The universe working for me

Yesterday I needed a song for a routine. Not for me, no…for a client I am working for at the moment. I knew that it had to be smooth, (the song, not the guy, but nice try!)  and I kind of felt that it had to be a lady’s voice. So, I got stuck... It’s not for the first time though. I haven’t slept a night before thinking about all sorts of songs. I have a deadline, people, so I have to make it happen. By midday, I realized that I needed help. So I asked all my buddies on Facebook, and there are so many there!, to come up with ideas. I even offered a free session for the one who gets it right. Most of my guys posted songs on my wall, but none of them was what I wanted. So in the evening I started freaking out…for the first time I wouldn’t be able to do my job well. And you know what that means? No pay cheque, of course. But then, I had an idea…a brilliant one by the way, one of those ones that can change around a blondie’s day! What if I take the first word of every song my friends on Facebook posted and I mix the words until I may remember a song myself. And I did. I had my song, the guy got his routine, I got paid. Win-win situation! How weird the universe works sometimes; most of the times really! 

Two years ago, I got so booked that I haven’t been able to fit in not even a casual half hour client...nor my lunch break actually. I rushed on adrenaline for months and I had people on my waiting list that I couldn't  book six months in advance. So I started shutting down the world...until and decided that I had to be honest and tell my potential clients that there was no way I would be in the situation to train them. I even came up with a name of another trainer I could recommend. But then, one of my dear clients, a lady I appreciate a lot, asked me to take over Audrey. When she explained in details what I had to do for Audrey, I knew that I would never be able to resist the challenge. I love challenges, so bring them all on! So I found myself an hour off (in the middle of the night for sure, because the days have only that many  hours!) and I redone all my bookings, one by one. Next morning, I phoned every client  (of course I woke them all up!) and asked to agree with my rescheduled diary. They all did. After mixing everything around, very similar to my song search story, I got an hour a week for Audrey. I never told her how hard it was for me to offer her that slot. Anyway, I started training her and, from the first session, I knew she is gonna make it. Strong lady Audrey! I tortured her really for two years, every session harder and harder! No regrets though, because my girlie lost 60kgs…so far. She looks like a gazelle now, lean and beautiful and extremely funny. You don’t even imagine how proud I am of her; she’s my champ: best kiddies' teacher this area has ever had, best client to work with. She never said no to any of my workouts, no matter how hard it was for her, never missed an appointment, and never came late to any of them. She was that kind of client who understood that I was in charge, the whole stuff was on my shoulders and all she had to do is... listen and follow. And she did. Now to be perfectly honest, this lady should be every woman's inspiration and role model.  She surely is mine! I helped her out with her weight loss goal, she taught me the world really, because I learnt a lot from my dear Audrey. Win-win situation again! Audrey, sweets, this is for you! :)

I'm the wild card

I am not adventurous…in a normal way. If I were, I wouldn’t match the image. I don’t jump from airplanes, don’t like heights and I wouldn’t go out fishing or hunting. The truth is that I have my own adventures. At the time when girls got dolls, my dad bought me a rifle. I was 10…and that’s a secret I’m telling you, guys. I got so good at shooting that I had no contenders. Now, a gun wouldn’t match my profile, would it? So if we are ever out to one of those silly shows, please don’t try to get the Teddy bear for the blondie. I can win it for myself!

Dean was my first bodybuilder client. If I look back, I think that he hired me, without meeting me before, as a favour for one of his friends. It has to be right, because I remember the face he made when he saw me for the first time. It's also true that, on that particular day, I turned up wearing pink boots and a pink headband….and yes,  I almost forgot, a pink mini dress. He looked at me and he probably thought that I was a lost cause. Three months later, he got the title. All his buddies he recommended me to won as well…just because I would hate loosing. Andy is one of them. He stills hires me…from the States. So we train on Skype, midnight here, midday there. He’ll win as well because he knows that I am the wild card!

To be perfectly honest, only one of those big guys  lost somehow and I believe that it wasn’t professional to bring him to the second place...because I done it on purpose. Here is the story. Mark and John were both into bodybuilding…both my clients…both in love with Dana, another client of mine. They knew each other for years and they were best friends. So I trained the guys individually and I made sure they got the best advice. I didn’t know which one would come first because they both competed for Dana rather than the title, but I knew which I wanted to win...Dana. That day, Dana was watching them; Mark went smoother, John lost it completely in the middle of his routine. But that was exactly  what I was counted on, because I knew that his innocent look would win the judges. And it did! John was exactly like me...he didn't match his image and, in most cases, that's a winning point!  John won the title, Mark won Dana….and they are not so good friends anymore, but that’s fine. They both got what they wanted. I'm still their friend  and I now see that I made the right choice. John is still competing, still winning. Mark and Dana have 3 kids together and they seem happy. :)

Stop before is too late

I don’t lie. I made a promise once to always say the truth…no matter what. I kept my promise so far, but I know that my decision may have hurt some people. I sometimes wonder if a little lie wouldn’t have been beneficial. A promise is a promise though. But I don’t live someone else’s life. That’s another promise I made, this time to myself. Thanks, Steve Jobs! 

Eight years ago I was asked by one of my girlie friends to check up on her daughter. Actually she wanted me to watch her daughter playing tennis and tell her my honest opinion. My friend was willing, at that time, to sell everything she owned and move to another country where her daughter would have had better opportunities to make it to the top in tennis. I tried and tried and tried again to avoid assessing the girlie’s game, but my friend was very pushy. I knew her for so many years and she was always pushy…in a good way, of course. She was a tennis player herself, one of those who couldn't make it further. So she dreamed that her daughter would reach what she, the mother, couldn’t. 

