Category Archives: Fun Stuff

Some New Workout Milestones (or I’m Doing Better Than I Thought)

Posted on July 2, 2018 | 2 comments

My workouts have been pretty brutal for me lately. I hated that it was so bad and that I wasn’t able to do a lot of what I wanted or felt like I could. And I was thinking that this past week of workouts was finally going to be the time that things turned around for me. They didn’t totally turn around for me and I was still dealing with some issues (which hopefully won’t be the case much longer), but I did have some awesome workout milestones to make up for the challenges I had.

Monday was an endurance, strength, and power workout. And again this class which is usually 3 groups was a 2 group workout. It ended up feeling similar to 3 groups and that ended up being a good thing for me. While my nausea was finally ending, I was dealing with some horrendous cramps. I literally could feel my uterus contracting and that pain was some of the worst pain I’ve experienced. I took a painkiller before my workout, but I knew that it wasn’t going to be the best workout for me.

For cardio, we had 2 blocks and one was on the treadmill (bike for me) and the other was on the rower. Both blocks had a similar format. We started with a 30 second all out and then we had an exercise. Then we did that again before moving on to 2 rounds of 45 second all outs with exercises between. And I made it to the first 1 minute all out each time before the block ended. On the bike, the exercise was a squat to a low row using weights and on the rower it was lunges. On both block I had to take significant breaks to let the pain go away and I was just grateful that I didn’t hurt myself by falling off the bike or the rower.

On the floor we also had 2 blocks. The first block was frogger squats, sit-ups, leg lifts, and squat reach arounds on the straps. The second block was chest flys, bicep curls, plank reaches, and high rows on the straps. Just like with cardio, I had to take a lot of breaks on the floor. I needed to breathe through the cramps (I figured since they are a similar type of pain that you have when you give birth that breathing through them was a good idea) and they really didn’t seem to be getting better or worse through the workout. So I figured I would just do what I could and not worry too much about it.

Wednesday’s workout was another signature workout. This one is called Orange X and the goal is to do certain weightlifting exercises using the highest weight you can. I was looking forward to doing this workout for a few reasons. One is I knew that I had been doing better with weights so I was excited to see what I could do. Another reason was this was my 100th workout of 2018 which actually puts me a little bit ahead of my goal for the year!

The workout had a switch format and I stuck with the bike since I was still feeling a little off. The first block was 2.5 minutes which was a push pace, base pace, and all out pace and then we switched and did the same thing on the rower. Then the next block was a longer one that had a run/row in it. On the treadmill it was .2 miles (the bike is 4 times that) and then a 200 meter row. And each round the treadmills were supposed to increase the incline by 1%. So each round I increased the gears by 1. The final cardio block was more of a standard format with push pace to base pace with an all out at the end.

On the floor, the first block was split in half with half of us starting with the Orange X workout and the other half doing some body weight work. This was to allow people to test as many different weights as they could. I was on the side that started with body weight work and we had sit-ups, lunges, and mountain climbers. Halfway through the block we switched and it was my turn to try the heavy weights. We had a single arm low row, a goblet squat, and a chest press. With low rows, I’m usually using 15lb weights (sometimes 20lb), with goblet squats it’s usually 25lb, and with chest press I’m usually around 20lb or 25lb. But of course I had to push myself. So I started with the low row and used 35lb and while it was tough and probably didn’t look pretty I did it! I would have loved to try the same weight for the chest press, but I knew that laying on my back I was in a riskier position if the weights were too heavy so I tried 30lb. That ended up being the perfect tough weight for me. And because of my coach I tried using a 45lb weight for the first time for my squats! I actually might have been able to go a bit heavier, but my grip wasn’t strong enough.

I was so surprised by what I was able to do and I’m so glad that I tried to do weights that seemed impossible to me! I will still have to ease into using these weights for regular workouts since we usually have more reps to do, but it was a nice confidence boost to realize how strong I am! We had one more floor block in the end where we got to do the Orange X work again and I stuck with my new heavier weights then too.

Friday’s workout was the first one where I seriously thought I’d finally be back on the treadmill. But I need my first treadmill workout back to be one where we have a bit more recovery time or we switch between blocks. And Friday’s workout was an endurance workout with a 23 minute block on the treadmill so I was back on the bike.

We had longer push paces with base paces after. Each round for 3 rounds the push pace got shorter and the base pace got longer and we repeated that for a total of 6 rounds. I was only taking breaks when I needed water which ended up being about every other base pace. But I was also pedaling faster than normal so I think I was sweating more and feeling thirsty more often. I never felt like I was taking a break to catch my breath which was a nice feeling. I know that if this workout was one with shorter blocks I probably could have been fine on the treadmill. But I knew that I’d be back on the treadmill back soon enough.

On the floor, it was one longer block that was bookended by rowing. At the beginning and end of the block was had a 2 minute row for distance. I did beat my first row by about 20 meters when I did the second row, so I was pretty excited about that. And on the floor, we had a lot of mini-band work. We had half of it as lower body work and half of it as upper body work. For lower body work we had bench tap squats using weights, squat front walks, and knee tucks. For all of those the bands were around my calf. And the upper body work were plank side reaches and front raises. Both of those had the bands around my wrist. I was definitely feeling it in my shoulders and quads by the time I was back on the rower to end the workout, but it wasn’t too bad. I was worried I might have overdone it during Wednesday’s workout and I was pleasantly surprised I wasn’t super sore during Friday’s workout.

On Saturday, I was thinking I’d be using the treadmill but I still didn’t. There were 2 reasons why I stuck with the bike. First, this was going to be my last workout of the month and I figured it would be kind of interesting to have a full month of just the bike in my calendar. But the bigger reason was that I was a bit scared. It’s been a very long time since I was on the treadmill and it’s worrying me how I will do. I need to get over this fear and I’m setting a goal to use the treadmill at least once this week, but it wasn’t the case last week.

