Almost fall

I finished the AFAA study guide and practice test and used my guest passes at Shapes. Without any memberships, though, I've been falling into old habits. Not that my old habits are bad – they still consist of stretching daily, going for walks / jogs, and doing stuff in my living room. They just don't consist of actual aerobic or strength training classes or structured time periods to “work out.” I think it's enough to stay healthy...I just need to make sure that I can pick things up quickly if the demands of work in my industry require it. Which they might.

On a sort of related note, I was thinking about how circumstances in life / mental state can determine whether or not you exercise. Of course we know that exercising can also determine how you feel in life, so it's sort of a chicken or egg thing to me. Do you jump up and down because you're happy or are you happy because you jump up and down? It can go both ways. But I'm still fascinated by how emotions can affect what our bodies do. The reverse is sort of interesting, but it's a saturated field of study (that I happen to be in). I wonder if I'll ever get to explore more.

What else? I got a couple of job offers. One was for the campus bookstore and one was for tutor-a-bull which is a program in the education dept. where we go tutor kids in middle schools and high schools around the area. The tutoring would only be 1 day a week for 4 hours but would last the whole semester. The bookstore would be 15-ish hours a week but wouldn't be guaranteed to last the semester. Temporary employees are just needed for the fall rush (through Sept 13) and then it's uncertain after that. So I could do both. I signed up for a training session Wed. of this week, in fact. But I also applied to a grad assistantship in the financial aid office which I haven't heard from yet. That would pay way more and be pretty cool, but I don't know what will happen. The timing of knowing these things is a little frustrating, but what can you do?

Other things I have to do that are coming up: check to see if new tuition rates are posted yet. That will have an effect on how much of the loan money I decide to accept. (But so will the job situation because assistantships pay some of the tuition). I also might have to call unemployment for millionth time because I'm still not getting anything even though I've been submitting my job searches. And it's all because I reported that research study I did as income one week. That was stupid. I wouldn't have done that if I'd known it would screw everything up. Ugh. But despite money issues, I'm still managing to make purchases where needed (dentist, oil change, car registration, parking decal for new school year) and where wanted (plane ticket to see boyfriend once more before school starts, maybe an e-reader / tablet which I've been wanting for a while and which I might shop for this weekend when they're tax-free and possibly on sale for the back-to-school season). Oh, and then I'll need to get textbooks for my classes, but I've been getting those with award money that's been attached to my financial aid, so that shouldn't be too big a deal (plus if I stay an employee of the bookstore I get an employee discount).

Sometimes it seems unfathomable that I'd be affording everything with as little income as I've had lately, but for one thing, I shouldn't question it. And for another, I still need to be careful because luck is not everlasting. I'm gonna have loans to pay after this year, I won't have the safety net of school anymore, and I'll need to succeed in acquiring what I'm working toward – a 'real job' that will engage me on a daily basis and that will pay decently. It's such a simple concept but one that's taken a long time to carve a path for. Because when you're young, you sometimes make a wrong guess about what it is you should do / pursue. And then you have to start over. But there are worse things than having to start over. And it's never too late to do it. And now I sound like a hallmark card, so maybe that means I should end the post here, lol.

Summer update

At a quick glance, my time right now is divided between job search stuff, exercise / self-study for fitness stuff, and pleasure reading. Nothing really new with the job search stuff (except dealing with unemployment compensation). Actually, I did participate in a paid research study for the psychology dept at school which was interesting.

I used up my month of membership at campus rec (the school gym – which you have to pay for if you're not enrolled for classes during the summer). But I was able to take most of the group exercise classes I wanted. I took yoga, pilates, cycling, cardio, step, kick & step, zumba, hip hop, and one called total domination which was a mixture of cardio and weights. Now I have a few free guest passes to use at Shapes, the gym where one of my other classmates works. I emailed her (and another one who was telling me about the GFIT program in the fall) asking what else I could do to prepare because I'll have to audition for the program and I wasn't sure if simply taking classes would be enough. The classmate from Shapes told me what classes she taught and said I could come to them which was pretty cool of her. I went to one yesterday which was aqua core – yoga / pilates / tai chi in the pool. Even though aquatics is a separate certification (as is kickboxing, cycling, yoga, and some others), I thought it'd be cool to see what a water class was like. I used to love swimming as a kid. Then as I got older it went by the wayside and I got really sensitive to water temperature – as in I freeze if it's not super warm. But the pool was fine and I had no trouble getting in, so that was cool.

