The One-On-One

Gave in to the urge to return to the Sunday meditation class which, at 6:00 p.m., is not ideal for my Sunday travels but I do enjoy the class and I'm thinking about making adjustments to my schedule.

Thought going to meditation would also help with my nerves as I had my one-on-one with my yoga trainer, Stacy, on Monday night and the meditation did help. After the first guided meditation, we ventured into a full body tapping session...

One of my classmates messaged me hours before my one-on-one to encourage me which I thought was super sweet. She also told me that the one-on-one would be unlike the sessions during training when we got feedback; it would be more chill.

Had scheduled my one-on-one about a month ago and it's amazing how fast the time went by. I had done research, wrote my sequence and tested out poses but when it's go time, the sequence that you have in front of you feels so lackluster.

And, again, I think a huge key is to remember to allow people time to unwind and release without trying to rush... I did a restorative sequence with Stacy and it went well. I get a kick out of finding postures that are not often used in class and introducing them which I did during her session.

It was a relief to have the one-on-one in the books. I took a short breather and started thinking about my next sequence for my Wednesday Seva class...

For some reason, though, I was angry yesterday which was weird because I should have felt a longer sense of relief... Took an hour-long bath, read and slept solidly and my mood was better this morning.

Listened to Lesson 27 of Sharon Salzberg's Meditation Challenge twice since it discussed anger among other topics.

The Seva class went reasonably well today -- even though I still get nervous beforehand. Went to Zumba tonight and the teacher forgot parts of her routine and she joked "Don't pay attention to me; I'm just the instructor" -- which was my signal that everyone stutters.

Invisible Force Shield

When I was a kid, no one took my bike for a tune up. No matter, I dropped my bike off on Saturday to get one because I wanted to be ready to roll this week. The bike was ready on Monday but I had no desire to pick it up because we got snow and it was a slushy mess.

The snow was gone by Tuesday so I went by the bike shop. Something looked off about my bike but I took it out and loaded it. I should have followed my first mind because when I tried to take it for a test spin, I discovered that the seat had been adjusted way too high. I got so mad. I started to look for some tools, threw a paperback book against the wall, longed for something to smash and headed out for a walk. When I returned, I loaded my bike and headed back to the shop because I knew it would take them a few minutes to do what would take me forever.

This guy adjusted my bike and I rode around in the shop for a bit and almost wiped out a red Specialized bike. The seat seemed better but when I went for a ride today, dismounting was quite interesting. I'll try to adjust it myself this time. I was wiped out after my bike ride. It's amazing how quickly you get out of shape for a particular exercise. I enjoyed my ride though.

On another note, my office mate is sick again. Last time, she had to take a round of antibiotics to kill her cooties. When she told me, I pulled an invisible force shield around me as I remembered the chills that I had a few weeks ago...

The Box and The Buddha

Patti alerts me about the time of the St. Patrick's Day Run and Parade. I leave the house early but I still get stuck in logjam after logjam. The rock climbing gym has a nice parking lot but I cannot get to it because street after street is blocked off.

I come very close to turning around and going home but I finally park in a spot that I'm not entirely sure is legal and I make my way through the crowd and hike to Upper Limits. Well, I wanted to walk after rock climbing but the order got reversed.

I'm thirty minutes late but I see Jessica go into the door right before me. I'm annoyed and Jessica wants to know what my anger alert level is. Orange and red are running neck and neck.

The good part: there are not a lot of climbers in the gym.

I climb Jack and the Bean Stalk and the part that has always given me trouble, doesn't. I climb The End of 2010 and I make it further up than last time -- before I need to ask for a take.

Jessica: Where to?

Me: I can't believe that I'm saying this but Pandora's Box.

Jessica: You're saying that because you know what kind of climbing day you're having.

I have my left foot on the Notorious B-O-X -- the crux of the route that has been stumping me big time.

One hand on the box and one hand on the hold that we refer to as The Buddha


Stepping on The Buddha hold as I make my way to the top
After climbing, we go to Sweet Art. As we get to the counter, the guy says I hate to be the bearer of bad news but the kitchen is closed and I feel myself turning sour again; there is nothing on the bulletin board, door or website about when the kitchen closes. I thought you had new, extended hours. We do but the kitchen closes at 3:30, he says. I look up at the clock which says 3. Finally, this lady says that she will hook us up with Sweet Burgers (i.e. veggie burgers).

We get our Sweet Burgers in no time. They are warm and delicious.

Patti: You need to climb angry more often.

Me: Will you make me angry next time we climb?

Patti: No problem...

St. Patrick's Parade Route Tally:

Rumpelstiltskin, 5.6

Jurassic 5, 5.7

Let Me Smang It Girl, 5.8

The Letter Eye, 5.8

Jack and the Bean Stalk, 5.9

Pandora's Box, 5.9

The End of 2010, 5.9

Rodeo Clowns, 5.9

On the alert scale, hope that you're having a green day.