The workout had a mix of everything. We had a block on cardio that was a normal endurance block with longer push paces with base paces after. We had a block that was run/floor work with 45 second all out paces with frogger squats. And we had a block that was a run/row with 45 second all out paces with 200 meter rows. And the 45 second all out paces were at inclines (or higher resistances for me on the bike). It was a bit tough jumping on and off the bike, but not too bad and I was able to get moving again pretty quickly after the frogger squats and rowing.

On the floor I wanted to try a bit with heavier weights. We had lunges which I used 25lb weights for and upright rows which I used 20lb weights for (both of those are 1 set heavier than I would usually grab). Then we had a 500 meter row and then it was single arm low row and bicep curls with weights. I really wanted to use 15lb weights for my biceps because I knew my arms were getting tired, but they were all being used by other people so I had to use 20lb weights instead. It was good to be forced to use the heavier weights. Then we had a 250 meter row and then more weight work with pullovers and toe reaches. For the toe reaches I had to go low on the weight, but I moved up to a weight heavier with the 30lb weight for my pullovers!

While I didn’t get all the improvements and victories in my workouts that I wanted to have, I still had a lot to be proud of. I did heavier weights than I ever knew I could use and used the heavier weights as a guide for other workouts. And I hit the 100 workout milestone for the year! Those are both things to be very happy with and I just hope the positive momentum keeps going into this week!

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Finding Ways To Treat Myself (or I Wish Money Wasn’t An Issue)

Posted on June 29, 2018 | Comments Off on Finding Ways To Treat Myself (or I Wish Money Wasn’t An Issue)

This post is similar to what I’ll be writing when I do my recap of how my monthly challenge went, but it’s a bit different. I’ve been working on reconnecting to myself and doing things that make me happy. And as I’ve been working on that, I’ve discovered one area where I’ve been not really able to work on things. And that is doing things that feel special to me or treating myself.

It may seem like I treat myself a lot because I do fun things. But most of those things are something I’ve saved up for to do (like my Pantages tickets or my Disneyland pass) or things that I get to do for free or at a discount because either I review them on here (and I will always disclose when I get a discount or free item for a review) or because I have a connection with someone who can help me out (like when I got to go to the friends and family day at Face Haus). But beyond the things that have been planned for a while or that I have a connection to, I really don’t seem to go outside of the set things I spend money on.

Of course, a lot of this has to do with lack of funding. If I had unlimited money (or significantly more money), I would not hesitate to spend on things I wanted to do. I’ve been wanting to get my house professionally cleaned recently. I don’t need a weekly or even monthly cleaning person, but I’d love to do a deep clean from someone who knows what they are doing once or twice a year. This doesn’t have to be expensive, but it’s not in my budget right now. I’d also love to either buy fresh flowers or have a delivery of fresh flowers on a regular basis. I have some friends who do this and it always seems so nice to have flowers in your home. Plus, flowers always seem to put a smile on your face, even when you ordered them for yourself. And then there are all the fun monthly/quarterly subscription boxes that so many people do and love. I have a list of ones I’d want to try if I could afford it.

All of those things are more of luxury splurges because I could be fine without any of them. But then there are the more basic splurges that I’ve been not doing either. I don’t get pedicures regularly, but I try to do it a few times a year (I have issues with my toenails sometimes and a pedicure is cheaper than an appointment with a podiatrist). I’ve been saying for almost 3 months that I was going to set aside time to go get a pedicure but I haven’t done it yet. Money is a small part of why I’ve been putting it off, but I also just don’t feel at times that I deserve it or should do it. It’s the same with buying clothes. I would love to buy the rare nicer piece of clothing that doesn’t feel as much as throwaway clothing. I’ve got some things picked out that I’d like to get and I haven’t purchased them. This one is a bit about money but also a bit about wanting to wait until I’m a different size to buy stuff. Either way, I’m delaying doing something that I’d like to do.

Obviously I can’t just go out and buy all the things I want and do all the things on my list. I do need to budget and find where the money is in my budget to spend. And some of these things may need to be something I save a few dollars a month for and then later this year I can do it. But I’m also looking at adding another job to what I’m doing. I’ve got one job that should be very part-time and won’t pay a ton of money, but I think it will cover at least my cable and power bills each month. It should be starting in the next month or two and I’m excited about it. And I’m meeting with someone soon who knows me through the podcast I work for and wanted to see if there is something that they can hire me to do. They don’t have a specific job for me to apply for, but they wanted to see if we could work together.

If I have these new jobs, they will probably fit into my schedule with my current ones. And I plan on doing them all if possible. I could use all the additional income toward my debt and then once that is eventually paid off I could reevaluate things. The priority is to pay off my debt as soon as possible, but I also know I need to allow some flexibility to have some fun money. But until I have that extra income, I think my list for how I want to spend the fun money is going to have to just stay a list for now.

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Default ThumbnailSpreading Some Holiday Cheer (or Finding Cheaper Ways To Make People Smile) Default ThumbnailWorking On Money Priorities (or What’s Worth The Splurge) Default ThumbnailGoing Back To An Old Habit (or Finding Control With Budgeting) Default ThumbnailFinding New Money Issues (or Looking At Doing A Fresh Budget) Default ThumbnailWorking on Budgeting (or Spending Money To Save Money) Default ThumbnailWorking On Money (or A Prosperous Heart Update)

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Posted in Beauty, Fun Stuff, Saving, Shopping, Tough Stuff

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Listening About The Union (or Showing Up No Matter What)

Posted on June 28, 2018 | Comments Off on Listening About The Union (or Showing Up No Matter What)

I am almost always looking forward to any opportunity I have for any union related things. If there is a mixer, educational session, or event and I can be there I go. There have been the rare times that either something conflicted with something and I had to pick which I would go with or I was sick and couldn’t go, but those are not the norm at all. And when I knew we had a Union Working meeting this week, I was excited to get to go.

