It has been a long time since I've seen Dr. Dye, my knee doctor. I decided it's time for me to start running again, so I want to make sure I'm doing it the right way. Last time I saw Dr. Dye, he said if I could walk a mile every other day without pain, I was ready to run. Well, I've been at that level for quite some time now and realized I'm stuck in that rut... because I'm scared. I'm scared that I will experience knee pain again and am afraid all I have done over the last several years will not have helped. I have to say I'm tired of being scared. I was always afraid of losing my job and it just happened to me! I'm realizing that sometimes you have to face your fears. It was time to see Dr. Dye.
The majority of my appointment with Dr. Dye was how I expected it to go. He checked my knee, asked me questions, and told me it's OK for me to start running. "Take it slow," he said. He suggested I increase the amount of running I do at a very gradual rate, 1/4 mile at a time. The last thing I asked Dr. Dye before I left his office, was to look at my shoes. To my surprise, he told me he's not a fan of custom orthotics. He feels that the inserts that come with running shoes are plenty and the more natural the better. Really? Wow. The orthotics I've had in my shoes over the last 5 years were made after my knee started to hurt. I had it in my mind the special inserts were helping, but now, I'm not so sure. The more and more I read about running in less supportive foot gear, the more I want to give it a try. The theory is that running shoes have become too supportive, actually weakening the ankle and foot muscles. This puts more of the impact of running on knees and hips. I figure, what do I have to lose? As soon as I got home, I switched back to the inserts that came with my new cushy Nike sneaks and here I go!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Monday, February 28, 2011
Shocked
You never think it's going to happen to you... until it does. There was no warning, even in hindsight I didn't see this coming. At the end of February, I got laid off my job. : (
Why me? I had given everything to my job as a Print Production Manager on windows and in-store Marketing. I loved working for this company more than any other job I've ever had. I can't say it was an easy job. I worked long hours, traveled quite a bit, and at times, brought work home over the weekend. Even so, I had finally made it to my dream job and was grateful every day to be working for one of the company's three retail brands. Over the last 4 years I received positive reviews and felt I was growing leaps and bounds as a manager and print buyer. Of course, I wasn't perfect, there is always room for improvement. I'm sure that is the case for just about everyone, right?
I was told over and over this wasn't a "performance-based" elimination. It was just business. The window marketing strategy had changed and the higher-ups in the department felt that due to this change, workload would be less. Since a large part of my job was the windows, my position had been eliminated. It was shocking and devastating. I kept thinking, why didn't this go some other way? There were 8 people on the print production team. Why me and not one of them? It's not always the last person hired, or the most junior level person. It became even more clear that sometimes, no matter how hard you work, each employee is just a number. A sad realization, but true.
I was told my last day with the company would be April 4, then I would receive several weeks severance pay. I don't know whether this was good, bad or average, but I was made to think that it was better than most. Good old HR language, I am sure. What I'm trying to keep in the forefront of my mind is one thing. More people than not have told me their lay-off experience took them to an even better place in life. I certainly hope it turns out that way for me!
Why me? I had given everything to my job as a Print Production Manager on windows and in-store Marketing. I loved working for this company more than any other job I've ever had. I can't say it was an easy job. I worked long hours, traveled quite a bit, and at times, brought work home over the weekend. Even so, I had finally made it to my dream job and was grateful every day to be working for one of the company's three retail brands. Over the last 4 years I received positive reviews and felt I was growing leaps and bounds as a manager and print buyer. Of course, I wasn't perfect, there is always room for improvement. I'm sure that is the case for just about everyone, right?
I was told over and over this wasn't a "performance-based" elimination. It was just business. The window marketing strategy had changed and the higher-ups in the department felt that due to this change, workload would be less. Since a large part of my job was the windows, my position had been eliminated. It was shocking and devastating. I kept thinking, why didn't this go some other way? There were 8 people on the print production team. Why me and not one of them? It's not always the last person hired, or the most junior level person. It became even more clear that sometimes, no matter how hard you work, each employee is just a number. A sad realization, but true.
