All photos by Ashley Avilez / PlanBreathe

A few weeks ago, Stacey and Meghan and I decided to check out a new yoga studio. Called PlanBreathe and located in Plaza Midwood, it’s a tiny brick building tucked among homes, and you might miss it if you don’t know where to look.

If you find your way there, however, you’ll be glad you did. When I first saw photos of the place online, I wondered if they were stock images because they almost looked too good to be true. Luckily, the photos are all real – including and especially the fireplace in the yoga room.

The 3 of us have attended two Friday classes and love it. The instructor, Christina, says she reads our vibes when we walk in to determine what type of class she thinks we need. I always leave feeling exactly as if I got what I needed.

So, when PlanBreathe announced they were having their official grand opening, complete with a whole entire day of yoga and massage, I was all over that. I told Meghan and Stacey and they were all over it, too. The three of us signed up immediately. It did not take a lot of arm-twisting to get Andrea, Ana, Susan and Kris to sign up as well.

Wanting to be fresh for our day of yoga, we took Friday as a rest day (I have to admit, I was really missing Christina’s class), and instead attended Thursday night’s fireside yoga class. It was my first yoga experience in front of a fireplace (unless you count the time a few months ago that I was showing my dad and my brother some yoga moves at Mia’s house in front of the fire. Kevin was doing them with me and was commenting on how hot it was. Of course, I took the opportunity to brag about Arrichion’s 102 degree temperatures.)

And wow, what an experience. Everyone should try fireside yoga at some point. Is fireside yoga even a thing? I wonder if they just happened to rent a place with a fireplace, so they thought it a good idea, or if they sought out a fireplace as a requirement because of fireside yoga. Either way, it works. The instructor and co-owner, Alicia, was amazing.

So, Saturday morning, Meghan and Stacey and Andrea and Ana and I gathered for our day of bliss. And I have to say I fell in love with the first class and the super-cute and very pregnant yoga instructor, Amani. What’s so amazing about these women is not only are they dainty and slim and graceful, but they are strong. I can feel it when they are moving me into the form that I should actually be doing, not just the one I think I should be doing. And trust me, that happens a lot – I am really no good at yoga. Why I should keep taking it, right?

Amani guides Ana through a pose.

I won’t go through every single class in detail, because I’m assuming if you weren’t there it might not be as exciting to read about. But this first class, hot yoga detox, was amazing. It was challenging and hot (not as hot as Arrichion’s hot, and I might like it a little hotter, but the fireplace heat was wonderful.)

Amani helps me do the pose correctly. From left is Meghan, me, Stacey and Andrea.

Sweating it out in downward facing dog.

Some of our group headed for the chair massages and then left to do other things after class, and the rest of us went to the second session - deep stretch, taught by Ashley, which was the perfect complement to hot yoga detox. After the second class, everyone else left except for Meghan and me. The two of us decided to take a quick break from yoga to do a chair massage, knowing they’d said we could sneak in late to the classes if we wanted. Unfortunately, the third class filled up so we lost our spots – no big deal. So, Meghan and I decided to take a break and get some lunch, come back for the 2 p.m. class.

I’m so glad we thought to ask Alicia for a food recommendation in walking distance. She told us Krazy Fish was about a block up Central, so we headed there to check it out. Amazing food. I had a lemongrass tofu roti and some chamomile tea. We headed back for the next class, which was originally to be tai chi, but because of some scheduling issues, ended up being Aikido. The instructor, Jason, was really awesome and patient with all of us, who were barely aware that Aikido was a thing. I knew the most about it, probably, because Jeff practiced it for several years, but my knowledge basically consists of him saying “pull my wrist” and then showing me how he could take me down, and/or demonstrating how to fall gracefully. Aikido seems to be one of those things that takes a long time to really get down, so we practiced a few basics and I was reminded of how ungraceful I really am. It was fun, however, running up to Meghan saying “Give me my purse, bitch” and grabbing each other’s wrists.

Susan and Kris came to the last class, fireside flow, taught by Alicia. It was the perfect class to introduce them to the studio, in my mind. The interesting part about this class was not only the live gong music, which was amazing, but also the live didgeridoo playing. I really enjoyed it.

They finished the day with a raffle, in which our group won a couple of cool things -  Kris won a “yoga therapy set” and eye mask and Stacey won 5 free yoga classes. Score.

I made it home, barely stayed awake through dinner, fell asleep sometime around 8 p.m. and woke up feeling super refreshed at 3 a.m. I went with it.

Bottom line: I won’t forget this day for a loooong time. It was so amazing on so many levels. Learning about new things, such as Aikido and didgeridoo, being surrounded by great friends and family (the super-flexible “I haven’t done yoga in a year in a half but you wouldn’t know it” Andrea is my cousin), getting to spend time with Ana, who I met for the first time yesterday and I haven’t mentioned is Creative Loafing’s new news editor (she starts a week after I do), so I have a feeling she and I are going to be great friends. And of course, having the comfort of “older” friends Stacey and Meghan and Susan, who I trust to laugh with me when I fall out of a pose and keep yoga as fun and unserious as it should be … great food, great company, and 7+ hours at a yoga studio.

