I love Jamaica Pond

Oh so I lied a little.. I said last week that this post would be run talk free but.. well you know how obsessions go, you tend to, well, obsess

Over the last few sessions I’ve been, how you say, “stalking” other runners to see what paths they use. For those who don’t know, I happen to live right on part of the Emerald Necklace in the Boston area, which means I have access to some stunning views. The Arnold Arboretum, The Jamaica Pond, Olmsted Park, all these are within walking distance, or rather running distance for me. My first path lead through the Arboretum, through the shrubbery gardens, and down around the willow path. I hadn’t planned it, I just happen to be behind another runner and decided to follow her. Currently the plan I’m on has me switch back and forth for set amounts of time between walking and running, or in my case more of a jog.. so this length worked perfectly for me. Now however I’m graduating to longer bursts of running which meant I was now going about a half mile longer than before. So I adjusted my path towards the Pond. This prompted me to set my first goal with this whole thing. Before the end of the summer I want to run to, around and back from the Pond. That’s my 3 mile marker, having plotted it out to be sure. It felt so good to set my mind to that, every time I go, I know I can push how far I get, around just a little further each time, it’s beautiful to look at as I go, and the breeze coming off the water is awesome.  Today I made it about 1/6th before I’d hit my halfway time mark and needed to turn around, but I couldn’t wait to try again.

Another reason to love the pond is the boat house. You can rent a sail boat, rowboat, or kayak for pretty cheap. They even have a sailing camp, you know, for the kids. We rented a tandem kayak on the pond on Tuesday afternoon while it was so hot out. Again the breeze on the water made it pleasant. We dutifully strapped ourselves into our life jackets, lowered the boat off the dock and made our way out onto the pond. This is good exercise I thought to myself feeling my heart start to pound a bit and wondered what my heart rate was. We got going a a good clip too. The sailing camp was in session and we were being passed by a boat with 5 kids and an instructor. Suddenly one of children called out as we passed them, “Hey! He’s not doing anything!!”

“Shhh, man! You’ll blow my cover!!” My boyfriend yelled back. After that I didn’t feel bad letting him take over for a little while.

 

Now What?

Or: “So you’ve decided to run, Part Deux”

We’ve hit fanatical levels here people…I mean borderline intervention status. I talk about running now, how I’ve started up, how far I’ve gotten up to, how it went. It’s all the time, I can’t wait to go in the morning, I feel guilty when I’m on my break days that I’m not running. The moment my slight fever from my cold or flu or whatever it was (btw, in July ?!?) dropped,  I was strapping on my shoes and jogging, carefully, trying to break up the congestion. I was never fanatical about anything before, not the New Kids, maaaaaayyyybe Nsync, not Beanie Babies, or Barbies, my My Little Ponies collection was rather epic… however I never seem to get wrapped up in new hobbies like I’ve seen in others. We have one friend in particular who has a rather eclectic skill set, including but not limited too, rock climbing, scuba diving, salsa dancing, piano, photography, etc etc. All of which would certainly qualify him to apply for 00 status,were he so inclined.  He focuses on one and learns everything he can, pours over books, learns from masters, teaches, preaches the gospel of their virtues, passionately, then puts them on the back burner to start a new skill. I think actually his fanaticism is really “learning” in general.  But I can’t remember the last time I was this enthralled by something.

Here’s the appeal I am finding. Not only is it “you time” but also I can have chocolate milk when I’m done. I know what you’re thinking. “Amanda, you’re an adult, you can have chocolate milk whenever you want” To which I reply, “Oh ho! But after exercise, it’s recommended. Nay, encouraged!” How awesome is that? Something about the fat and sugar and salts in the milk and chocolate that help to replenish the body better than any sports drink.

