Day 6: 30 Days of TV - Favorite Episode of Your Favorite Show

Day 6: Favorite episode of your favorite show

I'm biased.

So. So. So. Biased.

My favorite episode is 7x05 Selfless.

The reason this is my favorite episode?

Shall be answered in a pic spam, gushing, and video embedding that I feel the need to actually do a cut.

Day 5: 30 Days of TV - A Show You Hate

Day 5: A show that you hate

Smallville.

I hate Smallville.

Which is big news coming from a girl who loves all things Superman. I was so excited when the promos came out for this show.



Look at how awesome it is! Clark is in the middle of a cornfield strung up like a scarecrow with a S painted on his chest! He's wearing a kryptonite necklace!

I was so excited of this show that the above poster festooned my residence hall room as I counted down the days to the premiere. I would geek out about the things they did right and loved that they cast his parents as Bo Duke and the original Lana Lang from the Superman movies.

And Allison Mack was amazing as the original character of Chloe...



But then it really started sucking. A lot.

I would keep trying to tune in, but it just infuriated me more and more each time I would watch it. While they would get images and the score was quiet good, the constant pounding over our heads that Lana was the almighty from heaven and Chloe was second banana just.. didn't ring true.

It also made me detest poor Kristen Kreuk who was later fond to be lovely on Chuck.

I finally just stopped watching because of how mad it made me. No matter how much I loved the character of Chloe and how much I loved Superman and origin stories Smallville ripped out all the good and pooped on it.

And don't even get me started on how it's STILL on air while Buffy and Angel are not.

Anger.

And check in on the others...
Beth
Dany
Jessie
Nikki

Ceasing Ramble.

Day 4 : 30 Days of TV - Your Favorite Show of All-Time

Day 4 - Your favorite show of all-time

Yes, I'm going to say the exact same thing as one of my fellow friend bloggers.

Who have blogged about my two most favorite television shows ever.

Jessie and Nikki

I thought about it for a moment and I wonder if the reason the show won was because it finished at a later date, but then realized... no I went to a (read three) conventions and a film festival because of the fandom with this show.



Yes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is beating out The X-Files.

I love nearly everything about Buffy. It's the show that really got me started breaking down the way to write, how grammar can be twisted into new forms, and that I should never, ever state out loud in a Joss Whedon show who my favorite character is because they will die.

This is the show that I wrote fanfic for, joined an RPG for, went to conventions for, got over my incredible shyness amongst new people for, and dove into literary and film theory for...

I also wrote papers in college for linguistics, wrote a comparison of Greek view of women and Buffy (thank you Restless for using Sappho's poetry) and did my senior seminar project involving Buffy.

I was a year younger than Buffy and the Scoobies and grew up with them through some very formative years. I like to share Buffy with friends. It's almost a test, that I try not to rig seeing what they like, hate, and who they love.

Buffy made me laugh, cry, and be so proud to see a female save the world when only men had been doing so for so long. It gave me a smart female friend who changed my view on what it was to be gay. It gave me the ability to see that parents sometimes mean the best when they discipline. It showed the bond of love between sisters.

But most of all it gave me the vision that the sarcastic, blunt comedic relief is always more and sometimes are the most fragile and open among us all.

Watch it.

And when you do; don't look at the surface of the plot, look above it.

In Buffy character came first and the plot was moved by the characters...

Also, it gave me Jane Espensen.

I could go on writing a sappy love letter to Buffy, but instead I'll just leave you with my English Senior Seminar video and (hopefully) the scene that it was based off of.





And check in on the others...
Beth
Dany
Jessie
Nikki

Ceasing Ramble.

Day 3: 30 Days of TV - Favorite New Show (2010)

Day 3: Your favorite new show that started in 2010.

My favorite new show of the year I found about in an odd way. On a Frontier Airlines flight to California. They were showing short previews of shows on the TVs in front of our faces. Pretty brilliant with the mostly bored and mostly captive audience.

I recognized some of the actors and then there was singing. So I was hooked... even with the baby being involved.



It's a warm and wacky family comedy centered around the product of a one-night stand with a serial killer.

How fun!

The writing is tight, the deliveries are spot on and the male lead is endearing, which I wasn't sure he'd be able to pull off with the razzle dazzle that was surrounding him. But he has.



