Two visits in three days

That's all I have left to do to keep my gym membership alive. I have now done 4 days of gymming in a row, that's probably a new record for me. And I haven't yet just swiped my card at the entrance, used the bathrooms and left. I've done at least 5 minutes on a random torture machine each time, sometimes as much as 20 minutes!

Alex the anti-supporter

My Hunny and I watch wrestling. Not the proper amateur stuff were actual wrestling happens, but the WWE equivalent where the action is staged and the plots are ridiculous. I love the stuff, it appeals to the drama queen in me or something. And I'm easily sucked in to anything with a plot, no matter how bad.

So we were watching Smackdown last night, and I was getting all involved in the matches, making all the right sound effects with the punches and power bombs, when my Hunny called me "the biggest anti-supporter I've ever met". I tried to get outraged about that, but I quickly realised it's true. I have as many people that I intentionally don't support as I have people I do support, and I continue this trend through large portions of my life.

The best example is probably Michael Schumacher. I don't watch F1, and I don't really have a team or driver that I support (I sorta liked Renault until my commercial equivalent gave me so much trouble) but I am steadfast in my anti-support of Schumi. I'm not saying he isn't/wasn't a brilliant driver, but I do think he couldn't possibly be more of arrogant schmuck. So last season I supported anyone who had a chance of beating him, and by extension, Ferrari as well.

I'm also a great fan of the underdog. Underdog, not looser. You have to look like you have a chance, but a rather slim one, and then you're my man. And for me, supporting the underdog means anti-supporting the top dog, so I end up anti-popular. If everyone else likes you, I probably wont, and just for that reason. And to complete that circle, I'll probably like anyone that competes against you. I'm sure that says a lot about me as a person.

Anyways, herewith a list of 10 people / teams I anti-support
1. Michael Schumacher
2. Anyone Michael Schumacher drives for
3. Manchester United
4. USA at the Olympics - the dudes just dominate!
5. Australia at rugby, cricket and swimming
6. All ruling political parties anywhere
7. American films at the Oscars
8. U2 and Bob Dylan at the Grammies, the dudes are almost guaranteed an award just for producing an album
9. Women in competitive horse riding disciplines, specifically show-jumping, dressage and eventing. (As an aside, horse-riding is one of the few sports where women and men can and do compete against each other on an equal footing - it's a great sport to be in)
10. Wrestlers HHH when he has the title, Booker T anytime, Randy Orton, and anyone in a match against someone I like.

It's probably a cynical approach to take, but it makes spectating far more interesting :-)

4 more to go

I have managed 5 gym visits so far, and I give myself a pat on the back for actually going yesterday evening. The traffic lights down the road were out, so it took me half an hour to get to gym, roughly 3 km's from work.

When I hit the change rooms I realised I'd forgotten my socks. Having had the crucial card swipe, I could have just walked out then and been okay, but I persisted and did 10 minutes on the step machine sockless. How dedicated am I?

I just have to pull off 4 more visits in what is turning out to be one of the busiest weeks of my working life. Aaaaah!

The half a horse

For anyone who wondered how I could have one and a half horses, this is the half. Her full name is Fairwinds Piquant, Pip or Pix for short. She's now 3 months old and this is her on her birthday. Technically she's not mine until she's weaned from her mom and I pay for her, that's about 6 weeks away. Isn't she just too cute?

I've been bad ...

I haven't been to gym as I promised (in my defense I did intend going on Saturday, but a genuine migraine robbed me of that opportunity)

I haven't posted 3 times this past week

And I'm just about to use my blog to vent and not keep the positive outlook that I said I would do in my first post on this blog. I just have a few short vents though, then I'll try not to do it again for another 3 months.

1. Area specialists: I'm noticing more and more estate agent billboards around our area, with estate agents advertising that they are "Area specialists". Who give you the right to call yourself a specialist in my area? I don't think you are an area specialist, you've just plonked your sign down and declared yourself one. You may have never sold a property in this area before. Stop cluttering up our street corners with your signs.

