Raising the Bar

It's not my usual day of writing but it hasn't been my usual morning.

The week has been intense, tiring, the five hour a night sleep because I've pushed the boundaries of work, play, and Skype.  By yesterday afternoon, I was spent and the last thing I wanted to do this morning was to awaken at 5:00, gear up the car and drive an hour to try my hand at open water swimming with my fellow aspiring half-iron training group.  I wanted to sleep in not publicly flail.  My post-reading-water-and-a-movie self reasoned that an 8:15 barre class would be a good start to the weekend.  I have never been to a barre class but have heard it described and thought, why not?  Knowing that it had a reputation for being quite intense, I was beginning at the Y; I knew they didn't have a bar but instead use chairs and add in a few other exercises.

"Chairs, I can do that."

So this morning, I snoozed my alarm until 7:38, left the house at 7:45 and arrived promptly to the gym at 8:00 for the 8:15 start.  So far, so good.  I knew the instructor, and she and another student helped me with the set-up.  Oh, and no shoes.  With all the props and bare feet, I had the thought that it was like Iyengar yoga.  This would be removed from my brain with the warm-up set.  The instructor mentioned planks.

"Planks?  I do those every day.  I've got this."

"Will I sweat?", I asked the veteran student?  "A little," she replied.

And so it began.  At the beginning of the class, I was aware there was music but at some point the echo of my heart beat replaced all rhythm emanating from those little speakers.  I was sweating.  Not the dainty sweat of the rest of the class but the "I just ran 5 miles" kind.  My legs trembled in spots I didn't know had muscles.  As I sip my coffee, I'm still trying to forget the words "pulse" and "tiny movements" and "on your toes."   ON YOUR TOES.  Who knew such words would cause my hips to scream for mercy as we did the "double-time" set.

We started to stretch finally.  I was excited.  "Are we finished?" I asked hopefully.  No, she said, "we're only halfway!".  Oh my.

Enter stage left:  planks.  On gliders.  GLIDERS.  Elevated.  "Just 10 more."  These were the words that nearly brought spontaneous tears.  I won't write the words that went through my head like a mantra, but let's just say they were "Holy".

"Gliders can be put away."  Grateful.

Enter an ab ball.  Not grateful.

Now I've used a ball once in my life to the entertainment of my sister.  Now I was miraculously rolled on it with my "heavy" weight set dangling over my body.  First set, fine.  Second set, burn, but fine.  Change to the smaller weights?  Mine were out of reach.  "I'll just use these so I don't fall off the ball," I thought with assurance that I had made the right choice.

Weights above my face?  Change hand position while arms elevated?  I began a series of earnest prayers entitled "Please don't let me drop one of these on my nose" while my arms trembled overhead.  And raised bridge with pulses on a ball?  I wasn't sure I would make it.

With the remaining energy and a "dig deep" pep talk, I finished the class.  Apologies to the person who uses my blue mat as I forgot to wipe it down after.  This thought only occurred to me much later.  I hope you'll understand and have forgiveness for a newbie with trembling arms and legs.

Namaste.

I Play Chicken with a ...

“The train is a small world moving through a larger world.”

― Elisha Cooper, Train

Arm out window stopped at the tracks
Americana, IL May 2014

On this particular Saturday, I had two moments with a train.  The above was taken en route to a BBQ festival* and the other while stopping for a minute to sit along Lakeshore for a break during a run.  A gentleman stopped by, asked if he could sit with my friend and me and said he rode trains.  He had been in Birmingham (beaten by the police), Memphis (didn't like) and Chicago (his favorite).  "Look at this view" he said while sweeping his left hand.  "Just keep doing what you're doing" his parting words before stepping away.

*Nothing beats Southern BBQ.  Sorry, Chitown.

60 seconds

I hope you have a nice long weekend and have the opportunity to take pause for those fallen. The holiday dates back to 1868 with the idea to decorate graves for those lost in war.  Three p.m. local is the recommended time for a minute of silence by the National Moment of Remembrance.