Not only was I excited to go, I knew I needed to go. I have been running the Facebook Live video of the meetings for a while now and while it is an easy job I do take that responsibility seriously. I have friends who depend on those videos because either they work during the times we have the meetings or they currently aren’t in LA. I’m glad that I’m able to help out and I know that even though I think it’s easy that it is a big deal to some of the leaders of the group (it takes the responsibility off of them so they can focus on more important things). So I know the meetings are something I need to go to besides just want to go to.

But before the meeting this week, I was struggling. I was dealing with lots of pain and nausea that I expected would have been over by then. I also was exhausted from a lack of sleep. I’ve been trying to sleep more, but there have been things that kept me up later than I expected (like going out with friends) and because I’m getting good at getting up at the same time every day I’m not sleeping in. So even if I go to bed 2 or 3 hours later than I wanted to, I’m still getting up at the same time and I’m losing that sleep. I usually don’t feel bad if it happens once in a while, but this was several days back to back and it really caught up with me. But I knew I needed to be at the meeting.

Well, when I got to the meeting I found out I actually didn’t have to run the Facebook Live. We can only live-stream certain parts of the meeting because some parts are a bit more confidential (like when we are discussing what we want to bring up in contract negotiations) and this entire meeting was going to be more confidential information. So nothing could be shared publicly and I didn’t have to run the video. I did share to a friend that I might not have come to the meeting if I didn’t think I needed to because of how I was feeling, but I was glad I went because it still was very educational.

The entire meeting was a panel with 4 major agents and how they feel about different things we as actors are concerned about. I can’t go into too many details but most of the things we were asking about were common negotiation issues (pay, union vs. non-union projects, opportunities for all actors). Some of the things discussed were issues that I don’t have personal experience with or have a strong opinion on, but I knew they were important to my fellow actors so I wanted to learn about them. And if I book a really great job those issues could start affecting me so I don’t want to have to play catch up if that does happen.

Recently at the meetings I’ve had to split my focus between whoever is speaking and running the video. I do have technical issues from time to time because cell service isn’t that great where we have the meetings and when the video goes down I need to work on getting it back up. I do still try to listen while I’m fixing it, but I know I’m not paying as much attention as I could. So it was nice to have a meeting where my focus was on the speakers completely and there was nothing else that really was grabbing my focus (although my pain and nausea did from time to time).

As our contract negotiations get closer, there may be more meetings that I cannot do a live video for. So if you are an actor who wants to stay informed I do recommend coming to the meetings. Even when we do stream the meetings there are always things we cannot put in videos so you don’t get the entire meeting online. But I will always go to the meetings prepared to run a live-stream in case we can post things online because I really do believe that an educated union is a strong union.

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A Backstage Adventure (or Back to Back Pantages Nights)

Posted on June 27, 2018 | Comments Off on A Backstage Adventure (or Back to Back Pantages Nights)

We were just at the Pantages, but we had another night out there the night after seeing “Cinderella“. But this time, we weren’t there to see a show. Because we have season tickets, we were invited to an open house and backstage tour of the theater! I was so excited to get to do this for a couple of reasons. I am a huge theater nerd and wanted to see what all the backstage stuff was like. Plus, I love to learn how things work and all the technical weirdness. So this was something I  was thrilled to get to check out!

When we were at Wood & Vine the night before for dinner, the manager told us that they were one of the restaurants that would be featured and have free food. And he told us about a few of the other restaurants that would be there. We figured out that we wouldn’t be there right when the open house started, but he said that would be fine and that there would be lots of food and fun no matter what time we got there.

He also promised to take a photo of the theater empty since that wouldn’t be possible for us to take when the open house started. And he was right that the empty theater is an incredible sight to see.

We arrived about 30 minutes after it started and the lobby and many parts of the theater were almost empty. But when we got to the stage where all the food was, it was packed! They had a much larger crowd than normal at the open house so many of the restaurants were running low on what they were serving. But we did get to have the Nutella Bombshell from Wood & Vine again along with a few other nibbles. While we were looking forward to the food, the main reason we were there was to check out all the stuff we normally can’t see.

The tour of backstage was more of an exploration. So many different areas were open for us to check out and take photos. We first went to the star dressing rooms which were on the stage level. In the biggest dressing room there was a poster with signatures of so many actors who had used that room while doing a show at the theater.

And of course, with the dressing rooms having giant mirrors we had to take some silly photos in them.

Then we went below the stage to see the ensemble dressing rooms. The star dressing rooms are nice because they are big, but to me I think the ensemble ones feel a bit more exciting because I think about all the performers sitting next to each other getting ready for their show.

In all the dressing rooms, people had signed their name in different areas. I didn’t get photos of them, but the smaller mirrors with wooden frames had signatures all over them as well as under the tables. It was fun to see the casts from shows we saw recently who autographed various pieces of furniture.

I was hoping we’d be able to check out the orchestra pit area, but that was closed to the public (only a few spaces were closed off to us, but that was one of them). But next to the orchestra pit was where the lift area was created for when “The Lion King” was performing there. I don’t know if they use the lift area for more than storage now, but I feel like there have been some trap door stuff in shows I’ve seen so they must still use it.

We continued to wander around the various rooms below the stage. Since “Cinderella” closed the night before and the next show wasn’t going to be in the theater for a few days, most things were pretty empty. It would have been cool to see some of how they organize the props, costumes, and set pieces; but I understand why it would be difficult to do an open house when there is a production using the space. Maybe one day in the future I’ll have a friend in a show there so I can explore some more backstage while I show is running.

