erzhan1996's Journal
[Most Recent Entries]
[Calendar View]
[Friends]
Below are the 19 most recent journal entries recorded in
erzhan1996's LiveJournal:
| Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 | | 5:46 pm |
Barbara & cats
Seven confirmed deaths. Frightening.Our two phones have been ringing for hours now. I just heard back from my friend Barbara, who lives just east of Tierrasanta (where the fires have jumped). She only heard about this during church and called me from her cell phone. She can't go back home today. Their neighborhood has now been evacuated. And to think their friends from Ramona went to Barbara and George's house this morning to avoid the fires up north. Now all of them are headed over to Qualcomm stadium, which is where the Chargers play. Part of the stadium has been set aside for the evacuees. George quickly stopped by their house to rescue the three cats and the laptop.Speaking of cats, Nikita has calmed down a lot. She's half sleeping on the bed, and I noticed she was covered in ash. She must have wandered out onto the balcony at some point. My eyes are still stinging from the smoke, but the sky is no longer bright orange. I hope that's a good sign.The Chargers' practice was cancelled today, and it's a possibility that Monday Night Football may be yanked. Also, airlines are cancelling and diverting flights into San Diego. Two freeways are closed. I've never seen this city come to such a halt. | | Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 | | 3:56 pm |
Evacuation
The neighborhood to the east has been evacuated. A friend from Temecula called to say that her mother-in-law (who lives in the neighborhood I just mentioned) was currently driving north to stay with them. My neighborhood is on alert for possible evacuation. The fires seem to be moving east (they "jumped" Interstate 15) - away from us, but we've had to cancel our plans to see a matinee of Mystic River this afternoon, of course.Mine is a very urban neighborhood and not in the hills, but there is a chaparral canyon to the south that's too close for my liking. | | Sunday, January 3rd, 2010 | | 8:54 am |
Between today and tomorrow
Between today and tomorrow, I have three papers due. G-d help me.I had a terrifying dream last night. I usually don't remember them, but this one woke me up. All I can remember is that it was around twilight, and I was standing on the sidewalk across the street from the complex, holding my squirming cat. Someone was launching weapons at my apartment complex, and buildings were erupting in flames. My building was hit. Then it dawned on me: my books! I woke up, saw bookcases around me, and realized it was just a bad dream.I really ought to get renter's insurance - not that I'm afraid that someone is going to be launching rockets into my complex, but in case of fire or something. | | Saturday, January 2nd, 2010 | | 6:55 am |
Movies: Oct. 10 - 16
must-see listIntolerable Cruelty (Coen)I'm still on the fence about Mystic River. I may wait for DVD (from Netflix). Nothing that comes out this weekend looks like a must-see besides Runaway Jury, which I saw weeks ago. We may see Intolerable Cruelty today at 5:30 - if not, then a matinee tomorrow.movies seen in last weekKill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) 1A Mighty Wind (2003) 2Russian Ark (2002) 3Bugsy (1991) 41 Kill Bill is stylish, violent, low on plot, but oddly riveting. I'm between 4 and 5, so I may yet change it.2 It wasn't as good as Best and Show, and I wanted to strangle Eugene Levy, but anything that can make me laugh a few times is worth the rental.3 There's a controversy over whether Russian Ark would still be considered a good film even without the technological and artistic feat of shooting the entire film in a single, uncut shot. I say yes. The stunt may have drawn initial attention to the film, but it stands on its own merits. Afterward, I felt compelled to reread the entire second section (on the mystery of Anastasia impostors) from The Romanovs: The Final Chapter.4 I only caught half of this, but I've seen it before several times. Beatty and Bening are magic together.I saw part of one other movie I'd seen before, but I can't remember what it was at the moment.current Netflix DVDsBend It Like Beckham (2002)1Metropolis (1927)2Shakespeare in Love (1998)3A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)3Jeeves & Wooster (season 2, disc 1)1 I wanted to see this in the theatres, but by the time I got around to it, it was gone.2 viola_cesario persuaded me to see Metropolis. It was one of only two that I had never seen from the "100 Movies" meme. 3 I still haven't watched the two Shakespeare-related DVDs (although I have seen them before). I must get those watched so my queue can keep moving!Next up in my queue are Owning Mahowny, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, and Jeeves & Wooster (season 2, disc 2).Suggestions for rentals are always welcomed! I'm much less picky about what I see on DVD than in the theatres. | | Friday, January 1st, 2010 | | 6:03 am |