2. The dude who couldn't join the back of the queue of 6 cars to turn into Allandale road last Thursday. You had to travel up the straight lane, then push into the right turning while crossing the intersection. BMW driving scum.

3. Guys who lie blatantly on their C.V's. Don't tell me you can do X, Y and Z in your interview and on your CV when you can do no such thing. Go and find yourself a job which requires skills that you actually possess.

There. Got that out of my system, I feel better now.

Cheers,
Alex

Are you satisfied?

I work in an office park just outside of a residential area in Rivonia, Johannesburg. Every morning (or evening, or whenever) when I drive to work I pass a Canoe and Kayak shop. It fascinates me. Nearly every time I drive past the place I think to myself: what a lucky guy, he gets up each day and for work, he does something that he's really passionate about.

Job satisfaction is something that continues to intrigue me. One study says that 75% of people are happy in their chosen careers, while another survey says that only 50% of Americans are content in their jobs, with only 14% classifying themselves as "very satisfied". As many as 25% of folks are simply "showing up to collect a paycheck". Who do you believe? I'd hazard a guess that 50% is probably more accurate, but what alarms me is the 14% statistic. I'm not an American, but I think that probably holds true here also. That means that if you have 13 buddies, about 2 of them really love what they do. The rest, they aren't so happy about what they have to do each day.

I don't hate my job, I get some satisfaction out of manipulating bits and bytes. It appeals to my slightly OCD control freak nature, and I think I'm good at what I do. But am I passionate about it? Hmmm ...

I wanted to be a vet when I was in school. Marks and circumstances vetoed that, but if I Had stuck with it would I make the 14% cut? I'm not sure. We had to call our vet out to a sick horse last night. Anna (the horse) started showing colic symptoms at 6:00 PM. Colic in horses is not as easily fixable as it is in babies, and it can be fatal, so when Anna was looking no better by 7:00 PM we called the vet. She said she'd be round soon, she's just leaving gym. Chatting to her later she confessed that some days she just hates horses. She didn't start out her career as an equine vet that way, but when she's been the vet on call for the past 2 weeks, and has not had a single night or weekend without an emergency visit, her job satisfaction stats are pretty low as well.

So how does one get into that exclusive 14%? You have to start of liking what you do. It has to be something that you have passion for/ It can't be for the money as so often is the case, especially in I.T. Then you need to have a positive outlook. There will be rough moments in most jobs, how you handle them will determine whether they become a big issue or not. Thirdly, I think you just need to be on a roll at the time of the survey. I don't think the 14% is static, it's a different 14% of people each time.

But one thing is certain, if you aren't doing something you are passionate about to start with, and you can't add to that with a positive attitude, that 14% will most likely never be you.

Another weekend gone

It's Sunday night, I'm getting ready for a new week and thinking "where on earth did the last 48 hours go?"

I know I did a fair amount of stuff. I went out for dinner Friday night, had folks from my studying days and other assortments round on yesterday evening, I did some shopping and some work, I rode a couple of horses, attended the re-opening of our main church auditorium (plus brand new balcony so we can fit in some extra people) , visited the in-laws and did my bit for our Christianity explored course this evening. You would think getting so much done would make the weekend feel longer, but oddly enough it doesn't. And neither does the opposite. I've had a weekend or two recently where I've done precious little and those seemed to dissipate just as quickly on a Sunday evening.

Seems like I just don't know how to make time last. If you have any tips on this one please let me know!

This will be a good week though, if only because Wednesday is a public holiday. Human rights day. It is our right not to work on this day and that I'm willing to celebrate!

On the down side, another weekend has passed by without me attending gym! I now have 12 days to fit in 8 gym visits. Guess what I'm going to be doing in my lunch hour this week? Wish me luck, this isn't going to be easy for me!