The Last Word

Me: By the way, I should be able to hit the gym around 4:45 tomorrow...

Patti: …It’s like you can read my mind. 4:45 works for me.

Me: ...We've been climbing together too long...

Patti: We haven’t been climbing together long enough.

Me: Touché.

Patti told me that I have to have the last word when we're emailing. It's either "touché" or "roger that," she said. I was surprised and said that my last word syndrome was my way of trying to politely end a conversation.

Wynne said that I should change the title of my blog to Angry Black Woman and, today, she told me that I had such a look of annoyance on Monday. I told her that it had been a difficult day and I even left the gym after only doing four routes since I'm not digging many of the routes in the gym right now.

Despite not meshing with the routes, here's my tally for March 10th:

El Muchacho de Pizza, 5.6 (Ascended)

El Muchacho de Pizza, 5.6 (Ascended)

El Muchacho de Pizza, 5.6 (Ascended)

El Muchacho de Pizza, 5.6 (Down Climbed)

El Muchacho de Pizza, 5.6 (Down Climbed)

Crapulous, 5.8*

The Letter Eye, 5.8

Jack and The Bean Stalk, 5.9

Rodeo Clowns, 5.9

The End of 2010, 5.9

*I did say crap at least three times while I was climbing Crapulous.


What's your tally for today?

Redemption Song

I guess you could call this a debriefing, of sorts, from yesterday's experience.

Ironically, as I was waiting and waiting for the chiropractor and upset that I didn't follow my first and second mind to walk out the door, I was thinking that I hadn't gotten properly angry in a while, which is good because when I get angry it takes me so long to come down from that anger high.

Initially, I had no idea how long I had waited since I don't normally wear a watch and, like a casino, there were no clocks in the chiropractor's office. I watched as he went from one room to another -- sometimes at a frenetic pace -- manipulating people's lower bodies on weird tables that rotated.

I kept thinking that I didn't even really want him to touch me because he was in such a frenzy. There was not one thing -- not one that was relaxing about the few minutes of acupressure that he did provide. In fact, I was praying that he hadn't done damage. I was also miffed because I didn't have anything to keep me occupied. Not a book or an MP3 player. When I go to get my hair cut, I take a book because there's always the possibility that waiting will occur. This clown didn't even have magazines in his office. I digressed though.

I had gotten off of work (two hours) early because we had our annual holiday party and I felt like I just wasted the gift of precious, extra time. In addition, I was supposed to meet my friend Hazira at a certain time then we were to proceed to another friend's home (Asmira) by a certain time. I'm not going to mention the fact that I wanted to stop by Big Lots to find Wasa crackers and such.

I threw three people's schedule off. When I picked up Hazira, I was good and angry at this point and, when I get angry, I can't talk. I can bang on the steering wheel but I can't talk. Don't worry. The banging is brief and I have yet to break my hand in this manner...

We arrived at Asmira's and Hazira sat down for an interview with a student. Asmira told me that I could just chill out and I asked if I could use a computer so that I could dispense with some of the yuckiness. Asmira quickly set me up AND brought me a huge mug of green tea with a touch of organic honey and lemons on the side. The cup said The Boss. Hee-hee.

After I wrote for a bit, I got busy with Asmira's Wii. Then, we had dinner of baked fish, vegetables, salad with Craisins, walnuts, blue cheese and spinach, Russian bread etc.

It was a great meal and the company was great too. I laughed especially when Asmira's husband came home and told me that The Boss cup belonged to him.

Whenever I've been a guest at Asmira's house, I feel immediately at home. The house is warmly decorated but that's not it. I feel as if I could stay forever. It has the feel of a bed and breakfast or sanctuary. What it is, though, is Asmira -- her hospitality is huge.

After 11 p.m., we were joking about overstaying our welcome. Asmira told us how Bosnians joke and say:

We are going to bed so that the guests can go home.

It sounded much better when she said it but what I'm going to say is that my evening was redeemed by Asmira's hospitality. Thanks woman and my apologies to Hazira for a rather intense ride...

I'm pretty much pain free -- another valuable realization from yesterday's experience.

Rx For Anger

All day long I thought about what exercise to do. Bicycling? Swimming? I seldom do back-to-back swim sessions though. The gym was one of my last options and I started to think about how I'm becoming a gym cliché -- someone who pays for a membership and doesn't go. I was thinking that I need to find a solution - a gym with a swimming pool maybe and stop nickel and diming my resources. My cousin told me not to worry -- that I would probably head indoors once it got too cold to bicycle.

My cardio got decided for me when this bi heifer made me angry, nay, furious.

Dena and Her Rats II by Rhonda Manning

I went out of my way to go to a gym with a StairMaster. I signed up for 30 minutes, turned on the MP3 and didn't stop until I had climbed 100 floors. Next, I got on the treadmill and, just to get the anger completely out of my system, I did a few kickbacks, lateral raises and shoulder presses.

I'm all better now.