So, here I was, one of the many spectators watching kids playing the sport. The girlie was 11, very pretty, very lean. She caught everybody’s eyes. Mine as well….but that was all. So, after the game I was trying again to make my statement sound not too harsh. I even wore my stupid smile that day! In the end, I went for the truth. So I said “She may be in the top 200 one day, but I personally doubt that she will make it to number one. She knows all the tricks, but there is no natural talent, no fast reaction and definitely no mojo for the game. I don’t believe that this is her dream, I mostly believe that is yours”.

I haven’t heard back from my friend for more than two years, but I knew that she moved to that country where her daughter was accepted to a high-level tennis academy. Then she emailed me and asked for my advice…again. She said that her daughter’s game didn’t go so well and the couches (now she had more than one!) were not happy with the girl’s evolution. I was just about to catch a plain and have a holiday in my friend’s new country so I thought to myself why not? So here I was again watching the girl playing tennis. Now she was 13, even more beautiful than I remembered her, stunning really. Same laziness for the game though. On top of that, being older now, she knew that she was watched by all sorts of boys. So once again, I put on a stupid smile (that may have appeared sarcastic, but I swear it was not!) and delivered the bad news to my friend. This time I was even harsher and I said that her daughter’s career would stop in the second she gets in love….because then she would discover her real passion. And once again I haven’t heard back from her for three more years. By then, my friend spent a bucket of dollars on training and coaching. Then she emailed again; this time to let me know that her daughter got in love with a swimmer and stopped playing. She told her mom that she never liked the game, never been in the zone, never wanted to do it for a career. She’s just done it for her mom. 

Now, it’s not that I am always right as much as I would like to believe that. It is about the game really and I’ve done it for too long so I have an eye for it. So I was fair and told the truth…because I made a promise long time ago. But on top of everything I knew that no kid has to live the parents’ dreams. It is just not fair! Bottomline? What I’ve actually seen in that little girl wasn’t just her game, nor her hesitation in playing creative. It was so much more than that. She hasn’t had any desire to be there and I am sure that her mind was way away from the court. Otherwise, she would have heard when I told her, just between the sets, “Remember that you can stop anytime”. :)

I'm everywhere

I love social networks….mostly Facebook. I absolutely and completely adore the fact that I know everything my friends are up to…and the friends of their friends…and their other friends of friends. I actually know everybody, or at least that’s how it seems. Post after post the whole day! Like that guy I never met, but he should be a friend of somebody’s as long as he is on my news fed wall. He makes smart and pertinent statements…like “I wanna drink coffee, but there is no coffee left in my house”. Cool stuff. The guy is tired, wants a coffee, what's wrong with that? But then the whole neighborhood jumps in to help. 23 comments on nothing, probably all posted by guys who know the chap as much as I do. Helpful, by the way, giving the lad ideas where is the closest coffee shop (even if nobody knows were the guy lives), which coffee is the best and what’s the cheapest brand. It’s good to know in case I run out of coffee as well. I love Facebook mostly because of the speed things happen in the network! Mary appears single today, tomorrow she is in a relationship with Mark (nice pic by the way!), a day later her status “is complicated“ and four days later she is single again. But don’t worry just yet, because the day after she is in another relationship with John who just got single after being complicated as well. I preferred Mark, even of I don’t know him. At least he has a symbolic profile photo...but it's Mary's choice I'm talking about!

I am sure I told you already that I have two Facebook pages: a business one, that I keep clean and simple, and a funky personal one. I love it when my girlies mix things and post on my business page comments like “Cosmos tonight?”. Thanks, chicks. Great statement, role model one! But they don’t stop here! The next post is “We can even watch a movie with a hottie”. Even better really. Thanks again, girls, the whole world would now know what our plans are! I even get posts on the same business page like “Who’s the hottie in the photo, sweets?” Now, he is nobody on this page, but he may be somebody on my personal one. But he’s not. The guy is on my friends of some friends page and I have no clue who he is. A shame really!

Then there is Twtter. I’m on that as well. I call it Haiku network...short and clear! Fair enough, don’t you think? You have to be sylabic as on Twitter. The coffee guy on Facebook would have to post on Twitter something like “I wanna drink coffee…link” and go back with another post “There is no coffee left…link”. I am sure that he would have many followers. You actually know none of them; they don’t know you either. I love followers. As many as better…at least that’s what my friends of friends on Facebook say! By the way, I just got a notification that Kiwi Tax follows me on Twitter. Why would they do that? I paid my tax, thank you very much. Probably that’s the reason they find me interesting...and unique!

And then there is Linkedin. Of course I have an account. Apparently it’s good for the business. I don’t know about that, but I am there as well.  Last week I got a message from a guy from overseas who had a business proposition for me. So I emailed the guy back just because I am a curious blondie. His reply came a second after I sent the email. Apparently the guy is in love with me and wants me to hop on Skype (of course I am there as well) to know each other better. Seriously? I don’t know who you are, mister, so let’s keep the distance, not just because you say you are somebody you are not. It’s mostly because I don’t want to meet you…never ever ever as graciously Taylor Swift says!

How can I forget about Pinterest? I'm on it as well….with a huge wall of pictures that now are called pins. My style? Versace…pin…pin…pin; Marilyn Monroe…pin…pin…pin, Burberry…other pins. 

I am on Google+ as well. Why should I miss it? Everybody is there. I still haven’t figured out how that works, but I am there and I will be on it as long as others are. So do you want me to cancel my account? You first!

