Try something I'm afraid of doing

fairly religiously lately. Sometimes the thought of going out into a world where I am the foreigner is something incredibly hard to overcome.

I love being in Japan, but things like heading out to find a replacement case for our computer or refilling an ink cartridge or finding a new book release in English is a huge adventure. What used to be accomplished by a 20-60 minute trip now takes a couple of hours with travel, finding a way around a new town, and creative communication.

Add to that learning how to drive on the opposite side of the car on the opposite side of the road and I think my head may explode.

I’m SO glad that Japan has an amazing public transportation system!

It’s been WAY too long since I’ve spent time here at 43Things! The 5K went amazingly well and we’re still running occasionally, though we’re not pressing to increase our distance. We run because we enjoy it and we’re not looking to push too hard just yet.

It’s been awesome, physically speaking, and nothing can clear my head like taking time for a mile or two. Suddenly the everyday worries just drift away and all I’m concerned with is keeping pace or keeping form or keeping ahead of that snail behind me…

Even better than completing a 5K is being able to run regularly without something hurting the next day. Starting out was so hard – we were slow and walked often and after runs we’d get achy. Being on a military base didn’t help matters as we’re surrounded by folks who have to run a certain distance within a certain time limit. From personal experience, I tell you that having someone blow past you when you felt you were at a good pace can be a bit daunting.

We stuck with it and we’ve done so well!

Alison is someone I haven’t really mentioned here yet and she’s kinda crucial to this particular upcoming tidbit of goal achieving goodness. So who da heck is Alison? She’s fan-freakin’-tastic. She’s not only my workout partner, one of the bestest people on the planet and a chick who happens to have taken up permanent residence in my head. (no, she’s not an imaginary friend, but she DOES rearrange the furniture in my head) she’s helping keep me motivated to try new things.

The latest and greatest is running a 5K race. The idea of it scares the crap out of me – will we be able to run it all? What will our final time be? Will we push too hard or go too easy? Can we really DO this?

Alison puts one foot in front of the other and keeps us moving towards running our first race. When we go on runs and workout together, we stay motivated, have fun and continually move towards a healthier, more active lifestyle.

Part of it’s odd because I feel all grown up when we get up at oh-dark-thirty to go to the gym, but it’s easier to be a little … cheeky, sassy, and a smidge audacious when you know you’ve already ran 3 miles that day and you’re feelin’ good. On the other hand, if we go at night, we know at the end of the day, we’ll can get some frustration out of your system by hitting the trail.

While I feel good about makin’ these changes in my life, I’m still 100% nervous about stepping up and taking a run where we’ll be timed and observed.

But hey – we’ll both get that t-shirt!!!!! ;o)

For those following along with the sporadic posts at home, we’ll be running the 5K during Holland Happenings. w00t!

I think I’ve done several things lately that I’m afraid of doing -

Stepping outside the box and applying to transfer within the company – and getting what I want! (well, 90 percent anyway. No complaints there!)

Buying a house and car.

Taking a shower in my house alone in the middle of the night. Sound silly? Well, yeah – it is. But I’ve seen waaaay too many stupid ass movies. I mean really, crazy freak stalkers need to sleep sometimes too, right?? The biggest issue is that it’s a new house for us and I don’t really feel “at home” in it yet. The cozy, homey, lovin’ it feeling is getting there, but at this instant, it’s still a house I live in rather than my home. The point of that rambling sentance being that since I’m not totally comfortable here and my sweetie is out, I don’t really like showering in the dead of night LOL I’m usually not alone here though, when the squadron heads out, the folks left at home tend to band together and commisserate. :) Mmm. Chocolate chip cookie gripe sessions!

Sometimes I’m not necessarily scared, but a bit nervous – working on the lawn mower isn’t SCARY, but it makes me a bit uncomfortable because I dont’ know what I’m doing.

Since I just started a new job, answering the phone is a smidge on the nervewracking and scary side because I don’t know enough to really help people out yet. I pass on a lot of calls to someone more knowledgable. That wont’ last long though!

The thought of facing a deployment scares me, but I’ll get through it an be a-ok in the long run…

This goal was more about doing something BIG that I’m afraid of – embracing myself and just DOING something. I’m thinking jumping out of an airplane, or in my case even letting go of the bar on a rollercoaster would work. Looking straight down over the Pass would work too LOL I am petrified of heights!

This kind of ties in with “impress myself” because I don’t always push my comfort zone out – but I’m getting better at it with teensy tiny steps (see above!). Hopefully I’ll be challenging myself more and more soon!