How Yesterday Kicked My Ass, or "Alanna is out of shape and not impressed with her brother"

I fully intended to write about yesterday... well, yesterday. But then for some reason I didn't. I don't know why. But since I'm sitting here without much to do right now, I will do that.

The day started like every other, with the exception of the fact that I was actually out the door in a reasonable amount of time. I didn't have to be at work til 11, and there was a weight class happening at the gym that I figured I would take part in since I haven't got a clue how to do weights and thought joining in with other people would be a great way to start off.

I got to the gym with enough time to change and get to the room that the classes are in. I had no idea what to expect, or what to do, or anything like that. I kinda asked one of the ladies and she told me what to grab etc. So I set myself up close to the instructor and decided to give it all a go. The class filled up with a bunch of ladies, all older than me. We started by warming up (which consisted of a bunch of rhythmic flailing about similar to what you would see on an 80s aeorbics video - and I'm not rhythmic, so I looked more just like a seizure victim) and then grabbed our barbells and proceeded to do an unorthodox amount of squats.

The squats, which I thought very well might kill me led into lunges, shoulder presses, bench presses, vertical rows, lower ab workouts and a bunch of other high intensity painful exercises. I think I forgot to mention that this class was labeled "intermediate" which should have indicated to me that I was way out of my league. At one point I actually had to set my barbell down and leave the room and get a drink of water and sit for a second because I was fairly certain that I was going to pass out. There were women, at least 2x my age, barely looking like they'd broken a sweat and here I was on the verge of collapse. Yes, I AM out of shape. That much has been decided.

After the workout of death, as it is now called, I quickly showered and dressed, and realizing i had 45 til I had to work, left thinking I would have plenty of time to go get my eyebrows threaded because right now I think they are in worse shape than when I was 12. No, seriously.

I got to my car and threw my stuff in. Jammed the key in the ignition and ... nothing. Well, a horrible grinding sound, but really nothing else. My battery was about 90% dead (I'm making this number up... i really have no idea what degree of dead-ness it had achieved). I can only assume that this was because my lights were left on. Normally they turn off on their own, but lately they have been stupid and staying on. I think it has something to do with the cold.

Anyway....

Usually a dead battery is nothing for me to be concerned with, as I am a fully competant almost-25-year-old who knows how to boost a car, change a tire etc. Except that on Sat my brother had borrowed my booster cables and, despite me saying "Sure, but make sure they are put back" they were not put back. So I decided to take the next course of action and call Canadian Tire Auto Club (which my mom so nicely pays for me to have... or I get for free because she has it, I'm not totally sure) and ask them to come boost me.

Now I guess I should fully explain a few things before I continue. The gym I go to is about a block, and not even a city block away from the nearest Crappy Tire. However, when you call them, they outsource the tows etc to local businesses and then compensate them for their services. So when I called, the woman told me it would be 45 min to an hour. Fine... I wouldn't be able to get my eyebrows done. And I might be late for work. But fine. I'll wait. So I sat in my car, I cleaned out my glovebox, my door pockets, my garbage. Everything. I text messaged people (including my brother, lots of expletives were used). I stared out the window. Eventually I called the auto club back to find out when exactly someone was coming. The woman was really nice, but she informed me that it would be another 30 to 60 minutes.

I thought about it and I was getting cold, and I really had to get to work. So I decided "Eff this, I'm going to walk to work. It's really not that far". Which, really, it isn't. So I called the auto club people, told them to cancel the boost, set out, and after about 15 feet realized the error of my ways. See, yesterday I decided to wear my Doc Marten boots, which if you have ever had doc's you will know are completely and utterly useless in the snow/ice. By the time I cross the street, I'd slipped almost 5 times. And then I realized the next thing. The sidewalks were not cleared.

There was nothing more than just a narrow path a lot of the way. And so slipped and slided all the way to work, taking 40 min to accomplish a walk that would normally take maybe 20.

I arrived at work, roasting because it wasn't even all that cold out, and exhausted from the 2 very different type workouts. The day continued fairly uneventfully, and after work and after warm tea at the tea shop, Sartaj and I went back to boost my car.

The whole process took longer than I expected, as apparently high-end vehicles bury their batteries under strange plastic hoods and make it extremely difficult to clamp the cables onto... but we got my car going, and I went home to recount this whole story to my mother.

Now, as anyone who knows my stories will know, there isn't really a punchline to this story.... most of the stories I tell are about the journey, not the destination... and really yesterday was exactly that. A lot of build up to a non exciting finish. The car started, I made it home. And I woke up this morning feeling muscles I swear did not exist prior to yesterday. My brother will be getting an earful from me when I see him next, and I may have to invest in a new battery if I keep killing the one I have.

Thankfully though, the "check engine" light thats always on is currently off. Thats reassuring. It took me about 15 min this morning, however, to realize why I couldn't get my radio station to come in. All my presets were erased. :(