The Voice Of Reason

Note to self... you know the gym is going to be busier on a Monday after work. Why don't you wait until Tuesday? Because you're a numpty and you keep forgetting.
Not only is it busier, but the reason it's a pain in the backside is because of the knobs that sit on a machine and use it for forty thousand sets rather than get up in between and let someone else use it. I'm not aggressive enough to ask. And you know what? The women in the gym never do this. They do their two sets and get off. 5 minutes tops.  I'm left wandering around looking for a machine that I like to use to be free. I can do some things with the free weights and I do but the set up in the gym since it's moved doesn't seem to have any incline benches to do some of the other exercises that you can do instead of using a machine. Well, they may have them but they're in the back where the muscle bound heavy lifters are and very few women intrude. They don't bother you but it's still intimidating.

Goodlife decided they wouldn't build a womens' only section in the new location which sucks. I think most of the new Goodlifes don't have them though a few of the older ones still around do. Problem is not having a car, it's very inconvenient to go to one of those after work and I just won't go if i had to do that. When they were right in Scotia Square, they had a small womens' area, it had crap machines but it had a couple of treadmills, bikes and eliptical machines, a full set of weights and two benches. They expanded, moved across the street and it's a nice place, but there are two things wrong with it. One is the elimination of the womens' area and the other is the area they have for the private personal trainers and clients. It's all out in the open and just roped off. I do understand that they can now share that spot with other trainers and clients though that gets a bit too much as well if there's more than two pairs there. Before, they had a room that was closed off and you didn't have to worry about people watching you. But it could only be booked for one trainer and client at a time, the rest would have to work out with trainers out in the main gym so I *can* see their point.

Now that I"m not using a trainer it's moot. (paying for a wedding instead, y'all!) Anyway, I am still going to the gym, though it's harder to push myself there without the incentive of having to meet the trainer but i'm managing at least twice a week most weeks. There's enough of an improvement both with the stability of my lower back and a bit of an improvement with my blood pressure to provide me with reasons not to stop. We get a good rate through work with payroll deduction.

Oooh speaking of payroll deduction, did i mention that they're *finally* organizing an employee transit pass for us at a discount that we can pay through payroll and which is good for the whole year? Not having to get a new pass each month and it's still tax deductable. I think it will have a photo id or it will be a photo pass. The discount is something like 25% but the savings will be a taxable benefit. Even so, the amount taxed on the savings will still be less than the tax refund on the deduction. The government allows monthly and yearly transit passes to be used as a deduction on your income tax and it does make a difference in the refund amount though I'm not really sure how much it worked out to.  Because the transit is part of the City government which is where I work, I've been bitching for years that we should have some sort of staff discount.

They want to encourage people to take the bus, it would make sense to start at their own doorstep and finally now they are. They've been offering students a ridiculously cheap student pass that is good for the university year (Sept. to May) and is mandatory and part of their tuition now. It's something stupid like $150 for the student year. Consider that buying a student pass currently costs $70 a month (adult passes are $78) and you can see how good a deal that is. I"m sure some students bitch that they won't use the pass so why are they being charged for it and I'm sure Transit makes a bucket load of money because of the thousands of students in this city at universities, I'm betting probably half of them won't use it at all or very little because parking is still a pain in the butt at the universities and staff don't get the discount, I don't think.  (Halifax has two big universities, one smaller one that's affiliated with one of the bigger ones, a medium sized one,  an art college and several campuses of the Nova Scotia Community College). I'm pretty sure the universities are on the bus pass system but not sure that the colleges are.

I believe they'll be setting up for the staff passes this month, making dates and times for the photo ids to be created,  and I expect the first payroll deductions will be taken off in January when I think is when the passes take effect.

Feeling quite pleased with myself today. I've been doing cardio on an eliptical trainer at the gym a few times a week, working up to a goal of 15 minutes with no slow down intervals. Up to last week i did a 9 minute straight through with a minute slowdown, 4 minutes and a minute cool down at the end. Yestereday, all the planets felt like they were in line and the music on the iPod was perfect. I realized i could keep going and kept going and then adrenaline pulled me the rest of the way and i did 15 minutes in one go. The pace was not fast, but not so slow that the machine thought i'd stopped either. Heart rate stayed in a pretty good spot. I don't know if i can do that every time but at least I know i can and i can get there sooner than later. Once i can do it all the time, i'll either pick up the intensity or start to add another interval on and shoot for 20 minutes eventually. At the beginning of the year i couldn't do 3 minutes.

