Spinning

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Besides gorging myself with unhealthy carbs, I spend the rest of my time at the gym. Lately, I’ve been focused on indoor cycling (Spinning). I just realized that I’ve been spinning ever since I’ve graduated college, which would mean almost 6 years! It’s amazing how time flies when you’re just working in the real world. I’ve been spinning with this one instructor, Jess, for over 3 years, but she only started to chat with me at the end of last year. I saw that there was a fancy spinning studio that just opened a few blocks from NYSC and I asked if she had tried it. She said that their bikes are nothing special and that their thing is that they use dumb bells while spinning. She recommended that I try Ride The Zone because their bikes are different and actual “move” while you’re spinning.

I went to their website and was definitely interested. I asked my friend who is also obsessed with spinning to go with me. We both reserved our bikes online and paid $30 (yeah it’s a bit EXPENSIVE) for our ride. I rented bike shoes because I heard that it’s just THAT much better. Wow, the bikes were like no other. Our instructor, Nicky, had to help me get clipped into the bike since the whole bike moves. I was under the impression that only the handle bars move, boy was I wrong! My first ride was a bit petrifying. I was glad I got bike shoes because at least I wouldn’t fall out off the bike. It was really difficult to stand and ride because you have to balance your entire body. Also, I had trouble doing the “turns”. The rest of the students seemed to be professional riders and they were pedaling so fast. I had a feeling they had almost no resistance on their bikes. There’s no way they could be spinning so quickly without sweating!

I went back to the studio once more because I thought that it was only $15 if you do a walk-in. To my disappointment, this only applies to classes before 7:30am and after 4:30pm. I had a different instructor who did more hill work (my forte) and I did get better with balancing on the bike. Soon after, I purchased a pair of Pearl Izumis for less than $40 on Sierra Post. I even found a special coupon so I could save even more. When my shoes finally arrived, I literally ran to the bike shop around the corner (right before they closed) so they could install the clips. I must agree, spinning with cycling shoes makes a big difference. It seems that I can pedal faster than when I wore regular sneakers. I heard that by wearing these shoes, you work more muscles. Who knows, at least I feel cool in my class since the majority of the spinners wear regular sneakers.

Less than 12 hours before my next spinning class. Hurrah! I need to find people who will go spinning with me at Ride The Zone. It’s just much more fun that way. I just don’t know how many of my friends are willing to pay $30 for a 45 min class. I guess we can go to an evening class to save 50%.

Back to blogging!

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Wow, so my friend and I decided to start a food blog. It’s actually much more interesting than me blogging about my life since I find it so boring. I do spend the majority of my days eating throughout NYC and Queens. I hope to start venturing out to Brooklyn as well.

In other news, it’s officially March. I have survived two “snow storms” within a couple of weeks. I was disappointed both times that our office was still open while many of my friends’ offices were closed. Also, since the majority of my team lives in NJ, they all would be working from home. I felt that since I live in Manhattan and the subways were still running, I’d go into work. At least I was rewarded with tasty pizza from Angelo’s Pizza. I had a lovely February now that I think about it. I finally went to Tampa to visit the wonderful boyfriend for Valentine’s Day, President’s Day and Lunar New Year. It was a bit chilly (50s), but at least it was sunny for the most part. Lately, we’ve been cooking at least one meal from Cooking Light and even though it seems like a big mess while we’re cooking, our meals have turned out really good. I really enjoy cooking in a full-sized kitchen with plenty of counter space and regular sized appliances. It’s truly amazing how much more you appreciate things once you don’t have them anymore. For example, I love visiting the huge supermarkets in the suburbs now. There’s SO much variety and aisle space. These days you can buy anything at Publix/Stop & Shop. We found the Sriracha in the ethnic aisle. I even bought some low sodium Zatarain’s Jambalaya mix so I could use it when I’m in NYC. Of course no trip to Tampa is complete without a trip to Chick-fil-A and Target. It was definitely a relaxing weekend. Not to mention that I lost my iPhone at JFK and my wonderful and threatening boyfriend kept calling the guy who found my phone and told him to return it immediately (after he finally picked up) to TSA. Without him, some stranger would be trying to hack my iPhone and using it! )

Another great thing about February is that I get my bonus during this time. It always feels like an eternity, but then when I do finally get my bonus, I think, “Wow, I can’t believe another year has passed.” It’s just ridiculous to know that I’ve been working in the real world for almost 6 years! Where did the time go? I still feel just as unaccomplished as I did when I graduated college. I’ve been working with my very knowledgeable mentor on my career plan. It scares me that I’ll be 30 very soon and where will I be in my career? Will I still be working a no experience non-managerial position? Some people are VPs by the time they’re 30! I’m worried that with all my indecisiveness, I’ll still be at the bottom of this very tall corporate ladder. Why can’t I just win the lotto and retire at the age of 30? That would be a great plan! mrgreen

Anyway, I’m off to ponder about my future and whether I will be successful. Good night my few readers!

Happy 2010

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Well, my website decided to remind me that I haven’t updated inf a few months. I have found that I have less and less to share with my few readers. Was I more exciting when I was a teenager? I remember blogging like everyday! I think back then I’d talk about the latest exam that I “failed” or just school stuff. I guess once you enter the real work life, days seem to blur together and before you know it, you’ve been working for fives years! It’s still hard for me to imagine working for 25+ years before I retire. It’s a bit depressing, but if parents are working and they’re about 60 years old, then I can too I guess?

Work has been a bit busy in the past month. Our company has just reached technology independence so we are no longer out sourcing our development work, so it’s been a learning experience without depending on our consultants. We have maintenance releases that go out every few weeks. Lately, it’s been a bit difficult since everyone is new to the process and it has been frustrating. I hope that in 2010, our department will become more cohesive and organized! It’s something to definitely look forward to.

Oh, for Christmas, I ventured to Mosinee, Wisconsin to hang out with Jeff’s family. It was a really great trip. I got to look at all of Jeff’s baby pictures. So cute! Plus, I had a great time spending time with Jeff’s other love, Bailey (yellow lab). His parents were so generous and the food was delicious. I never ate so much cheese in such a short time span. Also, Jeff’s mom is a wonderful baker and had stacks and stacks of cookies waiting for me and Jeff when we arrived. I experienced my first bonfire in the snow. We went to real outdoors stores where there are aisles and aisles of hunting and fishing equipment. It really blew my mind. I really would love to go back to Wisconsin when the weather is better and it’s not a high of 20 degrees everyday.

I was lucky enough to see Jeff three weekends in a row. He finally agreed to being dragged to Flushing with me to experience his first shabu shabu. It was a little scary at first, but I think the dipping sauce won him over. He loved that he could create his own sauce. Naturally, he made his super spicy. He also liked my mom’s Kimchee broth better than his, so now we know what he’ll order next time we go. In this night of firsts, he also had his first shaved ice and liked it more than I like it! We also took him to Hong Kong Supermarket to wander the never ending aisles. It was such a lovely family event. )

I wanted to wish both of my sisters a Happy Birthday! Diana’s birthday is actually today and Jessica’s is on Wednesday (1/27). I remember when I was little and I kept wishing I was born in January so I could celebrate my birthday the same time my sisters did. I was a bit jealous. I hated that whenever I tried to have a birthday party in July, none of my friends would be available since they would be away at summer camp or on vacation. I also could never bring munchkins to school celebrate my birthday. I do remember forcing my mom to buy munchkins so I could celebrate a month early in school. It still was never the same! Now, I’m more okay with my birthday. At least the weather is warm and we can go to the beach on my birthday. Can you winter babies do that? Haha!