Tag: exercise log

Friday May 8th, 2020

Today I was more focused than yesterday while doing my exercises. I did do twenty extra push-ups on my knees, “chest-style,” after doing the forty “tricep” ones on the floor and twenty on the matte on my toes. I tried to imagine what it would be like to get through sixty on my fists on the floor. That’s where I need to be by August.

I also filled out two job applications on-line with two of the larger tech companies. One has a games division in Orange County, and the other has an R&D facility–for some kind of virtual reality or animation-related group in Northern California. I didn’t initially realize it was for Northern California, but given the situation with the coronavirus, I am hoping I could work from home if I am considered. Fingers crossed.

I felt optimistic. I revised a cover letter for one of them. On paper, I look good: three degrees, and I have twenty years experience. My portfolio is nice, and I’m outgoing and creative. I interview well, too.

So why do I need to try so hard to convince myself I have a chance? Granted, these places are probably long shots. I’m older than their typical candidates. My education is in literature and not computer science. Not too many women are able to stick it out in my field, let alone advance. In some ways, I’m lucky I’m still working. Whether those companies look at me or not, I just need a decent job working with nice people.

Actually, given I’m still working during this pandemic, I’m very fortunate. One of my coworker, the friend who gave me the fruit last week, texted she was given notice of hiatus. She has a week left to work. So really, I’m lucky right now. I probably have two weeks, possibly more.

My best friend from high school, Leilani, called and we talked for nearly an hour. She is taking graduate classes on-line now. Yesterday, she had a frustrating experience with her step-son. He was supposed to stay with his father and her this past weekend, but instead, he asked his mother for permission to visit his girlfriend. He basically put his mother in the situation of telling her ex and Leilani that he would not be coming over.

Leilani chastised him for disappointing his father. She worried that she was out-of-line for doing this, but the kid is eighteen years old. He wants to be treated like an adult, and legally, he is one. I told her that, by dressing him down and letting him know he’d upset them by cancelling their plans, she was treating him more like an adult. Grown-ups take responsibility for their actions, and deal with the consequences if they disappoint people. She did treat him like an adult.

Karate class tonight, seven p.m. over Zoom. I’m looking forward to it.

Saturday May 9th, 2020

I did karate class over Zoom Friday evening and Saturday morning, but the kids skipped both classes. P lead kihon Friday night and had us do five rapid-fire moves for each exercise. It was a good work-out!

I’m proud to report that, after Friday night’s class, I was able to do sixty push-ups on my toes in the clover, without pausing. After class, I felt so energized that I wanted to see if I could do it, and I could! I did! I also did my eighty squats and sit-ups on the concrete patio.

Sensei had ended the class with a Tai Chi exercise. Reach up to the Heavens and bring down heavenly energy, he instructed. Then, reach down to the Earth and bring up “grounding” energy to your heart, he continued, then pull it down to your chi area and mix the two. Then, reach behind for any unfinished business, affirming to yourself that what needs to be done will be done.

When we reached up to the Heavens, I wanted to see the the sky. Our outdoor patio is shaded by the second story, so I stepped clear of the ceiling in order to see the night sky. While we pulled up the grounding energy, I stood with bare feet on the ground. All this literalness is a bit silly, I know, but it felt holy. Sometimes there is no mental substitute for the real stars above you and dirt between your toes. Why settle for an idea when reality is right there?

Thursday May 7th, 2020

F told me that her close friend R, who is also an ichi-kyu and junior shodan, will be moving with her family to Connecticut. R and her brother do not want to move, from what she told F. This was the reason behind F’s sudden fatigue and illness yesterday: she felt sad.

My son B was right: they have their own stresses. I’m sad for the kids. It’s hard to move to a new place, and leave your friends, and all you know, behind. For older kids, it’s particularly difficult. How can you not be sad when your friend moves to the opposite coast?

Long-term, I know they’ll be fine. Both R and her brother are great kids; they’ll adjust and make new friends. They both excel when they apply themselves. R, in particular, is driven. She’s one of the most accomplished kids in my daughter’s circle of friends. The friend who was hospitalized earlier this year is her childhood buddy, too.

R has been put through the wringer: first year of high school, best friend hospitalized, COVID-19 shutting down their color guard competitions after all their hard practice–not to mention shutting down their school–and now her family is moving to the East Coast.

I exercised this morning, but it was difficult and I was distracted. The Japanese count eluded me more than once.

We had a department meeting at work yesterday. No real news, other than furloughs are coming. The company has a special project or two that will carry a small number of people. However, our group is no longer part of that “inner circle;” the parent company will consolidate business units; they are also staffing offices in locations where they can better take advantage of subsidies and cheaper labour. Our entire business unit may be outside the “inner circle” at this point.

Within our own business unit, the head of digital has started his own hand-picked “creature” department: younger artists more receptive to his ideas, perhaps, and less likely to raise thorny questions. In theory, this is an R&D department; however, why would the people who do the actual creature work on a daily basis, all of whom have anywhere from ten to twenty years production experience, not be conducting their own R&D? Fishy.

