Hi everyone. Hope you are all enjoying the weekend.
It's been a long, tiring week here, for reasons I would prefer not to go into. Some work-related, some personal, some family, and others just general weariness. This has been an endless, brutal winter, and it has taken a toll. Hopefully I will shake the blahs/doldrums in short order.
Rather than dwell on the negatives, I will briefly mention a few positive things that have taken place recently.
First, I started a new exercise program, called Pure Barre. It's an intensive 55-minute workout that uses isometric exercises centered around the ballet barre.
If you read this blog semi-regularly, you know that one of my biggest frustrations the past two years has been the perfect storm seemingly designed to ensure I cannot exercise. I am an exercise junkie; always have been.
But literally from the moment I accepted this job (I fell and broke three ribs the day I accepted the position), I have dealt with a horrid commute, stressful job (I collapsed in the office), and various injuries, illnesses, and depression. And now this endless winter.
I went from being in the best shape of my life - which was my avowed goal upon starting to transition - to the worst shape of my life since starting here.
I finally decided I simply had to will myself to start again, no matter how packed my schedule is. Accordingly, I started Pure Barre this week with a private session.
I will not lie. I was horrible. I pride myself on being in prime condition, and I am as far from that as I have ever been in my life.
I had to stop frequently because I was out of breath, and on one occasion I was afraid I would pass out. But I told the trainer (who was wonderful) that I was determined to finish. And I did.
Afterwards, the owner and several women attending the next scheduled class congratulated me for my first session (they were all very nice, by the way, particularly the staff). The owner asked me afterwards how I felt.
"Nauseous, light-headed, and shaky," I replied. "It's fantastic!"
She laughed - because she knew I meant it.
I've vowed that I am going to do whatever it takes to be in the best shape of my life by the end of this year. And I will.
I've been feeling a bit iffy the past 24-36 hours; I get sick without fail every year between Thanksgiving and New Years Day and then again in March, and have for as long as I can remember. Rather than risk infecting others, I wound up canceling two classes I signed up for this weekend.
I'm not happy about it; in fact, it's one reason I'm feeling a bit down. But it is what it is. I did some light exercise at home the past two days, using several exercise videos I purchased. I canceled my class tomorrow as well, but if I'm feeling a bit better, I'll use one of the videos and go for a walk too.
It's one step ahead, as the song goes.
I also had a makeover several weeks ago at Bare Minerals. I will write more about this in my next post, for reasons that will make sense then, but I wanted to mention it briefly now and share a few pictures.
I actually had a makeover last winter - seven months before I even went outside as myself. I can thank April for convincing me to go. Again, I will write about it next time, but it was an important step in my transition, even if I did not recognize it as such as the time.
I was pleased with the results of that effort, but even happier with the result of this one. Again, details to follow, but for now I will say that I can almost envision myself being able to pull off some semblance of this look with a lot of practice. That, and, oh, two or three hours a day. ("So sorry to miss the meeting again, everyone. But good news: the paramedics are pretty certain they can get remove the eyelash curler with only minimal damage this time.")
Anyway, I thought I would share a few photos I took afterwards. I'm not sure why the lighting is so weird, but this was the best that I could get. And all joking aside, the makeup artist did a wonderful job.
Have a lovely Sunday, everyone!
I don't post nearly enough from one of my favorite songwriters, Neil Finn, so here's another one from his days with Split Enz:
And here's what I consider to be one of a small handful of absolutely perfect songs - "I Got You":
Most songs have a hook; in this case the entire song is a hook. And he was 20 years old when he wrote this! Amazing.
I would also add that while perusing some videos of the band from this era I noticed more than how wonderful their music is. I was more than a little smitten with how cute Neil was! lol In fact, thirty-plus years later, he still has the same boyish good looks. I hope to see him when he plays locally in a few months…
It's been a long, tiring week here, for reasons I would prefer not to go into. Some work-related, some personal, some family, and others just general weariness. This has been an endless, brutal winter, and it has taken a toll. Hopefully I will shake the blahs/doldrums in short order.
Rather than dwell on the negatives, I will briefly mention a few positive things that have taken place recently.
First, I started a new exercise program, called Pure Barre. It's an intensive 55-minute workout that uses isometric exercises centered around the ballet barre.
If you read this blog semi-regularly, you know that one of my biggest frustrations the past two years has been the perfect storm seemingly designed to ensure I cannot exercise. I am an exercise junkie; always have been.
But literally from the moment I accepted this job (I fell and broke three ribs the day I accepted the position), I have dealt with a horrid commute, stressful job (I collapsed in the office), and various injuries, illnesses, and depression. And now this endless winter.
I went from being in the best shape of my life - which was my avowed goal upon starting to transition - to the worst shape of my life since starting here.
I finally decided I simply had to will myself to start again, no matter how packed my schedule is. Accordingly, I started Pure Barre this week with a private session.
I will not lie. I was horrible. I pride myself on being in prime condition, and I am as far from that as I have ever been in my life.
I had to stop frequently because I was out of breath, and on one occasion I was afraid I would pass out. But I told the trainer (who was wonderful) that I was determined to finish. And I did.
Afterwards, the owner and several women attending the next scheduled class congratulated me for my first session (they were all very nice, by the way, particularly the staff). The owner asked me afterwards how I felt.
"Nauseous, light-headed, and shaky," I replied. "It's fantastic!"
She laughed - because she knew I meant it.
I've vowed that I am going to do whatever it takes to be in the best shape of my life by the end of this year. And I will.
I've been feeling a bit iffy the past 24-36 hours; I get sick without fail every year between Thanksgiving and New Years Day and then again in March, and have for as long as I can remember. Rather than risk infecting others, I wound up canceling two classes I signed up for this weekend.
I'm not happy about it; in fact, it's one reason I'm feeling a bit down. But it is what it is. I did some light exercise at home the past two days, using several exercise videos I purchased. I canceled my class tomorrow as well, but if I'm feeling a bit better, I'll use one of the videos and go for a walk too.
It's one step ahead, as the song goes.
***
I also had a makeover several weeks ago at Bare Minerals. I will write more about this in my next post, for reasons that will make sense then, but I wanted to mention it briefly now and share a few pictures.
I actually had a makeover last winter - seven months before I even went outside as myself. I can thank April for convincing me to go. Again, I will write about it next time, but it was an important step in my transition, even if I did not recognize it as such as the time.
I was pleased with the results of that effort, but even happier with the result of this one. Again, details to follow, but for now I will say that I can almost envision myself being able to pull off some semblance of this look with a lot of practice. That, and, oh, two or three hours a day. ("So sorry to miss the meeting again, everyone. But good news: the paramedics are pretty certain they can get remove the eyelash curler with only minimal damage this time.")
Anyway, I thought I would share a few photos I took afterwards. I'm not sure why the lighting is so weird, but this was the best that I could get. And all joking aside, the makeup artist did a wonderful job.
***
I don't post nearly enough from one of my favorite songwriters, Neil Finn, so here's another one from his days with Split Enz:
And here's what I consider to be one of a small handful of absolutely perfect songs - "I Got You":
Most songs have a hook; in this case the entire song is a hook. And he was 20 years old when he wrote this! Amazing.
I would also add that while perusing some videos of the band from this era I noticed more than how wonderful their music is. I was more than a little smitten with how cute Neil was! lol In fact, thirty-plus years later, he still has the same boyish good looks. I hope to see him when he plays locally in a few months…
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