Bliss to the max.

I had a little bit of an idea about what I wanted it to be in my head, and I’ve been kind of toying around with it, but I think I’m ready to make 2012 the official “yes” year.

I don’t want to steal a cheesy plot from a movie, but I can’t help but think of the movie “Yes Man” in which the guy, who constantly says no to everything, decides to say yes to anything anyone asks him and see what happens.

Now, if you know me even a little bit, you probably know that I’m not a “no” person. I say yes to crazy things probably more than most people, already. But I want to branch out even more.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to be silly enough to do things like give a hitchhiker a ride to the middle of the woods (which happens in the movie).

The things that will be the official exception to this plan will be: a) anything I can’t afford and b) anything that puts my life in danger. I think that’s fair, right?

—

I’ll have to credit Stacey and my venture into hot yoga for planting this idea in my head. Two months ago, when she invited me to take yoga with her, my initial reaction was to say “No thank you. I’m not good at yoga.” But then I thought about how my doctor said I needed to stretch more, that as a runner I’d killed my flexibility. So I told her I’d do it. Turns out, I love yoga. I’m not good at it yet, by any means, but I will be. In fact, I used the last class of my living social deal at Arrichion last night. Not to fear, though – I bought 10 more classes the other day. I cannot stay away from that place!

I had this “yes” thought in my head when I got the idea to dye my hair pink. By far, the craziest thing I’ve ever done to my hair. And I absolutely loved my hair the way it was. Tommy is an artist and a genius. But that was the problem – I’d changed it up a little over the past three years, but I was always going back to my “favorite” hair color and length. I didn’t want to get stuck in a rut – so I just went for it. Turns out, I love it! I’ve decided I’ll keep it through 2012 – I’ll use it as a reminder that branching out is not a bad thing.

I also had the thought in my head when I signed up for boot camp classes at Gunn’s Fitness. Less so about the workout (yes, it would be different, but would it be that different from things I’ve done in the past?) but more so about the commitment to be somewhere at 6 a.m.

I’ve also credited my new outlook to some work projects recently – saying yes when I think I don’t have time to take on something new. So far, they’ve all led to super postive things. And it’s served as a great reminder that the busier I am, the more productive, creative and happy I am.

—

And I most certainly had the “just say yes” thought in my head when Susan and I made plans to go indoor climbing the other day. She’s been doing it for a while, and she’s invited me along several times, and I kept saying, “Sure, I’ll try it with you at some point.”

Well, she posted a Facebook status last week that was just super inspiring – about what climbing meant to her and how she felt she’d grown so much in doing it. I knew it was time. I responded and told her we should figure out a time. We decided on Tuesday evening.

Funny thing about Tuesday evening is there is also a boot camp class, which I’d just started on Monday. And the climbing place happens to be only a 5 minute drive from the boot camp place. I knew it was a risky move, and both Jeff and Stacey advised against me doing both in the same evening, but I just couldn’t help it. The geography was just too convenient. So, boot camp at 6 (this only my second boot camp class, so I still wasn’t sure what to expect), and climbing place at 7:15 (including time to change from sweaty clothes to not-yet sweaty clothes, to drive over there, miss the turn, and circle back.)

Boot camp class: What I expected, but still a pretty tough workout. By my count, we did at least 105 pushups. Tricep pushups, pushups then leading to side plank, and pushups with weights that you had to lift into the air after each one. In addition to all the other stuff we did (pushups took a very small portion.)

Climbing wall: Did you know how much arm strength is required to climb a wall? Well, I was about to find out.

—

I walked in and was instantly amazed at the facility. Inner Peaks is huge. There are tons of walls. Tons of “boulders”. Caves and arches and all kinds of things. All with little (sometimes really little) things to hold onto or step on. It’s the largest indoor climbing gym in the Charlotte area, per their web site.

I got to watch a video about what to expect (it was really helpful, actually, as I truly had no idea what I was getting into.) I got a demonstration from the instructor about how to use the equipment. During this demonstration, I was to be Susan’s safety net – meaning, the person that controls her rope in case she falls. Uhm, what? At least the instructor, and Susan’s climbing partner and friend Justin, were at my side to make sure I was doing it right. I like Susan, really don’t want to drop her!

Then it was my turn to climb. Susan controlled my rope this time. There’s a term for this: Belayer. I started up and it was surprisingly easy to get my feet to feel steady on these small rocks. Some of the rocks had grips I could hold onto which also helped. I got about 2/3 up the wall and realized I was really high. Truthfully, I was a little nervous about the process entailed in coming down. Susan and Justin guided me through it, though, and it wasn’t only easy, but kind of fun.

