I’d Rather

Rolled out early this morning and got cooking out of the way since I was scheduled to meet Chiquita at the recreation center at 11:00-ish. I wasn't very optimistic that they would let me use her second guess pass since I'd already been there once but they did...

Had my eye on swimming -- even though Chiquita was going to be on the treadmill. Swam 10 laps because I wanted to shoot hoops too. I also went ahead with swimming because I knew that I'd be jonesing for it at some point in the week. 

I'd rather, informally, play basketball and walk/run after the ball than be on the treadmill. It was kind of funny that I hit the first five baskets that I attempted...

Decided to stop by The Sunflower Project since I would pass by Old North St. Louis on the way home. Thought the sunflowers were going to be big and chuckled when I stopped my car. Of course, they will be big sunflowers one day. 

Wanted to go by an outdoor pool but I also don't want to be running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Plus, I tend to feel like nesting on Sunday. So, I went home and stayed. Read a little and cleaned a little. It was also a "no" for observing a yoga class. I didn't feel like doing much of anything...

I like this poster that was on the natatorium's message board. For today, I guess that should be Why not stay at home?

Familiars

Yesterday was Chiquita's birthday so I decided not to go to an exercise class so that I could unclutter and then be able to meet Chiquita after she came back from the movie theatre.

Years ago, I got Chiquita a glass wind chime for her birthday that she really liked but it was dropped at some point and I wanted to get her a replacement but couldn't remember where I'd gotten it from. Given what happened to the first one, I finally decided not to go with another glass one and spotted a fuchsia wind chime and, immediately, thought that Chiquita would like the funkiness of it  because she loves color but I was a bit put off by the length. Ran it by Patti and she said that if I really liked it to not be dissuaded. My climbing partner comes through again! Chiquita really liked it and the sound is really nice too. I found one a little bit shorter than the one I linked to.

As we talked, Chiquita continued to get texts. I used to get a lot of cards... I finished her sentence because I know the phenomenon now -- most people send a text instead of a birthday card. Even though card shopping annoyed me, the expense and wording, I'm glad that I'd persevered.


Chiquita also told me that my cousin, Katrina, was happy to see me at the fish fry. I noticed that she spent a significant time at our table but just thought she was being chit chatty. I was happy to spend time with her as well. When I was in junior high school, I was in the same class as Katrina's brother John during their stint in Illinois; they were military kids who traveled a lot. I don't think that I've seen John since junior high school, wow.

******

More whoa from The Body Keeps The Score:

Our sense of agency, how much we feel in control, is defined by our relationships with our bodies and its rhythms: Our waking and sleeping and how we eat, sit and walk define the contours of our days. In order to find our voice, we have to be in our bodies -- able to breathe fully and able to access our inner sensations. This is the opposite of dissociation, of being "out of body" and making yourself disappear... (Pg 333....)

Collective movement and music create a larger context for our lives, a meaning beyond our individual fate. Religious rituals universally involve rhythmic movements, from davening at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem to the sung liturgy and gestures of the Catholic Mass to moving meditation in Buddhist ceremonies and the rhythmic prayer rituals performed five times a day by devout Muslims. (Pg 335)

In the yoga classes that I've observed, I've found it beautiful to witness other people practicing and it's hard to describe the feeling of joy that I get on Monday evening when I participate in Zumba class. The particular teacher sets a furious pace. We joke, laugh and groan together. I know very few of my Zumba mates' names but they are familiar -- as are the people at the pool, yoga studio and climbing gym.

The Tag Team

I've been referring to the weekend as 48 hours so that I can tame my expectations.

On Friday, Chiquita texted that my cousin Charles, the paternal patriarch, was having a fish fry and to let others know. Felt like I had to go even though there's the awkwardness of not knowing huge parts of my paternal kinfolks and maybe the awkwardness is why I needed to go...

Outside of the yoga class that I went to observe on Saturday, I stayed home until the fish fry. Not even sure what else I did that day.

I also promised Chiquita that I would go to the new recreation center that she is trying out. Chiquita is working with a wellness coach and has to get on the treadmill, specifically, four 35 minutes at four miles per hour. Because I despise the treadmill, I moved in the direction of the natatorium -- never heard it called that before...Swam for 30 minutes and put my swimsuit in one of those little water extractor machines; wish I had access to one all the time.