I don’t understand why I try, quite hard by the way, to express myself when my accounts on all sorts of social networks say more about me than I could personally tell in the years I have left.  What I know is that if you want to take me out, you have to dress accordingly. You never know when our photo will end up on one of the social networks and I couldn’t cope with an ugly pic (remember I've said I am a Versace girl?). And if you want to know where I am today, who is with me and what we will be doing together, hop on one of my accounts. I am sure that one of my friends or their friends, or friends of their friends will be posting the goss at some stage. And while you read the story, please scroll the wall and help that poor guy who has no coffee left in his home! :)

The choices we make

I choose to live by choice. I choose what I like doing, who to be close to and who to ignore. I’ve chosen my future long time ago and I stick to my plans because I have the choice to choose. My strength didn’t come from lifting weights. It came from the choices I made…and I know that I would be remembered for most of them. Good memories, I hope. ..But, at the end of the day, what are memories other than choices? We choose to remember good or bad things and we have the power of changing an awfull experience into an amazing memory. 

Craig was a client I used to train three years ago. We spent a whole year training together, Craig and I. Craig was a bad, bad boy! Full of tattoos, head to toes, super tall and powerful. ..atrocious really! Was, because when I met him the accident already changed him. Craig was a motor biker and had a horrible accident a year before we met. He lost completely his short-term memory. His partner was a lady in a wheelchair: he had the body, she had the brain! It’s quite interesting how our brains work. Craig remembered the years when he served in a gang, his first love when he was just a teenager, but couldn’t remember what he eat five minutes before the training. He  couldn’t memorize names either, so the social worker advised me to repeat my name every few minutes. I told mine only once and he never forgot it. He also remembered my kids’ names, and what color roses I like. For Craig, his training sessions were the peak of his weeks and the chats we had in between the sets were proofs that he was still alive and somebody acknowledged his existence. He was so grateful that I used to drive him home after training  because we were able to talk more. I’ve done it really because I knew that he lost his driver license forever, he had to walk everywhere and he used to get lost. I signed a year contract with ACC to train Craig. That’s all. I’ve done my job and I thought that this was it. But no, two years later, I still receive birthdays cards from Craig. Not just that he remembered my name…he hasn’t forgotten my address either. Huge philosophy about the human brain! The subconscious should keep hidden all the bad memories, helping us live in the seventh heaven. This… in a perfect world with perfect people and perfect brains. From a medical point of view, Craig is a guy with no hypothalamus function, with short time complete memory loss, with all sorts of other consequences of an unfortunate accident. A mess? Not really, because Craig’s mind, as twisted as it is, has the ability to block the conscious, allowing his subconscious to take over. He remembers only what he wants to and what has meaning to him! In a perfect world, he would have been a worshiped leader…in this one.... he is just a case! :)

My dad

I am a pure breed…mongrel....100% Babylon and I have no clue what’s my first language. I speak five and never been able to figure out which one is my number one. I don’t even bother anymore! I am German and French and Austrian and Polish on my mother's side….and Hungarian and Romanian and probably a little bit of Jew…thanks, dad!  Because I am a mixture, I love mixed things. I don’t add sugar or milk to my coffee…I top it up with cinnamon; I like cardamom in my tea. I have mixed feelings; also my mixed style and I don’t care what others wear. Never did.  I have cross breed dogs, I surround myself with an amalgam of skin colours and I love the sound of all sorts of languages. You would never be able to put a finger on what I’d do next…because I don’t know either. I told you I am a hybrid and I take a little bit from every nation I represent! Mostly the weird things….

My dad always knew that I’d get very far in my sweet weirdness. At the end of the day, I got this from him.  Dad and I used to eat breakfast at midnight and dinner instead of lunch. We started our meals with desert. Actually, we used to make the weirdest things together. We both hated rollercoasters, so one day we decided to buy 10 tickets each maybe, maybe we would start liking the ride. We didn’t and we were so sick that day! My dad and I invented a brand new language using words from all sorts of dead and alive languages. We understood very well each other. We used to wear white when black was in fashion. We had the strangest dog ever and we used to walk him at weird hours. We celebrated Christmas way before others just because we felt like it. We put up Christmas trees in spring and had Easters in the middle of winter. My dad and I made Wednesdays second Sundays, so we had fun weeks with two weekends. We mixed things so badly and we couldn’t care less what others thought about us. We had no rule, dad and I. That’s not quite true: we had our own weird rules and we added all sorts of upside down things to our lives. We had a silent day once a month and that was a torture for both of us. We decided that we needed a day with no talk only to clear our thoughts, so that day we didn’t even answered the phone. There’s a shame really that we couldn’t spend more time together, my dad and I. Today it would have been my dad’s birthday. I remember how we decided years back that a day was not enough so I still have a birthday week. Happy birthday, dad! I hope you teach the angels and demons how to exist as weird entities! And don’t worry about me. I keep the legacy going. I am still different and I’m not gonna change. :)

Why? Just because!

There is a rumor that Apple will release something very soon. What? Nobody knows yet, but the headquarter's warehouse doors are closed…so once again something is going to boom the market. I don’t want to miss that, but I cannot fly to Cupertino and have a nose. So, I decided to pop into the Vodafone shop and see if they have any idea about the upgraded IPhone 6’s release date. I want it badly! The guy looks kind of at me…actually he looks down to me even if I don’t wear pink today. I know what he thinks, I felt that so many times.: “Another idiot gave some money to the blondie to buy something nice”. That’s fine….I want the phone so I decided once again to be nice. I enlarged my smile and poppep the question about the 6. Same look again. “Why do you need the IPhone 6?”. Now, that’s totally my business and it has nothing to do with this Arabic guy. But my dumb smile convinced him to put my name down on his long list where there is only one name…mine! Buddy, with or without your help I will get it because what you don’t know is that behind my sweet appearance I may be one of those sweets who designed apps for the previous model.  And I don’t want to be stuck in the past...and I always get what I want! Just to be clear here!

