Up and Down

An Action-Packed Weekend: Friday’s Errands by Bike, Saturday’s Hike, and Sunday’s Contemplative Bike Ride (4/8-4/10/11)

Here’s a crazy piece of news: even though I was desperate for a change of scenery and had a marvelous time in Austin this past weekend, I didn’t take a single photo while in the city.  What is wrong with me?!?  Maybe I was too busy enjoying the good food and company.  Maybe I was self-conscious about looking like a tourist.  I was happy to be a tourist in someone else’s city, mind you, but I wanted the Austin folks to think I fit in with their cool selves.  So I carried my camera around in my purse all day and never took it out of its little pouch.  Oops!

Anyway, life has been busy in great ways lately.  Last Friday, I rode my bike to do errands in the evening.  The wind was fiercely, ridiculously strong, so I got a work-out that left my calves sore the next day.  Though I lived in the Windy City for six years, Texas is by far the windier of the two places.  Also, I was almost run over by a ten-year-old who was pedaling on his bike like a bat out of hell.  Kids these days!

On Saturday, to add to my calves’ woe, my friends and I went on a hike in Austin that had us climbing up and down the terrain in exciting, dizzying ways.  The path was filled with rocks and tree roots, so each step had to be scouted so that we didn’t fall into the ravine.  We felt so adventurous!  I was tired and sweaty afterward but also happy and deeply relaxed.  It turns out that all three of us enjoy being “in nature,” so we were like the Three Musketeers hiking up and down that trail.  It was perfect for working up our appetites for dinner, which was part of a near-perfect evening, the kind that sustains me during the long, hard days of everyday working life.

On Sunday evening, with my Austin trip now a memory and the work week looming, I was feeling contemplative and a little melancholy.  I decided to go for a bike ride after dinner, using my library books as an excuse to get out of my apartment.  I dropped them off at the book drop, then wandered aimlessly around campus for a bit, feeling lonely for Matt.  Finally, I hopped back on my bike and rode home in the semi-darkness, feeling marginally better and confident with faith that this, too, shall pass.

Devotion

Yoga Update (4/4-4/10/11)

I am almost to the halfway point in my 40 Days of Yoga project.  I think it would go against the spirit of yoga for me to be disappointed by my slow progression and tendency to skip yoga, so I won’t say that I am.  Instead, I’ll say that this project is teaching me what kind of a yogi I am versus what kind of a yogi I could be, if time and energy weren’t limited, and if I were utterly devoted to yoga.  The funny thing is, I do feel devoted to yoga.  It’s been a part of my life for almost a decade, and it’s made me a stronger, happier, calmer person.  I love yoga.  But I have a hard time doing it every day, which is what this project has taught me.  Yesterday was Day 16 out of 40.  24 days to go!  I do plan to finish the project, but now I know it won’t be finished until May.  May!  I wasn’t planning on that.  Oh well.  Even hyperactive planners like me have to deal with life’s curveballs, and sometimes the change of plans comes from within.

My yoga week, in a proverbial nutshell:

Monday (4/4): I join Dave Farmar for another round of his Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga.  Namaste, Dave!

Tuesday (4/5): I am absurdly tired today, and I have no reason for it.  I do a very short pajama yoga session, trying to concentrate on my breathing, hoping that it will relax me enough to fall straight into unconsciousness when I crawl into bed.  I think it works, as I wake up the next day feeling a little less squashed by life.

Wednesday (4/6): I practice Morning Flow #1, at night as usual.

Thursday (4/7): I skip yoga and meet a friend for drinks.  Later in the evening, I find myself wondering if what I thought was “meeting a friend for drinks” was actually a date.  I am equal parts intrigued and dismayed, as I am not a fan of the stealth date.  I like my romance straight-up, no ice.

