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 The other day, I was leaving the gym, when I heard a woman introduce my trainer, Paul, to her daughter. “Honey, this is Paul. He’s the one who kicks Mommy’s butt and the reason why she’s in pain all the time.”
I turned around. I couldn’t believe I heard that!
A few days later, I heard one of the trainers at New York Sports Club say to his client, “today, I’m going to kick your butt.”
Mmmm… Kick his butt? Is working someone hard kicking butt? What is kicking butt?
I looked it up. There were two definitions — kick (somebody’s) butt also kick some butt
1. to fight someone and hurt them.
2. to defeat someone.
If this is what it means, then why is it that clients keep coming back for more? Is it that they like the “butt kicking?” Or is it an attention thing?
I’m not really sure, but the other day, my husband said, “do you really need to go to a trainer? It’s a lot of money and I don’t understand why you can’t do it yourself.”
“I just don’t think I could kick my own butt,” I said to him. “And you know what, I like getting my butt kicked…”
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It was cold, windy and the sky was bleak. Marti, my running friend, and I were on a schedule. We needed to run six miles outside to keep up with the program that we got from Runner’s World Magazine.
 I put on a pair of running capris, a breathable shirt, a breathable long sleeve silky shirt, and a hoodie. I decided to try my Asics sneakers for this first long run. I was told that Asics were the best sneakers for running, but I really didn’t know.
Nowadays, there seems to be a controversy over running sneakers. The traditional running shoe has a heavily cushioned heal that encourages runners to land heal first. But recently, there have been numerous articles about “barefoot running” and many of the shoe companies have come up with running shoes that simulate being barefoot by enabling you to land on the balls of your feet.
I actually had a pair of Nike Lunar xx. I bought them from Nordstrom’s. I didn’t know where to go and since I knew that Nordstrom’s had a big shoe department, it seemed the most logical choice to me then.
I wore them to the gym. Dom, my trainer at the time, laughed at me. “You can’t wear those running!” he said. “Go get yourself a pair of Asics. They are the best.”
I took his advice and purchased a pair. They were expensive, but I figured if they hold up and do the job, then they would be worth it.
Turns out that the Nike’s I purchased at Nordstrom’s are the shoes that I have found to work best for me on long runs!
But on this day, I decided to wear my Asics. I ran out of my house to meet Marti halfway between our houses. When we met up, we started running. The two of us ran to and up the Long Beach boardwalk and passed other runners and cyclists. We saw the empty beach and clear blue water, a series of apartment buildings, and then we saw the end of the boardwalk!
“Should we keep going down west?” I asked.
“No,” she said. “Let’s turn back and then we’ll run all the way to your house. That should be about six miles.”
I trusted that Marti knew what she was talking about since she had already ran a full marathon last year in New York City.
At about the fourth mile, she handed me liquid energy called “Gu.” I sucked it out and swallowed it. It tasted like black cherry but had a thick consistency. Although it upset my stomach, I got a very quick boost of energy, which helped carry me all the way home.
I don’t know if it was the sneakers, the weather, or the “Gu,” but the funny thing was, that day, I felt like I could have kept running forever.
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 Lately, I have been going to a lot of business luncheons at various hotels and catering halls in both New York City and Long Island. You know what they have in common? CHICKEN!
Every luncheon serves chicken as the main dish. Granted, the chicken is prepared in many different ways, but it’s still chicken!
The other day, I went to an event at the Garden City Hotel. The event was great but the chicken wasn’t. It was a crusted chicken (crusted with what, I don’t know) with some gravy. It needed the gravy because it was extremely dry. The vegetables and potatoes weren’t much better. I was surprised at how dry the potatoes were!
I also went to an event at the New Yorker Hotel and guess what we had for lunch? You guessed it. It was a grilled chicken served over a bed of lettuce. The chicken had a funky taste. I’m not sure what it was seasoned with but it wasn’t good at all. The lettuce was so dry, there was barely any dressing on it.
“What do you think of the meal?” A PR guy who sat next to me said.
I turned up my nose and said, “the bread is good.” He laughed and pushed his meal over to the side.
He picked up the dessert that was sitting on the table. It was chocolate mouse with a strawberry on the side. It looked yummy. He took a taste.
“Oh my God,” he said. “Don’t try that! It’s awful!”
He then proceeded to spit it out in his napkin. I was so glad he said something because I was eager to take a bite.