Finally, if there’s no work, there’s no money. If there’s no money, no one will be kept working for long. So any “inner circles” are moot. Perhaps it is natural for us to look around and imagine that others have it better. Often, those left behind are not happier or more fortunate. In addition to being talented, they are often cheaper and more gullible.

I really need to apply for jobs elsewhere. The writing has been all over the wall here even before the pandemic shut down live action production. Though I complain about this job, I have good friends there and sometimes enjoy the work. It is the only company where I’ve been able to work for a female CG supervisor. I even like being on four day weeks.

Overall, the people in our unit are good, talented, well-intentioned people. I’ve worked with some real duds during my career, and we have very few, if any, of those. Even my least favorite person there is competent, and, during a crisis, is capable of kindness. He just thinks he knows more than he actually does, and knows less about the people he works with than he should. We can remedy that.

Speaking of work, I have to log in in ten minutes.

Thursday, April 23rd, 2020

It’s that time of day when I get to sit outside and report on my accomplishments, karate-wise. Yesterday I ran on the treadmill for twenty minutes and walked for ten. I also got in my exercises last night and this morning. I’m pretty tired lately. There are spots in my arm muscles, just below my shoulders that hurt as if I’d recently gotten a flu shot.

Aunt Karen is still recovering at home.

I haven’t been able to get a hold of Shannon, so I’m concerned. Today I’ll call her home number and see if I can get or or Louis. I hope she is okay. Initially I wasn’t worried because her symptoms sounded similar to the illness that D and I had had two weeks ago. However, long silences aren’t like her. D checked her Facebook page, but there were no recent posts.

At work, we have a townhall scheduled over Zoom. I suspect they may cut back our hours further. I’m on the fence about this job. I have several good friends there, but one of the people in charge has no perspective on the people he is in charge of.

He told our head of Character Effects, (CFX does clothing and hair for digital characters), that he wanted a “hair expert” to check his hair setup file. Now, I looked up this “hair expert” on LinkedIn. She doesn’t sell herself as a “hair expert.” She has two years experience doing hair at a film company and she’s otherwise fresh out of school. Our CFX head has about seven years experience specifically in hair and roughly twenty in visual effects; he was a groomer at two large film studios: one feature animation place and one live action place. Yet he’s not an expert?

While writing, I hear a tell-tale low, lawn-mower sound; a fairly large hummingbird just flew over my head, hovered near the wind chimes, then dove down tin the very tall dandelions.

The universe is telling me to stop complaining about work. I have work.

The timer is telling me to go to work.

Sunday April 19th, 2020

Current Log

I’m sitting outside and it’s almost six pm. The birds are singing. I did not do any exercises or run on the treadmill, but did polish off five loads of laundry, changed the sheets on two kids’ beds, cleaned the kitchen floor and did yard work. I did recruit my son to help with the floor and laundry, while my daughter is cooking the main course for the six of us for dinner tonight.

Normally on Sundays, I call my sister or a friend, but I didn’t feel up to calling anyone today. I had odd dreams about work, and woke up at least twice during the night feeling either too hot or too cold. My friend Shannon is sick late last week and worried she has COVID-19. Her symptoms are so similar to an illness D and I had nearly three weeks ago: body temperature fluctuations, low-grade fever, sore throat and fatigue.

Jessica, the neighbor who once lived across the street, came over to check on her plants. When she moved a couple months back, I offered to keep many of the plants that she could not take with her to her apartment, and we also set aside part of our front yard as a garden area she could use. One of her succulents has a spectacular large pink bloom, and she took photos of it. She texted before arriving so we could stay indoors.

Both my mother and father-in-law, who live with us, wanted to say “hi” to Jessica, and did. Miriam, my mother-in-law, remembering the conflict we had had with our next door neighbors Beth and Lawrence over one of Jessica’s visits, insisted that it was “unreasonable” for them to expect to control who we see and talk to.

I won’t go into the conflict too deeply, but it was at the very beginning of the pandemic. The mayor had just issued the order to close restaurants, bars and schools. Some businesses were still open.

Jessica came to our front yard that day to check on her plants and get in a bit of gardening. I went outside with her. I was trying to keep my distance, but it’s possible I forgot or wasn’t paying close enough attention. We were gardening and chatting away. Beth, the neighbor, yelled from the window to Jessica that she was endangering our family and should leave. She also yelled at me for “enabling” Jessica.

Jessica, upset, left. I texted with Beth’s husband Lawrence several times over the incident. Honestly, in retrospect, I believe they were concerned about all of our well-being. At the time, it felt like an over-reaction, but given all the fear that people had and still have regarding this virus, I can’t say I still view that behavior as out of line now. Yes, I did not like it, since I and another good friend were targets. Lawrence and Beth are also old friends; they were afraid for our well-being and theirs.

Miriam is tired of hearing from all of us how she needs to limit her contact with others. Her sudden anger, directed at our neighbor, reveals her frustration at how limited we all are during this pandemic. She and her husband, due to their age and health concerns, are more limited than the rest of us. They and the kids have really felt the loss of their social circles and activities outside the home.

