Health matters

In the past entries, I’ve been sharing various activities that I’ve been doing in NYC. I’m going to discuss one more: Boot Camp Training. I found a coupon online for 5 sessions and I’ve completed one thus far and it kicked my butt.

I care a great deal about my health. By constantly remaining active, I feel better and sleep better. So when I saw this I was all for it!

This is the website http://www.brooklynbridgebootcamp.com/. I had my session with Ariane and found out that she recently did a triathalon, that girl’s hardcore!

The bootcamp took place from the Manhattan part of the bridge and back. We did lounges, pushups, sprinting, speedwalking, running, curls, etc. The next day, I felt like I was hit by a truck.

She was impressed that it was my first time and I kept up. Point for me!

This was a great change of pace besides my 5 am runs.

I certainly intend to complete the next 4 sessions.

Another thing I’m trying is my very own exercise equipment:

This is the BodyForm Total Fitness Platform and the BodyForm Fitness Slider. I selected them at Brookstone (who provides free delivery), however I saw them on Amazon for the same price so it made sense to just get them there.

My gym membership ran out (even if it’s only $75 per year). The hours were not convenient to me so with my morning runs, yoga, bootcamp, pole dancing, calisthenics, and these two additions I should be fine!

I’ve never really had a specific routine so I’m going to try to log what I do daily which was inspired by my friend Francky who has stopped smoking for a month now – I’m so proud of this! No one usually listens to me when I preach about not smoking and he did. I know it was difficult for him to give it up. However, I am happy that he did.

It’s almost August, have many of you kept your resolutions to lose weight, start a healthy regiment or stop smoking?

Vegetables never looked so good

I started a vegetarian (pescevegetarian because I may go back to fish sometimes i. e. Sushi) diet a couple weeks ago. It wasn’t long after I came from St. Croix. No, the food there didn’t make me sick or anything… I just needed a lifestyle change and I was curious as to what it would do to my body. This will go for 30 days (I believe I started this on the 9th).

Portabello Mushroom Melt from Overlook in Manhattan.

I always wanted to have a vegetarian diet actually. My mother got me back with an Italian sausage pizza when I first tried being one in highschool (unfair). I understand why she did it now, but back then that pizza was my favourite and it was easy to influence my life (plus she controlled the diet in the house even if she entertained my diet for a week).

Lunch options from New Fancy Food on Broadway

Portabella etc from Red Bamboo in the West Village

Besides reading the literature, I did notice I made meals with less and less animal parts. Don’t get me wrong, I am a complete foodie (that might not change). However, this transition was easy because meat was 1. Way too bothersome to prepare. 2. I almost never knew the expiration date. 3. So many are bad for you (watch Food, inc).

I think in the upcoming months I might transition from vegetarian to pescetarian. There are so many rules that we are simply making them up as we go along aren’t we?

The most difficult thing was going to my favourite Indian restaurant and realizing that I salivated when I looked at the meat menu but settled for the vegetarian section which turned out incredible!

Although I am not going to use my blog to convert anyone. I will share some of the information that was discovered:

- Consuming too much animal protein leads to Osteoporosis (If you wonder where we get protein, since that’s what some friends argued, there’s whole grains, brown rice, lentils (I love!), tofu, soy milk, nuts, seeds).

- Fish contain high mercury levels.

- They are right, “no species naturally drink milk beyond the age of weaning, and no species would naturally drink the milk of a different species.” Ever wondered why so many people are lactose intolerant.

By the way, I am not going to go PETA on anyone… in fact, I was raised on a farm and I did enjoy having produce from our farm, so I would simply be a hyprocrit, especially if I ever chose to have a Chicken Salad in the future. However, some animals are treated cruelly in the U. S. and my take on that is: well, humans are on the top of the food-chain and I don’t know if veggies have feelings but it’s still no excuse to have them suffer (watch Food, inc). I’m merely concerned with how the hormones affect my body. If I raised my own animals, it would be a different story.

Currently, I am replacing the meat parts of my meals. I’m not too sure about “fake meat” yet because I’m not interested in tricking my body or mind, but I tasted tofu BBQ ribs and they were pretty good. Don’t worry I will still cook meat-based meals for my friends when they visit (I can still cook!), thankfully this diet change isn’t religious.

Have you done any diet changes? What was it and how long did it last?