It has Martha Plimpton as a hording cleaning lady. (I know you loved Goonies as much as I). Garrett Dillahunt as a very well intentioned lawn service man. (Did you watch the Sarah Conner Chronicles? He is funny too!). They play the too young to be grandparents... grandparents.

And then there is occasional bits of non sequiter gold with Chloris Leachmen as Maw Maw a semi-nude octagarian who has Alzhimer's.

Oh and the out of his league, but so cute and sarcastic Shannon Woodward as Sabrina.

I mean lookit her.



This is the show that is on after that show on Fox with singing and barely any continuity.

Stick around and watch it.


And check in on the others...
Beth
Dany
Jessie
Nikki

Ceasing Ramble.

Day 2: 30 Days of TV - You Wish More People Were Watching...

Day 2: A show that you wish more people were watching (currently on).

This is not hard for me as I always wish this and repeatedly say it out loud to many of my friends.

I wish more people were watching Chuck on NBC.



I mean it's all of my Kryptonites all together in one package of Awesome.

It has action, spy adventure and intrigue, romance, all wrapped up and hugged with the legs of comedy

The show also reinvents itself every season that it's on TV. It has a successful fan campaign to come back for another season when it was on the bubble (again).

But mostly. That show has heart.

It has pretty.



And pretty hot.



And Jeffster.



Also somehow every single guest star when shown in a preview of I see the name flash up on the screen is perfect. I actually said, "Wow, Nicole Richie can act!" and "Who knew that Kristen Kruek is so likeable!"

The nods to pop culture geekdom are well played and honor the nerd, geek, dork, or dweeb in all of us. Not since Buffy have I gushed so much about a show, but somehow... I don't have people to fangirl with and it is so very upsetting.

Especially when I know they would all love it as much as me.

So watch it already.

And check in on the others...
Beth
Dany
Jessie
Nikki

Ceasing Ramble.

Day 1: 30 Days of TV - Canceled Before Its Time

I clicked on a Twitter link of @hhoagie to her friend's blog last night and found a meme they were participating in called 30 Days of TV.

My eyebrows raised and my lips pursed out as I said to myself, "I like TV. I should do this..."

Hopefully you'll find this entertaining, get a show to watch out of this, or just be impressed that I start and finish something that has writing in it.

Day 1: A show that should never have been canceled.

My mind swirled around for this one I filtered through the shows that I lament on not getting to see have one more season: Firefly, Veronica Mars, Trauma (which I think I might be the only one who watched this show...)

But the one that kept coming back was Wonderfalls.



This delightful show was cut down too quickly by the Fox network (the masters of the single season cancellation). Many thought that the premise of the show; a recent university graduate with a degree in philosophy stuck in a job at a gift store in Niagara Falls who just so happened to be the reluctant conduit for messages via gift store items... to help people, was a lesser copy of the hit show Joan of Arcadia.

It wasn't.

It was better.

The snarky humor, amazing supporting cast, smart writing, fate vs. destiny, made the one and only season a bitter pill to swallow.

Oh and let's talk about that supporting cast for a moment.



Lee Pace of the also brilliant Pushing Daises as Jaye's lackadaisical brother.

Tracie Thoms of Cold Case and the movie RENT as Jaye's best friend.

Katie Finneran the recent Tony award winner from Promises, Promises as Jaye's overbearing sister. Actually I could go on for days about Katie Finneran, but I am hoping that someone who hasn't seen the show will watch it and find her as delectable as I did.

Then there is the overly cute Tyron Leitso of Being Erica and The Big C as the possible love interest for Jaye.

Guest spots by Jewel Staite and Sarah Drew only add to the caliber of acting and nuances that have me so enamored with anything to do with the show I will watch anything that an actor who was in it will appear in, like the lead Caroline Dhavernas is going to be in the new medical drama Off the Map in January, done and done.

It still impresses me the group of people that were brought together under Bryan Fuller's direction.

Just talking about this show makes me salivate for more.

(Yes, I know I have sprinkled this entry with food based descriptors... it's because the show is a treat in itself).

But I mean look...



Wouldn't you watch that show?

Ceasing Ramble.

Edited to Add:

All of Wonderfalls is actually on YouTube. I did not spend time at work with it playing.

Also if you'd like to follow along below are the friends also blogging.

Beth
Dany
Jessie
Nikki

Parseltongue

The following is unedited from the re-telling to my friend Molly in gchat.

My bathtub drain has been clogged and getting worse since my birthday. I kept trying to work on it, but with continued failure.

