Life Circle 2012 - Reviewing the situation

The latest Life Circle task was to review our Life Plan. Its interesting to see my progress or lack of and to actually have to think about how to get back on track.

Things have been busy since I first put together my Life Plan

My burlesque has come along. I performed my first routine in front of a proper audience before Christmas as planned. I did a 4 week fan dance course with the intermediate class. I almost managed to perform in the routine in front of an audience with the others at the Valentine's Show but major problems with my car meant that I had to pull out at the last minute. I've also got my second pair of fans (silk veil ones) and have started to work on a couple of routines using them. I just need to get a pair of feather fans and I can work on another routine. I plan on having a routine ready for Halloween Show and some ideas are already forming.

I've not managed to sort out training to allow me to teach. That is something that I still want to look at and need to work out when to do it.

My costume is still being made but is getting there. I'm going to be having a chat about it next Friday.

I've not entered the Outlaw triathlon yet, that will be later this year when entries open for the 2013 race. At the moment I'm not doing much training, actually none at all. After I transitioned in January my running which was what I'd been focusing on slowly faded away to nothing because trying to go for a run, shower, get dressed and apply my makeup just wasn't going to happen. With the best will in the world at the moment it takes me about of an hour to get myself ready for work, that's from having a shower or a wash through to putting my coat on. I can't simply put on the minimum amount of make-up to get me through a working day like the majority of my colleagues, not the male ones of course, it takes me a bit of preparation before I can even begin to apply foundation. As a result I decided that I was going to forgo the training for the Outlaw for the time being, at least until I can get out of the house in a much shorter period of time.

I have  been to the gym a few times and want to try and focus on going there for a while, if possible Saturday and Sunday morning then maybe Tuesday and Thursday morning. The latter will mean getting to the gym as soon as it opens at 6:30am and going into work for 10am. 

For the next two weeks though I'm planning to go every morning apart from next Friday. I'm working late shifts for this week and next week so should be able to go to the gym, come home, get myself showered and then head off to work at lunchtime.

I've also been to a local salon to talk about hair removal, they do a sonic hair removal method but we ended up discussing IPL, something that might have an effect on some of the hairs but not as good as the laser I had last year. In the end we discussed mineral foundations which might be of more use to me than liquid foundation. One of the benefits of mineral foundation is that it might be possible to wear it to the gym, a suggestion I'd read by Kasmira who posted about her experiences of lunchtime gym workouts and make-up. I'm planning on trying it out by going out for a run and seeing what state I'm in when I get back.

So to the questions that Kate wanted us to think about.

So do you feel you've moved at least a quarter of the way towards where you want to be in all areas of your life in the "one year from now" section of your LifePlan.

I don't think I've moved a quarter of the way towards where I wanted to be by the end of this year. I've made some progress but not enough. OK, I have made major changes in my life and these have affected some of my plans. I've not been out running or cycling and I've certainly not been swimming. I can remedy the running and cycling bit quite easily simply by running early in the morning and just getting out on my bike. Swimming is my biggest problem because even though I go to the gym in male mode at some point if the foundation works then I'll eventually start going as my proper self. Still swimming will be an issue for me as I wont feel comfortable in a male swimming costume and I doubt that other pool users will be understanding if I wear a one piece, besides I'm not convinced any foundation will survive an hour of swimming up and down the pool. I might be able to swim if I wear a tri-suit each time but I'll have to check with the leisure centre management if they mind me wearing it every time I swim and not occasionally.

Can you identify pressing matters you need to tackle that you've overlooked?

I can't think of any pressing matters that I might need to tackle that I've overlooked. By nature I tend to think things through very carefully, planning to the n^th degree. If I have overlooked something then I'm sure that I'll realise it at some point.

If my progress has fallen behind, how can I get it back on track?

I need to address things in the areas of my burlesque and training. Getting my burlesque back on track means making the commitment to work on my routines and to get to classes. I need to make the effort to get to Bristol at least once a month. I also need to start running, cycling and swimming. Once I've got myself into the habit of going to the gym regularly I need to swap one of my weekend sessions with a bike ride. I also need to get out for a run first thing on a weekday morning. Finally I need to start swimming at least once if not twice a week.

What 3 things do you need to be tackling in the next week or so that you can actually achieve in that time?

1. I need to get to the gym every morning this week, with the exception of Friday as I've got a job interview in Gloucester in the early afternoon and I have to get ready for that and do a couple of errands before I leave for that.
2. I need to make arrangements to do the training to allow me to teach burlesque and to do that soon.
3. I need to contact the leisure centre and check with them that it is OK for me to swim in a tri-suit every time I go swimming. Then I have to get over being self-conscious about wearing it when I go to the pool.

What one big thing do you need to complete soon to keep you on track? How do you feel about that?

I need to complete my burlesque training to allow me to teach beginners classes. That is going to be the big challenge as it will mean committing to a spending a day learning to teach. It will also mean stretching myself by finding a new level of confidence in myself, and not just the fact that others believe in me, that says I can stand in front of a group of women for 2 hours over a period of 4 weeks turning them into budding burlesque performers. Even though I've grown more confident in the last 2 years I still find myself doubting myself and my abilities.

Update:

1. Well my attempts to get to the gym last week didn't go to plan. In fact I only managed to get there on Monday. I really am going to have to find a way to encourage myself to get there more often.
   
2. I contacted M and we are going to discuss my having some training to allow me to teach beginners classes after Easter when I next get up to Bristol for the advanced lab.
   
3. Contacted the leisure centre and asked the receptionist about the possibility of using my tri-suit for swimming. She went to ask the manager and came back to say its swimwear so its OK. I'm going to try and get to the pool one morning next week.