The day has come and I have made the time and small financial  investment to overcome a dumb phobia that had always made me feel inadequate. I find my Groupon number and head out to the ol Elk’s Club…or what will now be called Rebekah Club.   I leave the house for the 7.5 mile shortcut to the old building that used to be the 1917 Elk’s Club in sleepy El Segundo. Even Playa was more well lit and exciting as I dutifully took the new the path that my NAV gives me,. I drive through Playa del Rey, past the lonelydark beach and neighborhood  that used to be beautiful homes before LAX and Homeland security closed them off forever.  I see a low lit building that looks kind of like a small town kingdom hall. I walk in to a full room of people, most in couples, a few are standing in line, I follow. So I am in line feeling awkward again and a little lonely. Funny when you are this way, you feel like the whole group is staring. Those in line got name badges and an entry ticket. I smiled awkwardly, and followed instructions. All of us were told to congregate on the dance floor to hear Rusty and Giovanni as they gave a  pep talk.  Surprisingly there was no dance buzz yet, just a lecture starting with a reminder of the season at hand …wash your hands! Don’t sneeze into anything! There is a flu abrew, so dance with caution. There is humor and a serious respect for students.  This is going to be fun. OK, here goes.

In a circle, with noticeably more followers than leaders, I notice the faces. We are all different, all smiling,  The room is full of different ages, shapes and sizes.

We stand in rows for the bare basics. The leaders step counterclockwise and we meet a new partner every 15 seconds…and move to the right

Triple step triple step, roll, roll…open position, closed…my first turns!  I think I do ok if the partner swings me backwards. I need to reverse turn back, not front.

These turns…I lose my step every time…but with repeated practice, I start to get it. My brain is firing up a new set of synapses…there is something more going on mentally and physically. Better yet I feel a different boost, a boost of confidence that makes my smile never quit.

I loosen up a little and try not to stomp

Maybe I am scaring people with the giddy smile on my face. It is almost a look of alarm that they greet me with when we switch partners.

The time is up and we have to wait till next week. Uh, okay, I survived this and it was a lot more fun than I expected.  I am convinced that this is a start of a new relationship in getting to know myself. The class is now documented in a photo…this is the second largest class Rusty has ever had here… 

Conquering the feared dance floor

 How it started

   It's interesting how babies have a natural rhythm. You can even find them dancing by themselves in front of the TV. As much as Papa' sang his 'Wickie Woof' song to me (a variation of Who's Afraid of the Big bad Wolf...but at double speed), all he could get out of me is a tapping foot.This is while my twin brother responded wildly to the music (but hey, he would become a drumming student later, so there went the rhythm).    Square dance graduation in sixth grade....thankfully the year before me was the last one at Van Deene Elementary, so I was spared that humiliating ritual. :-)
Years later came junior high awkwardness. T'is true that at the tender and dorky age of 14, I signed a disclosure to my mom that I would never dance.   Never.  Not after seeing others in junior high make incredible awkward attempts with their partners to either dance disco or new wave. Funny how 3 years later she would pull out that piece of paper as she saw me free-styling to Funkadelic. It is in the blood, I tell you I couldn't help myself.
Enjoyed the dancing of that era because there was no need to touch your partner with Soul Train or Devo style dancing.

I started to Give in...a teeny Bit ...

     I guess I got away with it, except for the few wedding waltzes I was subjected to. Somehow I could fake those, being more concerned with how awful the bridesmaids dresses were and relieved at how during that first dance, the wedding party would usually be joined by the rest of the guests, so nice to hide in the middle of a crowd.

Nowadays

     Since then I have surrounded myself with friends and family and no dancers among them except one delightfully perky friend, waiting for opportunities to swing or salsa...with me hiding out as a self-imposed wallflower.  I had become scared to death of dancing with a partner.  I slowly moved to a group to learn Portuguese in order to expand my volunteer work and the scene changes a bit socially. In this group, there are Salsa-veterans who are also spiritual (as well as spirited).  Many more are talented, skilled dancers of all shapes, sizes, and ages. Me...still frozen to the wall or boogying freestyle at a distance, wishing I wouldn't be so scared of a partner. Friends' weddings came and went...many opportunities missed....but me actually warming up to something new, something else I had begged off... a line dance by Cupid. Oh dear. Maybe this silly dance shows that it is okay to act goofy again, and that it is all in my head. My biggest fear is salsa and swing dancing. I can't even turn or step properly without hitting neighboring dancers. Someone is going to have a swing lesson party at her house.  Dread....I accept the invite, although I will be there, the worse one of the bunch, I think. Then I desperately search the internet for YouTube videos of Fred Astaire and Murray's Dance Party to help....then what do I see...