So I had been taking showers infrequently and giving myself a whore's bath in the sink on days that there was still standing water in the tub.

I didn't want to call the landlord because I was SURE I could fix this on my own.

So after taking a shower Wednesday morning I sighed as the water kept piling up and thought. I'll try one more time and then I'm going to call the landlord.

I came home from the halfday of work with a ginormous bottle of liquid plumber. I pulled back the curtain and saw, again, standing water. Another deep sigh and I leaned forward, pouring in the bottle and hoping that it would loosen up, what had to be hair.

After doing so I started to pull the shower curtain liner out of the water and saw a skinny black tail wiggle waggle towards the far end of the tub.

Knowing exactly what it was I said, "You've got to be kidding me. No, no, oh my God no, snake, ew, snake, ah, snake." Calmly backing out of the bathroom I retreated to my dining room so I could see the bathroom, but not be in it.

I had my phone on me, per usual, and called Dany to have a mild panic attack to. She didn't answer. I called her again. She didn't answer.

I tried to reason with myself that the snake wouldn't hurt me and that I could go in there and get it and throw it outside.

Reasoning failed.


I then reverted to a small child and decided to call my psuedo-boyfriend Andy. Ashley answered his phone and I calmly said, "Can I share something with you, but you can't make fun of me?"

"Sure."

"There is a snake in my bathtub and snakes are my irrational fear and I really would love for Andy to come over and get it out of the tub."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"Aw, we're not in town. We're at a restaurant near home."

I nodded and started to go through other people I knew who could deal with a snake. "Ah, okay."

"Well, text me when you get it all figured out."

I instantly called Krisana, she answered all chipper as a person who had been on vacation for five days would. "Hey, are you at home?"

"No, I'm at my sister's." My mind started to race, her sister in Warrensburg or her sister in Blue Springs?

"Okay, is John at home?"

"Yes, why?"

"Ah, well there is a snake in my bathtub, and you know snakes are-"

"Your irrational fear animal, yeah oh man."

"Yeah, so do you think John could-"

"Oh no, I'll come over John's irrational fear animal is snakes too."

I thanked her profusely and then called Dany in the meantime so I had someone to talk to.. during that time I edged out of my house onto my side porch and called Bandit to me (I was worried he's want to drink the bath water that had liquid plumber in it).

I hung up and called Krisana back. She just had made it back in town. Bandit started to walk down the hallway so I had to go back inside. I quickly shut the door to the bathroom and was able to sit by my computer where my lunch had been sitting for an hour getting cold.

Krisana stopped at her house and hung up with me to get her 'getting a snake out of your tub' supplies.

I distracted myself by eating my somewhat cold lunch a bit.

Then the Calvary arrived with a mop bucket in one hand and a garden tool in the other.

She went into the bathroom and I heard an exasperated, "Oh my God, Brenda."

I realized this snake must be a little snake, but I yelled, "Is it or is it not a snake?"

"It's just a little baby snake."

To which my brain then said, "Oh a little baby snake, you know where one little baby snake is there are sixty of them. No wonder your drain is clogged with snakes!"

Krisana lifted it out with her hand and took it outside.

She came back in and we tried to talk through my anxiety a bit. I said, "So how many other baby snakes do you think are down there?"

She winced and said, "You went there huh? I hoped you wouldn't."


"Well you said baby snake and it's not like they hatch alone."
- -
Epilogue
No other snakes have arisen from my drain.

The drain did not unclog with just liquid plumber, my landlord had to come over.

Later that night when I went into the bathroom, I sat down on the toilet and my brain said, "What if there is a snake in the toilet."

I groaned and yelled aloud, "Really? Come on self!"

Ceasing Ramble.

Character Roles

I'm a character.

Some say a cartoon character.

Some say a nerd or geek type.

Some say a comedienne.

Some say a sarcastic bitch.

Some say a sounding board.

It's something that I've crafted over years and is centered around entertaining people. I rarely break character.

There are things that are expected out of me by friends, family, colleagues, students and I will play the role... usually even if I don't feel the part.

During a drive along Highway 50 as the country rolled out ahead of me I wondered if I had become so good at playing this character that I had lost myself in it.

To a point I think I have and when I reflect I will put myself into those roles on how to react, how to act, and how to be.

In acting class we learned about acting with a mask on and when you can make that mask come alive and you see the faces moving through words and overt body language.

The Greeks would be proud.