I was told my last day with the company would be April 4, then I would receive several weeks severance pay. I don't know whether this was good, bad or average, but I was made to think that it was better than most. Good old HR language, I am sure. What I'm trying to keep in the forefront of my mind is one thing. More people than not have told me their lay-off experience took them to an even better place in life. I certainly hope it turns out that way for me!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Snow in the Bay Area
It was expected to snow in the Bay Area this week! It didn't come to fruition at quite the lowest elevation it was supposed to, but the experience certainly made me remember a long time ago when it actually snowed in Lafayette. I asked my Dad if he could scan a couple of photos from that day and send them to me. So fun! I think Meg and I are wearing slippers. ; )
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
They Like Me, They Really Like Me!
OK, they probably just like me for the money my company spends for me to stay there. Hey, as far as I'm concerned right now, it's a win-win! If you've read my blog in the past, you know that my current favorite place to stay when I travel to Los Angeles is W Hollywood. During my last few stays, I've had some unusual breakfast experiences. One time, I placed my order the night before (if you hang a your breakfast order on the handle outside your door by Midnight, your food will be delivered at the time you choose on the order form) and it never arrived. I was charged for it on my bill so before I left I noted this and they gave me a credit. The second time, since I now didn't trust that I would get my breakfast if I left my order on the door the night before, I called to place my order in the morning. The room service staff then told me they were very busy and I wouldn't be able to get breakfast for an hour. Forget that!
This is what showed up in my room during my recent stay. An apology note accompanied this lovely bowl of fruit and bottle of water! So nice of them.
Here are a couple of other photos from my stay:
This is what showed up in my room during my recent stay. An apology note accompanied this lovely bowl of fruit and bottle of water! So nice of them.
Here are a couple of other photos from my stay:
Isn't it nice how they parked my silver SUV (glorified mini-van) next to the Lamborghini?
This is the view of the stairs from the Living Room I may not have shown in the past. It's a little gaudy, but so L.A. fabulous!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
"It's Not What Happens to You...
... it's how you handle it after it happens." I kept repeating that phrase in my head the night of January 1st before I went to sleep. It took me about 24 hours, but I became determined to pull myself together and see those last sights on my "to do" list in Paris. Early the next morning I woke up and headed out to see Sacre-Coeur before the sun came up. I arrived there as a small tourist-y shop was opening and bought myself a disposable camera. Yeah, the kind you used to see on the tables at weddings! My Nikon digital camera battery had died during my visit to Versailles (I know, I know, I forgot the charger) and I needed something that would take photos! It felt odd taking a picture and not knowing what it would look like. Really odd. I did the old crank-crank-crank and snapped my shots!
After Sacre-Coure in the Montmartre neighborhood, I made my way to Musee Rodin. I arrived before it opened so I walked down the street and took in the sights of the Eiffel Tower and the Hotel des Invalides. This is Europe's greatest military museum and Napoleon's tomb is there. I found a coffee shop so I could get myself a Cafe au Lait (as close as they get to a "latte" in Paris, well, unless you go to Starbucks) and a croissant. There seemed to be just locals in the cafe gathering around the coffee bar and chit-chatting, or whatever they were saying in French. I had learned during this trip that my high-school French sounded much better in my head than out loud, so wasn't one to try to join a conversation. Quickly I noticed that the barista was the best-looking French man had ever seen! What on earth was he doing making coffee? He should have been in the pages of a magazine! If only, if only, I still had my iPhone where I could discreetly shoot a fast snapshot of him and then hide it away as if nothing happened. Sigh. The idea of cranking that silly disposable camera in order to take a photo of him, almost made me laugh out loud! I drank my coffee, ate my croissant and scanned a newspaper I couldn't read (nice pictures though) until it was time to make it back to see Rodin's sculptures. I still have the little cube of sugar I took from the cafe and often think fondly of that morning.
