The GGA Project -- Day #25 "Lunch with Ducks"

I don't know about y'all, but I can go pretty crazy being indoors all day.  The bank I work at has two full walls of windows, so that's really nice.  But still, it's indoors.  Not only that, our break room has no windows and shines the most terrible, depressing fluorescent lighting ever.  Plus, somebody is always watching a crap judge show in there, and passing my free hour in that way is definitely not a very inspiring departure from work.

I was super bummed to learn, on my first day working there, that the rather large shopping center where the bank is located does not have a single bench outdoors for sittin' and PB & J-ing on, if one were so inclined.  It seemed I was destined to spend my lunch hours in my car (which I do sometimes, and that's ok I suppose).

There is really nothing, nothing at all in the way of outdoors attractions in Newark, aside from Ardenwood Historic Farm (which is actually pretty awesome, in a quaint and mellow kind of way).  They have animals there for the kiddies to behold, an old Victorian home to tour, rows and rows of beautiful organic crops, a big old shed full of outmoded farm equipment, and a horse-drawn train ride (yes, I said a *horse*-drawn train ride).  I visited there with my friend Ramon a few months back, and I found it to be quite charming.  But the farm is too much for a lunchtime trip.

So I was happy when a coworker mentioned spending lunchtime at a nearby lake.  Lake?  Since when?   And I decided to spend my lunch doing

Today's New Activity: Lunch at Lakeshore Park

"Lake" is perhaps on the generous side.  It is better described as a really big pond which seems to have been very purposefully placed there to add property value to all the nearby tract homes.  It doesn't matter; it still attracts the beautiful geese and ducks and plethora of other birdies that any legit lake would.

Even the half hour I spent sitting outside in the sun (what a beautiful day, too, especially for the middle of winter!) was refreshing, and a much better way to pass the lunch than with Divorce Court.

And I am totally spent without an ounce of workable brain power left.  So I will end this abruptly without even so much as glancing to check that I've made any sense at all.

Before I go though, a word of advice:  Don't ever eat at Olive Garden.  I did on accident tonight.  You (all of us) can do much, much better, especially for the downright silly prices they're charging these days.

Ok, toodaloo.

The GGA Project -- Day #24 "Scissor Kick"

As mentioned before, I can get a little bored of the same fitness routine.  So I was happy to discover, in my Mom's dvd collection, a five-part series of pilates workouts from Mari Winsor.


I had been thinking of looking into pilates because I was advised that practicing it regularly might assist me in a GGA playdate I have planned for a few months from now.  Haha...I just realized how ambiguous that sounds.  I think I'll just leave it hanging like that...


Being nothing if not an obedient student, I thought I'd go ahead and, for Today's New Activity: Give Pilates a Try


I like the idea of a practice that gets me fit in different ways than I accustomed to, I'd love to switch it up a bit, and all the super fine-bodied actresses seem to dig pilates.  No obvious downside here.


I chose two workouts:  the abs; and the bun & thigh workout (incidentally, I really dislike the word "bun" or "buns" or "tush" or the worst: "heiny."  I vote for "butt" or "ass."  Just for the record).  The bun and thigh was fine...felt some burn but the good kind.


The abs workout was pretty good for the first three quarters through, until I got to this ridiculous move that I still can't even figure out, logistically.  See, the only bad thing about this set of workouts is that they all involve some patented resistance band (and she's sure to point out the "Winsor Logo" every time she's describing where on the band to place your hands) that seems to have gone AWOL.  I used a somewhat stretchy scarf I have instead, and that worked fine for most moves.  But this one I'm talking about...I just have no idea.


I tried to find a clip of the exact move on Youtube but I can't.  Too bad because I was excited to invite any readers to give it a try and report back.  Anyway, it was all good, excepting that.  The best part was that I could do it in the room where Chupi is sleeping, so I didn't need to kick anyone off a T.V. or put on a workout performance in the middle of the living room for the benefit of the household.