Ceasing Ramble.

Time Warp 2010: Halloween

I had taken a lot of pictures of my costume prep this year for Halloween so I thought I'd put them up on here for the sake of 'Look what I did!'

Halloween is taken very seriously with my group of friends. We go all out, we sew, we go for minute detail.

After last year's Kevin the bird from Up I decided that I was going to go comfortable next Halloween.

So in February I decided upon Dr. Arizona Robbins from Grey's Anatomy. It would require me to grow my hair for the remainder of the year (the hardest portion of the costume process).

I had a plan to piece together bits through the year so I wouldn't be rushing in October to finish it all up. This worked a bit. I purchased Heely's in July and didn't learn how to use them.

I went to Joann's fabric and got the fabric for the scrub cap and the press ons for the coat... and then just forgot about it until September.

Then the sewing, buying of the lab coat, embroidery, etc. started to happen in a whirlwind.

So I cut the four fabrics into 3" by 3" square-ish pieces.



Then began sewing together strips to sew together. This took the longest amount of time. Granted I only sew once a year (for Halloween), but it took me roughly eight hours of statements like this: "How do I fill the bobbin again?" "No! You're supposed to be facing!" "Damn you, you damn thread, damn you to Hades!"



But it turned out pretty nice.



Then came the embroidery on the coat, I did not do this, it was machine embroidery at one of the places in town. I brought in screen shots and print outs of blown up sections of Arizona's coat and we worked together to get text that made me happy.



There is a typo, it drives me crazy. I looked back at the items I gave the nice lady and I saw it was her typo. Oh well.




I rushed to get the other pieces of my costume together. The navy scrubs, the heart necklace, the PEDS stethoscope, the silver watch, my fake ID badge (which I can't not laugh at it was pasted to my Health Insurance card) and of course dying my hair.



There were many different 'wearing of the costume' as I knew it would get hot.

In the meantime I convinced my work spouse to dress up as "Gauze Paws" Callie and we had a fun time at the party.



The beginning of the evening "nice hair" photo.




Already getting warm, possibly due to my own martini bar I was working for guests. So the transition phase. The fuzzy due to being taken on a phone by an inebriated person.



Nice cameras take pretty photos! (For more on the party see Nik's blog.)



With my favorite webcomic zombie. There are other pictures of the night that I found on my phone that are going to stay on my phone.

While I did practice on the Heelys I never felt fully comfortable with them and nearly died on the hardwood floor twice that night, but just having them on felt right. Until I took them off, hid my socks somewhere that I would be sure to find them the next day... and wound up curled up asleep on a couch.

Fantastic party, because Beth always throws the best Halloween parties.


Ceasing Ramble.

I Feel Like This is Progress

Tonight I got swept in tons of conflicting emotions that I'm not going to go into here because they're stemming from so many facets of my life that I still don't understand what is going on in my brain wrinkles...

But, the point is instead of wallowing in food and sitting on my ass.

I got up and ran.

Yes, Kamiah... you read that right. I ran, granted it was on my treadmills programmed burst program - where you put in your weight, calories want to burn, and time in doing it... and it modulates walking, jogging, running for bursts of time.

But after nearly 1.75 miles I was above the mark on calories and I felt better.

Thank you endorphins.

Also, I've decided if I was too lazy to blog about the workout, it didn't happen, therefore I don't get to count it towards EXP achievements. Suck it self. Be more disciplined with writing.

Forgive the more than usual stream of consciousness herein.

Miles Walked: 12.045
Circuit Training
Beginner: 1 set - 3
Beginner: 2 sets - 2

I Am Not a Morning Person

I have very strange sleep patterns. It's something that's always been true in my life and I only remember two nights that I ever slept through the entire night. One I was in Germany and I had been awake for 36 hours because I cannot sleep in planes, trains, or automobiles. The other I was sick, sick, sick.

As you may have noticed I haven't blogged in a weeks.

It's because I have realized I have zero intrinsic motivation. It's always extrinsic, being why the guilt works fabulous for me if I feel I'm letting someone down then I'm more likely to do something.

That something, is of course exercise and I've asked Kamiah to call me when she gets up in the morning. She politely reminded me that she gets up at 5:20 am. I reminded her that I was serious.

I can wake up very easy and sound very awake, but I can also fall back asleep pretty easily as Mia found out yesterday as she called me we chatted and when I hung up I went back to sleep.