And finally, I went to the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury for a woman’s luncheon. And guess what we had? Yup. The chicken wasn’t horrible. It was edible. I was very surprised. And after the lunch was over, there was a plate filled with chocolate covered strawberries. (Yum, my favorite!)
Well at least one out of the three lunches was okay. But I guess you don’t really go to these things for the lunches. Or do you?
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It may be a cliché, but the circus really is for “children of all ages,” especially the Big Apple Circus’ Dance On!, showing now through January 9, 2011 at Lincoln Center in Manhattan.
The Big Apple Circus has only one ring, but within that ring there is a lot of action. Behind and above the ring is a full band and above that, a small house with a spiral slide that comes down to the ring. The set takes you back to when you were a child, especially all the bright colors.
The show starts with the introduction of a dancing clown, Mark Gindick, who keeps appearing throughout. He reminded me of “Steve” on Blue’s Clues, the children’s television show. His red and white-striped shirt, big, thick black glasses, and yellow sneakers fit right in with the cartoonish look.
Following that, the audience sees an eclectic mix of acts ranging from the Hebei Wuqiao Acrobatic Troupe from China performing on monocycles to X Bud Roses Troupe from Mongolia contorting their bodies in ways that you would never think the body could move. As a matter of fact, if I put my body in the position that these women put their bodies, I would never be able to move again.
When Regina Dobrovitskaya of Russia does her cloud swinging performance, everyone in the audience is on edge. Although she had a security strap on her, she was doing some outrageous stunts that made me grip the side of the chair. She was so high up that we had to rub our necks when she came down.
The best part for me was when Intermission was over and the animals came out. First goats, then dogs, then ponies. It was hysterically funny when the goats rode the horses, trying to balance themselves as the pony ran along the ring.
In between each act, “Grandma,” played by Barry Lubin, would come out and make the audience laugh, especially when she uses a treadmill and keeps flying off.
 The whole atmosphere was so playful. I was sitting next to an older man who was there by himself. He was laughing so hard at times I thought he might have a heart attack. There were plenty of little children there too. Most people go to the circus to take their children but this one is really for everyone. It’s fun, it’s breathtaking, and it’s action-packed. What more can someone ask for in a circus?
Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased online at bigapplecircus.com.
Read more: http://blogcritics.org/culture/article/circus-review-the-big-apple-circus/#ixzz13VGaLFWR
I have a material connection because I received a sample of a product for consideration in preparing to write this content.
I am not expected to return this item after my review period.
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I met a contact at a networking event I went to a year ago. I thought there could be some synergies between us so I called him and asked if he wanted to go for coffee. I never heard from him.
About two or three weeks ago, I got an email from him asking me if I could meet with him. He was interested in social media and wanted to hear more about what we do for our clients.
I get to his office and sit in the conference room. A few minutes into our conversation, his cell phone rings. “Let me pick this one up,” he says, “it’s important.”
A few moments went by and he came back into the conference room. He pulled down a huge box that included press kits, books and cd’s. “So tell me what you do,” he said. I gave him the brief overview.
The phone rang again. “Let me take this one,” he said. And again he left me alone in the conference room with all his books, press kits and cd’s. He came back a few minutes later.
“Do you hear that?” he said. I didn’t hear anything. “That,” he said. I started to listen closer. I heard a very slight tapping. “That’s a beggar downstairs banging on a drum. I can’t concentrate when he’s down there. Wait one moment while I call the police.”
As he called the police and told the officer about the situation, I sat and wondered whether or not I should pick myself up and leave.
“Now where were we?” he said. “Oh yes, let me tell you about XYZ.”
He then proceeded to discuss his client roster with me. After the second case study, I said, “how do you see us fitting together?”
“Wait a moment,” he said. He continued to talk about his client strategies. Just when I thought we were done, he calls in a staff person to talk with me about social media.
After I gave the guy a brief overview, he started asking me technical questions. Now I knew he was looking for a free consultation. He really didn’t know the premise behind social media and we started getting into a heated discussion.
 Next thing I knew, we’re disagreeing about the methodology. I was ready to leave. As he left the room, I picked myself up and put my coat on. “Very nice meeting you,” I said and walked out. That was two hours later.
At what point would you have left?
P.S. He called me about 15 minutes after I left his office to tell me that the police took away the drummer…
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