When we got back up to the stage level, we checked out the restaurants that were still there and got a bit more food. We also took a look at some of the random things on the sides of the stage like a collection of rubber ducks that were just off stage and the photos on the walls of various production crews from the shows that recently toured there.

Things were starting to clear out a bit when we were getting ready to leave, but it was nice to see things with not as many people crowding the stage. I took time just to look out at the audience and take it in. I don’t perform in front of an audience that often so it was nice to feel that sort of feeling I had when I used to do plays again. And of course I took a look at where our seats were located to see what it looks like looking at our seats from the stage (compared to the stage from our seats).

I don’t know what I was expecting when we found out about the open house, but it did exceed my expectations in a bunch of ways. I just loved getting to see a different part of the theater than what I usually get to see as an audience member. And I think all of us just enjoyed having another night out too. We’ll be back at the theater in a few weeks for our next show, but I think it will feel different watching now that we know what the view is like for the actors on the stage.

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An Amazing Dinner and Show (or The Food Might Have Been The Highlight Of The Night)

Posted on June 26, 2018 | 1 comment

It was already time for another musical this past weekend! It’s been so fun having our shows back to back and I’m happy that it’s going to be that way for a little while. And with all of our shows, we try to have a fun dinner as well. We realized recently that it had been almost a year since the last time we were at Wood & Vine so we had to make a plan to go back there! Because we have gotten to know the manager from the times we had been there before, I sent him an email once we made our reservation to give him a heads up that we’d be there.

And the manager really hooked us up while we were there! First, we sat upstairs and got to sit at his favorite table. We had a great view of the theater and it allowed for some fun people watching.

The menu had changed since last year so we took some time figuring out what we wanted to eat. The bone marrow we love wasn’t on the menu this time (but they did mention it might be coming back in the future), but there were still lots of options that sounded good to us.

Everything on the menu is designed to be shared. In the past we’ve gotten a few things that we all wanted and then one or two things that only some of the group wanted. But this time, we seemed to agree on everything we wanted. We got the cheese plate, the scallops, the salmon, the lobster mac and cheese, and the asparagus and tomatoes. But when the manager saw what we got and noticed we didn’t have the tortellini, he sent some to us because he said we needed to try it (he was right). And he also spoiled us by sending us all the desserts from the menu! It was so much food, but nothing was too rich or heavy so we didn’t feel overstuffed.

All the food came out pretty quickly so we were able to enjoy our time and relax while we were eating. We didn’t feel rushed (which has been an issue in the past with other restaurants) and we felt like dinner was a nice starter to a fun evening out. It feels like such a splurge to eat there even though it really isn’t. But it feels so much nicer and the food is so delicious that it does seem like a treat.

We ended up staying there until about 5 minutes before the show started (the benefit of eating right across the street from the theater) and got inside with time to spare. This time, the show we were seeing was “Cinderella”, which was one of the shows I saw when I went to NYC a few years ago. I enjoyed the show when I saw it then and I was excited to see how the tour compared to the Broadway production.

I was impressed with the tour production. It was almost exactly the same as the Broadway show with the sets and costumes. I know that it’s not always possible to do that when it’s a tour since they have to be able to pack it up and move it from city to city, but they were able to keep it all the same as I remembered it. I’m sure there were some differences, but nothing noticeable or that I could tell.

Dani and Michelle hadn’t seen this musical before so they were excited to check it out. And they both enjoyed it. It was a nice show to see when life has been a bit stressful. We could watch and escape and there was nothing too heavy and dramatic. And of course since we are all Disney nerds this was nice. I know the musical isn’t the same as the Disney cartoon, but it’s close enough.

I’ve had more and more opportunities lately to see musicals for the second (or third) time and that’s still a treat to me. I love being able to compare productions and see the little changes that are made. The shows are still pretty much the same but I do like to notice the little differences or things that make each production special. While this show was so similar to the Broadway show, it still felt special and different in a way. The performers were all awesome and the way the audience reacts is always different too. I seriously just enjoy being in an audience with a group experiencing any show. And that was exactly what I did.

While our next musical is in a few weeks, we’ve actually already been back to the Pantages already! But that will be shared on here tomorrow!

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Finding Time For Friends (or Busting Out Of My Routine)

Posted on June 22, 2018 | Comments Off on Finding Time For Friends (or Busting Out Of My Routine)

This is a problem I’ve mentioned before on here, but I know that I’ve been neglecting some of my friendships lately. It’s not really anyone’s fault, time is limited for a lot of us and we just don’t think about scheduling time for each other. I’ve also said how social media has given me a false sense of seeing my friends more recently than I really have. And it’s true that it does because sometimes I’ll look at my calendar and realize that almost a year has passed since seeing a friend when I feel like I am up to date on their life.

I’m also a bit lazy with some of my friendships because other ones have hangouts that are pretty much built into my schedule. I see my friends who go to musicals with me once a month and those are in my calendar way in advance. Some of the musicals scheduled are over a year away but I know I’ll be seeing my friends then. It was also this way with my friends that I work out with, but that changed since my workout schedule changed. So some of my workout friends I haven’t seen in a long time.

I’ve tried to make conscious efforts in the past to fix this and I’m in a phase of life where I’m doing that again. I’ve got a pretty good routine going on with what I do from week to week. But I need to change that in order to see my friends. This week was a pretty decent one for me to do that because other things in my life weren’t taking up time. I’m even doing an afternoon workout today in order to see my workout friends again! And I went to a movie with another friend after work one afternoon this week. I usually don’t do that, but I wanted to see this friend and I wanted to see the movie so it was a perfect plan.

Since this is an ongoing problem for me, I was trying to think about why it was hitting me so hard right now. And then I realized that there was another routine of mine that was different too. It’s been a slow transition, but I’m not on social media as often as I used to. I used to see everything on Facebook. I would sort my posts in chronological order so I knew when I was caught up. But over the course of the past month or two, I haven’t had the time or desire to check out social medial as often. Now I just look at the top posts out-of-order and scroll for a bit before I move on.

