Friday, March 24, 2006

FITting it in

running is usually my fall back option when i have exhausted all other possible outlets for some exercise, it's generally not something that i would choose to do but with a severe lack of dancing in my life at the moment i was getting abi† desperate. monday nite i went for a jog and it was moderately nice - not fantastic and certainly not consistent for the whole half hour but it did the job.
tuesday i went to a class at the gym wi†h my mum called "strong to the core" which is (as you guessed it) basically all about abdominal workout stuff. it wasn't exactly beyond me but i sure was buggered afterwards. my mum said it took her 5 days to recover from her first one of those classes. it only took me 3-4 (it's only been minor pain in the last day or so) but i wasnt able to push our brand new recliners back with my fatigued torso and had to use the (rather handy) handle.
last nite i ran again and god it was GOOD. it felt really good. no stopping every half block to walk - i had made it two train stations up the line before i knew it. usually i tend to do a conservative circuit around my block (allowing a quick return home) - but last nite i just found myself so liberated by this new found ability that i just wanted to keep going and going and going.
so i've decided that i MUST harness this new power and use it as much as i can before i loose it. who's with me?
a treat: brand new shorts, socks, sports bra and sleek hair cut to match. woo hoo.

Sunday, March 19, 2006

the games

well as most of you know the commonwealth games are currently happening here in melb. there's tones of athletes and tourists from all over the world come to visit our home town. what does that mean for people like me? there's way more traffic than usual, lots of quick-fixes have been put in place to make melbourne seem alot nicer than it is. there is less rubbish around the place, new signage ..and even the homeless guy that does laps of flinders street station has new clothes -and SHOES!
what does it exactly mean for ME? well i worked one day on friday as a last minute fill in. part of the linen team helping to drive around the village and drop off/collect towels from 6am to 3pm. most of my collegues were 30 something blokes with big beer bellies and half sneered when they saw that a GIRL was going to be working with them. pfft yeah it's hard manual labour but sure as hell isnt out of my reach. i was pretty fucking buggered by the end of they day but that was probably more to do with sleep deprivation and in contrast to my usually rather relaxed lifestyle.
lunch was provided. it was amazing. they provide more food than i could possibly dream of getting through in an entire day; hot smorgas board, salad bar, fruit salad, yoghurt, bread, sandwiches, chips, chocolate bars, desserts, cakes, muffins, ice creams, water, coffee, tea, bikies, and cereal for breaky. i mean they did mention something about it being a good feed but i would never have imagined that. most people looked rather lethargic after lunch from over eating. i thought i was being disciplined by only have some rice, curry, salad, fruit and yoghurt but it was still too much.
i'm not sure if i will be working again as they want someone who can work the entire way through - i have commitments to my other job etc.
but it was really interested driving around the village and seeing all the different flags for different countries everywhere. then as people started to get up we saw loads of differnt athletes training and getting themselves organised all over the place. i just remembered thinking "oh my god! MUSCLES!!" muscles everywhere - it was beautiful.
i was surprised to discover that all the other workers around the place (besides the police and the cleaning contractors) were all volunteers - even the ones doing shitty jobs like sweeping the tan bark back into place around the gardens - what tha??
there were also a nice scattering of entertainers around. the first ones i saw (and were my favourties) were these guys on stilts in strongmen/lifesaver outfits including the old fashioned striped swimsuit; the lifesavers cap and massive porn-moustaches; and faux rubber muscles all which made their little capped heads look like pin heads in comparison. when i asked to have my photo taken with them they're like "of course you can gorgeous!! wow, that's a bright shirt! are you okay?? are you sure you dont need mouth to mouth resusitation?!" hehe it was pretty cool. as i walked away i realised that the oversized calf muscles were actually massively curved to disguise the springs attached to their stilts allowing them to bounce 5 metres into the air. i was extactically excited.
..there were also four sheep a bit later. covered in (non stuffed) sheep skin suits with puffy chops around their thighs and shoulders. they would follow each other around in a pack and make subtle movements with chewing expressions and sometimes breaking away from the group to get down on all fours to stare at a passer by. they were fantastic!!
i thought they were amazing and positively wasted on the under populated village - just athletes with nothing but sport on their minds. no appreciation.

today it is nice and sunny - a sunday. still considering what to do. Smoothy is contemplating a walk up to the local hippy commune to see if he can find me a pub bike. readers might be interested to know that my bike riding is slowly getting better. i'm still having massive problems getting on adn off when the seat is put up to the actual height it is meant to be. but last week i DID ride all the way back from dp's place and up that enourmous hill with dying. ..we will see.

that's all for now bloggers. xox

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

literate?

well, i'm trying to get back into the reading for pleasure thing. it's been a while and i'm feeling extra rusty but slowly getting there.
ham lent me a copy of The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency which was quite a lovely read. a collection of short stories that eventually made up one larger picture. great for those with short attention spans. easy language. quaint small town fables.
my next hurdle was lady-trash at it's best with Sex, Murder and a Double Latte. i went to the library and selected half a dozen paper back _lady_ books (many of which were pink and with titles much like this one). this was the only one that actually ended up reading and required 2 renewals but was well worth the work. i really enjyed it. including one rather painful day at work where the anitcipation of reading that final chapter and finding out who the killer was almost killed me. i was so excited and involved that i found myself get butterflies as i read it on the train.
my next trip to the library i found three more nice reads - again must be paper back and smallish to fit in my bag. i got caught up in the excitment of a book sale and free dvd borrowing that i didnt realise that i had borrowed a book called "Odd Fish and Englishmen" and another entitled "Of Cats and Men" ..no-one can critisize me for being inconsitent.
i'm currently reading the one about cats. i didnt realise it but it's all short stories about women and their cats and men. most of them i;ve found rather frustrating. the first was possibly the most annoying with an account of this woman whom becomes insecure in her relationship after stumbling onto her husbands porn collection - i'm mean i'm not that partial to a bit of neurotic behaviour at the best of times but come on! i'm hoping that it gets better. ..or i might have to take drastic action.
i also think that the library rocks. i think i migth go there again today. i like the walk there in the sunshine. and i like taking my ipod.

.. love my ipod - i suspect that nothing in my life could ever be better than my pod. it completes me. i *heart* my pod. sigh.