Wishing you all a great week,
Alex

Thirteen things I love about my Hunny

It's our second wedding anniversary today. We can't know the future, but it sure feels like we are off to a great start! In honour of this event. I thought I would share thirteen things that make me love my Hunny more as time goes by. Be warned, this is a really sappy sentimental post, so if you aren't into that sort of thing, come back tomorrow :-)

Thirteen Things I love about my Hunny 1. His enthusiasm and playfulness. Hunny tackles life with the enthusiasm of a Labrador puppy. He's always bouncing around, trying to tickle me or nuzzle my soft spots. I'm not always in the mood to join him, but love to watch him. He reminds me that I worry far to much. 2. His height. I've always been attracted to tall men. Hunny is 1.98m tall barefoot. Shoes often have him ducking under doorways. I'm 1.70m but next to him I feel small and waif like. 3. His eyebrows. When I first noticed Hunny, after his height, the next thing I noticed were his eyebrows. They are 'angry eyebrows' They are quite pointy and I found them scary at first, but when he smiles they smooth out they give me a warm fuzzy feeling inside. 4. His determination. What Hunny sets out to do, he does. If he has decided on something then he will follow through. 5. The small things he does. Two years on he still makes me tea and brings it to me in bed every morning. 6. His encouragement. He encourages me to do the things that I usually procrastinate about. He believes I can do things that I'm not sure about. 7. His thoughtfulness. He gets me something for Valentines day even tough he knows he doesn't have to. He'll bring me fudge when he spots some at the shops, even though he thinks it's bad for me. 8. His patience. He is patient with me when I spend ages deliberating a situation, even though I already know what needs to be done. 9. His handiness around the house. He surprised me a bit with that one. He had a lot to live up to: my dad is a builder. He also cooks really well and uses those skills often. 10. His self-assurance. He really doesn't worry about what other people think. It's great to be around someone like that. 11. His dedication. He comes with my to horse shows / competitions even though he knows it will bring on his hay-fever. 12. The security he offers. Not in the material way so much, but in knowing he's as committed to this marriage as I am, that he won't abandon it or put it in jeopardy. 13. I love the way we fit. Our strengths compensate for each others weaknesses, so when I'm with him I feel like I have no weaknesses. I think he was hand picked for me by God. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Who's saying what. Right now.

55 million blogs, some of them have to be good ...

I'm registering with Technorati in an effort to get more traffic on my site. To do so I need to add some code to a post for them to pick up and link to my Technorati Profile, so that's the reason for this post.

Go and check them Technorati here if you are interested.

Bat Country!

There is some open land around us, but we'd be kidding ourselves if we didn't acknowledge that we live in a pretty standard townhouse complex. That's why it was so surprising last night when, while we were eating out boerewors & baked potatoes on the couch in front of the t.v, a bat flew into our lounge!

I like bats, I think they are cute. I think I read somewhere that we don't get vampire bats in South Africa ... I hope ... and not much fruit around here either, so this guy must have been the variety that feeds on insects. That's just fine by me. I don't really like insects much, with the exception the Praying Mantis.

However cute I think bats are, when they flapping around your head only the most hardcore folks would fail to duck down and cover their heads. Which is exactly what I did. Hunny, bless his soul, dropped to the floor and leopard crawled out the room. Hunny does not like bats that much.

I've handled a couple of bats before. My folks live on a 5 acre plot, and a couple of times bats ended up on the brickwork of the front porch. They will drink warm milk from a spoon, did you know that? And they have really cute squished up faces. And a good hunting cat will recognize a rescued bat as the rodent that it is and will kill it. Anyways, with my Hunny looking like he wanted not much to do with this, and the bat not looking like it would find it's own way out, I started trying to trap it under a dish cloth. From the lounge, down the passage, and eventually I got him in the study. Neatly scooped up in the dish cloth, I took him outside, and after a few moments of deliberation he decided dishcloths weren't for him and made his way back into the night. I don't think he'll be back. Hunny said something along the lines of "that's why I married you". Same thing he says when I take the frogs out of the house.

It warms my heart just a little though, to think that despite the way my old neighborhood is being built on and developed (my Hunny & I live not very far from the where I grew up), there is still a little bit of nature left out here. Bring on The Wild!

One down, Eight to go

An update on my gym 9 times before the end of the month saga ...