Friday Five
stolen from lisastrawberry:Name five things in your refrigerator.soy milk, jar of pickles (my first word: "poco"), kale, Ezekiel bread, 3 bags of nuts Name five things in your freezer.4 bags of frozen fruit (for smoothies), Boca Burgers: Vegan, ice cubes, flax seed, frosted mugsName five things under your kitchen sink.George Foreman Grill, dish detergent, pot-scrubbing brush, kitchen garbage pail, extra spongesName five things around your computer.I (am I a thing?), a wrapper for the Suncake I just ate, my bed (underneath the laptop), a bag of library books (to the side of the bed), my new space-age pillowName five things in your medicine cabinet.mini sewing kit, bandages, 5 vials of Vicodin (holy shit - I threw some away just now), herbal cough drops, sugar-free gum | | Saturday, January 31st, 2009 | | 4:14 am |
I can't sleep again
I can't sleep again. I went to bed at 11, and I first woke up at 1 a.m. feeling blazing hot. After tossing and turning for over an hour, I had to pray to the porcelain deity. I swear it wasn't anything I ate for dinner (and besides, that was at 7). I just have the world's weakest stomach. The alarm clock goes off in 4 hours, and I got about 2 hours of sleep. My body/mind don't work well on fewer than seven hours of sleep. Lately, I would kill for five.I've been sick since the weekend. I have a nasty head cold, and when I can't breathe, I can't sleep. The lack of sleep is interfering with my recovery to be sure. Needless to say, no workouts. I thought about doing some gentle Yoga, but then I remembered what downward dog is like with stuffy sinuses. I don't suppose the stomach sickness is related to my head cold? Maybe I have the flu? But this is the first I've had of this symptom. My problem since this weekend has been primarily my nose (with sore throat as my second symptom). I took a box of tissues with me during my 12-hour day on campus Tuesday, and I ran out by 4 p.m. and had to resort to nabbing toilet paper (and this is being drugged with decongestants, mind you).I'm tempted to skip class. If I throw up again before 6:30, I'm not going. A cold is one thing; having to run to the bathroom is another. The only problem is, I skipped once already, and one class only allows two absences (and I already used one in the second week). Attendance is noted at all my other classes as well. If I miss class, it will be the last time I'm allowed to do so from now through December.I'll try to get back to sleep now. During my lunch break today, I'll try to remember to write about what an fool I was between the Ulysses seminar and meeting Jessica Hagedorn (the writer) yesterday. | | 1:36 am |
IDEA 2003 photos
IDEA 2003 photosThese were taken this weekend with Alta's camera. Please ignore the picture of me in spandex dripping in sweat. I'm "Suzanne" in those pictures. I have my hair down at the get-together, and back in a ponytail at the convention.I'll post my convention logs tomorrow. | | Thursday, January 29th, 2009 | | 9:38 pm |
mishmash: paper, sleep deprivation, a photo of me, bulging veins
Welcome to ailish, bkworm9, icantdenyit, miss_ee, my_diet_log, slimtastic, rafaela (fellow morally-corrupt tree hugger), and anyone I missed. I've been meeting so many interesting people lately!I did finish the paper in time. As it turns out, I missed the bus by less than a minute, and I was forced to run (yes, run) a half mile on concrete in the blazing heat with a long-sleeve shirt to the next closest stop. (I've learned in the past that if I miss my bus, I can still be on time if I run to the other route's stop . . . sometimes.) Anyway, the paper was not up to my standards, but it should be worth a B+ at least. Wishful thinking?Believe it or not, I did end up going to class. In seven years at the university, with many sleep-deprived nights behind me (several times awake for 3 days straight), I have never once fallen asleep in class. Yesterday was about the closest I've ever come. I think my body is trying to tell me I'm not a teenager anymore. I was having a hard time following lecture, and even when I kept repeating mentally "eyes wide open; look like you're interested," I just couldn't keep up the bright-eyed bushy-tailed look. You know, with the way this class is taught, it's one of the most boring I've ever