Friday (4/8): I skip yoga again, but this time I have a very good excuse.  In anticipation of a trip to Austin the next day, I do a little grocery shopping to pick up salad ingredients.  While I’m out, I find a terrific pair of black sandals.  The sandals are a little sexier than what I was seeking, but I decide I like them and I take them home with me.  The next day, Matt looks at my feet and asks, “Are those your shoes?”  Ha!  Damn right they are.  And they’re so tall that I feel practically amazonian tottering around in them.

Saturday (4/9): No yoga today, as my friend and I road-trip our way to Austin for an overnight visit.  I have such a good time enjoying the change in scenery and my wonderful friends that I wish we could stay longer.  Next year!  Next year I shall return to Austin for a weekend and stay at one of the bed-and-breakfasts.  Doesn’t that sound lovely?  I’m going to save my pennies for that trip.

Sunday (4/10): I return to the metaphorical yoga mat with some pajama yoga before I go to bed.  My legs are tight from biking and hiking over the weekend, so downward-facing dog feels good.  I am exhausted, so I only do a few minutes of yoga before climbing into bed, but they are quality minutes.  Om…

Have an om-filled week, my dears!

The Red Bandana Club

Tuesday and Wednesday’s Bike Ride Commutes (4/5-4/6/11)

The rumors are true: I am part of a gang.   It’s called the Red Bandana Club.  We ride around Texas on our purple Schwinns, taking pictures of the tough-looking neighborhood cats, looking fierce in our pink sweaters.  Don’t mess with us.  You might get hit in the face with a smile.  Seriously.

On Tuesday evening, I decided to take the long way home, riding along one of my favorite streets in town.  It’s a quiet neighborhood, perfect for a slow, contemplative bike ride as I shrug off the day’s worries and try to shift into my evening routine.  I’ve been feeling really tired these days, for reasons that elude me.  Could it be that my yoga project, rather than invigorating me, is actually exacerbating my end-of-day exhaustion?  I don’t understand it.  I’m sleeping well and eating well, but my energy levels just seem low, which sucks the ambition right out of me.  Am I drinking too much wine?  A glass with dinner hardly seems like too much, but could that be it?  And isn’t that a sad possibility—that my tolerance for alcohol is so low that I can’t even have a glass of wine with dinner?

On a happier note, I have been loving the Iron & Wine songs that are playing on my little grooveshark player.  Many of my newest favorites, the ones I keep repeating, are from The Shepherd’s Dog album, which may be my next purchase from Amazon.  The songs are lovely and mellow, and the fact that I want to keep listening to them keeps me firmly planted at my desk, analyzing data peacefully.  The results from my data analysis are not inspiring me, but at least I’ve got some good tunes to keep me company.

Appropriate Weekend Activities

Weekend Warrior: Friday’s Late-night Walk, Saturday’s Bike Ride Commute, and Sunday’s Run (4/1-4/3/11)

There’s so much green in these photos!  I love it.  We’re trying to get spring going in Texas, and it sure looks like spring, but we keep having cold snaps.  I’m just not sure we’re there yet.  For example, today I am wearing a warm pink sweater because it was only 40-something degrees out there this morning.  Yesterday I wore a skirt and short sleeves, and I was freezing all day.  Thank goodness I’m from the North and have an abundance of cozy sweaters for times like this.

My weekend was lovely and slow, which is just the way I like it.  On Friday, after lounging for a decadently long time on the couch, I ate dinner and went for a late-night walk.  I like the after-dinner walk, but sometimes I walk too fast and I forget that I’m full of food.  It’s better to take a slow stroll after dinner rather than a power walk.  I tell you this so that I might spare you the unnecessary cramps.  It’s just like swimming: you’ve got to take it easy after you eat!

Saturday was a little busy, but it was all good: I rode my bike to the lab to get some work done.  Then I rode to the hippie food store for good eats.  By the time I was done shopping, I was starving, so I went home and ate.  The rest of my day was devoted to appropriate weekend activities: a long chat on the phone with my Austin tour guide, more grocery shopping, cooking, and watching a movie.  It was a full day!

