Our Roaring Twenties

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

from The Missouri Institute of Natural Science

This is Beautiful

LEFT Brain

“I am the left brain. I am a scientist. A mathematician. I love the familiar. I categorize. I am accurate. Linear. Analytical. Strategic. I am practical. Always in control. A master of words and language. Realistic. I calculate equations and play with numbers. I am order. I am logic. I know exactly who I am.”

RIGHT Brain
“I am the right brain. I am creativity. A free spirit. I am passion. Yearning. Sensuality. I am the sound of roaring laughter. I am taste. The feeling of sand beneath bare feat. I am movement. Vivid colors. I am the urge to paint on an empty canvas. I am boundless imagination. Art. Poetry. I sense. I feel. I am everything I wanted to be.”

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Hiking Koko Head

Since we arrived, friends of our have told us to go hike Koko Head mountain on the southern tip of Oahu. If you look at the map below, you can see Diamond Head State Monument (I hiked that with Kage when Nick was in Korea). Just east of Diamond Head (8 miles approx) is Hanauma Bay. Koko Head is right next to Hanauma Bay.

Koko Head is a hard hike. It follows the path of train tracks from the base of the mountain all the way to the top. In this photo, you can actually see the Koko Head path just left of center.

Well, needless to say, this hike kicked my ass. Never mind that heights absolutely terrify me, but the train tracks that we have to climb up (and the scary bridge we have to cross) certainly gave us a great workout.

The steepness of the climb is pretty intense, but I would do certainly do it again. The view at the very tip of the mountain made the challenge and the sweat and the fatigue of the hike worth it.

Get your hiking boots ready, Pacs and Reisweber clan! We're doing this when you guys arrive!
Oh, and Muff, Nick says he wants to work out on this hike.... you know, run up and down it, maybe carrying cinderblocks. Get ready.

Tipping My Hand

I have every intention of pursuing a sign-maker to make me this sign for my military friends.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Double Dose Tuesdays

We can all agree that the week looks ominous when we toe-up to the line on Sunday nights. Five full days of the slog. For me, I am exerting self-propelled stamina until about Wednesday evenings; then, I can ride the momentum of the week until Friday mornings when, even though I still have to make it through Friday, I am invigorated by the infectious energy that is the weekend:

Lazy mornings with my wonderful husband and our puppy girl Rosalie. Beaches and late nights and whatever else we select from our Mary Poppins bag of Hawaiian jaunts.

Ah, you see, but it is merely Tuesday. The middle of the beginning. The dead center of the part of the week that forces me to apply copious amounts of will-power to make it toward Wednesday evening. So, in the last few weeks, I've discovered a new Tuesday evening schedule that acts like an accelerator. It provide enough force to plunge me into the ride of the momentum toward Friday.

On Tuesday, I venture into town to the Kapolei Yoga and Dance Studio where I take two classes: R.I.P.P.E.D. from 5-6 p.m. and Zumba from 6-7 p.m. Both taught by the same girl, R.I.P.P.E.D. and Zumba are two of the most galvanizing classes I've ever taken in my entire life. R.I.P.P.E.D. is focused on strength training, plyometrics, power, and intervals training. The instructor changes the routine (and music!) every two or three classes, which implements muscle confusion and therefore better results. And then there's Zumba. Now, I've taken a few Zumba classes back in Cortland. In all honest, I wasn't impressed with Zumba in Cortland. The dispirited instructor never changed her routine, nor did she teach any routines that wavered beyond dull. At KY&DS, however, the instructor (same girl who teaches the R.I.P.P.E.D class) seems to be straight of the infomercials for Zumba. She is vivacious and the most toned, fit girl I've ever met. She has about 30 songs in her Zumba library, and she adds more every few weeks. The routines are challenging but the cardio workout is unprecedented compared to any fitness classes I've taken before.

Plus, let's be honest, the studio is in a warehouse. The salsa, merengue, and other Latin and international music pumping through the base and speakers that surround the floor-to-ceiling open garage door, all juxtaposed to the flawless dance studio wood floor makes the entire experience feel super bad ass.
And nobody seems to know why, but on the ceiling of the warehouse studio, CORNELL is written in Cornell red block lettering. A part of CNY is here in Hawaii!