Monthly Archives: March 2022

My New Computer Is A Game-Changer (or The Stress Of Buying Was Worth It)

Posted on March 17, 2022 | Comments Off on My New Computer Is A Game-Changer (or The Stress Of Buying Was Worth It)

When I ordered my new computer, it was both a thought-out and rash decision. I had planned on buying a new computer for a while, but I had been putting it off for a variety of reasons. And the reason I finally went for it was a sudden decision when I was fed up with some recurring issues I was having with my old computer. I still planned out the purchase and made sure I was getting the right machine, but from the time I decided I was finally going to buy the new computer to pressing purchase online was within an hour. I usually don’t do purchases like that so quickly, but since I already had a good idea of what I would be getting it was still something that felt like a very quick purchase.

Because I was customizing a few things for the new computer, I couldn’t go to a store and just pick it up. Plus, I wasn’t really wanting to go to the Apple Store or the mall. So having it shipped to me was what I was planning on doing no matter what. And while I was antsy to get the new computer and really fed up with the issues with my old one, I didn’t want to pay more to have expedited shipping. I got a shipping estimate and it was going to take a few weeks, and I just accepted that I would have to wait a few weeks longer.

So I was very surprised when it actually arrived almost a week and a half sooner than expected! I immediately started trying to set it up, but since I was also working I had a bit of a crazy setup on my desk using one computer for work and setting up the other.

I got a lot of things set up quickly for the new computer so I was able to spend most of the workday that it arrived working on it. And there were other things I couldn’t shift from one computer to another during work because I needed both computers to be off. But even with the limited stuff I had on the new computer, it was such a game-changer using it. Obviously, having a working keyboard is huge and makes things so much easier on me. I can type quickly again, although not quite as fast as I used to since it is a slightly different keyboard. But I’m sure I’ll be used to it soon. And the new computer is so fast and can do the work I need to do without a lot of delays. Since I have to multitask even if I’m just working one of my jobs, not having delays is so nice since I can actually get through each thing without sitting and waiting for the computer to catch up.

Even though I had a chance to finish doing some of the updates to my new computer after work or another day, I still haven’t done it. I will do it soon, but I’m looking at this time similar to my move. I know I had a lot of stuff on my old computer that I really don’t need. I’m seeing what I actually want to move to the new computer and what was just taking up space and I wasn’t thinking about it. I do have things I need to transfer over that I don’t use that often just because I need to have them, but I’m not in a big rush to do that. I also don’t know what I want to do with the old computer since it does have a broken keyboard. I haven’t looked into selling it to see what I could get and I don’t have anyone in mind that I would want to give it to.

And yes, I am thinking it was silly how long I waited for a new computer because having the new one has really made my life easier. But it’s always tough when I have to spend a lot of money and it is stressful. But it really is worth it and I’m so happy that at least for the next few years, I shouldn’t have any more computer issues. And then when I do, I’ll be buying another one and probably dealing with the same stress I had this time.

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Default ThumbnailBeing Pushed Into Splurging On Myself (or Time For A New Computer) Default ThumbnailMore Tech Issues (or This Was Typed On A Phone) Default ThumbnailI Might Have Overreacted A Bit (or A Temporary Fix For My Computer) Default ThumbnailA New Computer (or Out With The Old And In With The New) Default ThumbnailRestoring My Computer (or Glad For A Backup) Default ThumbnailTrying To Cut Back On Clutter (or Why Won’t My Computer Do What I Want It To Do?!?)

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Posted in Fun Stuff, Shopping

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Seeing My New Home Come Together (or This Feels Like We Are Starting The Last Renovation Stage)

Posted on March 16, 2022 | Comments Off on Seeing My New Home Come Together (or This Feels Like We Are Starting The Last Renovation Stage)

Going through my first renovation (or at least my first renovation as an adult) has been an interesting experience. It started off really great with so much happening within the first week. We were ahead of schedule at first, but then we had a few setbacks that put us back to the original timeline. Nothing horrible happened, but because of the timing of when we could do certain things, there were delays where we had some days where very little progress was made.

I think I had high expectations for seeing a lot of change all the time after the first week. Seeing all the demolition happen in a single day was a huge change. Seeing all of that removed from the condo was another huge change. But there are a lot of little changes that also needed to happen and those weren’t as obvious to me. For example, changing out some valves for water and gas needed to be done, but it didn’t seem like a lot of change when I looked at it. And even though adding lights to all the rooms is a big change, it didn’t feel as big as some of the other work I had seen happen.

I know that there were also probably some days where a lot of work wasn’t happening, but I do know they were taking steps toward completing the renovation each week. But it has felt for a bit that we were stuck at a standstill and nothing was really happening. Finally, that seemed to change this past week.

I know there are still other big things that need to happen and the renovation might not be done for a few more weeks, but I finally have new floors!