Chiquita was still on the dreadmill so I checked out a basketball. I love that the facility even has a modest rock climbing wall. They also have aqua yoga.

The facility is about 20 minutes away from me. Hmmmm....

My aunt D invited the family to church on Sunday afternoon since she was a deacon-elect. The preacher said that it was not a service and that he had already conducted several services earlier in the day but as the 'Fugee said when I told her that I'd been at church for over three hours -- Oh, preachers like to preach.

First up -- the friend of the bishop. He talked about an assignment (deacon, minister, elder) that comes with service. He also talked about assignment assassins which really resonated with me. I also like what he said about staying in the dark room (like with photography) and to stay in development. Also, prepare yourself before you present yourself. Couldn't agree more with the latter.

The bishop had me cracking up when he said You can take online courses but you need someone who has been anointed to teach you...

Favorite line after all of the elected clergy had gotten their bibles, necklaces and collars: The gates of hell have been notified that new soldiers are on the way. 

Favorite thing about this church -- the bishop and his wife are a tag team. 

My aunt getting her vestment.

The bishop on a roll...Also, I think this would make a great painting...

*******

During the fish fry on Saturday one of my cousins, Katrina, told me that I've been around the world. I wish. It's interesting that she said that because I was just thinking about how few countries I've been to. Of course, I'm grateful for the traveling opportunities that I've had.

Just a few of the peeps at the fish fry.

Love my cousin's Hall of Fame/Family Tree...

You Want To Be Starting Something

After watching The Good Wife, left my Aunt Al's about 9:45 p.m. on Sunday. Got in my car and it wouldn't turn over. Lifted the hood and there was corrosion on the battery but still didn't the battery was the problem since it's two years old. Cleaned off the cable with baking soda and water. Couldn't get the bolt off to properly clean it... yadda yadda yadda.

Poor Chiquita. She had fallen asleep on a March Madness game and was planning to stay at her mom's but ended up taking me home. She has had to play taxi etc. a lot in the last six months.

Got my car towed on Monday and got it back today. As I handed over a credit car, knew that I would get an email warning me that a large transaction had posted to my account. Had to replace the starter and, for the past year, I've had and on-again off-again brake\wheel noise. I joked with Alison that I was going to create a reality show with mechanics and the one who figured out the problem would win the prize of my undying gratitude. The noise is now gone...

When I told my uncle Pat about the starter he said that he could have fixed it but he's been working a lot and on the midnight shift and he's already working on my computer.

Went swimming tonight and I was able to relax my mind. Didn't know if the pool would be open. Apparently, it's on the chopping block because that district has a huge deficit.

Something Blue

Chiquita had on black and royal blue for my aunt's funeral and I wish that I'd been able to find royal blue as well since my aunt expressed an interest in having a royal blue dress toward the end of her life.

The good thing about Chiquita is that she loves to dress up and usually has multiple bracelets and necklaces on and she does it in the most tasteful fashion.

Told Alison how I didn't succeed in finding any clothes and she said that she was no good under pressure either.

Went with my go-to Jones of New York blouse, black blazer and black slacks. I don't do dresses.

Borrowed Necklace

Did a tribute for my aunt and I was scheduled after the memorial DVD. Luckily, there was a soloist in between the DVD and my tribute. Otherwise, I don't know if I could have pulled myself together in time. Almost lost it after I said that my aunt never threw in the towel but I recovered even though I started speaking loudly.

After leaving Illinois, stopped downtown to get a chickpea burger then went to the 'Fugee's where we watched Wish I Were Here. A good movie but not a good one to watch when you're grieving. I had quickly watched a YouTube trailer because I wanted to stop by the Redbox since my Netflix movie did not get to the station on time.

As Mike said when we climbed on Wednesday, mortality blows.

What Matters

Quiet Walk to Garage...

Got off work yesterday and headed to the hospital for the extubation of my aunt.

The nurse came to introduce herself and to let us know what was going on then there was the wait for the doctor who finally came to talk with us then there was a shift change and the new nurse had to be oriented.

And there was the visit by the chaplain...

The lights went off in the hallway at 8:30 when visiting hours were officially over and, by 9, I no longer wanted them to do the extubation but, of course, they did.

