Mad Hatter's tea party

[NeverThatBored]

1 hour ago, Echocheanic said:

I am not alone in this huh?  I hate that feeling.

 

It's the worst! I hope it doesn't last too long.

[LouCarJo]

I think your classes sound quite cheap.  I pay GBP 125 for unlimited classes in a month, with a 121 included, but it's GBP 10 for a class singly (and then only if you buy a package).  Yoga local to me is GBP10-12 an hour.  And all this is cheap compared with bigger cities.

 

A rig at home sounds like fun though.  As does a hammock to sleep in.  The total immersion in the hammock at the end of aerial yoga is one of the main reasons for going to that class!  I get so sleepy just after a few minutes in it.

[Mad Hatter]

On 12/7/2017 at 7:34 PM, NeverThatBored said:

 

It's the worst! I hope it doesn't last too long.

Got new stuff to do now.  Of course it's stuff I don't have a clue how to do buuut I'm sure I'll figure it out.  

 

On 12/8/2017 at 4:58 PM, LouCarJo said:

I think your classes sound quite cheap.  I pay GBP 125 for unlimited classes in a month, with a 121 included, but it's GBP 10 for a class singly (and then only if you buy a package).  Yoga local to me is GBP10-12 an hour.  And all this is cheap compared with bigger cities.

 

A rig at home sounds like fun though.  As does a hammock to sleep in.  The total immersion in the hammock at the end of aerial yoga is one of the main reasons for going to that class!  I get so sleepy just after a few minutes in it.

Sounds like it's a pretty similar price level, and it's not too bad, but once you start adding up all the cost over the year it becomes quite a bit. I don't mind if it's good tuition but I could also spend that money on workshops or online classes or something else entirely.

 

Right, it'd be so nice!  

[Mad Hatter]

Hmm don't have that much to report! Mostly I've been reading books... Went climbing on Saturday, and I did a bit better than last time. Which doesn't say much.  Then a bit of handstand work, which is coming along slowly but nicely. Umm yeah that's about it. 

[SymphonicDan]

On 12/8/2017 at 8:58 AM, LouCarJo said:

I think your classes sound quite cheap.  I pay GBP 125 for unlimited classes in a month, with a 121 included, but it's GBP 10 for a class singly (and then only if you buy a package).  Yoga local to me is GBP10-12 an hour.  And all this is cheap compared with bigger cities.

 

I'm also British and that sounds to me crazy expensive, even comparing to the prices when I was living in Cambridge, which is one of the most expensive cities! Maybe it just has more of a young active student vibe that pushes prices down, but I was paying £9-10 for 90-minute (large) group gymnastics classes at Huntingdon, £5/hour for gymnastics or Capoeira in Cambridge, something less for cheerleading, £12.50 for 90 minutes of trapeze (£8.33/hour)...

And Mad Hatter, I think you have similar problems with me in terms of finding lasting motivation amongst a million shiny goals... including "keep up base fitness" goals and "become amazing at something difficult" goals... What has worked very well for me is making a big checklist, maybe as a NF challenge, and just accumulating points.

Something like:

• 10 minutes flexy training (1 point)
• some exciting flexy goal that should take 1-6 months (5 points)
• some half-way point to that flexy goal that should take less time (3 points)
• longest streak of N days doing handstand training every day (N points)
• try a new something (3 points)
• ...

My challenges with these always looked super complicated but they were actually pretty easy to manage, because even if I wasn't always motivated to everything, there was always something worthwhile to do for the dual benefit of improving my life/fitness and accumulating more points.

[LouCarJo]

1 hour ago, SymphonicDan said:

 

I'm also British and that sounds to me crazy expensive, even comparing to the prices when I was living in Cambridge, which is one of the most expensive cities! Maybe it just has more of a young active student vibe that pushes prices down, but I was paying £9-10 for 90-minute (large) group gymnastics classes at Huntingdon, £5/hour for gymnastics or Capoeira in Cambridge, something less for cheerleading, £12.50 for 90 minutes of trapeze (£8.33/

The number of classes I end up attending pushes it down to under £5/class.  I do prioritise fitness spending and it’s definitely an area I can cut back on any month I need to. I think you’ve got lucky - the studio I go to is in a less well off area and the demographic is not wealthy.  I’ve got HIIT type classes (that I don’t yet go to!) at £5.50 a class but yoga within walking distance is £10/hour and those are the aerial studio’s prices.

[LouCarJo]

1 hour ago, Mad Hatter said:

Sounds like it's a pretty similar price level, and it's not too bad, but once you start adding up all the cost over the year it becomes quite a bit. I don't mind if it's good tuition but I could also spend that money on workshops or online classes or something else entirely.