taken. It sounded so interesting at first. I have a hard time looking alert when I'm not sleep-deprived. So as much as it pained me to do so, I had to leave at the 90-minute break even though Sylvia Plath was coming up next. I may have just missed the only interesting lecture of the course.I never did take a nap. I told myself I'd go to bed around 6 p.m. That turned into 8. By the time I was asleep, it was nearly midnight, making it 41 straight hours awake. I always overestimate the amount of time it takes to pack (and I started cleaning like a banshee - what is wrong with me?). But what else could I have done? I was busy all day Wednesday with my workout, the WW meeting, and the paper. I would have had to pack two days in advance, and I can't do that. If I ever thought ahead two days, the world would come to an end.Anyway, I got eight hours of sleep last night, which wasn't enough. DH was like a bull in a china shop in the kitchen. We can't close doors around here or Nikita will scratch and howl. It doesn't matter what's behind the door, and once the door is open, she won't care to go inside the room, but she just can't stand the suspense. I know I promised my Cathe/FIRM check-in at the YaYas that I'd do Circuit Max this morning, but I just couldn't. I don't feel too badly about it because I know I'll get a lot of walking done at the expo today.Want to see a really bad picture of me from Monday? I'm afraid I'm not photogenic. I don't think I'm hideous looking, but I always look stupid in photos.Something odd happened yesterday. The veins on my hands were bulging out. I mean really bulging out of my skin both on the backs of my hands and the ones on my wrists. It was incredibly creepy, and I've never seen anything like it. DH thinks it was from typed so many hours with my wrists bent at an odd position (I couldn't put my laptop on my lap because of the major DOMS in my quads). I had to put Icy Hot on them, and they still didn't look normal until this morning.Barbara will be coming to pick me up in 35 minutes. I guess I ought to shower and dress, eh? I'll be without internet for a few days (*gasp*), but I'll be back late Sunday. I'm taking two books with me - one is The Eyre Affair. | | Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 | | 7:27 pm |
Library Books & More PKD
Harry Mulisch, The Discovery of Heavened. Harold Bloom, Sylvia Plath (Critical Views)Elisabeth Bronfen, Sylvia Plath (Writers and Their Work)Linda Wagner-Martin, Sylvia Plath: A BiographyLinda Wagner-Martin, Sylvia Plath: A Literary LifeThe Plath books are in anticipation of my 2nd paper (due in 16 days). If anyone has any suggestions for books or articles about Plath or her works, I would love to hear them. I obviously don't have a focus yet.Patricia S. Warrick, Mind in Motion: The Fiction of Philip K. DickWhat If Our World Is Their Heaven?: The Final Conversations of Philip K. Dick Lawrence Sutin, Divine Invasions: A Life of Philip K. DickKim Stanley Robinson, The Novels of Philip K. DickThat last one is spooking me out. KSR is an award-winning writer (mostly science fiction). I've never read anything of his, but I've always known he was a UCSD alumnus (class of '82). I thought I was getting a book-book, and instead I find this is his dissertation. It's typewritten by hand (I remember having to do that - what a pain!) and 242 pages long with no index. Oy vey. But anyway, get this, I open up to the title page, and it has the whole "a dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction . . ." bit, and lists the dissertation committee, which includes Prof. Wesling (I've had him for Victorian Poetry) and Prof. Wayne. The class I'm taking right now, in fact, is taught by Prof. Wayne, and here I go picking up a book with his name on the title page. In light of that, I'm really surprised he didn't know that Time Out of Joint was written in the late 50s (not the 60s). I didn't get any feedback on my PKD topic. "OK" was all that was written on it.I don't have time to read all of the PKD books, so I'm hoping they have good indicies. It looks like I won't be touching the dissertation. | | Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 | | 3:32 pm |
Weekend Stuff
