Phish tales

Peace, Love and Rock and Roll!

Friday night was my very first Phish show!  For years I have heard about them as if they were some sort of "experience" to have. I missed the chance to see the Grateful Dead (Jerry's death in 1995 was right after I graduated High School)and I have always felt that I missed something. So when I heard that Phish was coming to Bethel Woods, I grabbed a few tickets to treat my friend who took me along to a few Dave Mathew shows last year!

If you don't know anything about Phish, they are considered a Jam Band, meaning that their songs and sets are more about the music and groove then anything set in stone. I love jam bands! Even if you have never heard of Phish you can still really enjoy and rock out with them!

What I also love about concerts is the people watching! It amazes me how many people from all over congregate in one place to enjoy the same thing!  I find it interesting to see the people that spend the entire show trying to dance their way to better seats, either closer to the stage or with more dancing room! They bob and weave the security guards or offer gifts to the people around them to allow them to stay.  I ended up with a glow stick necklace and my PIC (partner in crime) had bracelets.What is truly unique about this kind of crowd is the kindness and overall belief in karma! Half way through the last set my PIC realized that she had dropped her money.  Knowing it was a substantial amount we looked under the seats around where we were dancing. A young girl who had managed to find her way next to us asked me if we were looking for money, when I replied yes she immediately pulled it out of her bag saying she had found it on the ground earlier in the show. This was a testament to the good hearted people we were surrounded by all night! 

The weather was perfect, the atmosphere was happy and peaceful, and it might just be one of the best concerts I have been to!

Hills

Only I would take up a new exercise regimine while on vacation.  Yes, you read that right.  When my BFF (like OMG can you totally believe it???) and I went away for a girls only weekend, she drug me out our first morning to partake in her new running app.  Yes, there is an app for that!

So, begun my Couch to 5k, exercise regime.  Basically in 10 weeks it prepares you to run a 5k in 30 mins.  By running three times a week and obeying the voice prompts of :"run now" or "walk now" it slowly builds up your cardio vascualar ability.  So I've been giving it a shot. 
When the weather is nice, I run it outside and usually I am pushing a double stroller.  I don't think this has been considered when this program was made, maybe I should look for a a Mommy and Me exercise program, but none the less I have stuck to it and am making considerable progress.... well except for this damm hill!

Please note: Not the actual hill!

I live on a well traveled road, so my running course takes me off to a side road, and on the way back there is a hill that just keeps kicking my butt!  At first I couldn't even walk up it without being out of breath, but I am slowly, slowly running up parts of it.  Wouldn't it figure that each and every time I do the Couch to 5k program, the very last running segment is this freakin hill!  I mean COME ON! Give a girl a break now and then!  Each and every time I start out talking myself into attempting running up it then I visually mark some place that I give myself permission to start walking if and when I get to it!  And wouldn't you know, there is always a car that has to drive by just as I am panting and sweating and cursing! Of course, I can't stop running then!  No cars the whole two miles, except for on that dam hill!  Go figure!  But I am determined!  I will do it! And I'm sure there won't be any cars that day to witness it either!

Back to School

One week from today, I will begin classes again.  I cannot express how excited and terrified I am at the same time!  I love school!  I love everything about school, the books, the campus, the homework, the endless possibilities of expanding my mind!  Most people think I am weird, but I would be totally happy being a student for the rest of my life!

The fear comes from getting back into the swing of things, getting my head around the assignments and finding ways to work it all into my schedule.  Less face book and words with friends, is on the horizon!  I am just hoping that this path takes me in the direction that I want to go.  That it will allow me to have the foundation and credentials to get into the non-profit sector.  I also hope that I have the support system at home to get through it all as well.

I love being on campus, I love the text books and the newly sharpened pencils and most of all I love the cerebral stimulation!  Can't wait!!!

I flunked!

I just couldn't do it!  I failed, the challenge!  Yesterday as I was in the shower and thinking about getting myself ready for work I was having anxiety thinking of what my hair would be like just being "natural".  Saturdays are my long work days, and I would be stuck with hair that I wouldn't like and a store full of mirrors to remind me of it! But I did it. 

Say what you want, but I hated it!  And since today was Mother's day,and possible photo opportunities, I was not about to make myself nuts and let it dry naturally again. 

It amazes me what a hair product junky I really am, and how out of sync it made me feel.  I am not giving up totally.... I think.  I might try it tomorrow and see how I feel again. 

Boss Hair Challenge

I hate my hair, its straight, thin and takes FOREVER to grow.  Its been red, egg plant purple, blue and blond, straight, permed and just spiked out.  I get to a point where I am ready to shave it off and go all GI Jane style!  The only thing that has kept me from actually doing it is I am afraid my head is all bumpy or lop sided. 

A few weeks ago I was talked into putting extensions in by one of my fabulous customers.  The process takes about four hours so I set up child care just to find out that she canceled last minute on me.  This happened twice, so i figured external forces were at play and should just take the hint. 

So I have been putting gunk and blow drying and curling my hair for the last few weeks but its getting old.  I have four kids, that means no time to be messing with my hair.  You are lucky if I get to shower!

Discussing my hair dilemmas with my boss, she feels strongly that we are born with the hair that best suits us.  She has convinced me to give my hair one week to figure out what it wants to do naturally.  The plan is for one week, I am going to shower, shampoo, condition, comb it and see what happens.  I am calling it the Boss Hair Challenge, and guess what you get to witness the massacre here!

So that's it, I am going cold turkey starting tomorrow.  Here is one last look at my "done" hair!

Lunch date

Today I met an old friend for lunch.  He was in the area and since we've been playing Words with Friends (he has totally slaughtered me each and every time) he suggested we meet up on his visit back to New York.  I agreed but must admit I was a little nervous.

Each of us remember ourselves back from school in different ways.  I also think that we are our most critical person to do so, since we knew what our insecurities and obsessions were back in the day.  I remember myself as an awkward but self absorbed girl, who floated among different clicks, was attracted to the "bad boys" and couldn't wait to get the heck out of town.  In fact, I think somewhere in my old yearbook was a quote that said something about my aspirations were anywhere but Orange County!  Yet, here I am.  Which leads me to explain my nervousness of meeting with him. He openly and honestly admits to having a crush on me, but I clearly don't remember it being that blatantly obvious. So fast forward almost twenty years (really??) and it felt more like some bad made for TV teen movie.... nerdy shy guy meets back up with girl he had a crush on to discover that she is over weight, unemployed and miserable....well that's not all true.

So as I waited a few minutes after arriving early, I ordered a glass of wine and waited, feeling extremely self conscious and a little jumpy.  But once he arrived, it was actually very nice.  He still had some shyness to him, and a quirky sense of humor that I remembered well.  And our conversation was very fluid.  We reminisced a little, but mostly is was about our children and our significant others.  It was nice to meet the grown up version of him. The food was good and I stopped after the first glass of wine since I had relaxed at that point!

We wished each other well and hoped that we could do it again.

Sorry I had to do it! :O)