We went to another wall and I watched Justin climb it using no hands. Meaning, he would put his hands flat against the wall but not grab any rocks with them. So he used only his leg strength to get up. Then it was my turn to try again. They told me to use hands, of course (didn’t have to tell me twice!). And I was climbing.

I honestly didn’t expect to make it all the way to the top. I was going to get as far as I felt comfortable getting and then I’d call it a day. The scary part really starts to come when there are rocks that seem too small to trust. I’m not putting my foot on that tiny thing! A few times, I stopped what I was doing and just looked around on the wall. At one point, I looked down at Susan (wow, she was really far away) and said, “I’m scared.” She was awesome. Gave me suggestions as to where to put my feet. Told me to trust in my leg strength – that I’m a runner, my legs can handle this. And you know what? I made it all the way to the top! Was able to tap the bar (signaling a finish line, almost) and then was led down.

I climbed to the top of the next wall, too! Two finishes.

The fourth wall I tried was tougher. There was a boulder jutting out, meaning I’d really have to rely on arm strength. I got my arms past the boulder but when it came time to trust them to hoist my legs up, my arms just started burning from the workouts I’d done. Curses, 105 pushups! So I came down. Same with the fifth wall – got most of the way up and felt the arms burning. I didn’t want to push it too hard or fall, so I listened to my body.

I also got to witness some pretty incredible techniques – Susan and Justin say they’re not experts, but I couldn’t tell by looking at them. They are able to just scramble up those walls like it’s nothing. They know different knots to tie and different bevel techniques and they’re attempting to pass different “levels” of courses on the walls. It’s all pretty amazing, actually.

We finished the evening by playing around on a boulder, low to the ground, that contained an archway where we could hang upside down. Someone who works there was vaccuuming and stopped what he was doing to show us some “fun” things to do on the arch. Swinging from the arch, I felt like I was a kid on the playground! Was so much fun. Of course, everything was fatigued by this point and my arms and legs were screaming at me.

—

I never would have tried this had I not just emptied my mind about any preconceived notions and just gone for it. I’m clumsy. I suck at balance. I’m not scared of heights, per say, but I wouldn’t say I love them, either. But I did it. And it wasn’t really that scary. In fact, it was a blast. I will definitely go back.

So, who wants to make 2012 the year of saying yes to new adventures with me? Here’s what I want to know: What’s the one thing (or 10 things) you’ve always been curious about trying but never have because you thought it wasn’t for you? And when are you going to get out there and give it a shot?

While you’re pondering that, I’m off to get my next fix of pink hair dye.

In fact, plenty of good happens after midnight:

- The best parties don’t even start until then.

- The likelihood you’ll get dinner and a show at an all-night diner certainly increases (I’m thinking of a specific instance that involved Waffle House and someone pulling a knife on someone.)

- Wal-Mart has fewer people (sure, more boxes in the aisles to skirt around, but who’s counting?)

- If you’re out at a club, you’ll probably be better at dancing after midnight than before …

Oh wait, maybe she was onto something.

—

I used to be out after midnight every night. It was my job, in fact – we didn’t even go to press at the daily newspaper until midnight. Then we had to wait for the pages to come off the press, inspect them for errors and make sure no breaking news was happening, and then do any planning needed for the next day, where we got to start the process all over again.

It was exciting. It was stressful. It was fun. It was challenging. It was creative. And I absolutely loved it. After midnight or not.

Not everyone at the paper worked the night shift, of course. The page designers/editors did (which was me), usually there was one or two reporters around (a cops beat reporter and maybe whoever was covering a school board or council meeting.) On breaking news nights, such as election night or the night we went to war against Iraq or if a local homicide got folks out of bed, it would be bustling in that newsroom. Those who didn’t have much to do but who wanted to be around in case we needed them would hover around CNN and yell out updates (and we, in turn, would watch the wire and yell out updates back.)

Working after midnight was certainly not all bad. One of my favorite reporters that I’ve ever  worked with, Susan, used to trade candy for error-catching. She wanted us to find mistakes so badly in her copy (and correct them before we went to press), that she kept a drawer full of chocolates that she would toss toward the design desk every time we told her we found something.

Then there was the time we (most of the night crew) decided we wanted to get in shape. So after we finished working, we’d all head back to the makeshift gym on the newspaper’s property and “work out.” I say “work out” because what I mostly remember doing is sitting on a weight bench and talking with Susan, Jason, Heather and Clarence (ok, Clarence actually was working out.) I did run my first mile in that dirty old building, though. One of the proudest moments of my exercise career.

After midnight, you felt like you had the world to yourself. The streets were desolate. The grocery store was quiet.

Of course, on Friday and Saturday nights, suddenly there were cars everywhere. And I never understood why people had the incessant need to tailgate me all the way home every weekend night, until Amy’s husband (the state trooper) explained to me one day that they were drunks, “following the lights home.” That’s kind of scary … And then there was the time the grocery store was robbed at gunpoint about an hour after I’d left. And there was the time Colleen got robbed at gunpoint at her night time job while I was leaving Wal-Mart. I vowed never to go out again alone late at night unless it was an emergency. Well-lit parking lot or not.