Then there’s all these accessories that go with it! I started with a Heart rate monitor per the recommendation of a friend. Found one on Amazon, (hey that’s a fun looking watch!) with a 4.5 star rating. $37 with shipping, sold! Next came the clothes, for that I headed to Target, I figured other than corralling the girls into place this isn’t necessarily somewhere I want to drop a lot of money. My workout attire options however are limited to some old t shirts and a few pairs of long yoga pants. I have precisely 1 pair of athletic shorts, that I never wear, ..ever, ..cause they are ugly and I hate them, so there. Into the Women’s fitness apparel I trudged and was bombarded with pictures of empowered trim ladies. Looking stylish as they ran with purpose down the street, rested at the top of a mountain road to admire the view and congratulate themselves on a run well done, (oh how cute is that outfit.. where are those shorts?!) As much as I was aware of the Don Draper-ness of it, I have to say it worked, I want to be as cute and trim when I apex with all this. So I walked out with two new “running outfits, sensible socks, and two over the shoulder boulder.. well you get the idea.

After getting a week into the Couch to 5k program, the next item was shoes. I headed to Marathon Sports in Brookline, MA where the analyze your run, over and over and over. I bounced like a little deer up and down the sidewalk in various fits until I found one pair that didn’t pinch my ankles or mash my toes, and kept my right foot from rolling in. All while my poor boyfriend tried to find a pair of “minimalist” shoes while watching my purse. The judgment from the clerks when he inquired about the style was palpable. They didn’t go so far as to poo poo it out loud but 90 percent of what you say has nothing to do with verbal language. They did call it a “craze” and a supplemental training shoe at best. Afterward, He turned to me and said, maybe a craze but I’ve been training in tennis shoes for the last 15 years and it’s served me just fine.

All in all, I must say though, aside from the sneering at minimalism, they were very helpful and knowledgeable.

So today I took all my gear for a spin and I, in fact, look like any other runner on the street, the camouflage is complete, they’d never know I am an interloper. I’m even up to 2 miles! I’ll continue to look at this as an experiment as far as fitting back into my work pants (see previous post regarding goals) but I have decided to stop using the Daily Burn in the process. All it did was tell me what I was deficient in (a few suppliments took care of that), my eating habits are actually quiet good, healthy even and for me it wasn’t being a “diet” persay. I was usually spot on the calorie portion just eating normaly. If I wasn’t, that was usually my cheat day that trainers say to have so you treat yourself, and shock your metabolism. I get plenty of fiber, roughage (KALE!) if you will, my carbs are usually “brown” anyway so for me it’s just not helpful. I’m also only going to weigh myself on mondays, just to track progress. I’ve lost a half inch in most places already so the fact that my “weight” hasn’t changed just reinforces the fact that I’m building muscle in place of the fluff, so nuts to you scale!

Next week will be Running-free (most likely) I’ll be showing you my Silhouette projects that I’ve been working on!

Rawr!!

Have a good week!

 

 

 

So you’ve decided to start running…

I talk a lot of smack.. ALOT of smack, I’m what you would define as “Catty”. It’s mostly under my breath, some right to your face. Stuff you know you think too, admit it, like “Spandex is a privilege not a right”, “Oh hunny, no…”, and the increasingly more frequent “It must be nice to be the only person on the planet who matters” When ever I pass a runner on the street it’s usually, “There’s someone who just doesn’t look like they’re having a good time.” Think about it, have you ever passed, or been passed I should say, by a runner with a smile on their face? No right? And I’ve hated running my whole life. I was secure in the knowledge that running and I don’t get along, it started during the President’s Fitness Challenge they made us do annually in middle school. I wasn’t an obese child or anything, I just sucked at running, I couldn’t go for more than a minute without wanting to throw up in my shoes. I hate running and running hates me.

So imagine my surprise when one day last week I said to myself, I’m going to run up town today. In all seriousness, I strapped on my puma’s grabbed my atm card to do a deposit and my keys and started up town. I got to the top of the street and felt ok, rounded the corner and started being short of breath and the old familiar feeling of drowning in spit while simultaneously having a dry throat began. Why was I doing this? I reminded myself to try and breath through the nose out through the mouth, but that never lasts long. I started wondering how silly I in fact looked while I ran, what is a good form for this?