On Sunday, I finally got my feet into sneakers and out the door for a run.  I haven’t been running much, as you may have noticed, but that doesn’t mean I don’t miss it.  I think when you do a lot of sporty things, it can be hard to give each of them the attention they deserve.  Lately, yoga and biking have been my sporty fun things for two reasons: yoga for my 40 Days of Yoga project and biking because I love to bike to work.  It’s so much better than the bus!  But to my mind, Sundays were made for running, so that’s what I did: my favorite running loop, with 20 minutes of running and another 20 minutes or so of walking to finish the loop.  I definitely did not push myself at all here—I was just looking for an easy run to remind myself that yes, I am a runner.  Maybe this week I’ll get another run under my feet before the weekend.

Happy week to you, loyal reader!

Yoga Drop-out?

Yoga Update (3/28-4/2/11)

I’m not sure what to think of this yoga project right now.  Last week, I skipped yoga three times!  I have no excuses, other than that I just didn’t feel like it.  I noticed that I rode my bike on the days when I skipped yoga, which is funny because I’ve never thought of bike-riding and yoga as mutually exclusive activities.  It seems like my pattern here is reiterating something I learned in college when we had two cross-country practices in one day: I really don’t like being forced to work out twice in one day.  Once per day is fine with me, thank you very much.  I like to exercise, but I also like to lay on the couch, reading a book and not exercising.

Given these not-so-startling realizations, I think getting through the rest of my 40 Days of Yoga is going to be a little tough.  As of today, I’ve done 12 days of yoga in just under three weeks, which isn’t bad, but I’ve got 28 days to go.  And my Texas spring fever is going to make me itchy to spend my exercise time outside.  I don’t do yoga outside—I feel too self-conscious to do tree poses in front of my neighbors, who are already wondering about all the self-portraits I take on my patio.

The problem, I think, is that there is no real “goal” with this yoga project, other than to do some yoga every day for 40 days.  But what counts?  I decided what counts is getting on my mat or pajama yoga, which doesn’t require a mat.  The point is the ritual, the breathing and the stretching and the quiet time that yoga brings.  The point is NOT how much time I spend doing it, or how many wheel poses I do, or how long I hold warrior 2.  I spend enough time in my day trying to quantify things; I don’t need to do that during this project.

So with that said, I shall continue to pose my way through the next 28 days of yoga, even if it takes me longer than four weeks to complete it.  My goal here is to love the practice itself.  And love, unlike many other things, cannot be quantified.

My yoga week, in list form:

Monday (3/28): I feel motivated on Monday and spend my yoga time with Dave Farmar, doing his Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga #3.  Dave’s class is so awesome, and I am reminded of this every time I do it.

Tuesday (3/29): My rebellion begins and I skip yoga.  What do I do instead of yoga?  I ride my bike to and from work, and I celebrate a very good day at work by eating dinner and relaxing.  Despite the lack of yoga, it’s still a great day.

Wednesday (3/30): I make this day a DIY yoga day, late at night.

Thursday (3/31): I continue to rebel by skipping yoga, riding my bike, and drinking wine.  Or, as I like to say now, I practice Edith Wharton yoga, which consists of lying in bed while holding an Edith Wharton novel at eye level.  It’s a variation of savasana, you know.

Friday (4/1): I make a stunning realization: part of what’s bothering me about yoga this week is that every time I do yoga, I’m doing warrior poses.  Warrior poses are terrific, but they’re kinda hard on the hips.  So instead of warrior poses, I opt for downward dog, forward folds, shoulder stands, plow pose, and the best, savasana.  Ahhh…

Saturday (4/2): I skip yoga AGAIN!  While skipping yoga, I watch a racy movie, Dangerous Beauty, and contemplate a world where a woman has three choices about what to do with her life: she can be a nun, a wife, or a prostitute.  And in this world, marriages are arranged and wife = husband’s property and baby-making machine.  What would you choose?  And what if, in that world, the prostitutes are the ones with all the education, money, and power?  It boggles the mind.  I think I know which one I would choose…

Sunday (4/3): I decide to multi-task by running in the early afternoon and doing yoga immediately afterward.  I usually stretch after I run, and this time, I unfurl my yoga mat and make my stretching more of a yoga session, trying to focus on my breath and holding the poses longer than I might if I were just “stretching.”  My run and my yoga session are great, leaving me free to enjoy that glowy post-work-out feeling.

