Tomorrow is another day

Today I had a minor setback in Project: Healthy Maia.

This setback doesn't actually have to do with weight, but with another part of myself that I've been trying to get healthy as well and that's my spirit.

I know, I know it probably sounds corny as hell but this summer was a really bad one for me. As I believe I mentioned previously, when someone has essentially built their entire life around their career and has made it a major part of who they are, when that person isn't working they tend to feel lost and like they've lost a major part of their very being. I've been in this state of nothingness since May when I last worked.

In June, I interviewed (twice actually) for a job. Then the company went through some major restructuring and I thought the job I was interviewing for disappeared along with a lot of other things. I had completely written it off. Then, about a month ago I was contacted again and was informed that the job did still indeed exist and they were still interested. Color me excited!

Today I received an email telling me that they were wrong. No job. I felt like someone had just popped the balloon that was my self worth. All of a sudden the progress that I had been making this past month towards a happier version of myself was gone. I am back where I started (only now 8 pounds lighter) and I feel as if I've wasted these past 4 weeks that could have been spent sincerely looking for a job in earnest instead of waiting around for this job that now never was. Who knows how many jobs I could have applied for in that amount of time?

I know I will eventually find a job, but its hard

not to feel a bit helpless and hopeless right now.

I guess the difference in myself now from the myself of 4 weeks ago is that I know I will eventually be okay. I can't dwell on it forever. I need just brush myself off and get right back on the horse again. Tonight, however, I'm allowing myself to wallow in my unemployment. But only for tonight. Tomorrow I'm going to wake up, and take charge again. Because as Scarlett O'Hara once taught us, tomorrow is another day.

I think I'll go for a walk outside now

So, in order for me to start working towards a newer, healthier version of myself one of the major changes I was going to have to make was to actually get up off my butt and MOVE!

I have never been an exceptionally active individual. I mean, sure I played outside as a kid, but I was never one to play organized team sports or go running just for fun. In fact the very thought of running makes me dry heave. The closest I ever got to being extremely active, and when I was probably the healthiest in my life was when I was in my high school marching band. Now many may scoff, but you try holding up an instrument (doesn't matter that I played flute!) for ten straight minutes and then add in hauling ass across a football field. It isn't easy, believe me!

Well, since the days of marching band are far behind me, I need to find other ways to stay healthy. I'm kind of on a tight budget right now since the job situation is not exactly where I would like it to be at the moment, which means that I need to find a way to exercise that doesn't involve me joining a gym at the moment.

What did I come up with?

CENTRAL PARK!

It's kind of silly that Central Park is within 100 feet of my front door and I wasn't utilizing it properly until this summer. What's even better than the fact that Central Park is 100 feet from my house? The fact that just a short 2 minute walk inside the park brings me to

the Reservoir!

For those who live outside of New York City, the Reservoir is the BIG body of water in the park that you always see people running and walking around in movies. Think Charlotte in the first Sex and the City movie.

It has a great path that leads around the outside of it that is 1.5 miles long and its well maintained (i.e. no dips and holes. Considering my history with holes in the ground, this is a VERY good thing!)

This picture to the right was taken on today's walk. Not too shabby right?

I do venture from the Reservoir as well. Just this past Sunday I took a very long meandering hike through the park with Katie. We walk through parts I never knew existed in the park before. I'm just weary of some of the paths because they are not nearly as well kept as the Reservoir's path. Like I said, I'm weary of holes in the ground!

I know its not always going to be an ideal place and come winter it might not be very possible at all to use, but for right now these walks are getting the job done and helping me on my road to a newer, healthier me.

Next post I'll talk about what I use to stay healthy when the weather doesn't permit outside exercise. Imagine hula hoops.

TTFN

M

Gone but not forgotten!

For the two of you that used to read this blog, I must apologize. I may have not been writing for a LONG while, but I haven't forgotten about this blog.

As my close friends (or really anyone who is friends with me on facebook) can attest, I went through a bit of a bad summer. For someone who has spent the vast majority of her adulthood focusing on building and bettering her career almost to the point where I was ignoring my "real" life, to be unemployed has left me almost without an identity. I think I went through my "Quarter Life Crisis" a bit late it seems.

It was really up through very recently that I spent the majority of my day being depressed and doing nothing. Then it really was as if I was hit by lightening. I turned 29 in June and I realized that is roughly 10 months time I am going to be turning the big 3-0. I can't keep living my life like the way I was! I was incredibly unhealthy. Not watching what I ate AT ALL, and barely any activity. If I kept this up, I was going to be yet another one of my extended family members to be diabetic, and who knows what other health issues would start to arise. My blood pressure was already starting to creep up according to my last visit to the doctor. I couldn't keep going on like this!

