Big 5 Sporting Good, giant ripoff

Like many of you I aspire to stay in shape, and like many of you I prefer to work out at home. While I can appreciate the gym environment I seldom have the time to dedicate myself to going there on a regular basis. My answer is to work out at home. I had lent a friend one of my 35 lb cast iron dumbbells I had bought from Walmart for about $25.00 and forgot to get it back from him before he left for vacation, so I just decided to buy another one and let him keep it. On the way home from work I saw a Big 5 Sporting Good Store and decided to get it there. The salesman escorted me to the weight section of the store and when I asked him how much one would cost he said $52.99. I couldn't believe my ears. I said thanks, but I can get it cheaper at Walmart. Just to make sure we were talking about just the one dumbbell I asked him again as I was leaving "$52.99 for just one not the set? " He confirmed it by saying it would be $52.99 for just the one. I sighed, shook my head, and let him know it was not nearly worth as much as Big 5 was retailing it for. I left and vowed to myself to never return. Beware of Big 5!!!!!!!

The Jemez, too strict?

As seen on my blog I show pictures of the Jemez Mountains. While I do enjoy the natural beauty that surrounds and captivates me I have heard a few negative reports about the Jemez, more directly about the Jemez police department. While I can understand their need to enforce the law I've heard of them fining people for things that most police officers would just give you a verbal warning for. I heard of a situation on 94 Rock's morning show where a caller said he was fined for having taped his rear turn signal on because the plastic where he would normally screw the reflector on had just recently broken. I've also heard of several instances where the fines for speeding tickets were almost twice what they would be in Albuquerque. Like many people I can see where additional money needs to be made to preserve the Jemez, especially during the recession, however that additional money should be made in other ways. While I still recommend that visitors see the Jemez Mountains, especially the hot springs, I would just be very careful of the police department and the rangers.

Fate

There are those who can figure out their carrer path early on and actually see if come to pass, then there's the rest of us. I like so many fall into the latter of that statement. How does one truly prepare to become what they were always meant to be. Is it knowing early on or does it require us to actually have lived our lives to a certain point? This is a question that daunts most of us. I believe we're all just waiting for that cosmic click to go off in our head telling us what god, the universe, or whatever one prescribes to, has destined for us. What do you believe?