Putting Yourself Out There

Interestingly enough, I'm often telling my single friends to let others know they are looking and make the effort to get out. As a happily, married person, it is extremely easy to give this advice - I *hope* my looking days are over ;-)

In a new country, one I intend to put down temporary roots, I've suddenly found myself needing to put myself out there. As a social creature, I would wither and die without interaction beyond Dave & Mikaela. So, I started in a place I hoped would be welcoming - the Plunkets Parnell Playgroup. I was so nervous about the prospect of meeting someone who would talk to me, I rushed Mikaela out of the flat and arrived twenty minutes early. While she contented herself with swinging, I scoped out any person with a child in the vicinity to see if they looked approachable and friendly.

I was in luck. Although no one was unfriendly, there were two moms who I felt went out of their way to make me feel welcome. One of the moms noticed my Lululemon bag, and asked if I was from Canada or America. Her name was Kate, and we bonded over the use of the sling. While out and about yesterday, I received several odd looks while carrying Mikaela this way. It turns out that slings and baby carriers are indeed popular, but only until the baby reaches a year. Kate had rebelled against this, carrying her daughter until she was too pregnant with number two (she's due next Friday). The second mom, Georgina, and I bonded over being away from family. She is a transplanted Australian, and having recently gone about building her own new social networks, she was full of ideas on how I could entertain Mikaela and meet other moms.

My initial dream of joining the Les Mills World of Fitness (creators of BodyPump, BodyCombat, BodyFlow, etc) as a way to stay as fit as Teresa and offload Mikaela for a couple hours was squashed yesterday. To get the same type of service I have with GoodLife in Ottawa, I'd need to pay approximately $275/month. There's the $29.50/week fee for me, the $10/session for Mikaela, and the $5/class for RPM (spin). In the time-honoured tradition of milking the free trial weeks, I will attending classes tomorrow and Thursday. Once my week is up at Les Mills, I plan to move onto the YMCA, the exercise room, the Olympic, the Just Personal Workout Centre, and so on. I wonder how many fitness facilities they have in Auckland...