Saturday is the big day. Back in August, Bry (on behalf of himself and our boys) bought me a Zumba (B1) certification class. So now I get to go become a certified instructor just like Jae and Rae. Okay... Maybe not -just- like them, they set the bar pretty high (ladies, you rock).
* Address of the place
It's in East Lansing on Michigan State University's campus which is actually where I went to school. All the other certification classes for B1, of late, have been in the Detroit area which is where I thought I was going to have to go. Then, as I'm very seriously considering which of those to sign up for, this one appears in the list like magic. Going to East Lansing instead will shorten my travel time considerably.
* When to arrive
I have to be there at 8am, no later. They're checking everybody in at 8am so in reality, I need to be hitting East Lansing closer to 7:30am, so that I can get a parking spot and walk. Thank goodness it's an away game (and by that I mean football) kind of weekend or that would have added a whole new element of crazy to a really long day. If you don't know MSU, things are really spread out, so when I say "find a place to park", that generally involves a 10-15 minute walk (at least...) from there to the actual destination.
* Lunch
Participants are advised to bring lunches but the email also says, "If necessary, you can drive to a nearby restaurant." Great, but... One, I'm not going to give up my parking spot once I have one. Two, I'm vegan so my fast food options are limited to begin with. Three, I used to go there, so I know what food lines look like between 11am-1pm - no thank you! My plan is to bring some veggies and peanut butter for dipping, and a quinoa burger. Hey, don't knock it 'til you've tried it.
* What to bring
1. Water - And obvious necessity. I'm also going to bring a bottle of Gatorade for this. I usually don't use Gatorade for regular classes, but this is going to be an all-day event so I figure some extra electrolytes won't hurt. Bry is the one that talked me into the Gatorade. He pointed out that my usual drink crystals (made with Stevia) weren't going to cut it.
2. Towel - I don't usually bring a towel to regular classes either. Some of my classmates do, and for this, I think I will. At the very least, I can use it to freshen up at the end of the day.
3. A pen - There will some theoretical lecture so it will be good to take some notes.
4. Healthy snacks - Again, an obvious necessity. I'm bringing some bananas, some Clif bars, and a bag of mini Oreos. Yeah, that last one isn't healthy but it -is- a straight shot of glucose. I bought Gatorade in the raspberry lemonade flavor but it's the low-cal variety which means some of the glucose (sugar) has been replaced with sucralose (Splenda). Which means that it won't be as effective as the original at the very thing it's intended to do. None of the other flavors appealed to me okay? So mini Oreos are how I am making up for the lack of glucose. Aaw shucks...heh.
5. Sweatshirt or jacket - I was going to bring a hoodie. I'm guessing I'm going to feel cool during the lecture parts in between the dance portions.
6. A
change of workout clothes for the afternoon session - Jae warned me about this one. She said, "You should bring a change of clothes." to which I replied, "Yeah, I was going to bring jeans and such because I don't want to drive home in sweaty clothes." And she goes, "No, I mean a change of Zumba clothes. You're going to need it." Oh, well okay then, the day is going to be like that. Good to know, and nice to have her in my corner.7. Proper shoes - Dance fitness shoes or cross trainers with a shallow tread. Definitely not a problem.
8. A folding chair - This one is optional, for people who won't be comfortable sitting on the floor. Frankly, I have enough to carry as it is, so I'm going to forgo this one. I'm used to sitting on the floor anyway, I have little kids.
9. A credit card - This is for joining the Zumba instructor network (ZIN) which according the info about it in the email is "great". I've heard a lot about it already and I feel like I'm most likely going to sign up for that.
10. Cash - Zumbawear will be for sale and cash is preferred. Oh I am so torn on this. I know if I bring cash, I may as well kiss it goodbye before I even get to East Lansing. But I also know that if I don't bring some, I'll see something I really really want and regret not having brought some. Sigh... Zumba problems, I tell you.
* An agenda
The day goes from 8am to 5:30pm. The email says to come dressed to work out. Check in, introduction and overview are from 8-8:45am. Then there's a master class from 8:45-9:45am. I am really looking forward to that part, I think it's going to be a lot of fun. That's followed by a 15 minute break and there is some time before the lunch break for some theoretical lecture and hands on instruction. That's pretty much how the rest of the day will go - more practice, more lecture, more breaks. There will be a Q&A at the very end and I'm sure somewhere in there will be some time to look at the Zumbawear goodies; and I can't not look. I thought about trying to just avoid the display but I kind of think that it will be impossible. I figure they will make it impossible, but to me, that stuff is like a magnet or a black hole.
Anyways... I've already been to the supermarket this week and picked up all the food I'm planning to take with me. I'm also going to put a few toiletries in my bag to freshen up with so that I'm not uncomfortable during the hour-long car ride home. Mostly, all that's left is to figure out what to wear. My first outfit is easy, I'm going to wear my favorite black pants with the silver ribbons along with my Rhythm Rocker shirt. It's my favorite shirt. I'm taking another pair of black cargoes, the ones with the black ribbons, but I'm on the fence about what to take as a second shirt. Maybe the neon green/blue one, maybe the Party In Pink one... Decisions decisions... More Zumba problems...heh.
With all this stuff to bring, I started looking around for my old backpack which I haven't used in years. Either it's buried in the attic or it's gone all together because I couldn't find it. Bummer. Before I could think up alternatives, I happened to be browsing Amazon.com for something completely unrelated and noticed that the black Zumba bag that I've had my eye on for a while was down to only four left in stock. Oh my...better get right on that. We have Amazon Prime so that gives us free two-day shipping...so that means that my new bag will be here in time to pack my stuff in for East Lansing. Hooray!I'm feeling nervous and confident, excited and apprehensive all at the same time. But I'm okay with that, all of it. This has been a long time coming for me and I know that now is the right time for this, I can feel it way deep down on the inside.
Best advice today comes from Socrates:
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| Photo credit: Quotable Books |
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