Union Station, May 2014
Chicago, IL 

Starlight, Star Bright

A nod to anyone who has shared reading water tonight and discussed books, life, poetry, the Lakers or just looked up at the sky and been mesmerized for a few short moments.  I am thankful that our journeys have overlapped.

Raindrops on Windowsills and Water in Glasses

Yesterday was a gloriously rainy day.  The early morning training was canceled so I could sleep in a few more hours and then visit the gym late.  I could have tea AND coffee and catch up on correspondence.  I could finish errands in the afternoon and then sit quietly on the sofa with a glass of reading water and finish The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.  It was a good day.

My review of the novel will have to wait since it's an upcoming August GBC read and I'm a believer in "no spoilers".  I do feel after having finished it though that I should revisit parts of the beginning as there are a few threads which still are not yet clear.

A reminder to sprint to the finish for the May reads: your choice of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen or Death Comes to Pemberly by P.D. James.

Take a Dip

Amazon provides many wonderful deliveries.  In 85% of the small Prime boxes, I receive paper items but there's a solid five percent devoted to the art of swimming:  goggles, fins, caps, and today, a swimming metronome.  The first time I swam with a metronome, I had flashbacks to seventh grade piano and a teacher who kept tempo with a pencil.  Now I'm much more relaxed and swimming is more akin to waltzing through the water with the occasional fox trot to jazz things up a bit.

With swimming on the brain and a soft spot for childrens' books, this NYT review caught my eye: Suitable Swimming:  ‘Queen Victoria’s Bathing Machine’ and ‘Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas’.  The Queen and an elephant seal will give you a mid-week lift.

See you Later Alligator-ade

Some events happen in slow motion; dry Gatorade powder falling from the top of a refrigerator does not.  One appreciates the full thrust of 9.82 meters per second square as the canister slips just out of your reach onto the floor.  At this point, a cloud of dust (orange in this case) will rise like a summer storm enveloping your kitchen space only to fall gingerly, slowly, encompassing regions you never even considered with a grainy powder.  It's worse than glitter.

As a nod to anyone else who has vacuumed themselves as their last departing act for a Monday morning, First in Thirst: How Gatorade Turned the Science of Sweat Into a Cultural Phenomenon by Darren Rovell.

Week End

This week has gone by in a blur of multi-state travel, excel spreadsheets, a Field Day, and a wedding.  [I think every manager should have to instruct groups of K-5th graders to create a circle quickly.  This was test one's ability to vary communication to an audience.]

I'm still making progress on The Goldfinch.  Hope you're having a good weekend filled with things that make your heart happy.

I'm on a Boat II

sometimes days run from 7 to midnight and there's no time to read
you manage a morning paper and a few lines from social feed
evening boat with wind in your hair and water's good deed
lucky yet, a view for a sunset succeed

Tell Me About It

With the sun making its slow drop across the sky and perhaps your evening reading water in hand on the porch, this interview with Lynn Barber is just the thing to hold the Sundays at bay just a bit longer.  Decca Aitkenhead had me laughing more than a few times with her piece.  Barber seems like just the woman we would love to have at a GBC meeting.  Her second memoir is out this month:  A Curious Career.  

From Sea to Shining

...
I leave, imagining myself on the stern of a ship
nosing into Ellis Island, looking back at
the green lady, looking back, back at the sea.

from Ellis Island by J.R. Solonche

Looking back at Ellis Island
April 2014

Bonanza

On a morning like this, I'm not sure there is enough coffee.  Anywhere.

For any other kid who who has stood on the stage and tried to make their well through the spelling hierarchy (definition please), I found this little NPR piece a fun listen.  (Of course, it gave me flash backs, but it's a still a good piece.)

You don't ever forget your last word, and you won't ever misspell it again.

Skaal!

I'm grateful that exercise left me exhausted this weekend so that I could curl up on the sofa to finish The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson.  It was a fun summer read and the cameos by well-known political figures were great.  The story moved well and the characters were likeable with their quirky, dotted pasts.  Several parts made me laugh aloud.

