Trying To Help My Fellow Members (or 2 Weeks And 2 Roundtables)

Posted on November 29, 2023 | Comments Off on Trying To Help My Fellow Members (or 2 Weeks And 2 Roundtables)

I’ve written a lot about my union service lately for a lot of reasons. One is that there hasn’t been any work since we have been on strike. But the bigger one is that I have been passionate about union service since I got involved. It’s really easy to not pay that much attention to what is going on and not worry about voting or anything else like that. But it’s so important to know what is happening because if we are lucky, these contracts and elected officials will be the ones who can make a big difference in our working conditions and pay.

As soon as the strike was suspended, there was a lot of discussion about the contract ratification vote. These usually happen during the summer when the new contract is decided (since we don’t normally go on strike and take 118 days to get a new contract). But the process is the same as it normally is. We received the summary of what changes will be coming in the new contract. There are informational sessions held so we can learn more and get our questions answered. And then we vote. For every contract I’ve voted on for SAG-AFTRA, the vote passes and the contract is ratified.

But this time, things don’t feel as simple as they usually are. I don’t know if members are more involved now that we’ve had a long strike if the idea of AI is worrying them, or what else might be triggering. But this contract ratification vote has been a lot more contentious than the others. The union has been trying to alleviate fears as much as they can. They have been doing more informational sessions than I remember from the past. The lawyers rushed to complete the full memorandum of agreement, which typically isn’t done until after the vote is completed. They have been putting out as much information as possible to make sure the misinformation is corrected. For example, I’ve heard some members worry that there will be no more background jobs because of AI. But not only does the new contract prohibit productions from using AI instead of the minimum number of covered background, we got the minimum number increased!

After seeing the misinformation going around online, I knew I had to do something. So I teamed up with another delegate, David Blue, and we decided to create some livestreams to get the correct information out to members. These were going to be similar to the You Are The Union livestreams I did a few years ago, but we were just going to focus on the new contract. We invited members of the Negotiating Committee to answer questions that members had about the new contract. Because of some of the conversations we had seen on social media, we were very cautious about making sure things would stay respectful and calm. And the first livestream we did was magical! It went better than we could have expected or hoped for and we knew that we got a lot of information out that needed to be there. And the comments we were getting after it was done showed us that other members felt the same way.

Because that went so well and people were asking for us to do another, we hosted another livestream this week. And that was just as successful as the first!

From the time that David and I decided to do these livestreams to the time that we hosted the second was just under 2 weeks. It was a crazy whirlwind time, but it was worth it. I know we don’t have as big of a reach as some other people might have, but we’ve had over 1,000 views on the first livestream replay already and it’s still being shared online!

If you are a SAG-AFTRA member and you have some questions about the contract, please check out the replays of the livestreams that we did. We created a YouTube channel just to host them.

Votes are due by December 5th, so you’ve got just under a week to get your vote in. And it’s a much easier ballot than officer elections because it’s online and you are only voting for one thing. I’m not going to try to convince anyone how to vote because that’s not my right. If you want to know my opinions about certain issues, I’m happy to share those. But everyone has to vote the way they believe and make sure they are being an informed voter.

And in less than a week, I guess we will see what happens. But no matter what, I’m so proud of what we were able to accomplish with these livestreams and how many members we were able to help.

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Default ThumbnailYou Are The Union (or Finding More Ways To Educate Other Union Members) Default ThumbnailCelebrating A New Contract (or Feeling Good About This Accomplishment) Default ThumbnailAuthorizing A Strike (or I Got My Vote In) Default ThumbnailThe Strike Is Over! (or It’s Now Time To Vote And Pass The Contract) Default ThumbnailGiving Myself Some Breathing Room (or Just Getting Ready For Other Things This Summer) Default ThumbnailAnother Amazing You Are The Union Livestream (or Learning So Much About Being A Better Ally)

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Another Week With A Holiday Workout (or Continuing My Own Tradition)

Posted on November 27, 2023 | Comments Off on Another Week With A Holiday Workout (or Continuing My Own Tradition)

Even though I did my family Thanksgiving workout during Fake Thanksgiving, that wasn’t going to stop me from still doing what feels like a tradition with working out on Thanksgiving. It’s nice that it fits in perfectly with what is now my normal workout week, so it didn’t feel like much of a change for me. But I’m still proud of completing 10 years of Thanksgiving Day workouts!

