Rushing

When I walked into work this morning I wondered how, if I chose to, working 80% would impact my life. I, simultaneously, heard my grand and great grandparents verbally scoffing -- like Do you know what we had to go through?

Went to my cousin's wife's General Education Development (GED) graduation last night and there were more graduates than I expected -- about 150.

The person who stood up the most last night, for awards etc., was a German immigrant who said that she was on the wrong side of the wall and didn't get the education that she wanted. The immigrant did very well in her language classes because she was one of two students who gave a speech and you could hear her passion for education.

The second student speaker was my cousin's wife and she talked about how many attempts she'd made to get  her GED and how her husband, who doesn't think he deserves any credit, was instrumental in her setting aside a day for studying and continuing on her path. She also thanked the school for never closing the door on her...

I hadn't realized that "K" had dropped out of school in the seventh grade due to family issues etc.

After the student speeches, I thought "It's never too late" but there was also part of me thinking that sometimes it is too late but then I remember the people who learned how to read in there 90's etc.

Out of all the graduation ceremonies that I've been to, I found this High School Equivalency one the most moving...

The Two

Talked to my aunt Debbie after the ceremony because my twin uncles just lost one of their half-sisters (heart attack at work). I found out last night that my aunt Debbie is the youngest on both side of her families. Didn't realize that she had just as many siblings on her father's side as she did on her mother's side. How did I not know this information?

Today I was talking with a contractor that I work with and she talked about how everyone rushes time but she believes that time rushes by at an unbelievable speed and has no desire to wish away certain days...

Two of my favorite pictures from last night.

Steam and Time

Went to the pool this past Tuesday after a brief hiatus and one of the coaches of the youth team told me that he had been waiting five years for me to be one of their swim coaches and I politely told him that if I had more time and talent, I would do it.

I am, of course, flattered that anyone thinks that I swim decently...

The level of eye itchiness decreased gradually until about two days ago when the  itching stopped altogether, hallelujah...

Even though trees have been blooming and daffodils and crocuses have been pushing up through the earth, I was still surprised to see a fully yellow forsythia bush...

(Yoga) Gloria invited me to a vegan meal last Thursday and I felt truly spoiled. Everything was yummy and most of the recipes came out of Thug Kitchen 101. I decided to make the Turmeric and Sweet Potato Soup from that book today.

Squash, Book, Vegan Parmesan

Tahini Fudge

Turmeric and Sweet Potato Soup

In other news, I am exhausted. Yesterday I went to Zumba then ran many errands including picking up my bike and, later on, I went to visit my aunt for a spell.

Because I like to post things to social media, I took a photo by the bike shop's newly painted and eye-catching wall. Later on, I examined the picture.

I have more room in my clothes but haven't really dropped any weight according the scale but I thought Not bad... Although, a side view might have yielded a different response.

I wanted to go see Art in Bloom today but I totally ran out of steam and time.

In the words of Sharon Salzberg in Lesson 23 of the meditation challenge: May you be well. May you be peaceful.

Lesson 26: May you know physical happiness.

A Good Story

Photo Credit: Alison

The weather has been stunning so it was only a matter of time before Alison and I decided to hit a bike trail. I agreed to bicycling yesterday but felt guilty when I told Alison that I didn't think that I'd be able to do yoga and bicycling. We've done that combo before but there's a lot of planning that goes into it and I also didn't think that I'd have the stamina or time budget.

It was my first bike outing since purchasing the Subaru and I made assumptions. At the last minute, I was looking for a way to secure the fifth door but there's nothing that you can hook a rope onto. Still, I tried to secure a telephone cord around the flimsy license plate housing as part of the bike was sticking out. As I strategized, I wanted to cancel but knew that it wouldn't be fair to Alison.

Headed out knowing that any serious bump in the road was going to snap the license plate cover and that's what happened.

I'd also bought a jump rope along so I pulled over to try to secure the fifth door and, minutes later, a fire truck pulled up. I thought that maybe I hadn't paid attention and parked in front of the fire station and, next, I saw a fireman walking towards me and I thought that he was going to reprimand me or give me a citation. Not once did it cross my mind that he might help me but that's exactly what he did.

The fireman was so calm and so cool. During "the class" that I took at Subaru, I was told how to pop out the house casing but I had forgotten. The fireman popped it out in two seconds and he also guessed that I had a quick release front wheel on my bike which I knew about but my apprehension about getting the wheel back on stopped me from even thinking about that as an option.