The doctor had told us that sometimes people last hours or days or weeks but only God knew or something like that.

My aunt didn't breathe at first and then she started breathing but her heart rate was not very good and it all seemed kind of cruel to let someone struggle.

My aunt didn't last an hour.

The chaplain returned...

Chiquita hugged me tight and thanked me for being there 100%. I was not that good but I did try to be Robin to Chiquita's Batman and I guess what matters is that she felt that I was there 100%.

Chiquita was amazing and did everything to make my aunt's last days as comfortable as possible.

My aunt had a wicked case of peripheral artery disease. Her circulation was so poor that she had wounds that wouldn't heal and one of the nurses said that she hadn't seen necrosis that bad in three years. Even though my aunt's quality of life was not great, she really wanted to live. She had no desire to throw in the towel.

Carpe diem people...

When Gloria's Away

Gloria's still away so Alison and I went to Maury's yoga class again and, after class, we went across the street to have breakfast at Rooster. The owner has several restaurants including the one I visited during jury duty to get that yummy chickpea burger.

Thought about trying a Finnish pancake or pancakes with caramelized bananas but I went the a la carte route and got eggs, potatoes and toast. The woman next to me wanted to know what kind of bread was on my plate and I offered to share my whole wheat bread (made by Rooster) because I knew that I wasn't going to eat all of it. She'd already eaten so she declined but she did tell me what a fabulous bacon shake they have at the downtown place...

Went to see Motown the Musical with Chiquita last night. We both enjoyed it and now I need to get busy putting Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and lots of others on my iPod.

There was a really funny and sweet moment during a Diana Ross scene. Just about the entire audience held hands and sang Reach Out and Touch. The audience was prompted by the actress to participate but no one had to prompt the audience to respond when the actor sang Marvin Gayes' Inner City Blues song and reached this line:

Trigger happy policing...

Grab and Go

Please bring me a Pepsi Max Chiquita texted before I headed to the ER to meet her.

I threw an orange, energy bars, mints and cough drops in my bag and headed out. The gas station that I stopped at didn't have Pepsi Max so I grabbed a regular old Pepsi with a frightening amount of sugar. No caffeine in the mix but I was sure that the sugar would do the trick.

A couple of weeks ago when I headed to the ER for a different relative, the security guard asked me to put my bag on the belt and she was like We have oranges, tortillas chips... She found the contents of bag amusing for some reason.

This one family in the ER tried to decide where to eat and this one woman said that she couldn't go to nearby Popeyes. I don't eat fast food, she said.

Chiquita and I decided to go to Chipotle where we both tried to pay and said You pay next time at the same time.

I have no idea what I'll be eating tomorrow as I've had no time to meal plan or no time for much else either...

Picked these up on a whim.

I've never tried honey for a sore throat so thought it'd be nice to try these drops. Good decision.

Carpe Diem Deferred

Had my eye on an overseas fall yoga retreat but decided not to go. Felt like I received many signs including one from an acquaintance who said his 98-year-old friend was traveling to Ireland. In light of the cost, an overseas retreat would have definitely been a carpe diem move but maybe this particular retreat wasn't meant to be.

As Neal Pollack tweeted each time the Dodgers lost to the Cardinals, I haz a sad.

One of my aunts, who has a severe case of peripheral artery disease, is not doing well and, in the end, I wouldn't have felt right cavorting in Europe. Although my cousin Chiquita is in charge and capable, I know that she needs support...

In general, my timing has just been really off this year. Found out that The Moth had been in town a few days after the fact. Don't know if I would have dropped $50 dollars for the ticket though.

My interest in books of late has definitely been podcast-inspired. Just finished Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots and The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment.

Deborah Feldman's Unorthodox was worth the read but very serious so it was nice to follow up her book with A.J. Jacobs' fun book. My fave chapters were My Outsourced Life and I Think You're Fat which is about radical honesty.

Once again, I feel the thrill of inappropriate candor. And I feel something else, too. The paradoxical joy of being free from choice. I had no choice but to tell the truth. I didn't have to rack my brain figuring out how to hedge it, spin it, massage it. (48)

Jacobs realizes that his relationships are able to handle more honesty than he thought they could.

