To clear up the mystery of whether my life actually ended with the quitting of my trainer, the answer is "no" - I am still here. I joined a new gym but have found it hard to get into the groove even though the place is like a palace. I still belong to my old gym and I basically have until the end of the year to make a more permament decision of which gym I will stick with. It is a very very tough decision for me and I have spent a lot of time agonizing over which I should choose, and each time I work out at either one, I find myself further from a decision.
Tonight I worked with a trainer named Ray who is claiming that he can change my life - that being workout routine, diet and weight. I am skeptical but I am intrigued and interested. I am willing to try it out for a bit - at least for as much as I can afford and see if I really take him for what he says. If he is right it could potentially be life changing for me. Twice daily whey protein shakes - here I come. I will try to keep everyone updated.
Life otherwise is crazy, as usual. Giants are 11-1. It is incredible and unbelievable. The commentators talk about the New York Football Giants are undeniably the best franchise in the National Football League and each time they say that I chuckle. It's amazing but so far from what I've always been used to. I'm used to flashes of brilliance that are always hidden by mistakes and losses of leads... but this domination is pretty convincing and contagious. I like it. But, being a true Giants fan (and a pessimist) I am predicting a bad loss (like along the lines of our one unmentionable and indescribably loss earlier in the season) early in the playoffs that would just be debilitating to my spirit. But for now, I am ridin' the bandwagon of happiness at the success we've achieved this season thus far.
I'm very tired, so that's all I have for now. Hopefully I will back with more material soon. xoxo.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
And then my world came crashing down...
Something happened tonight that changed my life.
As I wrote in one of my last posts, work has been insanity as of late due to two events and a presentation in a span of about two and half weeks. For that reason, my typical daily gym routine (which is only broken for severe circumstances) had to be completely disrupted.
Being that the gym is my life (see post below "The Gym.") it has been depressing both physically and mentally not to be there because my gym routine is tantamount to my physical and emotional wellbeing. Sick, I know.
I joined my gym when I was a sophomore in college because my mom was trying it out and told me that there was a dance class and dance teacher at this new gym in town that I would love. For once, she was right.
I went to once class and fell in love with the instructor, Daniel, the choreography, the music, how quickly the class flew by and how much fun I was having. More than five years later, I take classes with Daniel for two hours, three days a week and have personal training sessions with him a fourth day. It destresses me, keeps me energetic and makes me happy.
My gym schedule and my gym social life are things I have come to take for granted. They are so ingrained in my life that when my schedule is thrown off, it is as if I am experiencing some weird type of vertigo.
After tonight, it looks like I am going to suffer from a severe case of vertigo.
Plugging away at my desk at work as carpet cleaners sprayed and vacuumed the carpets below my feet, I receive a text message from my good gym friend, Rachelle:
"FYI Daniel is no longer teaching at CanDo. Tonight is his last night."
I had missed Wednesday night dance class where Daniel announced his resignation from the gym effective immediately.
My first thought was that my friends were playing a joke on my and giving me the typical guilt trip for missing class. When it was confirmed that this was the truth I was stunned into silence momentarily. Then the tears came.
These were tears of true sadness. Five of my close friends who I met at the gym and retained our relationships mostly therein cancelled their gym memberships on the spot. The rock of my life shattered inside me an instant and an element of my life that I so rely on disappeared.
There is much talk about the Lifetime Fitness Clubs opening in Berkeley Heights and Florham Park and I want to check them out because they sound FANTASTIC but they are also extremely expensive and geographically somewhat inconvenient for me.
Right now I am still in shock. I am sad that I was not in class tonight to be able to say my goodbyes and receive the closure for a closed chapter in my life. I speak as if someone died, and without meaning to be dramatic, but unable to avoid it, I really feel as if someone has.
I know this post is bizarre and rambling and incoherent, but I can't find a way to make sense of my thoughts or emotions right now.
For now... I am searching for alternatives and a place to get to the physical and mental benefits currently afforded to me by CanDO Fitness in Short Hills, NJ.
Blech. Daniel Dalpiaz, you will be greatly missed - you have changed my life.
As I wrote in one of my last posts, work has been insanity as of late due to two events and a presentation in a span of about two and half weeks. For that reason, my typical daily gym routine (which is only broken for severe circumstances) had to be completely disrupted.
Being that the gym is my life (see post below "The Gym.") it has been depressing both physically and mentally not to be there because my gym routine is tantamount to my physical and emotional wellbeing. Sick, I know.