 

Right, it'd be so nice!  

Yeah, my parents (cos they never stop worrying) are like, how much do you pay for all your fitness stuff?!

[LouCarJo]

1 hour ago, Mad Hatter said:

Hmm don't have that much to report! Mostly I've been reading books... Went climbing on Saturday, and I did a bit better than last time. Which doesn't say much.  Then a bit of handstand work, which is coming along slowly but nicely. Umm yeah that's about it. 

Aka progress on two fronts!

[raptron]

Any good books though?

[Lara]

On 6/12/2017 at 9:01 PM, Mad Hatter said:

I've also been toying with getting an indoor aerial rig

SHINY!

 

And I like your plans!

 

[Mad Hatter]

On 12/11/2017 at 7:24 PM, SymphonicDan said:

 

I'm also British and that sounds to me crazy expensive, even comparing to the prices when I was living in Cambridge, which is one of the most expensive cities! Maybe it just has more of a young active student vibe that pushes prices down, but I was paying £9-10 for 90-minute (large) group gymnastics classes at Huntingdon, £5/hour for gymnastics or Capoeira in Cambridge, something less for cheerleading, £12.50 for 90 minutes of trapeze (£8.33/hour)...

And Mad Hatter, I think you have similar problems with me in terms of finding lasting motivation amongst a million shiny goals... including "keep up base fitness" goals and "become amazing at something difficult" goals... What has worked very well for me is making a big checklist, maybe as a NF challenge, and just accumulating points.

Something like:

• 10 minutes flexy training (1 point)
• some exciting flexy goal that should take 1-6 months (5 points)
• some half-way point to that flexy goal that should take less time (3 points)
• longest streak of N days doing handstand training every day (N points)
• try a new something (3 points)
• ...

My challenges with these always looked super complicated but they were actually pretty easy to manage, because even if I wasn't always motivated to everything, there was always something worthwhile to do for the dual benefit of improving my life/fitness and accumulating more points.

Cities with a high student demographic are great because it definitely pushes prices down. At least that was the case in Bristol. And then there's uni societies which are often dirt cheap. 

 

Sometimes I wish I could just put blinders on and not fall into the FOMO trap so much.  I've actually started plotting a 2018 epic quest list thing for the first time, with a few bigger projects and a few small ones. Not sure if anything will come of it, but it could be fun to try.  

 

On 12/11/2017 at 8:47 PM, LouCarJo said:

Yeah, my parents (cos they never stop worrying) are like, how much do you pay for all your fitness stuff?!

I just retaliate by asking how much they spend on their hobbies.  (To give you a cost picture they've ranged from photography, to diving, to sailing and now jewellery, so you can imagine how quickly that adds up.  )

 

On 12/12/2017 at 6:20 PM, raptron said:

Any good books though?

Why yes! I've just finished up the last two Dresden file novels, and I'm maybe 2/3 of Weber's Honor Harrington series. And I've been trying to read Un Lun Dun, but I keep getting distracted by other books! The bit I've read has been fun though.

 

7 hours ago, zenLara said:

SHINY!

 

And I like your plans!

 

No plans as such yet, just a brain dump.

[Mad Hatter]

So the problem with not having a challenge is that I don't necessarily have much to report (even if to say I haven't done anything. )

 

Climbing is getting fun again! On Tuesday I finished my first non-trivial climb for yonks and I was super happy about that. It wasn't a hard climb,  but it took me a few tries to figure out and it hard weird moves and wasn't just a ladder.

 

Today the streak continued.  I finished one climb with a cool coordination move where I had to reach up dynamically to one hold and catch a different hold with my second hand straight away to control the swing, think monkey bars if you will, with feet cutting loose and everything. Again, not super difficult after a few tries, but a big confidence booster for sure, and it was really fun too! (Once I got it  ) The first time I nailed the move  one of the guys I went climbing with actually reminded me to be proud of that, because apparently I forgot and was already thinking about the rest of the climb. Good reminder to take the time to be happy about the small wins.

I also tried a scary ass climb with lots of crimps and small footholds, one that I would not have been able to get even the first move on a few weeks ago. The first time I was quite terrified, but I tried anyway and I didn't bail! Second and third time it got easier and easier mentally. I kept slipping off the last hold for some reason, but I'm really happy that I got as far as I did without freaking out. It's so weird though, it's the moves that I find scary, but when I actually fall I don't bat an eye lid. 

So yeah I'm pretty happy about climbing at the moment.  I'm only climbing beginner's grades, but I'm having fun and I'm relearning and rediscovering how to use my body on the wall, which is pretty cool. 

