TRX is NOT for Sissies

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

My weekend in Virginia was fantastic. I drank great wine, ate great food, relaxed....well, I relaxed and worked my butt off! My aunt goes to a personal trainer on Saturday mornings and she brought me along with her and signed me up for a TRX class. My options were spinning (which I find to be excessively boring), zumba (dancing around? ....something harder please), and TRX cross training. So I picked cross training. Can't be all that different from a Jillian Michaels work out video right?

At 9am on Saturday morning it was just me and two other people in the class; a man and a woman, both much older than me. Psf, I got this! Our class instructor gave us a cycle of exercises to do five times.

5 rolly-ab move things
10 push ups
10 pull ups (from the TRX rope)
15 kettle bell.....swings?

5 times

No problem, I do these moves anyway, I can do this. What I failed to consider was the fact that I have almost no upper body strength and that I'm very competitive. Also, since there were just three of us, the instructor was able to stare at us the entire time- very uncomfortable.

It started out ok. I was feeling confident. I was even doing the full push ups! But quickly, things went downhill. The other woman was somehow a cycle ahead of me and I got to the point (on my knees!) during push ups that I could go down...but I just couldn't...come back up! Needless to say it's been five days and I'm still in pain. But that's ok. I'm inspired to push harder and work out more often!

More updates on that later.

The Ego Guy

Friday, February 17, 2012

I'm on a train. My very first Amtrack train experience. Some like it hot? Maybe...a little bit.

After working until at least 9 at night every night for the past three weeks on a greuling project, I'm looking forward to my weekend away at my aunt's. Being at her house is like being home, and I think some relaxing time is well deserved. Three day weekend, here I come!

The entire Amtrack system is really interesting. Essentially you just have to be there ten minutes before your train leaves and show your ticket and you're good to go. Cool- that was easy.

For the first half of the trip I sat next to an Coast Guard alumni. He talked briefly about how difficult it was and how he wouldn't change anything. One thing which I have yet to mention in previous blogs is the difference between west coast people and east coast people. There are many noticeable subtleties which can be observed on a daily basis, but one that I find fascinating is the differing view points of the military, navy, marine corps, what have you.

West Coast view: Military? Isn't that what people do when they don't want to go to college?

East Coast view: There are many different types of ways to serve your country: government, military, Coast Guard, Naval Academy, Airforce, Marine Corps.

I can't wrap my heard around it! My cousin is in the Naval Academy and that is the only reason I know anything about it. Apparently being in the Naval Academy means you are really smart and will be some sort of officer which, I gather, is a highly coveted role. There are football matches between...Naval colleges(?) and the entire east coast (outside of New York) seems to be really into them.

I'm digressing. What I was going to talk about was the "Ego Guy." I've met him before, many times. He is the reason I avoid bars and clubs, and largely the reason I think I'm judgmental of men upon first meeting.

Of course, he is the type I am initially attracted to (and I'm sure many other girls are too!) He dresses well: dark jeans, nice shirt, tailored jacket. Well groomed. Nice watch on his left wrist, the perfect amount of masculine product in his hair. Looking at this guy next to me, I notice that he has a fresher manicure than I do, which may or may not be really pathetic on either one of our ends. While pausing in between chapters of my book, he strikes up a conversation with me. My eyes immediately fly to the silver band on his left ring finger, and I question his motives. Are married men allowed to strike up conversation with young strangers on the train? I did notice that he sat next to me even though the two seats to his left were empty.

Immediately he jumped into talking about his start up company, and the other company he sold, and the funding he has for this company, and his actress friend in Hollywood, and his film friend in New York, and his huge property in the country with a large estate and his new apartment in Baltimore. Mmmmmkkkk.

See this is the thing guys. No girl wants you to ramble on about all your achievements and start name-dropping on first meeting. Yes, we want you to have these qualities, but do you have to be so cocky about them? My number one turn off is cockiness, yet it seems the world is full of them. But, I should add, on the other side of the spectrum are the shy, lazy, doing-nothing-with-their-lives kind of guys that are equally grotesque, yet which are more difficult to decipher because their quietness and awkward company might be endearing.

Is there no one with the perfect amount of balance in between these two extremes? Oh ya, they are all taken.

Has my blog turned into a dating blog? God help me. I promise to report on interesting non-guy happenings in the very near future.

Who's excited for the Oscars next weekend?!

Whine and wine.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Here's my whine (and this relates very much so to my last post): In the past month I have now had two separate guys send me messages asking about the brunette in my picture. Specifics below:

Guy #1: May I humbly ask who the stunning brunette in your picture is?

Guy #2: The brunette in your picture is really hot and has a great rack, something you should aspire to. Can I have her number? (Her boobs are not real.)

So, not only is Valentine's Day one week from yesterday and I have to come to terms with the fact that I have zero plans, but now complete strangers are hurting my feelings? What has the world come to?!

Obviously, I didn't reply to either asshole. I didn't want to lower myself or continue a meaningless conversation with a meaningless jerk who would likely just make me feel worse. Why would someone write those things to someone anyway?

What I'm telling my friends: "Whatever guys, they were just jerks, I don't care."

How I really feel: Fat, ugly, boring, and pretty insignificant.

How I will nix those negative emotions: Wine. And perhaps the latest Gossip Girl. (And crying myself to sleep!)

A Single Girl in New York

Thursday, February 2, 2012

I was thinking that this might be a more appropriate name to change my blog to. It makes a lot of sense. Valentine's day is approaching and my "date" (my friend H) will likely be doing something with the new guy she's dating, therefore my plans thus far consist of watching movies whilst eating copious amounts of chocolate and drinking at least one bottle of wine. I know I will enjoy that!

Yes, all us single girls know that Valentine's day, like Halloween, was invented by the candy companies to help sell chocolate. And to make single women (not men) feel bad. And I would have to say that I wouldn't be here complaining to you today (this is very Bridget Jones of me) if I didn't read a brutally honest article written by a New York city guy yesterday.

He makes a very good point. In New York, single women outnumber single men by 210,000. Why should a guy settle? He could meet his "dream girl" at Whole Foods on a Saturday morning and then run into an even better version of her that afternoon at the Union Square market. For every attractive, smart, funny single girl there are a hundred just like her. And yet we all want to be special and find the right guy, right? We all have great jobs, are stunningly gorgeous, have top-tier IQ's, and could give Tina Fey a run for her money in the humor department. Well, perhaps that's an exaggeration. But what's stopping a guy from hooking up with any girl he wants? Nothing, because if one girl can't give him what he's looking for there are ten more right behind her. The minute a guy decides he wants a relationship, he'll have no trouble finding one. Devastating, but true.

From Freshman year of high school until about Junior year of college I had a date almost every Valentine's day. It's just the past few years that I've been undeniably single, and that's ok, I'll make due. At least I have the memories of what it's like to receive chocolate and flowers on V day. I actually still have some "kiss kiss bears" in my childhood closet. But this year, I'll be buying the chocolate myself. Hell, I might even buy myself some roses for my room, because, well, why not?