Tag Archive for ‘exercise’ at /frekur/blog/

Tag Archive for 'exercise'

busy bee

I just realized that over the next few days this is what I have going on:

Newly loved yoga practice
Four new freelance projects (three new clients!)
Two current freelance projects
Must install and learn CMS system for one of the clients
Yoga
Obama cookout tonight
Rollergirls tomorrow
Yoga
Party tomorrow night
Gym and more yoga
French class Monday nights
White dog cafe lady speaking at the History Museum next Tuesday
Yoga
NCBC meeting next Thursday

All THIS before I leave to visit friends and family in PA next Friday for a week. HOLY HELL. Remember like six weeks ago when I was miserable and bored with life in Raleigh… WELL I WENT AND NIPPED THAT IN THE ASS DIDN’T I?

I talked to my friend Kris from Portland while the BG and I visited and she was telling me how her yoga practice had taken off… she was practicing and going to class like 8 times per week. Insane! I was kind of jealous when she was telling me because she loved her classes and her instructor and she could think about nothing else besides yoga. At the time I hadn’t been doing ANY exercising because I suck, but after our trip the BG and I made more of an effort to work out. Now I think we’ve got it (finally). And my new friend Julianne who incidentally also practices yoga at my YMCA has started motivating me to go to intermediate level classes, where I’m doing surprisingly well I think. (At least I did last night.)

Anyway, it’s all I can think about now. And I’ve been practicing at home more too. While I’m in PA I’m going to bum a class or two off m’s YMCA because we rock like that.

Thank god I have coffee fueling my brain today. CAN’T YOU TELL.

Published

frekur

on September 12, 2008

in french, goals, happiness, learning, the_move, veg*nism, work and yoga

. 1 Comment

at the moment

I got my hair cut a week ago and I swear it was one of the best moves I’ve made in months. My hair looks great, even after I go camping and not shower for two days. SWEET. Plus, since then, I’ve been feeling super cute, super confident, and SUPER HAPPY.

The BG and I went camping in western NC with the THOG group I joined on meetup.com. It was apparently the largest overnight trip the group has ever organized, with 40+ people in attendance. Everyone I’ve met through the group (which has over 2,000 members) has been real nice, very knowledgeable about local/regional outdoor activities and it’s been providing me with a much better perspective on NC. I’ve gone to a few other events and each time I meet different people. I keep pulling the new friends I make to Tuesday night trivia at Napper Tandy’s*, hehe. :)

This weekend we’re headed out to Greensboro to visit some dude who’s really into permaculture. I don’t know anything about it so that’s why I sound dumb but I’m excited to learn. We’ll be heading out with a few students from BG’s permaculture class and hopefully the new knowledge will serve us well when we build our house. After this and some poking around in Greensboro for some good vegetarian food we’re headed west again for a show and a wedding in Asheville on Sunday. Hopefully someone on Couchsurfing will put us up in spite of our last minute attempts at planning on a busy holiday weekend.

I redesigned frekur.com because of a little incident with a client my company works with. The incident was a tad embarrassing, but I think everything is fine now and it kicked me in the ass to revamp the site. I’m also learning more on SEO/google indexing so that’s good, right?

I’ve made a few new improvements to my bicycle, inspired by the recent upgrades the BG did to his new ride. I’m so set now it’s not even funny. Like, set for long-term riding which is really what I wanted in the first place. I’m hoping when the weather cools off a bit the BG and I can get down to business on some longer trips with the bikes. I know he’s itching to get out more, too.

We’ve also been giving the whole exercise thing another go, AND the vegan thing. So far we’re doing awesome and I think the key is… not think about it too much. (Also? Having some Purely Decadent Coconut Milk vegan ice cream around doesn’t hurt either. It’s no Luna and Larry’s, but it’s a pretty delicious alternative to Ben and Jerry’s and the other sugary/gritty vegan alternatives.) I’ve been hauling my ass out of bed earlier in the mornings (like 7am) and getting a TON more done with my day. I’ve been riding about 20 miles a week on my bike and doing the gym about 3-4 times. Granted we’ve only been on it for the past two weeks but I think this time it’s going to stick. I’m motivated, he’s motivated… it’s all good.

With biking, exercising and meeting new people in mind, I’m planning on starting to ride with the North Carolina Bicycle Club. They have several groups that ride, I’d be in the “Slow Pokes” (beginner, non-competitive group). Hehe! They also need a new website and I’ve volunteered to assist them with whatever they need. We’ll see what happens!

*Read: $3-pints-of-Strongbow night.

