Zumba Class

I finally caved in to the hype and took my first Zumba class at the gym tonight. What took me so long? It was a great class! Loved it. The hour went by so fast--and I was drenched in sweat. I must have dropped a few pounds! Everyone else seemed to be enjoying it too. How often does everyone smile through a workout? Very cool. It was non-stop and had fun music, too. Usually I think the music at the classes is way too loud, but I was OK with it tonight. And the steps are easy to follow. I've been to some other classes where I get so turned around with the steps that I'm too frustrated to get any good out of it. And I think I'm pretty coordinated! Zumba suits my style a lot better. I'll be going back on Wednesday. Note to self: take LARGE water bottle next time!!

Too Busy

It's been 11 days since I last blogged. I can't believe it's been that long. I guess I've been way too busy to write lately. The question is--what the heck have I been doing? I can't recall anything that has been very productive, just life getting in the way! I've gone for runs, golfed, played tennis and done yoga. Had lunch a few times with friends. A couple birthdays which included pedicures, parties and dinners. I even went to the orthopedic surgeon, again, for my skiing-injured shoulder, and got a cortisone shot. I thought cortisone was supposed to be this miracle thing and I'd be better. Wrong. The doc said it would kick in after 48hours. It's been 96 and there is only minimal improvement. My favorite yoga position is reverse namaste--and I still can't do it. Twisting my left arm behind my back is excruciating! I'm considering acupuncture. I will be very unhappy if I can't ever do reverse namaste again! Anyhow, those are my excuses for not blogging. Pretty lame. I wish I had a better excuse like I got a job or won the lottery. Maybe that'll happen this week and I'll write about it!

Cars

Cars. Unfortunately, we can't live without them here in Southern California.

Whenever I think I'm going to get ahead and have some extra money to blow on important stuff, like shoes, something happens to my car. Something expensive! A few months after I got laid off, I had to take the car in for this horrid high-pitched squealing noise it made. Do you know what an Ignition Coil is? I'll tell you--it's a pricey, tiny, little thing that, when it goes bad, makes a horrid high-pitched squealing noise. A really embarrassing noise especially when you are driving a luxury car out of a high-end golf course. Thank God for dark sunglasses! Of course, they also discover that my brakes and rotors are bad. They cost even more than an ignition coil! I call my friends and try not to cry. Then I fork over the MasterCard and move on with life.

So a few months pass. I'm thinking about buying shoes again. I'm hanging out this week with a couple friends at the beach, who think there is a burning smell when we exit my car. So I make a visit to Robert and Adam--my 'first-name-basis-buddies', also known as my mechanics. I walk in the door to "Hi Maggie. How's it going?" Like we're long-lost friends. This time it's the radiator. Shockingly even more expensive than ignition coils, brakes and rotors! I think I'm going to buy shoes anyhow.

Airlines & Luggage

I LOVE to travel. Can't get enough of it. I dream of seeing the world. The problem is that I also dream of having my luggage travel with me. The world's airlines don't share that particular dream. My bags have been lost 11 times. I am not a travelling salesperson, so it's not like I'm on a plane every week. Eleven times is excessive when you only fly 5 - 8 times a year!

I remember the first time. I was coming home from Xmas in Ohio. My friend Mike was picking me up at the airport. There's nothing quite so pathetic as standing at the baggage carousel alone--everyone else got their suitcases, left the airport, and the carousel slowly stopped. No more bags. Mike finally had to come into the airport to see what was taking so long. He found me in the bag claim office, near hysteria. After filling out the forms, we went home. He called his wife and said "Honey, Maggie didn't get her suitcase. She's hysterical. I'm gonna sit here and have a beer with her." She understood. Thank God for good friends. My bag arrived hours later, at 1am.

The most memorable time it happened was in Athens, Greece. I flew there directly from Dublin, Ireland. No layovers. Nowhere to misplace a freakin' bag. No reason except the incredible incompetency of the baggage personnel in Athens. There were a lot of us without luggage that day. They don't speak English at the airport in Athens. I don't speak Greek. Neither did the other passengers. So everyone just talked a lot LOUDER. Basically everyone was screaming at each other. But it worked. British Airlines dropped my suitcase off the following day at the hotel as I was drinking wine atop the Acropolis.