And self-study. I went through the health promotion and risk management stuff, but now I'm on to the study materials that go along with preparing for the group fitness instruction certification. I don't know why I just now became aware of them and the fact that I could read about how to teach classes. Maybe I thought learning how to teach was something I'd just get with the GFIT program? But I knew there had to be some other way of learning for people who didn't do that program or who weren't in a university degree program for exercise science! Duh. Maybe it was partly my fear about what would happen if I didn't get in the program that made me look more closely at the AFAA site to see what they had. I knew from a quick glance that they had 1-day workshops for various things, but they had this study package for the certification I'm going for which is perfect. It'll help me prepare for GFIT (in a way that simply taking classes wouldn't have) and if for some reason I didn't get in, I'd still be able to take one of the other workshops and get certified anyway. Win.

As for other goings-on that don't fall into the above categories, I got my hair cut (just a little, nothing major), had my physical, bought some new exercise pants and sneakers (I could've kept wearing my old ones except they were at least six years old and I figured I ought to look professional), and went to a general meeting on campus about scholarships. It didn't do too much good considering that most deadlines for getting money for this coming year already passed. But I did find one on their website that I could do – an Atlas Shrugged essay contest :) I just wrote it this week and might submit it next week. I also confirmed that I did, in fact, miss the deadline for applying to grad assistantships for my dept too. How crazy is that? No one told me about it, there was no announcement or anything. I thought I could apply in the summer because my advisor last year said to apply in the summer. Nope. But I'm trying not to go crazy about it because I still have my loans and I'm still in the program and that's what matters. I've got the fall, spring, and internship next summer and that's it! (Oh, and comps - as in comprehensive exams - in the spring. *gulp*)

And though I don't normally talk about personal life, I had a great weekend get-away last weekend with my best friends from FSU for one's bachelorette party. Now in another week, my boyfriend will visit for a week (during which we'll have another short get-away for the 4^th of July at a friend's party in Havana) and then two weeks after that my dad will visit for a week. So even without officially being in school or working, I still have a lot to keep me busy this summer!

Summer

Second semester done! It's been challenging, especially coming from another field, but you always have to start somewhere and gradually work your way into the thick of things, to the point where you can actually call yourself whatever it is you're trying to be without feeling like a poser. I still have a lot to do, but I'm making progress. Took my CPR class yesterday and my first group exercise class (taught by one of my classmates who just graduated). I'm gonna try and take all the different exercise classes so I at least know what they consist of, and then hopefully get certified in the fall. Also, I'm checking out the books that were used for the undergrad classes I didn't take so I can read the stuff on my own and catch up that way (worksite health promotion, risk management). And, of course, I'm catching up on my pleasure reading! I'm so happy it's summer and I have a break. I guess it'll be my last summer off before I officially jump back into the real world (of working full time) (I hope). That's why I'm not fretting too much over whether I'm working right now (which I'm not). But I'm learning and moving forward!

And though it's not a new topic, I feel like briefly revisiting the idea of how people define themselves – isn't it usually by what they're passionate about in life? How many people are passionate about what they do for a living? If you're one of them, it makes sense that you'd associate your identity with your job, I think. If you have a job that you don't care about but are pursuing something else on the side, you'd identify yourself by whatever that other pursuit is. Does it matter whether you're earning a living at what you love? Well, I think for most people, life is better when income and passion about the work merge together, but it's more important that you at least have the two things (separate or not). And defining yourself by your passion is the key thing. (I guess an argument can be made for not having your passion be your source of income because it adds pressure and takes the fun away, which I can understand. But I also think it's important to not hate your job or it'll wear you down. You should definitely do something you at least like). 