Published

frekur

on August 28, 2008

in bicycling, design, green living, happiness, learning, relationships, veg*nism and volunteer

. 0 Comments

yes, the eyes stay closed on the elliptical

About once a week I look over the “popular” bookmarks on del.icio.us and the other day I found this page which included this quote:

“Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.” - Edward Stanley

Well, that slapped me in the face because it’s exactly what’s been on my mind lately.

Over the past few years I’ve tried to make gym-going a habitual activity, but moving around a lot and the consequential adjustments leave that priority falling by the wayside. Until recently.

My mother has been complaining a lot about miscellaneous aches and pains and she is at a point where although it would benefit her to work out on a regular basis, she’s simply in too much pain to bear all the movement. It’s a catch-22.

What I’m learning from her is that I shouldn’t wait that long. I am a lucky, lucky girl, being 5′9″ and weighing in at around 125 naturally, with no physical activity whatsoever. But come on, I’m going to be 30 this year and at some point it’s going to get ugly unless I start trying to maintain it. (You know that floppy flab that happens on women in between the arm pit and the elbow? Yea… it’s happening.)

So I’ve been going to the gym for about two weeks now, riding my bike back and forth. And tomorrow I’m signing up for five personal training sessions so that I can integrate some weights (and whatever else) into my routine.

I feel good that I’m getting out and moving around, but my *real* motivation is to blow off some steam on my imaginary dancefloor. See, the elliptical machine is the only thing I really do as far as cardio (plus the bike ride to and fro). And it’s my favorite because my pace is about 130 steps per minute which just about matches the per minute beat count to the music I love to dance to. Actually… getting on the stupid elliptical and the motion that ensues is really the same kind of motion I’d be getting if I were out clubbing with friends anyway, so all I really have to do is close my little eyes and get down. No one knows what the hell I’m doing anyway so who gives a crap if I look like an ass.

The only thing that would make the whole thing better is hopping on the machine with m next to me, we sync up our iPods with the same mix (starting at the same time, of course) and BOTH pretend to be at the club together, only opening our eyes at that killer climax to that awesome song we heard one time back at that rave in ‘01.

Yes, I’m retarded.

Oh whatever, people. At least I’m not on drugs anymore.

Published

frekur

on April 15, 2008

in bicycling, goals, lmawesome and music

. 2 Comments

promises, promises

The idea of “New Year’s Resolutions” kinda pisses me off. Mostly because I just get aggravated when people say a bunch of bullshit that I assume they’ll never follow through on. I’ve been slowly understanding, though, that I jump to conclusions a lot and become bitter over things without any real logic. (Like my absolute distaste for Harry Potter. I’ve never read the books, but I can’t stand the series. See? No logic.)

Anyway. This year I’ve decided to make some changes, whether or not related to the New Year.

1. Not get mad so often over silly things (see above).
2. Call my friends. (M has promised to push me so that I do it.)
3. Work out.
4. Another attempt at veg*nism. (Prompted by the BG… Eeeeee!)
5. Join a CSA, make and preserve food!

The BG and I joined the YMCA yesterday which is *brand new*. It’s listed as such on their website, but I forgot about it until we walked in the door. Needless to say, it’s gorgeous and everyone there is really nice. The yoga and other studio classes (which include pilates, kickboxing and African dancing!) are included in the $37/month price. I’m very excited. It’s less than a mile and a half from where we live which is a great biking distance. We attended yoga together both yesterday and today, and today we worked out in the gym using our bikes to get there and back.

Eeee!

And, I’m (we’re) taking another shot at not eating eggs or cheese… we’ll see how it works out. In addition, we’ve chosen a CSA to join. They drop off the loot weekly at the Whole Foods store for us to pick up, which is super convenient. And the BG has purchased some equipment for us to begin canning food.

Woo! :D

Oh, and just to add to all this excitement? Last night we took a stab at making homemade ravioli which turned out REALLY WELL. Pics coming soon. :D

Published

frekur

on January 5, 2008

in bicycling, food, green living, happiness and yoga

. 1 Comment

unemployed, still

It is amazing the crazy things you think about when you don’t have a job. And, it’s amazing how those crazy things can bring you down at the drop of a hat when you feel bored, insecure and financially trapped.

Aside from freelance work (which doesn’t require that much time), I haven’t had a full time job in a month. That’s the longest I’ve gone without one since I was in college 9 years ago. I’ll say, though, that not once have I doubted my design work. Instead, I’ve let the feeble mindset of the unemployed carry over into other areas of my life (I’ll save you all the stupid details). But this really isn’t the only reason I’ve been a little wishy washy, and I am aware that attention and patience will get me through it.

I had two more interviews last week that went well. Both jobs are interesting to me for different reasons and I believe I could grow and learn in either one.

