Maria Sharapova Should Fire Her PR Team

Maria Sharapova is the highest paid woman athlete in the world. She is an incredible tennis player who knocks the socks off most ofl the competition. Why isn't this enough? This poor girl's PR team has decided that Maria should be equivalent to today's supermodels. They have designed a pathetic series of PR commercials to promote Maria as something she is not. Maria Sharapova is a kick-ass athlete. She is a far cry from the supermodel femme fatale that her promoters want us to see. Just watch her "Power Shot" commercial if you aren't convinced. She knocks off a hundred killer tennis serves, and then sallies up to the camera with a shoulder wag as uncomfortable as a boy in a dress. Now we are subjected to a bunch of idiots singing "I Feel Pretty" while our supposedly pretty heroine stomps through their ranks with a sour scowl on her face and ultimately rewards us with one of her oh-so-feminine signature grunts as she smashes the ball. Give me a break.

Maria is attractive enough, but hardly supermodel pretty. She is more the girl next door with a killer swing and a grunt that would make King Kong jealous. Besides, setting her up as the next "glamour girl" diminishes her accomplishments. She is a fantastic athlete. What is wrong with focusing on that? She doesn't need to compete with Paris Hilton. Unlike Ms. Hilton, Maria has actually accomplished something that should make her proud to be the athlete that she is. Why does she need to be seen as some kind of pinup girl when she has so many accolades for what she has truly done?

Lately she has appeared at the US Open wearing a black sequined outfit cut so low in the back that I wonder if we are meant to focus on her game or her outfit. Instead of promoting her success, her PR team is promoting her [supposed] sex appeal. Nevermind that she is awkward in these settings, there is apparently a buck to be made.

Maria has the potential to make great things happen. She is in an incredibly influential position. Will she use her fame to make a difference? Or will she become just another of the Hollywood bimbos that we have more than enough of?

The choice is hers. She can become someone who makes a difference, or she can become another starlet wanna-be and waste her accomplishments by trying to be something she is not. Her PR team would do her a huge favor by not trying to promote her as the sexiest thing on the planet. Leave that to those who have the looks but little else. Why not let her be what she is? Why isn't that enough?

OK, I've had it with RTS

Well, we've been complaining for 3 weeks now abut the traffic in Gainesburg, and it would be unfair to say that the opening of 2nd Ave. hasn't improved it some. But I still don't get why it's OK for RTS busses to block intersections on the yellow light. I mean, really, how much is that going to keep them on schedule? I thought that blocking intersections (whether you are a car or a bus) was wrong. Today at Museum and Gale Lemerand, I watched two busses block the intersection (each coming from opposing directions on Museum), and then make aggravated gestures at the drivers who should have had the right of way. RTS does a pretty good job of keeping on schedule, and that's admirable. But when they prevent the rest of us from getting where we are going, they are doing no public service. Honestly, these two drivers -- who were totally blocking the interstection -- were mad at the drivers who had the right of way. Aren't they supposed to be "professional" drivers? Shouldn't we expect them to abide by the rules of the road?

This is really stupid.

Adventures in Weight Loss

It's been several weeks since my pal Jess and I embarked on yet another adventure. Please understand that we have been involved in many adventures, some voluntary, some planned, and some totally out of the blue. This one we planned. Jess is a consummate planner (I am, too, she just has a better track record of making our ideas happen.) She is such a fabulous detail person. I'm always the one saying "what if...." My life without Jess is really not nearly as fun and productive as my life with Jess. We are outstanding partners, even though we don't agree on everything. We have this wonderful friendship that allows us to totally ignore each others' frailties.

OK, enough of that maudlin crud. A couple of months ago, I got really, really tired of listening to myself whine about not being able to lose the 15 pounds necessary to feel like a human being again. I got tired of feeling like Shamu, and really annoyed with myself for the whining. I used to be a very skinny person. I was not a skinny person any more. Every Monday I would wake up with a new mission....to lose this weight that was weighing me down. Every Friday I was a failure. Please don't think that stopped my eternal optimism. Each Monday I began again. the trouble was, I didn't have a clue about how to lose the weight. If I had the money back for every diet book I have bought, for every diet pill (Hey, Hydroxycut, you did NOTHING), I would be a rich woman.

I joined Weight Watchers, the last bastion of the hopelessly overweight. I did feel a little funny about it, but hey, nothing else was working. Within a short time, Jess agreed to give it try, too. With her usual enthusiasm (and ability to get up early) she jumped right in and began walking at 4:00 am. (She's an early riser, OK? She gets to work at 6:00.) I wish I could say that I had the same comittment to early morning exercise, but I have been good about using my treadmill. I am happy to report that Jess and I have (officially, as of today) lost a total of 20 pounds.

I tried to tell one of my coworkers who has been struggling with weight about our new "lifestyle". She assured me that she was eating like a bird. I think that's the problem. Birds eat their own body weight daily. She is still struggling, and I am strutting on the beach.

Jess and I are thrilled. We are accomplishing our goals. We are feeling better, looking better, and understanding that this is totally under our control. After the Labor Day weekend and a dinner at my favorite restaurant, I still lost 1.4 lbs. Come one you guys, it's not that hard once you finally take a real look at WHAT you are eating. That's what I never did before. A little of this, a little of that, didn't seem like much at all. It turned out to be more than I expected. We have all gotten to expect that servings should be super-sized and that we are immune to reality. You can lose it if you want to...

Join us in our adventure...you'll be glad you did.