Have Your Worm and Eat It Too

It's been said, many times, that the early bird catches the worm. That's why, at 5:30am this morning, I found myself in the shower - one hour before I normally do - in an attempt to get to work early. By getting to work at 7am instead of 7:30am, you see, I can take a longer lunch and get in some cardio time at the gym.

I wanna catch that worm.

Since I've been injured and am currently at a very uncomfortable weight for myself, that worm is all I think about, actually. 

I also had to redeem myself, seeing as though the last time I went to the gym, I forgot half of my outfit and had to turn around and leave. It's not embarrasing to me, in any way, to walk in the gym and walk back out. What's embarrasing is being so far from where I want to be physically. It's definitely time to make a change and if doing a lunch workout five days a week allows that to happen, I'm all for it.

So at 11am, I left work and took off for the gym - walked in, swiped my card, got changed (I'm already a winner!) and strapped on my iPod. I weaved my headphones up the back of my shirt, like a normally do, wedged the earbuds in my ear and hit play.

Nothing.

OK, so it must be stuck on pause. Nope. OK, the pin must not be in all of the way. Nope. OK, the volume setting must have reset itself when I charged the ipod last time. Nope.

[Sigh] It's broken. Something is broken. Broken?!?! Whether it was the iPod itself or the headphones, I wasn't sure. All I knew was I had nada.

At this point, I was already out on the floor with my foot on one pedal of the elliptical. The elliptical was claimed. My iPhone was in the car. Besides, I don't even have an armband for the iPhone...  I felt myself start to panick, which is weird because, when I was in college, I NEVER listened to music when I trained. I used that time on the treadmill to think. Now I don't want to hear myself think. I want to hear music. I want to hear Pittbull, aka Mr. Worldwide, aka Mr. 305 tell me about how wonderful he is. And he is wonderful! Well, at least he's better than the intermitent buzz of the treadmill in front of me, I'll say that...

The funny this is, whether I was listening to music or not, nothing could save me from the scene going down at the spinning bike beside me. Now, let me just add this disclaimer, I know I'm wrong for saying this, but I'm going to say it anyway. It NEVER FAILS, time and time again, no matter what gym you go to, there will always be old people that warm up like they're prepping for an olympic event then do the strangest compound movements imaginable once their movements are fluid.

For instance, the guy next to me, on the spinning bike spent at least 10 minutes beforehand jumping, shadowboxing, high-kicking - and just in general - bending over bouncing with his butt up in the air while adjusting the sweat band on his head as it fought moisture and gravity. Now, most people would think this was funny. I myself would've been able to ignore it if my music was on and I was focused on getting my cardio on. Instead I was emersed into it all - this crazy world of geriatric plyometrics. It was painful... Oh so painful.

But then, something crazy happened. The old guy flung his leg over the bike, got situated on the seat and started pedaling faster than I'd ever seen an old guy pedal. Then, out of nowhere, he started lifting his arms from the side of his body up high then back down again. Then he'd pedal and lift and lower and pedal and, in that moment, it hit me what he looked like: a bird trying to fly. A big, old, crazy bird that was focused on nothing else but flying. No, he didn't need headphones or an iPod or even his sanity. He just needed the focus. And before I knew it, it hit me...

He was after MY worm. (LOL.)

Follow me on this:

If you talk to really successful people in this world, they're all going to have stories about initiating a plan and then something happens and there's a set back. Maybe a deal didn't get signed because the contract wasn't drawn quickly enough or a critical meeting was canceled or rescheduled because someone missed a flight. To them, it didn't matter. They still woke up early. They still got to the office before anyone else. They still kept doing what they had been doing because their eye was locked tight on the prize. No matter how they did it or how they looked,  they still got the worm because they focused on the worm. And for this guy next to me, on the verge of either soaring high up into the florescent lights or having a massive heart attack, he was going to get his worm.

Sometimes we have to just do what we have to do whether it's comfortable or not. Sure, I don't like working out without music any more than Pittbull likes monogamy, but sometimes you have to do it (yes, working out without music AND monogamy). And after I watched that old man "fly" with all of his might for an additional 10 minutes, I realized my 20 minute session was over and I could move on with my life.

So I got dressed, pulled out of the parking lot and decided to stop for a new set of earbuds, which I determined was the culprit because they wouldn't work on my iPhone either. Once I plugged the new set in and heard sweet little Pitbull's voice talk about women and how he wanted to disrespect them, I felt relieved. Sure, watching an old man mimick a goose may seem like a good time, but it's only amusing in small doses. Hearing a good beat and disappearing from the world for a half hour is exactly what it takes for me to get the focus I need on a consistent basis.

Whether I keep getting up early or getting to work early or taking lunch early, time will tell. But I WILL catch that worm one day. I know that. I'm not saying this because I'm focused on one-upping others or because I'm cut-throat or because I have tricks up my sleeve. I say this because I want it that bad. I'm out there trying... and at the end of the day, if you can look at yourself in the mirror and say that's what you did then nothing else matters. You'll not only learn to fly one day, but you'll be a successful leader of the flock as well. Find your focus, spread your wings and one day, you'll take off.

If others follow... Well, that's just icing on the worm.

Out With the Old, In With the Brew

My Chefmate that won't work and it's replacement: the new Sunbeam.