Since I’m doing that, I’m not feeling as connected to my friends’ lives as I was before. I know I’m missing out on things online and that’s pushing me to feel like I want to see people in person. that’s a good thing since online relationships aren’t as strong as in person ones and I know I need to be better about seeing people in person. If this is the motivation that is getting me to see more people in person, then I guess it’s a good thing. I don’t see myself being on social media significantly more in the future just because of my life and how things are taking up time. So if I want this feeling to go away I have to make an effort to see people in person.

I think the other thing that has been making me feel this way is how much I’ve been relying on my friends lately. Life has taken a lot of weird turns lately and I have been asking more and more often for support from my friends. I usually try to be strong and don’t want to bother people asking for help. But I know now that it’s not a bother to ask and that it really is something that I need. And I’ve been asking for help and receiving it which has been amazing.

I’m sure things will ebb and flow with friendships just like with everything else in my life. When things get crazier and my schedule is more packed, I’ll end up neglecting some friendships again. And when I have the time to be reflective and think about what is happening, I’ll make more efforts to stay in touch with people. I’m just grateful that my friends have the same issues that I do and none of them hold it against me when it’s been months since I’ve seen them.

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Default ThumbnailMore Friends More Fun (or Still Building My Social Circle) Default ThumbnailRemembering To See My Friends (or Actually Scheduling Hangouts) Default ThumbnailFeeling Understood (or The Relief Of Shared Problems) Default ThumbnailFinding A Social Life Where I Can (or Virtual Parties and Distance Hangouts) Default ThumbnailMaking Friends As An Adult (or Am I Weird?) Default ThumbnailBusting Out Of A Funk (or Controlling My Happiness)

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Inside Acting Podcast (or The End Of An Era But Not The End)

Posted on June 21, 2018 | 1 comment

If you are a listener of the Inside Acting Podcast, you know that we released an episode this week which is the final episode of one of the hosts and creators of the podcast. Trevor has been incredible and he did so much good work with this podcast, but he feels like it is time for him to move on. As sad as I am about that, I am very excited to see what Trevor will be doing next. I will be working with the other host and creator, AJ, on what the new version of the podcast will be like. But this is still the end of an era and the version of the podcast that has existed since the beginning.

I was looking back at when I joined the podcast and smiled when I realized that the start of my time as their production coordinator and when I started this blog was around the same time. I’ve shared about how this blog has been life changing for me and the podcast has as well. It’s so fitting that they both came into my life at the same time.

If you listened to the episode that was just released, you heard a voice memo from me about my start with the podcast. I was a listener from the beginning and they had shared on an episode how they were starting to need some help. They had always been “just 2 dudes with a podcast”, but they needed someone to help with production work and scheduling. I sent an email in to them and explained why I love the podcast and how the skill sets I have would work with them.

I looked back at that original email, and it’s funny that a lot of what I said I would do is exactly what I ended up doing. But at the time, I figured there must be so many people who would be better at the job or have better skills than I did and that they would go with them. So when they told me that they would love to have me as a part of the team, I was shocked and so excited! But I am so grateful that they picked me because it has been such an incredible experience working with them both!

I’ve helped them with interviews with people who I never thought I’d get to meet. Because of that I have gained more confidence in approaching people I don’t know but want to meet. I’m still a bit shy around new people, but it’s much better than it was before. I’ve learned new skills in team management, coordination, scheduling, and being more efficient in email communication. And it has kept me connected to the acting community even if I’m not doing a lot of acting work at that moment.

I’ve also loved the various events I’ve helped to organize. When we had the 100th episode, we did a live episode (no party for that event) and while it was stressful it was so much fun to organize! I spent almost the entire time there worried that something would go wrong and I really wasn’t able to focus on enjoying the moment. But when it was done, I was so proud of Trevor and AJ and what they had created.

The 200th episode brought new stress to me. I was used to the live recording part of the podcast so I was able to relax a bit about that. But we were also throwing a big party at a second location after the recording. And since I couldn’t be in 2 places at once, I had to let go of some of my control freak tendencies and allow someone else to set up the party. The live recording went well and I we had a nice sized crowd there. I loved seeing so many familiar faces and watching the guys do what they do best. And that party ended up being epic! We had a step and repeat and everyone was loving it and taking so many photos. We also combined the step and repeat with a photo booth with props and I smile when I look at all the crazy photos I took.

The 300th episode should have been a bit less stressful. We weren’t doing a live recording, just a party. But of course, it wasn’t just a party. We had a photo booth with a step and repeat again and it was a big hit as we expected. I didn’t take as many crazy photos because I was busy helping run the party, but I’m glad I got one of the entire podcast team.

While the party part was running smoothly and not too stressful, what I was stressing about was a surprise that I had worked on for a while for the guys. I had contacted all of our past guests and invited them to send in a video telling Trevor and AJ congrats on 300 episodes. We had some technical difficulties getting the video started, but it almost worked to our advantage because the first video was with the guest we interviewed for the 300th episode. So the guys thought that she just sent in a quick video since she wasn’t at the party and they didn’t think too much about it. But once we got it running, they discovered what we created and I was just enjoying watching their faces react to it.

I’m so glad we pulled off that big surprise, but at the same time I was aware that the podcast would be going through a transition. I tried not to be sad at that party and just celebrate the guys, but it was in the back of my head. This podcast has been a huge part of my life for so long and I really can’t imagine it ending.

Fortunately, it won’t be ending. As much as I would love it to stay the same, we are going to transition and have a new version of the podcast in the future. AJ and I have had some ideas of what we would like to do and what we could do, but it’s still all in the works. I don’t know the timeline for when we will have a new episode of the podcast out, but it will happen. My job with the podcast has always included bugging the guys a little bit to get something back to me or to let me know information. I’m going to continue that with AJ and bugging him that we need to figure out what the plan will be moving forward.

