Since I last wrote, we have gotten quite a bit of snow, with more on the way. I have been off because of the snow yesterday and today. With another big storm expected tomorrow, I expect to be off then too. The ironic thing is that my road is completely plowed and the main roads in Frederick County are in good shape. After a lot of shoveling on Saturday, I drove to College Park for the Maryland game on Sunday. The roads were not great, but it was a day game and the sun was out so it was sloshy and not ice. There were usually only one or two lanes open, so the area is clearly not ready for a normal rush hour. My work follows the federal government's decision to close. In addition, the metro is closed for above ground stations which means I would have to drive in and pay for parking.
I have begun running on the indoor track at the YMCA and that has been a savior because of the weather and the fact that my marathon on March 21st is not far away. I did run 9 miles outside on Saturday, January 30th. Later that day we got about six inches of snow and it has not been possible to run outside since then. I ran 6.33 miles on the indoor track the next day for the first time. I had gone to my parents to shovel and only had a short amount of time to run. During the weekday last week, I ran 4 miles on Monday and Wednesday and 5 miles on Tuesday. I took a rest day on Thursday. I took a vacation day on Friday because I knew with the big storm approaching that I would not be able to run much during the weekend. I went to the YMCA early on Friday, hoping to do 20 miles. I did 17 miles. I hope to get to 20 miles in a couple of weeks. I did not run on Saturday or Sunday, but did a lot of snow shoveling. The shoveling was significantly more difficult to shovel for this storm that it was for the big storm in December. I went back to the indoor track yesterday and did 7 miles. I hope to make it back today and the plan is to run 8 miles.
I also found out that my gym is going out of business. Below is a link to when I wrote about switching gyms last summer.
Switching Gyms
I have no choice but to go back to the fancy gym. They have a reasonable deal for the first six months, but who knows how much it will be after that.
The Jersey Shore
Putting a bunch of loudmouths in a house together in a house has been done many, many times in the world of reality television. What made The Jersey Shore a sensation was twofold,
A. The subject of the guido / guidette culture has been underpublized and it is fascinating to see them in their element at the Jersey Shore.
B. The casting of the show could not have been better. They were loud and brash but also people that I eventually found to be likable. This is in sharp contrast to The Real World where the casting has sucked for severals seasons reaching a low point with The Real World DC.
The cast includes two breakout stars that will have a lengthy 15 minutes of fame. Below is a run down of the cast.
-Mike (The Situation) - He calls himself or his six pack The Situation. Mike is 27 years old and spends his day doing GTL (gym, tanning and laundry) before going out at night. I am not sure why it is necessary to do laundry on a daily basis. The Situation is a strange combination of arrogance and insecurity. He likes to cook meals for the house, but none of his roommates welfare will get in his way when he is trying to pickup girls. Mike had a crush on Sammi Sweetheart at first, but she preferred Ronnie. Mike instantly became good friends with Pauly D. Of the cast of The Jersey Shore,The Situation has the best potential to have lasting success in the entertainment industry. He would be outstanding as the host of a dating show.
Nicole (Snooki, Snickers,Snookers etc) - She is not quite 5 feet tall and always makes herself the center of attention. Snooki just wants to meet a nice juiced up guy, but alas has no luck. She has no problems being the only person on the dance floor at a bar in the middle of the day and has an affinity for pickles. Snooki's most memorable incident was getting sucker punched by a guy in a bar. Snooki has been making the rounds of all the talk shows for the past couple of months. I can see Snooki eventually having a short lived reality show of her own.
Pauly D - Pauly D is a 29 year old DJ from Rhode Island that has a tanning bed in his house and spends a lot of time each day gelling his hair just right. Initially he seemed like a huge douche bag. However, he was the most likable cast member with a good self depeciating humor. Pauly D had a brief interest in Jwoww and served as wingman for The Situation throughout the summer including two memorable encounters with The Grenade. He also met an Israeli girl who turned out to be a stage five stalker. Being a DJ is a great occupation for Pauly D and at a minimum will continue making money visiting bars for years.
Jenny (Jwoww)- Jwoww is a wild woman who designs her own outrageous outfits. In the introduction she says that after she has sex with a guy, she rips his head off. She has a boyfriend, but one night after heavy partying hooks up with Pauly D. Jwoww eventually gets back together with her boyfriend and seems to calm down after the incident with Pauly D. However, in the last episode she gets excited when she finds "juiced gorillas" on the beach. When the cast visits Atlantic City, Jwoww hits The Situation because he would not escort her back to their room after she has too much to drink. Jwoww is currently making bar appearances, but i do not see any long term future in the entertainment industry outside of the show.
Ronnie - Ronnie the Rhino is built like a tank. His first rule at the Jersey Shore was not to fall in love. Another rule he had was to not get involved with one of his roommates. Ronnie very quickly broke both those rules with Sammi. For the majority of the season they were together and somewhat separated from the rest of the cast. Ronnie got into two fights with people who were trash talking him. He ended up arrested for one of the fights. Ronnie seemed like a fun guy and I would have liked to see what he would have been like if he had been single.
Sammi Sweetheart- Sammi was the most attractive available girl in the house which meant that got a lot of attention from the males before getting with Ronnie. She was not particularly interesting compared to the rest of the cast and was kind of a bitch. Sammi was kidding with Ronnie one night after drinking too much, but ended up mad at him for comparing her big toe to Fred Flinestones. In addition, she was partially responsible for the first fight that Ronnie got into when he was trying to walk away and she was egging it on.
Vinny - The youngest cast member was the most educated. Vinny is an admitted momma's boy who loves to fist pump on the dance floor. Vinny seemed kind of quiet and got the least amount of camera time the first half of the show. He came into his own towards the end especially with his battles with The Situation. The Jersey Shore had initially gotten some heat from Italian groups about their perceived negative perception of Italians on the show. Vinny's mother and many and many of his relatives came to visit. His mother was very motherly, cooking and cleaning for the whole household. It was actually a very positive portrayal of the Italian culture.
Angelina - Angelina was only on the show for the first few episodes. She arrived with her clothes in a large plastic bag in lieu of a suitcase. Angelina had a boyfriend who apparently is married. She seemed to be interested in preventing anyone else from having fun. Angelina had a difficult time with the assigned job of working in boardwalk t shirt store. She felt that this was a huge step down from her regular job as a bartender where she does "great things." In Angelina's world it seems that a occupation as a bartender is as prestigious as a doctor. She eventually gets kicked off the show for not showing up at work. Angelina expected her roommates to feel bad for her, but they were happy to see her go.
The Jersey Shore for what it was, was a very well made and casted show. They are going to make a second season with the remaining seven cast members. I am not sure how that will work out now that they are celebrities. However, season one was a lot of fun. I give The Jersey Shore a B+.
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