urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie Beth Beth 2009-01-23T04:19:05Z urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:179523 2009-01-23T04:19:05Z 2009-01-23T04:19:05Z I was just informed today that I am being laid off, my last day of work being next Friday. If anyone knows of any job openings anywhere (in the DC area), I'd be very appreciative if you'd pass it on to me. I can do anything administrative (that's what I do at my current job), and I just started a Master's program in HR Management, so if you happen to hear about anything, please let me know. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:179033 2008-02-23T22:01:35Z 2008-02-23T22:01:35Z 0. Do you ever turn your cell phone off? <br />Rarely - only if the battery is running out and I know I'll need it later before I can recharge it. <br /><br />1. Spell your name without an A? <br />Beth (haha, that was easy!)<br /><br />2. Middle name? <br />Melissa<br /><br />3. Do you and your best friend have the same cell company? <br />Ummm...do we? I think so....<br /><br />4. What time do you wake up on work days? <br />8:33<br /><br />5. What are you listening to? <br />"Other Side of the World" by KT Tunstall<br /><br />6. Favorite drug? <br />Uh...<br /><br />7. What was the last thing you put in the microwave? <br />hmm....I think probably popcorn<br /><br />8. Do you wear Crocs? <br />nope<br /><br />9. Do you carry an umbrella or wear a hood when it rains? <br />I am so horrible at remembering to do either. I guess none of my coats have hoods on them currently, and sometimes I use an umbrella but I often decide it's not even worth opening it because I'll just have to close it again when I get to my car or whatever.<br /><br />10. What is your favorite gatorade flavor? <br />Fruit punch<br /><br />11. What's the last movie you watched? <br />Grease!<br /><br />12. What's the last text in your inbox say? <br />Haha....it's private, but it was very cute!<br /><br />14. What is the last thing you touched, other than your computer? <br />My cell phone.<br /><br />15. What's your favorite cologne for a guy? <br />Whatever it is that Drew uses, that is hands down my favorite. Holy cow. It smells SO good!<br /><br />16. What's your favorite perfume for a girl? <br />No clue.<br /><br />17. Have you ever been on tv? <br />Yes, actually! I was on the news one morning for this promotion thing for some Indian dance aerobics class, and then I was on the morning news another time participating in a "football conditioning" aerobics class. Thanks WSC!<br /><br />18. Do you know any twins? <br />No actually!<br /><br />19. What have you had to drink today? <br />Water and Coke<br /><br />20. How many hours of sleep did you get last night? <br />A lot. Like, 10 I think. I woke up still tired.<br /><br />21. Do you play Guitar Hero? <br />Nope.<br /><br />22. Do you have T.A.M.U. music in your library? <br />What is T.A.M.U.? I have songs by T.A.T.U.....<br /><br />23. Where were you on July 4th, 2007? <br />It rained, and me and Rachel and this girl Erica were supposed to go see the fireworks, but instead we had a picnic in our living room and then went to the movies and to Ben & Jerry's.<br /><br />24. Can you sleep in jeans? <br />I don't prefer to, but I imagine I've taken a nap or two while dressed in jeans.<br /><br />25. Do you miss anyone right now? <br />God what a question!<br /><br />26. What color is your shirt? <br />Hot pink t-shirt, grey sweatshirt over it.<br /><br />27. Does everyone on your top 8 live in the same place? <br />I imagine this is about MySpace.....nope.<br /><br />28. Do you sing in the shower? <br />Nah. <br /><br />29. Would you kiss two people in the same night? <br />I don't know if I ever have before, but I wouldn't now.<br /><br />30. What are you doing tonight? <br />Meeting Angela for dinner!<br /><br />34. Who's your favorite band? <br />I don't know, I never have things like favorite bands.<br /><br />35. When's the last time you saw number 4 on your top? <br />Ha, speaking of Angela! I saw her a few weeks ago for the Superbowl. <br /><br />37. How tall is your best friend? <br />Pretty tall.<br /><br />38. How many texts can your inbox hold? <br />A bunch, I don't know exactly how many.<br /><br />39. Have you changed your clothes in a vehicle? <br />Not that I can remember...<br /><br />40. If you could kiss anyone famous, who would it be? <br />Oh, I don't know. This falls under the same category as "favorite band" - I just don't think about these things. