Quest #1: Rock Climbing

Quest #1: I will go to a Rock Climbing Gym.

Here's a couple reasons why this task is special.

First off, I'm not a small girl and not exactly in the realm of the "physically fit", but I'd like to be moreso. The "gym" bores me - the stale, sweaty air and the monotonous routines. I need to do something that challenges me in a different way. So, when a friend took up rock climbing last month, I figured this would be a good time to give this quest a try. When a Groupon.com offer provided a 58% off discount at the local rock climbing gym... I knew my time has come.

I'm not terribly afraid of the fact that I am somewhat out of shape. I'm also not afraid of my lack of grace or agility, inability to tie a rope, or the fact that I am going to be wearing borrowed shoes (think: bowling).

What I am afraid of is heights.Now, many people are "afraid of heights". Like many fears, it comes in varying degrees and capacities. I would put mine in the pretty bad, but hopeful category. To give you perspective:

• When attempting to go to the top of a light house last year, I hyperventilated
• I had a panic attack at a rock concert when my seats were up in the nose bleed section
• I couldn't utilize the gigantic escalator at the subway station near my home and ended up walking up and down 6 flights of stairs for 2 months
• Once, when going over a relatively high walking bridge, I broke down in a fit of hysteria and fell to my knees

As you can see, I most likely fall into the more extreme fear category. Combine this with some vertigo issues, and I'm a ton of fun on top of a tower.

So why rock climbing? Well, because I used to have some pretty awesome upper body strength in my teen years. I like the look and feel of the rock climbing walls I've tried out at the local playgrounds (yes, seriously). And, while my fear of heights is pretty extreme, once I have the support I need and do tasks in a repetitive manner, I find that it diminishes my fear over time.

You see, I don't want to be "that" girl. The one you can't take with you on certain trips and events because she's a big giant fraidy-cat who can't take an escalator. I don't expect that I'm ever going to love heights and go jumping out of airplanes, but I would like to get to the point where they don't hinder my every day activities.

I have my coupons for Quest #1: Rock Climbing. I'm bringing Zinc and my BFF. While they are both patient and understanding of my fear, I hope they bring some Valium. They are going to need it.


XOXO
LuckyBroad

What Is This Blog?

MONDAY, AUGUST 30, 2010

I acknowledge that the concept for this blog is 100% recycled, but why not take a great idea and style it your own way?

In two months, I will be 35. You know- that "dreaded" age where you are told that your biological clock has expired.

Hogwash, I say.

Those of you may remember the days when I used to write a blog about my divorce. If you don't - that's OK. It's been an exciting two + years since those days and I have an entirely new life now that I am happily settling into. But, that doesn't change the fact that I am about to be a childless female at the age of 35. Mind you, this decision is largely by choice, but it's a decision all the same. So, I've decided to beat my non-existent Biological Clock Blues by challenging myself to do 20 new things this year.

That's right, 20 new things.

Now, you may ask why it is I don't choose to do 35 new things, and that is a very good question. I haven't yet mapped out what my "20 Things" are going to be, and I figure that a lot of them may cost money. I don't know this for sure yet, but they might. So, in anticipation of this (and in keeping my funds in check), I'm going to go ahead and start with my "20 Things" and go from there.

What are these things? Well, I don't fully know yet, but I hope they are things that will inspire me. Cause me to feel. Give me pride in myself. Open and broad my horizons. Allow me to meet new people. Inspire me to be a better person. Some of them will be superficial, some of them will not. I truly have no idea. But, I'm giving myself 14 months (until my 36th birthday) to accomplish these tasks.

I imagine some of them will be a success, and some will be a failure, and that's all part of the learning curve. The real challenge is that I grab ahold of the opportunity and take it.

I hope you'll follow along with me.

Stay tuned for my new adventures! I'll be posting my first one this week. It's a simple one, but a big deal for me.

XOXO
LuckyBroad