After completing the 1 mile jaunt up town and back (mostly walking back I have to admit and spitting the whole way, gross I know..) I was trying to figure out why on earth anyone would do this, the only thing I could think was “unpleasant.” From start to finish, unpleasant.

So imagine my surprise yet again when the next day I wanted to give it another shot. This time I put out a call to my friends for advice on the matter. The first person I asked was my boss. She’s 6 foot forever and all of it is leg, and she runs 6 miles a day. I’ve heard her say more than once that she can’t function with out knocking out a run early in the day. Literally, it’s a fog because there’s a glycogen build up in the brain that can only be cleared by continuing to exercise, like a nicotine dependency, it’s just part of your chemistry now. Being the proponent for running that she is, I knew she’d be a good source. “Slow Down” was the first thing out of her mouth, “You should be shooting for a pace that gets your heart rate between 130-140, something comfortable where you’re not out of breath. If that happens then you’re building lactic acid and you’ll cramp up.”  Ok, simple enough. Kind of a “der” moment for me. So I gave that a shot, and sure enough I was able to go longer without slowing to a walk and it was more comfortable. Huh. maybe I can do this.

What’s really blowing my mind is, I WANT to do this. It’s not a whim, it something inside of me saying “Ok kid, time to cowboy up.” I can feel deep down, that this for some reason, is something I need to do. But I am concerned about doing it right, do I have poor form, how badly am I going to mess up my knees, what’s better trails or pavement. The new animator at the company I’m interning at had a few tips to offer. “Trails are better on the knees but are a real test on your ankle strength. It also greatly impacts your time.” He also talked about the proper course of a run “In the last bit of your run you should sprint, to help build muscle” then trailed off into some technical jargon that clearly stuck…  Hmm ok. Though all I could think of was the messenger who ran from Marathon to Athens to tell them of the victory. “NIKE!” he screamed then dropped dead cause his heart exploded from the sudden stop of activity. Yeah.. I don’t know. “But that sprint, building that muscle is what helps you improve your time.” He said when I tuned back in.”Oh so people who say, Yay I got to the 10 minute mile!” I said hopefully understanding. “That’s actually really slow..” he replied. Damn, so maybe I shouldn’t mention that it currently took me 15 minutes cause I have to slow to a walk so my inner thigh ligaments don’t snap.

The over all goal of this adventure is to slim down, not run races not run long distances. But fit into things that used to fit better. I have pretty decent muscle underneath but I also have a layer of fluff that I could do without when it makes clothes not fit the way they used to. My boyfriend talked about the psychological impact of your goals. To simply say, I want to tone up isn’t an effective goal. However checking each week to see if the pants you used to rock suddenly work again, that’s a more concrete goal. I can do that, I have old work pants that used to be super cute. Granted I have no immediate need for them as I no longer work in a business casual environment, but they’ll do. In that environment I also used to run around for 8-12 hours a day, lifting things and taking in shipments and bring people product. Now that I’m sitting at a desk, and have been for the last year and a half, my legs are less than pleased they’re being called into active duty again. Hence my inner thigh ligament’s protests. So far I’ve yet to loose any weight, I started at 170 but now a week later have put on 2 pounds. I’m assuming it’s muscle since I’ve been keeping an eye on what I’m eating as well. My theory is that it get’s worse then starts to get better like going over a hill. We’ll see.  But for right now I’m going to hang those pants on the back of my door and check them every Monday. F the scale.

Wish me luck!

