Breathing

I usually get my inspiration and ideas of things to write about when I ride my bike to work. Since it's unusually warm today, I opted for the bike instead of the campus bus. I'm such a lame biker. I've heard about people that ride up the hills just to get a better workout. I don't understand those people. I choose the relatively flat route to get to and from work and that means I pedal almost the whole time, and I'm breathing hard in very short order.

I have asthma, but I don't like to tell people that. It's how I was brought up; no telling people about your life-threatening condition because people might treat you differently or feel sorry for you. I still take my inhalers in another room so people won't hear me.  I believe my lungs are permanently damaged from being so ill during my formative years. I remember sitting there as a young child, watching TV and was amazed to see people run and not become disabled, or as my mother has commented, turn a scary shade of blue. I've seen my own daughter struggle to breathe and watched her lips turn blue and I understand that helpless feeling I know my mother felt.

After arriving to work, parking my bike and heading to the office,  I was passed by several runners that were running up the steps of campus. I could hear their labored breathing as they ran by. It's pretty humid today, so the sweat was really streaming off of them as they did their thing. I removed my bike helmet and was fluffing out my hair to rid myself of helmet head when I heard laughter. Curious as to the source, I looked about and found a trio of students sitting on one of the concrete benches that are strategically placed around campus. They were watching the runners, and puffing away on cigarettes, gesturing towards them and snickering. I frowned, trying to get a handle on this scenario. It also created in me a desire to look up a few little facts about smoking and probably the most staggering number was 45.3 million American adults smoke cigarettes. The next fact listed was that in 2011, states will collect $25.3 billion from tobacco taxes and legal settlements, but states are spending only 2% of the $25.3 billion on tobacco control programs. Money. I knew it, it's always about money. But I digress. This isn't about statistics or money, it's about seeing collegians puff away, choosing to damage their lungs knowing what those things will do to them and having the nerve to laugh at those who choose a healthier lifestyle by exercising.  When someone says to me, well we always have done things a certain way, I gently reply, yes-but now we know better. My Granddad ate bacon everyday, and lived a long time, but now we know better. Cars used to be made without seat belts, but today we know better.  They used to give cigarettes to soldiers to help boost morale, now they know better. My lungs were damaged by a disease and lack of medications that are available today, but it wasn't my choice. Educated young adults should think about what they are doing, whether it's choosing to live a healthy lifestyle or shorten their lives.

Connections

Connections. So much of our life is governed by the connections we have with other people, the new connections we make, the old, it's all about connections.

I'm connected to people in a variety of ways. From connecting on Facebook with school mates, sorority sisters, friends and family, to carrying around a cell phone for texts, picture mail and, <gasp> actual phone calls.

I'm always amazed when someone says, "I don't do Facebook" and I usually ask why. Various reasons are put forth, however for the most part, what I hear is fear of exposure. Too much putting ourselves out there on the web. So, I thought to myself, what does the web have to say about me? There are 79800 different pages listed when I google my name. Some are repeated several times, (why is that?) some have absolutely nothing to do with me and my favorite? My LinkedIn personal description was written in French! What I do for a living sounds absolutely devine in a foreign language! I'm thinking about making a copy and taking it with me for my next review. However, most interesting is that any reference made to a Facebook page didn't make the list, unless it was past the first 5 pages, because honestly I got a little bored and didn't check on the pages after that.

My favorite connections are the friends I've made throughout life. Some friends stay around and some come and go. Friendships based upon kid activities are high on the list of coming and going. I've made friends through preschool, moms day out, grade school, football, basketball, swimming, dance, gymnastics, PEO, alumnae groups and the list goes on. Recently, I reconnected with one of my friends, and we picked up right where we left off. Our kids don't do the same things anymore, but our friendship is strong enough to reach past that and connect on a different level.

I have connections with influential people and people who don't know anybody. Connections with people who want to talk about jobs, world peace and yummy recipes. Sometimes, I have no connections with someone and it's really awkward. I hate those times, since according to my sister, I can talk about nothing for hours. I have connections with former coworkers, and then, there are former places of employment that I have no connection to at all.

Recently, I was connected to a second computer monitor. I love having two monitors, especially since it makes me look doubly important and busy, and really well connected. And I can keep my Facebook page open and an eye on posts while I maintain connections in the academic world.