There were a very highlight-able quotes including this one (p 136):

"Never try to outdrink a Swede, unless you happen to be a Finn or at least a Russian"

If you've ever been drinking in Finland or Russia with Finns, Swedes, Norwegians, Russians, and Germans, you know this to be true (especially if you're in a revolving restaurant or anywhere near a sauna).  But we'll save these stories for another day.  Hope a great week ahead!

Change for a 100?

I'm quite hooked on the 100 year old man who abandoned his birthday party.  I like the panache of a man who takes on the world armed with slippers and enough money for a bus fare to an unknown destination.

That this centenarian would also steal luggage?  He's inspiration to the blue-hair/no hairs across retirement communities everywhere.

I want him to succeed because I wouldn't want to die in a stale home either.  I want him to have a set of adventures that makes 100 worth every breath.  As I approach a milestone birthday, I want to continually have the courage to take the path less traveled because what's life without a little adventure and friends who respond to your crazy ideas with "Why not"?

Here Comes the Bride

I love (other people's) weddings. I love the excitement, anticipation, and joy that's on everyone's face on those moments leading up to the "I do."  I love observing the mild rush, the swishing dresses, and the final check of lipstick before someone walks down an aisle.

Over the weekend, there were two wedding parties and one bachelorette party near the hotel.  One bride told her me her bridesmaids were wearing "blush".  I said, "Bashful?"  She said, "No".  She was at least a decade younger so I'm not sure she got the joke.

This photo below is my view as a "wedding guest" for yet another wedding from the second story restaurant above.

A Stranger's Wedding
Puerto Rico, May 2013

[Author's note from "Lessons Learned the Expensive Way":  if you, as the bride, do not share these same emotions of pure bliss and/or your invitations are accidentally sent to Tanzania, probably better not to wear the dress.]

Lucky by 3

My poolside reading list:

• Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan (referral by GBC K1m - thank you and belated birthday greetings!)
• The 100-Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson (crowd-sourced, suggested by Amazon, and really, who wouldn't like to climb out the window, 100 years old or not?)
• Lucky by Alice Sebold (been in my queue on and off and at $2.99, I couldn't resist the download)

Cheers!

Door Number 2

I always seem to have dozens of books floating around in my brain until the moment I need to select my next read...then my mind goes blank.  Depending on the "where" of reading (airplane, deck, sofa, bed), I either stand in front of my bookcase searching for something yet untouched or peruse books for Kindle wondering "why would Amazon ever suggest that?"  (Then I remember I downloaded a dozen books for my Mom and a few for sis and realize that the algorithm that suggests my next read may be off by a decade or at least a  history book or two.)

So, time for another search and hoping that a bit of inspiration lands on me like a butterfly.

Note:  If the author happens to be a bit more sporadic on the posting this weekend, it may due to her long weekend of the three R's:  reading, resting, and reading water.    

Walk the Plank or Make a Lunge?

All the book news today highlights Dan Brown's latest work Inferno.  (You're on your own here.)

I'm going to buck the trend and go with fitness.  Related:  Did I mention later this week I will be donning a swimsuit outdoors for the first time this season?

Perusing recent stories in NYT, I discovered The Scientific 7-Minute Workout.  With a fairly nerdy background, I'm drawn to anything that includes the work "Scientific" in the title (as if this gives an article more weight.).  The NYT Scientific study takes about 2 minutes to read so it's a fine pairing for your morning coffee.  I incorporate many of the exercises into my weekly training but now I'm curious as to what could happen if performed sequentially.  Data set pending.

(Note:  read the Journal article if you want the science; NYT was just the hook.)

Rock the Casbah

My sister and I always swap book titles of our recent reads during our visits.  In the historical fiction category it was Carter Beats the Devil for Riven Rock by T.C. Boyle.  From a scan of the GoodReads reviews, it is a very polarizing book (love or hate it).  She loves it.  My tastes tend to mirror hers and after reading the first twenty or so pages, I'll add it to my list.  I should have ample time later this week to knock out a book or two.  I can't wait.

Hope you have had a lovely weekend.

Saturday Walk-Around

"Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations."

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Walden

NYC Public Library
April 2013