[sharonpdx]

oh hi guys.

(hanging with Hamlet again this weekend while his parents are in Costa Rica.)

pass/fail

It could take as long as two months to find out if I passed the certification course from Sunday - but I'm feeling fairly optimistic. The main question I've been asked since Sunday is, what next? As soon as I receive word that I'm certified, I intend to apply for an audition at my gym; I plan to make good use of the waiting time by learning the choreography and cueing for the current "round" (new rounds are issued every 8-14 weeks) so I can successfully pass the audition as soon as it's set up.

It's also my intention to audition to teach the weight-lifting classes, too - I took the training course for those classes back in Sept but I haven't gone any further with them. This is mainly because I know I need some extra work on my form. To that end, I'm coordinating with a gal I met at the kickboxing cert to start some personal training - she's a PT at a gym in the Pearl.

Meanwhile, I'm home from work today in an attempt to rest and fight off a cold that hit me hard yesterday.(At first I thought the sore throat was from the hours of yelling and shouting during the workouts on Sunday. Alas.) Chicken soup and several episodes of Buffy, season 7, in my future this afternoon.

single-minded saturday

Despite the fact that my knees are killing me from dancing for 2 hours straight in heels last night (which is dumb and no one should ever do it, ever), I did manage to get myself to a kickboxing class this morning - admittedly the 11:00 am one at the Hollywood gym and not the 10:00 one in the Pearl. Which turned out to be a good call, because that instructor said something at the beginning of class that helped me finally understand how to execute an uppercut (the cardio kickboxing move is different from the contact boxing version, and some old habits die hard). And, when I approached her after class to thank her, she offered tons of advice about tomorrow and gave me insider tips on how the day is going to go. I'm anticipating some serious hard work and an intimidating public grading - but somehow, being able to anticipate what's coming has relieved some of my anxiety.

Which is not to say I won't be spending several hours this afternoon practicing moves and studying for the practical exam. But first, I'm heading to Lucy for a new pair of workout capris. If people are going to be watching my every move for 10 hours, I figure it can't hurt to feel like I look cute, right?*

*yes, this embarasses me. But it doesn't change where I'm going as soon as I finish this falafel pita from the Pita Pit (another good call, FYI).

rainy day hike: dog mountain

a few weekends ago, Doug & I hiked Dog Mountain, a 7 mile loop in the Columbia Gorge on the southern tip of Washington.   it was a cool and rainy Saturday morning - great weather for a hike (i'll take cool and rainy over hot anytime).  we weren't really dressed for the snow that we encountered about half a mile from the top, though! 

didn't wind up taking out my camera until we were on our way down.  the fog swirling over the river was neat - and all the trees were covered in fuzzy bright green moss. 

 
 

i find these pictures very calming, and i've been using some of them as my desktop background at work.  given all that's going on in that world right now, i'll take all the bits of calm i can find.

fortunately, there will be plenty of opportunities for me to get out any work-related frustrations this weekend - heading to Lola's tonight for some dancing (it's 80's night!), and spending Sunday in a 10-hour cardio kickboxing instructor certification class.  keep your fingers crossed that i pass, and can go on to audition to be an instructor.

(p.s.:  no, doug didn't need that big pack for our hike.  actually, as part of his preparation for his climb, he'd loaded it with over 40 lbs of whatever he could find (including 64-oz juice bottles and an old laptop).  here's hoping his months of preparation paid off: as i type this, he and his group are in day one of their ascent of Mt. Whitney.)

this is fun.

               

                                               

created with spell with flickr

                                               

surprisingly addictive, and cheaper than body art.

[with thanks to lauren's friends' wedding blog]

NKOTB WTF?

So, the New Kids on the Block are getting the band back together.  Um, what?

---

Oh but remember, back in the day?

 

Hangin' Tough was the first cassette tape I ever owned - it was nestled in the green fake grass of my Easter basket along with the requisite new pair of tights and chocolate rabbit*.  my friends and i wore buttons with the NKOTB guys on our jean jackets - naturally, you wore the button featuring the face of the "New Kid" you had a crush on.  for me, it was Joey. 

still kinda is.

[* chocolate rabbit chocolate is an entirely separate - and tasty - kind of chocolate.  i hadn't had any in years, and then Evan shared some of his at game night the other night and i kinda miss getting an Easter basket now.]

---

happy weekend.

poetry + charity

Saturday night was a fantastic night.   joe released his first, self-published (Bearded Poets Press) book of poetry, Poems of Beginning. 

doing good.

in the interest of celebrating good fortune by paying it forward, he suggested a donation of $5 for Big City Mountaineers - a non-profit group whose mission is to provide life-changing wilderness experiences for under-resourced urban teenagers.  Since last fall, Doug's been raising funds for BCM through a program called Summit for Someone - he'll be climbing Mt. Whitney later this month, and Joe's been a huge supporter as a hiking and climbing buddy and as a donor.  Doug reached his fundraising goal last month, so we knew going into it that everything collected would be an above-and-beyond contribution to this important organization.

The bar where we celebrated, East Burn, also generously offered to contribute 20% of our group's sales for the night to BCM. 

the man of the evening.

 

the dancing
there was dancing, too.

 

the birthday cupcakes.

oh yeah, it also happened to be joe's birthday Saturday night.  what better excuse for Saint Cupcake?

and check this out:  i went to elementary school - both of them! - in SoCal with this guy.  random, no?

more photos of the night on flickr here.

my dad will get a kick out of this

my dad gave me a cassette tape of Abbott & Costello doing their Who's on First routine years ago, and I listened to it until i wore it out.  watching this, i can actually hear my dad's voice at certain points - especially when the "Third Base" duet happens at the end.

Who's on First? Typography (You Tube)