 

 

 

The 7 note whistle

Starting at around 9 AM our old senile neighbor starts whistling. At least we think he’s senile. He’d have to be, there’s a repetitiveness to his actions that could only occur in someone who doesn’t remember what they’re doing or have done already. Or he’s just an .. well I’m sticking with the senility. So at around 9AM his 7 note whistle starts repeating, it’s just enough to make you think you know the tune maybe, then drops before what you’re sure should be the last note and starts again. It’s the faucet drip of whistles. This starts with him sitting in his chair on the porch, then moving to the stoop, then a walk up the street, then back to the house, around it, then inside. Only to start up again for the 9:30 show.

Now that I work at home, I am perplexed at how I’m going to make it through the summer. I want so badly to scream out the window RONNIE!! but I am not that forward, morally I know it’s not right, it’s not his fault really, but I know someday I may snap. Come on, you know you would too.

What does help is streaming Netflix on my other monitor while I work. It’s got to be something I’ve seen before or I can just listen too, like Rocky Horror. I, while half listening, was still able after all these years to remember some of the call outs, and spoke them aloud to an empty apartment and forgot all about the whistle. It was bliss. Then I started on the Storyteller series. If you don’t remember this one, you should look it up. It was a Jim Henson studio production, but one season long. It also had to have been the london studio as all the actors have varying UK accents. Brian Henson, Jim Henson’s son and voice of Hoggle, (Labyrinth again if you haven’t seen you need to go watch it right now)  voices the dog and the Storyteller himself is played by John Hurt, Mr. Ollivander the wand maker in the Harry Potter Films. I highly recommend the series for the stories themselves.  The special effects though top notch at the time, don’t hold up so well by today’s standards. They were creative with transitions from “reality” to the yarn, characters dancing in the paintings around the stone cottage, etc. It’s not all laid out for you, not like they do today, you’re engaged in it, like watching theater. But the main thing I love  are the puppet actors. Puppet is always better than CG.

Now I realize that goes against my profession. My whole job now is animating CG characters. But think about it, how  much more likable was the 1970′s puppet of Yoda? Frank Oz to reprised his voice, the CG model moved better, jumped around, kicked some ass in true Jedi fashion but failed to turn on your imagination. All the thinking was done for you. Don’t misunderstand, I think there are some beautiful 3D animated movies, Tangled, Kung Fu Panda (1 and 2) and Wall-E are some of my favorite movies period. With more heart and better stories than a lot of the live action stuff. But when it comes to live actors and CG mixed there’s a disconnect. Perhaps it’s because the live actor has nothing to interact with and when they over lay the CG, it’s just that, an overlay, about as engaging as wall paper.

So now that I’ve gotten completely off topic, what are some of your favorite series or movies that you can put on the tv (or Hulu) and have on in the background? It’s going to be a long summer and I need suggestions. (I’ll let you know that anything Whedonverse is all ready in the queue.)

 

The Ubiquitous Resolution List

I’m sure you’re all busily making your Resolutions, after all today is the day for it. Some are lofty, some are reasonable, (we both know which will fall to the wayside by the end of January) but we devoutly make out our wish lists for ourselves in the blind and unflagging hope that this will be the year we ___________  and finally ___________ . I found my list from last year, I kept it short and I’m happy to say that yeah I did them all. Maybe I should keep with that theme..

2010 goals

1.Excel at my 3D class: I did pretty alright for myself, finished with a High Pass (woo hoo ) and was put in charge of the final project, so ok, yeah, Check.

2. Hit 80 by May.  (in W.o.W,  nerd! ) Check

3. Maintain weight or loose 10 pounds. I didn’t gain any weight heading into 2010 and after I left school oddly enough I started loosing weight.  Check and Check.

4. Spend more time with friends: Well the bar was set REALLY low for this so any visitations were in the positive column, so, Check.

Like I said short and sweet. This year however I’m going to expand a bit.

2011 Goals:

1. Schedule “work days” and “off days” and stick to them. Also schedule “work hours” (that can be bent when absolutely necessary)

2. Hit 85 by March (I’m already at 83 so that’s almost a gimme)

3. Save for a trip to Scotland with Ben

4. Continue effort to spend time with loved ones

5. Start Kettelbells back up (or at least do some yoga when I cant make the KB class..or have the instructor bring home a bell, it’s not like I live with him or anything..)