It's not about being out of breath though, it's about tiring out and legs going like jelly, that's why i could only do those 3 minutes at first. that, and my heart rate was up too high. I could walk on the treadmill for 20 minutes without incident and we're walking longer than that when we're traveling and walking around in a city like Rome or Paris. The Eliptical trainer gives you the motion of an almost-jog but without the impact. It's almost springy and feels sort of like running in water but without the resistance of water. With good music on, it almost feels like dancing a bit. I was holding on to the handles that swing back and forth but i was finding my lower back complaining and the chiro practor suggested it was giving my back just a bit of a twist so to try holding onto the centre fixed handles. I do that now and my back doesn't complain the next day.

It is making a difference, too. I do feel a bit stronger though still not any surges of extra energy or stamina as such.

Anyway. Progress has been made. Onward and upward.

First full week since Christmas. Five day weeks always seem so long! ;) We've had our Earned Day Off plan at work reinstated since mid-last year so now I can look forward to every third Friday off or thereabouts, depending on when I need to take the day. For instance, If i have appointments or something else i need a day off for, i can always schedule it around the EDO. I'm heading to England next Tuesday night, so instead of taking 5 days vacation, i can take 4 and an EDO because i'll be able to put in enough time before then to make up the hours.

I undecorated my Christmas tree yesterday. I miss the pretty lights in the corner! It was so much easier to do now that the lights are all part of the tree!! I've still got to get the pieces back into garbage bags and put all the stuff back into the storage room along with my new suitcase. I"m taking my rolling carryon with me as i won't need the big case. Basically i'll just need to pack socks and underwear enough for the days and a few tops and an extra pair of pants or jeans.

I did order some things from Evans, which is a plus size store in the UK that does send to Canada. I didn't have it delivered to Graham's though i suppose i should have but they did estimate it should get to me before I leave. I'm dubious but hopeful. If it does get here, there's a couple of things i'll take with me from that lot, if they all fit and look ok. Two of the items are long tops/short dresses that i plan to wear with leggings but if they don't fit, they can't be returned to the store because they were special collection online only things. I reckon they will be ok, though. They're a little different than I usually wear so i might be a bit out of my comfort zone but i'll just have to take a deep breath and go for it. It's nothing radical, just wearing them with leggings is a bit iffy for me as my legs aren't the best. :\ but if the hem is down to the knee, it might be ok. You can't really tell from the look of the photo and even the measurement of the garment could still end up laying at a different length. 

Meanwhile, one of my goals at the gym is to work up to at least 15 minutes on the eliptical trainer. I used to be able to some years ago but can't now. I did manage 4 minutes with another minute slowed down on Friday so we're on the way there. It's a great machine for cardio, not as boring as the treadmill and a much better workout than the bike. I can only do it with music though. That's the motivator that moves my feet!

Really looking forward to this mini-vacation next week even though it involves a lot of travel for a few days. Looking ahead to the long term weather forecast, Tuesday is supposed to be clear so if that holds, i'll get away ok. good thing, too because Wednesday looks to be a real mess of rain and freezing rain! Monday the 21st for the return journey should be ok too. It's hard to really count on the forecast that far out but we'll see. A few prayers to the weather Gods might help. 9 sleeps until i arrive!

Bloody freaking cold out there today. Halifax is usually fairly reasonable for temperatures. Only a few days here and there that it's super cold or hot as the ocean tends to limit the extremes. Today was one of them, at least for us it was pretty chilly. The average temps were around -16 to -18 C. and the windchill sent it down to about -30. It's only supposed to last a few days this time around.

I was supposed to go to a meeting at another office this morning and since it was in Dartmouth i told them at work i'd meet them there rather than go all the way to work just to turn around and come back again. I planned on taking the bus. or busses. It would have taken three but it wouldn't have been so bad had it not been so cold. Who wants to wait around for busses in temps like that! Not me, so i called for a taxi. I am going to see if i can get the money back as they would have given us taxi chits if we hadn't had drives from people. I got back to work with one of the other coworkers.

After work was the gym and man oh man waiting for the bus after that was brutal! You know how time flies when you're having fun and it slows to a creep when you're watching a pot boil or something? It's even slower when you're waiting for a bus in the arctic winds!

Good soup weather. I made a turkey soup on the weekend with homemade turkey broth. IT's not bad but i think i should have had a bit more salt in the broth as it's a little flat. Probably better for me, though.

Another good workout with the PFD. He pushes me but only if i want to be pushed. I'll give most things a try and i think he knows where i'd draw the line so pretty much anything he suggests, i can do or at least try to. It's good, too, because there is always some new exercise he shows me each time i go so i don't get bored. We don't do all the same things every time. And today he asked me if he'd told me about the tennis ball thing... Um no? We were talking about massage therapy and i must have mentioned the spots behind my neck and shoulders, between the shoulder blades that gets so tight from sitting at a computer all day.