The floors are the same vinyl planks throughout the entire condo except for the 2 bathrooms. For my bathroom, we are keeping the tile that was in there already and for the guest bathroom, we are doing a basic gray tile. But everything else is now the same flooring! Before, there was carpeting in the bedrooms and 3 types of laminate around the rest of the condo. It wasn’t bad, but it needed to be repaired. And since so many sections needed to be repaired and it didn’t match, it was easier to just redo all the floors.

Seeing my floors really makes it feel like it’s becoming a home and not a construction site. There are still a lot of things to do and I know the next few big changes will make it feel even more like it’s my home. I can’t wait to see the new paint colors, which should be happening soon. I don’t hate the current color, but with the floors in now it seems even more yellow than before. I’m excited to see the colors I picked out and for it to feel like it’s the space I helped to design.

I feel like I’m starting to see the end in sight now. I still have to wait a bit longer before I can start moving things in, but I’m starting to really get ready for it. I’m slowly boxing up things in my place and I’ve started to order things I want to have with me when I move into the condo. My current place is feeling a bit cluttered and crazy, which I don’t love. But at least I see the progress in the condo happening and I can think about that when I’m getting anxious in my current place. And I’ve said this before, but I’m getting more and more excited about my move as I see this progress happening!

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Default ThumbnailInto The Next Stage Of The Renovation (or Seeing Things Come Back Into My Place) Default ThumbnailFeeling A Bit Unsettled (or I’ve Written About This A Lot) Default Thumbnail2 Busy LA Days (or Getting More Renovation Planning Done) Default ThumbnailNow Things Are Feeling Real (or So Far, We Are Ahead Of Schedule) Default ThumbnailOne Step Closer To Moving (or My First HOA Meeting) Default ThumbnailI’ll Have A New Home Soon (or The End Of The Condo Hunt)

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2 Years Into The Pandemic (or Still Seeing What Is The New Normal And What Has Returned To Normal)

Posted on March 15, 2022 | Comments Off on 2 Years Into The Pandemic (or Still Seeing What Is The New Normal And What Has Returned To Normal)

There are a few different dates that people consider when they think of the start of the pandemic. For me, I seem to always think of how March 13, 2020 was the last day that really felt normal. It was right before things shut down and before masks were required. I know that I was still worried about Covid and knew that it was starting to affect people in my area, but it still felt separate from my life until things started to change drastically.

And for the first few weeks of the pandemic, I was terrified. There were so many unknowns (there still are a lot of unknowns, but there’s more information about many things). I didn’t know what I really needed to worry about and what might have been an overreaction. Seeing people lined up outside of a grocery store and then finally getting inside and seeing how much was missing from the shelves was something that felt like it was out of a movie. I think I really was going between being numb and being panicked so much for the first few weeks. And it didn’t help that so much of my day-to-day routine was gone right away. I was lucky and didn’t lose my job right away, but it quickly went to having my hours cut by more than half and then down to 3 hours a week before I was out of work. I did do workouts at home so I could try to feel like I was in my routine, but it wasn’t the same as going to my workouts. And I didn’t see any of my friends because we didn’t know what we could do to keep each other safe.

Of course, at that time, we thought maybe this would be life for maybe a month or two. I don’t think anyone expected it to be the way it has turned out.

Last year, when we were marking 1 year since the start of the pandemic, things really were starting to feel hopeful. I had gotten my first vaccination and was about to get my second dose. Some of my friends were also getting their vaccinations and we were looking forward to seeing how quickly things might be returning back to what felt like normal. Most of us were expecting that we would be able to have a normal summer and I started to make plans.

But just like how we thought the pandemic would be over quickly, things a year in didn’t go the way we thought either. We had new variants that were more contagious and got people sick. Not everyone believed in the vaccinations and that caused people to get sick who could have prevented it if they did get vaccinated. And while some things were coming back, there was a lot that still wasn’t normal and people still were being very cautious. I was working on isolating myself less when I could be safe. I started to see friends again when we could be outdoors or in small groups of people who were all vaccinated. And I feel like a year ago, I thought that might be the beginning of the end.

Now that we are 2 years in, things are starting to normalize a bit more but I don’t know if that’s a good thing yet. Masks are not being required, but I still wear mine almost everywhere I go. Cases are down right now, but we can see trends happening in other places and that worries me. We are still in a time where some things are going back to the old way of normal and other things are still the new normal. And we don’t know how long the new normal will stay or if they will go back to the old normal one day.

I do want to stay hopeful and believe that it won’t be much longer before I can stop thinking about how I’m going to keep myself safe when I leave my home. I am taking chances with things that I wouldn’t have done a year ago, and I am trying to find the balance between staying safe and not living my life because of fear. It’s something that has been hard to balance since things started 2 years ago. But now I am able to put a bit more on living my life again and less on taking a lot of measures to stay safe.

I do believe that in a year, we will be recognizing the 3-year mark to the pandemic, but I hope that things will be safer in a year than they are now. Maybe whatever variant we have at that time will be not that contagious or will not get people that sick. But I think I’ve accepted that Covid is not going away and it will eventually be a regular part of life. We aren’t to a place where we can really think that way yet as too many people are still getting very sick and either having long-Covid with debilitating symptoms or dying, but I hope that we will be at that point sooner rather than later.