My first 3 workouts of the week were my normal workout time before work. I have been dealing with some extra stress due to a few different things happening in my life, so I haven’t been sleeping or eating well. That affected my workouts and I was having more moments of lightheadedness. I know this is something I deal with from some of the medications I take and having poor sleeping and eating habits makes it worse. I still struggle to force myself to eat when I’m not feeling like it because that’s the mindset I’ve had for so long. But when I skip dinner and then work out the next morning, it’s not a good combination. I am lucky that I can make that feeling go away quickly if I just stop what I’m doing and sit down to take some deep breaths. It’s not ideal, but it’s manageable. And when it’s due to something that is somewhat my fault, I’m glad that I don’t have to totally ruin what I can do in my workout that day.

On Thanksgiving Day, I allowed myself to sleep in a bit and do a later morning workout. It was still a morning class, but it was about 2 hours later than I’m used to. This is the class time I normally do when I’m able to sleep in due to a holiday or a day off of work. If I didn’t have my day job to log into in the morning, I probably would take a class at that time because it’s still early enough to get it done and have the rest of the day, but it allows me to get a little more sleep. The only negative with that class time is that I take my morning medications before going to work out, so I have a few side effects that I sometimes have to work around. It’s worse when I do a later class on a Monday since I do my injection on Mondays and that really affects me. But with my other medications, I have things like elevated heart rate and dropped blood sugar which can make my workout a little harder. But just like having lightheadedness, it’s something I’ve learned to work with and it’s manageable.

But the Thanksgiving Day workout was probably the toughest workout of the week. It was a 2 group class, which doesn’t necessarily mean it’s harder or easier. This time, there was a lot of going from cardio to rowing, so that was an added challenge. I also pushed myself a little too hard on the rower the first time I was on it because I didn’t know what other rowing I had coming up. I still think my rowing is getting stronger, but my last row of the workout was a lot worse than how I started off the block. I don’t believe in the idea that you have to work out in order to “earn” certain foods on holidays, but I do like how I feel when I work out before a celebration like that compared to not working out before. And my workout was early enough that I had some time to be lazy at home before I started cooking dinner.

As much as I would have loved to work out with my family on Thanksgiving Day, I think this workout would have been harder for them than the class we did a few weeks ago. So I think that Fake Thanksgiving was the better workout choice for us.

I’ve got 2 more holidays that I can do some workouts around, but I’m not sure yet if I’ll do a Christmas Eve workout. That’s a day that I usually don’t work out, so I might not go in. But I’ll find a way to make it work for me to work out on New Year’s Eve, even though that is normally a rest day too. That’s one of those traditions I’ve created around Orangetheory that I will go out of my way to make sure it continues.

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Default ThumbnailThanksgiving Workouts (or Continuing A Tradition) Default ThumbnailNot My Usual Thanksgiving Week Workouts (or Trying To Keep The Tradition Going) Default ThumbnailA Holiday Workout Week (or Kicking Off The Second Half Of The Year) Default ThumbnailA Thanksgiving Week Of Workouts (or Still Keeping Up A Tradition) Default ThumbnailBirthday Workout Week (or Continuing My Progress) Default ThumbnailA Very Weird Workout Week (or Food Poisoning And Holiday Workouts)

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Another Fake Thanksgiving (or A Busy Day Without Many Pictures)

Posted on November 22, 2023 | Comments Off on Another Fake Thanksgiving (or A Busy Day Without Many Pictures)

My family did our Fake Thanksgiving 2 weeks ago. I think we will continue the tradition of doing our Thanksgiving early each year since that’s a cheaper time for everyone to travel. It makes it a little harder for some of our schedules, but that’s probably a smaller problem than the crazy cost of traveling during the actual holiday. It can be a bit tough with my work schedule to spend too much time on whatever Fake Thanksgiving we have, but I do my best to make it work. We have been doing it over Veteran’s Day so that at least gives me time off from my one of my jobs. And I just have to take time off from one job on that day.

This year, we had Fake Thanksgiving in Santa Barbara, so it was just a drive for me. I was looking at possibly spending more than just the day there, but with schedules and other things, it was just going to be easier for me to drive up that morning and drive back home that evening after dinner.

There wasn’t much scheduled for the day that I would be up there. I drove up that morning and spent some time with my parents and the dog before my dad and I went to our Orangetheory class. I was hoping we would have a larger group for the workout, but it was just my dad and aunt joining me. I know my brother wanted to join but he couldn’t at the last minute, and my cousin wanted to come but she was recovering from an injury. But it was still a good workout and I’m so happy that tradition continued!

After the workout, I went back to the rental house my parents were staying at so I could shower and get changed for dinner. But as I was getting ready, there was a press conference announced regarding the end of the SAG-AFTRA Strike. I was able to watch while I got ready for dinner, but that also meant I wasn’t really being social with my parents. I think they understood why I wanted to pay attention to that, so hopefully they didn’t mind too much.