Last weekend was filled (once again) with of new faces, including a few from Couchsurfing and quite a handful from OkCupid. All of us met for a major night out on Friday that included dinner at a Thai restaurant, a movie at the art museum, and drinks at several pubs in downtown Raleigh. I had an amazing time talking with new people and drinking to new relationships. The BG worked hard arranging the night and it paid off as everyone said they had a great time.

This week I’m shopping for a bike (that has suddenly morphed into my combined birthday and xmas gift from the parents… sometimes being a December baby pays off…) in addition to the continued job search and freelance work. Amazingly, Trex is giving me another project. I thought I wasn’t going to be getting much more work from them (for budget reasons).

All this free time affords me the opportunity to go on field trips with the BG. Together, over the past three weeks, we’ve traveled out of the city to check on his little strawberries and yesterday I also joined him on a farm tour that he was attending. I found it interesting because I had never really been on a farm before.

My goals for this week? Complete one freelance job, start the second, practice yoga three times and buy a bike. Will I have a full time job by Friday?

We’ll see.

Published

frekur

on November 12, 2007

in bicycling, design, relationships, the_other_move, work and yoga

. 0 Comments

updates from raleigh

I hesitate to be honest about Raleigh because I know I’ve seen and experienced very little. I don’t want to make harsh claims or rash decisions based on just shy of three weeks time here. One thing I’ve noticed is how important public transit is to me. It is by far what makes me believe a city has it, or doesn’t. And based on that I’ll say simply that Raleigh definitely doesn’t have it.

Skip the light rail or any subway system, as it doesn’t exist. The buses are confusing, scheduling is unclear and timing is inconvenient. The BG and I attempted to take the bus from the NCSU campus (a healthy ten minute walk from our apartment) into the city, which is less than 2 miles from campus, to the bar. This was around 8pm on a weeknight and the bus never arrived. We waited for an hour.

I took the bus one other time from campus to a job interview. Three transfers and an hour later, I suddenly became trapped as a bus headed back to Raleigh just didn’t exist! Only during rush hours do certain buses run to/from certain places in Research Triangle Park, I learned. (I was headed to the EPA. You’d think this wouldn’t be a problem.) Also, you cannot get to or from the RDU airport on Sundays, as buses don’t run(???).

I felt liberated when I sold off my vehicles in Portland. I started taking the bus everywhere and then I figured I could live even more cheaply by riding my bike. This worked well. A brief look at the bus lines in Raleigh before my move had me thinking that since I’ve spent my whole life basically overlooking public buses that surely all I needed to do was be patient and learn the ways of a new system. Maybe Portland made me a snob by offering cheap, abundant public transit, but I don’t know if I can get by here without owning a vehicle. I guess it will depend on where I end up working.

Anyway.

The apartment is pretty much done for now. We went ahead and bought a mattress last week and it is SWEET. Less than $400 and more comfortable than my Tempurpedic.

I’m also shopping for a bike. I’d like to get a hybrid but it seems like each company does them differently. My preference would be to have something lightweight, comfortable for commuting and also for long road/trail trips. Not sure yet if this is possible, at least for an off the shelf product.

This past weekend we hosted our first Couchsurfer. She was really sweet and hung out with us for most of the weekend. I also met a new friend last weekend, Morgan, and hung out with her this past Friday night with both her boyfriend and the BG. We made fun of the fartsy people in downtown Raleigh for First Friday.

Saturday we drove out to the Chapel Hill area to visit the Weaver Street Market, a co-op and cafe with really delicious food. While we were there we met up with a new friend I met on OkCupid named Mike. We chatted for a bit then broke it off for the afternoon, as the three of us headed back to Raleigh to run some errands and get ready to make a huge homemade taco dinner, to which Mike was invited. The four of us had an awesome meal together and then went out to a pub afterward.

The weekend was great, meeting new friends kicks ass.

Now, I’m back to job searching and freelance work. This Saturday I’m scheduled to start volunteering at the Raleigh Habitat for Humanity ReStore. I’ve also located several yoga studios who teach yoga in the Iyengar tradition, which is similar to what I was enjoying in Portland. (I’m lining up the yoga and Spanish classes for when I get a job.)

I’ve been doing pretty well with my home yoga. I practice about every other day (except this past weekend) and have been able to do a few poses I wasn’t comfortable doing in my fast paced classes in Portland. That is the tradeoff with home practice; you get time to focus on practicing poses that are difficult and really customize a routine that you feel works for you (and it’s free), but you don’t get the attention from an instructor that really helps you ensure proper posture and position in the poses. I’m looking forward to attending classes once or twice a week to supplement my home routine.

Published

frekur

on November 5, 2007

in bicycling, complaining, relationships, the_other_move, volunteer and yoga

. 0 Comments