Thread Drift

[redrhodie]

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been around much lately. I have a new obsession, which is that I am learning to play guitar! It's been really fun, and not as hard as I was expecting. I haven't been riding at all, but it hasn't been a good winter for it anyway, so it's been good to have something else to do. It's been so long since I've learned anything new, as a total beginner, and it's really refreshing.

Anyway, I just wanted to say hi and let you know I didn't fall through the ice!

[Pax]

Cool beans, a new hobby! Glad you're enjoying it.

[indysteel]

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been around much lately. I have a new obsession, which is that I am learning to play guitar! It's been really fun, and not as hard as I was expecting. I haven't been riding at all, but it hasn't been a good winter for it anyway, so it's been good to have something else to do. It's been so long since I've learned anything new, as a total beginner, and it's really refreshing.

Anyway, I just wanted to say hi and let you know I didn't fall through the ice!

How fun, Red! I'm glad you're doing well. Don't be a stranger; we've missed you here at TE!

[indysteel]

I think I finally made a friend in my not-so-new town. As I've chronicled here in past threads, DH and I moved to a small-ish town south of Indy in the fall of 2009. It's been damn near impossible to meet anybody and it's really worn on me. I'm a relatively social person, and it's been a lonely transition.

Well, after my workout on Saturday, I started chatting with one of the fitness instructors about her class while we were cleaning up in the locker room of the town's fitness and recreation center. She invited me to yesterday's class, an offer which I readily accepted. It was fun; we did a combination of Bosu and resistance training and core work. I chatted with her again after class. She's very friendly, is roughly my age (46 to my 43) and works as a teacher in Indy. Her husband works for the same company as my husband (it's a huge company and they work for different divisions). From the sound of it, she's very active and, like me, loves to read. So, we seemingly have a few things in common. If nothing else, she'll be a friendly and familiar face, and I'll take that at the rate I'm going. The rec center, while convenient to my house, is not the friendliest of places. People really keep to themselves there, which is very different from gyms I've used in the past.

I also signed up for the class. It's called "Total Fit" and meets for a hour four nights a week and Saturday morning. There's no way I'll make it to every session, but it can augment what I already do. They try to mix the activities up each class between three different instructors, and that will likely prove beneficial to me, as I tend to get in a rut. The classes at our rec center are crazy cheap ($60 for roughly 45 classes), so I don't mind paying for something that I won't fully use at that rate.

The Universe has thrown me a few bones of late. Late last fall, I realized that there was a yoga studio not too far from my house, which has helped me add in one or two extra yoga classes into my schedule. And my running has gone from near-torture to I-think-I'm-actually-enjoying this. It's taken me a few couple of years to get back to a stable and full exercise routine thanks to the move and a series of injuries. I'm so grateful to have finally found a new normal. It'll soon be road and mountain biking season again, and I'm really hoping for a good summer (if it's not as hot as last summer).

Yay!

[indysteel]

Good Indy. Can relate to the small-town cold treatment.

Even yesterday, I could feel some of the older women in the class eying me, but then again, others were really friendly. I'm a chatty, social person (with a few exceptions), so it's really hard to live someplace like this.

Boy, I really suck at BOSU though. I didn't struggle with balance, but the moves themselves were hard for me to follow. It's been years since I did step, and even then, I did it at home and not in a class setting. I looked like an idiot.

[Catrin]

Sounds good Indy, glad that some things are working out Yeah, the Bosu can be a trip - especially after even a short break! I do enjoy it though, it is something different.

[lph]

Hiya red! Hiya Indy - if I lived anywhere near you I'd hang out with you any day :-)

[indysteel]

Hiya red! Hiya Indy - if I lived anywhere near you I'd hang out with you any day :-)

Thank, lph. Right back at you!

I had to laugh because I was about as excited to meet a new female friend as I used to get meeting a new guy. But, really, friends are SO important to our well being, at least for most of us. Quality over quantity of course, but the need is definitely there. I've made a new friend relatively recently at work, too, and I was just as excited about her. I spend most of my work days kind of cooped up in a locked office and while I'm not totally alone in that office, it's still really challenging to make friends outside my immediate coworkers. I've been participating on some new projects here at work, too, so I'm just getting out more in general. It's been a good time for me at work.

I am very evenly divided in personality tests between introversion and extroversion, and I consistently have a very strong push/pull when it comes to social engagements. Too many, and I get anxious. Too few, and I get depressed. DH and I do well together because he's not a constant talker, so I can enjoy his company without being "on" all the time, but I had admittedly grown lonely in our town. All of these developments, taken together, are helping me right that imbalance.

[indysteel]

Good Indy. Can relate to the small-town cold treatment.

Okay, so I've been to the class now about five times in the last two weeks. Most everyone has been nice, but there's this one woman who's just icky. I introduced myself the first night to her and her husband and, since then, she's basically looked right through me, avoiding my attempts to smile and say hi. She did, however, tell me on Monday that I'd taken her spot in the room (oops!) and then made this big production of having to set up her step in another spot.

Some people just never grow out of junior high.

[NbyNW]

Indy,

Glad you are starting to make some connections. It really can take a while in some places. I had a similar experience when we were living up north. No luck connecting with the locals (except for some awesome knitting groups up there), and I would meet others who were also not from there ... every time I thought I was making a friend, they would move away. Finally decided I should be one of the people who moved away.

Sorry about the mean girl. Some people have no idea how ridiculous they are.

[Crankin]

Just love those people who think they "own" their spaces at the gym. Thankfully, at 5:30 AM, the group is way more mellow. I went to a class at 10:30 AM this week, and the whole place was crowded and full of these types.

[indysteel]

I have a spot in my Tuesday yoga class that I almost always use. I get there early so it's easy to snag. I was running late last week and it was taken by the time I got there. But I didn't throw a fit about it. In fact, the teacher and I had a laugh over it. I think she was more thrown that I wasn't in my usual place than I was.

Still, lots of the class attendees have been really nice, and I'm enjoying the interaction. It helps put me in a good frame of mind before heading home for the night.

[Dogmama]

Just love those people who think they "own" their spaces at the gym. Thankfully, at 5:30 AM, the group is way more mellow. I went to a class at 10:30 AM this week, and the whole place was crowded and full of these types.

tee hee - I have people who camp out in front of the spinning room door waiting for me to get there so they can claim "their bike." Once I had a large grown man actually push through the crowd to get "his bike." Then he complained about the fan.

Some people's children!