I still can’t believe that the podcast will be transitioning into a new version and that Trevor won’t be hosting it along with AJ. It’s been that way since the beginning and it is so weird to think of it any differently. I have a feeling that when I email AJ about podcast things that I will accidentally CC Trevor from time to time because that’s the habit I’m in.

But I’m also choosing not to focus on the unknown or the feeling that this is ending in a way. I am remembering all the amazing things that have happened because of this podcast and from my involvement with the podcast. I’ve told both Trevor and AJ how much they mean to me and how they have changed my life for the better. And even though Trevor won’t be a part of the podcast, we are friends so we will still see each other. I am so grateful for these guys and for what they mean to me.

I’ll share on here when I know what the next version of the podcast will be like or when we release episodes. And if you are a new listener to the podcast (or have never listened to it), now is the perfect time to catch up on the 314 episodes we have done so far!

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Default ThumbnailCelebrating 200 Episodes Of The Podcast (or Come and Celebrate With Me!) Default ThumbnailCelebrating 300 Episodes (or We Had Another Amazing Party) Default ThumbnailAnother Actor Night (Tweetup And Inside Acting) Default ThumbnailAnother Day On The Lot (or Going Solo For The Podcast) Default ThumbnailLive Podcast Episode (or Another Way You Can Support Me) Default ThumbnailPodcast Picnic (or A Perfect Sunday Afternoon)

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Having A Fantasmic Day (or A Relaxing Time At Disneyland)

Posted on June 20, 2018 | 3 comments

My annual pass for Disneyland is about to be blocked out for the summer. There is a slim chance I might do a quick trip after work next week to check out the new Pixar Pier offerings (those should be opening this weekend). But even if I go for that it will be a very quick outing and I will be doing only limited things. I wanted to get in one more Disney day before the summer and this past Monday was my best chance to do that.

I went with my friend Dani and we didn’t have a ton of things on our agenda which was nice. But we did have one big thing we wanted to get done. We wanted to see Fantasmic! The show reopened last year, but I hadn’t seen it since then. The last time I saw it was quite a while ago. And now you need a Fastpass for the viewing areas and they are usually gone by the time we get to the park. But there are some dining options that include Fastpasses so Dani and I set that up and went to the parks to enjoy some time before the show.

Since we didn’t have a big plan for what we wanted to do, we were pretty lazy with our day. We first went to the California Adventure side where the only ride we ended up doing was Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout. I finally got to hear a new song on the ride so there is only 1 song left that I haven’t heard yet. Dani and I didn’t plan a pose for the ride photo, but I think this ended up being perfect! I’m acting crazy and Dani is confused by me but enjoying it all.

After ride we got some food and wandered around the various stores. I have an ears headband that you can change the bow on and I wanted to get the bow that is themed for the movie “Up”. I got that and Dani got a new bow as well. And I just like to see what else they are selling because Disney really is getting some fun merchandise!

After that, we headed to the Disneyland side where we went on Pirates of the Caribbean. They recently changed the ride a bit and we wanted to see the new scenes. The big news has been about the auction scene which used to be an auction for brides. But it changed to be an auction for household goods and the redheaded character (which previously was supposed to be the hot bride for sale) is now a pirate.

There were also a few other fun changes in the ride that we enjoyed and got a kick out of seeing. After Pirates we walked over to Finding Nemo where we went to the alternative viewing area. This is a room where you can watch the ride on a screen instead of going down into the submarines. I personally prefer the viewing room because there is nice air conditioning and it’s not crowded. We also had an amazing cast member who starting the video for us that showed us a bunch of fun Disney secrets in the room. If you do the alternative viewing room for this ride, check out what’s inside the lockers!

Our last ride of the day was the Haunted Mansion. Dani hadn’t been on it without it being the holiday overlay for a long time so she really wanted to go on it. And it’s one of the classic rides I love so I was happy to go on it too. Then we headed over to the Hungry Bear restaurant for our food and Fantasmic Fastpasses.

The meal at Hungry Bear is a picnic dinner. We both got the BBQ chicken which was a nice piece of chicken along with a kale salad and a mixed grains salad. We had a pretty big lunch earlier so I only really ate the chicken, but it was good. I also tried the grains salad which was tasty but I was too full. This picnic also came with soda and I decided to splurge and have a soda. I never drink them and it was a bit too sugary for me, but it was a nice treat.

When we were done eating, we spent a bit of time just hanging out and relaxing at the seating area of the restaurant. There is a nice view of the Rivers of America and it was nice and peaceful. It had been a hot day and the park was pretty crowded so it was nice to have a bit of an escape.

Our Fastpasses said to be lined up between 8-9 for Fantasmic, but since the show was the main event for us that day we ended up getting into the line area closer to 7:30. We only had a few people ahead of us in line but there were also the people who had Fastpasses from eating at Blue Bayou that had priority over us. But it worked out really well for us because we were still able to sit right at the fence for the show!

It was pretty close to be center and I was happy there was nobody blocking my view (the fence was there, but it was easy to look through it). The only downside to being that close to the action was the mist from the show got us pretty wet. But considering how amazing the view looked it was worth it!

There are so many times that we view things through our phones or cameras looking for the perfect picture, so I really tried not to do that. I took very few photos during the show so I could enjoy what was happening in front of me. But I did get the pirate ship as it went right in front of us!

The show was great and I really loved it! This was the best view that I ever had for it and if I go with people again to watch it I will totally do the picnic Fastpass deal from the Hungry Bear.

After the show, there was an announcement that we could stay where we were to watch the new Pixar fireworks show. I knew that they did some projections in that area for the show, but I didn’t realize they used the mist screens again to show clips of various Pixar movies during the fireworks!