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:178094 2008-01-13T02:24:21Z 2008-01-13T02:24:21Z Haha, well I guess that was all the motivation I needed. After writing that last post, I sat at the computer for about three more minutes, then got up, moved the entertainment center against the wall, and put everything back and hooked it all up.<br /><br />I don't even *need* David's help now! Yeah! :-) (Must be all the BodyPump....) urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:177698 2008-01-13T01:52:32Z 2008-01-13T01:52:32Z Rachel and I bought a new entertainment center, and we brought it upstairs but now she's out for the evening. I unplugged everything and scattered all the stuff that had been on the old entertainment center all around the living room, and moved the new one into place (which was actually pretty difficult with just one person because it doesn't push very easily on the carpet. It will certainly be easier when two people can lift the ends.) But I'm not sure it looks right at the diagonal angle I've put it at. I'm thinking it might go better flat against the wall with the tv turned at an angle instead. But, like, I said, it's hard to move, and David is supposed to come over later and help me, so I guess I'll just wait for him and then I can get his opinion, too. But for now I'm like...no tv?? What do I do?????? Hence, the lj post.<br /><br />I didn't realize I rely on the tv so much to kill time! urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:177590 2007-12-29T02:30:34Z 2007-12-29T02:30:34Z Hahahahaha, ok let me preface this by saying that I do not sew. I took home ec in 6th grade and can do a basic stitch by hand, but that's about it. I certainly don't know about patterns and things like that. And apparently I don't quite have the mind for imagining what patterns should look like....<br /><br />So for our BodyStep launch, which happens every three months when a new release comes out (we do special classes to hype up the new release and usually dress up and decorate the room and stuff), the theme this time around is the 70's because we're on release #70. There are a bunch of 70's songs on the release, and we're supposed to play up the theme throughout the class. So of course us instructors are going to dress up over-the-top 70's style, with bright wigs and peace necklaces and stuff. One instructor had the fabulous idea of sewing some fabric into bell-bottom bottoms that we can wear over our workout pants. I found some really perfect fabric at the store (bright, loud, flowery-wavy 70's patterns in two different color schemes!), so I got some. Like I said, I don't sew, but Rachel has a sewing machine, and it seems incredibly easy and straightforward to make what we want to make, so hopefully Rachel can help me out with this. Anyway, I started thinking this evening about what the pattern for these would look like. I looked up about a hundred websites on google, not one of which just gave a simple old pattern for pants that I could print out, or at least use the proportions from! Not one! So I went back and forth between trying to look it up and cutting out little pieces of paper trying to get a bell bottom shape. I tried cutting one trapezoid and folding it; I tried cutting two trapezoids and taping them together; I tried cutting two bell shapes; I tried cutting two trapezoids that curved out towards the bottom. I tried measuring my own leg and cutting paper with the same proportions. Eventually I tried cutting two straight rectangles, taped them together, cut up vertically through it and taped another triangle in the space (like the way you would add extra flare to jeans). Then, having the finished shape FINALLY looking like what I wanted it to look like, I cut down one of my "seams" and opened it up to see what it looked like flat. Of course, this was just paper, so it looked uneven and full of straight lines instead of curves, but I finally had a lightbulb moment: trapezoid with a curved top and a curved bottom. This seems SO OBVIOUS now! I cut out a shape that looked like that, taped the two halves together, and voila - perfect bell-bottom shape. Talk about reinventing the wheel here! I just spent over an hour coming up with that!<br /><br />Does anyone who reads this actually sew? Do you have any suggestions or helpful hints on getting the right proportions and curviness? We want obvious flare, but not so huge that we trip over it (we will be jumping all over a step, after all!) I'm having everyone tell me the length of their leg from their knee to their foot, and these bell bottoms will start just under the knee. We're going to use elastic and/or velcro, so the width at the top doesn't need to be precise, and I'm just going to use my own leg as a basis for that.