Even without taking the front wheel off, the fireman was able to maneuver the bike into the car which was such a relief. He made my day -- and a couple of more days. He was also pretty funny too. He likes to bicycle with his daughter but he doesn't think that he'll be able to get two bikes into his current car because it's not as big as the car that his daughter wrecked and, boy, does he miss his wrecked car.

I called Alison to let her know that I was running behind schedule. When we finally hit the trail, we were going at a nice pace and I think that it was total adrenaline.

Around the eight mile mark we took a closer look at Cementland. The area around the red, white and blue barrels is hilly and I tried not to think about the additional energy that I'd expended. However, I did feel grateful that my ankle is at a point that I can tackle hills and uneven terrain.

The bike ride back was windy and tough and even though I was knackered when I got home, I cooked but nixed the salt bath that I had planned to take. I didn't have the time since we spent three hours on the trail. Time well spent so I made adjustments to my agenda and moved on.

Outskirts of Cementland, Photo Credit: Alison

But the fireman, for real, I get emotional thinking about him. I was so moved by his act of kindness and it just made me resolve to continue my efforts to be steadfast in my kindness. The interaction with the fireman was also a lesson in staying calm and "feeling the fear and doing it anyway..."

P.S. I figured out how to take the wheel off which made getting the bike in the car so much easier. Not sure that it's on right but I'll take a look at it later.

The Exercised Body or April, Month-End Review

Swam from 7 to 8 p.m. last night, showered, went by the store then stopped to see The 'Fugee who was disappointed that I wouldn't stay long. And the lyrics that go through my head the most? Time won't give me time...

On Saturday, I also fretted about time but realized that I had spent two hours bicycling even though I seldom regret time spent in the pursuit of fitness so I turned the fret station off.

There are days when I feel wrecked when the alarm clock goes off and when I get to work, I want to put my head on the desk until I feel rested.

To go to yoga tonight or to do a little spring cleaning and prepare stuff for the American Kidney Foundation pick-up? I could have used the extra time but the tension in my arm, neck and back made the choice an easy one.

Last Tuesday, at an impromptu "party," Asmira and The 'Fugee declared that I had lost weight and, although I've lost five four pounds, I've been struggling with portion control and feeling quite whale-ish. The 'Fugee elaborated by saying that she can tell the difference between my exercised body and her unexercised one. Though visions of being smaller float around in my head, I know that life would be dim without exercise.

Month-End Review:

10 Minute Solution: 5 Day Get Fit Mix
Cardio Kickboxing, 2 x's

10 Minute Solution: Tone Trouble Zones!
10 Minute Stretch, 2 x's

Bicycling, 3 x's

Climbing, 4 x's

Just Walk: 5 Mega Miles
Mile 2: Walk and Tone, 2 x's
Mile 5: Ab Walk, 2 x's

Just Walk: Walk to the Hits, Party Songs
Mile 1, 4 x's
Mile 3, 1 x

P90X
Kenpo X, 2 x's

Swimming, 4 x's

The Gauntlet, #Kettlebell, 2 x's

Treadmill, 2 x's

Walking, 13 x's

Yoga, 15 x's

Zumba, 2 x's

Leaning

Got to work on Wednesday and the building had no water. After returning from my second field trip, we got word that the building would close. One of my coworkers squealed and many smiled. Even though I had to do some work from home, I was happy too. I looked for a yoga class to jump into but the timing didn't work. Hashtag -- can't have everything.

But wait...the water folks wouldn't finish until noon the next day so we reported at 1. It was an unexpected gift that I appreciated tremendously since my reservoir was about depleted.

I slept beautifully, stretched like a cat in the morning then rolled out. I had time to make it to a yoga class and time to stop by Trader Joe's.

Alison had already given me intel on Jim, the yoga teacher. I wrote her back to say that, yes, he is a slow, smooth operator.

During class, I realized how much I like gate pose.

Poses that I remember that I like:

Gate

Fish

Half Moon 

Savasana

I've been reading an old O: The Oprah Magazine (June 2013). In that issue, Oprah interviews Brene Brown who talks about foreboding joy and dress-rehearsing tragedy. Brown mentions this man, married for 40 years, who never got too excited about anything because he didn't want to be disappointed but when he heard that his wife had been killed, he realized that he should have leaned harder into those moments of joy.

Maybe joy is what I was leaning into in gate pose...

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.