Aerial Arts

Yesterday, Jayna and I sullenly left work together and just lingered outside the office. We were stircrazy and wanted to just DO something, but it was such cold and annoying weather. The other day we walked to the Chelsea Piers and hung out on the seaside, looking at New Jersey, but it was too cold to stay for long. We were talking about how much there was to do in New York and we wanted to get out more than an occasional happy hour. I remembered the Groupon for NYC that day: an Aerial Dance Class, and I brought it up jokingly, but we bought it anyway. So, redeemable at a time of our choosing, Jayna and I will one day soon be taking a class in the aerial dance arts... that's the kind where you wrap yourself up in the curtains and all. Should be... interesting! There's always something to try out, and I'm glad I have Jayna in the same mindset to venture out with me!



I am LOLLING everywhere imagining us trying to do this.

In other news, lately I've been learning: shit happens. There's no other choice but to dust yourself off and pick yourself up again. There's no easier place in the world to do this and get lost in the mix than New York City

Where Is My Mind?

Sooo, the last hold out on joining our fitness website was Jenny... and guess who just joined?? YES, we have converted the last nansayer! The best part about this thing is that it's impossible not to get sucked in. The minute you start seeing how much you eat actually adds up to, it's impossible not to care or be cautious. And just look at the picture Jenny put up for her profile:



This is why I love her!

Last bit o' news: my latest song obsession is "Where Is My Mind?" by The Pixies. Just like The Helio Sequence, the rambuctious beats and electric riffs with the cynical lyrics help me to get through the day.

A Breath of Fresh Page

I would like to start by saying that I was pleasantly surprised yesterday by learning that I won the March Madness bracket between me and my friends back in San Diego!! They consider it all blood money though, since the clincher was the fact that I correctly guessed UConn to win over SDSU and I am a vile traitor to their SDSU hearts. To be fair, in my work bracket I took SDSU even further, and I was just mixing it up and optimizing my chances! Looks like it worked, eh guys?



Gaucho F'in Locos, right on top like I like to see!!

In other news, yesterday I went to the Barnes & Noble in Greenwich Village to finally cash in on the $50 gift card I got over the holidays from my boss. (I just love the Village, I think it's my favorite neighborhood in NYC.) Originally I was thinking about buying Waiting for Superman, that book about the educational crisis in the US, but I have never gotten over my love of classics and literature.

I've read a lot of these modern day pieces that are highly praised like Life of Pi, but I would still prefer to read Jane Eyre or Anna Karenina a dozen times before trying to pick up a contemporary novel, although I just enjoy reading enough that I will get to them eventually. So as a bit of a compromise, I picked up the long-recommended to me by Pam Shantaram, and Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. The first time I ever picked up such a meaty book was when I undertook a Tolstoy in the summer of 2007 when I had just returned from France and had really nothing to do. Having such a thick volume in your hands is so satifying, and working through and turning each page is it's own little reward. So can you tell it's been awhile since I've bought a new book?





So happy to have the start of my subway / summer reading secured. Shantaram sits expectantly in my purse as I type this up.

March Sadness

Even though the semi finals haven't even been played yet, with the 27 brackets submitted, my work has already declared a winner... and it wasn't me! Wah wah wah.

On Sunday at noon, Steven Apple (affectionately called Sapple by staff), who has been tallying the brackets, had sent an update email which included the following bulletpoints of possible scenarios:

1. Kentucky beats North Carolina and VCU beats Kansas: Khadija would take the lead and hope that UConn doesn’t win it all. Experts do not favor this scenario, but as CBS’s Gus Johnson* would say, “ This is March Madness!”
2. UNC beats Kentucky but Kansas loses to VCU: Kristin Kelley would win if UNC wins it all. Experts think this could happen, but isn’t likely due to the KU-VCU component. But again, this is March Madness!
3. UConn wins it all: Caroline “Pick ‘Em” Smeallie wins the pool. She is currently tied for 15th, thus proving that if she can still win, it really is March Madness! Experts seem to be coming around on this one as a real possibility.

There are tons of scenarios for 2nd ($25) and 3rd ($10), but as far as yours truly can decipher, only Daniel “Senor” Rojas, Khadija Moorehead, Kristin Kelley and Caroline “Pick ‘Em” Smeallie have a chance to win the pool ($100).



So you can imagine all the hope I had for North Carolina!! Tough break, and now I didn't even crack the top 3. I guess this is why they call it gambling!

P.S. Happy 25th Lady Gaga! Yes she is younger than me O_o

Eleven for Eleven!

Last night I attended the March happy hour for work. I have never missed one of these monthly gatherings at the Triple Crown downstairs yet! And I've been attending them since May of 2010. And this isn't including the supplemental summer bracers and end of summer celebrations and holiday party. It's always so nice to socialize with coworkers coupled with a few free drinks.



Also, I don't know if it's in my head, but I actually feel like my clothes are fitting me better? Could that be true after 4 days?? Anyways, I need to go buy a scale because I am supposed to weigh in with this program I'm doing, and the problem is that I actually have no idea how much I weighed to begin with, so I won't be able to measure how much I've actually lost. However, EVERYONE at my work is getting into this thing so it is AWESOME!! It's so fun that we're ALL doing it now, and they say you lose 3X the weight when you do it with friends.

Oh, and at happy hour I was glued to the TV screens once I realized the SDSU and BYU games were on. I had both SDSU and BYU to win. Ouch. It's amazing how your perspective of a game changes when there's money on it. Even so, still sad for SDSU. I forever love my Riverside boy #15 Kawhi Leonard.

FaceTime!

Did I mention that I finally got an iPhone 4 on Tuesday of this week? HOLY. MOLY. I have paid my dues though. I have been using an iPod shuffle and had a no-name Nokia phone from the '90s for the past few years, so needless to say this is a HUGE upgrade! I was so overwhelmed and scared just handling this thing, but I used a birthday giftcard to buy a fabulous OtterBox case for it, so I feel better about it. Last night I was able to FaceTime with my mom and sisters as I made dinner. Soooo crazy! Talk about technology, but I'm so happy with it. I feel like this phone has so much potential that I'm not using. Can anyone recommend some apps or anything for me to look into??

An update on my fitness regime? AMAZING! It has been SO MUCH EASIER every day to be watching what I'm eating and working out. I really think that I just needed to take that first step, and it seems to be going great! I'm eager for time to pass and get really used to these habits and it be integrated into my lifestyle. By the way, on my fitness website, I was encouraged to find a "motivating picture" and I wasn't sure which end of the motivation spectrum I was supposed to pick, as in what I look like now or what I want to look like (lulz) but I went with this one below, taken in June 2008 at the rehearsal dinner of the De Mint wedding I was a bridesmaid in. This is my goal!



Last of all, I walked outside this morning to a light dusting of SNOW on everything. What the heck! It's officially spring! Last Friday it was in the 70s here... and suddenly the trees are outlined in white, Central Park ground is all a thin layer of white... what happened?? I'm not THAT upset about it, but I'm looking forward to colorful spring skirts without wool stockings soon. One day!

Happy Birf Mama : 200!

Not 200 years old, but it's my 200th post today on this blogosphere. Wowee zowee.

(Les Chevaux des Girodins in Bordeaux, France)

Soooo happy birf Mom, I hope you're not at work reading this and get fired. Lulz.