By NATALIA HAWK
It’s FRIDAY! This will be excellent news to all of you, except those who work on weekends. And those who have to get up early for Saturday sport. I am sorry for your loss of Friday excellence.
Friday’s also the day when we get together to talk about our weeks. More specifically, the highlights and lowlights and the things that are generally on our minds.
It’s incredibly therapeutic and really lovely to catch up on what’s happening in other people’s worlds.
I’ll kick us off:
BEST: I did Tough Mudder last weekend. For those who don’t know, it’s a 20-km course filled with some crazy obstacles that you have to somehow get through. Think: ice baths, giant piles of logs, monkey bars, giant walls… and mud. Lots of mud. Apparently it’s called ‘Tough Mudder’ for a reason.
Anyway, I was freaking out a bit beforehand – I can’t run 20km on a regular day, let alone a 30-degree-day with shoes full of mud. I can’t do monkey bars and I can’t climb high walls and I am not such a fan of pitch-black, underground mud tunnels.
But you know what? I finished. My whole team finished. We did it in great time. And I did SO MANY THINGS that I never thought I was capable of doing.
It’s a team event and you have to sign a pledge that says you will help out your fellow Tough Mudders. So every time I fell down, there was a stranger’s helping hand to pull me back up again. Every time I came to a giant wall, there was someone waiting to give me a lift over. And every time I reached the end of an obstacle, there was an outstretched hand there, ready to help me out.
I haven’t ever seen that spirit of camaraderie in a fitness event before. And even though my body was hurting at the end of that 20km – I felt so happy and so proud of myself and my team.
I also have many bruises in odd places which I keep discovering, so that keeps life exciting.
WORST: Sad things happening to loved ones and loved ones of loved ones. Love to all those who are struggling.
What was your best and worst of the week?
Top Comments
The best - my psychiatrist telling me that I can go back to fly in/fly out construction work nearly 2 1/2 years after first being hospitalised and diagnosed with bipolar type 1. After a lot of trial and error I am on meds that work for me and have no major side effects and I haven't had a manic or depressive episode of any scale all year. A year and a half ago he told me that it was extremely unlikely that I would be able to go back. Accepting that I will have bipolar every day for the rest of my life has been a big hurdle for me and is still something that I struggle with on a regular basis and doing FIFO work on a 3 week on/1 week off roster meant that it was not just a job it was a lifestyle and way of living so when I was diagnosed and in hospital I felt like I had lost a major part of who I was.
As the wife of a FIFO worker, it scares the crap out of me knowing there are people with psychological conditions working alongside them in that environment. There is absolutely no room for mistakes. I hope you and your doctor are making the right decision for you, and those around you.
That really sucks! I hope it works out for you soon. In the meantime can you talk to your friends at all and let them know what's going on? In regards to the credit card I personally wouldn't get one because I'm just not sure I could A) pay it back regularly and repsonsibly B) not want to use it all the time. I saw too many people have bad debts when I worked at a bank. In saying that if you feel you would be responsible enough with it and could pay it back you could always get a little student one so the maximum you can borrow on it is like $500. I have thought about getting a little one for uni when I was on campus but I managed to go without. It's completely up to you though whether you could get one, not spend too much and be able to pay it back. Hope your issues are sorted soon :)