So, I’m stubborn. What’s wrong with that? I proved it so many times. Actually I proved it in my classes.  Three years ago, I developed those five fitness classes, I choreographed them, I  designed levels and levels of each, I named them and I taught them. I still do that! Some of them are chicks only, others mixed.  I teach at least one a day, sometimes two or even three, seven days a week, so I know them by heart. Only if you would teach a fitness class you would know the feeling. People look not at you, not at what you do…they actually look into your eyes and beyond that! So, I’m stubborn, as I’ve said, and, when things get hard and I know that my peeps want to stop for a sec, I turn my head…not because I don’t care about their pain. It’s just a trick really. I give them the option to cheat as I wouldn’t see them relaxing…but they never do that because they know that I am stubborn …and I see everything … and, if they cheat, I’ll go back and redo the sequence until it’s done properly. Actually, I believe that my clients are stubborn as well…in a good way. I never saw my girlies Deanna, Jas, Barb, Val, Jenny, Sharon, Jacinda, Louise, Sandy or Julie cheating; nor Dion or Peter. They just go hard as there is no tomorrow. And to be totally honest sometimes after a class we all have the feeling that there is none! :)

Sweet revenge

 I like it quiet in the morning.... I wake up at 4am or 5am if I'm lucky, and I like having me time before I put my smile on. Not today. Three of my clients woke up earlier than me only to drop a nasty text. Identical really: “Federer lost. Glad I’m not training today”. Thanks, guys. It’s like I don’t know the news already... I had my cry over last night. But I have to admit my clients are right. When the Fed loses a game it’s better to cancel your workouts because I would just push to the point where there is no sarcastic smile left on your faces.  Not so much today because for the first time I realized that he is not that young anymore. Neither am I….but I am still alive and I know what I want to do with the rest of my life. Two years ago I bought myself a motorcycle. Never had one before, never been even close to one before. The whole experience lasted three months.  I realized that it’s just not me. Then I wanted to cross a marathon finish line  one more time. So what if I done it? I don’t dream like that anymore and there are no out of regular wishes on my Bucket list left. I just want normality what ever that means! 

There is only one crazy thing I still do every year. It’s called the "Revenge Session”. My clients know exactly what I am talking about and I bet they can’t wait for me to make it public. This session is their favorite one because for two hours they are my trainers and I am their client. Every year I let myself tortured by them, but to be honest here I think they only do to me what I’ve done to them. But there is a great thing here…I don’t have to pay them for training me. So, guys, put  your boxing gloves on, start making plans, remember exercises, make up others, do what ever you want…and do it hard because who knows if there would be another one next year! I’ll be yours for two hours on the last Sunday morning in October. Bring it on! Then go straight to what ever churches you belong to and pray hard! Not for me, I’ll be fine. For you, because on the  Monday after I’ll be in charge again! :)

Counting the blessings

I never had a hero, I mean a real one, and never wanted to live in a celeb’s shoes. I always felt comfortable with who I am. I know I am intense and silly most of the times, but I am who I am and I am not sure whether I want or can change. Girls want to have what Paris has, or look like some brainwashed socialites. I didn’t and I don’t want that. It’s true that some people inspire me, but I wouldn’t change my life for theirs. You don’t even imagine how well is to be me. 

My 6:00am is a client who always inspired me. Was actually because he forgot to turn up today for his training. I trained this guy for the last four years and he reached every goal he had, but he always comes up with something new. Anyway, he didn’t come today so I decided to ask Well, my laptop, to read my emails…again. There is one from one of my chicks, Corina. She found this cool website, specialised in horoscopes…all sorts of them. Now, I don’t read horoscopes, but I decided to please Corina, just because she is a good friend. So let’s just see what my horoscope for today says. Actually is a day behind because the site is a US one. It says that I would get such great news, best ever! Would that be the one about Hendrix, my puppy, chewing my spa lid or the fact that I popped my patella out again? It has to be about Hendrix because my horoscope also says that I would spend some money on me…..actually on a new spa lid, but that’s close enough. But let’s read more. Good news again. I would meet today, sorry yesterday, the love of my life. Now it gets really specific: around lunchtime. Actually I missed that because at lunchtime I had two classes. Girls only. But it says something about a ring. That’s true. Somebody needed money and sold a ring. I wanted to help, so I bought it. But then I started liking the ring and I decided to get engaged…to myself and I am sure we will be very happy together…me and I. 

Let’s cut this short. I am having a great day today. I checked my blog analytics and I got up to 43,000 readers. Thanks, guys, I appreciate it. So huge thanks to New Zealand, US, UK, Canada, Italy, Spain, France, Phillipines, Russia your coming strong, Australia, Japan, Brazil, Poland, Romania (Transylvania, mon amour!), Hungary and Denmark (I worked there, I miss you, guys!). And a no thanks to that guy in Sunnyvale US. You know who you are. So sorry, not interested, so stop stalking me! 

Have a great day, guys, and don’t read your horoscopes. It’s rubbish! :)

Living as per the stereotype

I used to believe everything and everybody. Not anymore. It wasn’t easy to learn how to hide behind my blondeness, but apparently I got better in time. Now, let’s be honest here. What guy would ever date a girl with an IQ higher than most men? What can you do if yours is way above 180? Pathetic really cause it may break all bridges to that awesome guy. So I learnt to hide and my blonde hair helped a lot. …and my smile! Guys like sweet girls and if they are dumb as well, that’s quite a bonus!  It’s not just me here…they are other blondies  in the same situation (no, not Mike, the situation!). I met a few and they play the game as well… But this time, I’ll make it personal, no examples, no correlations, no similarities…but I am going to give you one clue and one hint. Just because I decided to be nice.