I’m sure the view is amazing when you are in front of the castle and the projections there are incredible, but I loved watching the fireworks from where we were so we didn’t have to stress about rushing quickly to another section of the park so we could see both evening shows.

After the fireworks, we started our journey toward the exit of the park. We usually don’t stay this long and the downside is everyone seemed to be leaving the park at the same time as us. It was a little crazy, but we didn’t want to hang out there much later since it was already getting late for us and we both had to work in the morning.

If I don’t make it back to the parks before my pass isn’t good for the summer, this was a pretty great last day for a while. While we didn’t do a ton of rides, we both had a great day. Sometimes it’s nice being able to take advantage of just relaxing and being lazy at Disneyland. We had fun people watching and just enjoying a day out in a place that makes us and so many other people so happy.

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Default ThumbnailDisneyland Bucket List (or One Last Visit Before The Summer Blackout) Default ThumbnailDisneyland Adjacent (or Downtown Disney) Default ThumbnailA Full Summer Day At Disneyland (or Seeing Favorites And Seeing New Stuff) Default ThumbnailRecovering At Disneyland (or A Never-Done List) Default ThumbnailDisneyland At Christmastime (or An Evening Of Rides) Default ThumbnailA Stormy Night At Disneyland (or Trying To Have A Few Hours Of Fun)

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Continuing My Progress (or Still Pushing Through)

Posted on June 18, 2018 | Comments Off on Continuing My Progress (or Still Pushing Through)

After having some great workouts the week before, I was really excited to see what could be done this past week of workouts. I knew that there was a chance that I was going to start feeling nauseous during the week, but I really wanted to see what would happen without setting too many expectations for myself.

My Monday workout is usually a 3 group workout even if there aren’t enough people in class to need the 3 groups. But for some reason this time it was a 2 group workout. But that was fine since we did switch between blocks so I wasn’t on the bike for too long. We also had a benchmark row challenge to do.

When I was on the bike, the blocks were pretty simple with push paces to base paces and ending with an all out pace. Even though it was a strength based day, the treadmills didn’t have much incline work so I stuck with my usual resistance levels on the bike. I did manage to do all the blocks without needing to take a water break in the middle of the block which was nice. I also was doing almost all of my bike time sitting up in the seat instead of leaning over the handlebars which does help add a little bit of core work to the biking.

On the floor, the first block had the benchmark row. It was a 500 meter row and I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to beat my current PR. I wasn’t being pessimistic, I was being realistic. I knew I’d be coughing while on the rower and that my endurance is still lower than normal. But I wanted to get as close as possible to my PR and to row without taking a break. When I was done, I was about 10 seconds slower than my PR which isn’t too bad considering the issues I’ve been having. After the row we also had ab work to finish that block. In the other floor blocks, we had mini band work doing toe taps and squat walks plus a lot of single arm work using weights.

Wednesday’s workout was an endurance day and I was excited to see what distance I could get on the bike. The cardio work was technically 1 long block, but it was broken up into 5 minute segments plus a walking recovery. Each segment was a 3 minute push pace, 1 minute base pace, 1 minute all out, and then the walking recovery. Since I knew it was endurance work, I stuck with my usual resistance levels and just tried to pedal a bit faster than normal. Each of the 3 minute push paces felt like they took forever, but I made it through them. And the only times I took a water break was during the walking recovery. I didn’t get my furthest distance on the bike, but it was very close to my furthest which I had done the week before.

The floor was also 1 long block but also broken up into different segments. The first segment was squats using weights, bicep curls with weights, shoulder presses with weights, and a row. The row started at 300 meters and you did the exercises for 3 rounds with the row going down each time (so after the second round it was 200 meters and after the third round it was 100 meters). Then it moved to 3 rounds of squats, pop jacks, and the same rowing pattern.

Usually with pop jacks (or burpees), I step my feet back and step them back up since I can’t do the jumping motion. I don’t know why I decided to try it, but I discovered in this class that I can jump my feet back! This is the first time I’ve been able to do this ever and it was really exciting! I still need to step my feet back up, but I’m 50% toward doing the exercise without a modification! There was another group of exercises after that, but I didn’t make it that far. But that’s ok because I was happier taking the time to do the pop jacks than to rush through them to get to the last set of exercises.

Friday’s workout was a signature workout for Orangetheory. It was the Everest workout. That means that you are on the treadmill for 23 minutes starting at 2% incline. Every minute you go up 1% until you get to 15% and then you start going down 2% each minute. I’ve done this workout a few times, but doing it on the bike was a different beast for me.

I started the bike resistance at what my normal base resistance is at 6 (my normal push is 8 and my normal all out is usually 10 but sometimes 12). Later I thought this might be a mistake, but it ended up working out ok for me. Every minute I increased the resistance by 1 and for a while it was fine. Even when I got a little above my usual all out resistance I was still feeling good. Then at about 14 it started to feel like I was pedaling through jello or something. I didn’t think I could keep going higher but I was determined to do it. 18, 19, and 20 were impossible resistances and I was barely moving but I was still going. When we finally started to decrease it, I was happy but it took until getting to about 14 again before it felt normal. And when we were done, I was so ready to get off the bike to stretch out my legs!

The first block on the floor was chest presses with weights, hammer curls with weights, squats with weights, and then a 250 meter row. I usually use the same weights for chest presses and squats, but go down to the next weights for my hammer curls. But I couldn’t find any 15 lb weights to do my hammer curls with so I had to use the 20 lb ones. I know my form on my hammer curls wasn’t the best, but I just tried to take my time and broke up the set into smaller sets. I probably would use 15 lb weights again since I prefer to have good form and not feel like I’m swinging my body, but it was a good challenge. And the second block was plank low rows with weights, tricep extensions, and leg raises. The leg raises were definitely a challenge on my hips (and after doing all the high resistance work on the bike my hips were not doing so great), so when I was doing the second round of all the exercises I ended up doing crunches instead. But it still felt like a pretty victorious workout!