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Default ThumbnailAnother Pandemic Therapy Check-In (or Hanging In There) Default ThumbnailA Year Into The Pandemic (or This Is Still Such A Weird Time) Default ThumbnailEven More Pandemic Dating Adventures (or Getting Out Of The House) Default ThumbnailThoughts Almost A Year Into The Pandemic (or Things Still Seem So Weird) Default ThumbnailKeeping Up With One Beauty Routine (or A Mix Of Old Normal and New Normal) Default ThumbnailTaking Acceptable Risks (or Feeling Odd About This Stage Of The Pandemic)

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Another Normal Workout Week (or Feeling Back Into My Regular Routine)

Posted on March 14, 2022 | Comments Off on Another Normal Workout Week (or Feeling Back Into My Regular Routine)

I know that some of my workout recaps are probably a bit boring and repetitive. But honestly, boring is something I want in my life from time to time. I deal with enough issues in my workouts with various health issues, so having a normal week is something I love. And I do find myself able to push myself more when things feel normal and routine, so I see them as some of my best weeks.

Monday’s workout was a mix of endurance and strength. I think it was a bit more endurance for me, but I got some good strength work in there too.

Cardio was one long block and it was all about 90-second push paces. The base paces between each push pace ranged from 45-seconds to 90-seconds. The push paces weren’t too bad on their own, but to only have 45-seconds at a base pace after was really tough. And we ended with a 1-minute push pace and a 30-second all-out. I tried to go hard for the all-out since it was the only one, but I was feeling tired at the end of the block.

Rowing was also one long block. We started with a 600-meter row and then we had lunges. That was the workout for the entire block, but the row went down by 100-meters each time. I really want to be able to row without breaks again, but I’m just not there for the longer rows. So I was taking breaks for most of the rows I got to do in the workout.

And on the floor, we had 2 blocks that had a lot of Bosu work. The first block had weighted front squats, burpees, and reverse extensions. For the burpees and extensions, we were supposed to use the Bosu but I only did about half of the burpees with it. And the second block had lateral raises to front raises, squats, and side plank dips. The raises and plank work were supposed to be on the Bosu, but I did them on the floor without it. I usually can do the raises while kneeling on the Bosu, but I was feeling really unbalanced and didn’t want to use up too much time trying to find my balance and not have as much time to do the exercises.

Wednesday was a strength day, and I was starting to have a few more issues with my hips. I have noticed this is happening more and more often and I can’t fix things the same way I used to, so I’m a bit worried. But it might be after walking weird after my foot thing, so I’m just trying to wait it out a bit before I really get worried.

For cardio, we had 2 blocks. The first block had a 2-minute push pace, a 1-minute base pace, a 2-minute base pace on an incline, a 1-minute base pace, and a 30-second all-out on an incline. The second block was the same work, but we had the 2-minute base pace at an incline first and the 2-minute push pace second. The resistance level I used for it was what is normally my all-out level, so doing that for 2 minutes was really tough.

On the rower, we worked on stroke drills. In the first block, we had to row 100-meters and count how many strokes it took. The goal was to make the number as low as possible because after each row, we took the number of strokes it took and did that number of reps for a squat chest press with a medicine ball. The second block had us doing a 250-meter row and then using that number of strokes for a front jack with the medicine ball (which I did as an overhead press).

And on the floor, the first block had single-arm chest presses, bench tap squats with bicep curls, and single-arm hip hinge low rows. And the second block had kneeling single-arm shoulder presses and plank pull-throughs.

Friday’s workout was a mix of endurance, strength, and power but to me, it felt like it focused most on endurance and strength.

Cardio had 2 blocks and the first block was more endurance. We had rounds of push paces to 30-second base paces. The push paces started at 30-seconds and went up to 90-seconds before going back down and having a 30-second all-out at the end. 30-seconds of a base pace isn’t that long, especially when you just did a 90-second push pace. The second block had 30-second base paces with inclines and 1-minute base paces with no incline in-between. The resistance levels I used on the bike were really high, at least 2 higher than my normal all-out level, so I felt like I was barely moving for a lot of that second block.

The rower was 1 long block. We started with a 100-meter row and then we were supposed to do foot exchanges after each row. Then we had a 200-meter, 400-meter, and 800-meter row before going back down. But the foot exchanges were too tough on my hip and it was hard for me to get on and off the rower, so I just tried to row for the entire block as much as I could and took breaks when I needed them.

And the floor was 2 blocks. The first block was using the TRX straps. We had reverse lunges holding onto the straps (I tried doing as many of these as possible before doing regular lunges), Y raises, and reach and rotates. And the second block was supposed to be with a single set of weights for all exercises. We had closed grip chest presses, seated low rows, and squat to shoulder presses. I had to pick I weight I could do the shoulder presses with, so I went a little lighter for the chest presses but because I limited my breaks it still felt tough.