After Sacre-Coure in the Montmartre neighborhood, I made my way to Musee Rodin. I arrived before it opened so I walked down the street and took in the sights of the Eiffel Tower and the Hotel des Invalides. This is Europe's greatest military museum and Napoleon's tomb is there. I found a coffee shop so I could get myself a Cafe au Lait (as close as they get to a "latte" in Paris, well, unless you go to Starbucks) and a croissant. There seemed to be just locals in the cafe gathering around the coffee bar and chit-chatting, or whatever they were saying in French. I had learned during this trip that my high-school French sounded much better in my head than out loud, so wasn't one to try to join a conversation. Quickly I noticed that the barista was the best-looking French man had ever seen! What on earth was he doing making coffee? He should have been in the pages of a magazine! If only, if only, I still had my iPhone where I could discreetly shoot a fast snapshot of him and then hide it away as if nothing happened. Sigh. The idea of cranking that silly disposable camera in order to take a photo of him, almost made me laugh out loud! I drank my coffee, ate my croissant and scanned a newspaper I couldn't read (nice pictures though) until it was time to make it back to see Rodin's sculptures. I still have the little cube of sugar I took from the cafe and often think fondly of that morning.
The beautiful white church looking out over Paris. I learned there is prayer going on within the church 24 hours a day.
The view out over Paris early in the light of morning. My disposable camera didn't do it justice. It wasn't this dark outside.
Hotel des Invalides
A little cube of sugar from Cafe Richard.
Musee Rodin is actually his former place of residence. Rodin was a very famous artist while he was alive and lived in this Paris mansion.
Looking out over the backyard gardens.
The Thinker
A photo looking back towards the house.
Here is some of the email I wrote to my sister and parents before I got on my flight to home.
Here are some thoughts from today:
1) Sacre-Coeur at sunrise - Beautiful! Snapped a photo on my cool new Kodak disposable camera. ; )
2) Musee Rodin - Glad I made it, I think I liked seeing the mansion where he lived more than the sculptures, although they were incredible.
3) The macaroons I'm bringing home from Laduree are going to be dee-lish (well... I'll let you be the judge of that, but I think they are yummy). Sorry Meg, they won't make it until I see you in February. : (
4) I've learned some damn hard lessons this trip. Either they will make me a smarter world traveler or I'll never leave the US again.
5) Everyone at hotel computer kiosks is on Facebook. Everyone.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Anger and Disappointment in Paris
I can't say my trip to Paris went perfectly. It actually had a very low point after the New Year's celebration I joined on the Champs Elysees. I made my way back to my hotel that night in a rather round-a-bout way. It was probably only a 15 minute walk to my hotel from where I was (I had made my way over there via the Metro), but the route back was blocked by an incredible amount of security around the Arc de Triomphe. My plan was to travel back by the Metro as well, but it was so crowded, the gendarme (police) would not let anyone in after 12:30 AM. I was forced to walk. I can't say the road I took back was empty, but it wasn't full of people either. I was 2 blocks from my hotel and the iPhone I had owned for 1 1/2 weeks was literally grabbed right out of my hand. For the first time in my life, I had been robbed!
It was devastating. Ask my parents, they were the ones who received my hysterical phone call once I made it back to my hotel. As far as I was concerned, my trip was ruined! I had stupidly kept my phone in plain sight and had been followed by some young punks who probably did this for a living. It was terrifying and humiliating at the same time. : ( The part that upset me the most wasn't the possibility that the criminals would run up my phone bill (I called AT&T before the call to my parents and had my phone service stopped right away), but all of the photos and videos I had taken the last 5 days I had been in Paris had just been lost! Yes, I had taken photos on my Nikon digital camera, but I had shot so many more on my iPhone. Those photos were the fun, cute shots you take quickly and discreetly, you know? When I was on the stairs from the 2nd to 1st level of the Eiffel Tower, I had taken a great video of the lights twinkling all around me. It was just magical. There were photos from Marie Antoinette's hamlet in Versailles, the food and goodies we ate on the culinary tour, etc... gone, they were all gone. I'm sure those bad guys enjoyed looking through the images of my trip before they swiped the phone clean and sold it on eBay.