After the Everest workout, I knew I’d have to go a little easier on Saturday. On the cardio, we had 5 blocks. Each block started with a 90 second push pace and ended with a 1 minute all out. The second and fourth blocks had a 1 minute base pace in the middle and the third block had a 1 minute base and a 1 minute push pace in the middle. I went back to my usual resistance levels on the bike and I was getting more tired than I had in the past few days. I figured that was due to the hard work the day before and didn’t push myself too much to allow myself to recover.

On the floor, we had 3 blocks. The first block was 3 rounds of rowing with arm raises using the mini-bands and then plank arm raises and crunches. The second block was lateral raises using weights and mountain climbers. And the last block was bench sit-ups to squats, hop overs, and more rowing. I tried to go hard on the rowing in the first and last blocks, but I was getting burned out pretty quickly and having issues with catching my breath so I had to take it down a bit.

I feel really lucky that I wasn’t nauseous much during this past week of workouts. I had a few brief moments where I questioned if I needed my medications, but they passed quickly and I was able to get back without any issues. This week is also another potentially nauseous one so I’m a bit hesitant about what will happen. I would love to be optimistic and say that I won’t be nauseous at all, but I know realistically the I just have to expect the worse while hoping for the best.

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Default ThumbnailStill Testing Things Out (or Finding Another Advantage With The Bike) Default ThumbnailA Week Of 3G Workouts (or Pushing Myself When I Feel Stuck) Default ThumbnailContinuing My Running Progress (or Only Having Minor Setbacks) Default ThumbnailBirthday Workout Week (or Continuing My Progress) Default ThumbnailKeep Pushing (or Why Was I So Scared Before?) Default ThumbnailPeak Performance Week (or Pushing Myself To The Max)

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4 Years Of Orangetheory (or Some More Reflection)

Posted on June 12, 2018 | Comments Off on 4 Years Of Orangetheory (or Some More Reflection)

Last week when I was on Instagram I saw that the Orangetheory LA account was announcing what celebratory things would be happening at different studios to celebrate 4 years since the first Los Angeles Orangetheory location opened. It’s crazy to think that it’s been over 4 years since my first class! It feels like I’ve been doing the workouts for forever (in a good way) but it also doesn’t feel like 4 years have passed since that first class where I struggled so much.

Since they were celebrating 4 years, I figured I should celebrate a bit too and I worked on a photo collage of some of my favorite OTF memories. There were way too many photos to include without making them too tiny to see, but I think I came up with a pretty nice collection.

Those photos only show a small representation of all the incredible things I’ve done in my workouts. And while I was going through my photos to pick what I was going to include it really made me reflect on all the things I had accomplished in the past 4 years.

First, I’ve done hundreds of workouts in that time. It still surprises me that I have been able to keep up such a regular workout routine for this long. It was something I never was really able to do before so to have this regularity in my life is amazing and makes me so happy. And while I don’t always look forward to every workout and I sometimes have to drag myself there, I am always happy that I did the class and feel very accomplished. Sometimes I’m tired and sore, but accomplished.

I’ve also brought friends and family to class with me. Some of my friends have become regular workout buddies and some have just done an occasional class with me. But it’s always nice to have a familiar face with me. And while none of my family is nearby or does OTF workouts regularly, we do have our Thanksgiving tradition of going to a workout. We plan on continuing this tradition again this year, but we don’t know who will be joining us. But even if nobody else wants to workout, I know that my dad and I would go. My dad has done occasional classes in LA with me too. And I’ve told him that whenever I make it back to the Bay Area that we’ll have to do a class there too.

But not only do I have friends in class that I brought with me, I’ve made amazing friends in class. When you see the same people every week, you start to form a friendship. It’s so nice to have the support of people I know in every class and it also helps to make me look forward to a workout even if I’m not necessarily looking forward to the exercise part. And not only do the friends I’ve made in class make me feel that way, but the coaches I have do that too. Several of the coaches have been my coach since I started and they’ve seen my progress and the setbacks I’ve had. But they always support and encourage me no matter what’s happening.

I’ve also accomplished some fun things in this last 4 years. That includes doing 4 different Hell Weeks (in my photo, I thought I had only done 3 but I was wrong), several Dri–Tris including a relay, and a running class. I never thought I could do any of these things before and I can’t wait until I can do more of them to see what progress I’ve made. And the progress isn’t just in class for me. I’ve made huge improvements in my 5K races. Once I’ve gotten better and can be on the treadmill again, I want to start making a plan to do another 5K race. The race might not end up being in 2018, but I want to have a plan in place so I can create a training schedule and have some goals in mind.

The last 4 years of workouts has really been life-changing for me in so many ways. The physical changes have been awesome, but the mental ones have been even better. I’ve become more confident, more comfortable with myself, and have discovered how strong I really am. And I’ve realized that despite what I might look like, I am an athlete and there’s no denying that. It’s an empowering thought to have and I never knew that it would be something I thought about myself.

4 years of workouts have changed me and have flown by. And I can’t wait to see where I am physically and mentally after the next 4 years.

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Default Thumbnail1 Year Of Going Orange (or Anniversary Celebrations) Default ThumbnailCelebrating At Orangetheory (or 3 Years Down) Default ThumbnailOrangetheory Week 4 (or I Can’t Believe I’m Halfway Done!) Default ThumbnailWeek 1 Of Orangetheory (or Wow, I’m 1/8 Of The Way Done With My Challenge!) Default Thumbnail4 Workout Week (or Getting Some Friends To Come Try Orangetheory) Default ThumbnailThere’s No Problem With Orangetheory (or My Side Of The Article)

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