I joined my gym when I was a sophomore in college because my mom was trying it out and told me that there was a dance class and dance teacher at this new gym in town that I would love. For once, she was right.
I went to once class and fell in love with the instructor, Daniel, the choreography, the music, how quickly the class flew by and how much fun I was having. More than five years later, I take classes with Daniel for two hours, three days a week and have personal training sessions with him a fourth day. It destresses me, keeps me energetic and makes me happy.
My gym schedule and my gym social life are things I have come to take for granted. They are so ingrained in my life that when my schedule is thrown off, it is as if I am experiencing some weird type of vertigo.
After tonight, it looks like I am going to suffer from a severe case of vertigo.
Plugging away at my desk at work as carpet cleaners sprayed and vacuumed the carpets below my feet, I receive a text message from my good gym friend, Rachelle:
"FYI Daniel is no longer teaching at CanDo. Tonight is his last night."
I had missed Wednesday night dance class where Daniel announced his resignation from the gym effective immediately.
My first thought was that my friends were playing a joke on my and giving me the typical guilt trip for missing class. When it was confirmed that this was the truth I was stunned into silence momentarily. Then the tears came.
These were tears of true sadness. Five of my close friends who I met at the gym and retained our relationships mostly therein cancelled their gym memberships on the spot. The rock of my life shattered inside me an instant and an element of my life that I so rely on disappeared.
There is much talk about the Lifetime Fitness Clubs opening in Berkeley Heights and Florham Park and I want to check them out because they sound FANTASTIC but they are also extremely expensive and geographically somewhat inconvenient for me.
Right now I am still in shock. I am sad that I was not in class tonight to be able to say my goodbyes and receive the closure for a closed chapter in my life. I speak as if someone died, and without meaning to be dramatic, but unable to avoid it, I really feel as if someone has.
I know this post is bizarre and rambling and incoherent, but I can't find a way to make sense of my thoughts or emotions right now.
For now... I am searching for alternatives and a place to get to the physical and mental benefits currently afforded to me by CanDO Fitness in Short Hills, NJ.
Blech. Daniel Dalpiaz, you will be greatly missed - you have changed my life.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Hurrah for the Red and the Blue...
So tonight I grabbed the bull by the horns and I went to my first alumni event. I had forgotten a little how much I really am head over heels in love with my former university. I was very apprehensive initially because I did not know anyone else who is going, but over the years, talking the ears off of complete strangers has become a specialty of mine. I just love to meet new people and hear what they have to say.
Everyone was sooo friendly and they swarmed me because a) I was the youngest person there by at least 10 years and b) apparently I hold the magic key to mobilizing other recent graduates to get involved.
Regardless, the speaker was fascinating (An analyst and statistician for the elections bureau of a major news outlet. He says that Obama is going to win without a doubt unless something unpredictable happens in this country in the next two weeks.) and the conversation was scintillating. The time really flew and I barely wanted to leave.
At the end we sang our school "fight" song. I nearly teared up (SAP! I know I am... can't help it). I really did forget how much love and pride I have for my school. It also makes me miss it. But through my alumni network, I know that wherever I go, there is always a little bit of Penn there somewhere.
I left practically giddy and felt very fulfilled. Even if I did unwittingly agree to interviewing college applicants and helping to plan future events.
Here's a toast to dear old Penn.
Everyone was sooo friendly and they swarmed me because a) I was the youngest person there by at least 10 years and b) apparently I hold the magic key to mobilizing other recent graduates to get involved.
Regardless, the speaker was fascinating (An analyst and statistician for the elections bureau of a major news outlet. He says that Obama is going to win without a doubt unless something unpredictable happens in this country in the next two weeks.) and the conversation was scintillating. The time really flew and I barely wanted to leave.
At the end we sang our school "fight" song. I nearly teared up (SAP! I know I am... can't help it). I really did forget how much love and pride I have for my school. It also makes me miss it. But through my alumni network, I know that wherever I go, there is always a little bit of Penn there somewhere.
I left practically giddy and felt very fulfilled. Even if I did unwittingly agree to interviewing college applicants and helping to plan future events.
Here's a toast to dear old Penn.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Gyms are for Working Out, Not for Working It...
So a quick post before I head out on this starting to get chilly Friday night.
