Gymawesome!

I'm awesome! Why? Cause I keep going to the gym, that's why! I deserve a freaking Olympic gold medal for going to the gym a requisite number of times! Woohoo! I rule!

Keep it up!

So I had my third session with my personal trainer this week. We're going to be meeting every other week, for a total of 8 sessions. That's what I've signed up. He and I agree this is a good amount of time to see some real progress. So in each session, he'll be giving me a strength training routine and a cardio routine that I'll follow until the next session. It's pretty effective. I did my first strength training on my own today. It was surprisingly easier than when I did it with him, which made me worry that I wasn't doing it right, but I know that I did my darndest to do it right. The cardio is actually the hardest part because I have to go often enough to do it and then when I'm there, do it for long enough.
I'm really liking this. I'm glad that I've signed up for it. And my mother can stick it as far as "taking time to find a husband" is concerned. I like my personal trainer too. He's motivational and keeps my focused, but also can distract me from how difficult it can be. Well, when he's not being motivational. The last time that I was there, he used the whole time that I was on the treadmill to talk about how great I was doing, and "keep it up," and "you can do it!" and all that pep talk sort of stuff, and ... (I never thought I'd say this) I gotta kinda sick of it. I really wanted to say, "Can we not talk about me and how great I'm doing?" Because all it does is focus on how much longer I have to go on the treadmill. So I'm going to say something at the next session.
The other good thing that I'm hoping for is pick-up volleyball games. When I joined, they said that the gym was trying to get that started. I hope they do because that would be wicked awesome.
Meanwhile, what are my plans for Valentine's Day? none.

Time or Space?

Argh! I'm so frustrated. I just got off the phone with my mother and she actually tried to convince me that I was wasting my time with "that comedy stuff." Instead, according to her, I should be spending my time looking for a husband. I'm not kidding; my mother actually thinks this. As to her suggestions for appropriate ways to look for a husband, she never has any. It appears that she just knows what is a "waste of time."

Luckily, I've inherited this ability from mother and I too know what's a waste of time.

Hey, did you hear about the murder in Watertown?

Yeah, my muscles are killing me!

Yesterday was my first session with the personal trainer. Not bad, totally doable, only thirty minutes. Today was my 2nd and 3rd (we combined the 2 half-hour sessions).

oh.

my.

god.

He killed me. He very nearly killed me. He made me feel like I might die. He made me very, very tired, so much so that it was like a state of death. He made me so sore that I can't move, so that's kinda like being dead. I let him do those things to me.

And then I paid MORE money for him to do it to me again.

God, I better look good in 4 months.

The elephant in the room? Oh no, that's just my down comforter.

Been to the gym three times!! Woohoo!! Of course, I'm currently eating chocolate, but that will pass. I can't wait til Tuesday when I have my first personal training session.

Also, I went to a fantastic Korean store today. It's Shangri-la. Really, what did I used to do before this store came along?

I did have an improv show this past Friday. It went pretty well. One of the two best shows that I've done here (If you're keeping count, I've done two shows). There were less players than usual. So it was a little more pressure, but nothing that we couldn't handle. I really do like my new improv troupe. I so look forward to practices and shows. I feel like I'm doing something more with my life now. It's exciting. Especially now with the gym thing.

Plus, I'm still volunteering on Tuesdays. I'm glad that I'm doing it but I miss the vibe at the old place a little. At the new place, I feel like the volunteers don't really bring the kids out of their shell as much as we could.

Work is work. I'm still working on new opportunities. Although I did have a small change that might make things a little better. I look outside myself these days to find out what it is that I can do. Perhaps I should have made it a resolution.

The thing that's giving me the most pressure right now is a script that I'm trying to write for a director. It's his idea and it's a good one. I want to make sure that I have it done by our deadline so I'm trying to give it as much attention as I can right now. Some days I'm just drawing a blank, and some days I'm just not doing what he wants, so it's kind of a two steps forward, one step back feeling to it. But we already have some good scenes written and he's recruited a lot of help for it. It could really be something. I'm excited for it too.

The other really big thing that's giving me anxiety has been weighing on me for some time. Ever since it turned cold. I've been meaning and meaning to get to it, but it's such a big project. It's just so heavy and I'm not looking forward to it. I kinda feel like if I had some support from my mother or my sisters, this would be a lot easier to tackle. But I'm a big girl now, and I have to learn to take care of these things myself. So ... I have to sew the cover on the feather comforter myself.

It's just so heavy. It weighs roughly the same amount as a baby elephant.

The Thin One

Ah, Jen, to paraphrase Forrest Gump, "You'd be so proud'a her ... and she's so smart."

I signed up for a gym. It's the Boston Sports Club. It's a good facility with classes, a pool, lots of machines, and a sauna. It's just down the road. It's reasonably priced and running a no-initiation-fee promo. And THEN God rewarded me for joining a gym by having the club offer a promo of three sessions with a personal trainer (a cute one!) for only $20. So I took advantage of that. My first session is next Tuesday. I'm excited. I stayed to work out a little.

I already feel thinner.

Plan A vs. Plan B?

Ok, so would you like an update on the form vs. function debate? Here is what I've discovered now that I've thoroughly researched the situation.

Gym memberships can range between $50-$80/month. Good gyms, reasonable prices. One drawback is yearly contracts, but there are options for month to month. There's a YMCA near work that might be a good, or a Boston Sports club near home that would be good. So lots of options.

GMAT prep courses? Take a wild and crazy guess at the price. Go ahead. Guess! Now check it out. http://testprep.princetonreview.com/CourseSearch/Search.aspx?productType=C&rid=1&Zip=02472&itemCode=16

So the plan* is:
1) join a gym
2) slim down and look great
3) meet a guy who makes a decent living
4) fall in love and marry him
5) have kids with him
6) give up my first born to pay for the GMAT prep course.

Cause that's the only way that's happening.

*the alternative plan is:
1) go to a gym
2) work on arms and legs
3) give one of each to pay for the course.
This plan is not attractive, since it could severely cut my chances at meeting a guy.