Deciding to Live

Over the past 48 hours my life has taken a sharp right hand turn, in pretty much every possible aspect! My day started out after a relatively normal training session in the morning, I met a friend who had just broken up with his partner and was unsure what to do about upcoming travel plans which were suppose to be setting him up with an overseas job.

I then had the drama with my car (see A Really Good Friend for full details). I went to a busy day at work, I got picked up from work in my fixed and driving car and dropped at the gym for that arvo's training session. The day had wound me up completely and I had 20 minutes to just sit and breathe for a second. I was so happy the day was over, or so I thought.

I struggled through the session physically and emotionally exhausted and had been home for no more then 20 minutes when my dad comes powering in through the door from his walk, music still blaring through his head phones which were hanging around his waist and says to me "I have found you an apartment and I want to show it to you right now." Bombshell number 1.

I try and wrap my head around the words that have just come out of his mouth and say I have just spent a ridiculous amount of money on fixing my car, there is no way I can buy an apartment. Was told not even to think about that right now, just get in the car. So I did, still not sure what to think and he drove me to an apartment that had just been put on the market yesterday by a guy he use to work at the footy club with and had been walking with 15 minutes earlier.

The place is 2 minutes away from where I am currently living with my family and apparently that would make Mum happy because she is worried about me and wants to keep me close by...a completely different story. Not able to go in, Dad wanted to call the agent an organise a viewing the next day and, if I liked it, put an offer down before the end of the weekend. WHAT IS HAPPENING?!?!

Coming home, my head is spinning. All I could do was sit in my chair and I don't even know what I thought about for half an hour, but I could only sit there and not move. For 30 minutes. I managed to get into the shower (still in sweaty gym clothes) before getting on to check emails and do all the stuff I've needed to do all day, but other things have gotten in the way. My current job situation is also a little less then ideal, and now with the possibility of a mortgage in the near future, I realised I needed to do something about this. So an ad for a position opening had been emailed to me and I decided to reply to it. I didn't quite meet the selection criteria but what's the worst that could happen.

So I sent my CV and cover letter at 11pm that night. At 3.30am (needless to say I didn't sleep that night) I had a reply, saying that although I didn't meet the criteria, they were very impressed with my CV and wanted me to come for an interview. By 4.30 am I have an interview confirmed for 10am this coming Tuesday. Bombshell number 2.

By 8am I have decided that I might actually be able to do this. I have wanted to be able to move out of home for a while now, and ideally buy not rent. I have known I needed to change jobs, or move on from where I am currently working and I now have an interview to do just that. I have a practically new car (on the inside anyway).

I have decided to live the life I have wanted. Are you?

A Really Good Friend

 

 

The other day I wrote about my gratitude towards the RAC and my car related troubles. Well these troubles continued as my car was taken to the mechanics after completely dying on me. It was kept over night as the needed to replace three radiator pipes and clips, fix a coolant leak and replace all my break pads. They were expecting it to be ready by 10 am this morning. At 9.30 I got a call saying they were running a pressure test and had now found that my whole radiator needed replacing also, which they could have done by 12pm. I was suppose to be at work which was 25-30 mins from the mechanics, so I called to confirm this at 11.30 and had everything planned and packed to get to work on time.

 

I had roped in this lovely chick to drop me at the mechanics to pick up my car at 12. I went in, and they told me it would take no more then 10 minutes, they were jus running some final checks. Thank God this friend hung around with me to make sure everything work out. 30 minutes later, still no car and they were still trying to test. 10 minutes after that it was going to be another hour. At this point, I'm freaking out, calling work and asking them to move my first two patients and planned to wait another 30 minutes to see if they could get it done otherwise, alternate plans would have to be made.

 

That 30 minutes comes to an end and they say at least another hour. Oh My God!!! But this amazing friend stuck by my side and volunteered to drive me all the way to work in Cockburn with my three bags and highly strung emotional state. She was an absolute life saver and would not have survived the day without her help.

 

I am unbelievably thankful to have such great friends like this amazing girl in my life and can honestly not thank her enough.

The RAC

Every year my RAC renewal bill comes in the mail and I look at it and think is this something I really need? Then I remind myself that I don't know how to change a tire and that my little car is getting up there in age now and I'm sure one day soon it may just conk out when I need to be somewhere very important...(touch wood not any time soon though!)

Yesterday I was very happy I had made the decision to renew this membership again this year. I was driving to work, and noticed that my air conditioner wasn't working. I noticed this because it was 37 degrees outside and probably over 40 degrees in my car, feeling the heat in my uniform.

Driving a little further I saw a light on my dash board, and while sitting in traffic (due to the fires happening down almost next to my work place - another story completely) and pulled out my car manual and looked up the light...engine cooling system malfunction. On a 37 degree day. No wonder I was stinking hot.

I knew that my car would be sitting out in the sun while I was working, don't know how much cooling would be happening, so after a quick liaison with my dad I called the RAC to see if they could come and do anything to get me home/to a mechanic...what ever needed to happen. I called and all was very easy and straight forward. I was running in and out of the practice, extremely lucky that my first patient had actually forgotten her appointment as I was wondering how I was going to be present at my car while the RAC were there (a legal requirement apparently) and treat patients at the same time.