Saturday’s workout was a Dri-Tri prep day. There have been a few of these this month, but I have missed the first two. But they are designed to get you ready for the Dri-Tri, which is coming up! This prep day was to prepare for the cardio portion.

Cardio was one long block with timed runs/push paces followed by a 1-minute base pace. We started with a 5-minute run and each time after the base pace, the run went down by 1 minute. After a 1-minute run/push and a 1-minute base pace, we had a 4-minute progressive push pace. We were supposed to increase the speed/resistance level every minute, but my body was so tired by that point so I did it every other minute. And then we ended with a 1-minute all-out. I didn’t make it to the distance I normally would in that time for the Dri-Tri, but it was a good prep day and a nice challenge.

And the floor was also one long block. We had 5 different exercises for the block. Each exercise was done for 8, 6, 4, and 2 reps before doing a 250-meter row and then moving on to the next exercise. So essentially, we did 20 reps and then a row. But because the exercises were done per side, you switched so you had 8 reps on the right and then 8 on the left, 6 on the right and then 6 on the left, and so on. The exercises were lunges, single-arm shoulder presses, single-leg deadlifts (which I did as regular deadlifts), side plank rotations, and step-ups. Because we have the newer benches now and they can go pretty low to the ground, I was able to do step-ups instead of lunges. They were a tough challenge for me since I never really do them, but I’m glad I tried.

I really was happy how this past week went, even with the hip issues that I had and continue to have. And because I do have the Dri-Tri coming up, I’m glad I’m feeling pretty amazing now because there is a chance that the Dri-Tri will be on what will possibly be my worst day for pain and nausea.

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Default ThumbnailJust A Normal And Good Workout Week (or Using My Workouts To Get Out My Stress) Default ThumbnailBack To A Regular Workout Week (or Still Being Careful, But Trying To Get Back To Normal) Default ThumbnailLast Regular Workout Week Of 2019 (or Still Pushing Through) Default ThumbnailAnother Normal Workout Week (or Getting Back To Everything Feeling Routine) Default ThumbnailA Good, Strong Workout Week (or I Really Love Feeling Like Myself) Default ThumbnailBack To What Feels Like A Normal Schedule (or Sometimes Having A Normal Week Is Exactly What I Need)

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Missing A Trip (or I Know There Will Be More Chances In The Future)

Posted on March 11, 2022 | Comments Off on Missing A Trip (or I Know There Will Be More Chances In The Future)

This weekend, I was supposed to go on a trip. This was going to be my first trip in quite a long time. I don’t get to travel that often to begin with, but for the past 2 years, the furthest I’ve been from LA has been Santa Barbara. And this was a trip that I had been looking forward to for a while.

I’ve written about the Movie Club I started at the beginning of the pandemic with a Facebook group that I’m in and how a small group of us have gotten very close. Even though I have been chatting and texting with this group for about 2 years, we have never met in person. And this weekend, we planned a trip to finally get to meet each other.

One person in the group is housesitting at a farm where there is enough room for all of us to go there. And I was so excited for this trip and really was doing my best to try to find any way to be there. But the biggest issue for me was trying to make it there. Everyone in the group except me is on the east coast. And this weekend was going to be on the east coast of Canada. I wasn’t as worried about getting into Canada even with the different travel protocols. But getting to the east coast quickly looked impossible.

The first setback I hit was finding flights I could take. I know that getting on a plane is not the safest thing to do, but I wanted to make it as safe as I could. So I was only looking at flights that wouldn’t require a stop or a layover. Those turned out to be pretty limited. And when I opened my search to ones that did have stops, so many had stops in cities I didn’t want a layover in (mostly due to weather) or they had extremely long layovers. If I was going away just for a weekend, I didn’t want to spend 10 hours traveling when I could do it in 5. I looked at flights into other airports that would be cheaper, but then that still made my travel day extra long because I would be flying for 5 hours and then driving for 2 or 3.

As much as I could tolerate the idea of traveling for so long just for a weekend to finally meet my friends, the thing that stopped me was looking at ticket prices. Even the cheapest options were going to be close to $1000 for me. That’s a lot of money for a weekend and I have had a lot of expenses lately that made me hesitate to spend that much on another thing. I was checking flights every day for over a month, but I finally had to admit defeat and tell the group that there is no way for me to make it this weekend.

Everyone understood, especially since I was the one who was traveling the furthest. And I know they wish I could be there but it just isn’t possible. There is one other person from the group who won’t be able to make it due to a work conflict, and while I’m glad we have each other to talk to about how sad we are that we are missing out, I wish there was a way that all of us could be there.

I’m trying to not be too down on myself about this all because there just wasn’t a good way to make it happen. And the group is already planning a trip to come to LA, so that will obviously be easier for me to plan out. But it’s tough when this is something I have been looking forward to for a while. I’m trying to make the best of this weekend at home when I was thinking I’d be away and I’m already working on planning what we will do when the group comes to LA. Even though I am missing this first group trip, I know it’s only the first of many and I will have so many other opportunities in the future to travel with them.