Fake Thanksgiving dinner was held at the country club that my brother and sister-in-law belong to, which is where we had it a few years ago. And most of my family was able to be there. We were missing 2 of my cousins and one cousin’s husband, but everyone else was at dinner. It was a little overwhelming since dinner was the only time that I was going to see most of the family, so I didn’t really get to catch up with everyone as much as I would have liked to.

But I was excited to give my niece and nephew their early Hanukkah presents. I got them both really cute toddler digital cameras. I thought it could be fun to see what types of pictures they might take during dinner. I haven’t seen all of those photos yet, but we got to see some of the photos on the screen as they took them. The ones I did see were mostly selfies and crazy close-ups of random things. But I think they will have fun as they learn how to use them.

I wish I had taken more photos with my family while I was there, but I only got one photo during dinner of my place setting. Nothing fancy or anything, but it was all I got when I looked back at what I took that evening.

But a lack of photos also shows that I focused on being with my family and in the moment. I was sitting next to my cousin and she and I spent most of dinner talking and catching up on random things. And she was telling me about a road trip that her family will be doing hopefully next summer which would bring her to LA. I would love for her to see my place and get to see her more than just once a year!

And as dinner was finishing up, I started to talk to some of my family about where Fake Thanksgiving would be held next year. And after talking a bit and thinking about some logistics, it looks like I might be hosting it for the first time ever! I never could have all my family at my place when I lived in my tiny rental. And even though I don’t have a huge place now, I have the space to get a rental table and make it work. My parents came to LA a few days after Fake Thanksgiving and we were talking about me hosting it, I think we all agree it’s totally feasible and that’s what we will be doing in a year! My dad is already sending me articles with Thanksgiving ideas so I’ll be prepared for next year.

For tomorrow on actual Thanksgiving, I’m not sure if I’ll have company over. I was talking to a friend about if they wanted to come for dinner, but we both have agreed that we’ll see how we feel. But I am cooking some of my favorite Thanksgiving things and I’ll be trying a dry brine on a turkey breast that I might use for next year.

And if it’s a low-key Thanksgiving Day, that’s fine with me since I already feel like I got my Thanksgiving celebration during Fake Thanksgiving!

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Default ThumbnailFake Thanksgiving Weekend (or A Few Days With My Family) Default ThumbnailNot Quite Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Time (or A Full Family Day) Default ThumbnailHappy Thanksgiving! (or Just A Quick Post) Default ThumbnailThe Rest Of Thanksgiving (or Getting In Lots Of Family Time) Default ThumbnailAnother Low-Key Thanksgiving (or Doing Some Of My Traditions) Default ThumbnailFamily Zoom Time (or Thanksgiving After Thanksgiving)

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A Normal Week With A PR (or The Break Between Holiday Week Workouts)

Posted on November 20, 2023 | Comments Off on A Normal Week With A PR (or The Break Between Holiday Week Workouts)

This past week of workouts was a normal workout week for me. The week before was a bit different because of my family workout. Next week will be almost a normal workout week but slightly different because of the holiday. So having a regular workout week was a nice break, especially since I know I’ll also have a few odd weeks in December.

And not only was it a normal workout week, but I was feeling pretty good throughout the week. I did have some issues with being lightheaded a few times, which is something I experience from time to time and usually is because I don’t eat enough the day before or I eat my dinner too early. But because I’m used to it, I know that I just need to sit down and catch my breath. It’s the same thing I do when I get lightheaded at any other time of day (sometimes I experience that when I’m just sitting and working).

I really have been trying to increase the weights that I use on the floor, but I’m still struggling with it. I did have a bit of success, but most of the time I couldn’t use the heavier weights. I know that just trying to use something heavier and then going back to what I normally use is still a bit of a success, but I don’t know what it’s going to take for me to be able to use the heavier weights for all my reps. Maybe it’s just continuing to do trial and error with the heavier ones? I was able to use slightly heavier weights once for an upper body exercise, which made me really happy. And having that feeling when using the heavier weights just convinced me more that this is the right thing to focus on. I think I felt almost more accomplished by using those heavier weights than I do when I get most of my PRs.

But speaking of PRs, I got a new one this past week! We had the 12-minute distance challenge on Thursday. This benchmark is tough because it will always last 12 minutes no matter how fast or slow you go. When it’s a distance challenge, you can be done sooner if you go faster. But you have to pace yourself for 12 minutes for this one and that’s not a short time. I have had attempts in the past where I went too hard at first and burned out and really couldn’t do much for the second half. But I’ve been doing better at pacing myself and making sure I don’t go too hard in the beginning.