Under normal circumstances, D doesn’t get out a lot except for errands, appointments and chores. For me, it’s similar: I have to work, run errands or volunteer for some function. D and I are actually enjoying being at home more. We and the kids are less sleep-deprived. The kids and grandparents feel more limited, while D and I feel freed from our usual obligations.

Friday April 10th, 2020

The Back Log

I did push-ups, sit-ups and squats last night and this morning. I also sanitized the kitchen.

One of our neighbors from Clybourne came by. She had a little dog. She wanted to talk to Miriam about the noise complaint regarding the dog.

Lawrence, our neighbor, had put in a complaint about the dog and Miriam backed his complaint in a kind of formal proceeding.

The lady’s name was J. She’s seventy-three, and also lives with her extended family. The dog, a puppy that was some kind of mix with Chihuahua, was awfully cute and sported a pink, studded collar. I took down her number. She wanted Miriam to know that she’s been working with her puppy to train it to bark less. The dog was sweet and energetic, and didn’t bark at all while they stood with me.

I remember, as a kid, we called dogs like that one “hot dogs.”

Later, when Miriam came down, I spoke with her about the neighbor and her dog, and gave her the number to call.

Funny, my moods change rapidly these days. During work, I can get pretty wound up. After work with the kids, I’m really happy. I feel bad about not working on my science fiction book in forever. Then again, I’m happy to be keeping up with this journal and planning to make it a website.

The actual karate exercises have the power to change my mood.They can be hard to get through, but then I feel really good afterwards. My arms look thicker–I see actual visible changes in my body–at least in my arms. My shoulders often feel tweaked, though, but usually heal over the weekend, or during the one week of rest I take every three weeks. So I’m almost through one week of 70. (Sensei is having me stick to 60 push-ups.) One more workout tonight and it will be the weekend.

We are doing Passover Seder tonight, so if I have a bit too much wine, I might push the workout to Saturday morning. It would be better if I can get it in before the Seder. That’s the plan.

Thursday April 9th, 2020

The Back Log

I did push-ups, sit-ups and squats last night and this morning. The second set of thirty “chest” push-ups on the matte were hard, so I did at least the last ten on my knees. I also messed up the Japanese count. Hoping to go as low as I could, I added a couple at the end.

Sensei texted last night, asking how I was doing with exercises. I told him where I was at. He texted back that he’s been practicing the gong. I think he was both serious and kidding at once. My favorite art professor, Don Evans, did that a lot, too.

I need a shower. It’s easy to put that off or skip it when you’re not going out. I’m cooking Joey’s breakfast eggs while I write. The eggs require checking. I just cut the heat under them and covered them. We still have Indian vegetable pouches from Trader Joe’s. I took those with a bit of oil then add beaten eggs to congeal it and give it more protein. We have maybe six pouches left. We’re trying to only get food through delivery. D’s still pretty worried about exposure during the pandemic.

The governor of Arkansas was on the news, defending his choice not to require residents to shelter in place, as most of the other states have done. He says it is “recommended,” but he’s leaving the “choice” open, which means employers, like my sister’s, can ask people to go to the office. She lives in Arkansas.

In my sister’s case, her employer has asked her to go into the office. She has no health insurance and is really worried about contracting the virus. Even if, in theory, the federal government covered health issues caused by the virus, it is not clear they would cover complications, etc., not solely due to the virus. Also, if you are not able to get tested and prove the virus is behind your medical problems, then that kind of federal “help” will not help. Bankruptcy and possibly serious long-term health issues are not things my sister is willing to risk. She has told her employer she is caring for an elderly family member.

Aunt D will back her if she needs it. I hate that both my sister and my aunt have to make these kinds of horrible “choices.”

Wednesday April 8th, 2020

The Back Log

I did do push-ups, sit-ups and squats this morning and last night. I have a cat here trying to help me write. Cafe, a black and white tuxedo cat, sits on the recently sanitized table before me. He chases my pen if I am not petting him. He’s very sweet, it goes without saying, since he’s a cat.

We did not have karate last night. Sensei doesn’t have the best reception at his place. Given the puckets of water falling from the sky, which we are grateful for, it is also not a great time to get out and drive, nor is it a good time to expose yourself to getting sick during a pandemic.

But F ran the Pinans with me, after I did my exercises, and S ran Gekisai Dai, Gekisai Sho and Yantsu with me. We tried to remember the one with all the stances, Tzuki no, but we should probably look it up. It was difficult to remember.

Also, to complicate matters, we each imagined different orientations for where we were, that is, which direction was “facing forward.” Basically, we needed to mentally map the space of the dojo onto my bedroom, the space where we practiced karate. We discussed where the dojo “mirror” would be. We decided to align the dojo’s “front door” to the bedroom closet. The back door, then must be the balcony door . This left the dojo’s wall facing the mirror to align with the bedroom’s back wall. Nevertheless, it was good to practice karate.

Sensei texted and both F and I checked in with him. F is also interested in doing an on-line diary for her Shodan preparation.