  I have never owned anything from Abercrombie & Fitch & I’m really proud of it.

43.  My favorite movie is Forrest Gump, and if I get a tattoo it will probably be a feather because of the opening & closing of this movie.

44.  A lot of my friends think I resemble a koala. I agree with them

45.  My favorite animals are pigs, elephants, and dolphins.

46.  I know a lot of random information that is of no use to anyone.

47.  I’m not a huge fan of spicy food.

48.  I tried a tomato for the first time this month (February) & it was actually the same time I tried Chicken salad

49.  I cannot die until I go to Thailand

50.  I get my hair relaxed & I’m the only white person I know that has to do this.

51.  I hate public speaking

52.  I’m a liberal

53.  I’m very opinionated

54.  I take Cider Vinegar tablets to help my digestion

55.  I met Jack Markell & the President of my University in the same day

56.  I lose EVERYTHING

57.  I’m a light-weight. BIG TIME

58.  I’ve been to Ireland three times

59.  I didn’t want to go to college when I was in high school. Now I want to go to grad school & culinary school.

60.  I have “5 million” quote books.

61.  My suitemate/one of my best friends, Steph, just rattled off the last eleven facts when I asked her for help

62.  I’ve always wanted to own a macaw, but I hate birds

63.  I hate hanging clothes.

64.  I have a fish named Biggie (Christopher Wallace) Smalls.

65.  I am really good at geography because my 8^th grade social studies teacher made us map the world by heart in seven days.

66.  When I was in 5^th grade my English teacher made us memorize all of the prepositions in a song.

67.  I love canoeing down the Brandywine River & I’ve been doing it since I was 5, almost yearly.

68.  I love Dr. Pepper

69.  I have a history crush on John Locke

70.  I have literary crush on Ralph Waldo Emerson

71.  I have a lime green umbrella

72.  I locked myself in the trunk of my car once.

73.  I also got stuffed in a locker once..

74.  I’m extremely claustrophobic.

75.  I’m afraid of fireworks. Apparently I had a bad experience when I was younger but I don’t remember it

76.  I have a hot pink retainer.

                        77.  10 of my permanent teeth never developed in my gums. I still have 8 baby teeth (2 were pulled). I never got any reparations from the tooth fairy & I’m obviously still bitter about it.

78.  My grandparents are from Ireland & they still have a bit of their accent. 

79.  My grandparent’s fiftieth wedding anniversary was in 2007. They’re the happiest couple I know.

80.  I’ve seen both of my grand parents drunk.

81.  I check post secret every day even though I know it won’t be updated until Sunday.

82.  I think Sunday is the end of the week, not the beginning.

83.  I don’t have a tv in my dorm room

84.  I love game shows, especially Jeapordy & I would love to be a contestant.

85.  I had an English teacher who proudly falsified over 150 Wikipedia articles to discourage her students from using the website as a source.

86.  I write on a 10^th grade writing level. The average American writes on a 7^th grade level.

87.  I never hold a mug by its handle. My mom got me a mug that has a pocket instead of a handle – it’s one of the coolest things I own

88.  The front pocket of my book bag has had a tube of hand lotion, a tube of aquaphor and a squeeze pop for the entire semester.

89.  I love my iPod touch.

90.  I hate the color red

91.  I like to wear flowers in my hair. And I have done so in san Francisco

92.  I love my Mac & find it very hard to use a PC now.

93.  My face wash is called Sweet Japanese Girl

94.  I’m thoroughly unorganized but I love to make lists.

95.  I wouldn’t have passed Econ or statistics if it weren’t for my private tutor Matty

96.  I loved my intro to sociology professor so much that I picked up a soci minor & I’m taking him again this semester

97.  I love moccasins & I’ve even owned an authentic pair.

98.  I went to a healing mountain in Sedona AZ with my mom & we got a picture of our auras taken

99.  Mine was green & I was really mad at the time, but I think it’s pretty accurate now that I’m older. My aura’s probably changed since then.