The great thing about the newsroom, though, is there was usually someone else who needed to go run late-night errands. And someone else to share the excitement of a breaking news story. Someone to look over my shoulder and shout out headline ideas while I put together the layout for the story that’s going to sell out the newsstands the next day. And someone else to “work out” with at 3 a.m.

Mom, you were wrong. And right. But mostly wrong.

Then I became old enough to understand that it was a bunch of baloney. How is it that everyone who was born within a certain month would have similar fates for the day? Or even similar character traits?

But then one day, I must have been a freshman or sophomore in high school, my friend Susan brought over a book called “Love Signs” and we devoured it together. And oddly, as I read Linda Goodman’s description of Aries, I felt as if I was looking into a mirror. How could my date of birth explain so much about my character traits?

I still don’t know the answer to that. And what I know about astrology in general you could probably fit into a small box. I know enough to be confused: There are moon signs, rising signs. It’s not just about the day you were born but what time and where. For example, my sun sign is Aries, my moon sign is Sagittarius and my rising sign is Aries (yes, three fire signs, and yes, two Aries, which explains a lot.) 

If you want to learn about these, I’ll show you a quick place to do some research. Most of these astrology web sites are horribly designed and are full of pop-ups, but I did manage to come across some decent information.

Sun sign – Aries.

Of course, there’s a million and one things that can be said about sun signs. I’ll keep it brief.

Aries traits: Adventurous and energetic, Pioneering and courageous, Enthusiastic and confident, Dynamic and quick-witted

On the dark side …  Selfish and quick-tempered, Impulsive and impatient, Foolhardy and daredevil.

To read about your sun sign, click here. What does it say about you?

Moon sign – Sagittarius.

Adventurous, friendly, optimistic, full of ideas, always on the move. Likes outdoors and travel, hates anything boring and ordinary.

To read about your moon sign, click here. What does it say about you?

Rising sign – Aries.

“You express your vital energy in a very cut and dried way, you do not resist taking the driver’s seat and you may come across as arrogant. Charging ahead also implies hurting yourself and being suddenly overcome by doubt. As a result, your courage, your honesty, your enthusiasm and your straightforwardness may turn into aggressiveness, rebellion and vulnerability that no one ever suspected. Fortunately, the level of your energy is very high and your instinctive and pugnacious side will not leave you helpless for too long and will set you back on the often perilous road to conquest and glory.

With this Ascendant, you come across as courageous, enthusiastic, dynamic, quick, extroverted, direct, warm, impulsive, adventurous, bold, and competitive. But you may also be gullible, dominating, self-centered, impatient, foolish, thoughtless, childish, irascible, reckless, primary, with a foot in mouth disease.”

To find your rising sign, click here. What does it say about you?

—

To dumb it down, the more I read about Aries, the more I know there was a reason I was born early (I would not have made such a great Taurus.)

Lately I’ve been following @zodiac facts on Twitter. I love it because I can get astrology fun facts while reading through my Twitter feed. Of course I think about people I know when I’m reading about their signs. Last night I decided to share some of the Aries traits on Twitter and Facebook. I’ll give you a few here, for those who are also Aries or for those who want an insight into my head …

• “Stick to your word, because an Aries has no tolerance for broken promises.”
• “As an Aries, you prefer to get emotions out in the open rather than gloss over unpleasantness for the sake of harmony.”
• “An Aries is well liked for their edge, so making new friends is never a big problem for them.”
• “As an Aries, your impulsive nature alone is enough to get you into some financial trouble.”
• “Aries are very loyal, but need to feel they are number one. It is hard for them to take a backseat to anyone.”
• “Don’t play games with an Aries, they’re far too intelligent and they’ll probably lose their tempers real quick.”
• “An Aries serve as the catalysts and instigators, inspiring others into action.”
• “Remember that an Aries has to be No. 1 — whether it’s by winning a triathlon or receiving your loving attention.”

I could go on and on but I’ll stop before I bore any non-Aries (although it really is about Aries, is it not? Kidding, kidding. Not really.)

So, what about you? What’s your sign, and what traits do you identify with? If you don’t, look up your moon and rising signs and tell me if that describes you better.

That’s because the last time I was at the Diamond Restaurant, I didn’t even get to the part where a menu was handed to me. Instead, I decided to entertain the restaurant with my lovely fainting episode which landed me in the hospital for three days.

