Roller coaster?

Man, has today been a lot, emotionally.

A lot.

No reply for an even longer while from that guy. But I’m okay about it.

I waited to go to the gym later today, and it ended up closing for the week (because of risk of COVID exposure). I actually cried in intense frustration and floundering at that news.

The store I drove almost half an hour to visit didn’t have all the supplies I was there to get. I stressed briefly, and then figured out how to make do for now, before rushing out the door to make that workout class that ended up being canceled by the time I got to it.

The class was canceled, and I hadn’t known it, so I’d made a point to rush away from potential other, better solutions to the missing items dilemma at the store beforehand. I determined to go home and do the workout.

I went home and did the workout. It was awesome, in such an I am struggling to breathe and stay upright right now kind of way, it was quite comparable to workouts at the actual gym. So, that felt really good on my mind.

The protein powder that is super good for me turned out to be almost overwhelmingly gross. Determined that I might just need to hold off on getting a big bag of that for now. And I’m okay about that, but bummed a bit.

Some clothes I had ordered came in. I was delighted.

I reached out to two different people who were on my mind, just to check in, and their responses were awesome.

Discovered that the person who had been working really hard to secure a more permanent part-time position at my part-time job was 90% likely denied that. This was the last time I will work with (and potentially see) that person, and the person seemed very down (this my belief that the aim failed). I was down about it for the person.

One of those people to whom I had reached out actually walked right up to me without even realizing it until we were face-to-face. Neither of us had expected we would see the other where we were, especially since we hadn’t seen one another since last March. The person said, “Things don’t happen on accident.” I agreed. I was super excited; overjoyed, even, at the timing of it all!

Found out later on that a different person who had been working with us as a temporary part-time worker was not only offered the opportunity to stay with us, but was offered to work full-time – that means insurance and benefits, plus other perquisites, mind you. I never felt like this person was one of our best workers. I felt very weird about it all.

And then I felt super jealous that that person had been offered to work full-time, but that I hadn’t been.

And then I was utterly annoyed, because I didn’t even want to work full-time there in the first place, and I had communicated that from the start. Yet, here I was, being jealous all the same.

By the time I finished my grocery shopping at Costco and had picked up a dry foods delivery from an Amazon locker, I was ready to cry with all the craziness today carried for me emotionally.

I mentioned it to my mom, and she reminded me that 1) a lot is going on in the world right now, especially energetically, and that 2) I can let other people have their emotions without taking them on for myself.

So, now I’m preparing for bed. I am very, very drained. So much up and down in one day – and high amplitudes at that – really seems to take it out of me. I guess I could use some more meditation throughout my days… :/

I think I will sleep very well tonight. I still am uncertain about the gym, but I will focus on where I am now, and not on next week and next month and all of their uncertainty, or on today or last week or last year and all of their emotions. I have a plan to guide me once I get up tomorrow, based on my goals and intentions in life right now, and I can trust that my tomorrow self will manage all of that. For now, I just am being with me, here and now, preparing for bed and rest.

Therefore, I bid you a lovely and restful night. 😉

Post-a-day 2021

^I totally almost missed it…

Ouch?

So… it turns out that I very, very likely am not ill. The inside of my throat doesn’t hurt in the least. But it is difficult to talk and to swallow. Both have improved throughout the day, though… after applying a heating pad to my neck for a long while.

So, what is going on with my throat/neck?

Well, I 98% believe that it is muscle soreness due to my workout Friday morning. There were lots of heavy hang cleans involved, along with over a hundred calories on the ski machine and many pull-ups (with a band) and push-ups and up-downs (think burpees without the push-up or jump). So, the cleans and the ski kind of got me good, and the cleans especially. My trapezius on the right side has been quite sore all day, along with some general soreness in my shoulders, the back of my neck, and my left trapezius. Shocking that it has been the right side of my neck/throat that have been sore since last night, hmm??

So, yeah… it’s not as bad as my dad going to the doctor with chest pains, only to recall that he had done weightlifting using his chest muscles the day before, but still… At least I accomplished a lot staying home today and not talking (no phone calls almost at all, because it was hard to talk). That was actually a really cool part of it all, everything I got done today. So, really, I am grateful for this odd day off work (from my recent part-time job), because I accomplished loads more of my home tasks than the measly pay offered me for my efforts at the official job would have been worth. Therefore, thank you very much for such an opportunity, Life. I am grateful.

