Friday, February 26, 2010

hits

Dunno how this happened. As I am slightly tech-savvy I put a stat counter on my Rockstar Yoga site. And noticed that I've been getting traffic. Not necessarily from my blog either. From google.

So I checked it out.

If you google "private yoga NYC" or "weight loss yoga NYC" I come up right away on the first page! Not on the list below, but right on top in the local business results map!!

This is blowing my mind. All I did was sign up with Google as a local business. Really am I the only yoga instructor to do this in the city? That doesn't seem right. So how did I get to be in the top three?

Don't get me wrong, I'm delighted. I even had a nibble already from a potential customer. Looks like my investments are starting to pay off!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Ireland!!

How remiss I have been. A whole trip to another continent and I haven't posted a darn thing.

The trip was great! The flights and hotel went off without a hitch. Every day was sunny and 45 degrees. Indeed the locals were friendly, and my handy iphone with gps prevented me from ever getting lost. It also kept me appraised of where to eat, how to find live music, and what times everything opened and closed.

One of my favorite things that I did was my visit to the Guinness Storehouse. Everyone recommends it, and it isn't like I don't love the beer anyway.

For some reason I figured it would take me about an hour at most to view, but not so much. I was there for two and a half hours. It is a seven story building that not only describes the brewing process, but also details the history of the company, the evolution of brewing, the changes in manufacturing and transport, the path of advertising, and the historical significance of the entire Guinness history.

Whew.

Then of course at the very top there is a bar with 360 degrees of glass walls to drink your free beer and look out over Dublin. And of course let all of that new knowledge sink in. Right now I'm still kind of a walking fact machine, it is scary.

The funniest thing occurred after my tour and brew when I went back to the ground floor to the gift shop to purchase some souvenirs. After picking out some gifts and sundries I headed to the cash register.

Where the clerk greeted me in French.

I stood there, stumped. Recognizing the language I was torn. Do I respond in kind? Explain that I'm not French? Ask why he spoke to me in that language?

Seriously, I just sat with my mouth open. Unsure of what to say next.

Eventually seeing my confused face the clerk then realized his error and inquired "Sorry, you're not French? Where are you from?"

At which point I replied "Oh, I'm from the US"

And he then said, "Ah, from a southern state with more exposure?"

Now I'm just laughing. "Errrrr...no. Quite the opposite. New York City"

So we both had a good chuckle. Apparently to the Irish I look French and tan. Me. Tan. Yeah. Seriously I was cracking up for the next half an hour. Awesome.

More adventures to come...

Saturday, February 06, 2010

speak up

The television is very pro-confrontation. Advice always centers around talking it through, for your sake and the sake of others. Because for some reason the issue just won't resolve itself if you don't take action.

This is not the way I was raised. Sure my siblings and I fought, but about stupid stuff like who ate the last cookie or got the best stocking stuffer. Nothing serious.

As a kid I never was grounded, not even once. Okay granted I was a pretty good kid. Always on the honor roll, holding down a second job, staying away from drugs. Save booze, but my parents discovered I drank because I refused to drive after having a couple wine coolers. (This was the 80's people, wine coolers came in 2 liters) Kinda hard to argue with a kid that responsible.

But there were things my parents probably would have sat me down and discussed if they followed the Oprah way of life. How do I know? Simple. Whenever my parents were upset with me they discussed it in the presence of or directly with my siblings. Who then turned right around and told me. So I knew. And either I changed my behavior or reasoned to myself why not changing my behavior was fine. Either way with no repercussions...save more updates from my sister or brother.

Most interestingly my parents complained about each other to me throughout my childhood. One of them would get me alone in a car and inevitably the sentence "don't tell your mother but" or "don't tell your father but" came up with some kinda story. Thus I would listen. I got pretty good at that I think. Of course I was too young to provide advice, but I learned a lot about their relationship. Not in a bad way. It gave me valuable insight to a marriage that has lasted for over forty years.

Funny thing is while this proved to be a peaceful upbringing it did not necessarily translate into my adult life well. It took me a long, long time to be able to speak up for myself on the job. I would get frustrated about something and instead of speaking to someone to correct the issue I would let the anger build up until I broke out in tears. Luckily that pretty much all happened in my waiting tables stage, so my professionalism wasn't put in question.

When I became a boss my need to be able to confront people became clear. And my god that was the hardest part about leaning to have employees. Indeed it is easier to not tell someone when they are doing something wrong, or that they need to improve their work. They will skate by thinking they are doing a fine job, but yet wonder why they aren't getting anywhere. Or why others are not recognizing their efforts.

So I learned to take the high road. Buck up, sit the person down and tell them straight. Even now I kind of tense up at the concept. The weird thing is I have accepted this as my role, so now when I see the need to speak up I start chomping at the bit. Literally I can't wait to get the words out of my mouth, to say what needs to be said. In some way I have become compulsively honest at work. Which I think my employees appreciate...at least after the moment passes. They know where they stand, and they trust I will let them know either way if they are doing well or not so much.

Ha, but my personal life? Nope. no way. I will do just about anything to avoid a tough conversation.

It just doesn't make sense to me to discuss the tough stuff. Unlike in work, when it is personal no one feels better. If I'm not happy with something then I feel miserable talking about it and the other person feels lousy for having upset me. On the other hand if I'm the one in the wrong I feel like a jerk. Either way I'm not feeling good. It's not like I need the release, I don't need to unload on the transgressor to feel better. I have a super high emotional metabolism, I move on.

Granted if there is an action that needs correcting I'll discuss, but that to me doesn't seem like confrontation mode. It is just a request to next time wash the dishes instead of letting them sit overnight. Or to throw out the empty container of milk. That's just communication, no feelings.

Confrontation about feelings? Nah. Making someone else feel bad doesn't make me feel better like T.V. insists. I think they got something wrong with that. Let's talk about forgive and forget, that's the real kindness.

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

what are you waiting for?

For as long as I can remember I have wanted to travel to Ireland.

Call it familial pride, or cultural curiosity. Or maybe even an insatiable thirst for Guinness. Who knows. For whatever reason when people have asked me "if you could travel anywhere where would you go?" the answer has been the same. The Emerald Isle. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.

So why haven't I been there yet?

Well, I was broke through my 20's. Totally my own fault. Switching majors and careers as often as I did wasn't the best way to accumulate cash. And the money I did make paid for college and rent.

As for the first half of my 30's? Yep, still broke. Moving to NYC will do that to ya. Especially if you are as hard headed as me and decide you have to live in Manhattan. So I worked my two jobs until the first paid me juuuuuuust enough to quit the second.

It was such a relief to finally get and use my passport last year. Seriously, I've come to the point where I'm almost embarrassed when the subject of world travel comes up on dates. Because it seems like a gaping hole in my life experience.

So here I am approaching another birthday. Another year older. Haven't put a stamp in my passport since January 2nd 2009.

What the hell am I waiting for? Well as a matter of fact I'm glad you asked.

Nothing.

I booked my trip!! That's right, I'm going to Dublin. Plane fares and hotel rates are cheap. The weather is warmer than NYC. And I get to celebrate my birthday doing something I've always dreamed of. (And valentines day too, that sure takes the sting out of being single!)

I'M GOING TO IRELAND I'M GOING TO IRELAND I'M GOING TO IRELAND!!!!!!

Not that I'm excited or anything. *joy*