Today she didn't fall for my cheery and chipper voice and actually made me say that I would "get up and get moving" which I'm pretty sure is a slogan of something somewhere.

So I did.

And 2.01 miles later I'm sitting around not sure what to do with my hour I have before work, but perhaps I'll watch some of The Today Show, which I've missed.

I generally will roll out of bed at 7:30 am it's the nice part of living so close to work.

Miles Walked: 10.415
Circuit Training
Beginner: 1 set - 3
Beginner: 2 sets - 2

I Did Not, Infact, Die

Yes, I realize that I didn't blog for a week.

It seems without a daily nice conversation with Kamiah that I cannot force myself to do anything. I need the slight guilt. It helps me when I don't think I'm disappointing anyone.

Also, I forgot how draining enrollment season can be. Enrollment, where my days exist of back to back student appointments where they try to give up all traces of being an adult and just have me plan their lives. Which, I could do, I'm good at it, but that's not why I am an advisor.

Tuesday and Wednesday evening I worked athlete enrollment that is group enrollment in a hot and stuffy computer lab trying to work around practice commitments and the 'wants' of "Coach" many of the sports are a delight to work with and many of the athletes continue to rise above the stereotype of a college athlete. Because I work at a Division II school where you play not just for the scholarship, but for the degree. It's why I like Division II.

Granted to say that getting home late did not make me want to do anything, so I didn't.

Then I compared my weight drop to Wednesday's weight gain and went on a tailspin of GRAH.

I'm over that.

I just kicked my circuit workout's ass.

I'm not sure if it was seeing A Chorus Line over the weekend and wishing to have the drive of those dancers. Wanting something so bad that you work so hard at it... and for that to be a backup job supporting the lead.

There are two spots of A Chorus Line that break my heart. The beginning together walk to the line and slamming the headshots in front of their faces to show them as a resume, a factory line.

And then the end when they have become the factory line, we love One. We know the words, we saw them learn the steps, but now they're all alike. After spending 90 minutes knowing them individually you barely can pick them apart.

I could write sonnets, lyrical poems, and treaties on A Chorus Line, but really it's the feelings that it gives me that take me back to it every time I can.

Or it was just that the week is new and Kamiah's home.

Miles Walked: 8.405
Circuit Training
Beginner: 1 set - 3
Beginner: 2 sets - 2

Here's to a better week.

Ceasing Ramble.

Tomorrow is Gonna Hurt So Good

The weekend was lovely.

I went to the Royals game on Saturday and met up with Jenny. We walked around the stadium. I nearly caught a baseball. We stared at the ball still in the fountain. We went to the Hall of Fame and continued walking around the stadium, finally sitting down during the fourth inning. A full three hours of standing, walking, moseying, and telling hilarious stories while waiting to get our free soda for being designated drivers. I love the K.

I also may have nearly agreed to do the swimming leg of a relay triathlon. It's like Jenny had researched all my comebacks to say no. I'll get into that later.

On Sunday I headed to my parents where I played free IT "expert". I taught my Mom that her computer did, in fact, have a DVD player, but her broken collarbone and Parkinson's has made using the mouse in her left hand hard to control.

She asked at lunch for "a dvd player bought, hooked up, and a tutorial" so I went to the happy local superstore and got a dvd player for 35 dollars. I was not aware they are practically giving away dvd players for so cheap, thank you Blu-Ray.

Then began the very long process of teaching my Mom how to switch from the TV to the DVD player and back. I actually put gold nail polish on the "component/input" button and then wrote out what I thought were really really really simple instructions. It seemed difficult for her, which has sent me on a worry fest.

She's never been fabulous with electronics, but I wonder if it's that my Dad commandeers the remote or if perhaps there is something else going on.

Nevertheless it's going to make me check up on my parents more than I have before.

And onto the workout!

Miles Walked: 8.405
Circuit Training
Beginner: 1 set - 3
Beginner: 2 sets - 1

Yes, that's right I upped the circuit workout to add in a second set and while I nearly threw up during the cool down I did achieve a couple things.

We've heard my struggle with the plank so I have changed to a modified plank hoping to work on my form and hold it longer. I was able to in each set do 2 modified planks for 60 seconds each. I really thought I was going to bite it on the last one, but it felt good to accomplish that. Hopefully I'll be able to work up to 3 modified planks for 60 seconds each and then take it to the full plank.

