More Last Things in Sydney

These last days at work, I've been busy training my replacement(s) to do my job and wrapping projects up with the practitioners in clinic. Surprisingly, I didn't have to work past regular hours any time yet this week (fingers crossed!). Today, I even got off early.

Since I didn't have time for my usual Wednesday trail run, I made the most of my early afternoon to pay one last visit to our neighbourhood gym, Crunch.

I got in a quick 40-minute run:

It was hard. I tried to read some blogs on my phone as I warmed up, but it was too jarring for my eyes with the bouncing and all. How do others do it? Doesn't it hurt your eyes to read while you run? What's the secret I'm missing here?

This was the best part of my day, by far:

I got this card from my employer, a naturopath with a love for travel. She and I had been working on a number of projects during the time I was with her. Even though she had told me repeatedly how much she appreciates the work I put in, she still got me this cute little card. Simple things like these make leaving both awesome and hard. I remember my first real-person job; teaching English in a small suburb in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. My students (oh my heart) put together a huge "Passport" full of notes and hand-made cards and pictures of how much they enjoyed my classes and how much they'd miss me.... *tear*

And this isn't even my REAL last day yet...

Sick...AGAIN

This year has been one heck of a year for bugs invading my body. It's only May and I swear I have been sick nearly once a month.

That being said, this sickness isn't nearly as bad as the week before New Zealand. I still sneeze up some disgusting boogers in the morning, my throat feels raw, and my nose drips whenever I hold my head down at a forty-five degree angle... like now...as I am typing this...

Because my head didn't feel woolly or sledgehammer-y this morning, I decided to give "Ashtanga while sick" another try.

Remember this? And my subsequent regret in trying it?

Surprisingly, I was strong through the warm up. It felt like I could breathe deeper and fuller as I hung upside-down in Downward Facing Dog. In the standing postures, my legs felt steady and grounded. Jumping back and forward, my arms felt strong and powerful.

I even did 3 drop backs, lift-ups, and headstand (not in that order).

Compared to the last time I attempted to practice while (severely) sick, this felt like a breeze! I am glad I did it.

Tonight, Steven and I had originally planned to sign up for a gym membership at Crunch fitness near our house. They have this awesome deal where if one person signs up, the other person can get in free each time.

We went for our free trial over the weekend, and both of us love the size of the place (huge!), the facilities (weights in pounds!), and the friendly staff (he seriously did look like a Ken doll). I did a challenging treadmill hill run, and gloried in the fact that I didn't have to inflict sharp downhills on my 90-year-old knees.

Anyway, we'll probably hold off on going to the gym until I feel 100% again.

Plus, my arms are sore.

BACK TO BED (as if I ever left)!

By the way, these are the best tissues ever invented. It feels like I'm disinfecting my nose each time I shove one of these up in my nostrils to stop the drip.

Sexy mental image, eh?

You're welcome.