Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Current Fitness: Who's Coming With Me?

Almost every teacher that I’ve met has some sort of side hustle.  I know tutors, camp counselors, make-up artists, food truck owners, and now a very special fitness instructor! 


Have you ever had the experience of going to a gym or class and knowing, about a third of the way through the activity, that you’re never going to come back?  Either you get bored and your mind starts to wander, you end up virtually passed on on the gym floor, or you feel so self-conscious that you spend the entire class avoiding the mirror. Well, rowing with Juliana is definitely NOT  like that!

Not only is Juliana Garofalo one of the most knowledgeable and creative Humanities teachers that I have had the pleasure of working with, but she is also an extremely motivating (and fun) rowing instructor at Current Fitness, located at 342 Canal Street (entrance on Church Avenue) and accessible by all major train lines.   




Once you get the ‘kick and pull’ rhythm of operating the machine, you discover that rowing is a rigorous workout that (thankfully) does not leave you gasping for air. You sweat, but you aren't left incapacitated at the end of the class.  The music and the shifting lighting make the forty-five minutes go by relatively quickly; plus I found rowing in complete darkness utterly freeing! 

It’s rare that a studio can find the balance between being a space that is both challenging and safe, which is important for those of us who haven’t worked out in a while.  I felt no shame about stopping to take a breath during the class but I was excited to keep going. (It helped to have a good looking and supportive workout partner).


I guarantee that you will leave Juliana’s class feeling better about yourself than when you came. In fact, when I  got home Chloe told me that I looked skinner already! Thanks Jules!  

Maybe next time we won’t go out for empanadas after . . .   






Monday, January 11, 2016

Superwoman is Black (and She Doesn't Wear Flats)

When we were in high-school Mikita wore her hair in box braids that were cut into a bob and then shaped into a wave that swooped from left to right framing her immaculately made-up heart-shaped face.   In order to get from class to class she had to walk carefully up and down the stairs with her head held very high in order not to upset the position of each individual braid.  I think that all of the girls at Columbia Prep, both black and white, admired her self-assuredness and composure.  She always seemed to have it together.  Her grace under pressure, and her ability to balance multiple priorities with style and humor is something that I have continued to respect about her as we have transitioned into adulthood.



Mikita has commuted three hours to work and then come home to prepare cookbook- ready dinners for her girls.  She has walked through the Bronx Zoo in platform sandals with a four year old on her hip.  She routinely plans celebrations for her friends and family that would put any professional event planner to shame.  Every time I come to her house she has a glass of wine and a cheese plate waiting for me.  As we sit in the backyard laughing and drinking, she gives great advice “Set boundaries,” “Let him pursue you,” “ Don’t pat people on the back for doing what they're supposed to do.”  

Mikita is my oldest and dearest friend.  We've spent summers in my grandmother's house in Maryland and battled malaria in Ghana.  We've partied together drinking 'Kool-Aid Koolers' until we both threw up in my sink, and had discussions so deep that the silences said more than the words.  We were pregnant together, and look at our daughters' spirits with a sense of wonder and protectiveness.  Mikita's circle is small, but it's tight- and I dare anyone to disturb a hair on her head.