In the chapter What Would George Washington Do?, I like what Jacobs says about passive-aggressiveness:

But the Rules encourage passive aggression. And I have to say, passive aggression gets a bad rap nowadays. It may not be appropriate in all occasions, but it's a lot better than aggression aggression. (135)

8:27

Went to my aunt Al's to watch game five of the NBA finals and I only saw my cousin Chiquita's head in the upright position a few times. Her eyes were fixed on her Samsung phone. She chose to read about the players instead of watch the game. Stuff Chiquita conveyed to us:

Tim Duncan is from the Virgin Islands. His mother died when he was a teenager and Duncan promised her that he would finish college. Duncan is a divorced father of two kids and his wife claims he's bisexual.

 Lebron James is, reportedly, 30 million dollars richer from the Beats-Apple deal.

Shane Battier is retiring,* he's biracial, went to some Country Day school and was asked to run for governor or mayor but he's not interested... 

Had to remind myself of how great the weekend had been and to not let Monday angst get the best of me. Monday is just another day and, in general, I enjoy my days...

Even though it had been pretty hot mid-day, it didn't feel stifling when I got home so I went for a walk and listened to bits of Pop Culture Happy Hour, Aloud, StoryCorps and Ask Me Another.

Ate dinner followed by watermelon and watched Last Comic Standing. I could have eaten half of the watermelon.

So Good...

Monroe Martin, who grew up in foster care, cracks me up:

My school was so bad that it was documentary material. Do you know how bad your school has to be to make the movies?

Checked to see what time the sun was going to set (8:27) and headed out for another lap around the block. There was such a nice breeze.

Decided to listen to the first segment of The Moth episode Snakes, Electric Shock and Afghanistan for my encore walk.

Snakes begins with Dave Kennedy making fun of some woman in a bar who says that she's trying to be more in the moment. I thought Oh God, I'm that woman now. I feel like such a dork at times...

When Kennedy is encouraged to hold a snake (as part of an assignment), he knows that he looks like a nine-year-old about to cry but something happens -- the snakes settles down and takes a deep breath which makes Kennedy settle down and he realizes that the snake is just another living being trying to make it through Tuesday. It's even better when Kennedy realizes what the woman in the bar meant by being in the moment... I needed to hear about Snakes... today.

*Didn't know that...

Off-brand

This morning I was reminded of when my cousin Chiquita asked You know how some people are just off-brand?

Someone doing an internship at my j-o-b amuses me greatly. She is off-brand -- practically her own little earthquake since she has so much energy and shakes as she walks.

The off-brand one: How are you?
Me: Good.
Off-brand One: Well, I guess I'm good too.

The way she delivered her response made me smile and laugh. Plus, she hit on a truth -- goodness can be infectious...

Went swimming last night and the "pool" negotiations were amusing.

This guy and I arrived at the check-in desk at the same time and we waited while the staff dismantled extra lanes that had been put in place for a team's practice. As we both headed toward the lap lanes, he asked me which one I wanted although he clearly had arrived first and was in front of me. Hope that I didn't throw him a look...

As I was about to complete lap 14, noticed a pair of legs in the lane. It was one of the lifeguards. You want to just swim on the left side and I'll stay on this side. That was more like a one-sided decision but these things have to be settled swiftly. Plus, you never want to tick off a lifeguard. You never know...

In order to keep swimming, I need a new suit. I could also use a gym bag and shoes but can't find what I want. It's funny when you're ready to shop but can't find what you want.

Something's going to fall out sooner or later.

These shoes have seen better days.

Belly Up

Made a stress-relieving bubble bath bag for Chiquita, my cousin. The contents of the bag included Epsom salt infused with essential oil, lavender bubble bath and Dr. Oz's new magazine, The Good Life.

Chiquita reported back that she enjoyed her bath and I told her that she could bring the Mason jar back for a refill of salt.

This article, Massaging Your Soul, made me think about Chiquita and her bag and it made me think of myself as I get drawn deeper into massing my soul.

And massage? It gets me out of my head and hits the reset button. At the end of a massage, I often think Okay, I'm ready to be nicer, more patient, more...I can even rub the furry one ad nauseam and watch as he tilts his head back into my hand or watch him as he goes belly up.

