I will pick up sweaty weights all day, hug a sweaty client, and even lay on the floor to demonstrate an exercise. But so help me God, I refuse to touch the rails on the subway.
I'm not a compulsive person when it comes to sanitation, but you would think I'd contract AIDS from a 4 minute commute. I test my balance daily by assuming the "surfing" position on the train, squeeze the glutes, and pray for the best. I am determined not to touch the rails.
This has all worked well for me until the other day when it was crowded, I was tired, and when we jolted forward quickly, I momentarily forgot about my fear and grabbed the rail. It was like that scene from the Sex In The City movie when Charlotte accidentally gets a mouthful of water during an outdoor shower in Mexico. She freaks out, starts spitting, and then craps her pants.
To clarify, no bowel movement occurs as a result of my unintentional rail-grasp, however I am now battling a horrible cold and I blame the 5 Express train.
If it turns into the HIV virus, it will be the one time I didn't want to be right...
***
We've had a lot of rain in the last few days, so when the sun came out this morning I was nearly jumping up and down. Almost attempted a cartwheel. *Almost.
My day began with a client in Central Park, which is always a blast. Between the beautiful weather and the amazing people-watching, I'm pretty much ready to face my Wednesday.
As I waited for my client to arrive, I became the sole witness of a morning altercation between a man and a young mother.
His dog wasn't on a leash, and her son wasn't in the stroller.
Dog approaches kid. Kid reaches out. Mom shouts "You should have your dog on a leash!" And from there came the natural adult version of I-know-you-are-but-what-am-I?....His response was simply a loud "Well you should have your child on a leash!"
I wanted to laugh and yet I saw the size of the dog and was 2 cups of coffee shy of unloading the appropriate amount of sarcasm to make anyone cry or being able to run for my life.
Such a fine line.
***
Life in the gym is rolling along and keeping me busy.
Hard to believe I've been here 8 months already. Its June and I have no tan. First time E-V-E-R. Chris reminds me all the time "This is the north, babe." As if to politely say my blinding pale legs are acceptable.
Meanwhile I'm trying to find the balance in applying enough blush to avoid looking like a polio victim, but not too much to look like a hooker.
Another fine line.
In all seriousness though, skincare is definitely emphasized much more here. Women wear hats, avoid the sun altogether, and pack sunscreen in their purses. Its certainly an area of my own health that I am striving to improve upon. For the longest time I was a sun-worshiper. Throughout college you could find me skipping class to lay out, and for every year since I can remember by the pool on the weekends.
Now at this chapter in life I'm taking "white girl" to a whole new level.
If it wasn't for my dance moves, I'd be a complete lost cause. Thank you mom, I will continue to shake what you gave me.
So for now I am striving to be ok with my lighter hue and stay away from any black-lights.
*Related: If you still have one of these after 1994 I withhold judgement. You should judge yourself.
Long day ahead and this cold needs to find its way out of my sinuses before 4am.
Because lets be honest, the only thing I want on/in my face that early in the morning is coffee. Caffeine.
Joe.
Fresh. Ground. Beautiful.
So cheers to rest, regeneration, and caffeinated sanity :)
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Slowly Dying on Stand-by...
Where do I begin?...
Its a cloudy Sunday and I am fighting the urge to nap. Normally, I don't fight it, I just submit and pray for the beast upon awakening. However, I've decided that averaging 3+ naps a day is not ideal for a grown woman.
I currently have a similar schedule to my nephew....who is still on the boob....this is quite alarming.
Nonetheless, here I am ready to roll. My attempts to stay on a regular blog schedule remain sub-par, and I have absolutely no excuses except that ever since I moved to the city I hardly know what day it is. Its an odd phenomenon considering I do not have dementia and remain sober 98% of the time...
This past week was beyond crazy, as I returned late from a trip to NC. Let me clarify that my intentions and plans were to return on Monday morning. Well, Delta had another plan.
Apparently showing up to the Airport only 30 minutes before your flight is "frowned upon" to the point they will not let you check in.
Let me start by politely saying this is crap.
...30 minutes is plenty of time to get my ticket, a pat-down, and be at the gate with my $9 water ready to go. No one consulted me on these rules, so there I stood as irritated as a human can be at 6:30am in the Special Services line.
There was nothing special about it.
I was at the mercy of a worker to book me on the next available flight, and was 15 seconds from a complete meltdown. I had a full work day ahead, and just came off of 3 days of not working out, so I was practically shaking from the need to pick up something heavy, sweat a little, and even experience a good near-death experience under the squat bar to make me appreciate life.