But, amazingly the time lapse between making the call, and the van pulling in the driveway...7 minutes?!?! SOOOO thankful! Anyway it was explained to me in mechanic speak what was wrong and I wrote it all down, but pretty much all equated to 'you need a new radiator'. He filled up my water which held it together until this morning. Poor little car just couldn't hold on and is currently at the Dealership/Mechanics to have all these parts replaced.

Radio

 

The other day I sat myself into my car to start my 25 minute drive to work. I have found recently that the music I listen too on my way to work can often make or break my day. If I listen to fast pace, pop kind of music...it's going to be a good day. I will be pumped and ready to smash through my patients. If it's slower, more ballad kind of music  it makes me tired and the day seems to go on forever. If I barely get any music and more ad's on the radio, I just get frustrated!

 

So now I come prepared. I have the radio set with my two most preferred stations, I have my Katy Perry album in the CD slot and I have my phone plugged into my iTrip with my playlist loaded and ready to go. I tend to start with the radio, and if I flick through and don't get a decent song by the time I get to the end of my street, Phone goes on (little patience). If I flick through 4 songs on shuffle and am not happy with the song selection, CD takes over.

 

On this particular day however I got into my car, started the ignition and already playing on the radio was Roar. Goooood start! So the radio made it past the end of the street. Next came Sammie's Firestarter with no ad's between the two, radio's going well. I am happy to report that the whole 25 minute drive was filled with good fast paced music, each song I loved and not a single ad the whole way....needless to say it was a good day at work.

 

Music is a powerful tool. How can you use it to change your outlook on the day?

Fire Works

I really like fireworks. Some people say you've seen them once you've seen it all. That doesn't matter to me. Sure a lot of them are the same year to year, but if you look back 10 years ago, it was really only the big circle explosions we saw in red blue green silver and gold, just rotating through colour order and projection height and angle.

But now they are launching flowers, love hearts, four leaf clovers and even those ones that explode, then get a second burst of energy and sparkle again. They are timing the explosion of these bright bursts of colour with music, and varying the heights and targeted explosion points so that it literally creates a sparkly picture in the sky. It's amazing!  

I'm not afraid to admit that I love glitter. Anything that sparkles gets a big tick in my book. So big sparkly explosions that light up a nights sky...I could sit and watch for hours. People get sick of them, not me. They remind me that sometimes I don't need to know how it works, or the reason behind everything, I just need to take in the beauty that is around me.

Shirts Off Saturday

Not as weird or vein as it sounds...well ok in some ways it is. Before you ask, no I'm not thankful for taking my shirt off. This guy probably is, but that's a whole different story. No, I'm thankful for the concept behind Shirts Off Saturday as it is now officially known.

The story behind the name is that the founding member in the middle there dislikes exercising with a shirt on. Something to do with heat and chaffing and just plain old getting in the way. Sometimes the shirt will last the warm up, sometimes it will make it out of the car, but in recent weeks he has resorted to not even bringing one with him....why add to his laundry pile when he doesn't need to? But, like I said, really not important in my point here today.

My point is, that I am thankful for the three of us getting together on Saturdays and doing silly things that often cause strange looks to be cast in our direction. Whether we are throwing ourselves at the ground only to jump up and do it again (also known as chest to ground burpees), crawling backwards on our hands and feet up ridiculously steep hills (backwards bear crawl), or getting into some sort of inverted position and lowering our heads to the ground hoping we don't come crashing down (handstand push ups).

As a group we thrive on the punishment that comes with a challenging workout. We have complete sessions that have lasted anywhere between 21 minutes to over 2 hours, and loved every second of it. I am thankful for having found a group of people that shares this passion of pain with me and what Shirts Off Saturday really stands for, regardless of whether the shirt is on or off...but it always has to come off for the photo!

Learning And Sharing

Starting this week, I am taking over the Mobility Classes for Imperium Personal Training. It is going to be the first week back after almost two months, so its like a fresh start for the year. I'm sure I'm going to be getting some very stiff, sore and inflexible bodies.

I have spent a fair bit of time this week reading up on the ideas and principles thought up by Trigger Point Performance Therapy, as well as reading this book Becoming a Supple Leopard and watching a hell of a lot of video's made by this same guy Kelly Starrett, who is the man behind Mobility WOD.

What he does is teach people how to look after their own bodies through soft tissue mobilisation  techniques, which help to restore and maintain normal movement characteristics and allow people to continue to train and perform at their desired level.

While going through all this stuff, it has refreshed some concepts that I have already known about, as well as teach me a whole lot more that I can introduce to these classes. But what I have loved even more then learning this stuff, is the passion this man has to normal movement. In each of the videos that I've watched, his motivation and excitement about the human body, its capabilities and his method of treatment is contagious. I am constantly wanting to learn and watch more because his enthusiasm has got me going!

So I am thankful today for passionate educators, for being able to learn and wanting to learn more about the body and its capabilities, and for having the platform to then go on a share it with other...there's a lot to be thankful for!