The Little Wolf with a Bone (iPod moment)

To The Max

"Anything that comes in through the senses is also regarded as 'food' for the body and therefore affects one's mental, emotional, and physical health." Smriti Srinivas in Gurus of Modern Yoga (Yoga Journal, March 2014, pg 17)

Hard not to think about mental health on Monday -- especially now that my immediate coworker is stressed to the max.

When I told Alison about the stressed out one, she said something to the effect of Good God, woman, you need to learn to deflect. And I have learned to deflect to a certain extent but I'm hoping that my powers of deflection will increase. It's hard not to "feed off" of someone and/or buy into the stress fest when you've worked with someone for a long time.

Two weeks ago FitSugar posted an article, Are You Suffering from Secondhand Stress?, that originally appeared in Shape. Guess I'm not the only one...

Last night it was my turn to snicker when my cousin Chiquita said that she'd read that bubble baths provide stress-relief. Told the shower-taker that I would bring her Epsom Salt infused with essential oil next week.

It's hard to talk and catch up with my folks about stress relief tactics when Teddy a.k.a. Theodore a.k.a. Poopie is around but who needs a bubble bath when he is nearby. If skin is visible, Poopie will lick you until...

Steel Cut Oats & Egg Whites or The Gospel According to Chiquita

Chiquita is my cousin and her gospel follows:

Dot. Period. The end.

Something that Chiquita will say when she's made a credible argument about something.

It's not going to end well because it didn't start well.

Commentary on a situation that was not handled in a nice fashion.

We're not going to sit up here and let you die because you don't have insurance.

My cousin to another cousin who was feeling miserable.

I went to crêpes: etc. in the Central West End. They have the kind of food that you like.

Me: What kind of food do I like?

Cousin: You know, steel cut oats, egg whites; they have an extensive list of that kind of stuff... (points at me).

I love their BLT's; they (Crown Candy) don't have your kind of food there.

You know how some people are just kind of off-brand?

I do not want to go to work. I say that every time I see you, don't I?

Me: Want some (baked Lays)?

Chiquita: I'd rather have cardboard.

I wouldn't mind eating steel cut oats but not when I got out to eat...

Do you think that I change purses every time I change outfits? I don't have on anything blue...

Re: my comment that my purse didn't match anything that I had on.

You can't hurt my feelings.

Our aunt was in the ICU and this guy, who didn't seem to be waiting on anyone, came in, got on the phone and talked extensively. The nusre had been calling with updates and Chiquita went and asked him to get off the phone. My aunt Al said that the telephone man was going to hurt her feelings...

I need to get back in my lane...

Something that Chiquita tends to say when she feels that she's gotten over involved or feels it was something she should have never been involved in from the get-go.

The Happiness Project

My second attempt to read The Happiness Project stuck -- not that I wasn't digging it the first time around but I was reading several books at once and The Happiness... was non-renewable at the time.

I love this book. Absolutely love it.

About 50 pages in, I felt like if I didn't read another page, I still would have had a remarkable reading experience. It's just so solid and thorough. I could talk about economy of language, tone, fluidity -- whatever, Rubin's book is excellent. As my cousin, Chiquita, would say: dot, period, the end.

Being a fan of quotes, I even like the way that Rubin effortlessly incorporates them.

Then I thought of a line from William Butler Yeats. "Happiness," wrote Yeats, "is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that, but simply growth. We are happy when we are growing." (66)

Rubin goes on to say:

Of course. Growth. Growth explains the happiness brought by training for a marathon, learning a new language, collecting stamps; by helping children learn to talk; by cooking your way through every recipe in a Julia Child cookbook...(67)

Rubin's book has twelve chapters:

1 January: Boost Energy

2 February: Remember Love

3 March: Aim Higher

4 April: Lighten Up

5 May: Be Serious About Play

6 June: Make Time For Friends

7 July: Buy Some Happiness

8 August: Contemplate the Heavens

9 September: Pursue a Passion

10 October: Pay Attention

11 November: Keep a Contented Heart

12 December: Boot Camp Perfect

I liked Rubin's Twelve Commandments; her first one: Be Gretchen. The Secrets of Adulthood also resonated with me and, again, number one beckoned:

People don't notice your mistakes as much as you think. (11)

Along the way, Rubin makes a commitment to exercise and to unclutter. Rubin classifies clutter along these lines: nostalgic, conversation, bargain and freebie clutter.

