As of right now, the TTC goes on strike Monday, I just listened to the press conference on 680 News. eek.

I’ve never been that addicted to Pilates. Going to the classes offered in University, I always thought it was a so-so workout and I never felt satisfied after the classes.

Recently, one of my bestfriends called me and said, “Do you want to join a pilates class with me at Retrofit Body Works? It’s one hour a week for 12 weeks for $195.00 and I have to sign up fast because space is limited!” I immediately said yes, not knowing what I was really getting into. Retrofit is located between High Park and Jane subway stations and it’s in a studio above RBC. I thought the price was pretty steep, but they provided all the necessary equipment, unlike the other classes where I had to buy a mat.

I went for my first class yesterday and we met our instructor Natalia who was extremely friendly. The studio was like the size of a two bedroom apartment. It’s pretty small compared to other places, but very comfortable. I was very impressed with the studio as it was very well-equipped and clean.

There were about 10-15 people in the class and we were spread out in the studio. We did alot of exercises using the bolster and the fitness circle. The thing that really impressed me with the class was the instructor, who was very informative and helpful. She explained the exercises very thoroughly and went around the room to help people who had problems with positioning. If there was an exercise we didn’t understand or didn’t feel was done correctly, she never hesistated to help. After that one hour, my abs were killing me but the pain was a good pain!

After class, we met a couple of our fellow classmates and also skimmed through the different fitness programmes that they offered. They have a Bootcamp Pilates, Pilates for before and after pregnancy, Pilates classes for all different levels, private pilate lessons, and Pilates for Runners. After one week, I am hooked and I can’t wait to go back! I definitely recommend people to check out this place… after all, summer is coming soon and wouldn’t it be a great time to buy a bikini?

Cheers!

Having been holed up at home looking at textbooks vs enjoying the lovely weather I figure tonight’s as good as any to get out there. Before anyone comments on rain/potential rain, let me just say that it still beats sleet and you can’t really get down on Spring showers.

ps
Can you tell I’ve been inside a building with no windows all day? Here’s a hint:rain?!

Anyway, there’s a great event happening tonight that I’m looking forward to. A friend of mine is putting on a show at the Supermarket (268 Augusta Ave) in Kensington Market to support Team:Toronto in The Global Scavenger Hunt. Apparently it’s something like “Survivor, The Amazing Race and The Eco-Challenge all rolled into one.” They’ll also be raising money for three different charities: War Child Canada, The David Suzuki Foundation and The Teresa Group. Plus it’ll be good music:
Featuring DJ’s Dahlia, Zahra, Cell Division Crew and performances by LAL, The Quartertones, Vandal, Masia One, Maracatu Nunca Antes and lots more. Oh yeah, the show is $10 - $15 sliding scale and it’s a 9pm start.

My husband left my 14 month old and I home to particiate in the yearly 8K run in High Park.

Plans did involve this as a family outing but after greeting the morning paper on our front porch, my husband informed me that it was wet, cold, and windy. A mixture of rain and snow cascaded downwards from the view of our windows.

*sigh* I felt like raising my fist to the air and cursing, “Damn you! Damn you for psyching us out with the beautiful weather we’ve had all week!”

Instead, I hung my head down with complete surrender. I give.

My husband said it was a good run, though. Regardless of the weather, a lot of people showed up. Most of our friends from the Toronto Dragon Boating scene made their presence.

Crazy dragonboaters… they’ll paddle in rain, snow or sleet. Yes, just like the postman’s motto.

I can’t believe I use to be one of them.

My brother and sister live in Asia and Europe, so I started making them mixed CDs with current Canadian music, so that they would have some idea of what was going on at home.

For up-to-date music that my siblings wouldn’t have heard before, I found myself flipping between two stations, in order to get both the Avril Lavigne and the Kardinal Offishall sides of things. (I didn’t want anything from community radio stations, I did used to volunteer at CHRY; I wanted my siblings to be up-to-date, not 20 years ahead of their time!)

However recently I stumbled across the Martha and the Muffins website, and saw the words for Black Stations White Stations, and… realized that’s pretty much what we still have in Toronto, 20 years later.

In comparison, Kiss 98.5 in Buffalo will play white and black pop artists pretty much back to back. In Ireland, Shannonside FM plays music from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and present day, the music generations side-by-side just as multiple generations are at a holiday family gathering. Driving around counties Roscommon and Galway, both me, my sister, and our parents were happy enough with the music mix; there was a little something for everyone, and I got to hear my parents’ music, without them having to make a mixed CD, as John Mayer recently asked his dad to do in his Esquire column.

Presumably Kiss 98.5 and Shannonside make money; hopefully in Toronto someday we will see commercial radio stations that don’t have such narrow slices of music on offer as they do now.