I knew that I PRed the last time I did this and that was hard enough to do. And it can be harder to PR on the bike than on the treadmill because the treadmill tracks smaller distances than the bike. So while on the treadmill you can see a new distance every few seconds or less, on the bike I see a new distance every 15 seconds or so. So that means I might have gone just a tiny bit further, but the distance on the bike computer would be the same as the last time. I am crazy competitive with myself, but I also know that when I’m doing bike challenges and tying my PR, sometimes it doesn’t mean that. It’s not an excuse, but something to help me not be too frustrated.

My plan this time for the challenge was to keep the resistance level at my normal base pace level so it wouldn’t be too heavy. I wanted to pedal really fast, but not so fast that I would feel out of control. And I wanted to maintain about the same speed for at least the first half. Then, after the 6-minute mark, my plan was to do little sprints every minute. I alternated between a 20-second and 30-second sprint every minute and when I wasn’t sprinting, I was trying to keep my speed the same as I did for the first half. And I was able to pretty much do my exact plan.

At the last minute, I knew that I was going to at least tie my last PR. It just came down to whether I could get the computer distance to change in time or if I would just appear to be at the same distance as the last time. And by some miracle, at 11:59, the distance went up by .1 and I was able to get a new PR!

The rest of my workout on Thursday suffered a bit from how exhausted I was from the challenge, but it was worth it to get the new PR!

I know not every week can be a winning week like this past one was, but I am so happy I had such an incredible week. I know it’s just a matter of time before I have another tough workout week, but I feel like those weeks aren’t getting that much worse than they normally are but my good weeks are getting better than they have been! So things are balancing out more in my favor than they have done before and that’s something to celebrate!

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Default ThumbnailKeeping Things Normal For A Holiday Week (or Steady With My Workouts) Default ThumbnailSome Holiday Workouts (or Back On The Treadmill This Week) Default ThumbnailBack To My Normal Workouts (or Another Challenge Switch) Default ThumbnailWorking Hard (or Some Normal But Tough Workouts) Default ThumbnailJust A Normal And Good Workout Week (or Using My Workouts To Get Out My Stress) Default ThumbnailA Very Weird Workout Week (or Food Poisoning And Holiday Workouts)

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The Strike Is Over! (or It’s Now Time To Vote And Pass The Contract)

Posted on November 15, 2023 | 1 comment

After 118 days of SAG-AFTRA being on strike, the strike finally ended last week! I don’t think that anyone thought it would take this long to get to a deal when the strike started. I feel very certain that we had to go on strike because what was offered to us was not reasonable, but I really hoped it would be a short strike. It was shorter than the writer’s strike, but I never thought it would last over 100 days.

Nobody wanted to go on strike, but I will say that the solidarity that I saw on the picket lines was very inspiring. All of us were working together for a common goal. That’s a rarity for this industry. We all understood why we were on strike and why it was necessary. I went to the picket lines as often as I could, which wasn’t as much as I would have liked. But I made sure I supported my union and fellow members online when I couldn’t be there in person.

I knew that our Negotiating Committee was working hard on a deal when the other side was willing to meet with them. Of course, the other side didn’t want to meet that often and it took over 100 days from the start of the strike to the next time they met. This wasn’t our choice, but it was what we had to accept. And when they were meeting, those negotiating for us knew what our priorities were and what protections we would need. Finally, we had a tentative deal which was agreed to by every member of our Negotiating Committee.

The next step was for the Negotiating Committee to bring the deal to the National Board for them to decide if the deal was approved for the membership to vote on. That vote passed, with 86% of the National Board approving it. That is higher than many of our past contracts, so I’m really excited about that. And now, all 160,000 members will have an opportunity to vote to hopefully ratify this new contract.

We have a few weeks to vote, and I am taking my time to make sure I understand the new contract. I feel very certain that I will be voting yes because there are so many amazing things in this contract. It’s not everything we wanted and it’s not perfect, but no negotiation ends with one side getting every single thing they asked for.

Some people wanted to make AI forbidden in the new contract. But what we got was that AI can only be used with our consent when we are told exactly what it is used for. And if we are not on set because they are using an AI version of us, we have to be paid our day rate just like we would if we were on camera. That’s amazing to me! We also got increases in our residuals and new streaming bonuses for high-performing shows. We never had those bonuses before so that is an entirely new way we can make money with our contracts. And the one I’m most excited about is the new rules for self-tape auditions. We now have to have at least 48 hours (not counting weekends and holidays) for self-tape auditions. I’ve had some in the past that had less than 24 hours before they were due. We now have a restriction on how many pages these auditions can be. And we cannot be required to do any fancy camerawork or editing for an audition. Those are awesome because I’ve seen some crazy self-tape instructions that say you have to film in multiple locations.