That was in March, and I’ve gotta admit – even though it had absolutely nothing to do with the restaurant itself, I was a little scared to return. Simply because I was worried that the feeling of being back there might dredge up some deja vu that would lead to another fainting incident. How embarassing would that be – to faint at the same restaurant twice? (For the record, I haven’t been back to PF Chang’s since fainting there either, but I don’t consider that a huge loss – I like PF Chang’s ok, but let’s face it, it’s just another chain restaurant when it comes down to it …) But the Diamond was different. If you know Charlotte, I don’t have to explain this to you. If you don’t know Charlotte, in a nutshell there was a super famous restaurant called the Penguin and everyone loved it but the owners wanted to change it so the cooks from the Penguin quit and bought the Diamond, a restaurant that hadn’t been open in decades. They renovated and reopened and now it’s the place to go. There are news articles all about it online if you google them …

But the bottom line is, it’s an awesome atmosphere and I heard the menu was awesome too. And I wanted to find out even though I was more than a little nervous about going back.

So finally, a month ago, I gave it a try. Even texted Susan to come meet us (she was there the original night, so why not?). Armed with my prescription medication in my system and a healthy attitude about it, I went back in. Jeff was with me and I’m certain he was being extra cautious as well.

So, here we were at the Diamond. A lovely place, don’t you think?

The first thing I noticed was the bench that I’d originally sat on when I was feeling faint. The second thing I noticed was just how super close the parking block was to where my face had probably landed. I asked Jeff to show me where exactly I was. And he did. Gulp.

The other thing I noted was that at the time, I’d thought there was a huge empty field to the left of the restaurant. Turns out it was a side street. Wow, the things no oxygen in your brain can do to your memory …

—

So, we made it inside and I beelined for the bar. Did not want to wait to be seated, not even for one minute. We sat at the corner of the bar, and I made sure I was aware of the location of the bathroom and the exit. So far so good.

The menu came, and I realized my major issue this time around was not going to be avoiding fainting, but was going to be how the heck to not order everything on the menu. Man, I’d missed out the first time around!

Ended up ordering a pimento cheese grilled sandwich with macaroni and cheese. And not only survived the meal but loved every bite of it. I gotta tell you, if it wasn’t so unhealthy, I’d be going there once a week!

On the way out, Jeff made me sit and pose for a photo:

And this time, I didn’t faint after I stood up.

PS. My sister got me super comfy socks and perfume and lotion, but I forgot it in Greenville when I was there over the weekend. Must go back soon!

Colleen got me a spa pedicure. Pampering, and with awesome company to go with it ...

Meghan gave me a tea sampler from Teavana. What a fun gift! I had tranquil dream last night and it was so good.

And for when I'm feeling better, Susan sent me this awesome necklace and lip gloss that sports 'guess where I'm tattooed' on the case!

Humor from my parents. Love it!

 Yes, I feel the warmth, indeed!

As things started to come into focus I realized it was Jeff who I’d asked if I fainted. And there was another guy next to me asking me questions that seemed very official. I wonder if he was an off-duty EMT or something. Somehow it seemed very comforting to explain to this bald man in a leather jacket that I’d eaten a turkey burger and carrots for lunch, that I had less than half a beer that evening, and that this sort of thing had happened to me before.  (It was slightly confusing, though, when the firefighters showed up and asked me the same questions!)

What was not comforting, however, was overhearing some jackass on the other side of the parking lot call out from afar: “Sounds like you had too much to drink, princess.” I can understand why someone might assume the passing out was due to being drunk. The restaurant did have a bar, after all. But it was hurtful, not because of the assumption, but because the guy clearly didn’t care how I was doing, he just wanted to use me as the punch line of some joke. And considering I was slowly realizing that I was in the worst pain I’ve ever had in my life … it wasn’t a funny joke, by any means.

And at this point, the shock was still shielding me from most of the pain. The firefighters showed up and put me in a neck brace in case I had spinal damage. I’d hit my head so they were concerned about head trauma. I could tell I had chipped a tooth, and my other teeth felt loose. I was terrified that my reoccuring nightmare about my teeth falling out was actually coming true.

After what seemed like an eternity, EMT appeared and got me out of there. I fully realized that I was in an embarassing situation, but to be honest, I was not embarrassed at all. There is something about fainting that feels very calm and relaxing when it’s over, and the crowd around me – the ones lingering and staring but not actually talking – was almost blurry in my mind.

Colleen got there just in time to see me being loaded up into the ambulance. She was so sweet, telling me how cute I looked in my outfit, although I could see she was doing her best to put on a brave expression. I could feel blood dripping down my face. I am sure that is not what she expected to find. Especially since just a few moments earlier (I’m guessing 20 minutes before) she’d texted me telling me she was late and I’d texted her back saying, “No worries!”

The ambulance driver’s name was Anil. That was reassuring to hear. Jeff rode up front with him (he was very disappointed that he wasn’t allowed to ride in the back.) I must have still been in shock because when I felt my phone ring in my pocket, I actually answered it. And it was Anil (my friend Anil, not ambulance driver Anil.) He could tell by my voice that something was wrong, and when I told him I’d fainted and fallen on my face and that I was in an ambulance, I’m pretty sure I freaked him out! He actually asked if he could call me back, and he said when he got off the phone he literally sat in silence for about 30 seconds, frozen as to what to do. His first instinct was to get on a plane, and that means so much to me that he almost did that (for the record, he bought a plane ticket to come the next weekend to help. And Jeff asked him to wait and come the following weekend instead since Jeff is out of town and he was hoping Anil could take care of me while he was gone. So I’ll get to see Anil in a couple of days!)