So, let’s just talk relationships. The girl is blonde of course…and sweet, no doubt. And if she is a pink girlie girl, even easier to be read! That’s all guys see there; good catch, easy to handle and mould! They also know that if she is blonde (we already established that!), she has to be that and nothing else.  What they think they see behind the image is a chick whose brain goes no further than typing her secret diary (with glossy emoticons, of course!) in Word, entering her glamorous shopping list in Excel and watching some girlie, super teary soap operas. ..or tele novellas. The blondie has to have her fashion magazines every week…just to keep herself informed with the new colors en vogue. Another myth...  She also has to waste hours on her mobile with her garls, chit chatting about the last rumors in the neighborhood. Legend! But what happens if none of them is true? What if the blondie runs a business, is a computer geek and her brain has more circumvolutions than the guy’s? How do you hide that? Simple as and here is the clue: live as per his expectations. Please do it! It works!  

But, just because I said something about a hint, I’ll keep my promise. The hint is challenge of course, because if the girl is smart, she would want to be challenged. Smart people get bored easily…if they are not challenged. So, I am still looking around and wondering where is that awesome guy who decides to challenge me? And other smart blondies as well…I almost forgot something. He has to know how to play fair: when I throw a ball I expect it returned to me. Fast! Just because I played tennis for too long and that’s the rule I know! Too bad if he, the guy, prefers playing chess. I hate waiting for his next move! :)

Let's have coffee together!

 I always wanted to invent the boomerang that never returns. What a brilliant idea really! Imagine how much money I could make. You would buy one of my boomerangs, throw it as far as possible, it’s gone, so you would have to buy another one. Just for fun! I could even get the Nobel Prize for entertainment, but there is no such a category invented….yet. As I don’t have time to market my boomerang… I invent words…in all sorts of languages I still can speak. My best words are in English though and Tricia, my friend and editor, pulls her hair out when she hears me. But let me tell you the story. 

This morning at 5:00am I was waiting for Mary. She is one of my weight loss clients and I have fun training her. She is always more awake than I am and she talks a lot….I smile more than her. So Mary arrived and a second later John was in my studio…and then Wilson as well. Now, John is into bodybuilding and I do rehab work on Wilson’s elbow. So I looked at all three of them while my blonde head was full of all sorts and I didn’t know what to ask. So I smiled. Big, blonde smile, dumb really. I mean huge smile! Then I looked to my diary stored in Greenhead. I forgot to tell you about him. He is my IPhone. Anyway, I’ve seen Mary booked at 5:00am Tuesday. Nothing about John and Wilson. I then checked the texts I’ve sent out last week and surprise… I booked them all at the same time. Stupid, blonde moment. What would you do? I know what I’ve done. First of all I kept smiling. Then I asked “Coffee anyone?”. I made them coffees and sent them home….not without telling them “the next one is on me, guys. You have a great day and see you next time”…individually I hope! 

Then I walked home. …10 meters at most. Opened the door and my puppy Hendrix just finished reading three of my cooking books…with his teeth. I cleaned the mess and started talking to Well, my laptop. He was in a weird mood and refused to read my emails. He can get really stubborn this one! I fixed him somehow cause I am stubborn too.  Not even 6am and everything goes wrong. So I came up with my new word: unbook. Really easy to get this, guys! My whole day was booked, back to back, client after client, so I though to myself (no, not what a wonderful world!) what if I kind of chill out today and I unbook what I’ve booked. I then started unbooking my clients one by one. Not the classes, no! I still kept a yoga one and a bootcamp…just the One-on-Ones. Naughty, naughty me, but I never done that before so I am quite proud of my wild side!

Now, I am not lazy. I am just intense. Everybody knows that. When I start I don’t stop! And I have reasons for the muck up today. I haven’t slept too much last week. All sorts really, thoughts, worries, but that’s something I cannot tell you a word about. Much too  personal. So, guys, coffee anyone? And see you around tomorrow! :)

La vie en rose

I was chatting last night with a dear buddy of mine I haven’t seen in 15 years. Not chatting-chatting… just Facebook PMs. Let me tell you something about this guy. He was, years back, la crème de la crème in volleyball, the best player Europe has ever had and probably the top libero in the whole world. I’ve seen him playing hundreds of times. Always the best.  And I know what volleyball is about. I haven’t missed a game when I was younger. Anyway, back to the guy. What he had and others didn’t was that this guy was smart, his game was cleaver and tricky. You know how tall volleyball players are. He was a head shorter and he knew that he has to transform this handicap into a quality. So, I was chatting with him last night and what do volleyball fans chat about? You guessed: volleyball. I was absolutely sure that he coaches somewhere in Europe. He deserves that. But no. Others do…others who have degrees in God knows what, no experience and definitely no feel for the court. Anytime he was closer to get a coaching job, a novice just appeared from nowhere and grabbed it. Of course the novice was a friend of a friend of a high rated nobody. Nepotism is everywhere unfortunately. So, this buddy of mine got a job in something he is not passionate about, hoping that one day somebody remembers about him and his smart game. A shame really. I would make a volleyball team, I would fly him, his wife and son over and I would put him in charge if I could…but I don’t know too many tall guys. I mean I know some, but not so well and the ones I know may not want to know me. 