On Sunday afternoon, around 1:30 pm, my Hunny hauled my tired and lazy arse into gym for the first time in around 5 months. I had agreed to go with my Hunny on Saturday morning, however after on goods nights sleep, and an 8:30 AM lie in, I was no longer inclined.

So on Sunday when Hunny had a craving for cardio I bit the bullet and joined him. On the way to gym I found that I did remember the combination to my padlock after all! Great stuff, cause it's a nifty turning mechanism, not one of those boring press button ones.

We started with the treadmills. It was pretty even at first, but then Hunny cranked his incline up to about 8. I was still on level ground at this stage. I countered by raising my incline to 2 and moving from a walk to a slow jog. Hunny dropped his incline a tad, and took off at a blistering sprint. I admitted defeat and resumed my fast walk. They announced over the speaker system that the gym would close at 2 PM. I breathed a big sigh of relief that I would not have to endure any other torture machines - Hunny had an abdominal workout planned. Final stats: I burnt around 100 calories, Hunny burnt around 350. He tells me that's the equivalent of 10 Romany creams. I traded my 3 Romany creams for a late afternoon pizza.

In my defense I had already endured quite a tiring morning before the gym saga. Dartmoor (my horse) and I had our first show-jumping competition of the year on Sunday morning. The competition was pretty tiring, but more tiring than that was trying to keep my breakfast down after the show nerves set it. Final stats: 13th place (out of around 60 horses) in our first class. Dartmoor knocked himself pretty hard in the practice arena while warming up for the second class, so we pulled out of that one. It's doesn't sound to impressive, but that's not a bad start for us, we're a bit slow to get back into competition. Also, my instructor was there to watch us, and she said we look about ready for the next grade. Whoohoo!

I read this CNN breaking news alert this morning:
Truck driver from Georgia claims half of a record-breaking $390 million jackpot and says he's "going fishing".
Wow! what a plan. I may have done that as well, except I don't really fish, but I could think of thirteen other things to do ...

Thirteen Things I'd do with the money 1. Pay off our home loan, car loans, bike loans and pay up the credit cards. 2. Pay off my dad's debt, get my folks each a new vehicle and build my mom some brick stables (hers are wooden). 3. Offer to clear off one debt of their choosing for my sister & her husband, and my in-laws. (negotiable). 4. Buy my Hunny a coffee shop. 5. Pay for a holiday for my folks to go back to their respective homelands (Dad: Ireland, Mom: England). 6. Take my Hunny on holiday to the places he's always wanted to go to (Italy, China Russia, US - maybe not all in one go) . 7. Quit my job and enroll myself back in full time studies: Physiotherapy. 8. Pay off the bond on our church. 9. Buy meaningful gifts for all our friends . 10. Buy a plot of land. A big piece of land. We can build on it later. 11. Contribute to a self-sustaining charity, something likes the ones here 12. Get laser hair removal done, no more shaving or waxing! 13. Invest what's left (if anything! I don't really know how far that much money goes!) for our future children's futures. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

This was fun!

I came across this questionnaire today. It's quick and fun. Fill it in and share it with your friends if you have the time. And post it in my comments maybe?

You can only answer with one word! Not as easy as you might think.

1. Where is your cell phone?
Drawer

2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend?
Married

3. Your hair?
Messy

4. Your mother?
English

5. Your father?
Irish

6. Your favorite thing?
Hunny

7. Your dream last night?
Disturbing

8. Your favorite drink?
Margarita

9. Your dream car?
Bike

10. The room you're in?
Office

11. Your ex?
Possessive

12. Your fear?
Retribution

13. What do you want to be in 10 years?
Content

14. Who did you hang out with last night?
Hunny

15. What you're not?
Tanned

16. Muffins?
Choc-chip

17. One of your wish list items?
Teleportation

19. The last thing you did?
Emailed

20. What are you wearing?
Beige

21. Your tv?
Hums

22. Your pet?
Several

23. Your computer?
Broken

24. Your life?
Full

25. Your mood?
Variable

28. Your car?
Truck

29. Your work?
Slow

30. Your summer?
Hot

31. Your relationship status?
Married

32.Your favorite color?
Lemon

33. When is the last time you laughed?
Today

34. Last time you cried?
Yesterday

9 times in one month!