Highlighting the fabulous: @gardenia

For a few posts I am going to highlight people who have influenced change in my life. I won’t call them role models however because I have this belief that idolizing humans when they are susceptible to failure isn’t fair. Thus, I will never set myself up for disappointment. Also, these people will feel better about making mistakes if they have to, since we are all not perfect. I think it’s a wonderful thing to let people know how they affected your life positively.

With that said, I will start with Gardenia (I’m writing about you!). Well, I worked with Gardenia at Publicis Modem and didn’t know her personally. My earliest memory of her was actually her dog, Biscuit (Biscuit must be one of the most loved dogs in the world he also has his own twitter account @no1cuter). I turned around one day in the office at Publicis and there was a dog running around. He was incredibly small and right away I wondered if it was normal for Americans to carry their dogs to work (aren’t some people allergic?). Biscuit is actually a Pomeranian which are hypoallergenic (that I found out later).

I didn’t get to work directly with her at Publicis but when she left, I worked with her when she reached out to me to be a designer on Riocaliente.com, a spa that she was interested in acquiring. I was very fortunate to have been able to. I was fortunate enough to visit Mexico where I had an incredible time according to this post (where I got a Spanish translator for the iPod) and this post (where I purchased Huichol Art).

This is the website:

While working on that site, I learned a great deal about Gardenia that set alot of my life in perspective and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Especially because I met her, I had the best vacation ever!

Have you ever done this before? Where you’re happy to have known certain things about someone. I found out that we had a great deal in common and she had actually studied design, is well-read and travelled many places. She seems to be confident in a great deal of things and is quite lovely. All the while she is enjoying life and starring on her own reality show.

She is also a vegetarian, a lifestyle that I just adapted (I will write an entry about this soon). So I definitely follow her blog about the types of produce that she gets and food she cooks.

Follow her on @gardenia

Inception – the movie.

What was there not to like about Inception? I really couldn’t put my finger on it. I loved every bit of  this movie (I’m certain that critiques would beg to differ in some way but everyone in the theater that I went to loved it).

I have to thank Kee for this. He invited me and a buddy of his Thomas, a student who writes for Brokelyn.

Anyway back to Inception and Christopher Nolan’s genius: After watching Memento and the Dark Knight, it wasn’t a surprise that Inception was beautifully done and had me glued to its cinematic glory from start to finish (well the beginning was abit slow – can’t be perfect right?). Of course, his wife Emma Thomas gets credit as well.

It started with a dream…

Synopsis: In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a single idea within one’s mind can be the most dangerous weapon or the most valuable asset. - RT

The cast was very good. As someone iterated earlier, movies with great actors tend to be good. I think Leonardo DiCaprio (starring) tends to choose good movies to act in and this was one of them. Some of the other cast members included Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy (He’s incredibly good looking!), Tom Berenger,  Dileep Rao, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy and Michael Caine.

You should watch it. Why? Well this story seemed a bit complicated at first and I did wonder how it would come together but everything was smooth. It’s indeed for people who love “thinking” because it’s a bit mind-bending but I found it easy to follow (I do love puzzles and levels). The actors did an amazing  job with each character. I felt very close to them in each scene which left me at the edge of my seat in anticipation of what would happen next.

This is where I write spoilers > haha.. just kiddin’! Go watch it yourself. It will definitely impact your summer movie viewing. It’s fresh, innovative and riveting. Even Rotten Tomatoes is happy with it. I was blown away… and in the end, I did wonder whether I was still dreaming.

First block party

This is the first block party that I’ve attended in Brooklyn (on my street). I decided to play photographer because I figured they would love some photos.

I had a really great time and was very entertained — ever tried dancing the electric slide in the middle of the street?

I really love Brooklyn in the summer time! Here’s a slideshow:

If you can’t see this in your RSS reader please check the site.

Pole dancing isn’t stripping.

What did Jerlyn do yesterday? Pole dancing.

I got a groupon for pole dancing last year and I decided to redeem it since it was about to expire. I was supposed to go with other girlfriends but naturally I am the only one with the bal-I mean guts to do it.

It was at New York Dance. 333 w 52nd street.

The thing is: I am constantly evolving and I like that. My biggest fear has been remaining stagnant in my life. So I am happy when I get the chance to try something different or new.  I have kept my resolution to remain happy up until now (so why stop right?).

With this decision, I try things that are out of the ordinary for me yup even activities like pole dancing. It counted as my 85 days of training (I have started to train for a 1/2 marathon). Yesterday was a cross training day … and pole dancing kicked my ass.