It was a quiet weekend at home. Friday night, we watched Phone Booth on DVD (from Netflix). I didn't like it as much as everyone told me I would, but not a bad rental by any means.Saturday, I spent much of the day reading. I still haven't finished GWaPE, but I read Janet Evanovich's Hard Eight in anticipation of book nine being released very soon. I also read Hamlet, which I haven't read in a couple years. So why I read two books cover-to-cover in a single day when I still haven't finished a few others is just beyond me. I get so easily sidetracked.After I finished Hamlet, we watched Laurence Olivier's Hamlet. I noticed that he juxtaposed certain scenes that in the play are separated by an intervening scene, then you'll see the intervening scene later. DH thinks this is so movie watchers can follow it better.I also managed to get in a serious workout (one of only two for the week) Saturday evening. I continued with the FIRM Classics theme, moving on to Volume 2.Yesterday, I can't remember what we did other than run errands. The whole day just flew by before I knew it. OK, I remember now. After errands, we took a nice afternoon stroll to the movie theatre to see Pirates of the Caribbean, which was quite entertaining, but then again, I have a thing for Johnny Depp. It's unfair that a man could be that beautiful.That was pretty much it for the whole weekend. Shall I admit that I forgot I had a paper to write? And here I am, sitting here with my laptop on Monday afternoon, and I still don't have a single word written. I figure I can take notes later today, and I can do the actual writing on Wednesday. Unless I have a lunch date with friends, I always have MWF free. I never have to leave home. I have French and Latin self-study scheduled then, but I can put it off to another day. I really am a horrible procrastinator.I've been going all day today. I really have hardly spent any time on the computer. I started my workout around 9 or 9:30, and it took me just over an hour. I did Cathe Friedrich's Maximum Intensity Cardio, which is brutal and 72 minutes long (half is high-impact hi/lo, half is power step). I made sure to set up my shock-absorption mats again. After that workout, I didn't feel one bit guilty about the gorgonzola crumbled on my salad (nor the candied walnuts). Ronnee has been doing WW for awhile and has become skilled at eyeballing things for points. She says probably 10 points for my lunch, but I might want to round up to 11. I was so proud of myself that (for once) I planned my workout early enough so that I'd have plenty of time to clean up and take a leisurely walk over to CPK. Little did I know that my wallet picked that time to disappear! I spent 20 minutes looking for the dumb thing, and I found it just as I was about to give up and bring a couple power bars with me. I loved seeing Barbara, Sharon, and Kathy again, and meeting Ronnee for the first time. Kathy was unusually quiet. I wonder if she wasn't having a good time. She and I are both a bunch of chatterboxes every time she comes over. We talked about fitness videos, universities (1 prof and 2 students among us 5), and the upcoming convention. I'll be seeing Barbara and Sharon again in just four days. It seems so soon, and to think my paper has to be submitted in three. *sigh* My time management skills could use some sharpening.Anyway, it was blazing hot in the early afternoon, and I really didn't want to walk home, so when Ronnee offered me a ride, I took her up on the offer. We stopped over at Whole Foods Market, and we shopped and talked. Blueberries were on sale 2 pints for $5! I picked up 4 pints (and I may be back later in the week to pick some up for the convention). I couldn't believe those prices. Just the other day, a quarter pint cost nearly $4 at Ralph's. Blueberries just might be my favorite fruit, but the prices on fresh ones are usually through the roof. Ronnee (who is also on WW) told me about Puffins cereal. It's almost too good to be true that it's only 1 point for c., but they're absolutely delicious. Mine are cinnamon-flavored, but they also come in honey and peanut butter. I'm going to measure some out into plastic bags and take it with me to the convention. | | Monday, January 26th, 2009 | | 2:00 pm |
Fitness Log: July 7 - 13
There's not much to report this week. It seems I was either hot or cold.Monday - 11 pointsSusan Harris, FIRM: Body Sculpting Basics (a.k.a. Volume 1) (1986) (60 min.)level: Interm./Advan., impact: Mixed, choreo: Basicpoints earned: 6see Leotards and Legwarmers and Gold Chains - Oh My!I didn't write down my weights. This is an endurance workout, so it's light to moderate weights non-stop, mostly compound movements, etc. You're constantly moving, constantly switching between exercises. I was drenched as of the 20-minute mark. Volume 1 is one of my least favorite FIRMs, but I keep coming back to it every once in awhile. Amusement factor? Butt-kicking floorwork factor?Christi Taylor, Hi/Lo Heaven (2000) (wu+1+cd, 35 min.)level: Advanced, impact: High, choreo: Complexpoints earned: 4Let's face it; Volume 1 isn't exactly party-in-a-box, and the hi/lo choreo is