Wanderlust day 1... Taking Austin by storm

08nov2013

Goal : talk to people in meaningful ways 

Staying in nice hotels is great, though stupid me I figured out this morning that I had a black out shade... Dumb dumb. 

My first class wasn't until 10 so I had a relatively slow morning. The hotels continental breakfast is actually really good. They had all the essentials, fruit, yogurt and BREAKFAST sandwiches. Hurray. Ok maybe I'm a sucker for them but it's all about the simple pleasures.  I had a quick- ish breakfast and got my stuff together. I wanted to get there early today to make sure I knew what was what. 

The festival is being held at brazos hall and, coquincentally wanderlust yoga studio... Which is next door to it. It's all very compact but so far the weather is holding so being outside isn't bad. 

My first class was essential vinyasa in the mothership. With gioconda Parker.   I really liked it. I didn't realize when I signed up that it was more of basics class, but it was the perfect way to kick off the weekend. She went slow and methodically, which was nice... Since sometimes advanced classes feel a bit jumpy. The coolest thing she showed us was a way to get into flip dog without tweaking your shoulder (novel concept I know) basically you start in down dog, go to side plank, then bring your top foot behind you. It was sort of like the set up to rock star... And as your rotate your ribs the sky it opens you up while being gental on your shoulder. Hurray!!!! 

She also did some interesting things in engaging your core in salavasana by tucking your head and tightening your belly, then raising your head again... Hello abs. And if you bring your hand forward ( parallel to the floor in front of you in side angle ) you can lock your shoulder back in its socket and get more length when you go for extended or bound side angle. 

After the class I had a nice break so I walked around a bit. Walked up to sixth st.. Which is where the night life is in Austin. Definitely had the feel of walking around bourbon st during the day, and enjoyed a chicken swarma at extreme pita :) 

Goal update: so far I talked to four different people. Two from Austin and two from Boston actually, one teaches in the south end so will have to check it out when I get back. 

On another goal note. I made friends with this really nice man from Kentucky, named tim. He was in my fluid fire class and we ended up talking after. 

My next class was "fluid fire" with Chrispy Bhagat Singh and malia Scott.  It was awesome. The whole concept was to create the inner fire... Aka holy abs man... To burn away the toxins and rejuivinate the body. We did a tough flow with some pranayama meditiation at the end. And if anyone is in the area or has a chance to take a class with Chrispy... Holy crap this guy was amazing. If I wasn't in yoga coma right now I may be able to remember some of the stuff that he said but it was great... And a little weepy, but yoga weeping is always a good thing. 

After that class I went directly to "flip it and fly handstands for everyone" with Janet stone.  I was excited about this class because I don't have a handstand in my regular practice so learning more about them is even better. We did mostly partner work, so I was able to make friends with this women name Sid.  We did a few neat things to get into handstand prep. First we did assists on each other in inchworm pose. Which is delisious. Then we did this thing that was sort of like bridge but she held my feet and then I practiced keeping the center line by having to keep my feet together and up. We did that in plank as well. Then we moved over to the wall, started with working on keeping our ribs down by holding a block overhead. We did L sits on the wall. Then moved to helping each other into handstand with the wall. Then moved to a two person assist away from the wall. And guess what... I actually balanced for a few seconds each time. Woot woot. It was awesome. 

The other thing that was great about this class was it was my first yoga dance party. The great thing about wanderlust is so far all the class have had live music. In this class it had a dj and a pianist. So half way or at some point because with no watch I had no freaking clue we had a dance party... Legit... It was totally odd and totally awesome. 

After the class I boogied back to the hotel to dump my stuff. Since I had a bunch of stuff, yoga mat, back pack.. I also had a quick shower realized I brought enough undergarments to change for the evenings.... Woot woot. Yep in talking panties here people. Life is good. I had to be quick because I made plans with tim from earlier to get some dinner. So I made my way back to brazos hall. As it turned out rooted in Austin (the opening musical event ) actually had food so we saved some money and just ate there. It was all sorts of platters from whole foods, so it was good. And met some other fun people from New York City.. We even discussed how living in the northeast makes you naturally skeptical of people's niceness. We also listened to dj sukha who was really good. 

I called it a night pretty early because all that yoga I was tired. And got to do it again tomorrow... And it will be awesome. 

Wanderlust Austin day 0... The travel to day

07nov2013

Today began my second yoga adventure to wanderlust. I've been looking forward to it for awhile because... How to put this... Mama needs a vacation. So now that it's finally time I'm ready to get this party started.