I did suffer from freebie clutter -- the clutter of gifts, hand-me-downs, and giveaways that we didn't use. (27)

A phrase that stuck with me long after I read Rubin's book was cut people slack:

During this month of friendship, I happened to read two memoirs that reminded me of something that's easy to forget: people's lives are far more complicated than they appear from the outside. That's why, as apart of my resolution to "Be generous," I meant to cut people slack. (152)

Rubin posed questions on her blog and included reader responses in her book. I completely related to the husband who hired a professional organizer:

I have never been so happy to write a check in my life. (175)

The money that I spent to partially organize my bedroom was money well spent and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

At one point, the author says something about a six second hug -- six seconds being the time for those feel good hormones to kick in. I was telling my friend about The Happiness Project and, one day, when she was feeling stressed-out, she asked me where her six second hug was...



When I told my colleague that I was reading The Happiness Project, she responded with this question. I followed up with a synopsis of the book and I tried to answer her weighty question:

What’s that happiness book about? Do you ever feel like with all the happiness/career/lifestyle improvement books (especially from sources like Oprah) that there really must be something wrong that you haven’t been able to transform your life by now?

Synopsis

The Happiness Project is written by a former lawyer who realizes that she’s happy but feels like, given her circumstances, she could be happier and more grateful. So, she takes concrete steps to be happier. Like, she read somewhere that being well-rested is key to being more balanced. So, she took a lot of electronic devices out of her bedroom etc. and noticed that she was more pleasant when she had enough sleep.

She resolved to stop nagging her husband. She also agreed to do more things that her husband wanted to do. Like, her husband wanted to watch The Shield and she didn’t see sitting side-by-side without communicating as fostering intimacy but she agreed to watch it with him and said that while it wasn’t intimate, it felt intimate.

Also, she likes children books but thinks she’ll be ridiculed for not liking something more lofty but ends up finding adults who have similar taste. They form a reading club and thoroughly enjoy each other’s company.

She makes rituals for her kids – like setting a day aside for them to spend with their grandparents.

When she gets a bad review of one of her books, she decides to write a letter to the reviewer letting him know that he did have valid points etc. etc.

I could go on and on but it seems like her happiness project entails not being so defensive, finding out what makes you happy, being dedicated to having more fun etc. etc.

I’m so simplifying the book but it’s been a great read so far…



My answer:

Physically, I’ve been working on myself for three years but I’ll have to say that, even though I need to make more changes, 2010 has been huge for me.

I would say that the number one change has been to be kinder to myself which includes but is not limited to calling myself names i.e. you are such a dork; you are so blah blah blah…

Another game changer for me was a commitment to being less defensive which, of course, I’m not always successful at but I try.

I broke down and got someone to help me to organize my bedroom which was mortifying and something I would not have done in the past.

Another huge change for me is doing something like asking for what I want. So while some of the changes have been intangible to a certain degree, it’s been huge for what peace of mind I do have…

Have you read The Happiness Project? If not, what was the last book that you read?

P.S. Pardon the use of like and so but those appear to be two of my favorite words and definitely popped out in my spontaneous email to my colleague.

Rush Hour In The Lap Lanes

I stepped on the scale this morning and it said that I was up two pounds but, during the course of the work day, two of my colleagues implied that I was wasting away. One was surprised that I wanted to lose another 15 pounds or so. Plus, yesterday, my cousin Chiquita asked me to stand up so that she could take a better look at me.

I would like the scale to move but I'm not stressing out about it like I used to because, voilà, check out these once snug pants.


It's ironic that most of the weight is coming off my lower half since I would like to lose a little poundage elsewhere. What do they say? People in hell want ice water. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence...

I had every intention of swimming tonight but so did a lot of other people. It was rush hour in the lap lanes. I ended up walking in the lazy river for close to an hour and my legs felt waterlogged when it was all over. Actually, it felt as if they had fallen asleep and I had to wake them up on land.

Dot, Period, The End

My cousin Chiquita is fond of saying: dot, period, the end. She does not like hemming and hawing and is pretty decisive. I was thinking about Chiquita on the way home.

I'm exhausted. Dot, period, the end.

I went to Kate's class, my Tuesday usual.