mind-numbingly boring. I wanted to get a bit more cardio in, so I reached for Christi.walk outside - leisure (20 min.)points earned: 1Tuesday - 2 pointswalk outside - brisk (20 min.)points earned: 2Wednesday - 2 pointswalk outside - leisure (30 min.)points earned: 2Thursday - 4 pointswalk outside - brisk (40 min.)points earned: 4Friday - 2 pointswalk outside - brisk (20 min.)points earned: 2Saturday - 9 pointsJanet Jones-Gretzky, FIRM: Low-Impact Aerobics Basics (a.k.a. Volume 2) (1987) (65 min.)level: Interm./Advan., impact: Mixed, choreo: Basicpoints earned: 6I'm getting all verklempt. Talk amonst yourselves. I'll give you a topic. Low-Impact Aerobics has hardly any aerobics, and what little there is isn't low-impact. Discuss.FIRM: Super Cardio Mix (1999) (1st half, 35 min.)level: Advanced, impact: Mixed, choreo: Basicpoints earned: 38" step8# pair dbI already had the shock-absorbing mats out from Not-So-Low-Impact Mostly Not Aerobics, and I could hear the music of Super Cardio in my head. I had already worked out (hard) for an hour, so I decided in advance to make it a short fix. There's just something about the energy of this video that keeps me coming back for more.Sunday - 4 pointswalk outside - leisure (40 min.)points earned: 2Just a nice afternoon stroll to see Pirates of the Caribbean.I'm contemplating going on a short walk right now. I'm feeling restless and want to get some air.7/14 update: I did go on a walk last night. I love the cool air.walk outside - brisk (20 min.)points earned: 2Weekly Summarypoints earned: 34Not bad at all! It's quite an improvement over last week, and that's all that matters right now. Rome wasn't built in a day, and my fitness level won't return to its former state overnight either. I did some stretching at night and meditating in the mornings, but it's been nearly a week since I did a full Yoga session - something I will change for this coming week. | | Saturday, January 24th, 2009 | | 8:11 am |
Another Round of Quizzes
Your alter poet is Thomas Stearns Eliot. For you,life rocks pretty hard! Who is Your Alter Poet? brought to you by QuizillaNeutral:Harmony and balance is key. You don't look at theworld in a negative or positive way and you'llnever judge or assume a situation- you justlook at the facts. People like you are peacefuland accepting.Made bySara What color do you see the world in? brought to you by Quizilla What Finding Nemo Character are You? brought to you by Quizillafrom rafaela:Threat rating: Low. You are annoying, but too muchof a softy tree hugger to pose any threat tothe mighty machine of Republican progress. Andthe FBI know where you live. What threat to the Bush administration are you? brought to you by Quizilla | | Friday, January 23rd, 2009 | | 6:19 am |
The second I open my mouth
The second I open my mouth, my IQ drops 75 points. I must remember to remain silent and be thought a fool rather than remove all doubt. What was I thinking? I knew exactly how to definite it, but instead I blather on about mortification. Humiliating. | | Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 | | 2:02 am |
WW: week 2
WW start: 197.2 on 7/2/03This week: 195.2Loss: 2.0And to think this was my PMS week. I'm ready for next week . . . bring it on!My next goal is to get my 5-lb. star 2 weeks from today. Here were my points for the week. The first number is food intake, the second is activity points earned.W: 28 / 5R: 27 / 3F: 25 / 4S: 24 / 2N: 29 / 11M: 28 / 11T: 28 / 2Banked points: 21 | | Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 | | 12:02 am |
Recent/Current/Upcoming Reading
[originally posted to Ya Ya Book Worm]Sorry in advance for the length. It's been weeks since I posted last.Finished in the last couple weeks:J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the PhoenixNick Hornby, High FidelityHilary Clinton, Living HistoryWalt Whitman, "Song of Myself" [2 editions]Nancy Milford, Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay. . . a pile of documents from the 50sCurrent reading:P.G. Wodehouse, Right You Are, JeevesTracy Chevalier, Girl With a Pearl EarringDavid Halberstam, The FiftiesThe 1950's: The "Placid" DecadeJames Gilbert, A Cycle of Outrage: America's Reaction to the Juvenile Delinquent in the 1950sHigh Fidelity and (especially) Harry Potter have been the high points of my reading lately. The 50s non-fiction books are required for my class. I'm reading Wooster and Jeeves on the recommendation of some LJ friends, and I'm having a hard time containing my laughter in public places. I have a feeling they could easily become an addiction.Short-listed on my to-read list:requiredStanlley Aronowitz, "The Unsilent Fifties" from False