I won’t go into minute-by-minute details of the ER, but I’ll go over the basics. I asked to go to CMC, and they took me to CMC University since there is a dentist on staff there – just in case I needed one. There were no rooms available at first, and I was in a hallway in a bed. I couldn’t stop shivering. I kept staring at Jeff and all I could think was “I’m scared, I’m scared, I’m scared.” Susan was there but that’s mostly a blur. I know they were talking about how cool it would have been if I’d pose for a camera and flip the bird, and I told them all they had to do was ask and I would have done it! The part of me that is woozy over blood never wants to know what my face looked like, but the storyteller part of me so wishes they had gotten that photo.

So, they quickly started running tests on me. A CT scan and Xrays to make sure no head trauma or spinal damage (there was none.) They cleaned up my face, and put stitches in my upper lip. (That’s when I got the first picture of myself. Apparently it looked much worse before the picture, which I’ll put at the bottom of the page with a warning that it’s pretty gross, so if you’re squeamish don’t look.) Colleen came back into the room once I got one, and that’s mostly a blur too. Jeff had to take me to the bathroom – the nurse said it was either him or Jeff, but I was not allowed to go alone since I might faint again. Silly, I thought, I’m not going to faint again. But I was too scared and weak to protest.

Hours felt like minutes. Truly. I remember looking at the clock and knowing I’d been there two hours and I was shocked. I realized there are some benefits to being a patient – I was so out of it I wasn’t actually aware of time. I wasn’t allowed any pain medicines for hours, though – they wanted to see all my test results before they would give me any. That was pretty awful, I must admit. But everyone was so kind and helpful and nice – not the awful ER experience I was expecting based on movies and books and friends’ tales.

The ER doctor spoke with a cardiologist, and they wanted to do more tests to discover why I fainted. But they decided they could do these outpatient. So they discharged me at 4 a.m. Jeff wheeled me out, and I asked to stop by the bathroom on the way out. I looked in the mirror for the first time. That wasn’t the best idea.

He wheeled me down the hall and I suddenly felt very motion sick. I was going to faint, or I was going to puke. But I knew I needed to lie down – now. The nurses came over and got me into another ER bed. So my discharging was short-lived – 5 minutes, maybe? I was pale, they said, and cold sweats. And my blood pressure had seriously dipped.

So those outpatient tests were no longer to be outpatient.

And because they had no beds at University, I was to be transferred to CMC Mercy. So, at 7 a.m. Saturday, I got my second ambulance ride ever. To the second hospital I would ever stay in.

And, that’s it for today. Sorry to cut this post short, but I’m having trouble staying awake and writing … so, more tomorrow …

But first, here’s my face, after I smashed it up but also after they cleaned it up and put stitches in. If you have a weak stomach, don’t look. And the yellow stuff was some sort of numbing agent for the stitches, in case you’re curious. …

Officially, the worst photo of me in history.

The second-worst photo of me in history. This taken after my transfer to CMC Mercy.

It was a typical Friday night. At least, that’s what I thought as I tore apart my closet trying to decide what to wear. I’d been on a new eating plan for about a week and a half (more on that later, but I’ve never eaten so healthy in my life!) and I was hoping to fit into some of my clothes that had been a little, um, snug as of late.

Well, as healthy as I was eating, it wasn’t doing the trick as fast as I wanted it to. Most of the too-small clothes were still too small, although getting better. So I was feeling a little less than cute as I got dressed that evening.

But, I chose to wear brown pants, an orange tank top paired with a white tank top, and a brown and gold jacket. I still didn’t feel very pretty. I did my hair and makeup, and finally I felt much better. I even remember glancing at my face in the mirror and thinking, “ok, that’s not so bad.” I tell you all this because the conversation in my head that evening would seem much like foreshadowing if this were a movie.

So. The evening that lay before me was this: dinner at newly remodeled The Diamond restaurant (I’d already glanced at the menu and decided hush puppies and mac and cheese were definitely to be eaten. This would be my first “cheat meal” since starting the new meal plan). Following dinner would be the Robot Johnson show at Petras. Then finishing up the night at Jackalope Jacks to see Scott before his big move to Atlanta. Several of my friends were coming and I couldn’t wait!

So, first stop was The Diamond. Jeff almost bailed on coming out for the evening because he was feeling under the weather, so I almost headed out alone. At the last minute he decided he was up for it, though, so we left.

Susan mentioned there could be a wait for a table, so we got there early (about 7:30; everyone was meeting at 8.) The hostess said it would be about an hour before we could get a table. No big deal; Jeff and I grabbed a drink and waited for the others.