100.        One of my favorite gifts I’ve ever received is a vase made out of magazines Kelsey got me for graduation

101.        I wear glasses… sometimes.

5 minutes

i only have five minutes to type because my roommate helen is making me do homework after this (thank goodness for helen)

but tonight i went to the interest meeting for the study abroad trip that i desperately want to go on & i'm so excited at even the possibility that i could be going to: 

Egypt

Ethiopia

India

Thailand

Laos &

Jordan

The itinerary so far is looking fabulous (including 3 wonders of the world) & even the classes i would have to take are exciting & interesting to me. 

I will probably do everything i can to go on this trip, leave violating any strong moral or ethical principles.  But i really think i have a good chance of making this happen! 

 

scary

So right around the time i was born my mom's doctor's discovered an AVM in her brain (a knot of blood vessels).  

I was a high risk pregnancy because of the AVM & my mom could have very well died during delivery.  This is also the reason I'm an only child. 

Luckily enough, my mom lived through my birth & was also able to undergo a cutting edge radiology treatment for her AVM. 

The only catch? apparently about 20 years after receiving the treatment, most of the patients are experiencing random seizures.  The doctors don't know if they should attribute it to scar tissue or just a long-term effect of the radiology.  

I didn't find any of this information out until a few months after my mom's first seizure which was in July 08. 

It was weird finding out that my mom's case wasn't just an isolated incident & that in fact quite a few people were experiencing just what she was.  

My mom couldn't drive for quite a while & she was put on an anti-seizure medication that she'll have to take for the rest of her life.  Getting the dosage right was really tricky because if she took too much she would get debilitating headaches but if she took too little she was obviously at risk of seizing. 

Well yesterday my mom started showing classic symptoms of seizure while at work & the nurses she works with made her lie down & called her doctor.  Apparently my mom never fully entered a seizure, but she was really shaken up about it & said that she couldn't shake the feeling.  

I don't know if it means that her medicine is working because she didn't actually have a seizure, or if it means that she'll have to increase her dose & deal with all these headaches. But needless to say, this situation has gotten me a little bit scared the past day and a half. 

I guess all i can do is go home & spend time with my mom & be grateful that something terrible didn't happen.

philosophy

i was really excited to take philosophy 202, contemporary moral problems before the semester started. 

the first day of class my professor asked the whole class whether or not we thought any culture's moral beliefs are any more or less justified than another's.  I said no. That every other culture has a right to their values & beliefs (whatever they may be) just as we are entitled to believe in freedom & equality for example.  

apparently i was wrong. 

The next day of class, my professor asked the whole class whether or not we had a moral obligation to help the poor.  I said yes, as I have been raised to always "keep the poor in my heart" as my grandfather often says.  

again, apparently i was wrong.  

I asked for an example of a moral obligation because if helping the poor isn't, then i really don't know what is.  

Do you know what my professor said?  "Anything with strong evidence."

I still don't understand how something so subjective can have evidence.  And i also don't understand why i'm being taught matters of opinion as factual.  

I'm completely appalled. still. 

valentine's day & tomatoes

So, the whole post everyday thing isn't working out... but i realized my life isn't that interesting. 

Actually I've been thinking a lot about self centered people lately and how a lot of them are "popular" & a lot of "popular" people are self centered. I just can't wrap my head around someone who thinks all the world wants to hear about is him or her self.  

ANYWAY..

i tried a tomato for the first time ever on friday night & i have to say... I LOVED IT 

I'm still getting used to having them on a regular basis, and i still don't like a large quantity of them on any given food.  But if you know how picky an eater i am, this is a very big step for me. I can't wait to have a BLT. 

I also had a spectacular valentine's day.  Matty really went above & beyond to make it special.  He gave me yellow roses which matched the hand-painted Gaudi inspired vase he brought for me from Barcelona.  The roses came with this little pill-bottle shaped water container at the end of them that baffled me... florists are really making a lot of progress lately. 

I stayed in bed until 7:30 pm.  This is one of my favorite things to do.  When I have absolutely no obligations on a wekend day (which rarely happens) i love to stay in bed, under the covers ALLLL day!

Then we went to dinner at Brasserie in the Hilton at Christiana.  The food was incredible (i had shrimp scampi) but the service was absolutely terrible.  