The next morning, January 1st, most shops and museums were closed in Paris so I knew it would be a quiet day anyway. Part of me wanted to re-schedule my flight and go home that day! This was where the hotel computers came in handy though. I started sending emails to my family, telling them I was OK. They were really worried about me, of course. Even though I had a less-than-supportive conversation with the hotel concierge (he had no sympathy for my plight and was surly while I asked for advice about my stolen phone), over the course of the day, my mood lifted a bit. My sister Meg told me to give it some time. She reassured me that the trauma I was feeling, in time would turn into, "Can you believe what happened to me?" In hindsight I would tell the story in a much lighter note.
Luckily, I had sent a few of my iPhone photos to friends and family during the trip, as well as, posting some to Facebook. I was able to retrieve a few of them, even the Versailles Hall of Mirrors video. It seemed to lose it's quality being sent back and forth, but that didn't bother me much, at least I have it. On an interesting note, I had been keeping track of what I had done so far in Paris on the Notes app on my phone. Sometime earlier in the day of the 31st, it occurred to me that I should forward what I had written so far to my email address. Just in case. Thank goodness I did! I would have never remembered all of the detail I had written down if I had not sent it to myself. Later in the day on the 1st, I decided I would stick it out and enjoy my last day in the City of Light.
It was devastating. Ask my parents, they were the ones who received my hysterical phone call once I made it back to my hotel. As far as I was concerned, my trip was ruined! I had stupidly kept my phone in plain sight and had been followed by some young punks who probably did this for a living. It was terrifying and humiliating at the same time. : ( The part that upset me the most wasn't the possibility that the criminals would run up my phone bill (I called AT&T before the call to my parents and had my phone service stopped right away), but all of the photos and videos I had taken the last 5 days I had been in Paris had just been lost! Yes, I had taken photos on my Nikon digital camera, but I had shot so many more on my iPhone. Those photos were the fun, cute shots you take quickly and discreetly, you know? When I was on the stairs from the 2nd to 1st level of the Eiffel Tower, I had taken a great video of the lights twinkling all around me. It was just magical. There were photos from Marie Antoinette's hamlet in Versailles, the food and goodies we ate on the culinary tour, etc... gone, they were all gone. I'm sure those bad guys enjoyed looking through the images of my trip before they swiped the phone clean and sold it on eBay.
The next morning, January 1st, most shops and museums were closed in Paris so I knew it would be a quiet day anyway. Part of me wanted to re-schedule my flight and go home that day! This was where the hotel computers came in handy though. I started sending emails to my family, telling them I was OK. They were really worried about me, of course. Even though I had a less-than-supportive conversation with the hotel concierge (he had no sympathy for my plight and was surly while I asked for advice about my stolen phone), over the course of the day, my mood lifted a bit. My sister Meg told me to give it some time. She reassured me that the trauma I was feeling, in time would turn into, "Can you believe what happened to me?" In hindsight I would tell the story in a much lighter note.
Luckily, I had sent a few of my iPhone photos to friends and family during the trip, as well as, posting some to Facebook. I was able to retrieve a few of them, even the Versailles Hall of Mirrors video. It seemed to lose it's quality being sent back and forth, but that didn't bother me much, at least I have it. On an interesting note, I had been keeping track of what I had done so far in Paris on the Notes app on my phone. Sometime earlier in the day of the 31st, it occurred to me that I should forward what I had written so far to my email address. Just in case. Thank goodness I did! I would have never remembered all of the detail I had written down if I had not sent it to myself. Later in the day on the 1st, I decided I would stick it out and enjoy my last day in the City of Light.
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