Sad but True...

Last night I decided to do something that I've been meaning to do for years: attend a yoga class. Tim and I recently joined a gym a few blocks from our flat in an effort to stay healthy. This particular gym, Exodus, offers the standard cardio machines and weights but we were really intrigued by the classes that they offer. As a formerly 'more flexible' person I figure yoga might help me regain elasticity. I arrived at the "Mind and Body Studio" wondering if I were making a big mistake. Having never done it before I had no idea what to expect. Shortly after I situated myself on a mat we began. Immediately, it became apparent that yoga is not for slouches. With abs, legs and arms aquiver I attempted to contort my body to approximate the movements that the instructor was demonstrating (effortlessly, of course). You should know that she wasn't breaking a sweat but I was. Me plus the group of beginners toward the back of the studio. While attempting to will myself to make it through I could hear the other newbies whimper/giggle, saying things like "this is not what I expected", "yoga is supposed to be easy". I couldn't help but laugh. Soon the class was coming to a close and I was sure of two things in life. One, I was proud to have survived the class. Two, I knew that I was going to be sore in the morning. I hate it when I'm right about things like this. The next day I woke up to the kind of sore muscles I've only ever experienced after an intense weight workout. Apparently, I don't use my back muscles for anything because they are, by far, the sorest of my muscle groups. Accordingly, my delusion that 'yoga is easy' was thoroughly smashed and I'm enjoying the new perspective. Can't wait till next week!!

Laundry.....

It's almost a daily occurence in our household. When your washer and dryer are the same machine it makes it tricky to wash and dry several loads quickly. Before moving here I used to let it pile up and then spend a single day doing laundry. Ah, the decadence. Now I, lovingly, place about a third of what you might fit into any US washing machine and add a teaspoon of detergent. Yes, just a teaspoon and no I don't how that converts to metric. Still working on those sneaky conversions. They're everywhere here. :) After the washer has washed and the dryer kicks in the drying racks make an entrance in to the living room where they stand stoically, patiently waiting for the clothes, or towels or sheets to finish drying. Don't get me wrong - the dryer works. It just that it can't do any worthwhile drying when it's full. There isn't enough room in the drum for the air to circulate around the clothes. So it's necessary to remove some of the laundry, hang it up and let the remainder toss and turn in the dryer. I cannot describe how grateful I am that we have in-home laundry. With that said, I've given up on the delusion that I will ever be done with laundry. Nowadays, if I'm home for a couple hours at a time I check what needs to be washed - there's always something in there - and start a new load on it's journey to cleanliness.

Colour....

Yesterday, while at school, I was feeling restless and hungry so I walked down to Wishbone (cafe on campus) to grab a snack. I was staring at the offerings in the chiller when a random guy asked me if his accent sounded 'Kiwi' (he was not a Kiwi). I wasn't sure what to say and then he asked me if I was from the US. I nodded and, half in jest, I said, "I know, you can tell by my boring accent". He looked at me and said, "No, it's because of the way you dress". I rolled my eyes because I hadn't put any thought into my attire that day. When you have to work in the lab you don't dress up for work. :) So I was wearing my Roots sweatshirt (grey), jeans and Pumas (purple). It turns out he wasn't making a comment about the casualness of my outfit but rather that it had colour. Colour. Here in Wellington many people wear head to toe black. Everyday. Before moving here I thought I wore a lot of black. Not anymore. Now I'm a veritable assault on the visual senses. I love wearing jewel tones but they look neon compared to the sedate look of so much black with the occasional pseudoneutral if people are feeling crazy. Initially, I was ready to conform and commit to a life of neutrals but I've moved past such nonsense. Don't get me wrong, I like neutrals. But in my mind their purpose is to set off the colours that you wear. Oh my. I'm spelling colour like a Kiwi. :)

The Thorn Birds.....

That wonderous day when I found out that I had funding for my PhD I went to the bookstore downtown to buy a treat. :) I spent an hour walking around, reading dust jackets, perusing the shelves for the perfect, leisurely read. About the give up and walk home I spotted The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough on the Top 100 list. Considering I had had no luck so far I figured, "Why not?", and picked it up. With no synopsis on the back cover I perched on a low shelf and started to read. Immediately, I knew this was the one. I took it home and have been thoroughly enjoying the epic tale of the Cleary family for the past couple months. For those of you who know my books habits this probably seems like it's taken me eons to finish this book. You're right but to be fair it's 700+ pages and, in my true reading fashion, I have been reading multiple books at the same time. I've been lovingly working through the pile of lit I received for my birthday. :)

So The Thorn Birds - check it out if you're looking for a readable classic. Enjoy and let me know what you think. :)

When it rains...

Rain is quite common here in Wellington and although it's a nuisance I'm delighted that we don't have to walk to and from school in snow and ice. The only problem with it being increasingly rainy, as we enter into our winter season, is that when the transit of Venus comes around, you can't see it. The transit, where Venus travels across the sun, happened a couple days ago and what do you know? It just happened to coincide with the rainiest, cloudiest, grayest day we've experienced since moving here. :) This wouldn't be such a big deal except for the fact that the next transit won't happen until 2117. Yeah, I don't think I'll make it that long. Admittedly, a bit depressed about the weather Tim and I went to a talk about the transit given here on campus by William Tobin. He is an astrophysicist and led us through the interesting history of how humans have photographed the sky over the years. After the talk we were able to see the transit via real time imagery provided by a lab in Hawaii. Nice and sunny there. :)