The story about my buddy made me think about how unfair life is for some people. Some may have multiple chances to get what they want, others none, Destiny? I don’t know and I am sure you don’t either. How many of you know what an athlete goes through? Probably many. I want to believe that many of you, guys, are in the position I was years back or my buddy was as well. My volleyball buddy could tell you a lot about what training as an athlete means. Eight hours a day, every day, since 5 or if you were lucky 6 years old. Every day, no weekends, no holidays. Then tournaments, one after another. Different cities, where all you remember are the train stations or airports. And after so many years of absolute torture, no job available in your sports? Pathetic really. 

Life is not fair and in most cases the one you take a bullet for is pulling the trigger. You know the feeling…But fair or not, life is more interesting when you are strange…or weird.  Now, I know the feeling cause I may be one of those. I wouldn’t fit in any standards and definitely I couldn’t be boxed and labeled. Just because all I care in this life of mine is mon couer qui bat! :)

My one-sided affair

Last week, Dion, one of my good buddies rang me with an emergency. He said something about his rotator cuff. Dion is not a complainer, I trained him for quite a while, long enough to know that he is a taughy.  I know him so well and I know his wife Barb very well. I train her as well. Barb has the most amazing body. She wasn’t like that six months ago; we worked so hard together on that. But this is another story. So Dion was on my massage table while I checked on his injury. Actually there was a Trapezius problem. So I knew exactly how hard this would be. On him, not on me... I knew that I had to pull his Scapula completely out in order to smoothen his Trap, then put the bone back to its place.  That’s the moment when the noise would make him faint. So I wanted him talking. And Dion talked... all sorts.... I didn’t even listen; I had my job to do. But something grabbed my attention….Dion saying something like “everything in this world is one-sided; relationships, feelings, everything”. And then he started giving me examples. I was sure he was wrong. Not anymore. 

I’ve been in a long affair with Telecom. He was my Internet provider and I thought we walked side by side. No leads here!  Seven days ago I started having problems; noises on my line, no broadband, all sorts really.  So I rang them. Firstly I talked with that cookie, 100% honey. She seemed to be more interested in the weather and how smooth my day was. She made me plug and unplug things, change filters, reset stuff, things I already done before. But I was in the mood to please her. Then she put me through Ben. He definitely sensed that I am blonde, so he felt obligated to explain in details how Internet works; “Imagine that Internet knocks on your door. He hears a noise inside, but you don’t open the door. So he leaves. And then comes back…and leaves again…and so on”. Seriously? How do you know that I am that blonde? But Ben was a good guy I guess because he sent out a technician….who never arrived. He was here in spirit because Ben assured me a few hours later that the guy fixed the problem. No, he didn’t! Then on Saturday morning at 5:00am, I talked to James. Another great guy! I explained how badly I need my connection for my business because I was just about to make an Eftpos transaction and believe me when I'm saying that my client had to pay quite a lot. I mean a lot. And James started laughing. …and then I realized why.  Who on earth charges clients on Saturday morning, when it is still dark? “Wait, James, I am not in that business! I am in an other kind of business. I’m just a trainer”. And we both laughed. James tried hard, but nothing changed. Steve couldn’t sort my problem either. Nor that American guy an hour later. The Indian lady at lunchtime tried as well. So after talking to the whole staff, I asked for a manager. He was nice as well. They all were… He may have helped me if I would have thrown a tantrum. I am sorry I cannot yell. It’s just not me. So, here I am, with the Internet still knocking on my door as per Ben. I loved you Telecom, really did, but I may have to divorce you. Just because, as Dion said, we’ve been in an one-sided relationship.. ..and I hate the fact you don’t love me back!

Now, I am not hopeless, nor useless. I am not out of Internet. I know how to use my phone as a modem for my laptop or IPad. But while I do all that, I still wonder how much business I would have if I would act as my dear affair partner Telecom does. And yes, Dion, I agree. Everything is one-sided in this whole world…if there is no competition. I know that by heart. I have a studio surrounded by 5 gyms. Real ones. And I am more booked that all five together...just because I don't just try to fix problems. :)

LeBron, Federer and my green heart

I am so happy today! I have my reasons.  Miami Heat is on top again and LeBron James at his peak.  Then Wimbledon starts on Monday and the Fed is still on!  Guys don’t keep me waiting too long; put the ladies and gents drawn live! Then my puppy Hendrix chewed only my electric blanket’s cable. Not the whole blanket. After he practically chewed and swallowed my house keys. Not all of them, only two…  What an improvement!  Also, yesterday, for the first time in years, I finished work at 5:45pm, so my weekend really started at a normal hour. On top of everything, Apple released IRadio (yay!)… with an oops…available only in US….hello, I am in New Zealand. Thanks Apple, great work. It seems that I’ll be Pandora’s client long time from now on!

But, wait. I haven’t finished just yet. I went out to buy coffee and I bought myself the most amazing pendant. I couldn’t resist. A green heart, the greenest one. It’s probably nothing for you, but it means the world to me…not because it is so superb. Just because I don’t shop…. in shops.  I hate shopping.  There are those two companies in UK I buy everything from. Great one made girlie things! 

So I am practically in heaven today and I will have a great weekend with only a Pump class on.  Something is missing? Yep, but it may worth the waiting…
 Have a great weekend, guys! :)

No more glory, please!