I know the contract isn’t the easiest thing to read and all members should educate themselves about it before voting. I attended a Zoom informational session about it that happened earlier this week, and I know there will be more coming up. There’s also an in-person informational session later this week that members can register for. Things are being announced as they are scheduled, so I expect there will be more than what has been announced so far so all members should have a chance to learn more about the contract and get their questions answered.

I do hope that this contract is voted up and ratified. If we don’t, going back to the table means we will lose some of the things we have won. And as I said, it’s not perfect, but it’s got some great things in it. And when we negotiate again in less than 3 years, we will be in a much stronger spot to get even more protections for all members and make our profession even stronger.

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Default ThumbnailAuthorizing A Strike (or I Got My Vote In) Default ThumbnailGetting Informed About A Contract (or A Union Meeting Before A Vote) Default ThumbnailAnother SAG-AFTRA Election (or 318 Million Reasons To Vote Yes) Default ThumbnailCelebrating A New Contract (or Feeling Good About This Accomplishment) Default ThumbnailStrike! (or Getting Out To Picket) Default ThumbnailThe Importance Of The Writers Strike (or I Support The WGA)

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One Of My Favorite Workout Weeks Of The Year (or Another Family Workout)

Posted on November 13, 2023 | 3 comments

This past week of workouts, I had 3 of my regular workouts at my normal studio. I usually go Monday-Thursday, but this week I was there Monday-Wednesday. Those workouts were pretty good for the most part. I struggled a bit more than normal on Monday because I was still dealing with pain and nausea, but it was a lot less than what I had dealt with the week before. And I was feeling almost back to normal by Tuesday, so my workouts weren’t affected that much after the first day.

Even though I love those challenges, it was nice to be done with Hell Week. I don’t feel like I can push myself as much during Hell Week by using heavier weights or doing new things on the bike or rower because I’m just trying to get through those workouts. They do challenge me, but because I have had goals to see improvements in my workouts, my goals and how I push myself are different. That meant I was able to get back to trying to improve in normal workouts. I’m still testing out if I can increase the bike resistance level and I think I might start trying to change one of the levels I use instead of trying to change them all at once. And I have noticed my rowing continues to get stronger and faster, so that’s awesome. I still have some issues on the rower because of my foot, but I’ve been adapting more to what I need to do and I’m glad that’s not setting me back too much. I still have a lot of work to do on my rowing endurance, but it’s baby steps towards what I want to do.

But the best workout of this past week was the one workout not at my normal studio. My family had our Fake Thanksgiving this past week, so I did a workout on Friday at the studio in Santa Barbara since that’s where our Fake Thanksgiving was held this year! This was the second time we worked out at that studio, so it was fun to have another repeat studio for our tradition. And this was the 10th time our family had a workout before Thanksgiving or Fake Thanksgiving! Our first family workout was in 2014! And now we’ve gone to 4 different Orangetheory studios and had 1 year with each of us doing a workout at home. I love that this tradition has continued for 10 years now and that my family still joins in for a workout. Sometimes it’s a bigger group and sometimes it’s a small group, but it always happens!

This time, my dad and aunt joined me for the workout. It was a 2 group class, which is something I don’t usually get to take. And it was also a run/row, which is even more rare for me since those only happen in some 2 group classes. I do like that the run/row workouts almost feel like a 3 group class to me a bit since there is a lot of rowing, so I was happy that was the workout we happened to go to.

My dad and aunt kicked butt in class. I know it’s not easy for them since they don’t normally go to Orangetheory so they aren’t used to the pattern and rhythm of class. But the coach was really good about helping to guide them to the right things and I also checked in with them to make sure they knew what to do next. Sometimes in these workouts, my dad and I challenge each other a bit, but this time we were both just focused on getting in a good workout. And I thought it was a really good class with a nice mix of upper and lower body work. I also was able to challenge myself by using heavier weights for chest flys. I felt sore after doing that, but it was a good sore feeling.

And of course, after class, we had to take a family photo with the coach so I could add it to our collage!

There have been a lot of things that I have celebrated about working out at Orangetheory, but this is one of the things I celebrate that involves others. My family doesn’t have to join me for these workouts and I would go on my own if nobody else wanted to go. But for 10 years (technically 9 since one year we all worked out at home on our own), at least some of my family has decided to keep up this tradition and that’s something I’m so happy about and proud of!