I got an email from my medical aid company recently. I belong to Discovery Health - a little overpriced, but they do deliver. For anyone who doesn't know Discovery (most South Africans would, it's by far the biggest Medical Insurer here) they have this rewards scheme where you can get discount prices at certain partners (and there are some good ones) if you do stuff to keep fit and healthy. Their motive behind that is if you are healthy, you will claim less.

One of the benefits of the reward scheme allows you to join a gym for a once off fee, and you never pay again as long as you swipe your membership card at a gym a minimum of 24 times in a rolling 12 month period.

I joined the gym around 18 months ago, when the requirement was 36 times in a twelve month period. I started out well, making it to gym roughly once a week (Hey, that's good for me. I have a serious time deficiency). Then I changes jobs and my regular gym was now in the opposite direction to home from work, so that didn't happen. The chain I belong to then opened up a gym down the road from my work, but by that stage I figured I was already too late. I was a few visits short of 36 once my first twelve months were up. I had no communication from the gym or the Medical Aid, but I just assumed that was tickets to my joining fee. I'd figured I'd pay it again some time in the future when I felt more determined to commit to my health and fitness

So back to the email. It informed me that the minimum attendance requirement was 24 times per 12 month period and also stated the following:

According to our records, your Vitality Virgin Active access could be cancelled as you've only been to the gym 15 times in the current 12-month assessment period. To prevent this from happening, you have to go 9 times before 31/03/2007. If your access is cancelled, you'll have to pay the activation fee again to join the gym and earn Vitality points.

9 times before 31/03/2007 !! Oh dear ...

Now I know that my membership has not been cancelled I feel the need to administer first aid and revive the sucker. I can't just let it die ...

My plan of action is simple. I will haul out the old gym bag and toss out the now mouldy towels and gym kit that are still in there. I will spend a little too much money on some fresh gear, and a will spend way to much time trying to remember the combination to my gym locker padlock before I ultimately go out and buy a new one. Then I may actually make it to the gym.

My pride does not allow me to just swipe in, use the restrooms and leave, so I will have to do some exercise. 20 minutes on a treadmill should work, but then I gotta ask myself why am I not running in the open air with my two Labradors for company.
I should really let the membership lapse, after all if I couldn't use it twice a month what's the point?Two things prevent me from doing this:
1. I am a hoarder. I am convinced that anything I throw away I will need the very next day
2. I am a real softy. I cannot let something die that is still alive die ... poor little membership. He must feel so neglected already ...

So I will drag myself back to gym because I feel sorry for my membership. Great logic hey? Ah well, that's me.


Alex - Amended Discovery Health's link - 2007/04/01

Did I cheat?

I said three posts a week. I didn't specify that they should be across 3 different days. I still feel a little like I cheated last week though... I posted on Monday and twice on Thursday. Ah well, I'm sure I will get over it.

I have been reminded this weekend why I should eat smaller meals and more regularly. I seem to have some issues keeping my blood sugar up. Combine that with a strong sleep reflex, and you have a dinner guest who falls asleep at the table. Well, not at the table exactly, on the couch after dinner. Hunny & I went round to friends on Saturday evening for dinner. After dinner we were chatting in the lounge and I was leaning comfortably against my husband with a belly full of good food and whoops, off I went to dreamland. I woke a couple of minutes later (I hope it was minutes!) to laughing from all present. Quite embarrassing!

Nearly did a repeat performance on Sunday when we had my in-laws round for lunch. Doesn't make for great hostessing, but try it out yourself if you have guests who just won't leave. I've found it pretty effective then ;-)

Update on blogging tips

You may have noticed a few new accessories on my blog (it was very bland before). The Mail & Guardian news in photo's jobbie was a project of a friend of ours, Vincent Maher, who has a really nifty site also. The news in photo's widget (I'm learning the terminology) has that professional look about it, so I was hoping it could lend my blog some credibility.