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Default ThumbnailTrip Planning (or Keeping Panic To A Minimum) Default ThumbnailBack To LA (or Reflections On The NYC Trip) Default ThumbnailThe Rest Of My Maryland Trip (or More Family Time) Default ThumbnailA Plane Ride And A Mini Road Trip (or My Adventure To Get To Lake Tahoe) Default ThumbnailTrip Prep (or How The Earthquake Made Me Super Productive) Default ThumbnailA Day In Joshua Tree (or The End Of My Trip To Palm Springs)

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Posted in Fun Stuff, Tough Stuff, Travel

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Finding A Balance With My Committee Work (or Not Volunteering For Everything)

Posted on March 10, 2022 | Comments Off on Finding A Balance With My Committee Work (or Not Volunteering For Everything)

I’ve really been enjoying the new union committee work that I’m lucky to be a part of. I know that not everyone who wants to be on committees gets on them. For several years, I applied to be on multiple committees and never got on a single one. So now that I am on a few different ones, I am trying to make the most of the opportunities that I’ve been given.

But at the same time, I know that I don’t have to do everything that is an option for me. I am dealing with more stress than I’d like to be dealing with right now and I know that it wouldn’t take too many additional things to get me to a point of being burnt out. I need to be careful how much I take on and I also have to be ok speaking up for myself when I think something might be too much for me at the time.

I had another local communications committee meeting this week and it went really well. There are a few people on the committee that I have known from union service before, but there are also a lot of new people that have been bringing in new and fresh ideas. A big part of the meeting we had this week was related to social media, so it was something I am very familiar with. Most of the committee seemed to be on the same page with some of the work that we needed to do. And it was decided to have a few people from the committee work together on creating posts that could be available to be used when something is needed.

This is very similar to the work that I was recently doing at my old job, and I’m sure I could be really great at helping out with this. But I know right now I don’t have the time or ability to really do the work the way we need it to be done. If I did help out with this, for at least the next month or two I either wouldn’t be much help or something else in my life would have to suffer. I wasn’t going to volunteer to help out because I knew this, but when the committee needed someone else to help out, I was asked if I wanted to do it since this is something I would be good at.

I did appreciate that they thought I could do the work and they know that I have a background in this. And I know it would have been easy to say yes and just try to find a way to make it work. But I am working on still standing up for myself and making sure I don’t agree to something because of someone else. So I spoke up and said that while I would love to help with this work, it would have to start in a few months when my life calmed down a bit since right now I’m a bit busy and distracted.

Saying something like that was a bit scary since I’m used to just going along with things, even if I know they aren’t always the best for me. But I’ve been working on doing this more and more and it’s starting to be a bit easier for me to do. And I’m glad that the rest of the committee understood that I’m in a temporary crazy time and nobody seemed bothered that I turned down the work. Seeing a positive reaction like that helps me feel more comfortable saying things like that moving forward.

And once I am into my new place and things are a bit more stable, I’d be more than happy to help out with the work. I’ll bring that up at the meeting we have after I move. I’m not sure if that will be the next meeting or the one after that, but it should be one of the next 2 meetings. And if there are other things that I know I can take on in the meanwhile, I will. I really am trying to stay involved in the union when I can, but I also have to keep in mind what I can take on and what will be just too much for me at the time.

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Default ThumbnailUnion Committee Work (or Continuing To Be More and More Involved In My Union) Default ThumbnailContinuing With My Union Committee Service (or I’m Still So Grateful These Are Done Over Zoom) Default ThumbnailFinding A Work/Life Balance (or Preparing to Not Be Unemployed) Default ThumbnailGetting More Union Meetings In (or I’m Grateful These Are Done On Zoom) Default ThumbnailLots Of Virtual Meetings (or Virtual Union Meetings) Default ThumbnailAnother Union Working Evening (or Doubling Up On Live Streams)

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Another Virtual Tax Appointment (or Missing The Social Time I Used To Have)

Posted on March 9, 2022 | Comments Off on Another Virtual Tax Appointment (or Missing The Social Time I Used To Have)

One of the benefits of becoming friends with the person who helps me do my taxes is that the stress I have in those appointments is usually not as bad because I’m distracted by our catch-up. And I am very grateful that I also have a tax person who understands why this is so stressful for me and tries to make things not as scary.

I was lucky in 2020 because since I do my taxes as early as possible, I did them before things shut down and I was in person at the office and it was just like all the other appointments I was used to in the past. And last year, I had my first time doing a virtual appointment but since it was with the same person at the same office, things were pretty close to what I was used to. I did have to get my paperwork submitted earlier than normal because of the virtual process, but because I have done this type of paperwork before, it was fine.