I can't explain this mindset, us meatheads are a different breed.
Long story short, I sat in that God forsaken airport for over 9 hours.
9 hours.
Mom suggested it helped me work on my patience. Don't you hate it when someone tries to be all positive and pour rainbows into the cesspool of bitterness you are currently wading in?!
I didn't want to work on my patience. I wanted to work on getting my rearend back to NYC.
The woman had loving intentions, and there I was just pissed off and ready to test my sprint time on the tarmac.
The flights were so oversold they were offering $1300 vouchers for people to take a later flight. Of course it was the one time I didn't have a seat to give up. And by hour 4 of my "patience test", I was willing to give up more than a seat. You get desperate and suddenly you're pawning off morals like gold and preparing for the "I'm so disappointed..." speech.
But when I finally made it on a plane around 5pm that day, I've never been so excited to hear the safety procedure and get my free nuts. I was too tired to be bitter that the serving size was made for a baby hobbit, and just wanted to get home.
6:45 plane lands.
Client at 7:30.
Monday was not over, and so the week began...
Time in NC was absolutely wonderful with family, and Sparkles had no idea I was coming. That was the best part. She definitely squealed and it made my day that she was excited. Being the middle child you just never know when you're gonna get the shaft...ha just kidding.
I kept thinking about how just a year ago I was working, planning for life in NC, and then WHAM another plan lay ahead. Months later I'm in NYC adapting to the smell of subway filth and constantly answering the question "where are you from?.."
Having a southern accent up here is like rocking a "birthday girl" sash...minus the glitter and potential hazing. Point is, they love it and if they want to give me free coffee for it, by all means dear friend don't let me stop you.
Training...
Life in the gym has picked up and between workouts, clients, and growing my business, I'm still very dependent on caffeine to fuel the madness. My own workouts are kicking my butt and the latest nutrition adjustments are proving to be pretty solid. As of now, I'm still on track to compete in August, but if I get there and feel like I need a few more weeks to prepare, then I'm going to take it. Plain and simple.
When you get on the stage like that its already nerve racking enough knowing its very subjective, so no need to add to the anxiety if I can just pick another show. My cut is really slow, which is fine but still challenging when you naturally want instant gratification.
We are wired this way, and I constantly address this issue with clients.
Consistency.
It sounds all well and good, and yet extremely difficult to execute because life is crazy, emotions effect us, sleep effects us, relationships, and our own motivation levels on any given day. Think about it,...how often can we testify to a point in our life when we followed a nutrition plan or fitness routine for only a brief period before realizing the amount of pure will power needed was either more than we had, or more than we were willing to give?
Happens everyday.
That's job security for me,...but I struggle with it too. Why? Because it takes focus and discipline. Two things that we all want more of, but maintain lifestyles ill-prepared to sustain habits grounded in them. We fall susceptible to extreme all-or-nothing mentalities as well as total apathy.
Perhaps we're not completely opposed to working towards a goal, but too often our level of commitment does not match the level of results we desire. In essence, we are aiming for the moon with both eyes closed and using a slingshot.
If there is one piece of advice I can pass along regarding all this its understand the expectations. Understand that goals take time, involve setbacks, require a certain level of sheer will that you may even struggle to produce in that moment. And most of all, expect that no matter how minor or major your goal may be, ALL require consistency to get there.
Day in, day out.
Put down your slingshot and climb in your spaceship.
What you'll find is that your ability to do whats required of you is there, but the execution of those actions is a constant choice. Decide what you want. Decide to be consistent. Then go.
* * *
Well, I'm practically glued to this seat and pretty sure our waiter thinks I'm going to get carpal tunnel before leaving this place. Probably true.
Before I sign off, just a reminder to send any questions you want me to address on my blog. I received a few emails the other day and am working on those right now :).
Cheers to Sunday. Go make it great.
Its a cloudy Sunday and I am fighting the urge to nap. Normally, I don't fight it, I just submit and pray for the beast upon awakening. However, I've decided that averaging 3+ naps a day is not ideal for a grown woman.
I currently have a similar schedule to my nephew....who is still on the boob....this is quite alarming.
Nonetheless, here I am ready to roll. My attempts to stay on a regular blog schedule remain sub-par, and I have absolutely no excuses except that ever since I moved to the city I hardly know what day it is. Its an odd phenomenon considering I do not have dementia and remain sober 98% of the time...
This past week was beyond crazy, as I returned late from a trip to NC. Let me clarify that my intentions and plans were to return on Monday morning. Well, Delta had another plan.