<br /><br />...Yeah, you KNOW you want to come to the launches and see these costumes! Sun, Jan. 6 11am at Gold's in Tyson's, and Sun, Jan. 13 9am at Gold's in Gaithersburg! Come shake your groove thing to that funky music (white boy) with me! :-) urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:177189 2007-11-14T00:00:41Z 2007-11-14T00:21:11Z Oh, so this is what it's like to have a normal schedule! Two days in a row now I've come home after work, no classes to teach (that makes three days off exercising in a row - I think that's a new record of mine!). I've gotten home both days a little before 6:00, and I've actually........cooked dinner. Amazing. And it's still only 7pm! urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:177075 2007-11-05T04:28:46Z 2007-11-05T04:28:46Z Wow. I've been reading old entries of my own journal yesterday and today. My journal starts at the beginning of my whole abroad experience in 2003, and so far I've read through 2005. I barely even recognize myself in what I wrote, compared to the "me" today. I was so much more depressed and angry over in Italy than I even realized. Thank goodness I came home. Wow. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:176217 2007-09-13T02:43:12Z 2007-09-13T02:43:12Z Holy. Crap. Body Pump + step right afterwards = SO TIRED!!! <br />First solo BP class + new step combos + new shoes = worst idea ever! Brain overload and sore feet! When we finally got to the step cooldown, I actually said to my class, "Thank god, something familiar!" <br /><br />Don't get me wrong, I had fun. But now my quads feel kind of like they are made of marshmallows. SO. SORE. I hope this schedule is something my body will eventually adjust to! urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:176042 2007-08-30T03:37:04Z 2007-08-30T03:37:04Z AAAAAHHHHH I found a spider IN MY BED. I tried to kill it, but it got away....how am I ever going to fall asleep now??? <br /><br />On the bright side, my triceps are definitely becoming visible if I flex. How exciting! Maybe I can avoid getting in my bed by standing in front of the mirror admiring my triceps all night. <br /><br />Where is Gerardo when I need him?????????????? urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:175633 2007-08-15T03:00:57Z 2007-08-15T03:00:57Z Shoulder track = Awesome! "I've got the power!"<br /><br />A couple instructors and I held a little private practice this evening at the gym. We couldn't start until 8:45, and now it's 11 and I just got home. It was a little weird to be at the gym so late. And now I have too much energy to go to sleep. I also haven't eaten dinner yet. I feel so totally off schedule! <br /><br />Good news: I exchanged my soap dispenser and now the new one works properly! <br /><br />Shower time. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:175540 2007-08-14T00:28:44Z 2007-08-14T00:28:44Z Sigh. My pretty new soap dispenser....does not dispense soap. :-( Guess I'll take it back and exchange it... urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:175334 2007-08-09T01:16:32Z 2007-08-09T01:16:32Z Uuuuugggggghhhhhhhh, after a week of being sick with some kind of flu/virus, I just taught two fitness classes, sweat a TON, wolfed down a meatball sandwich and a cookie because I was really hungry, rode the metro, and then walked home in the practically unbearable humidity and heat. Right now, I feel terrible. Ugh.<br /><br />Just thought I'd let you know. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:174908 2007-08-03T17:35:13Z 2007-08-03T17:35:13Z I've been at home sick for the past three days. Ugh. I'm starting to get a little bored......<br /><br />I will also be very sad if I'm not well enough to go to Mike and Jen's wedding tomorrow. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:174420 2007-07-28T23:33:57Z 2007-07-28T23:33:57Z Wow, DCAC fitness conference!!! I just spent the entire day today doing cardio workouts. There were lots of different kinds of workshops offered, but of course I signed up for ALL step and hi-lo/dance. Learned so much choreography, really don't remember much of it now! My favorites: Rob Glick's step class, whose choreography and teaching style were just awesome, and Paolo Evangelista's AeroPlanet because the Italian-ness of it all felt very comefortable and familiar - it was so neat to see how his facial expressions and movements and ways of saying things were actually extremely similar to my friend Alessia's in