So I've decided to make a change. Not just a subtle, simple change. A LIFESTYLE change. I needed to start watching what I eat. I needed to be exercising and just general MOVING at least 3-4 times per week. Honestly, the weight issue (I'm at the highest weight of my life) was secondary in all of this. HEALTH is the goal. Obviously the weight would drop off as a result of my lifestyle change, but I'm not even bothering to set an official weight goal.

Here is another realization that I came to in all of this self exploration. I'm PRETTY! My friends can attest I have horrible self esteem when it comes to the way that I look, so this realization is actually pretty major. I've spent my entire life thinking that I was ugly (now I'm not telling you this because I'm fishing for compliments, I'm simply being honest) and it just suddenly hit me one day as I was looking in the mirror that I actually have a REALLY pretty face. I need to get healthy and fit so that I can give myself the body that my face deserves. This may sound really silly to some of you, but alas this is another of my discoveries...

"Why are you telling me all this?" You might be asking... I'm telling you because I think that I will be using this blog as a tool to help me in what I have deemed "Project: Healthy Maia." I was inspired to write about my journey in blog form by a friend of mine back from the middle school days, Emily. She writes an amazing blog at skinnyemmie.com that is inspiring, witty, intelligent and moving where she is sharing her amazing journey to lose weight and find a healthier (both physically and mentally) version of herself. She shares her highs and lows with her readers and it seems to have helped her a great deal. I STRONGLY encourage anyone who has ever dealt with similar issues with their weight/health to take a look at her blog. You'll get hooked, I promise you!

Anyway, this is all I'm going to share for now. Stay tuned for (hopefully) frequent updates on Project: Healthy Maia. I will also continue to write about other subjects as they strike me.

Until next time, good night and good luck.

What a week this has been

Well, I have to say this week hasn't been as good as I thought it would be.

I did bumpkis towards my thesis, I haven't lost any weight despite working out for at least 45 minutes everyday and altering my diet (albeit it slightly, but I know I need to take smaller steps in regards to food), and Kentucky lost in the Elite Eight so I'm not going to the Final Four.

Okay, that's the negative... Here's the positive outlook!

While I haven't lost any weight, I can definitely feel the workouts working. My abs are crazy sore, and I'm just starting to feel better overall. Yes, I do need to make more alterations to my diet apparently to start to see real weight loss begin, but I feel like I at least have the momentum.

Yes, Kentucky lost but I have to admit I'm okay with not going to the Final Four as I had previously planned. I honestly can't afford it. I bought my plane ticket using miles, but I was going to fly into Louisville which meant a car rental and then of course the hotel and meals were going to add up. So, instead I'm selling my tickets which have already paid for themselves and I am going to make a few bucks on them as well, and I am still going to go home for a long weekend which just happens to be Easter and close enough to my Mom's birthday that we are going to celebrate early. It will actually be a really nice weekend!

There isn't really a positive way to spin my lack of motivation on my thesis. I just can't seem to get my butt in gear. I think a big problem comes with the fact that I'm unfocused about what I even want to discuss. Granted I've been given some helpful tips to narrow that down, but I still am having a difficult time just getting my butt to the library!

OH! And another positive thing that happened this week was that I had a job interview. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and will talk more about it if I get it.

Well, that was my last week and here's to hoping this coming week will be decent. Maybe I can finally get to Home Depot, although that might be unlikely. It's supposed to rain hard all week and I have a feeling it will keep me indoors more than it should.

Alright, this is Maia. Over and out.

You say goodbye and I say hello!

Hello to my two readers (who I hope haven't forgotten about me during my lengthy absence!)

The past two months of my life have been quite interesting. My Broadway show closed and therefore my job went with it. I've re-entered the world of unemployment, I went to California to visit Sabrina, procrastinated for two weeks, and then went to Austin to be in Trisha's wedding. Now that I no longer have any excuses, I'm back in the city and attempting to keep myself occupied and to actually accomplish something other than to the check movies off my Netflix queue.

I do have to admit that I think I needed the mindlessness of the past two months though. The trip out to California was fantastic. I hadn't been to northern California since I was 19 and it was nice to be back when I was legally able to drink. Sabrina and I visited some great wineries and all in all had a fantastic time. I left for the west coast about a week after my last day of work so it was perfect for clearing my head of the insanity that was Finian's Rainbow and to help prepare me for the difficult task of finding a new job. What I did discover was that I really love the Bay Area. I could certainly see myself settling there some day. San Francisco especially. It just has such a great vibe, a great arts community and just seems to GET it, you know? So, I added it to my list of cities I could see myself moving to when/if I ever get sick of NYC.

Once I got back from the trip, I had every intention of doing something productive but I used my fine tuned art of procrastination to keep me from these tasks. So, I made a deal with myself. If I let myself have these two weeks inbetween my trip and the wedding, then I need to start cracking as soon as I get from Austin. I have to applaud myself, so far, so good!