I like Facebook. Really do. I have a business page I share with you, guys, and a personal one, where I live my life with almost 1000 friends. I know them all, I care about them and I love reading their posts. I laugh and play a lot on my page. At the end of the day, it is mine and it represents me only. Today, I read a post from Nikita, one of my girlie-sweetie-missy clients I started training just a couple of weeks back. She posted to her friends that it is because of me that she gained back her confidence. Nikita is a sweetheart, a fighter and a winner. She’s been through so much even if she is only in her early 20s. I love Nikita and I adore her babies. She will go so far, this girl! Her post made me think about what I would have become without all these wonderful people like Nikita.  Kiita, this is for you, girlie! :)

When I was younger, I had doubts that everything happens for a reason. I didn’t want to stop playing tennis and I didn’t understand for a very long time why I had to injure myself. I thought that I was a good human being and that good people deserve good things. While on court, I had my life planed in details. I knew exactly how long I would play, how many games I would win (every each of them!) and how much money I would have in my account at the end of my career. Ten minutes into a game,  I looked to my left just because something really shinny grabbed my attention. Then I stepped funny and…my planed future became just a memory.  For months I was so angry with God; actually he was my worst enemy back then!  Then I realized that I have to move on because my plan A is gone and that I would have to start focusing on plan B and even make up a plan C if something goes wrong. I knew training by heart, every bits of it, so I started training others….while studying Philosophy and Medical Anthropology. That was the best time of my life and that was the time when I realised that everything really happens for a reason. I am a better trainer than I was a player. I trained myself and I can train others with my eyes closed because I know what my clients go through. I’ve been there. If they feel down, I know the feeling; I had it for so many times. I know what success means; I had it myself. 

I am wiser now and I realise that if I hadn’t injured myself, my life would have been much different. Yes, I would have had more glory and fame, but who cares about that? I am wiser for sure because I know that there is no difference between “forgive” and “forget”.  At least not for me. I met so many people I love and care about just because for one second only I looked to my left. All my friends and clients mean much more to me than all the glory in the world and I cannot be grateful enough that my knee snapped to pieces when something shinny disturbed my game. :)

Just a little pain!

I don’t sleep too much. I found it a waste of time. I could do so many things, I mean important ones, instead of sleeping. And because I get excited easily, I keep people awake. It’s usually Tricia, my dear friend, I try to convince to give up some rest time…only to chat with me. Tricia is my bestest ever and my editor as well. She absolutely hates the fact that my blogs go live full of misspellings. I wouldn’t care less…She already decided that bestest is not a word, so I will keep using it just to bother her a little bit. What about bester, Tricia? Anyway, usually at 11pm, we Voxer or text and, believe me, you wouldn’t want to know what we chat about. An hour later, she gives up. I keep going for another hour. I come alive after midnight. The real reason is that, after so many classes lately, I am sore. Actually I made myself sore. It is a different soreness than the one I used to feel when I played tennis. Back then I had fewer injuries; now I quite battle with a few. Last year, I ruptured two ligaments in my right knee (remenber that this is my good knee!) and dislocated my left shoulder. I still suffer and it’s fair according to what Bryce, my physio said. Nothing much really, except that the heeling process is around 18 months. Give me a break, Bryce, this is not a grieving process! So, I’m sore, but the good news is that my clients are in much more pain than I am. …and they keep coming back for more!

Last Sunday I went crazy. Sculpt Pump class at 9:00am and I was so very tired before the class started. My clients learnt that the classes are super intense when I am tired. Just because I cannot think clearly and I push too much. So, the class started and while my peeps warmed up, I thought I’ll make an announcement. “460 squads today, sweeties. Load the weights”. So, I’m sore…and they are as well. But they all came back for the Body Sculpt class on Wednesday. Deanna and Jas, just wait to see what I planed for next Sunday class! You’ll hate me as much as you’ll love me! 

Why do I keep going like that? Simple as: just because I love it and I got so used to the pain. I couldn’t live without it. :) 

My life with Well

I don’t own a watch. Never had one.  As an athlete, I knew that my training started when it started and finished when I was finished. No watch required. As a trainer, I know that a session finishes when the next client arrives. So I wake up every morning at 4am (yes, I still need an alarm!) and my clients record my time…not a watch. Just because I don’t have one!

Anyway, at 4am I always turn my laptop on. Things have names in my world. I called my laptop Well, because he (yes, he is a he) and I always start our convos with “well,….”  He (we already decided on that!) talks back to me, so the first thing I heard early in the morning today was “you have 86 emails”. Thanks for that. Easy day! As he always does, Well started reading my emails. Today is my lucky day: I have an email from Gabriella. Do you know her? I don’t either, but apparently she knows me or at least she knows my email address. Gabriella is a kind of fortune-teller. She emails me once a week, from where ever she is, just to remind me that my day started good, but very soon, I mean very, very soon, my life will change forever. Depending on her mood, horrible or just amazing things would happen to me. Very, very soon. She can help, she says. All I have to do is handle in my credit card details and she would then turn my luck around….or upside down. She changes the amount she asks for her services depending on her mood…again. Now, Gabriella, who ever you may be, don’t bother, please. I don’t want to know my future, let it just amaze me! I don’t have a watch; I don’t count hours, or months. 

Next email is from Google. Now, this is the real Google. The fake one rang a few times last week. The fake one has employees. Many of them, apparently all based in Napier. It’s quite weird how all these Napier guys have Indian accents. The good news is that they don’t want my credit card. They just want my website login…to sort me out…forever! I may be blonde, but not so blonde as you may think! 

I am just lucky today that the rest of my emails are from clients. 84 clients asking for advice. That’s what I want for a great day. So, I start dictating my replies. Well got used to my accent. Almost. He types crap sometimes, but that’s just fine. I would do it anyway myself. 

Have a great day, guys! :)

Who am I?

Hendrix is my 5 months old puppy. Ridgeback- Lab cross; great dog. He is mine only. I share Max with my daughter. Max is an 11 years old Lab- Mastiff cross. But, as I've said, Hendrix is just mine. He is absolutely crazy; probably this is why I love him so much.  Hendrix escapes every day and there is no fence to stop him. Actually, he used to until a builder fixed my fence. However, Hendrix wears a name tag with my phone number. Just in case.