Promises: The Shaping of American Working Class ConsciousnessWilliam H. Whyte, Jr., "A Generation of Bureaucrats" from The Organization ManBetty Friedan, The Feminine MystiqueJ.D. Salinger, "Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut" from Nine StoriesTillie Olson, "I Stand Here Ironing". . . and more documentsrecreationalKate Moses, Wintering: A Novel of Sylvia PlathMargaret Atwood, Oryx & CrakeIan McEwan, Amsterdam [7/9 note: oops, I meant Atonement]P.G. Wodehouse, Stiff Upper Lip, JeevesP.G. Wodehouse, Jeeves & The Tie That BindsI've had W and O&C on my short list for awhile now. They keep getting pushed back by required reading and friends disrupting my plans with their recommendations. | | Monday, January 19th, 2009 | | 9:22 pm |
50s Reading
I've been doing course reading on the 50s half the evening, and there was a comment about T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound (regarding reading preferences of the decade) that got me thinking I ought to see about getting a hardcover copy of Pound's Cantos. I checked out, and then I remembered that I promised myself I'd buy no more new books in July (I'm still waiting for some books from the end of June to arrive). I promptly cancelled my order. I feel a little better now for having exercised a little will.I recently remembered that tomorrow I have to hand in a paragraph or two on my proposed paper topic. I thought about it some and decided I want to do one on Gwendolyn Brooks or Sylvia Plath and the other on Philip K. Dick. Unlike Brooks and Plath, Dick isn't on the syllabus in any form (which I find rather shocking), so I would have to have a Dick topic pre-approved, which shouldn't be a problem. Dick has so much of substance to say about conformist mindsets, gender roles, and the Cold War. After reading Dick, you'll never look at the 50s in the same way. Anyway, I should probably do Dick (that doesn't sound quite right, eh?) for the first paper and Plath and/or Brooks for the second since I've been doing so much Cold War era/McCarthy non-fiction reading lately. The first paper is due in 10 days - the second in 3 weeks.I have a lot highlighted in the non-fiction anthology I'm currently reading. I'll share later. The bed is calling my name. *yawn* | | Saturday, January 17th, 2009 | | 2:45 pm |
More Books
A warm welcome to lisamaria (I picked up your lash tint recommendation), lisastrawberry, and rosabuddatchery. :)I can't decide whom I adore more - the postman or the UPS guy. Each of them delivered a package to me today. I must have been a good girl (that or else getting into trouble at Amazon.com thanks to certain bad influences).Juliet Barker, The Bronts: A Life in Letters [1st-edition hardcover]Robert Leggewie, Anthologie de la littrature franaise: Des origines la fin du dix-huitime sicle [pb]I already owned the Barker in paperback, but when lisastrawberry, viola_cesario, and I were talking about Bront non-fiction a couple weeks back, I just couldn't help myself when I saw the hardcover on sale for something like $6. Anyone want a like-new paperback?I've finished a couple books lately. I'll post about them late tonight or tomorrow morning. Last week, I had a post with quotes from Living Fiction and Swimming Pool (the Ozon movie), but somehow Windows crashed, and I lost it just before I was about to send it. *frustrated sigh*I also got a note from the library circulation desk today informing me that The Eyre Affair and Jeeves, Jeeves, Jeeves are ready for pick-up. Joy! | | Friday, January 16th, 2009 | | 12:28 pm |
Fitness Log: June 30 - July 6th
It's not working so well to remember to update during the week, so I'll just post it all at once at the end of the week. Here's the bit I wrote on the 29th plus what I've done all week.BriberyI just about fainted when I got on the scale this morning. My lack of workouts since midterms and on-the-run meals added up to more than I thought. It will take most of the summer to get that off, but I'm not about to ruin years worth of hard work. I'm never going back.I've decided to bribe my myself with Yoga classes. I never did get around to finding a regular Yoga class in California (just a class here or there by different instructors). It's like finding a hairdresser. If you can't find quite the right one, you're lazy about going and go over a year without a haircut (OK, so maybe that's just me). Anyway, when I reach my mini-goal, I'll start taking weekly classes, at a different studio each time if necessary, until I find one I like. I eventually did find a prince of a hairdresser after having been sheared by a lot of frogs, so maybe this is a good omen for finding a great Yoga instructor. This