6. Update resume and Demo reel.

7. Restart the comic book, revamped and renamed.

(I may need to re-evaluate these in three months since many of them are short term but it’s a start.)

Here’s hoping you keep your lists short and your goals attainable with one or two you need to reach for! Happy 2011 Everyone!

 

A prayer for 2010

Dear 2010,
I feel as though I am starting to come through my 15 minutes of turbulence, and finding the landscape I’m flying over largely unexplored territory. It is expansive, full of chasms and potential dangers, but it’s mine to carve out a niche and set up shop. I am acutely aware that while I’m coming out of the turbulence many of my loved ones are flying into it head on. I see them struggle with loss of direction in life, with divorce, want for a child, making ends meet. In each of them though I see the sheer will to make the best of it, that even though they know this moment is rough and their stomachs flip at each bump, they grit their teeth, clutch the arm rest and ride it out. Others close their eyes and breath deep but all seem, to me anyway, to know they’ll come through on the other side in their own unexplored landscape, safe and sound. So for them, not for myself, I pray to who ever is flying their planes, get them there safely. May they find what they need, even if it wasn’t initially what they wanted. They are all good people who’ve hit rough times and don’t feel sorry for themselves ( though no one would blame them.) They trudge on even if they’re a little lost, they look for ways to enjoy their new beginnings, they don’t abandon hope when they can’t catch a break. They revel in the smile of their children when they can’t be with them.
May 2011 bring everything they deserve and the calm they need.
May it bring that to us all. And for god’s sake let there be champagne to properly kick, you, 2010 out on your ass, troublemaker.. I had high hopes for you, but while you were a mixed bag for me I suppose you were still better than 2009. Meh, have a glass yourself, and don’t let the door hit you on the way out when your done.

Salute!

 

Merry Christmas!!

 

Buy Nothing Day..

It’s 3Pm on black friday and I’m in my jammies. At 5:30 am, do you know where I was? Asleep.  This holiday season marks the first time in 13 years I am not responsible for executing a defense plan against rabid shoppers. The kind (and I’m sorry if this is you) who treat the day after thanksgiving like a full contact sport or as though they’re hunting the elusive white stag. I’ve even seen people over the years don war paint. I’m so not kidding.  I’m all for spending and boosting the economy I truly am. I come at it from the approach of within reason, buying gifts that have thought, like this person has been looking for a new flibbity-gibbit for a while, I just happen to find one. Not a bag of scented lotions I got at Victoria’s secret because I happened to be the first person in line at 3 am. There are deals to be had and I also understand people want to get the cabbage patch doll and tickle-me Elmo before they run out. Mind you, I ran a store that didn’t necessarily have door busters deals, we sorta tried it last year in the Williams Sonoma way that’s like “hey we knocked off 10 bucks, now do you want it?”  But because we were in a major mall, there we were,  open at 5 am because Sears and Macy’s opened at 4.  Walmart, Kohls and even my beloved Target had stores open on thanksgiving.

This to me is egregious, not to mention tacky.  Apparently I am not alone in this, there is a whole movement, internationally even, called Buy Nothing Day . And I am all for it! There’s no reason we need to encourage this behavior but I’m not naive enough to think it wont go on for years. Additionaly, there is a campaign by American Express called Small Business Saturday. Not only is it socially responsible, but you’re more likely to find unique gifts and stimulate your local community!

So I’ll leave you with words from a certain doctor who said it better, and hopefully someday we’ll listen too:

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,

stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons.

It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags.

And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore.

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before.

What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store.

What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

Have a good weekend and patron your local shops, they need love too!

 

Pending things..