And just like so much in the world in the past 2 years, things continue to not really be back to the old normal. The office where I had been getting my taxes done closed down. The owner retired and we got an email saying that the people who we had been working with would be reaching out to us directly to let us know our options. Fortunately for me, I found out that I was going to be able to have the same person because she was going into business on her own! I emailed her immediately to tell her how grateful I was for that and to set up my appointment for my taxes.

It was another virtual appointment so I missed out on a lot of the social time that I like, but we did still get a little bit of time to be silly and not just talk about my taxes. And she only had a few questions about what I put on my forms (there are some things I’m not always sure about and she has a section where I can list them so we can go over each one). But my guesses for a lot of what I put down in the questionable section were right so it was easy enough for her to plug in all the information and get my taxes figured out quickly.

I wasn’t sure how I would do this time since I had the condo purchase to put on there and my estimated taxes weren’t going to be as accurate as before since they were based on my 2020 income which was significantly less than my 2021 income. I overpaid my estimated taxes to hopefully balance things out. And I did ok in the end. I owe money for my state return (which is expected since I don’t have estimated taxes for state) and I am getting back money on my federal return. I will be getting more money back than I owe, so that is nice. I know I’m not necessarily getting money back since this is my money I put into things, but it’s better to get something back from what I overpaid than to owe money that I didn’t pay.

I have no clue if by next year things will be a bit more normal and I’ll be going in for my taxes in person. It won’t be at the office I used to go to, but being in person would be nice since it’s been a long time with virtual appointments for so many things.

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Default ThumbnailA Different Type Of Taxes Appointment (or Sometimes I Do Better Than Expected) Default ThumbnailTax Time Again! (or It’s A Taxes Miracle!) Default ThumbnailTax Time (or Happy To Owe The Government Some Money) Default ThumbnailIt’s Tax Time (or Seeing My Tracking And Organizing Pay Off) Default ThumbnailNot Quite Winning At Taxes This Year (or Owing Money And Seeing Car Accidents) Default ThumbnailAnother Virtual Doctor Appointment (or Planning Some Next Steps)

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Some Things Are Starting To Return To Normal (or I Still Have To Make Smart Choices For Myself)

Posted on March 8, 2022 | Comments Off on Some Things Are Starting To Return To Normal (or I Still Have To Make Smart Choices For Myself)

For almost 2 years now, I have worn a mask pretty much everywhere I have gone. There are a few exceptions such as eating outdoors (I still have not eaten inside a restaurant since the beginning of 2020) or going over to a friend’s house if we both are ok being unmasked. And while this may be a choice others find risky, I do go without a mask at my workouts since they have allowed us to do so. But I only do that because they do require proof of vaccination and I know everyone there is taking the situation as seriously as I do. I still bring a mask with me to my workouts so I can put it on if I feel like I need to wear it.

But other than those few rare occasions, I always have a mask on when I’m around others. I remember at the start of the pandemic when I didn’t have proper masks and I was trying to make them out of whatever I had at my house. Now, I have a collection of masks and I always have at least one with me. I have one that is always in my car and one that is always in my purse. And I have a bunch at my front door where I keep my purse when I’m home so I can always grab a different one since some are better for different activities or circumstances. And I quickly learned that masks do trigger my claustrophobia so I have had quite a few panic attacks while wearing them. But there is no doubt that wearing a mask has kept me safe and healthy for almost 2 years. While I do wonder if I had Covid at the very beginning of 2020 (I lost my sense of taste and smell for almost a week, but that was before that was a known symptom), I haven’t gotten sick since I started to wear masks. And I’m grateful for that and I have no regrets about how careful I have been.

But things have taken a turn for the better with the pandemic. While the number of cases every day isn’t the lowest it’s been, the number of people who are in the hospital is dropping significantly every day. And that’s a good measure about how things are going since we know there is a chance this may just become a normal cold that is rarely fatal. Because things look better, more and more changes to return back to the old normal are happening. One of those changes is not requiring masks indoors as long as you are fully vaccinated.

Of course, a lot of places are relying on others and believing that they are fully vaccinated without requiring proof. And I have a feeling that most people who choose not to be vaccinated would also choose to not wear a mask if they could help it. So I didn’t think too much about the mask mandate being changed since I knew I would keep a mask on while indoors unless I knew they were requiring proof of vaccination. And I didn’t think too much about this until I went to the grocery store this past weekend.

I only had to pick up a few things and I didn’t want to wait until I might do a grocery delivery, so I went to the store myself on a Sunday afternoon. And even though I knew that they might not require masks, I think I briefly forgot about that because it was a shock to see people inside without masks on. Especially since there was nobody who checked to make sure anyone unvaccinated was still wearing a mask. A majority of the people inside were still wearing masks, so I wasn’t the only one still making that choice. But there were plenty of people inside without masks and it honestly felt a bit weird. It shouldn’t be weird since a majority of my life people weren’t wearing masks inside, but for some reason it really just hit me. And I was feeling a lot of anxiety being inside there so I quickly did my shopping and went home.