"Awk-werd." (LOL)

It's Friday and I'm getting super excited about the loooong holiday weekend, especially now that I have a NEW working coffee pot!

Now, I wasn't able to get the coffee maker I really wanted. That one was the middle-of-the-road Mr. Coffee, going for $30 at Target. They had 3 of the white versions, but I wanted the black model. (I'm sorry, black just looks more "grown up" to me. If I really didn't care about looking sophisticated, I would've gone a step below the white and purchased the pink model of another brand. That's just the honest truth.) I even checked other stores and they were non-existent, so the $20 Sunbeam it is!

True, I didn't care before about getting a maker with a timer, BUT... now that I've tried it, I can't go back.

I got home late last night because I had dinner with my Mom and Aunt in another area of town (my aunt actually sparked a funny idea in me for a future blog post, by the way), so I didn't want to spend too much time fiddling with the coffee stuff, but I did the minimum: washed the new carafe, ran a quick test cycle and got everything loaded inside. Then I followed the instructions to setting the clock, as well as the brew timer.

I have to tell you, at this point, after all the frustration I experienced yesterday with just the other maker not working, my expectations were low. I kept telling myself, "Self... you could wake up with coffee. But, don't be disapointed if you don't. This model could break your heart, too. You have to protect yourself... Self."

The other thing I have to share - and I apologize in advance to my roommate, but this was hysterical - is the conversation I had with her when I walked through the door last night:

Me: I got a new coffee maker!

Roommate: Yeah, I read your blog today. What happened this morning?

Me: [I recapped part of what was said in yesterday's post...]

Roommate: [And this is the HYSTERICAL part] Was the other one really disposable???

Me: [Chuckling in a State of Confusion]

Roommate: [Laughing in Response to My Confusion]

Me: [Laughing at Her Laughing AND Because I Finally Got the Reference] No, that was a joke! Like, how contact lens' and certain things come in a "disposable" version??

Roommate: [Laughing] Oh, OK, because I read that and was like, I didn't know they had disposable coffee makers...

Me: [Laughing Hysterically]

Roommate: [Laughing Hysterically]

LOL. Oh, God love her. She's the best roommate EVER, so I only share this story in fun. Sometimes, even for those who know me well in person, my sarcasm doesn't always translate well on paper. I appreciate her being a good sport, especially since she doesn't know I'm sharing that story...

Note to Roommate: I'll find a way to make it up to you since I made the executive decision to embarrass you on my blog. :)

So, to finish the coffee maker story, I woke up this morning and actually heard and saw the Sunbeam brewing coffee! It was almost like the Sunbeam was like, "I'm sorry the Chefmate was a total jerk. Not only will I make it up to you by brewing coffee, I'll just go ahead and do it without you asking."

Wow, I thought to myself, what a SWEET coffee maker you are, Sunbeam!

Maybe now I'll actually consider "kissing" my appliances goodnight...

That's Brewed Up

My "Lazy" Coffee Maker, the White Model

OK, so I hit a rough patch this morning. Wait, let me re-phrase that, someone almost got hurt because my coffee maker - that I just purchased last week! - died on me just minutes before work.

Last night, before bed, I went through my routine: I carefully washed and dried the carafe, added a few cups of water, wiped down the condensation, loaded a new filter, scooped in a few teaspoons of Folgers and kissed it goodnight. (Fine, I didn't kiss it, but I would now if it would just start working again.)

This morning, I woke up around 6:30 a.m. (a little late since I needed to wash my hair), pushed the button to "ON," and jumped in the shower. Around 7 a.m., about 10 minutes before I had to walk out the door, I realized: No coffee. So I walked over to it, opened the lid, made sure everything was lined up.

Nothing.

Then I unplugged it, plugged it back in and tried again. Yes, the light was on, just as before, but no action. I proceeded to: reset the wall socket, poor in more water, flip the switch back to off then on again, walk away for a couple of minutes, "wiggle" the cord, lightly tap the top of the unit, sternly shake the unit, call the unit a "Piece of crap!" and strike the side of it.

No coffee. No coffee!

So at lunch, I took a minute to pull up the product at Target.com and realized that, out of 48 reviews on this thing, only a few people actually recommended it. The majority of people rated it "1" star and said it quit on them after 2 months, 2 weeks - and for a few - 2 hours.

Hmmm.

I wish I would've done my research before I purchased a coffee maker for $9.24. I just assumed it was that price because it doesn't have any features, i.e. clock, timer, etc. I didn't realize it was a disposable coffee pot - that you throw it away after a week and open a new package, much like contact lens'. LOL. (Note: You probably shouldn't wear contact lens' for a whole week. If you do wear contact lens' for a whole week and you lose an eyeball, you can't sue me. You've been warned.)

Sometimes we just have to learn the hard way, don't we? Even though we sometimes see the chalk on the blackboard the whole time. I should have known that NO appliance, big or small, should ever cost under $10. I mean, wouldn't the cord itself cost the manufacturer $10 alone?

Regardless, once I realized I wasn't getting coffee at home this morning, I put my "big girl pants" on, hopped in the car (with a water) and took off for work. It wasn't until I paid the girl at the coffee station at work a half an hour later and she said, "Hey, didn't you just get your own coffee maker?" that I thought to myself, I did, and it's just sitting there on my kitchen cabinet, currently acting as a coffee and water ORGANIZER and nothing more.

Yeah, that's brewed up.