I'm happy to be studying to get a job in something that interests me greatly (and that I can say I'm passionate about). So I will hopefully be one of those people who defines herself by her job, at least somewhat. Yet I also define myself by my love of books and reading and language and stories (which can actually be told through many forms), even though that love probably won't overlap very much with what I do (or with what I'm studying now). But that's okay. I guess it just sometimes feels like a double life, hehe (or maybe not, because lots of people like to read or do other things in their spare time. Nobody is all about their job 100% of the time). And being a reader, it makes me sometimes step back and observe myself as if I'm still trying to make a story out of my life. Why do I do that? Am I that important of a person that my life story needs to be told? Haha, no. But I think it might have something to do with the fact that writers are always observing life from the outside, always looking for stories or details from life that could go into a story or inspire a story. But I don't identify myself as a writer because I don't have ideas floating through my head all the time the way writers do. I always had to struggle for ideas. And that's not very fun. So I simply identify myself as a reader instead. Maybe a thinker, hehe.

But going back to the double life thing, I know that a love of stories was never enough. Not just because I didn't have ideas for stories or because it's hard to make a living at. But because there was something else I was passionate about. And that was physical movement. And how it's incorporated into life, especially if you're not an athlete. It frustrated me over many years of working that many jobs in modern society are so restrictive in that regard. Cubicles. Ugh. I couldn't do it. And it was affecting my health because I ate less and less to compensate for less physical exertion, so I became thin but unfit. (And I'm still trying to remedy that now a little bit). So health was always an interest for me underneath everything, even as I was pursuing other things. It just happened to come to the forefront, finally. And not a minute too soon because I needed something else to do with my life anyway. So I'm glad I'm pursuing it. And if you think of it another way, being healthy can allow you to pursue your other passions more easily. (And in my case, having a health-related job that makes me feel good about myself instead of a job I hate will allow me to enjoy my reading and stuff more because I won't be despairing about wasting my life and my potential the way I was before).

Hmm, so when am I going to start writing about fitness and the stuff I'm learning? I don't know, lol! I guess I don't have anything to say about it yet, but we'll see. So much for me attempting to have a non-personal blog, huh? I know some professional bloggers who do sort of intertwine their personal life with professional, which I always liked and hoped to emulate. But I don't know what you'd call my blog. I'm purposely leaving out the personal, personal stuff, but it's still not really professional either. Oh well. It's just a blog.

Update

It seems like the only thing I can come up with as far as writing right now is a to-do list of sorts. But oh well, whatever. The end of the semester is approaching, and with it, the increasing workload. Trying to stay calm. My phone survey job did end, as I predicted, so that will lead me into new job searching (but I'll get to that later). Trying to get clearer on what I need to accomplish (or rather, how I'm going to accomplish it) to get caught up to my peers work-wise and be marketable. It began last semester with me talking to a few different professors and learning about the professional organizations and certifications in my field. They are numerous, so you kinda have to narrow it down based on what you want to do. The HFS certification from ACSM will be at the end of school (degree is required to get it). Internship will be the summer after this (which I'll probably start lining up in the fall). In Nov. I'll hopefully be able to get AAFA certified at USF (group fitness instruction). But to get that, I need to either enroll in the 6 week GFIT program through campus rec (which prepares you for the cert) or find some other way to learn how to teach group exercise on my own (I can't take the class for undergrads). Where to do that? I could call around to some places and see, I guess. And take some normal group classes on my own to see what they're like. Maybe ask to shadow some interns at the places I might try to intern later? And lastly, call AAFA directly and ask. So there's definitely some of that I can get started on this summer. As well as the CPR certification which is only a day. Also, I have to create a new resume. As for actually earning money at something on the side right now, I don't know what that'll be yet. Also, I finally friended some classmates on facebook so I feel a little more connected. Lots to do, but hopefully do-able! Just gotta stay organized :)

Second semester classes so far

This post is the last one from my old blog - I decided to copy and paste it here so I can pick up where I left off.

Not much to talk about except how classes are going so far. The exercise testing & prescription is helping me feel more up to speed with my grad classes. Or at least confirming what I'm learning and filling in holes and whatnot. I actually have it 4 days a week – lecture on Tues. and Thurs. and lab on Mon. and Wed. So far in lab we've measured each other's heart rate and blood pressure, we've gone over risk stratification, and now we're doing circumferences and skinfolds. After that we'll probably get into the cardiovascular endurance tests and muscular strength. I'm pretty eager to test my fitness! There are times when I feel I have enough energy to exert myself a lot for a long period (or, simply, to 'exercise,' lol). And although I exert myself a little sometimes, I don't often go to my full capacity. But by getting into the fitness field, I'll maybe get the opportunity to do that.