will be incentive to get the scale moving in the right direction again.Mini-Goal: 15 pound loss (from today)Reward: weekly Yoga class7/7 update: Since I found out my 10% goal at WW is 19 pounds, I think I'm going to make the Yoga classes my reward for that instead since it's a big milestone.Monday & TuesdayI know I didn't do a major workout, but I forgot to write down whether I walked anywhere or not.WednesdayLeslie Sansone, WAP Express: Super Challenge (2003) (58 min.)level: Interm., impact: Low, choreo: Basicpoints earned: 5I did this around 10 or 11 p.m. I knew I wanted to go to bed in an hour, and I never feel like workout out at that hour, but I didn't want yet another day to slip past me. I was too braindead for Christi and too tired for Cathe, so I reached for Leslie.Thursdaywalk outside (60 min.)points earned: 3I had a wonderful evening stroll w/ DH. It's so much nicer once it cools off in the evenings.Fridaywalk outside (70 min.)points earned: 4This was the combination of a couple walks. We walked in the morning to Jamba Juice, then walked to run some errands later in the day.Saturdaywalk outside (30 min.)points earned: 2Walk to the post office and back to mail a couple packages.SundayCathe Friedrich, Step Fit (1997) (71 min.)level: Advanced, impact: Mixed, choreo: Moderatepoints earned: 9HR: 144 avg / 174 max23:36 below / 44:22 in zone / 1:27 above6" stepAround 10 p.m., I was feeling unusually bouncy and energetic. I was tempted to run up and down the hall at high speeds like Nikita. Unfortunately, I don't find that as entertaining as she, so I decided to do some step. I pushed the love seat back into the hallway, which is what I have to do every time I do a video due to space limitations. Once I do that, I have enough room for 8' x 8' of interlocking mats that absorb impact.Cathe's choreography is in the moderate range, but it's the intensity and power moves for which she's famous. Her workouts are high-bpm (140-150/minute), so you don't want to go above 6" unless you're a daredevil. Cathe's a petite lady (5'1" or so), and the high bpm gives an advantage to shorter people who don't have to swing legs as far. It's funny, until last year, I always thought Cathe and the crew were around my height and that Rhonda (one of Cathe's friends who's in nearly all the videos) was a giant Amazon. As it turns out, Rhonda is an inch shorter than I am, and it's everyone else who's very petite.Anyway, I had a lot of fun - especially with the "flying angels" move. It's been a long time since I've done one of Cathe's step videos. I'm so used to relying on her for strength only.Patricia Walden, P.M. Yoga (1998) (23 min.)level: Beginnerpoints earned: 2I can't go back to change anything in my online journal, but in the future, since it only accepts 10-minute intervals, I should round down for relaxing Yoga and round up for more energetic Yoga.This is one of my favorite Yoga videos. It's just perfect for winding down, and since my muscles were very warm and pliant from step, I was able to completely melt into the poses. Words can't describe how good it felt.Weekly Summarypoints earned: 25I didn't get a single strength workout done all week. Next week, I'm aiming for a few more points and a lot more variety.I think I'll post my nutrition updates on Wednesday since that's my WW meeting day and weigh-in. | | Thursday, January 15th, 2009 | | 7:57 am |
Surprise?
Surprises really aren't my thing, but if I'm warned there will be a surprise, it's not so bad.My friend's husband called me this morning wishing me a happy belated birthday and teasing me that we're now the same age (only for a few more weeks, I reminded the old man). She forgot to tell him it was my birthday, he said (because she herself had forgotten). I didn't expect them to remember, of course, but he was very insistent that they were going to take us somewhere. "Where?" "It's a surprise." "Can I get a hint?" "It wouldn't be much of a surprise then, would it?"He was planning something for two weeks from today, but I checked my schedule, and I'm gone to the IDEA fitness convention in Orange County half that week, so unless Barbara and I return by the afternoon, that day is out. They couldn't make it today or next week. We might have to schedule it for three weeks from now. By that time, it will be close to his and my DH's birthdays, so we might as well make it a joint affair. He said something about reservations. Dinner? A play? No, it couldn't be a play. He would have said tickets. Maybe a mystery dinner theatre. We've all been talking about doing that for a couple years now.Growing up, I always had to summon immense will power not to shake presents. |
|