Wonderful Groupon

    Being ever the extreme cheapskate and the ADD  multi-tasker,  I find something interesting while looking at those impossible Dance videos.  It is something very intriguing. What do I see but a Groupon for a beginner Swing class in El Segundo. Should I get it? Well, I emailed the website and the instructor herself kindly told me about the class, the deal, and the rules. Then she told me that I 'sounded fun'.   Me!?   The geeky Einstein-haired engineer?! Let me sleep on it...

OK, done
     I decided to order a series of 4 classes with Rusty Frank. First class was yesterday. I was so nervous, my stomach ached. I walked in by myself. The majority already looked like experienced hipsters. Here goes nothing...to be continued tomorrow.

I am just doing this for fun and maybe less for the exercise. She is a beaut, I must say...glossy black and white...and best of all...PHAT

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6 Surprising Toxics Hiding in Your Home

Well, I just slept right through my doctor's appointment thanks t the effectiveness of my over-the-counter medicine.

Did you know that you now have to show your ID to purchase some of these?

Imagine! Not only did I get carded, but carded for NYQUIL!

Made me think of drugs/chemicals we are exposed to daily. I thought this was a good article to warn all of us

regarding seemingly innocent household items.

6 Surprising Toxics Hiding in Your Home

Avoiding the Spread in 2009

Gone are the days of gowning-up in a bunny-suit in the yellow lab, inhaling the acetone-soaked air through the tight surgical mask. Gone are the beakers full of photo-chemicals that splash an experimental material onto the plastic protection screen. No more running from bay to bay like some space being trying to save the planet. I am now office-bond. A broken foot and a lateral change of job title has placed me in front of a computer screen. I now spend nearly all day trying to assemble or verify circuit design patterns. These are the circuit patterns 'on paper' before they make it on to a real microchip. Using computer assisted design tools, I sit and stare and hours pass while I think...okay this is a beautifully elegant circuit.....but my hips must be expanding by the second! To add to that, I gave myself a compound fracture on a middle toe back in July, keeping me in a plastic boot for 2 months. I have slowly tried to reintroduce the Pilates to the other parts of my body. I am finally back in a normal shoe, ready to make up for lost time. Back to the weekly sessions with Marie and I am walking at least 4 or 5 days a week (since mid-September). I'll need to make a goal of some type to quantitatively measure an improvement. Back to the drawing board till I figure that one out...

Pilates Instructor gets on CitySearch

The Pants Don't Lie...

One of the pairs of pants that I couldn't get into, I can get into now- there's still too much hip action going on though. I have faith that I can comfortably fit into them by Thanksgiving.

Tuesday and Wednesday are the hardest days to workout for me, since they are my meeting nights. I can never get up in the morning to work out. I'm going to try my hardest to exercise tonight after bookstudy.

My Russian ballet teacher Elena is really unique when it comes to dance teachers. She knows that the almost all of the children and adults who take her classes do not have their sights set on a professional career in ballet or dance. She teaches our class with a view toward increasing one's body awareness and for the sheer pleasure of dancing and challenging her students with new ballet skills. As any dance teacher, including Elena, will tell you --- I'm actually not ready to go en pointe. In fact, I'm nowhere near it. (You're supposed to have a certain amount of demonstrated strength, turnout, alignment and balance before you qualify for pointe work.) She has encouraged me, however, to buy pointe shoes so she can have me and some of the other students do about 10 minutes of pointe work in each class so we can slowly build up to it. She doesn't recommend it for everyone, but she's allowed me to buy pointe shoes because she knows I'm not going to try and go en pointe at home, without her supervision or do anything that might result in me breaking my neck. I guarantee you, no other dance instructor would be so liberal when it comes to pointe shoes.

Buying pointe shoes involves visiting a trained professional (mine was a former professional level ballet dancer from the Royal Academy in London), who looks at the shape of your foot while your toes are pointed. I spent an hour trying on about 10 pairs of pointe shoes (each are handmade and the fit can vary dramatically even in the same size). I went en pointe near a barre built for 3 year olds (it literally went to my knees), and did demi plies in second position in each pair before she finally picked out the "right" (i.e. most forgiving) pair of pointe shoes for me.

*Note: In this picture, I'm not en pointe, but am positioning my foot so you'd get an idea as to what being en pointe looks like.