Oh, but the funny thing about these particular dvds is that the guru herself, Mari Winsor, never actually does any working out.  She just hovers above these other people telling them what to do and offering up the occasional encouraging phrase.  Here, check her out:

No matter; I'm sure she's done her time in the torture chamber.


Anyway, I'll be happy to get some more practice and be able to work out to these videos without the spaz out interludes.  And maybe I'll be ready for that playdate when the time comes...

Heard Words

And in a new segment I'm introducing just because I love words and know I have other word nerd friends out there:  Here are some good, rarely-used-in-conversation words I was happy to hear recently:  "halcyon," used by a county employee I had business with:  "I have no doubt these submissions were meant to depict the more halcyon days."  And then "svelte," used by a friend referring to the holiday eats:  "But I'm afraid I'm not as svelte as I was two weeks ago."  Finally, "demagogue," used by another friend via chat:  Me: "BTW do you own stock in this company or something? [he was pushing a techie thing on me]  Friend:  "No, I'm just a demigog (sp?)" I dock victory points on that one, however, on account of misspelling, for the record :P

The GGA Project -- Day #8 "84 Floors"

I try to get to the gym at least 3 days a week.  I am not, by even the loosest of interpretations, any kind of fitness buff.  I pretty much have to force myself to go most nights, and I am only able to do so by making myself vividly imagine the good, serotonin a-flowin' feeling I will experience when the ordeal is over with.  Mostly, that works.  (Though sometimes it's easier to get myself to go because it can be a treasured bit of time to myself, during which I listen to music, think through things, and just be alone.  We all need that!)


One of the things that can make the gym seem like a chore is getting in a rut.  In line with my not being a fitness buff, there are plenty of machines I don't know how to use, and I'm shy about looking dumb trying to figure it out; additionally, the last thing I want to do is attract the attention of a trainer by asking them and accidentally purchasing a personal trainer package I don't want.


So sometimes I just have to bite the bullet and figure out something new to do, just to break up the monotony.


Today's New Activity: Stairmaster, Ah Ah Ah

I was super intimidated by the Stairmaster.  I don't know why...it just seemed impossible to me to be walking up stairs for a half hour straight.  WHY would you want to walk up stairs for half an hour straight?  But then, why would you want to run, elliptic, or stationarily bicycle either?  The answer is always the same: it's just what you do if you wanna lose the post-baby blubber, keep your heart in shape, blah blah blah.


But the Stairmaster was actually a pleasant surprise, mostly because I realized that being so high up on a machine meant being super close to the air vent, and that made the whole work out much more bearable.  I was also going pretty slowly (level 4 of 20 for starters), so that made it easier too, while ensuring I could search for music to listen to on my iPhone with little to no danger of tripping to my death.  So it'll be nice to add that to the list of possible torture devices I can carry out my business on at the gym.


But speaking of music...  I discovered when I got to the gym that my iPod was out of juice, and since I can't bear to listen to the cheeseball music they pump in through the speakers, I resorted to my iPhone and figured I'd find some videos on YouTube to play.  But what to play?


For some reason, when I'm working out, my alter-ego of a music fan takes over and I end up listening to stuff I would never be interested in outside of the gym environment.  It's because what I'm most interested in during that time is a good beat.  So I listen to a lot of pop and top 40 kind of stuff.  Justin Timberlake?  Yes.  Akon?  Sure.  Shakira?  Why the hell not.


But today's video choices surprised even me in this way.  I walked up stairs for a half hour set to Lady Gaga. Weeks ago I never would have considered this.  As a vegetarian, I was pretty thoroughly disgusted by her little raw meat dress stunt at the VMAs.  I still am.  And yet, I can't deny a good beat and a catchy hook.

And also, her voice is great live, which I admire greatly.


So the gym pretty much felt like an all new experience today, which is great.  Knowing it's possible will keep me going there with not too much kicking and screaming.