I have been working crazy hours these past few weeks and have not been making it to the gym. Therefore, I have been irritable, tired, out of shape, fat-feeling, etc. So when I finally get to the gym in time to train last night, I was excited. Until, much to my chagrin, I spotted a horde of stiletto-clad, plastic-surgeried, short-skirted and dressed to the nines Short Hills woman parading through the front door of my gym. I contemplated getting back in my car and just quitting while I was ahead. Apparently, the gym was hosting a cocktail party/fashion to benefit breast cancer awareness - a good cause, yes - but I am at the gym, not the club. I go to the gym to relax, to get out my aggression, to escape the world. The last thing I needed was loud obnoxious decked out women parading around when I'm breaking a sweat. It really threw me for a loop. The workout was unfulfilling and I just could not focus. I deal with those kinds of "trendy" events for work on a regular basis and my all-consuming work was exactly what I had gone to the gym to get away from.
Another thing I don't like is when people go to the gym with the goal of making a love connection or try to pick up people at the gym. My friends are the gym are always pointing out trainers or gym-goers who they think are cute (which is mind boggling in itself being that there are about eleven men total in this gym) and I just don't get it. When I go to the gym I am either just waking up after a long night out or I am coming directly from work. I'm tired, I'm wearing workout attire, I generally am not wearing makeup and throughout my workout I become sweatty and smelly - what part of that combination would anyone find attractive? The LAST thing I want to do is find a man at the gym.
Besides, I'd like to think that I am so focused on my workout that I'm not paying attention to anything going on around me. Which is exactly why the whole fashion show debacle threw me for a loop by messing with my concentration.
I have been working crazy hours these past few weeks and have not been making it to the gym. Therefore, I have been irritable, tired, out of shape, fat-feeling, etc. So when I finally get to the gym in time to train last night, I was excited. Until, much to my chagrin, I spotted a horde of stiletto-clad, plastic-surgeried, short-skirted and dressed to the nines Short Hills woman parading through the front door of my gym. I contemplated getting back in my car and just quitting while I was ahead. Apparently, the gym was hosting a cocktail party/fashion to benefit breast cancer awareness - a good cause, yes - but I am at the gym, not the club. I go to the gym to relax, to get out my aggression, to escape the world. The last thing I needed was loud obnoxious decked out women parading around when I'm breaking a sweat. It really threw me for a loop. The workout was unfulfilling and I just could not focus. I deal with those kinds of "trendy" events for work on a regular basis and my all-consuming work was exactly what I had gone to the gym to get away from.
Another thing I don't like is when people go to the gym with the goal of making a love connection or try to pick up people at the gym. My friends are the gym are always pointing out trainers or gym-goers who they think are cute (which is mind boggling in itself being that there are about eleven men total in this gym) and I just don't get it. When I go to the gym I am either just waking up after a long night out or I am coming directly from work. I'm tired, I'm wearing workout attire, I generally am not wearing makeup and throughout my workout I become sweatty and smelly - what part of that combination would anyone find attractive? The LAST thing I want to do is find a man at the gym.
Besides, I'd like to think that I am so focused on my workout that I'm not paying attention to anything going on around me. Which is exactly why the whole fashion show debacle threw me for a loop by messing with my concentration.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
You know it's going to be a long week when...
So it's Monday night. I have been to the gym twice in the past two weeks. Work is insanity and I am insanity without the gym. Monday night I work until 8:30 and rush home for the one thing that can brighten my week in a second: The New York Football Giants.
We go into the game against the Cleveland Browns with a 4-0 record. Respectable for the defending Super Bowl champs. With a win against the ailing Browns we grab a two game lead. Somehow, Eli decides to be the interception king, the Giants decide to take a nap both offensively and defensively and the Browns run the Giants up and down the field for a decisive victory.
How? The 1-3 Browns? Seriously? It is maddening to me. Did the Giants feel the need to remind everyone that they really still are the Giants that I have known my whole life? They don't have to remind me. It's been painful enough over the years to watch the drubbings and the squandered leads. The Super Bowl run last year was a lifelong fan's ultimate redemption.
Monday was very sad for me. I needed something to lift my spirits and instead my team let me down. The rest of the week has followed suit. I am exhausted and dejected.
All I know is we better beat SF on Sunday or else I may no longer be "ridin' the bandwagon." (Okay, okay... I know I threaten but I would NEVER abandon my team. They are my life.)
We go into the game against the Cleveland Browns with a 4-0 record. Respectable for the defending Super Bowl champs. With a win against the ailing Browns we grab a two game lead. Somehow, Eli decides to be the interception king, the Giants decide to take a nap both offensively and defensively and the Browns run the Giants up and down the field for a decisive victory.