Post-a-day 2021

^Almost missed it

A Musical Goodnight

Okay. So, that second song seems to be created now. I likely will make tiny tweaks as I prepare to record it for real – well, more for real – but I like it as it is, and I am very happy with it. I need to go back and listen to another song I did, so I can make sure they don’t sound too similar. At least not unnecessarily similar. I’m fine that they be similar as single-instrument and voice songs – I only know about two strumming patterns after all, and both of these songs are slow songs, so variation is minimal on the instrumental front. However, I want them to be two exclusive songs. So, I need to do a touch of checking and editing on singing notes and phrases.

After that, though, I will upgrade from my casual, ‘Just get it all down,’ recording on my phone to a more official recording of how the song really goes, all the way through.

For now, I shall rest briefly and, hopefully, quite well before the early morning workout that is to come in only a few hours.

Goodnight for now, World. Hasta la dark before sunrise, baby. 😉

Post-a-day 2021

^Baller

Another some days

Some days, we have high plans, but then end up sleeping most of the day. And that’s totally okay. It is important that we allow our bodies to rest when they need the rest. Aside from all the general rejuvenation that sleep gives us, it is also the time that our muscles repair and build and that our outgoing fat gets released. So, sleep is even better than we imagined!

That being said, I accomplished minor but important tasks today, and I did not accomplish several intended tasks for the day. And that is perfect and okay. I am now going to bed rather early, and that, too, is perfect and okay.

Thank you, World, for this beautiful day and life. I look forward with gratitude to whomever and whatever it is that may come still. 🤗🙏🐪

Post-a-day 2021

^Remembered again partway through!

Ready or not

My whole body seems to be hurting – well, all the muscles on the outer layers, anyway – right now, it is almost 11 o’clock, and yet I am getting up at 4:20am to attend the 5:15 workout class in the morning. And I have several activities scheduled with others throughout most of the day tomorrow. I likely will be very tired and sleepy by the end of it all.

So, why I am sticking to all of it, instead of rearranging or rescheduling anything? Because tomorrow is one version of an ideal day for me. I will be doing things that nourish me, that nourish others, that I love doing, and that also happen to earn quality money to support me in this life.

And I am not only super excited about it – I am terrified. It’s that good. 🙂

So, cheers to a restful and empowering sleep for me tonight, and for anyone else who needs it tonight: may we have our dreams come to fruition, as we become our true selves more and more every day. 😉

Post-a-day 2021

^ Whoop! Had to think about it, but I got it right!

Steps, my a…

Why, oh, why did I have to be resting in bed all day today? I know I was sick with a cold, and my body needed the rest and recuperation. I know that. But why did it have to be an all day thing?

Because now I have to compensate 7,000+ steps that were intended to be spread throughout the day. As I prepared for bed just now, I found an unfortunate approximate 2500 steps achieved for the day. Which, I suppose, is a lot for a day of being sick in bed almost the whole day, never leaving the house, and not officially being up and about until after 1pm.

Nonetheless, I genuinely forgot about it today. My rest was necessary, I know, but I very easily could have done some extra walking around the house later in the afternoon and evening, as I was feeling progressively better. Instead, totally sleepy and ready for bed, I’m having to get the remaining approximate 7500 steps required for me to go to bed.

Man, does it sometimes suck sticking to one’s own word…

And I want to go to bed so badly, because I’m getting up at 4:20 in the morning to go do a super intense workout, which will burn loads more calories than these 7500 steps right now will burn. So, that just adds to the annoyance of this all.

But I set this goal and requirement for myself, fully knowing myself. I gave my word. And I always am grateful afterward that I stuck to my word, even when it is under ridiculous circumstances.

So, yeah… ::face palm

Post-a-day 2021

^Whew!

Winterrr

Well, it is full-on brrr time in Houston right now. We were at 3°C this morning, with a feels like of -1. I had a frosty windshield when I got up to go exercise this morning, evidenced here:

By midday, however, the chill had fully gotten to me: my throat was hurting. By early afternoon, I could hear buildup in the back of my nose, and my voice was difficult to use at regular volume, and sounded odd, like going in and out of signal somehow. I took a long nap early afternoon, had an extra super-smoothie, then ate hot food for dinner. And I am definitely sick.

However, it feels just like all the other winter chills I seem to get at least once every year. Hopefully, I can sleep and drink it off* this weekend, and be back to fully functioning by Monday morning. My dad and I are scheduled to go for a walk together for his birthday then. (Clearly, I won’t be preparing a song for him this weekend, seeing as how singing is not really an option for me at the moment.)

Anyway, here’s to hoping my room is warm enough tonight to help heal me properly, and my sleep is deep enough and lasts long enough to help, as well. Cheers!

