White girls can't Zumba

Wow! Nowhere was it more apparent that I'm white and from the midwest that at my very first Zumba class last night.  I've been observing for a few weeks now and since I'm trying to heal a hip flexor injury I've reduced my running a bit and tried to diversify my workouts.  I made it through the warm up just fine, minimal sweat and thought "I've got this" but then whoa! the tempo got faster and my feet were a tangled mess in no time - quite possibly I hit myself in the head more than once with my flailing arms too. Now in fairness - most everyone in the room didn't have that "extra latin flair" the instructor brought to every step, but at least they could master the basics my formerly proud pom-pom squad co-captain self thought I would nail no problem!

I've lived in SoCal for 9 years so diversity of people is my everyday norm and mexican food is now a weekly staple for us, but maybe the warning bells should have gone off when I was like "hmmm, there are only two white girls in this room" something I almost never actually notice living here. Interestingly enough, I tend to notice the serious lack of diversity when I do encounter it though, often back home in the burbs of Chicago.   It was a humbling experience to see my pale Polish self flailing along in the mirror, trying like hell to keep up with our very nice but let's face it, oozing with latin flair dance instructor.

So will I be back?  Of course.  If you know me you know I'm not a quitter and even in my dizzied state of trying to follow along - I found time to identify plenty of fellow classmates who in my opinion were not really trying as hard as they could (once a manager, always a manager).   At the end of the day though, where I really want to be is just like the 50ish asian guy who caught my eye a few weeks ago - who takes the class in soft sole loafers with his sweatpants but always, always has a joyful smile on his face and a surprising swing in his hips.

Blogger...part deux

Well after a blistering 3 posts in 3 years I'm back on the blogging bandwagon.  My officemate is cheerfully blogging about his adventures tasting wine in Paso Robles this week (jeremybbarnes.blogspot.com if you are interested) and frankly I'm inspired.  It isn't that the stories in my head have stopped, I just forgot to find the time to put them on the proverbial piece of digital paper.

So here we go again, my second attempt to take the blogosphere by storm.  Look out Broadway, here I come!

brown is the new black?

So great - Massachusetts elects a Republican, the Senate loses its fillabuster breaking majority and the world is coming to an end...at least according to many of my Facebook friends (I continue to be stunned by the large republican/let me get my shotgun and succeed from the union group of people I know on FB - this could be a big reason why i left the midwest...). I don't know about you but I work hard for what I have and don't spend more than I make or can afford to - on my house or anything else in my rather good life. That said - 2009 wasn't all that different for me than other years - oh and I must be good at picking the stocks (unfortunately not the ponies or the blackjack hands) b/c my 401k value is higher than ever...

So get a grip people - one mid-term election does not make or break a presidency - and yes sometimes "management" has to make the tough decisions that don't benefit or harm everyone equally - like healthcare reform, taxes and the right to marry whomever you choose. I'm smart enough to agree to disagree on many ideas and issues - I just wish others were too.

left brain right brain no brain

Once again I'm caught in the fight between my left brain and my right brain. I love numbers, metrics, analytics all things black white and absolute (ahem - not the vodka) BUT I want to be messy, creative, assumptive, out there and every color of the rainbow too. I've struggled with this since I was kid - and every so often it rages back full force. This is one of those days. I work in advertising, we have deadlines, people to be accountable to, clients to please. But I work in advertising - we have the freedom to craft the message, the strategy, the direction any way we like. Today - my worlds are colliding and not in a "new taste sensation" kind of way, in a "screw this, I'm better and smarter than this kind of way".

My first post

Wow - catchy title...I can't believe i finally jumped in. I'm a digital strategist who spends all day, every day, telling my customers to "embrace social media" - oh sure - i have a facebook page, a myspace page, I post photos online, I tweet occasionally and i read more newsletters and blogs than I can count on my own fingers and toes, my boyfriends fingers and toes and those of my three cats and a turtle (nice plug for my other new blog eh?). But - I've never blogged - I've commented on blogs - but never actually blogged. Suddenly, I don't feel like such a poser anymore. And maybe I'll sleep just a little better tonight knowing that I checked something off that 1000 things to do before I die list. Only 999 more to go - woo hoo! Lookout blogosphere - here I come!