Turns out, what you do is put the tennis ball behind you, around the shoulders/shoulder blade and lean against the wall or you can do it lying on the floor too. Then you lean into the ball and roll it around the muscles that are all knotted up. Oh My God what a feeling! You can get it right at those knots!! You can press as hard or light as you want. The ball might slide a bit but you just pick it up again and go with it. I suppose you could do it if you had a high backed chair too and it might not be as slippery on a fabric surface. A tennis ball has just enough give to it but still firm enough. I went right from there to the dollar store and bought a package of three, with one that will live in my desk at work.

I've finished a couple of books and nearly done a third one and not listed them here. One i can't even remember the title of at the moment or even what it was about and i've put it on the bookshelf at work so i can't reference it. That's my brain these days. The second was 50 Years of Coronation Street the (very) Unofficial Story by Sean Egan. Great book! Lots of backstage behind the scenes goss and info. There's another official 50th anniversary book i'm reading now by Tim Randall which is good too, but more about the storylines over the years with some focus on various actors as well. The 50th anniversary of Coronation Street is Thursday December 9. Anyway the two i've read are numbers 31 and 32. I"m nearly finished 33 which is a fictionalized account of the life of Catherine de Medici called The Devil's Queen by Jeanne Kalogridis. She has Catherine as a follower of astrology and dabbling in spells and magic on occasion. It's a good account of court intrigue, though, I'm enjoying it. Nearly finishes so i might take it to bed and finish it tonight.

If you watch Eastenders, they're going to have Dot Branning mention Corrie in the show that night too and say how she always watches it and loves it. A nod to a golden anniversary and a nice touch. The episode was written by Daran Little who was the Coronation Street archivist for many years, wrote a handful of excellent Corrie books and wrote for the show for a few years as well.

Next week is going to be unmissable if you do watch the show. Monday night will have the explosion that sends the tram off the viaduct into the corner shop and Kabin. The rest of the week is going to be the rescues, the aftermath, the deaths and injuries and the episode on Thursday is going to be live, no pre-filming. There are extra episodes as well, on Wednesday with an hour on Thursday, and the usual 2 on Monday and Friday. I download them and i can hardly wait! I think the special effects spared no expense. They used a combination of some CGI and some real effects and fire and stuff. I figure the actual action of the tram coming along and coming down will be the CGI stuff but they do have tram cars on the set and have destroyed the two buildings at that end of it. I've seen photos and it looks pretty awesome. They're trying to keep it secret who will be the ones to die but there are already actors that have been noted that are leaving the show so i reckon some of them at least will be trammed but they could still throw a surprise in there.

Pretty good workout with 20 minutes on the treadmill. Gotta say, though, one of the songs on my iPod, Motion by Swarf, really *really* gets me motivated! I love it! The electronic beat and the phenomonally soaring tones of liz_lowlife put a spring in my step, so much so that i'm almost tempted to do a swirly leap off the back of the treadmill like a music video. I don't but i feel like it. Instead, i find myself walking with a bit more bounce. I also like Fall and Subtext but Motion is Da Bizness! Another great treadmill song is Music Makes Me Happy by the Australian trio Oka. I don't think they're together anymore because when the Buskerfest came last year, one of the guys from Oka was there in a different band. I don't have a lot of use for the Busker Festival since so many of the acts not only nag the audience for a cash donation, they even have the nerve to suggest an amount! I donate if i enjoy the show but not if i'm being pressured to. Oka was great. They'd play, then say they appreciate any donations but if not, enjoy the show. That's the kind of act i'd give a few dollars to. I've even bought some of their cds.

Anyway, that's beside the point.

I generally use a techno type playlist for cardio or another playlist that has good walking tunes. For the weights, it's generally a lot harder, edgy, metal, rock, goth, industrial type stuff. It'll have a heavy, more powerful beat that's slower than the dancey trancey type electronica or faster rock. This is where you'll hear AC/DC, Nine inch Nails, Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, Stevie Ray Vaughn, (yeah blues rock is good to do the weight machines too, as well!). There's other stuff too, Fad Gadget, David Bowie, Doug and the Slugs, Grand Funk Railroad, Queen... Anyway you get the idea. I do like my iPod for the gym! I don't use it if i'm with the trainer, though, because we chat then. Talking keeps me distracted and i don't realize i'm done my reps until she says so. Anything that gets me through the hour!

Back to the beginning, Thanks liz_lowlife, just thought you might like to know you're music is still appreciated, even way over the pond!

It's been a full day. I did drag myself to the gym but the whole workout was a struggle this time around. I don't know why but i did finish.
Got my hair highlighted and coloured and cut and it feels so much nicer.
Went and picked up some groceries and i still need to put them away but i had to download the new Doctor Who first and watch it.

