Hardly Har Har

Laughter Yoga

Since starting my project of new experiences, I have felt lovely squishy positivity, inspiration & excitement. New things are always exciting, non? Not necessarily. Now before I go any further these are records of MY experiences and regardless of positive or negative effects on me I am not going to bang on about how crap something is. No regrets, that's what I say. However I am going to be honest in the most unoffensive way.

I set out this evening to a Laughter Yoga Workshop and was greeted with a decent cup of coffee & a plate of biccies which I declined very obediently (pat on the back). I handed over my dosh and was guided upstairs to a room of about 14ish people, all seemed pleasant enough so far. The class began with some loosening out of the muscles, I could do with that after a day in the office. The muscle loosening seemed to go on for for a while. I was left wondering what pearls of expertise had thought this one up...then came the laughter bit. Step one, breath in. Step two, laugh. Are you kidding me?

I had a vague look around the room for a recognisable nod of 'lets go to the pub' (I've learned to decipher that nod over time, it takes skill and practice) but no, everyone seemed to be into it. So, I thought I'd throw my cynicism away in a rather hippylike fashion. "Get out cynicism!", I cried (in my head of course, I didn't want them to think I was completely barking) and went along with it. A few giggles followed but I couldn't shake the feeling that everyone was in on a really hilarious joke - everyone except me. So, I spent the two hour session hobbling around the room & pretending to laugh but, unfortunately for me, found none of it really that funny.

I do accept that perhaps I was missing something because there were regulars there who were having a whale of a time. However I realised at the end of the session that I do laugh enough in my everyday life, which in itself is a great lesson to learn, and I'm grateful that I can, and have a reason to, laugh every day. So, it wasn't my cup of tea but I can see the benefits for those who want to bring out the inner giggler in a judge free environment. I, on the other hand, will be sifting through my Dylan Moran DVDs when I feel the need to bring forth a chuckle.

Vino? Yes!

Anna's Bristol Wine Club

I was, erm, shall we say, 'killing time' on one of my travels through cyberspace when I stumbled upon an interesting post on Gumtree. It was placed by a rather enterprising lady who (like me) wanted to learn something about wine and meet new people. This couldn't be more perfect for my first venture into the social whirlwind that I would soon be rustling up for my little self. So, I left a message and pessimistically wondered if it would just float in e-mail land forever. Hurrah, it got somewhere and I was invited to a wine tasting evening at her house. A fantastic evening of blind tasting ensued where I met some really fab people and shared some funny anecdotes. I wasn't so great at deciphering the wines but, hey ho, it was my first time afterall and, to my relief, there wasn't a wine snob in sight. Surprisingly my favourite wine was the Oyster Bay Marlborough Chardonnay. I say "surprisingly" as it's one I often see but skim past. I've learned to never judge a bottle by it's label. Ah, see, activities featuring alcohol can be educational, oh great! I still have a way to go before I can confidently identify the fermentation process by holding it against a white sheet of paper but it's a start...

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Intro

The backstory...

NYE 2009 came and went. It was a wicked party (thanks Mel and Lou) however there wasn't anything particularly 'new' about 2010, not for me anyway. I went back to work, the January diet began, I started banging on about the deluded notion of abstaining from alcohol for the month, yadda yadda, you can see where I'm going here. I needed change!

So Jan 1st, a little bleary eyed with the occasional "Oh my god, did I really do THAT?" feeling filtering through I decided on my new year's resolution. Apart from the year I resolved that I wouldn't make a new year's resolution I failed on Jan 2nd every year. Not this year! I was going to run a 10k, sorted! I signed up for the Bristol 10k and train liked a possessed Sonia O Sullivan for the next four months. (And, just incase you're interested, on May 9th 2010, I finished the 10k in 64 minutes and earned myself a medal and the inability to walk for four days.)

But the want for something new didn't end there, following an insightful 4 hours with Matthew Hussey at a Get The Guy seminar in April (www.gettheguy.co.uk) I decided to put the wheels of change in motion, proper like.

I suppose I'd better start with explaining my presence at the seminar shouldn't I? Well, alright then. I'm single and, although I'm having a great time being the only 30 something spinster left in my family (I have a feeling there'll be a glass case in a museum somewhere in Cork with my name on it), I wouldn't mind trying my hand at being a social butterfly.
The seminar was divided into three sections: Find the guy, get the guy & keep the guy. The secret behind getting and keeping all seemed to boil down to being confident, true to yourself & sassy. Great, I think I can handle that. Now, the finding bit, that's where inspiration struck me. I had a moment of clarity - I'm not getting out there and trying new things enough!! The phrase "I've always wanted to.... but..." always came up in one form or another. Excuses, excuses. I felt a challenge coming on.

So, I'm doing something new at least once and, at worst, I'll have a few interesting stories to tell the grandkids...