Body composition assessment and management is one of my other classes. It's taught by my epidemiology professor, so it's challenging (as was her other class). But hopefully I'll manage. Sometimes when you simply pretend to be smart, others believe you are (whether it's true or not, lol). And sometimes that's how you succeed. And by showing up, participating, etc. And talking about obesity is always fun (its prevalence in society, how to fix it, etc.). And anything that has to do with the body is mostly interesting to me. (I say 'mostly' because I'm still not a big physiology person, but hey). And also I think it's cool that we'll be critiquing a popular diet book of our choice for the class.

Psychology of exercise is my other class. I love psychology so it's pretty interesting to me. We have a different topic every week and we read studies on that topic. So far we've covered stress, anxiety, depression, and now we're on emotion/mood/affect. Coming up will be stuff like body image, self-esteem, motivation, sleep, addiction, and some others. We have to give powerpoint presentations for the class, so I had to learn it quick. But I did, so that was cool.

After taking a break from my phone survey job for most of Nov. and all of Dec., I started again the first week of school (doing just Mon., Wed., and Fri. afternoons). But I'm not sure how long it's going to last because the quota is getting harder to meet all the time. Oh well, we'll see what happens I guess.

Better get back to studying. I just felt like I was gonna go crazy if I didn't write something. For a while I didn't have anything, so I kinda resisted. But just this much was something.

Intro

I had a blog before this, but I decided to start over fresh just to see what happens. I named it 'Not by the book' because my life has zig zagged in so many directions that you might say I've not 'gone by the book' in terms of following one certain path. And I've not followed a traditional timeline for certain milestones (like marriage, kids, career, etc.) (But traditional timelines are becoming less and less common, aren't they?) I'm 31 right now and in my second semester of grad school at USF. I'm going for a master's in exercise science because I want to work as a health fitness specialist in a corporate wellness setting. I got my bachelor's in theatre at FSU almost a decade ago when acting was my intended pursuit. The time between then and now is quite a story.

Some highlights were that I moved to L.A but quickly gave up acting. While I was there, though, I worked as a movie extra, a talent agency intern, and office temp. I dabbled in fiction writing on the side because I really wanted to be a writer. But I felt I didn't have a lot of material / life experience to draw from. I had some which I used in short stories, but it's almost as if I was trying to live the most adventurous life I could just to have material. (And because I was in my twenties and didn't want a typical career and wanted to be an artist... you know, that kind of thing).Well, I did end up getting some material which I turned into a memoir. I won't go into the details here because it's unpublished and too personal, but suffice to say it was perhaps a coming-of-age type of thing. (If you can call the years I was 24 and 25 'coming of age'. Whether they were or not, they were definitely life-changing).

From age 26 to 30 I was back in Florida where I grew up. Just so it's not misleading, I didn't write the memoir while I was still in L.A. It was after I got home. It was during my quarter-life crisis (yeah, I kinda had one of those) when I was REALLY unsure about what I wanted to do with my life. After all, simply writing a memoir did not make me a writer. And I didn't have anything else to write. And what marketable skills did I have? Customer service type jobs seemed to be the most fitting thing for me at that point, but I didn't want that to be my life. I considered trying to get into publishing, but that was a difficult task. I did have one short-lived job in marketing, but that wasn't my cup of tea. Finally, I had the idea of getting into fitness. It was perfect because health and eating were already things I was passionate about. I hated being restrained by desks and/or cubicles and wanted a job where moving around was part of it. Exercise and getting paid for it? Awesome! (Also, I used to figure-skate as a kid before I got into drama in high school, so that's always been something that's defined me in a way). So I researched college degree programs for that and found exercise science. I took some online prerequisites that I needed and got accepted! I still felt a little behind other students who had come directly from an undergrad program in the same field, and almost wanted to give up when I found there were some crucial classes I wanted that weren't offered at the graduate level. But I talked to some advisors, made a plan, and kept going. So that's where I am now!