yoga mat monday

Not only do I love Monday nights because I get to spend 90 minutes practicing yoga, but also because I usually get a little bit of good conversation before class.  This week's pre-class happenings turned old school.

Enter yoga

It started on my drive to class when I passed a little girl on a bicycle carrying a transistor radio.  I kid you not, she was holding a little radio with an actual antenna and singing along as I passed her on the sidewalk.  I wanted a picture but surely would have freaked her out if I had stopped.

When I got to class, it was only fitting we started talking about new technology and what some of the older generation thinks about it all.  The conversation started when funny guy told my yoga teacher's mom he saw a picture of her at her grandson's graduation.

Yoga Teacher's Mom: Where did you see said picture?

Funny Guy: Facebook

Yoga Teacher's Mom:  Facebook?  Bleh...why am I on Facebook?

I laughed.

They talked about how invasive and pointless Facebook is.  Yoga Teacher's Mom  says, "If I have spare time, I'm going to read a book."  I thought that was a fair statement.  A fellow yoga man agreed with her sentiment calling himself antisocial and certainly uninterested in reminiscing about spelling class with schoolmates he hadn't seen since 6th grade.

They then started comparing anti-technology stories.  I discovered yoga man is a dad but does not own a cell phone.  I also discovered yoga teacher's mom doesn't own a computer "or anything to do with a computer."

Me: So you don't have email?

Yoga Teacher's Mom: Why on earth would I need email?!?  Then I'd just have to answer people.

It was refreshing to find there are still people out there holding out and holding onto a quieter way of living.  I was actually a little envious because I was sitting there knowing I was going to rush home and hop online to write about this.  As a writer and hopefully a soon-to-be small business founder, I am all about self promoting and unfortunately that involves being connected...everywhere.

But maybe something can be said for disconnecting.  I don't have to be online to write.  And maybe I need to find more ways to spend face to face time with people beyond facebook, twitter and texting.  I know a few people who institute "technology free" nights and am beginning to think that might not be a bad idea.

While I might not be able to find a transistor radio, I could certainly find things to occupy an evening sans technology.

How do you escape?  Or do you?

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favorite 5 of the week

Last week's:

1. Four 'boss free' days in the office.

2. Mother's Day walk with my sister and super awesome niece.

3. 11 miles for the week.

4. Gotye's "Somebody I Used to Know" and my husband's proclamation I could have written that song.  A break up of any kind, specifically a friendship, will always suck...that song speaks volumes.

5. Web concepts.  For me...for us...for Gusto.  One more step towards freedom!

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can I have a kiss...no, but you can smell my feet

I'm not a mom.  By choice.  But that doesn't mean I can't celebrate Mother's Day.  So today I spent the morning walking/running a 5K with my sister and super awesome niece.  Those of you who know me know I hit the pavement weekly, sometimes daily, putting in the miles.  But sometimes its nice to forgo my routine and spend some slower time putting in my miles.  And sometimes those times are when I learn the most.

Here's what I discovered this morning:

The husband is ALWAYS willing to get up at the ass crack of dawn to drive me to and support me at a run.  Besides...we get to see awesome sunrises.

My niece is always happy to see  me and always willing to chat my ear off (I have no idea where that comes from).

My niece LOVES to go fast in her stroller...and screams "weee" as we pick up speed.

There are lots of women in KC who love celebrating being a woman and being fit on their Mother's Day when they could be sleeping in.

I think the sister and I could get around more slow walkers if we would teach my niece to yell "move" as we came up from behind.

By the look on her face, my niece also thinks its strange some women run in tutus.

While my sister could not get her to leave her "first time participant" tiara on, the husband was charming enough to talk her into it.

My niece's first run

My sister loves being a mom.

My sister and my niece

My niece thinks the husband is one funny guy.

And finally, when you ask my niece for a good bye kiss, she declines but instead invites you to smell her feet.

Happy Mother's Day!

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yoga mat monday

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No matter how my Monday's go, my yoga class never ceases to either make me giggle or teach me something new.  I know it's a good night when I get both.  

Tonight I learned how quickly I become claustrophobic when I find myself in a pose where I have been required to strap up some part of my body and now suddenly find I've cinched the strap too tight and can't get out of it.  Of course all I have to do is release the buckle...but for a few split seconds before I remember this I head towards panic.

Todd, the class clown, matted up next to me tonight.  Whenever I spend class anywhere near him, I know I'm in for some sort of entertainment.  Tonight it came as we lay on the floor trying to contort our bodies into the stretches our instructor was currently torturing us with.  "Breathe," she says.  While I tried to calmly breathe through the poses, Todd sounded like he was trying to birth a 10 pound baby.  Breathing while giggling is hard to do.

On my way out to my car, a fellow yoga person drove up and parked.  His car was slathered with bumper stickers but the one that caught my eye said:

"Remember who you wanted to be."

And I realized in that very moment I felt more like the person i wanted to be than I have in the past 2 years.  And in that, i found a small moment of equanimity.

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favorite 5 of the week

1. The boys for the weekend

2. A Tuesday night, 5th grade band concert

3. Finding the nerve to finally not care what other people think about what I write and just posting the damn thing.

4. A Friday night with a great friend, some great art, a little bit of heat and really great food...thanks freakshow:)

Graffiti

I believe punks always do win

dinner

A skull...duh

5. A rainy Sunday

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high school reboot - a reunion in the making

I now officially have my invite to my 20 year high school reunion (gaa, that makes me feel old).  But I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel about this.  I'm not the same person I was back then...at all.  The person back then was this quiet dork who didn't have many friends and couldn't wait to move past high school.  The person I am now goes a little like this...

The invite reads -
Join us for a casual night of laughter, dancing, heavy hors d'oeuvers, drinks, photo booth, DOOR PRIZES, & more.

The person I am now thinks its interesting they lead with laughter.  They can't guarantee there will be laughter.  We hope there is, but we don't know that for sure.

She wants to know what heavy hors d'oeuvers are...and would prefer heavy drinks instead.

She wonders why 'door prizes' is in all caps.

She sees they have used an oxford comma...oxford commas drive her insane.

She is dying to know what the 'more' is.  She secretly hopes 'more' will involve someone taking their pants off or maybe even someone getting arrested.

Oh, and she wants to roll into the reunion w/ a posse and this song playing.  Any takers?  

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