Now I just have to figure out how to be the host of my family’s Thanksgiving (or Fake Thanksgiving) so that we can do our family workout at the Culver City studio and my family can see how awesome my coaches at my home studio are!

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Default ThumbnailMy Short Workout Week (or 6 Years Of Family Workouts) Default ThumbnailThanksgiving Workouts (or Getting My Family Involved) Default ThumbnailAnother Full Workout Week (or More Family OTF Time) Default ThumbnailA Short Workout Week (or 3 Workouts In 3 Different Locations) Default ThumbnailA 4 Workout Week (or Only A Few More Weeks Of 2015 Workouts) Default ThumbnailNot My Usual Thanksgiving Week Workouts (or Trying To Keep The Tradition Going)

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Another Low-Key Halloween (or Still Doing Punny Costumes)

Posted on November 8, 2023 | Comments Off on Another Low-Key Halloween (or Still Doing Punny Costumes)

I’m always so grateful that not only do I have a fun group of friends to celebrate Halloween with each year, but the party is always both low-key and creative. Some people go all out with their costumes and it’s so fun to see what people come up with. But not everyone does that so if you go without a costume or in a simple costume, you don’t stand out too much. So it’s perfect no matter what your mood might be with a costume.

I usually do a simple costume since I have a bit of a drive to get to the party. I know I could wear regular clothes to drive and then change when I get there, but I like having something that is easy to put together when I get to the party and to remove when it’s time to drive home. Since I do simpler costumes, I tend to have a costume that has some pun to it. I have a fun time figuring out what to be and how to accomplish it. Sometimes it’s easier to make a plan than others, but I always enjoy what costume I come up with.

This year, I was stuck for a bit with what I should do for Halloween. Nothing was really jumping out at me or inspiring me, so I just kept looking online to see what I would connect with. It took a bit of time, but I found the perfect punny costume. I dressed as a third wheel.

I actually don’t remember how the person dressed that I was inspired by online. I just remember that their version of the costume wasn’t something I could do or wanted to do. So I had to think of my own version of it and I was pretty happy with what I came up with.

It’s not super easy to tell from the photo, but what I did was print out a picture of a wheel and attach it to a headband with a zip tie. Then I made little stickers of different celebrity couples and I put those all over my shirt when I got to the party. I liked how it turned out and I was happy with what I was able to create. Especially since I didn’t have to buy anything for the costume so it was nice to save money.

The only downside to my costume was that not everyone got it right away. I guess it was an easier costume to guess when you knew what it was. But I got some interesting guesses from friends when they didn’t know what I was. The one I got the most was the paparazzi. I guess I can see how the wheel looked a bit like a flash and I had photos of celebrities on me. But it was funny how many people guessed that. Once I said what I was, everyone thought it was really clever.

As always with these parties, the main focus while I was there was catching up with my friends. I saw most of them at my birthday party, so it hadn’t been that long since we had a chance to hang out. But it also seemed like so many people had a lot of things that happened in the last month or two. I’m glad I was able to be there and catch up face-to-face instead of just online. I know I’ve always appreciated the time I’ve been able to spend with my friends in person, but I appreciate it even more now after the isolation of the worst of the pandemic. And I try to take advantage of the time that I do get with my friends more because I never know if something will happen where we won’t be able to be together in person for a while. I never thought like that before, but now it’s something I think about quite a bit.

Normally, I’m at the Halloween party for the costume contest to see who wins. I know I won’t place since other people have much better costumes, but I like to see how my friends vote. But this year, things were a bit later than normal because a lot of the people who go to the party were in a play that was happening that night. So they weren’t going to be able to be at the party until after the show was done. I wanted to stick around as late as I could to see everyone and see the costume contest, but I got really tired at the time I normally leave and had to head home before I was too tired to drive. I’m sad I didn’t get to see everyone or see who had the best costumes, but I’m glad I got to see some of my friends and have a fun night out!

And now, I have about a year to think of my next funny and punny costume to wear to a Halloween party. And hopefully, that costume will be one that will be easier for other people to guess.

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Default ThumbnailLow-Key Halloween (or A Work In Progress) Default ThumbnailLow Key Halloween (or Costume Flashback) Default ThumbnailHaving To Explain My Costume (or An Almost Normal Halloween) Default ThumbnailBeing A Word Nerd (or A More Normal Halloween Celebration) Default ThumbnailA Halloween Outing (or Dressing Up As Me) Default ThumbnailOscar Night (or A Very Low-Key Award Show)

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A Week Of Celebrations (or Finishing Hell Week With Lots Of Awesomeness)

Posted on November 6, 2023 | Comments Off on A Week Of Celebrations (or Finishing Hell Week With Lots Of Awesomeness)

This past week of workout was half Hell Week and half regular workout week. I also realized at the beginning of the week that this past week might end up being a rough one for me with pain and nausea. But I was hoping that wouldn’t happen until the end of the week so I was hopeful I would finish out Hell Week without too many issues. And I’m glad that was what happened to me.