Last week, Elena marked on my pointe shoes where I should sew my elastic and ribbons (the stuff that keeps the shoe attached to your foot). As each person's foot is as individual as your thumbprint, sewing your pointe shoes is a very individual thing, and you will need a professional opinion as to where to sew what. Having finished my sewing last week, I was finally ready for my first ballet class with pointe work tonight. After padding my toes with protective silk pads, we spent about 15 minutes doing various pointe exercises. It was really exhilarating doing pointe work for that tiny span of time. It's definitely the next level up and it's given me a new incentive to work much harder. It's also increased my body awareness dramatically. En pointe, you have to concentrate a lot harder and think about what every muscle in your body is doing in order to keep your alignment and balance all your weight on your toes. Suck in the stomach ("more, more, more" Elena barks at me), squeeze the cheeks hard, pull the knees up all the way, relax the shoulders, raise and elongate the arm but break the wrist, pull up your chin and neck but keep them relaxed. There's so much to think about, but it's an exciting new chapter in my ballet hobby. For my own sake, Elena is also cracking down on improving my technique when it comes to the barre exercises. When they're actually done correctly, you feel every muscle working to the pointe of exhaustion. "Oh, it's supposed to hurt like that" was my latest revelation tonight. "Chin up! Chin up! Pull up your knees! Correct your sous sous! Fourth position!" Elena barks. As we're all trembling on our tippie toes, barely hanging onto our balance, Elena purrs "Enjooooy the pain, ladies!" while we wobble and sway like buildings in an earthquake.

The Temptations of Toast

I have been pretty loyal to my twice a week Pilates and twice a week walks. I have been taking all the vitamins I'm supposed to take and some. I've cut the coffee down to one or two excellent daily cups and have upped the fiber intake to make sure the plumbing is working well (sorry). I still have one incredibly evil force working against me. It is the force of toast. I try to limit it to brown breads, of course. I even try to toast it to within an inch of burning, since it is nearly carbon already I'm thinking it will digest easier and cost fewer calories. I think of the thin elegant toast on sliced european bread. I like the thick sliced Sanrio-style Japanese 'Pan' stuff (so 'bread' is the same in Spanish and Japanese? go figure!). I like anything toasted in the oven with butter and or cheese on top. Pumpernickel bagels toasted with cream cheese and lox...sooo good. I can't get these images out of my head. I think it is the crunch followed by the warm soft dough. I have not found a low carb replacement and I am opening up the floor here to ask: what suitable crunch/toast replacement can satisfying this unique texture craving?

Measuring up

It's been about 6 weeks since I started exercising again. When I started out, I measured my arms, my thighs, my waist, my hips and my calves. I've been lifting weights and doing various types of cardio --- swimming, running, and ballet. So far, I've lost 3.5 pounds and it's all probably water. While that might seem discouraging, I decided to measure myself and see if there was a difference. The difference was amazing. I lost about an inch on my arms and a 1/2 inch everywhere else. I can see the improved muscle tone in my arms, so I knew that regardless of the weight number, I was improving my body.

Pilates on the Ball

Last night I was doing my walk in my neighborhood. I was on the phone with my brother. He was getting nervous because it was already dark and he wanted me to turn back and go back home. I did, but I felt like I needed more exercise so I tried one of my DVDs. It's called "Pilates On the Ball." It's difficult but it's also fun. The ball helps to stabilize me and allows me to do movements that are normally too difficult to do without the ball. You really work up a sweat. I made it halfway through the workout and then turned CNN on. My goal is too get better and better at this particular workout.

Keep On Keeping On...

Wednesday night I went swimming. I started with 20 minutes of water aerobics and then I launched into laps. I am staying at a friend's house in the Palisades; they have a good sized pool along with a jacuzzi. Sitting under the stars in the jacuzzi after my swim was really relaxing.

Yesterday I did the Sand Dunes again. I went with my friends Linda and Chad. First we do the stairs adjacent to the Dunes. Then we walk down to the beach and have to walk a good incline back. We go back down the stairs after we return from the beach walk. After the stairs we do the Dune. The Dune is really hard to do. I don't even look up. I only look in front of me. If I looked up I'd be overwhelmed by the distance that I have to cover. Once you get to the top of Dunes, you really feel that you've accomplished something. I don't think that any of this would be possible without the use of an ipod. I need a soundtrack to motivate me and I have one playing in my ear the whole time.

What's going to motivate us this week?

That hike must have gotten us tired. It's quiet out there! Anyone have an interesting workout that they can motivate us with?
Last week was tough. My calves were very sore on wednesday, so my instructor gave my arms and shoulders a work out instead with just a little knee work. I am always looking for a good arm toner. One of those Gilad sessions I tried last week had him doing an exercise that I just could not handle. It looked like a push-up (not the girl kind), but you stay rigid like a plank as you lean in to your feet and keep your elbows on the floor. You stay that way for 60 seconds as you suck in your gut. I think I could only do it for 10 seconds. I am going to challenge myself to get to tht 60 second mark in two weeks. Lets see if I can do it. For more ideas for exercises to do at home I found this show/website: http://fittv.discovery.com/fansites/housecalls/trainertips/trainertips.html
feel motivated?