By the way, pole dancing has nothing to do with stripping (so quit trying to visualize this) and I am not attempting to change my career soon (it won’t be pole dancing if it changes). However, if I ever go to a strip club (I will give props to the girls who do it not that I condone their profession – I am sure that politically this post will affect me later) or a pole dancing competition, I will applaud them because it takes a tremendous amount of strength to do it.

1. I almost failed at lifting myself on the pole. I got it a couple minutes before the class ended.
2. You need to keep in rhythm and sexiness ( I am sure I failed in one of these).
3. You need to make it look flawless ( I was a huge clutz).
4. Not every girl  gets this. ok, it’s my first time and my friends know that I constantly persevere at everything that I do so who knows, maybe I would get this with practice (entertains the idea of getting one for my bedroom).

My instructor was the lovely Gabrielle Valliere. She danced for the NFL for five years and is currently becoming a nurse, (according to my research when she mentioned it yesterday). She is amazing! She’s very fit and everything she did was completely graceful (and sexy).

Theres’s definitely a confident, sexy and strong physique from the dancers that I have seen from the videos of the competitions on youtube. I hope to get to that point of fitness one day.

Will I do it again? Well I have one more class (with Lauren Goldstein) and it will count as my cross training haha. Next up, street salsa .

I am an island girl

When I reminisce about growing up in the Caribbean I realized how fortunate I am. Thus far, I have spent over 3/4 of my life in a completely different environment and timezone (partially yearly). I think that’s amazing. Last week, I visited my 2nd home, St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands.

For those of you who are new to my blog: I was born in the Caribbean, yes I’m an island girl. I was born on the island of Dominica (the commonwealth of, not the Dominican Republic). However, I lived on the island of St. Croix since I was 11 years old. I do have family and  friends who currently live there as well.

I got in Wednesday (23rd of June) night after 6 hours of flying. It was the craziest flight that I’ve ever had here because the pilot almost couldn’t land. He made a first attempt which was actually in a lightning storm. The plane was out of control so he made the choice to climb altitude and approach the landing strip a second time. Thankfully we landed safely.

Some years ago, while with my ex, he told me that the worse part of flying is actually take-off (it has the highest crash rate). Ever since then, my stomach has been in knots on take-off. I had a terrible take-off two New Year’s eves ago.

Anyway, we landed and it was raining. I assumed this would be how my vacation would pan out: I would be stuck indoors with all the rain.

However, I did all the important things like get really delicious food:

Sing some karaoke at a local bar (Sharky’s) and hung out with my sister a little.

I met with my godson’s mother (my best friend from junior high) and her sons.

It was pouring that night however the thought that I wouldn’t have a beach day disappeared when we finally got a break. There was another thunderstorm on Friday night. I realized that it was just a part of the paradise experience (something that I should have gotten used to).

On Saturday morning, I got to see my dad do a time trial race. It was awesome to watch. My dad is in his forties and he often reminds people of “how old he is.” He did well … for an old man *smh* (shake my head).

I do get much of that drive from my father, where I love exercising. I try to always push my body to new heights (sadly I slacked off before vacation though and there was a false alarm where I thought I gained 20 lbs).

After the race, I went to the beach with Frankie and his family (they were all so awesome). I love seeing other families get along with each other. What was great about this part: Frankie and I decided to purchase beers and drink them in the street (which is not done in NYC).

I also tried to get him to stop smoking ( a huge peeve of mine ). I’m happy that by the end of the trip, he realized why I despise smoking as a vice. He started an exercise regime, I’m so proud of him!

We stopped to get some Armstrong’s Icecream (the best icecream on the island).

My sister and I had dinner with my dad.

Then I met with my friends again. We went dancing that evening which was pretty fun (at Pickled Greek which had a disco night going on).

On Sunday, I got to go to the Mango Melee celebration.

I also made a stop to see my brother’s grave in the day at some point.

RIP. Gilbert.

I went to hang out with my mother and sister.

By the next day, I was packed and ready to leave but I had a little headache and needed some coconut water. Being used to the NY lifestyle, I called Frankie to ask him where I could get coconut water (duh we are on an island). He said we can get it. Instead of purchasing it as I assumed (still duh I am on an island) he brought a bottle with water from 4 coconuts. I was overjoyed. I had the REAL DEAL then we were en route to the airport.