First off, Trisha's wedding was gorgeous. She married an amazing man who has proven himself worthy of her, and we had a blast. They rented a trolley to take the wedding party around downtown Austin for the photos prior to the ceremony and I can't wait to see them. There was a slight hitch when they discovered that the florist had the wrong date for the wedding (Completely the florist's fault too. They switched the date on their own.) Luckily they were able to come up with something on the fly. I am so completely happy for the two of them.

So, since I've been back I've actually gotten quite a bit done! I had a job interview (it was HORRIBLE, but at least I had one I suppose!) I made a doctor's appointment to get the metal plate taken out of my ankle, I made a few other doctor's appointments, I met with my professor about getting started on my thesis, I sent in resumes and actually got called for another interview! This interview is for a job I actually want even though its another summer gig. I know that I swore off summer jobs after last summer, but this one actually pays me a living wage and considering no Broadway shows are hiring at the moment, it will be a great way for me to spend my time until the fall when new shows start to hire their management staff.

Next week might be the real test though. That's when I actually am going to have to start working on my thesis, and my professor even told me to check in with him in a couple of weeks to let him know how its coming along, so I actually have someone to report to, which I think will help me keep on track. So, here are my goals for this coming week. In addition to the doctor's appointments and my job interview, I hope to get myself to the Columbia library to start research and to get myself to Home Depot to get the items necessary to start painting my room. I'll update you on my progress next week. Hopefully I'll have some good news.

Speaking of good news!

I just discovered that the Season Three premiere of True Blood is on June 13th this year, aka MY BIRTHDAY! I'm not usually one for having a shindig to celebrate the date of my birth, however I think this warrants a theme party! Consider this an early Save the Date.

Thank you for being a friend...

As many of you who know me can attest, or for those who can read my description of this blog at the top of the page, you know of my ultimate unhealthy obsession.


We're talking about the original Sex and the City women, only it was a different city: Miami!


That's right, ladies and gentlemen it's time to discuss the loves of my life, The Golden Girls!


I honestly don't remember when I started loving this show so much. I mean, I remember watching it when I was little with my parents but of course I didn't understand anything that was happening. Then during my high school/college years Lifetime start showing reruns and I've never been the same.


I do have a bone to pick with the current channels airing the episodes though. WE, Hallmark Channel? Are you listening?


STOP EDITING THE EPISODES!


I don't care if you do have 189 commercials you must air during an episode. Make it work without harming my Girls! You are cutting some of the best one-liners out, plus making incredibly awkward edits. You've even edited out an occasional "damn." Don't deny it!


I recently heard that Rue McClanahan had a stroke. The quartet has already been decreased to a duo in just the past two years. While I heard she is recovering well, it still saddens me. She is the one Golden Girl that I've had the privilege to meet. I was working for a theatrical General Manager at the time and she was a close friend of his. When she came into the office my heart stopped for a moment. My boss introduced me and made sure to point out to Blanche, I mean Rue, that I was from the south. (I guess Kentucky is the south...maybe. Depends who you're talking to and where you are currently located.)


When she heard I was from the south she said to me, "You're from the south? And your name is Maia? Well, that's not a southern name. I'm going to call you Maia Sue."



Again, I nearly died of cardiac arrest.

Anyway, I watch these episodes now and I think about how groundbreaking this show really was. It dealt with issues that not many shows acknowledged at the time. Here were four women all over the age of 50 discussing their sex lives, the pains of getting older, same-sex marriages (hello, made in the 80s!) and who can ever forget Dorothy's battle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome...

Seriously though, this show paved the way for a show like Sex and the City to be on the air! Samantha is our modern day Blanche, Miranda is Dorothy, Charlotte is Rose and I guess that makes Carrie the Sophia? Hmm, I might have to rethink that one...

Anyway, I know people make fun of me for my obsession with this show but I don't care. I'm sure 9 out of 10 of these people could probably hum the theme song if they thought about it.

Oh well, they can just keep right on judging me. Won't make me stop. I'm going to keep watching these reruns until they go off the air, and even then I'll have my DVDs to keep me entertained.

This is Maia Sue. Over and out.

Friend or Foe?

Oh Snooze Button, how I love you.

Oh Snooze Button, how I loathe you.

How can you be my friend and foe at the same time? Sometimes you are so good to me! You let me sleep that extra 9 (or 18, or 27) minutes and yet I am still able to wake up with enough time to get to work. Of course, this may or may not have to do with the fact that I purposefully set my alarm earlier than need be so that we can spend each morning together.

But what about those days when you just don't want to let me go? Like this morning? I love you too Snooze Button, but sometimes you just need to cut the cord, ok? I have to leave you, no matter how much I don't want to...

Maybe it's time we stop seeing each other all together Snooze Button. I mean, we've had a good run while it lasted but I have a feeling its starting to become an unhealthy relationship. It's getting harder and harder each morning for you to let me go and I think it might just be easier for us in the long run if we just completely sever ties now. Just go cold turkey, what do you think?

Just a thought.

Yeah, I thought not.

See you tomorrow dear Snooze Button.