And now, speaking of yoga, I’m off to do today’s yoga practice.  Namaste, sweet readers!

Then I Had a Glass of Wine and Made Everything Better

Thursday’s Bike Ride Commute and General Restlessness (3/31/11)

Wine!  It’ll cure what ails ya, at least if what ails you is a restless impatience for something exciting.

I’m not in the habit of drinking wine too often, but sometimes it really hits the spot.  Pouring myself a glass of wine feels like such a grown-up thing to do.  I don’t really feel like I’m 29, but occasionally I’ll have moments that remind me just how much freedom I have now because I am a grown-up, with a grown-up job and grown-up responsibilities.  And I can choose to relax in grown-up ways, like fishing a bottle of wine out of the fridge and pouring myself a glass.  I was feeling restless and fidgety in an uncomfortable way, so the wine was, in a sense, a form of self-medication.  I had just one glass, but it did make me a little tipsy.  Fortunately, I had no big plans for the evening, so tipsy was okay.  In fact, tipsy was nice and relaxing.  It makes me think I should drink more often!

On Thursday, before that glass of wine, I rode my bike to and from work.  I don’t really remember Thursday, which tells me it was a pretty ordinary day.  I’m kind of tired of ordinary days and feel ready for something out of the ordinary to happen.  Next weekend’s plans ought to do the job: a road trip to Austin with a good friend, meeting up with more good friends in Austin, and some big-city fun with all these good friends!  Actually, I’m not sure we’re doing much in the way of urban fun.  We’ve talked about going for walks and looking at flowers, which sounds a lot like my life in College Station.  But we are going out for a terrific dinner on Saturday night, and we must, simply MUST, visit the flagship Whole Foods store in Austin.  I booked our hotel room this morning, and I’m feeling ready to hit the road.

Austin, get ready.  We’re coming, and we’re going to be hungry.  Don’t forget the wine.

A Seattle Kind of Day

Tuesday’s Bike Ride Commute (3/29/11)

Tuesday was a cool, misty, drizzly day here, which was in stark contrast to our usual bright sunshine and delightful warmth.  To be honest, I’m missing the springtime that I expect in Texas—the heat, the sun, the bare legs and iced coffees.  I hear that the weather this weekend will meet my expectations, to which I can only say: It’s about time!  I didn’t move to Texas for drizzle.

But there is something rather charming about the days in Texas that are more like the Pacific Northwest, or at least the way I imagine it to be.  I’ve never been to that part of the country, though it is at the top of my list of faraway places to visit.  I am hoping that it will happen in 2012—2011’s travel plans have been made—but we shall see!  It’s a big trip to get there from Texas, which means it will be an expensive vacation, which is part of the reason it is not happening in 2011.  Plus I’ve only been in Texas for about a year and a half, and I have yet to see any of the cities here.  And by “see,” I mean more than “fly out of airport on the way to the North.”

Despite Tuesday’s drizzle, it wasn’t too cold, so it made for a reasonably pleasant bike commute.  It was a big day for me at work, and it went swimmingly, so I came home feeling like a million bucks.  The only downside was that Tuesday’s success made the rest of the week seem kind of drab by comparison.  After all the excitement, it’s back to the normal pace of things, which is fine, I suppose, but it’s left me feeling restless.  But!  There’s always a but, right?  Next weekend, my friend and I are taking a little overnight trip to Austin, and I can’t wait.  I am happy to have something unusual and fun to look forward to.  I’m so happy, in fact, that I’ll let that last sentence end with a preposition because nobody says, “It is something to which I am looking forward!”  Though the trip is something to which I am looking forward.  (Nerd!)