I'm exhausting myself with all of this yelling, she said. Then, I told Joy that I'm mean when I get tired. Thanks Joy for not sharing that piece of information with your classmates.

You know how people snort when they really find something amusing? Well, Kate has this sinister saucy laugh and she was doing that tonight. I think she knows when she's delivering a good butt-kicking.

I think the cardio stints were longer because we didn't do anything different --same ol' high knees, fast feet, jumping jacks, lunges, squats, engaging of the abs etc. but I wanted to splay out on the floor (about 15 minutes into class) and take a nap.

It was a technical knockout, y'all, and my pace for the rest of this afternoon is going to be on par with Teddy Pendergrass' Love TKO -- s.l.o.w.



P.S. I stood my thick self (in a sea of petiteness) smack dab in front of the glass door to the classroom since it was the only spot left in class when I squeaked in at 4:59 p.m. I'm becoming less self-conscious and I'm going to count that as a non-scale victory.

1/4 Mile Swim, 11 Mile Bike, 3 Mile Run

When I sent off the registration for the 2009 South County YMCA Triathlon, I wondered just what I had done.

I didn't have a bike and I hadn't ridden one in over 10 years.

My cousin, Chiquita, kept insinuating that I was going to feel the pain. She advised me to, at least, do the hill mode on the stationary bike at the gym and, let me tell you, those stationary bikes really don't come close to the actual bike experience.

I looked on Craigslist for a bike and I also went to A & M Cyclery and Sunset Cyclery to look at the shiny new toys but I didn't want to plop down $400 plus on a fancy bike. Chiquita told me that I could have one of the bikes that had been sitting in her garage.

I took the bike to get a tune up etc. on July 3rd and it was supposed to be ready on July 7th but there was some obscure part that hadn't arrived. I finally picked up the bike yesterday and rode it around the block just to make sure that I still knew how to ride one.

I tried not to let my perfectionism get in the way of participating in this event. I did read through Triathlon Training for Dummies and The Complete Idiots Guide to Triathlon Training though.

I poured over my registration packet to try to familiarize myself with the routes.






I was nervous as all get out and didn't sleep well last night.

A brownie point for me for showing up. I listened to Buju Banton's Champion as I got closer to The Kennedy Recreation Complex because I was in need of some inspiration.

I wasn't the only one with butterflies. This woman told me that she felt like vomiting and that she had actually drank a cafe mocha beforehand and, therefore, had material that was capable of being ejected.

Here's the transition area and my transition spot that I found wayyyy in the back:




I miscalculated the number of laps that needed to be done. Eight laps = 400 meters in a 50 meter lane. Einstein only finished six laps because there was 15 minutes between heats and it took a little over 15 minutes to finish 300 meters.

I am proud of myself for completing 11 miles on the bike. I got off a couple of times because I couldn't make it up hills. I even drank some Gatorade left over from my marathon days. Today, I didn't care about the high fructose corn syrup in the 'rade.

The participants and volunteers were incredibly nice and encouraging. When I was walking the bike to make it up one of the hills, this woman stopped to ask if I had a flat and so many folks cheered me on throughout the 11 miles. The last hill just about did me in but this woman talked me through it and, as we were going down the hill, she told me to keep pedaling to flush my legs out. I was like, okay, whatever you say since you just rocked that monstrous hill.

It took me 2:19:32 to finish the tri. I should have had a Barack Obama sticker on my bike because during the ride, I had to tell myself Yes, you can.

English to English Translation

Original Document

Chiquita (cousin): So, what are you going to do next?

Me: *Shrug* I don't know.

Al (Aunt): Maybe sit yourself down.


Translated Text

Chiquita: So, what are you going to do next with your crazy self?

Me: I don't know yet since the most recent Fleet Fleet Sports newsletter has not come out.

Al: You need to sit your ass down somewhere.

Translator's Notes:

Honestly, after work today, I felt like I needed to go sit myself down somewhere; I didn't feel like doing much of anything. The irony of it all is that the StairMaster will make you leave that 9-to-5 up on the shelf and, after sitting practically all day, exercise is not only needed but gives me a boost of energy.

About 25 minutes into a 40 minute stint on a stationary bike (random hill mode), Bob Sinclair's song came up in my MP3 shuffle rotation and all I could say to myself was "'Drea, Hold On."