In The Mood For...

Gaaad. It's gonna rain every day till Thursday in Makati. According to the four-day weather forecast courtesy of inq7.net, I won't be able to play Ultimate at San Lo yet again this week. Games are automatically cancelled in the event of rain coz although horsing around in the muck sounds very Dawson's Creek-y and evocative of the unbridled spirit of youth (which is very tempting, as lately I'm feeling very bridled and reined in--like a nag), it's also the time for catching all sorts of viruses and nasty what-have-yous. (In fact, I have a budding case of the sniffles coming on, which I really hate coz I tend to sneeze all over the place--with or without a cover-up.) Add to that the fact that it's hard to score glamour puss or pogi points while throwing and catching discs in such a compromising state. But of course, this is not why people take to the game like New Age converts. Aside from the "spirit of the game," that code of conduct which places the responsibility for fair play on the players themselves, playing Ultimate does what one sets out to do when trying out a new sport: it gives you a fun workout.

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Speaking of workouts, I am in desperate need of boot camp therapy. My gym membership expired just last month, and now I'm in fitness limbo, so to speak. (I'm no gym addict, and I certainly don't look like one.) The Valero people and I have been planning to enrol in the new gym being set up in our office building, but after a little while, the idea got a little boring. Indeed, I think I'd rather enrol in a muay thai class over at Red Corner than rack up hours working the machines. It's partly coz I'm not a social gym-goer, if there ever was a term. But more than this, I guess it's really a case of the gym where I was a member rather than my actual workout predisposition. I think having a membership at Fitness First would be really cool but, aside from other considerations, the location is a bit of a stinker for me. All things considered, I would love to have a membership at Gold's Gym. So very accessible. And the classes are pretty wide-ranging. And lemme not forget to mention the nice "view" (yes, scoping out the scenery while working the treadmill is a sport unto its own), which is more than I can say for my former gym.

I remember in my last sem in college, my roommate Andy and I would compare notes on the exercises that we were taught in gym class every Tuesday and Friday. She used to love doing tube rows, for which her gym teacher commended her publicly one time. ("She does it well," said Caces, the infamous terror gym prof.) As for me, my favorite exercise was the back extension because it felt so relaxing. I don't get to do this now, though. Instead, the thing that I look forward to doing the most are the ab exercises. I hope I don't come off sounding like a gym nerd but really, once you get past the initial pain and shock (for some) that come with the first few times of doing it (of course, using proper form and technique), you'll eventually learn to appreciate doing crunches (no sit-ups!), leg raises, the whole bit.

Of course, this doesn't make me a total masochist. (The most obvious evidence of which is my lack of discipline in the dietary department--when I feel like gorging, well, there go n hours of my life, hello calories.) There are things that I hate in a workout, aside from spotters who just stand around and act oblivious to your call for needed assistance. Foremost among these is the tricep kickback.

Dang. Man, this exercise just cramps my style. I lose form whenever I do this coz I can't seem to hack the technique. (I firmly believe form should never be sacrificed in strength training.) Usually I do it standing and bent over, like what Sir Isidro taught us in gym class, coz I prefer not to have my arse jutting out like so. Fortunately, there are lots of other flab-busters that are equally effective. Unfortunately, these are all in theory as of the mo, as I have yet to seriously get my act together.

Anyway, I think I'll stick to team sports for now since these are more fun. Badminton is fun fun fun, and I really oughta make it a more regular thing in my weekly schedule. But more needs to be done. I'm trying to mobilize the Valero posse to come with me to San Lo for a game of disc with other people. So far, I was able to convince Zel to come WATCH. Okay, so maybe some things are best taken one step at a time. Vida was initially psyched coz of the cuties she hoped to find there. (Sorry to disappoint but cuteness is relative, so she really has to come see for herself.) Oh yeah, Omar might be interested in playing, too. So that's the lineup so far. Outside of Valero, there's Stef, Jonnalee, Lejan, and... well, lemme get back to you when the rains stop. Hopefully by then, everyone starts to come out of the woodwork and play.