Day 2. So far, so good. I did another fifteen minutes of core
exercises today: five minutes of crunches, five minutes of leg raises,
and five minutes of push-ups. Granted, there’s a fair bit of resting
in those five minutes, but I feel better about this than about making
it to X crunches (that just makes me feel guilty when I rest!).

Tomorrow, I’m going to try reps until failure.

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i like watching the other students. i would like to be able to do the
kinds of stuff they do, someday. or at least simple things that look
elegant. and i want to develop upper-body and core strength,
coordination, and a terrific story. ;)

so, what do i need?

gah. all of the above.

maybe i’ll go to trapeze once a week and spend two to three times a
week working on core and strength. the jungle gym near the house will
help me develop calluses, at least until it freezes over. i need to do
more crunches and pushups, too, until i can eventually graduate to
chin-ups.

we have a plan.

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my palms are wide awake and revolting. just came back from trapeze
lessons. lots of fun. have a long way to go. good teacher—very
supportive. odd that i like this more than krav. good practice in
facing terror and working through it. looking forward to developing
calluses. skin shiny.

kudos to w- for coming with me to help me feel safe, and to j- for
giving it a shot.

next week, work on calluses.

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I went for an walk in the cool morning air. I got halfway through a
book while walking through High Park. Not a bad way to wake up and
“warm up my engine.” I’ll try that again tomorrow. If I go to sleep
at 10, maybe I’ll get to wake up at 6 or so… =)

I’m starting to like exercising a little bit. I’m still not too fond
of running (feet and lungs not happy), but walking appears to be an
accepted form of exercise. I may need to find something else once
winter sets in with a vengeance, though.

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Last Friday, I successfully made it across the monkey bars!

Yes, go ahead and laugh. It seems like such a simple goal. Kids can do
it. Heck, J- very handily does so without thinking too much about it.
But last Thursday, it was a big deal to me. I made it across the monkey
bars for the very first time.

I don’t remember really playing on the monkey bars before. Sure, I’d
clamber up them, but I never swung from bar to bar like, well, a
monkey. And at 24 years old, faced with the jungle gym at Lithuania
Park, I simply couldn’t make it across no matter how much I wanted.

I was afraid that if I let go with one hand, the elbow of my other arm
would lock. I was worried that my weak grip meant that my fingers
would slip off the bar. I couldn’t think of how to reach the next bar,
especially if it was above the current one. Heck, I couldn’t even hang
there for a few moments without my hands hurting. I couldn’t make it across.
I couldn’t even reach for the next bar.

Then I decided to stop making excuses. I watched J- do it and tried my
best to do the same. Here’s what I learned: Don’t pull, just hang.
Don’t stop. Just keep going, and use your momentum to swing you over.

I did it! =) My hands hurt like anything and my palms were still sore
that evening, but I finished it!

Next: figure out how to climb up the pole…

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We took the skateboard for a spin around the block. Or three spins, as
we each had our turn. J- went first, coasting on the skateboard as we
held her hand and steadied her by her hips. She loved it, even when
the skateboard gaps caused her to suddenly stop. “It was scary, but it
was worth it!” she said. When we circled the block and returned to the
house, it was my turn. I tried launching myself, but I felt too
wobbly, so I let myself be pushed along as I concentrated on finding
my balance. Then it was W-‘s turn… W- made it look like so much fun.
He was off to a rolling start and hardly needed any pushing. We
laughed so hard watching him jump whenever he veered too close to the
edges. So much fun!

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I arrived at the Toronto Circus School
well before the start of the drop-in class. Good thing, too.
I got to see this juggling pair. They’re probably both in their
seventies. I liked watching the two of them stand side by side,
occasionally swapping juggling balls or throwing them to each other.

The other thing I ended up doing was help take pictures of a wedding
party. I guess the bride and her entourage made this their
bachelorette party! =) One of them remarked that trapeze was the
perfect training for a wedding: dealing with butterflies in one’s
stomach and all that…

Michael McGuffin and Mike Tsang should be here soon. Looking forward
to seeing them!

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