And speaking of which...
( New Who )

Ok. Now that's a new one.
Apparently there's a new trend/fashion/style called vajazzling.
So ladies, when you get a smooth Brazilian wax job, you could have Swarovski crystals glued on in patterns.
You could have your nethers sparkling like a disco ball.
I know glue can really stick to skin, superglue, and that sort.
But, wouldn't you want something a bit less adhering?
And wouldn't your underwear possibly pull off the crystals?
Or, i guess, you would have to go commando.
In a skirt.
*shakes head*
Apparently this came to light, so to speak, on a late night talk show.
Jennifer Love Hewitt does it.
Allegedly.

Last night on the way home from work on the bus, there were several little kids all wound up, being loud and it just grated on my nerves. Not their fault, not the parents' fault, they weren't in a temper or crying, they were just hyped and loud. But childless me wanting peace and quiet just found it a bit much. I sent a text update to Facebook suggesting there should be an adult-only bus and it seemed to strike a chord with quite a few people. One person wondered who would drive the bus for the kids... I figure they could second a school bus driver. They're used to it. An adult-only bus could have peaceful music during rush hour, maybe some essential oil scents (or not, so many places are scent free these days!) They could serve drinks, hot and cold, provide newspapers. Sort of like a coffee shop on wheels. Oh well.

It's Friday again. It's been a busy week. Dinner after the gym after work on Monday, gym on Wednesday and out to a meeting last night. My personal fitness dragon will be pleased that i worked out both of my usual days while she was on her vacation this week. I see her twice next week and then every Wednesday and every other Monday after that, in an effort to stretch out the number of sessions i've purchased so the sessions don't run out before the biweekly payments!  I will still go on the Monday's i don't see her and am hoping to get there at least one other time, either for cardio or a full workout.

Did you know that Jeff Bridges can sing? Well, i didn't. I went to see Crazy Heart this afternoon, starring Bridges as an alcoholic country singer, Bad Blake. His performance is toted to win the Oscar and i can see why. It's a good movie, albeit a fairly standard formula story. It's the performances that make it special. We first meet Bad when he's booked in to play a bowling alley in Nowhere, New Mexico. He was a huge country star but his career is on the skids. He's a heavy drinker, really, he's clearly an alcoholic and his liver has most definitely seen better days. So that's how the movie opens, we see the mess he's in, a washed up singer, past his glory days at age 57, drinking himself into a slow death. He's not a nasty drunk or an emotional one, just sloppy, pathetic, and almost functional most of the time. He performs drunk and does a fair job though now and then he has to rush off stage to upchuck.
( a few spoilers therein )

Colin Farrell's character was interesting, seeing the difference between the younger superstar and the grizzled old mentor down on his luck. Tommy is clearly at the top of his game, with sleek hair, earrings, the epitome of modern country music. Yet he knows he owes his fame to Bad who "taught him everything he knows". He seems to respect Bad, and wants to help him. Bad is reluctant, feeling like it's charity i suppose but he really needs the money. There's also a small role by Robert Duvall who's character is a good friend to Bad. And as down and out as Bad is, you can see the talent still in him, both in his experience on stage in spite of the whiskey and his ability to write a shining and perfect song still, when he's inspired.

I found all the performances very real, very believable. No righteousness, no preaching, no exaggerations. Yes, it's still a love story underneath and there's the redemption bit (i did say it's a formula story) but it's worth going to see.

And is it me, or does Jeff Bridges in this movie bear quite a strong resemblence to Kris Kristofferson? Even sounds a bit like him at times. As i said, he can sing, too, and quite well. He sounds like the old fashioned country singers i always liked.

Anyway, after the movie, i went to the gym in Park Lane. I think i'm just going to have to stick to my own club because both times i went to other locations, i never seem to like them as much. The machines are different or they seem calibrated differently and they don't have all the same ones i'm used to. Then wanting to use the weights, one of the rooms looked like it was being used for a class so i used another one and there wasn't all the ranges of free weights in there. I did what i could and got pretty much a full workout aside from a couple of things. All in all a productive day.

Another tough workout today but it's all good.
I got a bottle of diet Pepsi and my soaps on the vcr.
Mac, cheese and tomato for supper later.
You remember that nice new purse i bought two weeks ago? The day after i bought it, one of the handles came loose. The ends fit into a round circle thing and are screwed in with a small tiny screw from one side of the ring, through the handle and into the other side. Well i guess the screw came out. So i wired it up first and then replaced it with one of those double rings that they make keyrings out of. Today yet another end came off. Sheesh. No i can't take it back because it was half price on a final sale. Simple. Need more of those double rings. I went to the dollar store and bought three 50 cent keyrings so i'll have two left over when the other two handle pieces break. Because i'm sure they will. If i had a teeny screwdriver, i'd just take it apart and put the rings on now. They might not be quite as shiny but they are very secure and they won't come apart.