I don’t know why it still surprises me how rude, inconsiderate, uncultured people can be. 

Today, my sister and I took the 7:26am train from Ann Arbor to Chicago.  We were looking forward to a peaceful train ride where we could catch up on some much needed sleep.  But alas, fate and our seatmates were not cooperating.  We managed to board the train ahead of most of the passengers and found, what seemed like good seats.  We were seated across the aisle from two women who seemed like they were heading to a bonding weekend in Chicago. 

But alas, were we ever wrong.  A few minutes after we sat down, 4 college kids sat down in the seats behind us.  They were trying to cross to the next car but the Conductor wouldn’t let them. They declared that they would be loud and my sister and I looked at each other with fear and trepidation in our eyes.  Before we knew it, college kids and the women next to us began a conversation that ended up being a discussion of the different kinds of alcohol they were carrying with them.  And soon, there were drinks being passed around and runs to the bar. 

My sister fell asleep, before all this drinking began, but I couldn’t.  I put on my earphones and watched the TV shows on my laptop but they were so loud, even my computer on full blast couldn’t drown out their chatter.  

Just one more hour before we arrive at our destination.  I am praying for patience for me, and a little bit of consideration for them.  Hoping fates and some good manners and a little breeding cooperate from hereon. 

Patience is a virtue.  Patience is a virtue.

That’s all for now….bow

When my nephew decided that he would attend the University of Michigan, I didn’t realize how much that would affect Inday.  I was happy for him, of course, but it seemed a distant reality.  A few months, my sister called to ask me to be part of the move-in committee.  And yes, I am kaladkarin and chiching, I said, “Ok.” And so here I am in Ann Arbor, Michigan, ensconced in my queen sized bed at the Red Roof Inn writing this entry.

I arrived in New York on Monday afternoon and by 6am was heading back to the airport for our flight to Detroit.  In between, we finished packing our bags, had dinner at Ippudo and got caught up with each other’s lives.  Of course, I had no sleep that night so I was looking forward to the flight.  We landed in Detroit with no hassle…or so we thought.  We had recovered five of our six bags from the carousel, when it suddenly stopped and the sign flashed “Complete!” Wait, where’s my bag???  Yes my bag, with all my clothes, computer and cell phone chargers, plus some of my nephews things were lost.  We filed a report with Delta and with American Express and then crossed our fingers and headed to the rental car office.

Whenever I visit San Francisco I always drive myself around (as well as drive my brother crazy) but given the convenient location of my brother’s place, I hadn’t had to drive on the freeway in years.  But this time, I was going to drive from Detroit to Ann Arbor, neither of which I had ever visited.  We rented a Ford Edge, a car I had never driven.  So, armed with lots of prayers, high blood medication and with fingers crossed we were off.   Thankfully, we arrived at the University of Michigan without incident, my legs were cramping from tension, but we survived the drive and soon we were in my nephew’s dorm room unpacking.  It went smoother than we thought it would and before we knew it were on our way to Target for some last minute shopping and also to buy some “just in case they don’t find my bags” clothes.  Not satisfied with our purchases, we also stopped by Bed, Bath & Beyond for more stuff.  And then went back to the dorm room for more organizing.  By the time we left the campus it was already around 9pm and it was raining pretty hard.  So imagine my inner voice shrieking in panic and my inner second voice reciting every prayer I had ever learned.  By the time we arrived at the hotel, I was just about ready to cry.   Until my sister told me that the airline found the bag.  Whoohooo!

Day 2 meant returning all the things we bought for me in Target, plus more dorm stuff for the boy.  And then it was time to buy the all-important TV.  We were so proud of ourselves for the rewards and freebies we got from Best Buy until we realized the speakers wouldn’t work.  So we headed back to the store, speakers in tow, and found out the problem was that we bought the wrong TV.  This meant a change in Day 3’s agenda.  What was supposed to be a leisurely day became a hectic one.  We had to bring the TV back to Best Buy, finish some bank stuff before returning the rental car.  But alas, we were running behind schedule, the return in Best Buy took longer than expected so we had to return the car and walk to the bank.  Google maps said it would be a 3 minute drive, so we thought “not a bad walk”.  It wouldn’t have been, but this all happened at 2pm when the sun was high up there so we were quite the sweaty bunch by the time we entered the bank.  The rest of the day meant souvenir shopping at M Den, a walk around the Central Campus and coffee at Starbucks.  We had our last dinner with the college boy before he headed to a party in school and we headed to bed.

And tomorrow, we leave the college boy behind and head to Chicago for more adventures and a well-deserved movers vacation

…

That’s all for now….bow.

Yes, I am off on another adventure. This time my bags are packed and I’m ready to go walk the concrete jungle where dreams are made…of.   Can’t wait to be in the city that never sleeps, cause I dont sleep much either, so I think I will feel right at home.  (notice all the New York song lyrics that are sneaking their way into this entry?)

I am off to New York to do my Ninang duties and accompany my sister when she brings my nephew to college in Michigan.  We will do a side trip to Chicago and see what kind of mischief we can weave in the Windy City.  And then after a couple of days in NYC, a short train ride to NJ this time to help my brother settle in to college.  After that…who knows? Or you might be saying who cares?

This trip is very special because for the first time in my life I will be spending my birthday in NY with my siblings and we’re watching the SF Giants play the NY Yankees.  We will also celebrate the birthday of my youngest sister.  This is the first NY trip where we will be complete.  It is also a much needed bonding time considering all that’s happened in the last 12 months.