I know that this is a good thing that we can even consider not wearing masks, but I’m not ready for that just yet with a lot of situations. I’m sure that in the future, I will be so grateful I don’t have to think about masks anymore and we will be back to whatever normal means at that time. But for now, it still feels like a bit of an in-between time where some people still have the same fears and concerns that I do and others are ready to be over the pandemic and back to the old normal. I haven’t had to confront this feeling too often in public because masks have been required for so long, but I do feel ok with the choices I’m still making for myself and making sure that any risks I take are acceptable to me.

And maybe in a week or two, I will feel differently and will be ok not wearing a mask indoors and around others that may or may not be vaccinated. One thing I have learned over and over again for the past 2 years is how I need to be able to adapt based on the information I have available to me and be flexible in my thinking. But for now, I’m just not ready to change that much.

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Default ThumbnailRequiring Masks Again (or This Doesn’t Change Too Much For Me) Default ThumbnailSome Of The New Normal (or I’ll Need To Get Used To This) Default ThumbnailContinuing To Try To Stay Safe (or Making Sure I Don’t Panic Too Much or Too Little) Default ThumbnailGetting Ready For A Booster (or I’m So Glad Vaccines Are Starting To Be Required) Default ThumbnailThoughts About The Reopening (or Feeling Safe And Scared At Once) Default ThumbnailIt’s Musical Time! (or Another Return To Normalcy)

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Just A Normal And Good Workout Week (or Using My Workouts To Get Out My Stress)

Posted on March 7, 2022 | Comments Off on Just A Normal And Good Workout Week (or Using My Workouts To Get Out My Stress)

When gyms were shut down for over a year, I could tell that stress and other negative emotions were getting to me more than normal. There is no question in my mind that going to my workouts helps my mental health, and even when I have a good week I can use the workouts to get some stress out of my system. And that’s exactly what happened this past week. I had an overall good week, but I did need to work out some stress and anxiety and I think that led to my workouts being better for me.

Monday’s workout was a mix of endurance, strength, and power and it was a 2 group class. And even though there was some endurance work in the workout, I had a lot of opportunities to work on my power, especially on the bike.

For cardio, we had the same workout for blocks 1, 3, and 5. Those blocks were a 30-second push pace, 30-second base pace, and 30-second all-out. I really tried to push my speed on the bike for those all-outs since they were short blocks. And for blocks 2 and 4 we had a 2-minute push pace, 1-minute base pace, 2-minute push pace at an incline, 1-minute base pace, 30-second push pace, and 30-second all-out. Those blocks were a bit harder for the all-outs since it was after more intervals, including hills. But I was still able to push myself a bit more than normal for all the intervals.

And on the floor, we also had 5 blocks. This time, for blocks 1, 3, and 5 we had the same exercises. We had burpees, hip hinge low rows, and neutral thrusters. Each exercise was done for 30-seconds (timed out with the treadmills), but we did them in a different order for each block. For block 2 we had pull-ups on the straps (which I did as high rows), plank rotations, and a 150-meter row. And for block 4 we had chest presses on the straps, dead bugs, and a 150-meter row. I finally feel like I can push off on the rower properly with my heel again, so my rowing is almost back to normal. I just have to work on my form which got sloppy while I wasn’t able to row properly.

Wednesday’s workout was a power day. I was having a bit of a bad hip day due to how I slept the night before, but it wasn’t too bad and it was something I could manage pretty well throughout the workout.

For cardio, blocks 1 and 3 were all about 30-second intervals. We had a round of a push pace to an all-out and 2 rounds of a push pace to base pace to an all-out. And after each all-out, we had 30-seconds of a walking recovery which isn’t too long to recover. And in block 2, we had 2 rounds of a 30-second push pace to a 1-minute base pace with a 30-second all-out at the end.

On the rower, blocks 1 and 3 were timed with the treadmills with the 30-second intervals. Even though my rowing is getting better, I don’t have a huge difference between my base and push rows. For my all-out rows, I usually can go harder because I know I will have recovery time after so I can burn out a bit. And for the second block, we had rounds of 150-meter rows with high knees. I tried my best with the high knees, but I pretty much did them as static marching but I think it was a close modification.

And on the floor, blocks 1 and 3 were timed with cardio as well. For block 1 we had 30-seconds of a low row on the left side, 30-seconds of a low row on the right side, and 30-seconds of recovery time. And for block 3 it was the same idea but with single-arm clean to press instead of the low row. And for block 2, we had single-arm squats to upright rows and overhead presses with a rainbow arc (so you moved the weight from side to side).

Friday’s workout was an endurance workout and I was having a bit more hip pain than I did on Wednesday. It was a combination of some residual pain from Wednesday plus some pain due to the weather. But the pain was more about being uncomfortable than it was sharp pain like it can be sometimes. And for all sides of the room, we had a single 14-minute block.