The first thing I did, which is very atypical for me ( and the HOLMs in general ) I didn't book flights at stupid times, typically I leave at the crack of dawn, or after a full day of work. This time I poet not to do that. I had plenty of vacation so why not be relaxed about the whole thing. So this morning I had a nice leisurely morning in Newton before dad dropped me at te airport around 10. 

Checking in, getting through security, and waiting were uneventful. And then the VERY full flight started and I did something that I never do, I actually had a really nice conversation with the women sitting next to me. Usually I am the person who plops down, scowls and proceeds to read or whatever. But lately I've been thinking my "don't fuck with me" attitude isn't serving me well. So I'm trying to change... What better chance to practice then traveling in Texas... Where people are nicer anyway. 

So that will be my goal for the weekend. Stick self out there and see what happens. 

The rest of the travel was more typical...including a very cozy middle seat experience... Joy. 

I checked into the hotel, which woo hoo! Is really nice and went to dinner at ironworks. I got the recommendAtion from the people at the hotel. It was tasty. 

http://www.ironworksbbq.com/restaurant-menu.asp

And I finished the day watching Big Bang theory.  

Tomorrow lots of yoga 

Reminder that I'm a bad ass

02-nov 2013 / 01 nov 2013

So I've mentioned before that I am the extreme self undervaluer. It's a really horrible habit that I've been working to break, but this weekend I had a few different headways in the department. 

First was at yoga. Lately I've noticed I've been forgetting to breath. Seems basic but I've been so anxious and tense lately it's just slipped my mind... Literally. I was listening to the MC yogi ted talk on Friday and almost cried when I breathed with everyone one the tap... Something's got to change I think YES!  Anyway, first that happened, and then I was able to revamp my mantra while I practiced and assisted. 

My usual mantra is "I am enough". Simple and calming but admittedly not very strong. This Friday another one popped into my head... While practicing. "I am awesome" we're going to try this one on for awhile and see what happens. 

Saturday started with a trip to reebock headquarters in canton for a barbells for boobs event. I was the only athlete survivor there which was kind of neat. And I killed grace... 30 clean and jerks for time. I didn't rx (75#) but I did break 4 min (3:56). 

It was interesting because when  I was going through cancer I didn't think about it being impressive that I still was able to function. But I think actually it was. I just did it, but really the fact that I could function. I went to work, I didn't completely disappear ( though I did become a bit of a hermit... Cause I would get soooo tired) and I think actually that makes me a bad ass. Or it was a reminder that hey I'm awesome! 

So go crossfit :) 

And gratuitous clouds on the way to mari's wedding reception... The way I ended the day. Quite the busy and excellent weekend. 

All Hallows Eve

Halloween and I don't always do much of anything.  Usually it stems from the fact that I don't have an invite to do something.  Sometimes because I don't have a creative idea and sometimes because I just can't be bothered to dress up.  So this year was a bit different.  I had reason, cause and an idea.  I know right.. so Friday after work I ventured... bravely to the garment district and picked up a few things for a party on Saturday.  I was pretty successful in my shopping and the bonus being I can theoretically wear it ALL again.  Woot Woot.  cause effective costumes. 

So what pray tell was I.  Well like a dumbo I didn't take a picture.  But I went as


Yes I went as Sheldon coopers girl friend.  Otherwise known as Amy Farrah Fowler.  And people actually got it.  A costume success. 

But lets just say I'm not as young as I used to be, so off to bed...its 10:04..  I've got to hurry

Fear

I've been pretty into trying new things lately. Or I guess the opportunity to try new things has really been plopped in front of me in a few instances. It made me realize how much I actually liked, well in this case, nature and the woods. And made me start to think... Why don't I do this more often? 

I always thought it was because I was lazy. Going into nature seemed fall into the category of "things I never get around to". So naturally I just figured I'm too lazy to go. 

It was brought to my attention that laziness isn't really a thing. I mean think about it, what stops us from doing things we want to do... Laziness to put it in physics terms is when two opposing forces hit each other, causing the object not to move. If you take equal parts excitement and anxiety you aren't going to get much done. 

When that was told to me, it made me realize "ok, so what is stopping me... Why am I afraid or anxious" 

In the case of out doors stuff it mainly has to do with lack of knowledge. I don't know what I'm doing or how to be particularly safe so I'mless inclined    to  be super adventurous, if for no other reason then I like my limbs intact. I also still consider myself a bit of clutz. I have hurt myself doing really stupid stuff before so I know it's a possibility. 

So what first step did I take to getting out of the way of the fear.  I bought a hiking guide book. Yes one of those travel books. But at least using that I can get an idea of what I'm walking in to before I do. And then I can be at the very least mentally prepared. 