I started out my workout week by completing my 4th Hell Week class. I was glad to have the weekend off so I could relax a bit and get ready for some more hard workouts. And I think that Monday’s workout was the one I felt the most ready for and had the best time with. But that also might have been because I was ready to earn my shirt since I’ve done that every year since my first Orangetheory workout! I’m missing a shirt, but my collection is looking pretty nice.

On Tuesday, it was the last day of Hell Week and Halloween. I’ve worn random costumes occasionally, but I didn’t have a good idea for a costume this year. Although I did realize a good costume idea for the future after this class was done, so hopefully next Halloween I’ll have something better. But I decided to be a bit silly and I wore my strike shirt so I could go as a striking actor for my costume in class.

The workout was tough, but I still think the first class the week before was the hardest of all the Hell Week workouts. I did have a little extra challenge on Halloween because I didn’t realize the difference between performance fabric and normal fabric would be so much. I normally wear a workout tank top in class. I do sweat, but the performance fabric does not make me feel overheated or gross. But my strike shirt is normal fabric, so I felt so much warmer and icky while I was sweating in class. I guess I decided to make Hell Week a little harder on myself for a little extra challenge. But I got through it and learned that wearing non-workout tops in class is probably not a smart idea.

And I had another awesome thing happen this past week. The Orangetheory app tracks how many workouts we’ve done in the studio, and I noticed that I was about to get to another milestone class. Because the app can take a day or so to update, I’m not exactly sure when I got to this milestone, but it was either on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Because I average about 200 workouts a year, this means that I’ll be taking my 2000th class right around Hell Week 2025. That’s so crazy to think about! And I know that this tally doesn’t count the workouts I did at home with the app, so I have actually done closer to 1800 workouts if you could those. But I also know the workouts I did at home were not nearly as tough as the in-studio ones, so I’m ok counting them separately. I know that I probably shouldn’t be as shocked or impressed by myself since these workouts are a regular part of my life now, but I still remember how hard it was to find a workout that I really clicked with. And to know that I’ve not only clicked with these workouts but really have thrived in class and have achieved so much still amazes me. It’s been a long journey to find my fitness home, and I’m still so grateful that I’ve found it.

I love that I had so many positive things happen to me this past week. I ended things on a rough note with some really horrendous nausea, but I just kept remembering that I had done some awesome things at the beginning of the week to balance it out. I might still be a bit off at the beginning of this week, but I have a feeling I’ll be ending this week on another high!

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Still Getting Ready For 2024 (or I Feel Like I Keep Finding More To Do)

Posted on November 1, 2023 | Comments Off on Still Getting Ready For 2024 (or I Feel Like I Keep Finding More To Do)

Happy November! I know I say this all the time, but this year has been flying by so quickly. I think it’s been a bit of an unusual year and it doesn’t feel like certain time markers I’m used to have happened. Some of that might be because of the strike and how there is usually a lot around the new fall tv shows and that didn’t happen. Or maybe I’m just in the same routine I’ve been in for a while so I’m not noticing some things as much as I used to. But no matter the reason, I can’t believe we are in the last 2 months of the year!

Last month, I set my monthly challenge to work on getting myself set up for the new year. I didn’t accomplish everything that I wanted to do, but I did put a big focus on doing the financial things that I wanted to get set up. My planning took a bit of a turn when some of my annual expenses were higher than planned. For example, my condo insurance was about 30% higher than I paid the year before. I was able to call in and negotiate a lower rate by raising my deductible, but it still was more expensive than I budgeted for. I had the same issue with my property taxes. I thought I budgeted enough for what they would be, but I was about $1,000 off. Fortunately, I did have enough saved up so I was able to get the money from other saving buckets I have so I was able to pay for it all. But it did make me think about how I need to maybe overestimate my budget goals more than I already did so I don’t run into this problem again. And I’m hoping to be able to afford a few fun things in 2024, so I need to make sure I don’t pull money from a fun fund in order to be able to pay bills. And I want to be able to do something like afford a monthly cleaning service, so I need to be able to budget for that without making my bills an issue.

Even though I didn’t get everything done that I wanted to do, such as working on creating more reminders for myself, I did get a lot done. And I’m working on those reminder ideas, I just haven’t found the perfect system for myself yet. But I did do work on organizing my calendar and email so whatever new system I put into effect will work with those better.