So, there is that guy who rang two weeks ago. He said that Hendrix is in Manly village, running like crazy. As he does. It was my turn to run now. I found him playing with an old lady. No guy around. Next day, same story....and then the fence got fixed. Last Saturday, the guy called again to tell me that Hendrix was in the village...again. I looked around. Hendrix was next to me, chewing my book. Sunday he called again. This time he asked for my name. Just in case. Again I looked around and here he was, the crazy Hendrix,  just eating my pink high heels. Seriously? So I just told the guy that he can keep Hendrix next time he sees him in the village. Because there won't be a next. 

So, let's just have a toast for an idiot! I don't want to go so far as Kanye West would, but this is exactly what I'm thinking. Do you want to know who I am? Try harder!

Who am I? That's one secret I'll never tell! :) 

I am here to stay!

I really like rainbows. I haven't seen so many as a child because they weren't many in the country I grew up. As a child, I mostly heard or read about them. I've seen so many though in my new country New Zealand and I started taking lots and lots of photos. Some were double rainbows. Those are my favorites. I haven't seen many toys as a little girl and I thought that dolls are something that are only in movies. At five, my only toy was my racket and I had to make the most of it. The court was my playground. No slides, just clay. A baby girls' palm is pink and beautiful. Mine was full of blisters. And my feet too. At the time when little girls dream about castles and princes, I played. You wouldn't know that clay sticks on your skin and makes you look so much different than a princess? You would definitely wouldn't know that. I had a good childhood thought, except that I was a ping pong ball and my parents were the best table tennis players. So I thought. Kids wouldn't have to feel that. But I made the most out of it. I blanked the whole world out and played the best I could. That's all I knew back then. I am smarter now. I know now that I have choices and that there is nothing I really have to do. I do things because I want to, not because I have to. As a child, I never collected things. I had no stamps or coins collection, nor any kind of stickers one. Now I collect people. I surround myself with good ones and I just hope they feel the same about me. 

I have the best clients ever. My job is that part of my life I never failed. Probably the only one. I put so much effort in it because I want to live at my clients' expectations. Not because I have to; nobody pushed me; I pushed myself. I wanted that.  My clients are my pride and I don't just say that. Every day I learn something from them. They taught me the language, the habits, the culture. They actually were what my parents were not. Like every human, I had some tragedies in my life and, when I was down, I ended up with so much baking these girlies have made for me just to show their love and compassion. In the moments when I wasn't able to cook because life was too taught, my clients came with lunches and dinners. They put their precious time in for me. We celebrated Christmases together. And Easters. We blew the candles on my birthdays cakes together. They caught Hendrix, my puppy, any time he escaped. They love my kids and jump for them in fire if they have to. They took me to their churches and I've been in so many so far. Some installed my gate and helped me with my veggie garden. Others worked for me in the house when I moved in. Others put a new bathroom in for me. All these while I was making money training people. My studio is always full and I may be the only trainer that has bookings up to December. But my house is full as well. Same loving, caring, exceptional people.  

I am in a business with and for people. A people's business. I've been in for so many years. My whole life really and I intend to stay here for ever. I am in it to the end! :)

Keep your light shinning

There is a consequence for everything in life. I learned that many years ago. Karma? I don’t know about that; what I know is that there were repercussions for every action I made. And if I continue making mistakes , that just proves that I am human. And sometimes too blonde.  My dad used to say that we all have a light that we carry with us the whole life. He said that this light is ours only and it’s not to be given away. He was right. I’ve met so many people who shine.

Kim’s light shined more than others. I met her three years ago. Actually she phoned me because she wanted to hire me for a short period of time. She said something about a month or two, just enough to get fitter and when I asked her if there is any weight loss involved, she said that she doesn’t want to lose any. So I booked her for an assessment on Monday first thing in the morning. Now, here she is in my studio the funny, bubbly Kim. When I first saw her, I thought she may be in denial: short, very short, something like 1.52cm, carrying 157kg. Huge really. So I started talking about losing some weight, but Kim was really sure she doesn’t want to do that. She said that she likes the way she is and her husband doesn’t mind that she is heavy. My client, my master. After a few sessions, I was still wondering if I lost my mind or she doesn’t see herself as she really was. Anyway, one day she told me that her hubby is going to pick her up after the session. By then, I started liking Kim very much and she became one of my favs clients. She was, and still is, so honest, careful, amazing lady, willing to give more than she gets. So, at the end of that particular session I will never forget, her man was by my studio's door waiting for Kim. Boy, oh boy, what a man! Absolutely gorgeous, like 10 years younger than Kim,  lean as, just an awesome guy deeply in love with his wife. For days, I was wondering what has he really found in her and how on heck was she able to get him. But then I realised that Kim’s light shined in the darkest nights. She was, and, as I’ve said, still is, an amazing human being, decided to make him happier than any supermodel would. 

I am stubborn and I wanted more for Kim. She trained with me for almost two years and I made her skinny and gorgeous. Not for her actually. It was my present to her husband. We stayed friends and I still see Kim outside of my work. We go out for coffees and chit chat a lot. I’ve been in her home several times, enough to realise that nothing changed in her man’s attitude. I don’t think he even noticed how beautiful she looks now. For him, she was always the same girl with a shinny light inside. 

Now, there is a thing that Kim made me learn and I will share this with you. Girlies, there is no awesome guy left! Don't search too much! There are all gone! None left!  Kim took the best. :)