*Of course, I mean with water. I hope you didn’t need that clarification, though. 😛

Post-a-day 2021

^Got it, but only barely, like last night!

Scary, scary

I have been working on actively taking on doing things that scare me. On Sunday, I went running on my own at a park that people use for running all the time. It was terrifying, and thrilling. And I actually want to go back. It makes sense to me now, why people might run there versus at home. I’m sick of running through my neighborhood, I’ve done it so much. This made for a change of scenery with reliable measurements and safety. Also, it provided support and encouragement via everyone else there getting in a run and/or walk in their mornings.

On Monday and Tuesday, I also did something each day, but I’m not recalling what at present… I actually am not even remembering almost anything I did on either day right now… lunch with my dad was… yesterday? Yes, yesterday. I worked Monday. Yeah, and I even wrote all about my day yesterday… I guess I’m tired now and ready for bedtime. Haha 😛 Anyway, moving onward…

Today, I asked for something that was due to me. The answer was an easy and immediate, “Yeah, of course!” from the person. Wow! That was easy and had an awesome result. I also went to the post office and handled all my mailings that needed to go out…. months ago, really. But they are now done! Yay! Huge relief there. Yay!

Tomorrow, it will be something else. And the same is the goal for each day after that. I took on this idea at one point in college, and I ended up having a blast with the things I did. Life had a new and spectacular edge to it. I still remember specifically how I ended up skateboarding behind the administration building as one of those things – I really wanted to try it, but was scared… and so I made it my thing for that day, and let the guy teach me how to do it. It was thrilling and frightening, and I am still grateful that I did it.

One of the scariest things for me is speaking up, be it standing up for myself or just asking for something, making a request, speaking up can be quite difficult for me to do. So, I expect a good handful of these scary things will involve speaking up. For the first while, anyway. Perhaps I will adjust so well to having to speak up so often as my scary thing for the day, that it won’t be scary anymore. That could be fun. It would open up a whole new world of scary things to pursue.

(Keep in mind, these are not dangerous things. They are merely regular things that, due to fear, I typically would avoid doing, despite wishing I could or would do them.)

Post-a-day 2021

^Man, I just got it wrong this time. I had closed the post, when I wondered if I had even put the last line on it. I wasn’t even thinking about if I’d gotten the year correct. When I saw it, I was surprised and relieved that I’d written it. And then, as I was scrolling away to close it, I remembered to check for the correct year. And it was 2020. ::mega face palm tonight Haha

January 1, 2021

A new year has begun on the calendar. I already wrote the date wrong today, the first time I was writing it, and don’t even notice until the second time I was getting it wrong. But I corrected the second one and wrote 2021 going forward from there. 😛

It doesn’t feel life a different year or anything. It just feels like another today. And it is just another today. It is filled with endless possibilities, as is every other today that ever has existed and that ever will exist. Such is life, in such terrifying beauty. 😉

My mom and I watched the sunrise on the beach this morning – the first sunrise of the year. It is a Japanese tradition that I still like to follow. My mom pointed out to me that the only other people out on the beach for sunrise were also Asian. Well, they were Asian, that is, and we were consciously practicing an Asian custom. (Funny how that came out so naturally at first.) Nonetheless, it was lovely and kind of magical. I’d never attended a beach sunrise where the sun wasn’t completely blocked by full cloud coverage before today.

Enjoy a few photos from it here:

Oh, and it was almost freezing out there (quite literally), and it was very windy.

I wish you a happy, happy year this year – May you embrace the beautiful, bountiful possibilities that each of these 365 days offers to you.

Post-a-day 2021

Look at that!! ^

Working it out…?

I am going to test out my old gym this coming week, and see how it goes, how I like it all. I am nervous both that I will like it and that I will not like it. If I like it, I still will have to figure out whether I want to find a way to make it work to go there again, despite the super high price now. If I don’t like it, I will have to get myself sorted in entirely doing workouts at home for the future. While I trust that I can do that, I do not want to do that. That’s a lot of alone time for something I prefer to have as a social situation.

So, we shall see… fingers crossed that, no matter the experience this next week, I am complete about how it goes and about how to move forward with and from the experience.

And now, I must sleep, as my alarm will be going off at five, because sign-ups open 24 hours before the start of the class… and they have very limited capacities…, and I need to attend the 5:15am class. Ugh. So, I’m getting up at five not even for a workout, but to sign up for a workout. Totally ridiculous, I agree. 😛

Post-a-day 2020