Tomorrow is going to hurt. I can already see it coming. I just hope my thighs don't hurt when I walk down stairs. I can handle everything else without becoming a whiny baby.

Back to the a leg of a triathlon. It's at Smithville Lake (or Smithville) 500 meters and in July. I love swimming and this finally might get me to commit to getting a pool pass to the community center (insert Beth's joke here about a pass to the pool).


Ceasing Ramble

Let's Walk... Outside

I put off walking tonight for a good long while.

This being after I didn't do cardio on Wednesday because I was meeting Beth and Daniel at the Royals game for some shenanigans. I ended up actually seeing a baseball in the fountain and was so upset that I didn't think ahead like Zack Hample and bring my own water retrieval device. (And if you don't know Zack or haven't heard of him check out both the blog and his website. He's a stand-up guy who catches baseballs for charity.)

So instead I just emo tweeted about it and took a picture.



And then Beth took some other ones with her camera that apparently have me reaching desperately for the ball. I told her that I would get the ball when I go back tomorrow. I am fully determined to copy Zack's device and will fully credit him as well as re-read Watching Baseball Smarter, which he signed, great baseball book.

Hm, after re-reading Zack's entry on the colander I'm not sure that I'll be able to get the ball off the bottom of the fountain. We'll see.

That leads us to Thursday and the nap of death, followed by Grey's (Yay! Arizona!), and then my subsequent dead zone of sleep.

After chatting with Kamiah we talked about the exercise plan for tonight and Saturday and I'm pretty sure I can stick to it.

Tonight I decided to do the cardio and then I came home and sat down and watched my taped Project Runways and sighed about getting on the treadmill. So I decided to walk outside and after I had left my house I remembered a few vital things.

1. At 8:19 at night the sun is down.
2. I live in the ghetto part of the Burg where we don't believe in street lights.
3. While I was wearing a bright orange/white/green baseball cap I stupidly had a black t-shirt on.

I walked around my neighborhood and got out to the highway and looped back around enjoying the inclines on the road and not seeing numbers tick away in front of me.

Then a red Monte Carlo passed by me going very slowly. I had my music up loud, but they had the window rolled down and I thought I heard a squeaking sound. I kept walking. About eight minutes later the Monte Carlo came by again this time behind me and passed by... and I realized that I was in the middle of the Pet Smart commercial where they try to find the dog by squeaking a toy out the window.

I nearly asked them the third time what type of dog and what the dog's name was since I still had some time left before I hit thirty minutes, but I didn't.

Two minutes before I was done a black lab trotted up alongside me and I wondered if he was the dog they were looking for, but he wouldn't let me touch his collar to see if he had tags on.

Miles Walked: I'm not sure I'll check in the morning
Circuit: Beginner - 3

Ceasing Ramble.

Longer the Day, Less Focus

I had a very long day.

It makes me empathize for those that have an hour commute to work.

It also made me less than enthusiastic for cardio tonight.

So Kamiah gave me a Rosie the Riveter speech and I went home was underwhelmed with the Glee episode and hopped on the treadmill.

Grave mistake #1: Do not get on a treadmill when you would rather take a walk outside.

Grave mistake #2: Do not tweet while doing your cardio because you will, with every step, lessen your grade level of writing.


Weight: 207.8
Miles: 6.905
Circuit: Beginner - 3

Ceasing Ramble

Another Week

Today is my Mom's birthday.

Last year I forgot her birthday for the first time in the 'you're supposed to remember on your own' age. While my brother not only remembered, but got my Mom flowers. I heard about it for a month.

Today I was 99.9% sure it was my Mother's birthday.

I double checked by doing what anyone would do, bringing up her university records. It's the nice thing about working at the university that your parents went to, access to verifying birthdays.

I gave a birthday call on the way to the nearby community college. Saved.

Work was interesting as it always is at the community college. I enjoy the atmosphere and the changing up of viewpoints in the students.

On the drive home I called again to chat with my folks. When I tried to get out of my Mom if my brother had called yet.

He hadn't.

So I called him and told him to call my Mom.

Sure wish Brian did that for me last year.

On the workout side of things:

Friday - I did not have time to do the circuit workout, Beth invited me to go to the Season Ticket holder party at the K. I got to see the clubhouse, sit in the dugout and walk around the field. It was awesome.

Saturday it rained on and off and Dany and I went to a little tailgate with Hawk the Ewok.

Sunday... I diligently watched television.