For cardio, it was rounds of a push pace followed by a 90-second base pace. The push paces were 4-minutes, 2-minutes, 90-seconds, 1-minute, and 30-seconds. And we ended with a 30-second all-out. The 4-minute push was really more of a timed challenge so we didn’t have to do what we normally would do for a push pace. So I put the resistance level on the bike at the level between my base and push level. But for the other push paces, I did my normal push level.

The rower was probably the hardest section for me. It was timed with cardio and every time cardio had a push pace or an all-out we had a timed distance row. Rowing for 4-minutes isn’t easy to do no matter how I feel. And it was a bit harder than normal for me due to all my hip issues. I couldn’t do it without a break, but I tried to keep going whenever I could. And when cardio was at a base pace, we had squats and overhead presses with a medicine ball. We were supposed to do 15 of each exercise, but we only had 90-seconds to do it and I couldn’t get them all done so I usually did 10 or 12 reps of each.

And on the floor, we had 3 mini-blocks within the long block and we did each mini-block twice before moving on to the next one. The first mini-block was all about lunges, and I had to modify it to just be regular lunges for the exercises. The second mini-block had lateral lunges to suitcase squats (which I had to do as 2 separate exercises) and cossack squats. And the last mini-block had sit-ups with rotations and reverse crunches. I spent a lot of time on that last block since I usually don’t do sit-ups and do crunches instead, but I wanted to challenge myself and I took my time and did them.

Saturday was another strength day and another 2 group class. And this strength-based workout was based around doing drop sets on the floor, which I always like as a challenge.

We had 3 blocks for both sides of the room. And for cardio, every block had the same pattern. We had a push pace, a 1-minute base pace, hill work, a 30-second push pace, a 1-minute base pace, and a 30-second all out. Each block, the first push pace and the hill work got shorter. We started with a 2-minute push pace and a 90-second hill, decreasing the incline/resistance level every 30-seconds, and each block the push and hill were 30-seconds shorter. The hill work was pretty high for me with the resistance levels, but I could tell that I am getting stronger on the bike because they weren’t as challenging as they were before.

On the floor, every block had a drop set exercise plus one other exercise. And for the first 2 blocks, we also had a row. The first block had a 300-meter row and the second block had a 200-meter row. The drop set exercises were shoulder presses, tricep extensions, and single-arm low rows. And the other exercises were rollouts on the straps, mountain climbers, and plank shoulder taps. I know I didn’t do the heaviest I’ve done with drop sets before, but I also didn’t go as low for the lighter rep sets as I did before. So I think having a smaller difference between the sets of weights I used was a sign of improvement.

This past week honestly was a week I needed. I still don’t love how early I get up in the mornings, but I also feel so much better about things after I’m done with my workout. I need this mood boost in the mornings and I’m glad some of the negative things in my life were used for good with being able to push me more.

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Finally Feeling Healed (or Recovery Took Longer Than Expected)

Posted on March 4, 2022 | Comments Off on Finally Feeling Healed (or Recovery Took Longer Than Expected)

When I had the minor procedure done on my foot, I was told that I would probably be walking normally again after a week or two, and then maybe it would be another week or two after that before I would feel completed healed. And the first part of that was accurate for me. A week after it was done, I was wearing normal shoes again and I didn’t need crutches or my cane. But I was still in pain as my foot healed. And I had to keep it bandaged for almost a month because my skin was feeling very sore and tender. The pain reminded me of a bad sunburn or if you burn your fingers on a hot pan. And I guess in a way, that’s pretty close to what it was. It was new skin that was healing and the tightness I felt was the skin coming back together.

But after I was off my crutches, I felt almost completely better. I didn’t mind having to keep a bandage on my foot since I was walking normally and could wear any shoes I wanted to. And as each day passed, the tenderness I felt was subsiding and I had fewer moments where there was a sharp zap of pain because of how I was stepping on my foot. Because I’m used to so much pain normally, this didn’t bother me too much. But I did want things to be done healing so I could finally be past this time.

And it really took until the beginning of this week before I felt like I was done with the tough healing process. Right now, you can still see the edges of where my foot was cut on my heel because the skin hasn’t fully healed over. But it’s now looking more like what your foot looks like when a blister is almost fully healed. I can put lotion on my foot again, which is normally a regular part of my daily self-care. And while I’m still waiting to do some things to my foot for things to fully heal (like different foot masks that I like to do from time to time), I feel pretty confident that I’m finally on the other side of having to worry about this wart on my foot and the treatments I’ve been doing for so long.

I know that there’s always a chance I will be the extremely rare case that will either need more freezing treatments or to have something cut from my heel again, but I’m trying to remain hopeful that I won’t be. I have another appointment with my dermatologist in about a week and a half, and I think he will be able to give me a better idea of if things are done or not.

Even though this healing process was longer than I was hoping it would be and I did have about a month where I was dealing with a lot of pain and discomfort, this will be worth it if I finally am past this and don’t have to think about it again. I still have plenty of other things in my life that cause me pain and discomfort, but to have one less thing is nice.

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