..seem to be hovering about, with all their pend-y goodness. I could have a major project coming, I could have a new part time job, I am waiting for my check from my 401K but none of it  is materializing just yet, just sorta hanging out there.. in the ether. I am betwixt and between and ..Meh. *shrugs*  Frankly, to those who know me, I’m just as surprised as you are.

I am finding that without the constant planning and plotting of retail “Holiday” I have NO concept of time passing. I am shocked to find that thanksgiving is a scant two weeks away. I politely informed my potential new employers that I wasn’t available for black friday. I explained that it would be the first time in 13 years I didn’t NEED to be there, that I wasn’t planning a OODA type of defense against the cranky 6am shoppers.  They seemed to understand. I had wanted to take the holiday in its entirety away from shops but I’m not quiet there yet.. maybe next year, but it’s just not prudent this year. So what did I do? Went  to the competition =) From the minute I walked in there, it kinda felt like a betrayal. As though I’d hidden in the Crate and Barrel bathroom and waited till the security guard found me so I could surrender and defect. (Moscow on the Hudson reference) It was strange sitting on the other side of the desk being asked the questions this time, but the whole time all I could think was, you need me, I’m a catch, I have “mEE-cro film” and SOOOOO much random kitchen tools knowledge I can Ken Jennings’ your ass into next week.

Now for my animation find of the week:  the spaceman is a little wooden but the robots have great timing!

Now to decide on a Serenity clip for my acting for animators class.

“-Define interesting.  -Oh god oh god we’re gonna die..”

“-You wanna run this ship? -Yes!    - ….. Well you can’t.”

“Boy, some grenades would be great about now!’

or

“Start with the part where jayne get’s knocked out by a 90lb girl, that never gets old”

Thoughts?

Also to my fellow nerds out there.. they canceled Caprica.. >< Now we’ll never know how the toasters came to power.

 

 

 

 

Self employment, week one

Stardate:….. something something.

It’s been an interesting week. I managed to go from worrying about filling my time to wondering if I have enough time to work on things. I’ve been learning a lot because of it.

1.Um yes I can.

2.People will always gravitate towards professionalism. It doesn’t matter what the field, retail, business, basic human interactions. That means checking in with your clients, that means keeping emails professional and relevant. That’s not to say you can’t adjust it to the working relationship you develop with your client, but as I’ve discussed with a friend of mine, we’re floored when clients are delighted just by our ability to show up on time.

3. Freelance or Sole proprietor business is a good tax strategy. But I must make sure I’m organized. Check and check. If there’s one thing I’m good at it’s making lists. Apparently I can claim 20% (amount of space my home office takes up) of expenses for the house, rent, electricity, internet. My website, my business cards, the computer, my health insurance (first good news attached to that since I signed up)

4. I’m going to need an accountant this year.. and probably going forward. Between having a part time job or two, independent contractor and being a student for most of the year.. boy does that look like a quagmire.  (“Quagmire” meaning a difficult, precarious, or entrapping position not the giggty-giggty neighbor, B to the W)

5. I’ll need to schedule my own down time, I’m not a slave to a corporation anymore and there’s no one specifically telling me when to do anything. And that’s just weird.

6. I don’t miss Williams at all. I thought I might but I’ve not thought about it, except to remark on how I don’t think about it, all week, it’s like a memory of a movie I watched once. And apparently my old boss jumped ship too, yet again reinforcing that the company has SOOO completely changed and wasn’t the place for me (or any of us oldies..) anymore.

7. I am supremely happy. Yesterday was the best day and it’s cause I felt productive, like I’d conqured something, all on my own. I brought home the bacon from the pig I’d raised (and had someone else slaughter cause you know, gross and sad) but I fried it up and savored it cause I knew what had gone into getting it to the table. I knew the value and that made it that much better.

8. I never would have made it to this point had it not been for the encouragement and unwavering of friends family and most of all my Ben. Especially Ben. His words of encouragement have kept me going when I wanted to hide so many times.

I realize I’m new to all this, that it’s just starting but I’m really liking where this is going.