Peggy gave me some tips, her cool widgets are from Feedburner, and I'm checking out those in my spare time. You should see some fruits of that soon.

Thursday Thirteen v1.0

This is my first attempt at a Thursday Thirteen post, so let me know if I've done something stupid? For someone who works in technology I can be quite stupid ...

Thirteen Things I have done that scare me We've all heard that saying "Do one thing each day that scares you" I'm running a bit behind on that, but I'm sure I can muster up 13 things ... 1. I got married. I don't regret a single of of my (still short) married life, but it was a scary decision to make. But so worth it! 2. I jumped of an 18 metre cliff into the sea. Small fry for some folks, but I'm not especially fond of heights, and I swim sorta like a brick. But I battle to turn down a dare, so on a cold and windy day, egged on by an ex-boyfriend, I took that leap. I was not at all ready for how fast free fall actually is. I imagine I spent my entire decent clawing onto the air around me trying to slow myself down. It didn't help one bit, but it did mean that I hit the water with arms outstretched and bruised from my wrists to my armpits on both arms. It took a couple of weeks for the bruises to go away. And boy was that water cold! I thought I was gonna freeze into a Popsicle right there and bob up and down in the water till someone came to fetch me ... 3. I rode a motorcycle. After a few years of being the passenger, I plucked up the courage and booked myself on a beginners course. I can't remember the moment I first went solo on the riding school's bike, but I can remember my first solo moment on my own bike. Wow! a great workout for my little heart muscle. 4. I took a walk around my folks block. At 2 AM. It's a rural area, I was alone and 16 years old. I thought it'd be a good way to test my bravery. I took two dogs and off I went. After the first couple hundred meters I could no longer back out with my pride in tact, so I continued at a pace that I thought was suitably authoritative, and not too fast as to leave me with no energy to run away if needed. I made it home okay, but ultimately, a midnight jaunt without telling anyone on a 2km block with roughly 5 street lights, this was not a bright thing to do. 5. I jumped my horse 1.35meters. I have a horse, his name is Dartmoor, and I bought him off the race track 5 years ago. I've been retraining him as a show-jumper since then, not always with the greatest success. But he has great technique and lots of talent, so I persevere with him. I remember the day I put his jumps up 15 cm higher than usual and trusted him to actually go over them. It was a great feeling and such a sense of achievement. Now we just need to get around to doing that in competition. 6. I stayed at home alone. Not a biggie anymore, but the first night that my Hunny went away after we were married terrified me. I slept with the lights on. 7. I started a new job. I have started more than one job, and it still scares me every time. Probably because I have never just changed companies, I seem to change expertise also, and for me, not knowing what I am doing is a very scary thing 8. I bridge jumped. Also at night. It was on a camp I went on as a teenager, we had a night time adventure obstacle course. All the activities we did (crossing rivers, abseiling etc) were in the dark, but jumping of a bridge into a darkness was scariest. I was picturing myself swinging straight down into a tree or something. 9. I took my dad to hospital to have a tumour removed from his bladder. It was the first time I realised my dad is mortal. The role reversal was tough for both of us. 10. I was a table leader at our church Christianity Explored course. It's a course we run twice a year for people to come and find out and ask questions about Christianity and what it means to be a Christian. I felt totally out of my depth, I am by no means an expert on the Bible. I'm doing my third stint as table leader now, and it's easier, but still frightening. I just have to keep telling myself that it's not about me at all. 11. I let go of my horse. I hadn't fallen of a horse in quite a while, and the less often you fall, the scarier it becomes. I became unseated at a jump -I was hanging half under his tummy - and had to make the decision to fall off completely before my horse attempted the next jump that we were cantering towards. Gotta say that my fingers were a little slow on responding to the 'open' command. 12. I woke up behind the wheel driving up and embankment and towards a tree. This was not a conscious decision to scare myself, but it was a great lesson. I should never ever drive when I'm tired. I will fall asleep. 13. I started a blog. And posted some entries. I have put my thoughts on display to the world. Links to other Thursday Thirteens!1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants