Perfect post-workout snack = a burger and fries.

I chuckled to myself when I went to open my mailbox tonight. I glanced down only to see two very conflicting consumer messages staring me in the face. First enticement: an offer from 'System Fitness', soliciting their latest membership deal, including images of buff and glistening bods who make exercising look way too easy. Second enticement: A McDonald's 'booklet', plastered on the front of which were enticing images of a juicy burger and golden fries and nothing else but the word 'real'.

The McDo's flyer ( or should I say six-page brochure) is just too ridiculous. That place tries its damnedest to convince we the consumers, of its food's 'healthy' and nutritious qualities. It's neither one of these things and I know it's not. Just watch Food Inc. and you'll have all of your answers. The people I know who choose to eat Mcdonald's are usually hungover when doing so. Starved of minerals and nutrients, they will do anything just to mow down on some good ol' grease just to reduce some of the painful side effects from the night before, lacking all concern for a calorie count. Is there a more environmentally sustainable and healthy way to feed the hungover? Because let's face it, that has to be one of the biggest reasons why Mcdonald's continues to function.

In the end, this little experience just goes to show how many mixed messages we as a society, receive everyday from the advertising and corporate world.

Giver. Adventurer. Organizer. Thinker

A' giver' is interpersonal, 'feeling' and idealistic.

An 'adventurer' is classified as imaginative, experimental and active.

'Organizers' are predictable, dependable and confident.

'Thinkers' are mathematical, explicit and realistic. . . (pff)

Taking a test to learn and understand one's learning style(s). That's how I spent my Friday night. Fascinating stuff.

I'm all about self-improvement, maybe that's the 'adventurer' in me. I scored the highest as a 'giver'. I pride myself on these qualities. Sometimes it gets me into trouble though. If I give and give and give, what's left for me?

Everyone always tells me, "Clare, you are always off on another adventure!" or "Where to next Clare?" I guess how I'm perceived is in fact, who I am.

To say I rate low as a 'thinker,' however, is an insult. I think, I just don't think about mathematical equations in my spare time. I am realistic. Yet It depends on the context and when it's necessary to be realistic, and when it's not. To say someone is organized does not always imply confidence. Some of the most organized people I've met also tend to be insecure wrecks.

So perhaps labelling is a dangerous act. No one fits into one category that we can call "thinker" or "athlete," because we are all a bit of everything. Yet, we will always try to fit someone else, and even ourselves, into a box, just so that we can sleep at night.

So the next time you decide to brush off someone who is anal, over-achieving, 'type-A,' take an extra minute to get to know them.