Susan and Steven showed up shortly after 8 pm. It was 8:06, in fact, when I told Steven our table would be ready at 8:30.

The small talk quickly turned to Steven’s job as a massage therapist, a topic my ears perked up to hear. I absolutely love massage and I have a few massage therapist clients, so I was really interested in what Steven had to say.

He gave a few small pointers about how to massage, and I was thrilled to hear them. How to hold my hand as I massage someone’s shoulders, stuff like that.

And then he said something that will probably sound very harmless to you. Something I can’t even recall the details of. But something to the effect of “Here’s how muscles work … Something about twisting and pulling and knots forming …” (that’s a terrible paraphrase; I apologize!)

But as harmless as what he said was, it triggered something in me. Suddenly the room felt really warm and I was seeing spots.

I have had this feeling before – many times, actually. It occurs sometimes when someone mentions something “gross” – blood, guts, etc. Normally I can talk myself through the bit of nausea/fainting I feel and pull through it. Normally. Sometimes I can’t pull through it. As a child I would throw up on occasion as this would happen. The past few years this has manifested into fainting on the rare occasion (3 times to be exact. Here’s the one that happened at the piercing parlor if you want some memories!)

I felt that unfortunately familiar fainting feeling. I took a sip of my beer (I was probably 1/3 of the way though it) and tried to change the subject in my mind.

But the restaurant still felt really warm (Susan confirmed for me later that it actually was really warm in there). And I suddenly was aware of how small of a restaurant it is and how many people were crammed into said restaurant. And claustrophobia began to take over.

I dropped my purse down to my forearm because my Kate Spade knockoff touching my side suddenly felt pressing and hot and too close. As I did so, Steven took my forearm to show me a massage technique. When he did this, he asked Jeff to hold my purse.

I handed over the bag, hoping the massage demonstration would take my mind off of the faint feeling – as I said, I absolutely love massage.

But it was evident to me right away that it wasn’t helping. Steven was talking, though, and I didn’t want to be rude (I haven’t mentioned this was my first time meeting him! I’d known him all of 10 minutes by this point). So I waited for a break in the conversation. And waited. And then it became clear there was none coming – Steven was really excited to tell us about massage techniques, and the conversation wasn’t letting up. I realized I was gonna have to do something or else I would end up fainted on the floor (not the first time that’s happened in a restaurant).

So I reluctantly pulled my arm back. I should mention by this point that my mind was not present by this point. My mind was swirling somewhere around the ceiling of the restaurant. My mind was trying to figure out a discreet way to tell Jeff what was going on. I’m told what I actually did was pull my arm back and say, “It’s really hot in here. Are you guys hot? I’m going to get some air,” and then I walked outside. What I thought I said was something more like “I feel faint; I need to get some air.” I guess the most crucial part did not come out.

I felt as if I ran toward the front door. I thought I heard Jeff behind me saying something like “No you don’t understand, I need to check on her” so I figured he got my fainting message and was right behind me.

I made it outside and the chilly air felt fantastic against the cold sweat I’d broken out in. I wasn’t going to faint after all; I just needed to get out of the hot restaurant.

But, I remember thinking, maybe I should sit outside for a moment. Even though I felt better I didn’t feel great. I saw a bench with two girls on it and I sat beside them. Everything was still swirling around me like crazy.

I wanted to hurry and feel better so I could go back inside and explain what happened so Steven didn’t feel offended. I couldn’t believe how rude I’d probably come off. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, thinking it would be a distraction from the faint feeling. Thought about sending a text or checking Twitter just to see if that could be a distraction. And then thought about how rudely I’d walked out and I realized if anyone came out to check on me and I was texting, I would look like the ultimate in rudeness. So I pocketed the phone and looked out into the empty lot next door.

Everything was still swirling and I realized that sitting was not going to be enough. I remember thinking I should put my beer down in case I fainted. I remember thinking maybe I should go to the empty lot beside the restaurant (away from the crowd outside) and lay down for a minute until I felt better.

I have no idea which one of these ideas I decided to implement.

The next thing I knew, I was dreaming. A wonderful dream. I don’t recall now what it was about but I remember fields of wildflowers and a rainbow (seriously). And then it was a little fuzzy but there was asphalt and people’s feet, and I was waking up from what felt like a wonderful 8 hours of sleep. It felt so nice. And in the distance I heard some people talking about a girl who had passed out on the pavement.

“That poor girl” I thought as I was being rolled over and it slowly started to sink in that I was laying on something that resembled pavement.

“Did I faint?” I asked an unknown figure and as I spoke, I tasted blood. I’d fainted before but I’d never tasted blood when I woke up so I had a feeling this was very, very bad.

Coming tomorrow: I ride in an ambulance for the first and second time. And I am, against my inner voice saying not to do this, going to post a photo of my smashed-up face. Want to see the worst photo of me ever taken? Come back tomorrow.