 

On Friday we took the ferry to Tallinn for our company christmas party, and I had an awesome time. We went to the christmas market, followed by going to a castle wall pub thingy, then a tour of the KGB museum (for extra festive spirit ) and then a tasty dinner at a very hipster place. Normally I'm pretty meh about christmas dinner but they had just taken all the traditional ingredients and prepared them in a non-traditional way. Not in an out of the box fancy kind of way, just in a good food kind of way. 10/10 for my first christmas party at the new place.  

 

Next week is going to be busy - Monday I'm meeting up with a friend, Tuesday and Thursday climbing, Friday I'm going to Sweden for a couple of days. Sooooo excited for a break!!!

[Lara]

Glad to see you're enjoying climbing again

[Mad Hatter]

On 12/17/2017 at 9:34 PM, zenLara said:

Glad to see you're enjoying climbing again

Me too! I've missed it.  

 

 

[Mad Hatter]

Got my early christmas pressie today - a bunch of cookbooks.  I miiiight have gone overboard with my purchase so I won't say which ones in one go hahaahaa. Shhh I was saving on shipping.  

[Elastigirl]

2 minutes ago, Mad Hatter said:

Got my early christmas pressie today - a bunch of cookbooks.  I miiiight have gone overboard with my purchase so I won't say which ones in one go hahaahaa. Shhh I was saving on shipping.  

Nice Christmas present. I've been eyeing several to buy. This time of year I love to look at cookbooks and get inspired

[Mad Hatter]

Aaaaah I should NOT have had that coffee at 6:30. It’s 4:am and still no sleep in sight....  

 

4 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

Nice Christmas present. I've been eyeing several to buy. This time of year I love to look at cookbooks and get inspired

Me too. I’m going to have it as a big goal to actually cook from them next year.  

[WhiteGhost]

2 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Me too. I’m going to have it as a big goal to actually cook from them next year.  

Haha, true!.  I went and bought a cookbook but I find that more often than not I just end up getting online and looking for something instead of going to the cookbook.

[Elastigirl]

5 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Aaaaah I should NOT have had that coffee at 6:30. It’s 4:am and still no sleep in sight....  

 

Me too. I’m going to have it as a big goal to actually cook from them next year.  

That is rather an odd goal. I thought you were just supposed to look at the pictures and think about how cool it would be to actually make the stuff, but then decide it's too much hassle.

[Mad Hatter]

3 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

Haha, true!.  I went and bought a cookbook but I find that more often than not I just end up getting online and looking for something instead of going to the cookbook.

I also have a terrifying backlog of browser bookmarks of recipes that will never see the light of day.  

 

25 minutes ago, Elastigirl said:

That is rather an odd goal. I thought you were just supposed to look at the pictures and think about how cool it would be to actually make the stuff, but then decide it's too much hassle.

I'm a rebel.  

[Echoceanic]

11 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Aaaaah I should NOT have had that coffee at 6:30. It’s 4:am and still no sleep in sight....  

 

Me too. I’m going to have it as a big goal to actually cook from them next year.  

 

I am so intrigued by people who get such a jolt from coffee, since I never do. I hope you got some sleep or that the caffeine helped you in the morning too.

 

I haven't had a cookbook ever. I either use my mom's recipes, look online or just throw random stuff in the pan and hope it tastes okay.  

[LouCarJo]

I too love cook books then end up googling the ingredients I need to use and following an online recipe...

[Mad Hatter]

53 minutes ago, Echocheanic said:

I am so intrigued by people who get such a jolt from coffee, since I never do. I hope you got some sleep or that the caffeine helped you in the morning too.

 

I haven't had a cookbook ever. I either use my mom's recipes, look online or just throw random stuff in the pan and hope it tastes okay.  

Well I thought I didn't.  During the day I don't notice the caffeine at all unless I drink copious amounts. 

 

That's what I used to do. I've had to restrict book buying for years and cookbooks are heavy and bulky so I forced myself to stay away from them. But now I love 'em! Most of the time I still just throw stuff in the pan though.  

 

14 minutes ago, LouCarJo said:

I too love cook books then end up googling the ingredients I need to use and following an online recipe...

I mean it's not like cookbooks are for the actual recipes.  It's all about the food porn!

[raptron]

YAY COOKBOOKS~ I am excited about your cooking adventures. Maybe we should do a "USE THE DANG COOKBOOKS" pvp / accountability thing in 2018!

[Mad Hatter]

23 minutes ago, raptron said:

YAY COOKBOOKS~ I am excited about your cooking adventures. Maybe we should do a "USE THE DANG COOKBOOKS" pvp / accountability thing in 2018!

Haha sounds good