When we got back, Matty had all the supplies to make our own chocolate covered strawberries & he even brought Champagne back from Paris which we definitely enjoyed our fair share of! We spent the rest of the night nibbling on our delicious strawberries & watching the first episodes of Arrested Development.  

I have to say, I think I have the best boyfriend in human history thus far. 

untitled

So I'm feeling much more independent lately.
I used to have all my classes with three of my best friends at school because we are all Leadership majors & all get along & study really well together.
Last semester almost all of us either declared a minor or decided to try to double major, so we all have new requirements to fulfill & they're all different. I never really knew what it was like to have a class without a friend in it. Actually, I still don't because my first is tomorrow. But just the thought is making me feel a mixture of emotions. I'm nervous, and excited, & I feel like I've been faced with a challenge almost.
This isn't the only way I'm exercising my independence.. Our click is also breaking up when it comes to housing next year. I'm not as nervous about that situation because I know all the people I'll be living with & they're all kick ass. But I gotta say, it also feels nice and comfortable in our click. Even if the monotony gets to me sometimes.... okay, most of the time.

I guess it's a grass is always greener situation.

First Day Back

Well, I had my first day back at school today.  

I only had one class because, technically, classes didn't start until 4 today.  

So I went to my 5-8 and we got out an hour early, because honestly, who prepares three hours of material for the first class? My professor, who insists we call him by his first name, Richie, seems fair (somewhat strict) and fun.  His grading scale is a 6 point scale, which sucks, but hopefully it won't be a terribly challenging class: Leadership 311 Topics in Consumer Relations.  

Before class though, I had a refreshing trip to the hardware store & main street with an old friend.  I always have fun when I hang out with him, even if we just kick it in the dorm.  

The day was uneventful other than that. But I'm trying to update every day now that I'm back in school because it provides a nice break from the monotony & Kristen gave me a piece of sound advice regarding the frequency with which I write :)

LLL

So this past weekend was my favorite rally ever... 

I don't know if it was just a nice breath of fresh air, or if i'm more happy with my place in Leaders, or if i'm more happy with my inter-leader relationships, or if i'm just more happy with myself.

but it was incredible.  

i needed it, that's for sure

i went to breakfast at the smith's new(ish) house & it was amazing! 

the food

the place 

the people

everything was wonderful 

then on my way out i got stuck in the mud & felt like an idiot, & went to best buy to buy a memory card reader for my camera/computer so i can upload pictures again! 

then i slept for 17 hours. 

yesterday & today were such nice, mild days! i can feel spring coming and i couldn't be happier about it! 

just goes to show the power of teen leaders :)

It's a Strange Beginning...

...but a beginning none the less. 

i've missed blogging over the past couple years since i gave up my livejournal! And today i was really in the mood to do something new to curb my incessant boredom that seems to be stalking me these past couple months.  i've wanted a place to write down daily events and try to see what changes me. i've changed so much in the past year and i can't attribute it to anything... plus, today was the perfect day to start a blog again because so many crazy crazy things happened. 

one very good friend told me she was arrested last night. i'm assuming she's okay because she was able to text me. but i don't know what lasting effects there will be.

another very good friend told me her grandmother died, and was resuscitated, but still might not be okay. 

my mom's friend at work found out she has cancer 

another of my mom's friends at work found out that the chemo she's been undergoing isn't doing the trick this time around and has to resort to a much harsher, much more damdging form of treatment.  

my favorite boss' father died suddenly, in his sleep

my mom might be on tv

my relationship with the universe is growing stronger & stronger 

         today i did not want to work out after working an 8 hour shift but my mom literally drags me & i have no choice in the matter. or so i thought.  today i willed it.  Before we got to the gym, i realized i didn't have a hair tie - 1 reason not to work out.  when we got to the gym, my mom realized she didn't have her membership card - 2 reasons not to work out. when we got dressed and start exercising, not 5 minutes passed before we start smelling burning rubber.  like a chain reaction, we turned off our machines and started looking around to find everyone else in our row of treadmills  doing exactly the same thing.  we found an employee. they said we were too hott for the machines.  then we saw SMOKE billowing out of the vents & one by one people stopped working out & flooded out of the building.  we led the droves, and thus i did not have to work out today :)