And this month’s challenge continues on the trend of getting set up for the new year. It’s also something that I probably need to do a bit more regularly. I want to go through my things and see what extra stuff I have that I could donate or find a new home for. I did a lot of this when I moved, but somehow I feel like I filled my new place so quickly even though it’s 3 times the size of my old place. I don’t think that anything is cluttered or necessarily messy, but I also know there are a lot of things here that I’m just storing. For example, I have a lot of old books I got from my parents. I had some friends who took books for their kids, but I have so many left. It’s not the end of the world for me to keep holding on to them, but I do want to get new furniture for my office and those books won’t have a spot when I do that. So I should just take them to the library to donate so someone can enjoy them. I finally donated my old tv, which was just sitting on the floor after I got my new one. And I have a few other things that I think I just don’t need but I need to take the time to go through everything and make a plan for where they should go.

I think maybe once I do a lot of this cleaning and donating in my office, I will finally have a better idea of what furniture will work here. I have needed a new desk since I moved, but I just haven’t found a good one. But maybe I’m looking at what will fit what I currently own and not what I think I will keep.

I also want to go through stuff in my kitchen because I do want to get some new pots and pans, but I’m probably not going to just buy a set since I want to get just the pieces I need. But to know what I need, I have to figure out what I have and what is still in good condition so I can continue to use it. I can’t guarantee that getting new kitchen gear will make me cook more, but it would be nice to not have to look at a recipe and realize I don’t have the right equipment to make it.

I don’t know why I keep feeling like I need to set myself up for a really good 2024, but I have a pull to keep working on that. Maybe there are some really good things to come for me and this is getting me ready. And even if next year isn’t anything spectacular, all these things I’m doing will still be positive for me and the coming year.

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Starting Off Hell Week (or These Really Are Hard Workouts!)

Posted on October 30, 2023 | 2 comments

I’ve done Hell Week enough to know they are hard workouts. I love the challenge even if during the workout I am struggling. I know that these workouts push me in ways I need to be pushed, and I have never really regretted going to one. Sometimes I wish I had a different Hell Week workout that day, but that’s not exactly a regret.

With this past week, I started Monday off with a regular workout which was one that I had done earlier in the month. But I knew that workout was going to be the easy one for the week and the rest of the week was going to be a challenge. To earn your Hell Week shirt, you have to go to 4 of the 8 workouts. You can earn another piece of swag if you go to all 8, but I know myself enough to know I can’t handle 8 workouts in a row. So I didn’t quite earn my shirt in the first part of Hell Week since I only got 3 workouts in, but I’ll be doing another 2 this week, so by the time you read this, I should already have my shirt.

Of the 3 Hell Week workouts I’ve done so far, I think Tuesday was the hardest day. It might have been because it was the first one and I wasn’t used to how hard these workouts are, but I still think it was the hardest one. The hardest part was the floor work, a mix of timed exercises and exercises on our own. We had 5 short blocks on the floor, 2 of them were timed and 3 had decreasing reps starting at 8 reps. It was a lot of lower body work and a lot of squats. My foot is doing a bit better, but it’s still painful at times. And I discovered that squats put enough tension on the tendon that sometimes it triggers the pain. I just had to take some breaks when we weren’t supposed to so I could stretch my foot.

Wednesday’s workout was focused on inclines, so I had a lot of time to work on using the higher resistance levels on the bike. I do want to increase my resistance level on the bike, but as I was using the higher ones, I know I’m not quite ready for that, at least not for my all-out. I still felt like I was pedaling through jello and wasn’t able to go that fast. I know that still was a good workout because it uses different muscles than pedaling quickly, but since we do a lot of lower body work on the floor, those heavier resistance levels can make those exercises harder for me.

And on Thursday, I had to do a lot of modifications on the floor because it was a lot of jumping exercises. I also was really sore on Thursday from all the workouts earlier in the week, so I didn’t mind the modifications as much. But I did really enjoy the rowing that day because it was all about maximizing the distance you row with each stroke, which I think is something I do pretty well. It takes a lot of patience and understanding that your overall time might be a bit longer, but it’s a great way to use your muscles a different way while rowing.

I heard about some of the Hell Week workouts that I was going to miss on the days I don’t work out, and they all sound so hard! I know all of them are hard, but I think I got the best 3 so far. Even if I wasn’t doing what I felt was my best, I knew I was doing a lot of work and I could feel my strength coming through.

I can’t wait to see how these last 2 Hell Week classes go for me and be a Hell Week survivor yet again!

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