This trip also means that the Travel Poor Diet (see earlier entry) will once again be in action.  The diet combined with the new Me Project should prove productive and effective.  Am already looking forward to all the steps I will be taking armed with my brand new pedometer.

So stay tuned, for tales of fortune, and knowing Inday, misfortune, as she conquers Broadway (as an audience member!), Wall Street (as tourist), 5th Avenue (as window shopper), Central Park (as walker) and so many more NY corners.  I promise you there will be lots of photos that will embarrass my family, and delight everyone else.

But that’s all for now…bow.

I decided that for my next adventure, I’d choose one a lot closer to home.  Myself.  Yes folks, Inday has embarked on a Fitness Adventure.  To paraphrase a friend of mine, “It’s time I helped God finish perfecting my body.” And while I had some free time and no long trip scheduled for a while, I figured now was as good a time as any to, yes, EXERCISE! Not my right to vote or my willpower, but exercise, as in down and dirty, stinky and sweaty work out.  I knew that I was over the whole enroll in a gym and lift weights kind of workout.  Been there, done that.  Don’t feel like doing that again.  And with all the different workouts available these days, I thought I’d explore what was out there.

1. TRX

I had heard about this workout for a couple of years now but wanted to try it on a one on one basis.  Did not want to fall flat on my face in front of a crowd, if you know what I mean.  I found this guy who was willing to give me a free TRX trial, but since it took me two years to reply to his email, suffice it to say the offered had flown away.  But finally I found Reema Chanco, who offers TRX training at her home.  We scheduled our first session and the rest, as they say, is history.  Reema keeps you entertained with funny stories while she makes you push and pull and plank and before you know it, an hour has passed and you’re dripping with sweat.  Plus, there’s the added novelty of having her two dogs hang out with you because they like the airconditioning.  I’ve taken about 15 TRX sessions now and I do see the difference.  TRX uses gravity and your bodyweight to perform different exercises.  You adjust your body position to add or decrease resistance. One of the most important things you get from TRX is a solid core.  Or, after all those planks, sit-ups, crunches we’ve begun to call, “stupid core.” It’s fun and it works.

2. KETTLEBELL

I was also intrigued by the different Kettlebell training videos that I’d seen, especially those of Korean actor/singer Rain when he was training for his role in Ninja Assassin.  I was even more excited when I read that you can burn up to 1,000 calories per session.  So I searched for Kettlebell classes and a friend suggested contacting Paolo Villaroel for a personal Kettlebell training session.  Paolo combines the Kettlebell training with some Plyometrics to increase your heartrate.  He gave us 8Kilo Pink Kettlebells to use.  And we swung and we lifted, and once again, we engaged that stupid core.  It was fun and I was very interested in trying it again.  Unfortunately, scheduling conflicts prevented us from going back to additional sessions.

3. ZUMBA

I have heard so much about Zumba but I wasn’t always a fan of group classes.  I had had bad experiences before where the instructor focuses on the regulars and other people just had to figure out a way to catch up.  But after we found out that SilverPOD, new dance studio opened just 10 minutes away from my house that offered Zumba, we decided to give it a try.  We tried two sessions.  The first one was high energy, exhausting and fun.  But he was just a substitute teacher.  The regular Zumba teacher is small and quiet.  She didn’t shout out instructions but rather used gestures and pointed her fingers.  For a moment we thought that she had a speech impediment or something because she didn’t speak till we were 30 minutes into the class and only to whisper, “Water Break.” We were confused and kind of bored.  We decided that we’d go to Zumba class when our schedules allowed, but not adjust our schedule for it.

4. CARDIO GROOVE

SilverPOD also offered a class they call Cardio Groove.  Our super hyper instructor Arnold creates these dances that he teaches over a few classes.  Arnold’s energy is infectious and even when your tongue is hanging halfway out of your mouth from exhaustion, you still want to go go go.  Or at least you are motivated enough to try.  So far, I’ve attended two classes and plan on coming back for more!

5. WENGA

Arnold also teaches a class he developed himself called Wenga but pronounced Venga.  Yes folks, the Venga Bus is back!  This a dance exercise class and the steps are kind of funky, kind of hip hop-py, and kind of NOT ME.  I did all the required moves but I knew, even without looking at the mirror, that I looked kind of stupid.  But never mind, we went there to sweat and we did.  Not sure if I’ll go back, but who knows.  I didn’t hate it, I just hated that I felt I looked stupid.  I am disco, I am not hiphop!

6. D-I-Y WORKOUT

When I don’t have any of the above classes scheduled, I walk around the village.  And sometimes I wiggle my hips a bit or hop and skip depending on the song playing on my iPod.  I tried working out in our village gym but I got bored.  I was going to try swimming with my nieces paddleboard but I haven’t gotten my underwater mp3 player yet so that’ll have to wait.  So I walk and I strut instead.

I still have a couple of workouts I want to try or get into, but it will have to wait till after the upcoming trip.  For now, I’ve already formulated a plan for when I come home.  After all, I will surely need to burn off some of the excess calories left over from this year’s attempt at the Travel Poor Diet.  (see earlier entry)

For now I am still working on this new project.  So far, am happy with the results.  No photos for now. Let’s just let it all be a surprise….

That’s all for now…bow.