How? The 1-3 Browns? Seriously? It is maddening to me. Did the Giants feel the need to remind everyone that they really still are the Giants that I have known my whole life? They don't have to remind me. It's been painful enough over the years to watch the drubbings and the squandered leads. The Super Bowl run last year was a lifelong fan's ultimate redemption.
Monday was very sad for me. I needed something to lift my spirits and instead my team let me down. The rest of the week has followed suit. I am exhausted and dejected.
All I know is we better beat SF on Sunday or else I may no longer be "ridin' the bandwagon." (Okay, okay... I know I threaten but I would NEVER abandon my team. They are my life.)
Blogger troubles...
Just for the record, I need to say that it took me about a half hour to log into blog. Yes, it has been a long week, but still! Ugh. Glad I'm here now.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
The Gym.
Thinking that nobody will ever read these posts puts me in an interesting position because I feel that I can just ramble about all of the useless things I think about or react to in the world and discuss things that are important to me and nobody else.
I love my gym. In fact, my life is often planned around my gym schedule. My gym is called Can Do and it is a magical place. Now I am not the kind of person who can just walk into the gym, hop on the elliptical and do my thing for two hours. I need to be instructed, I need to be yelled at, and usually, I just plain need to have my butt kicked. So I take classes. Ah yes, the dreaded aerobics classes. But these are no aerobics classes - I dance twice a week, kickbox once, take step once (yes, it is outdated, but my friend and instructor, Amy, is fantastic and makes up intricate and challenging choreography), take "muscle definition" twice, take "on the ball" once and work once with my personal trainer (god of all personal training gods).
Now, don't get my wrong, the fantastic classes keep me coming but, what really does it is the fact that I have a large group of friends at the gym. In fact, these people have become some of my best friends who I talk to and hang out with outside the gym. You better believe that if I miss class one day that I will have at least one text or voicemail yelling at me and asking where I am.
The gym is like a second home for me. I feel very comfortable there. Yes, the workouts are grueling, but they are also enjoyable. Beyond that, I love being with my friends and acting like idiots. It is definitely the most motivating workout environment. And trust me, if you knew me or have ever seen my body, you'd know that when it comes to the gym, I need A LOT of motivation.
I've thought about what would happen if I ever decided to move away from where I currently live and I just don't know what I would do. It would really make me depressed. In a weird way, my gym is the number one thing keeping me rooted to my current geographic location. People say it is sick how dedicated I am to my gym - not venturing far from home Friday nights so that I am assured I will be at the gym at 9 a.m. on Saturday, not going out during the week because I have gym classes to attend and constantly hanging out with my gym friends - but for me, it is an active community of which I am part and it is primarily responsible for my physical and mental wellbeing. It really isn't something I can even put into words... you have to experience it to understand, and I hope to be able to enjoy this luxury for a long time to come.
I love my gym. In fact, my life is often planned around my gym schedule. My gym is called Can Do and it is a magical place. Now I am not the kind of person who can just walk into the gym, hop on the elliptical and do my thing for two hours. I need to be instructed, I need to be yelled at, and usually, I just plain need to have my butt kicked. So I take classes. Ah yes, the dreaded aerobics classes. But these are no aerobics classes - I dance twice a week, kickbox once, take step once (yes, it is outdated, but my friend and instructor, Amy, is fantastic and makes up intricate and challenging choreography), take "muscle definition" twice, take "on the ball" once and work once with my personal trainer (god of all personal training gods).
Now, don't get my wrong, the fantastic classes keep me coming but, what really does it is the fact that I have a large group of friends at the gym. In fact, these people have become some of my best friends who I talk to and hang out with outside the gym. You better believe that if I miss class one day that I will have at least one text or voicemail yelling at me and asking where I am.
The gym is like a second home for me. I feel very comfortable there. Yes, the workouts are grueling, but they are also enjoyable. Beyond that, I love being with my friends and acting like idiots. It is definitely the most motivating workout environment. And trust me, if you knew me or have ever seen my body, you'd know that when it comes to the gym, I need A LOT of motivation.
I've thought about what would happen if I ever decided to move away from where I currently live and I just don't know what I would do. It would really make me depressed. In a weird way, my gym is the number one thing keeping me rooted to my current geographic location. People say it is sick how dedicated I am to my gym - not venturing far from home Friday nights so that I am assured I will be at the gym at 9 a.m. on Saturday, not going out during the week because I have gym classes to attend and constantly hanging out with my gym friends - but for me, it is an active community of which I am part and it is primarily responsible for my physical and mental wellbeing. It really isn't something I can even put into words... you have to experience it to understand, and I hope to be able to enjoy this luxury for a long time to come.
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