Pacific Palisades hike 9/3/07

That hike in the Palisades was not as nice as I last remembered it before. I don't think I have had so much dirt in my socks and that was definitely the hottest, most stifling atmosphere I've hiked in a long time. My knees are feeling their age today, but I think everyone did well, though. Even the kids at the back complained more of the flies than of the heat and hike. I stayed at a regular pace and cherished every log or rock stop. I was wondering exactly how long that Temescal trail is, so I looked it up. The website reported 5 miles for that particular trail (you can double check) and a peak at 1000 feet. I think I would like to try it again in cooler weather. The green tea helped. Here is a small photo of the group. Tonight is my 37th Pilate session. I will ask for some mercy from my trainer. We'll see.

Hot Hot Heat

This heat has been killing me. I've had a few migraines in the past few days. I think that it may be due to not drinking enough water. I thought that I had been, but obviously not. This past week I tried the sand dunes in Manhattan Beach with my friend Linda. This sand dune was nearly double the height that I thought it was going to be. I actually really enjoyed walking up it. It's difficult, but it really gives you a sense of achievement getting to the top of it.

Back in the saddle again

Given that I have this horrible history of starting and stopping exercise all throughout my life, I was afraid that I had fallen off the wagon again but only getting in two sessions last week (one was with Guapo, so it's not really heavy cardio). I started again on Monday, fearing that I had completely lost my motivation to continue exercising. Contributing to this blog has definitely helped inspire me to keep going. You guys are doing amazing things. I did get myself to run on the treadmill last night, and I plan on going back to the gym tonight and Saturday night. I'm also ice skating with some co-workers during my lunch hour today. It's been ages since I was on skates, but the coolness of the ice rink sounds just about right in this 100 degree weather.

Green with Inspiration, not envy

These blog spots are truly motivating me. I fulfilled my promise to have the TV/Gilad training thing last Saturday (since no cute Guapo is anywhere to be seen around here!) Today I was ready to relax after getting home from work. I reread the hikingblog and the two new ones about daddy and Guapo and I got into action quick. I started on two loads of laundry then grabbed my sneakers and my fabric shopping bag. Instead of driving to the supermarket, I WALKED to the closest Trader Joes. I did the gas-free environmental thing. I left the house at 6:45PM and returned at 7:47 with a 5-pound bag of groceries. All the shoppers at Trader Joes must have seen me red and huffy puffy because they sure kept away from me in the aisles! Now I know why. When I got home I saw my face red like I had a sunburn or maybe they thought I was having hot flashes or a fit or...who cares. Definitely a useful work out and the laundry is still goin'. Keep the motivation going.

Father Knows Best...

He'll never hear it from me, but my dad was actually right about me weighing myself on a regular basis. I got on the scale Monday evening, I was terrified to see the numbers. When I looked down I realized that I have lost 4 lbs in 3 weeks. I called my doctor's office, I was there 3 weeks ago for an appointment, to see what my weight had been and sure enough, I had lost 4 lbs. It was really encouraging. I'm not going to tell my dad he was right about weighing myself because I dont' want to hear it.

My trainer es muy Guapo!

Having a personal trainer in Los Angeles is about as commonplace as having a nanny in Manhattan. There are so many types to choose from: the boot camp types from Celebrity Fit Club, the Gilad types who use their previous Israeli military training experience to "motivate" you, the touchy-feely granola-y types, etc. Living in the suburbs, my trainer is my dog Guapo. Guapo stays indoors most of the day due to his separation anxiety (he was dumped at a park in East LA by his owners), so his only exposure to the outside world is his daily walk. Usually, my dad walks him and his anything-goes walking style has erased all those months of Dog Whisperer training I did on Guapo when we first got him. Once in a while, when my dad steps out to run errands, Guapo looks at me with those pleading eyes and begs me to take him out. Walking with Guapo usually involves cleaning up after his business, almost having your arm pulled out of its socket when he sees a squirrel running across the street, and prying that nasty neighbor Corgy off of Guapo's neck if the kids forget to close the door leading to their backyard.

Being dragged down the street by 50 pounds of pure muscle is not my idea of fun after a long day at the office, but Guapo just looks at me with those big sad brown eyes and I see the hope intensify in the flapping of his tail. If the people in my life all looked at me with such big sad brown eyes, forgiving people would be a piece of cake.