Just so I can pat myself on the back before deleting it all and making a new list:
 
Monday:
Blogged
Did P90x (plyometrics; jumping)
 
Tuesday:
Blogged
Did P90x (shoulders and arms, abs)
 
Wednesday:
Blogged
Did P90x (yoga)
 
Thursday:
Blogged
Did P90x (legs and back, abs)
 
Friday:
Blogged
Did P90x (kenpo; kickboxing)

(For the record, Sunday I did chest and back and abs and Saturday I ran 8 miles and did stretching. These didn’t make it on my list since I was trying to get most things accomplished during the week.)
 
Also did:
Cleaning items:
Downstairs items:
·         Dust bar and wash all stemware that’s probably dusty
·         Clean out drawers in bar
·         Clean glass breakfast room table
·         Dust all chairs and barstools
·         Clean  light fixtures and fans
·         Dust bookcase with cookbooks on it
·         Clean out drawers in bookcase
·         Clean dog crates
·         Clean up easel and other items in sunroom
·         Dust picture frames
·         Dust dining room table
·         Clean chair rail in dining room and foyer
·         Clean table in foyer
·         Clean out cabinets in table in foyer
·         Clean entertainment center
·         Organize hall closet
·         Organize workout gear
·         Clean countertops
·         Clean CD holder cabinet
·         Clean fireplace mantel and floor
·         Clean coffee table
·         Clean microwave
·         Clean stove
·         Clean sink with aluminum cleaner
·         Dust off appliances on counter
·         Organize pantry
·         Clean outside of refrigerator
·         Throw away old food in refrigerator
·         Clean inside of refrigerator
·         Clean out cabinets above refrigerator
·         Vaccuum couch and under cushions
·         Clean windowsills
·         Clean bathroom mirror
·         Clean bathroom sink
·         Clean soap dispenser in bathroom
·         Organize bathroom closet
·         Vaccuum
·         Hard floor cleaner
Also, cleaning items done that were not on list:
Cleaned pewter liquor lables
Cleaned outside of trash can
Take out trash and recycling
Vacuumed stairs

Work stuff
·          Credit card receipts entered into the accounting system for my business through the end of the year
·         Yellow pages ad mockup for client
·         Clean out email inbox
·         Catch up on all my invoices to clients
·         Cigar lounge logo proof
·         Whale logo for client

Dog stuff:
·         Give the dogs a bath (this should fall in the workout category, IMO. Wrestling an 80-pound doberman mix into a bathtub = not my idea of a fun Friday night.)
·         Organize pet items in garage

Other crap:
·         Records release form email to doctor
·         Update workout calendar through March
·         Clean up desktop
·         Run backup on computer
 
Also, not on list:
Researched some pottery barn items to see if returnable
emailed wedding dress photo to woman who is selling my dress

I emailed with Susan daily and we kept each other on track. This buddy system for productivity works! Now, I’m off to work on this week’s list (which is a lot of upstairs cleaning and some more work items)

Last week as Susan and I had coffee, and then beers when the coffeeshop closed (yes, she’s one of those can-talk-for-hours-together friends), we discussed to-do items. Namely, the type of to-do items that nag away at us and we stress about them far longer than it actually takes to get them done.

I was telling her about how I’d put off updating my passport for 6 years – 6 years, people – to reflect my “new” last name (it was new in 2004.) It was one of those chores that nagged at me. Every time I thought about it I’d get a pit in my stomach, knowing I needed to do it. Every time someone mentioned travel outside the country I would get that “oops, I need to take care of that” feeling.

And finally – I sat down to do it. And it took 20 minutes. 6 years of stressing over a task that took 20 minutes. The ultimate kicker? I had to get a whole new passport. Cost me something around $100. If I’d fixed it within a year of the marriage certificate, it would have been free. A $100 procrastination fee, and 6 years of feeling guilty about it. For 20 minutes worth of work.

—

Susan’s tale is similar, but she’s more financially motivated. She is paying for health insurance that was good for when she lived in Ohio. Problem was, she moved to New Jersey 3 months ago. So she’s been paying for 3 months for health insurance that would do her no good if she were to need it. More than $100 down the drain, per month, and counting, is her procrastination fee.

—

So we made a pact to keep each other accountable. To-do lists, consisting of what we needed to do each week, and we would actually do them.

And so I made a list. And she made a list. And we emailed our lists to each other and for 3 days now we’ve been keeping each other updated on what we are doing. I won’t bore you with my whole list, but I’ve taken a cue from Susan and organized it into categories: Daily items first, then the following categories: Cleaning, Working, Dog stuff, and Other Crap.

My to-do list

I’m proud to say that each day I have been able to check off P90x and blogging. And I’ve also been able to check off several work items. And that dreaded Other Crap column? That’s the one that nags at me. And has been nagging at me. And I have officially checked off 5 of the 7 items on that list. Progress!

Hey, look at this – one more item checked off the list:

Wednesday blogging, check!