Knowledge is power and that will help aliviate the fear 

Weekend of fun ness

This weekend was really fun, and somewhat typical for me.  I always have plans or things planned out, and then other things transpire, and it is all good. 

Friday night 18oct13 - yoga night as usual. The assisting was rejuvenating as always, especially since Abby and I had not been united in a few weeks. I love assisting cause it just makes me feel good. Giving some loving to some people, completely perfect for a friday. 

My post class practice with Sarah was Great as well. And we decided to change things up and go to life alive for dinner. I ended up staying at the restaurant cause my buddy Kate was there so the night ended with nice Convo.

Saturdays 19oct13

This weekend was the head of the Charles regatta so I wanted to make sure to get my butt to the water to watch alittle. I always like watching but this year was fun since I have a bit of an understanding of what makes the boat go :) it also helped that the weather was awesome. Laurel met me down in Harvard sq. 

After a bit I had to boogie to acupunture and laundry for the afternoon. And the day ended making a delicious dinner and good company. 

Sunday 20oct13

The day started with a great brunch at Kelly's dinner in Somerville. If you haven't been there... Go, that's all I'm saying just go. You won't be disappointed. 

Then it was off to the east Cambridge rib fest. Which was also delicious. It's basically a street fair in east Cambridge where you can try different ribs from places. There were many good ones and there will definitely be some further culinary trials in my future. 

Once that was over I needed to move so I thought it would be fun to check out the fells. Which is near my house. I did a short hike in the fells, though I got a little annoyed cause I kept running into the road. Noooo! The whole point was to be in  nature. And as you can tell it was beautiful. 

That time I went to the loj

This weekend I had a very interesting experience. I went camping... For the first time in about 3 years. It actually may have been longer, basically I can't remember. 

The weekend started with a half day Friday. Which was great. I mean who doesn't love getting away early on Friday.  I boogied home and had some lunch and grabbed my large and in charge pack.  Technically speaking the pack is Ricky's but it was good to have one. It's amazing  how quickly it got heavy. 

The drive was relatively uneventful. I stopped twice, mainly to have a break... And make a grocery run, since I was instructed to bring mead up... Turns out mead is tasty.  Anyway, 4 hrs in the car and I was there. 

That's when the fun really began. I knew I had to park my car and walk about half a mile to get to the loj. So I loaded up and away I went. 

It was pretty quiet when I got there. Only 3 other people. They were playing lord of the rings risk. It was fun to watch. Otherwise there was a lot of hanging, a fire building "contest" and a game of monopoly.  While waiting for the masses to show up... Which there were a lot of. 

This is the sunset off the back deck on Friday... Holy crap right!

The sleeping pad was surprisingly comfortable, or maybe I just set my expectations super low so I was happy. And we were enough away from the clanging that the morning was not jarring. Apparently getting hung over college kids out of a tent involves a pot and wooden spoon, a la lets scare away the bears... Who knew.

Anyway. We ended up being a bit slow. Largely cause the boys were going climbing and therefore did not need to be up at a certain time. I on the other hand almost missed my chance to go hiking. I went with a small group that was leaving straight from the loj. It was a tough hike. But we took the shelbourne trail.. And were going to summit (something) but I sort of died a bit so I didn't quite make it. Instead I bundled up in a fork in the road. Read my book and waiting for the group to start back tracking.

Little did I know at the time... The rest of the group had a a different plan. When they got back it was decided to bush wack to Howe peak... Which was and a quote "oh just 1.5 miles straight east " keep in mind... From where we were standing straight east was trees... No trail no nothing.   I maned up and went and actual it was kind of fun... Minus the head scraps.  

Of course we got to the top and it was so cloudy that it looked night like.

The sort of funny thing was we beat the other group that was going up Howe peak. But they were bush wacking I think the whole way, they got back a good 2 hrs after me. 

Once we summited we headed back to hopefully make it back by 7pm. Ill say this now, I was the slow one. Thank god we had two guides cause one stayed with me while the other went with the 3 very practiced hiker girls in my group.  The way down was relatively uneventful except for missing the last turn off and having to walk and extra 2 miles around the highway :(  

The rest of the evening relatively relaxing. I sort of waited around for the boys. Then we ate, drank and were merry. Went to sleep very sore but happy. 

Sunday (13oct13) I knew would likely be a lazy get up relaxing, eat and leave situation and it was. I departed and the boys went repelling... Which would have been fun, but there is always next time. All in all.  Excellent weekend.