Today I got back into the circuit workout and I think next week I will fully be able to add in another set to the beginner workout.

Miles Walked: 5.575
Circuit: Beginner - 3

Ceasing Ramble

A Love Letter

Dear Cardio,

I hate you today.

Love,

B

Miles: 5.575
Circuit: Beginner - 2

You Can't Stop the Beat

I was whiny today.

Way past whiny. My thighs still hurt going down stairs and getting out of chairs making me feel like I was possibly going to have a hot flash soon.

I had convinced myself that I only needed to do cardio today and stay away from the circuit workout even though I had scheduled them to be MWFs.

Then I consulted my exercise Yoda, Mia who told me that I needed to power through and do the circuit workout.

We talked about switching up some of the arm exercises with the lower body workout, but I figured if I was going to do it I should keep it in the same order of focusing on the zones.

Then Krisana and I walked to the union for a farewell reception. I whined more.

I left work, whining.

I returned to a cat... that whined at me.

Then I changed my clothes and pulled out the dumbbells, turned on the box fan, and got to work. (Yes, I put a comma before the "and" I'm still of the old school that does it that way. MLA will accept either as will APA.)

Interestingly my arms started to burn in the warmup of simple arm lifts. I felt dread try to wiggle its way into my heart, but focused on the playlist and making funny faces at myself in the mirror to try and get myself to not pay attention to the aches and pains.

The next pain was in the core workout, but again I powered through it and figured out that I had been doing Plank incorrectly with how I balance my weight. I changed it and I still can't hold it well.

Kamiah you will win in a "Plank off" Every. Single. Time. I just want to be able to hold it for 60 seconds without whimpering to myself.

Then came the lower workout and I started out slow it was going okay. There was pain, but I could work through it. There were moments that I was sure I was going to lose function of my legs and plummet to the ground.

Instead I made it to the cool down and "You Can't Stop the Beat" came on... so I decided to do some cardio, just a half of a mile, which turned into maybe three quarters and when I hit that I thought, well might as well just do the full mile.

Hmm.

Didn't think that was going to be today's outcome.

So yay!

Miles: 4.075
Circuit: Beginner - 2

Ceasing Ramble.

Holy Crap

That's all I can think about as I sat down after the simple walk that I just did.

Because of the circuit workout from yesterday my thighs have been screaming like a six-year old who has had their Nintendo DS taken away. It didn't hurt as much when I was walking or going up stairs, but going down stairs made me feel like I was going to have my legs fly away.

So as I walked across the parking lot to my car after work I contemplated waiting until seven to do my walking tonight.

I had nearly convinced myself until I walked up the stairs to my apartment and felt my thighs screaming protest again. I had to walk or I was going to be stuck in my chair until possibly Friday.

Unable to move.

So I did 1.575 miles in 30 minutes and my thighs still hurt, but I am proud that I powered through the pain.

Now here's hoping I don't cry tomorrow when I try to attempt the circuit workout again.


Miles: 3.075
Circuit: Beginner - 1

Ceasing Ramble

Deceiving Circuit Workout

Each day another little change.

Today I tried to get up when my alarm first turned off, but failed. So I knew that my circuit workout would be destined for evening instead of morning.

I'm honestly glad I forgot how deceiving the circuit workout is. Tiny little exercises built on top of each other to work different muscle groups and leave you thoroughly worked out.

After a brief check-in with Kamiah this morning I told her about easing into exercise and decided to do the lesser of the circuit workout that I used to do, which is just doing one set instead of two.

Thank heavens I did that for myself.

Below is the Circuit Workout that I Use:

Warm-up:
Step Touches
Arm Raises
Simulated Jump Rope
Shoulder Rolls
Neck Rolls
Marching in Place

Upper Body:
Bicep Curls
Tricep Kickbacks
Dead Lifts
Chest Flies
Shoulder Presses
Overhead Pullovers

Core:
Crunches
Oblique Crunches
Captain's Chair
Plank (I hate this so much, but keep it in there)
Back Extensions

Lower Body:
Lunges
Plie Squats
Step-ups
Reverse Lunges with Leg Lifts (wherein I start sucking wind)
Calf Raises (wherein I hate all movement)

The Cooldown:
Calf Stretch
Hamstring Stretch
One-Arm Reach
Hip Flexor Stretch
Tricep Stretch
Quad Stretch
Child's Pose (wherein I think Yoga might be awesome)
Low Back and Glute Stretch

A set is usually 10 to 12, but I make a set 12 to 15.
Some exercises are time based, such as step-ups, the plank of evil incarnate, marching in place.