While at the airport the power went. Something you need to understand about the islands: power always go. Sadly, the airport got affected by this (bad). They had generators but it didn’t power the computers (bad). Thankfully, it got on back in time for me to check and catch the flight (whew!).

That was my trip, I was happy to escape the concrete jungle for awhile but you’d be surprised how much I love NY even if I’m island girl.

Antony Gormley

I never really paid too much attention to the sculptures around broadway before and came across them again yesterday.

I actually did ignore them until I overheard someone said, “Wow look at the people on the roofs!” I looked up and replied, “they are sculptures.” The guy thought there were “jumpers,” he apparently was a tourist.

I counted 5 of them on my way to the Museum of Sex. There were done by 59-year-old Anthony Gormbley.

When I uploaded them to facebook yesterday, Kim Easley brought it to my attention that there are a great deal of them around Manhattan.

I did some research when she told me the artist’s name and I came across a map from the NY Times. They also mentioned, “the New York City Police Department pre-emptively reassured the public that the figures were not potential jumpers on the verge of committing suicide.”

I want to take a walk and take photos of them all. I really like them. He did some of them in London as well. This one in NYC was called “Event Horizon.”

Twitter meet/date or hangout?

I hung out with @Montagist who is pretty awesome! He’s a super intelligent guy. I think I can honestly say I learn something new each time we chat. We first met at Flash and the City and he was the first person to ever recognized me off twitter (unconventional ways to meet people).

We had some food at a Chinese restaurant first:

Then we went off to Alpha One Labs to play with robotics (yup that’s what I do on a Friday night).

We got the first project to work which was simply to make the lights blink on from the Arduino playground site.

————————————

/*Blink
 Turns on an LED on for one second, then off for one second, repeatedly.
 The circuit:
 * LED connected from digital pin 13 to ground.
 * Note: On most Arduino boards, there is already an LED on the board
 connected to pin 13, so you don't need any extra components for this example.
  Created 1 June 2005
 By David Cuartielles

http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/Blink

 based on an orginal by H. Barragan for the Wiring i/o board
 This example code is in the public domain. */
int ledPin =  13;    // LED connected to digital pin 13
// The setup() method runs once, when the sketch starts
void setup()   {
  // initialize the digital pin as an output:
  pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
}
// the loop() method runs over and over again,
// as long as the Arduino has power
void loop()
{
  digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);   // set the LED on
  delay(1000);                  // wait for a second
  digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);    // set the LED off
  delay(1000);                  // wait for a second
}

————————————

Sadly I couldn’t get the RFID Reader to work which we wanted to do next.

Have you played with any robotics or gadgets like these? I’m pretty interested in them now and I’m curious about what I learn while coming to these hack days.

We wanted to make something out of cowbells but we didn’t get the parts. It’s awesome thinking about how machines work .

DesignLadyNYC on facebook.

Paintball!

I can check this off my bucket list now.

I’ve always wanted to try paintball. Do you remember the post where I wrote about groupon.com?

On June 1st, the deal was “$25 for Admission, Gear Rental, and 500 Rounds at Cousins Paintball NYC ($50 Value).” Immediately I contacted my friend Marvin to ask if he was up to it! He sent it to his friends, and I posted it on my facebook wall and twitter feed. Many of my friends seemed interested but Marvin’s friends bought them right away. His friend John arranged the trip immediately.

I was so psyched about this trip. The only downside, I had to wake up at 6am to leave my place by 7 to get to Marvin’s place in Queens.

When I got there, his other friends and we were on our way to get there by 10. We proceeded on the Long Island Expressway to exit 64.

We arrived at Cousin’s, checked-in (ironically I couldn’t check into foursquare because I forgot my cellphone at Marvin’s place so I was detached from the world wide web and social networks all day), got our gear and formed teams.

The girls

The guys

There were actually a few more of us but they didn’t make it to the group photo above:

We played about 6 games and my favourite was actually those not in the forest (however, we only got photos in the clearing).

(By the way, she took down the entire team)

In the games, I got shot in the neck, the chin, two sides and my butt cheek (lol). It does sting a little but it wasn’t that bad. However, we were all exhausted after and today I’m aching from “moving intensely.”

If you haven’t tried it, you should. The rest of the photos are here. It’s really fun! Thanks Groupon!

Paintball!

Design Lady NYC