The worst time was on Delta. Don't fly Delta. I never will again. As President of my alumni chapter, I flew into Cincinnati for a leadership conference at Miami University. Hadn't been there for a while and was looking forward to being back on campus. My bag had been lost one month earlier, on Delta, via Atlanta on a business trip to Hartford. I figured there was no way they could do it to me twice in a month at the same layover. I was wrong. It was finally the straw that broke the camels back. I was beyond hysterical--especially after my bag arrived at the hotel at 2am and I discovered things had been stolen from it. I called Delta in the morning. I won't go into details here but all the call center clerk in India kept saying was "Ma'am, there's no reason for profanity." Oh yes, there was.

I've flown since, but haven't checked a bag. I certainly couldn't chance it flying with my bridesmaid dress for my brother's wedding, or going back to Ohio with Christmas gifts. Kind of afraid to go on a ski or golf trip now. If my beloved X-Scream skis or King Cobra and Taylormade clubs didn't show up, I'd kill someone.

I have many more stories about standing alone at baggage carousels. I'll post them here every so often. It'll be the basis for the travel book I should write someday.

I'm getting on a plane again in a few weeks--with my carry-on bag.

Cellphones at the gym

I genuinely hate people who talk on their cellphones at the gym. Why are you there anyhow--to gab or to workout? You can't do both at the same time. The problem is that people on cellphones at the gym talk really, really loud. The ambient noise: fans, music, the whir of machines, heavy breathing--all make people think the person on the phone can't hear them, so they talk louder. Everyone can hear their conversation. Makes me crazy. If I turn my iPod up any louder, in order to drown out your conversation, I'll blow my eardrums out. Not an option. I'm too old to listen to music that loud anymore. Then there are those people who sit on the weight bench, gabbing away, when I'd like to use the damn thing. They really infuriate me! Have the courtesy not to lounge on the equipment if you aren't using it. Here's an idea: Leave the phone at home. Concentrate on your routine, your breathing, your form. You'll get a better workout, and I won't go deaf.

Movies

I always used to go to the movies. Love the movies. Never missed a single one that was nominated for an Oscar. OK, I admit I didn't see all of the shorts, animated films or documentaries, but I've seen every single movie in all the major categories for years. Actor, Actress, Picture, Director, Cinematography, Sound, Music, Screenplay--all of them! But, without a paycheck, I stopped going so much. Even matinees are pricey at $9.50 a pop! And I miss movies. Renting them or watching On Demand isn't the same as being in a big theatre. So, guess what I found? There are 4 discount movie theatres within 15 minutes of my house. One shows new movies for $6 before 6pm every day, $5 before noon. And on Tuesdays another shows all films for $1! One measly little dollar. You can't beat that! So, Andrea and I went to see Letters to Juliet today. Yes, it's a chick flick, and we're chicks, so we loved it. It was a really cute movie. Especially for a buck. It takes place in Italy: nice scenery, good looking men, lots if vino. And that was the problem: it takes place in Italy! Now we both want to head to LAX and hop on the next flight out, which is considerably more than a buck. In reality, we're just going to head back to the theatre next week.

The weather

I should have been a meteorologist. I LOVE weather! Well, most of it. I hate wind. It messes up my hair and gets dust in my eyes, but always comes in handy as a good excuse for a bad golf game! I do miss rain sometimes. Went to Ireland last winter just to see rain. They had 8 straight days of flawless sunshine. I can't win! I really miss thunder. We never get that here. Growing up, I used to sit on the porch during storms and just listen to the thunder. It's awesome what Mother Nature can do. I watch the Weather Channel all the time. Tornadoes and hurricanes are fascinating, although I don't want to be in one. The problem right now is that I like summer, but we haven't had it here yet. I haven't even been to the beach this season (a 5-minute drive) because the thick, unrelenting marine layer keeps it cloudy all day. It's depressing. I'm used to June Gloom's marine layer, but by July
4th, we wake up to endless sunshine. Not this year. I can't recall such a bad summer in the 20+ years I've been here. I guess I should look at the positive side: I'll save my skin from not being in the sun too much, my morning runs are a lot cooler, and I have more time to sit at the computer and blog!