Generally it kicks my ass, and when it stops kicking your ass you add another set by first finishing through all the exercises in the area and then going through again. Circuit workouts are awesome. And painful. And awesome. And sweat inducing. And Awesome.

Another tidbit that Mia and I talked about was a thought I had while walking yesterday. I am addicted to achievements on Xbox as are many individuals that I know. So why not make Exercise Achievements to give me something to strive towards...

The first couple that I could come up with were:

Walk Five Hundred Miles - 20 EXP
Walk Five Hundred More - 40 EXP

I'm sure that there are things that I should really look into that are difficult, but also easy to achieve so I have little successes. I'm not sure what all of them will be, but I'll post the achievement when I get it on my blog. Much like the image below:



If you have suggestions please let me know. I know that one should be holding the Plank position for the actual amount of time instead of always wussing out. I hate the Plank. Maybe something like "ARRRRRRRRRRRR - 10 EXP"

Be creative I'd love to have goals set by others to strive for as well.

Start Weight: 208.6 lbs.
Miles Walked: 1.5 miles
Circuit Workouts: Beginner - 1

Not Quite Sucking Wind

The re-dedication to exercise started off better than I thought it would. I didn't want to push myself back into what I used to be able to do in my height of fitness.

Because that inevitably leads to hurting the next day and putting off the exercise (I should know I've fallen into that before).

You will notice that I do not have my initial weigh-in, because perhaps I stayed up late last night playing Deathspank on Xbox and perhaps... I got up at noon. I'll put that in tomorrow.

I'd like to do measurements too, but I'll need someone to help me with that later.

Before doing my 30 minutes of cardio on the treadmill tonight I checked in with my friend Kamiah to see if she would be interested in helping me stay true to the promise I made to myself.

To exercise daily.

I told her that I would like her to guilt me everyday and she asked if she could instead be very peppy.

We also talked about what motivates us, what we do during exercise and writing.

I'm glad to have her on this ride with me, because I do admire Kamiah's commitment to many things. I'm happy to have her remind me have to be committed to myself.

The actual workout had a simple goal: 30 minutes on the treadmill or 1 1/2 miles whichever took longer. It turned out to be the 30 minutes took longer, which made me happy with the first dip back into exercise waters in a while.

A Mr. Bandito note: He was fascinated with the treadmill the entire time.

Ceasing Ramble.

Wherein I Spew Words and Such

Yes, I do realize it has been over a year since I blogged, thank you for noticing. If you did at all.

With the addition of twitter into my life I couldn't really find things to blog about without my blog turning into pictures of my cat (Who is doing fabulous, thank you for asking).

So instead I've decided I'm going to take you on a ride with me. Possibly a very, very, boring ride, but a ride nonetheless.

Yesterday I took off the afternoon at work to come home, pack and set myself towards St. Joseph to pick up Dany and see Brandi Carlile in Council Bluffs, IA. I took a quick shower because I felt like a slob and decided to change into something that was not a t-shirt of the university I work at so I would not be carded every two minutes during the concert.

So I opened up my closet.

Many of you know where this is going... the dreaded change of seasons when you pull out clothes that you wore in the past, but which are strangely tighter in the arms, or just don't look quite good around your waist/hips/chest.

I saw the lady cut graphic t-shirt of Superman stretching in areas that I hadn't seen before and Ole Blue was feeling strained and I flew into a full-on thirteen year old girl tantrum that resulted in my bed full of rejected outfits.

On the drive to St. Joseph I lamented to myself, while listening to country music, that I had finally reached the tipping point of 'when you finally realize you are out of shape'.

I knew that I had been struggling on stairs more than I should, but I didn't really care.

But it wasn't until Friday afternoon when I did the meltdown of maturity to see that I need to get back on the exercise horse.

So, I'm going to instead drift my blog into daily updates on my weight, exercise, and hopefully other entertaining things of the day.

Yes, I said daily.

Bold statement.

I'm sure I'll miss a day here and there due to lack of internet, but I'll still put it in the following days post.

I'm hoping to have a bit of an announcement tomorrow, but we'll wait on that one.

Tomorrow the weigh-in and initial "when she sucks wind" exercise re-start.

Ceasing Ramble.