saxikath

Been a while since I updated. Some random things that have happened, tidbits I learned, and general braindump:

• Damn, but that was a long, tough Mystery Hunt. There were some brilliant puzzles and we had a lot of fun... but 67 hours? Sheesh.
  
• Damn, but ACRONYM rocks. We came within a couple hours and a few puzzles of winning, despite having not worked together as a whole group before. Nice job, guys.
  
• Quote of the Hunt, for me at least:
  Me: "Oh my god, it's a phonetic cryptogram."
  M/W: [makes flabbergasted face]
  tahnan asks what the face means, is it fear, or what?
  M/W: "That's my brain leaving out the back door while my face distracts you."
  
• Commuting by car is going to get old in a hurry. About an hour and a quarter each way. Manchester's a nice city, though, maybe I'll get to know it some.
  
• Things I learned: Don't leave liquid laundry detergent in the car in the winter. I swear there were bits of ice in it.
  
• I don't know that I've ever before today woken up to the radio telling me it was 3 degrees in Boston.
  
• I had my first-ever personal training session at the gym tonight. The trainer taught me a bunch of free-weight exercises and how to use some equipment I hadn't used before. And I have one more session to go. (Christmas gift from mom.)
  
• I'm sorry I missed Sweeney, it looks like it was cool.
  
• lj's servers are being annoying tonight.
  
• I need to start doing lots of crosswords to get ready for Stamford. My brochure came yesterday; quite glossy this year!
  
• I hope my first issue of The Enigma comes out okay. *twitch*
  
• I still haven't seen Two Towers. Or Chicago. I need to go to the movies!
  

( And, to round things out, a quiz... )

And one for you all, swiped from thedan:
1. What do you call me?
2. What song makes you think of me, and why?
3. If you could give me one present, what would it be?
4. What one thing/event do you associate with me?
5. How well do you think you know me?

Well, huh. I should look at the list of people who list me as a friend more often.

Hi palmwiz and chanaleh! Two people from completely different pieces of my life, joining the people from various other pieces of my life who have also wound up on LJ. Intriguing thing, this livejournal.

In other news... I used free weights for my arm exercises today instead of the machines, for the first time in a while, and discovered that I now need to use 10-pound weights for biceps curls and triceps extensions. I was at 5 pounds when I started two months ago. Go me.

Semifinal dress rehearsal for the play tonight. Ours is going well. I get to turn into run crew once we're done, and help the people in "The 15-Minute Hamlet" with their quick changes, which is also fun in its way. It does seem a little chaotic, though; five one-acts, each with a different director, and no one person really in charge of the whole operation.

But, someone got my hair to stay up in a quasi-French-twist. Thanks to lots of bobby pins and hairspray. Ooh, crunchy hair!

So, I'm going to start recording my exercising here, on the theory that it'll keep me honest. No one is under any obligation to read it. :)

This week:

Monday -- half an hour on the elliptical trainer and a full round on the Nautilus machines
Wednesday -- ditto
Friday -- ditto
Saturday -- 45 minutes on the elliptical trainer

Next week's goal: 5 cardios and 3 Nautilus rounds. Maybe the Pilates class on Tuesday or Wednesday. One of the cardios should be getting my butt out of bed and to the club for the trampoline thing on Friday morning.

A friend of mine gave me a three-day guest pass to her health club. It was good only through May. It took me till today to get up the nerve to actually use the thing.

I've never really understood the appeal of health clubs, "working out" as an activity, and the like. I always figured, I could just take a walk and spare myself the expense and the self-consciousness.

I think I understand now.

The club is a women-only club, and it's really quite attractive. A fitness trainer spent a long time with me showing me how to use the various machines, which I'd never used before. Even though I didn't have an appointment or anything.

I felt much less self-conscious than I expected to. I was probably the largest woman I saw, but it wasn't all skinny hardbodies, either. Many different ages and stages and sizes.

And afterwards... after I'd done a whole circuit on the Nautilus machines, and 20-25 minutes on a treadmill... I felt good. Really good. I felt strong, and powerful, and more energetic than I have in a long time. I'm sure the weights on the machines were dinky compared to what people who are really in shape use, but they felt heavy to me. I walked out with my head high and a confident walk. I don't know how I'm going to afford the club, but I really want to keep going now.

So I was going to then go to a cafe and do some work, but outside the cafe I ran into an friend and former coworker whom I hadn't seen since we were both laid off in August. I still went to the cafe, but ended up spending at least two solid hours talking with him instead of working.

Then I took myself out to dinner, which I shouldn't have moneywise, but I got some work done while I ate.

I go, girl.