Apparently showing up to the Airport only 30 minutes before your flight is "frowned upon" to the point they will not let you check in.
Let me start by politely saying this is crap.
...30 minutes is plenty of time to get my ticket, a pat-down, and be at the gate with my $9 water ready to go. No one consulted me on these rules, so there I stood as irritated as a human can be at 6:30am in the Special Services line.
There was nothing special about it.
I was at the mercy of a worker to book me on the next available flight, and was 15 seconds from a complete meltdown. I had a full work day ahead, and just came off of 3 days of not working out, so I was practically shaking from the need to pick up something heavy, sweat a little, and even experience a good near-death experience under the squat bar to make me appreciate life.
I can't explain this mindset, us meatheads are a different breed.
Long story short, I sat in that God forsaken airport for over 9 hours.
9 hours.
Mom suggested it helped me work on my patience. Don't you hate it when someone tries to be all positive and pour rainbows into the cesspool of bitterness you are currently wading in?!
I didn't want to work on my patience. I wanted to work on getting my rearend back to NYC.
The woman had loving intentions, and there I was just pissed off and ready to test my sprint time on the tarmac.
The flights were so oversold they were offering $1300 vouchers for people to take a later flight. Of course it was the one time I didn't have a seat to give up. And by hour 4 of my "patience test", I was willing to give up more than a seat. You get desperate and suddenly you're pawning off morals like gold and preparing for the "I'm so disappointed..." speech.
But when I finally made it on a plane around 5pm that day, I've never been so excited to hear the safety procedure and get my free nuts. I was too tired to be bitter that the serving size was made for a baby hobbit, and just wanted to get home.
6:45 plane lands.
Client at 7:30.
Monday was not over, and so the week began...
Time in NC was absolutely wonderful with family, and Sparkles had no idea I was coming. That was the best part. She definitely squealed and it made my day that she was excited. Being the middle child you just never know when you're gonna get the shaft...ha just kidding.
I kept thinking about how just a year ago I was working, planning for life in NC, and then WHAM another plan lay ahead. Months later I'm in NYC adapting to the smell of subway filth and constantly answering the question "where are you from?.."
Having a southern accent up here is like rocking a "birthday girl" sash...minus the glitter and potential hazing. Point is, they love it and if they want to give me free coffee for it, by all means dear friend don't let me stop you.
Training...
Life in the gym has picked up and between workouts, clients, and growing my business, I'm still very dependent on caffeine to fuel the madness. My own workouts are kicking my butt and the latest nutrition adjustments are proving to be pretty solid. As of now, I'm still on track to compete in August, but if I get there and feel like I need a few more weeks to prepare, then I'm going to take it. Plain and simple.
When you get on the stage like that its already nerve racking enough knowing its very subjective, so no need to add to the anxiety if I can just pick another show. My cut is really slow, which is fine but still challenging when you naturally want instant gratification.
We are wired this way, and I constantly address this issue with clients.
Consistency.
It sounds all well and good, and yet extremely difficult to execute because life is crazy, emotions effect us, sleep effects us, relationships, and our own motivation levels on any given day. Think about it,...how often can we testify to a point in our life when we followed a nutrition plan or fitness routine for only a brief period before realizing the amount of pure will power needed was either more than we had, or more than we were willing to give?
Happens everyday.
That's job security for me,...but I struggle with it too. Why? Because it takes focus and discipline. Two things that we all want more of, but maintain lifestyles ill-prepared to sustain habits grounded in them. We fall susceptible to extreme all-or-nothing mentalities as well as total apathy.
Perhaps we're not completely opposed to working towards a goal, but too often our level of commitment does not match the level of results we desire. In essence, we are aiming for the moon with both eyes closed and using a slingshot.
If there is one piece of advice I can pass along regarding all this its understand the expectations. Understand that goals take time, involve setbacks, require a certain level of sheer will that you may even struggle to produce in that moment. And most of all, expect that no matter how minor or major your goal may be, ALL require consistency to get there.
Day in, day out.
Put down your slingshot and climb in your spaceship.
What you'll find is that your ability to do whats required of you is there, but the execution of those actions is a constant choice. Decide what you want. Decide to be consistent. Then go.
* * *
Well, I'm practically glued to this seat and pretty sure our waiter thinks I'm going to get carpal tunnel before leaving this place. Probably true.
Before I sign off, just a reminder to send any questions you want me to address on my blog. I received a few emails the other day and am working on those right now :).
Cheers to Sunday. Go make it great.
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