A Lot About Nothing

My Hip Hop Abs package that I ordered from BeachBody a couple weeks ago, finally got delivered last Tuesday.  I figured I’d “officially” start the my routine today, since it’s a holiday (and I wanted to pig out on ‘bad’ food over the weekend).

I just got through the “Fat Burning Cardio” routine, and I honestly think that if I keep up with the included workout plan every day (using Sunday as a rest day), I think that I can lose some serious poundage in the next couple of months.  The first routine was definitely fun. There’s even some moves that would work well the next time I head out to a club. ;)  The moves are easy to pick up, and Shaun T has the “Secret to Flat Abs” section of his DVD that will help beginners learn the moves to maximize the results.

I’m going to try and stop make excuses for not working out daily… after all, the first routine was only 30 minutes.  I followed that today with a stairclimbing up and down several floors of my apartment.  Trust me… I felt the burn.  Hopefully my metabolism picks up.

I’m gonna go make myself a mango smoothie with some protein powder now, and think about what I’m going to eat for dinner.  KFC is definitely out of the question.

Even though ALotAboutNothing.com has only been live for a couple of months, I ain’t too proud to beg for a vote from my loyal readers (or ones that just ended up here by fluke).

The 2007 Black Weblog Awards are currently underway, and until August 15th, they’ll be accepting nominations for your favourite weblogs for, by and/or about Black people. And since I am “Black” (with a lovely ‘fro, mind you) and have a blog that speaks to not only Black people, but targets everyone (and almost every topic), I think I should garner your vote.

All you have to do is visit the Black Weblog Awards site, enter your name and a valid email address, and type in my blog address (http://alotaboutnothing.com) in any of the categories that you think I’d fit the title.

What categories do you think I feel I should be nominated in? Well I thought you’d never ask! The first one that comes to mind is “Best International Blog” (since my blog isn’t based in the United States). I also think I’d have a chance in the “Best Blog Design” category (since it’s a pretty good original design, not relying on other Wordpress templates) and “Best New Blog” (well… since my blog is new). “Best Personal Blog” would also be able to house my site since I post my various rants about my life and experiences.

You’re only limited one ballot, so if you feel sorry for me and feel like voting twice in the same category, don’t bother. However, you are allowed to nominate my blog in more than one category on a single ballot entry. And if you know of any other Black blogs out there that you frequent, vote for them on the same form as well (hopefully not in the same categories as mine! ) Don’t forget to spread some love and get your friends to visit my blog as well.

Thanks in advance to all you potential voters out there. And if you have any ideas on what you think would be a good blog post for ALotAboutNothing.com (another shopping guide perhaps?!), feel free to contact me.

I live in part of Toronto where there are approximately 20 Starbucks locations within a 5km radius — 7 of which are in a short walking distance of each other. It’s that type of situation where you’ll ask someone to meet you for coffee at the local Starbucks, and after giving them the major intersection they say, “Which one?”

Independently-owned cafes are becoming harder to come by as more and more Starbucks keep popping up in urban areas like dandelions. Don’t get me wrong, I love their Double-Chocolate-Chip Frappuchino® with whipped cream, but I’m not one to shell out $5 everytime I have a craving for it (it contains over 400 calories after all).

The Starbucks boom of recent years has mind boggled me, somewhat. Especially when I know people who purchase $3-5 coffee drinks there every day, even multiple times a day. That’s almost equal to one semester of college tuition! I seriously think that Starbucks might be spiking their drinks with “Starbucks Caffine” to keep customers buying their beverages.

Now to the main question of my post: Why to people go to Starbucks by themselves and just sit there with their laptops and a 1/2 empty cup of coffee? Sometimes they end up paying a lot for wireless service for Internet connection. Why not just sit in the privacy of their own home to work on whatever it is they’re working on? The question makes sense, especially if the people of this “Starbucks-laptop” culture have the nerve to complain about the noise that kids from a family that’s just entered the cafe might be making, or when someone trips over and unplugs the extension chord to their laptop.

It seems that I’m not the only one who has wondered about this trend. A repeat episode of Family Guy had me laughing, because there was so much truth in it:

If I feel the need to go out and people-watch, or hope that some hot guy will notice me typing on my (non-existent) laptop and strike up a conversation… then yes, I would go to Starbucks for that sole purpose. But I rather a nice, cost-efficient Iced Cap and Honey Cruller from Tim Hortons to go.