Italy. He spoke Italian for part of it and I have to say, I understood that better than when he spoke English! I got a great deal on three new cds and I got a new sports bra for $10. My goal for tomorrow is to get some cool-looking red or black pants. I am really, really sweaty now, and my feet hurt (dancing on carpeted floors in a hotel ballroom...hmmm...), but it was lots of fun! Round two tomorrow.......!!!! urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:174112 2007-07-12T03:58:49Z 2007-07-12T03:58:49Z Uuuuggghhhh, I think I'm experiencing the effects of overtraining. I'm SO tired, but I can't sleep. I tried getting in bed at 10pm, so wiped out that I thought I'd fall asleep right in my book....instead now it's midnight and I'm still nowhere near sleepy...I think tomorrow I need to take a day off from exercise. Seriously. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:174034 2007-07-08T23:07:41Z 2007-07-08T23:07:41Z I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I fully passed my training! What an incredible weekend......so difficult, so physically challenging, but at the same time so inspiring and energizing. I feel like a different person almost - I feel like I've grown an incredible amount, both personally and professionally. I think this training has taken me to another level as an instructor (or at least I hope it will!). I pushed my body harder than I've ever pushed it before, and I feel both horrible and terrific.....so much pain, so much exhaustion, but SO MUCH ENERGY, so much rawness and power. This was not about "aerobics". This was athleticism, something I have never, ever identified myself as before. For as hard as it is, I can't wait to start teaching the class!!!! urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:173672 2007-07-07T22:50:31Z 2007-07-07T22:50:31Z I was wrong. Yesterday was not hard. TODAY was hard. They are making ATHLETES out of us. Whoa.<br /><br />I'd write more, but I can't even keep my arms up on my desk.... urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:173429 2007-07-07T00:24:06Z 2007-07-07T00:24:06Z Ok, maybe I should explain my last post :-) (while I'm waiting for my dinner to heat up anyway...)<br /><br />At one of my gyms, we're starting up a new class called Body Pump to replace another class that we do currently. It's a total body muscle conditioning workout, and apparently it is very, very specific in how it's supposed to be taught. So we have a three-day nine-hour-a-day training this weekend. Today was the first day (and only 7 hours! We got out early!), and so one of the first things we did was actually do the class, with our trainer teaching it. Ok. This is not some wimpy muscle class. Holy CRAP it kicked my butt! It uses barbells for weights, and it is TOUGH. That's their whole thing - it's supposed to be athletic and raw and tough. And it WAS. The class we currently do, Rep Reebok, uses hand weights and the ball and body bars and stuff, and we do short little sets with breaks in between, and while it's challenging, it does not even hold a candle to Body Pump in terms of intensity and challenge. In Body Pump, the sets are long and the weights are heavy. No breaks for the most part except in between tracks for each different exercise. We did the whole class once, around 1:30pm, and then in learning how to do correct technique, we did all the exercises again a few hours later. Now, at least three hours since the last time we did the exercises, my muscles are STILL shaking! It's hard, but you know what? THIS is how you get in shape. So I'm hoping that I'll actually get stronger and better as I teach this class. But oh my goodness, in order to pass the certification we have to videotape ourselves teaching the class, and we have to do every single exercise perfectly the entire time. And I. CANNOT. Do tricep push-ups. I just could not do it today! I'd get down, and then trying to push up I'd fall! And the push-ups come after a long set of another tricep exercise so I'm already tired! I think this is what they want us to do though - push ourselves further than we think we can go. <br /><br />Tonight we were all assigned a track to learn the choreography for, and tomorrow morning, first thing, we're going to be videotaped teaching that track. My track is chest press. (Thank GOD I didn't get the triceps or the shoulders track!) So right now I'm just taking a short little break to eat dinner, and then I'm going to set up my DVD and learn the chest press track! I am so totally wiped out......but I feel good. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:173191 2007-07-06T23:46:25Z 2007-07-06T23:46:25Z Hooooly cow, Body Pump has kicked. My. Butt. (In a very good way, of course - although I'm not sure my triceps would agree with that right now! My muscles are still actually shaking, more than two hours later!)<br /><br />The training is pretty amazing, though! I'm glad I'm doing it. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:172565 2007-06-24T02:30:36Z 2007-06-24T02:30:36Z Wheeeee I* rearranged my room and it looks SO much better than it did before! So much more space, and it looks more colorful, and it just is so much better! Yay!!!!<br /><br /><br />*Actually David R. I stood around and watched and occasionally held the mirror steady. Many thanks to David, who sweat his butt off helping me!!!! urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:172217 2007-06-16T23:36:51Z 2007-06-16T23:36:51Z What the HELL was that noise? I swear it sounded like an airplane was flying directly over my apartment building. A very, VERY loud windy whooshing sound. Loud to the point that I instinctively ducked down. Very strange!<br /><br />Did anyone else who lives in this area hear it, too? urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:171741 2007-05-25T20:01:05Z 2007-05-25T20:01:05Z If you or anyone you know is thinking of joining Washington Sports Club (or NYSC or BSC, etc.), let me know - I have coupons! urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:171132 2007-05-18T02:41:18Z 2007-05-18T02:41:18Z Not only did I just see "Songs For A New World", in Strathmore's awesome concert hall, a five-minute walk from my apartment, with a ticket that got upgraded to the next tier of seats.....but I saw JASON ROBERT BROWN HIMSELF direct and perform it!!!!!!! <br /><br />Oh my goodness, I haven't heard that cd probably since living in Bel Air with Sarah, in college. But I still knew almost all of the songs, and each one was just terrific. I feel so...uplifted! I still remember when two people in Sarah's theater class performed "I'd Give It All For You", and I loved the performance and then Sarah started playing the cd in our dorm. Such good music!!! <br /><br />I didn't even realize, when I bought the ticket, that the writer of the musical himself would be directing! He directed, played the piano, and even sang at the very end of the last song! Then after everyone took their bows, the band jammed some more and Jason Robert Brown performed a song from one of his other musicals. Amazing! Just so much fun! urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:170857 2007-05-06T20:53:30Z 2007-05-06T20:53:30Z Driving home just now, I just saw the CUTEST thing I have ever seen! I'm not sure if they were ducks or birds, but a little mommy bird/duck was leading her little line of baby birds/ducks across the street! Just scooting right across Tuckerman, a perfect little line of six little teeny birds all following their mom! OMG SO CUTE!!!!!!!! I have never seen that before - I always just thought it was a made-up thing for kids' stories. But no, it's real! And had I not been turning onto another street before I reached them, I most certainly would have stopped to let them pass. SO CUTE! urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:beffie:170192 2007-03-18T04:19:18Z 2007-03-18T04:19:18Z I'm sorry but two washing machines and two dryers are just not enough for THIRTY MULTI-PERSON APARTMENTS. Especially when some people like to do five loads in a row. Or when assholes leave their stuff in the washing machine after it's finished. And then decide to take up both dryers precisely at the moment when I need to use just *one*, more than HALF AN HOUR after their clothes finished in the washer. I'm going to be up until 2am now, waiting for my stupid clothes to dry because of that jerk. And furthermore, WHO BESIDES ME IS EVEN HOME ON ST. PATRICK'S DAY NIGHT DOING LAUNDRY??? For the most part I like where I live, but I HATE HATE HATE doing laundry here. It seems like the people at Parkside have made it as completely unpleasant as possible. I can't even do my laundry in another building. The room has a different passcode. To me, that is stupid. If my *two* dryers are being used, I could at least be able to go to another building where probably nobody is doing laundry and dry my clothes there. But NO. I have to wait. All I know is that the second that guy's dryer goes off, his clothes are out, whether he's there or not. I have been waiting ALL FREAKING DAY to be able to wash my clothes.<br /><br />If I had a washing machine and dryer in my apartment, I'd already be in bed by now.