All Work and No Play is No Fun

More than 30 years later, I have vivid memories of my first job, as a waitress in a popular family-owned restaurant that specialized in Texas hot wieners. There was a lot to love about that job – the predictable cadence of the different shifts and sections, chatting with the regulars, the cups filled with quarters at the end of the night.

And there was Ruben. The dishwasher from the Dominican Republic was 4-foot-barely-anything, with a huge grin of misshapen teeth. He was a dedicated family man with a house full of kids, who also was dedicated to banter with the teen waitresses.

As I neared the dishwasher, Ruben would drop the sprayer. He’d lift the front of his apron with one hand, and with the other, hold up his fist, flex his arm and brag: “It’s like theees, Lee-sah. Like theees.” Then, that toothy grin.

Ruben impression for my ex boss,
Jody, at a team outing. Seriously.

Yes, he was talking about what you think he was talking about. And yes, it probably sounds a bit creepy. But I found it hilarious. Both then as a naive 16-year-old, and now, as a 47-year-old human resources professional well versed in sexual harassment.

My work colleagues have come a long way since Ruben, but they still make me laugh. And when that stops, I know that it’s time to brush up the resume and move on. Because you spend too much time and emotional energy at work not to have some fun.

My closest colleagues and I have the combination of personal knowledge and trust that is the foundation for a lot of laughs. Barely a day goes by without some good-natured ribbing, some of it fit for print, and some of it, well, not. I’ve been appreciating that even more lately, as I transition to a new team.

Ozzy, back row, third from right

Happy Hour body spelling

I’m grateful that I'll be with the same organization. I've had a lot of fun over the last seven years. I dressed up as Ozzy Osbourne (complete with both arms covered with fake tattoos) for a skit at a summer picnic. I told a new employee that every Friday was “Bring Your Dog to Work Day” and that our vice president liked to be called “Bubbles.” And predictably, some of the fun has been at my expense.

No recollection here. None whatsoever.

It’s been as simple as returning from the restroom to see that a massively overgrown zucchini someone brought in to share from their garden had replaced my computer mouse. I knew Jason had been there.

Jason also was the coworker who, soon after he got word that I passed the four-hour (and very difficult) senior HR certification exam, decided to leave me a voice mail message while I was celebrating with my study team. Ever the master of the disguised voice, he said he was calling from the certification institute to notify me of “a colossal error” and that he regretted to inform me that I hadn’t passed after all. I was listening on my cell phone and had to pull the car over to avoid having an accident. That was late June six years ago, and I still can recall the sick feeling in my stomach until I got to the very end of the long message and he said, “Ha. It’s Jason!”

My favorite prank involved not Jason, but my current team, with an assist from our vice president’s administrative assistant. It was in our old building, where we’d constantly pass huge pallets of materials with signs saying, “Hold for John Doe.” I remarked more than once: “I’ll know I’ve made it when someday there is a sign with my name on it.”

One day, upon my return from vacation, I turned the corner and there was a pallet of toilet paper with the sign, “Hold for Liz Caras.” I laughed for days, and still have the framed photo of that day on my desk.

One of the other teams within my organization recently interviewed a job candidate, and she asked the group, “Do people have fun around here?” Great question. They said yes. They offered her the job and she accepted.

I’m looking forward to having some fun with my new colleague when she starts in October. But I’ll have to get creative. Overgrown zucchinis will surely be out of season.

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Requisite Weight Loss Update

Where have I been since my last update in May and my do over? As Inigo Montoya says in one of my favorite movies, “There is too much. Let me sum up.”

So, briefly, in a stream of consciousness reminiscent of Terry McMillan’s How Stella Got Her Groove Back (Because if anyone were ever trying to get her groove back it would be me), here goes: Was on a bit of a roll with the diet and exercise regimen, worked out with the trainer but got into trouble on my own when I forgot that I was grossly out of shape and started jogging. Ouch! Lateral shin splints on both legs and a calf muscle tear on one. Then, frustration and a back slide made worse by my son being away for five weeks at summer program (missed him terribly). Soon snapped out of it. Rejoined HMR diet program with the aid of a scholarship (thanks Mom! And Happy Birthday!), renewed meditation commitment with a weekend retreat, back with therapist I love, back with trainer but taking it slowly and letting calves heal. Even sucked it up and endured a water fitness class with a couple of women old enough to be my grandmother. On a roll, but ever mindful that it’s a journey and I’m in it for the long haul. No such thing as perfection and all or nothing makes no sense. Down 16 pounds in one month. Shooting for at least more 12 this month and every month after until I’m happy where I am. I’ll check back at the 6-month mark, just after my 48th (yikes) birthday. Thanks to all for you continued support.

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I’m recovering from some oral surgery and had to lay low for a couple of days. I share with you, dear readers, one of my couch projects. You, too, can create your own magazine cover here: http://www.oprah.com/omagyourself.

And yes, I was prescribed some pain pills.

A New Kind of Kind

It is only imperfection that complains of what is imperfect. The more perfect we are the more gentle and quiet we become towards the defects of others.
- Joseph Addison

My son’s first word wasn’t mama or dada. It was “niiiice.”

That was the word we used as we taught him to be gentle with our cats, Louie and Lauren. “Niiice” we said as we discouraged him from pouncing on them as they slept. “Niiice” again as we demonstrated how to stroke, not grab, their velvety coats.

Those lessons of kindness and gentleness were extended to all living beings throughout his childhood. And it appears that they’ve stuck. The 17-year-old he’s become is more sensitive and caring than I could have hoped for.

But now, I’m wondering whether his father and I taught him to be as kind and gentle with himself. At 47, it’s a lesson that I’m just beginning to learn for myself.

The most impactful reading I’ve done lately on a variety of subjects (Buddhism, spirituality, meditation, weight loss) has taught me that many of us never learn how to be niiice to ourselves. On the contrary, we often are downright harsh, in our self-talk and our actions. And when we are, it’s all that much harder to treat ourselves with care and to project positive thoughts and actions onto others.

We need an additional version of the Golden Rule, something like “Treat Yourself the Way You Treat Others.” Think about it. How many of us do a better job caring for others than ourselves? Are less judgmental with others? More patient? More forgiving?

I’m working hard on changing that for myself. As the Buddhist saying goes, “You can explore the universe looking for somebody who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and you will not find that person anywhere.”

And unless you can give yourself what you deserve, you will not be able to give it to anyone else either. So simple, yet so elusive. I don’t remember being taught that concept. In fact, the lessons ingrained in my mind are more along the lines of “Put others first.” Thinking of yourself first was, well, selfish.

Not a bad lesson for an elementary school student. The problem is, the lesson never matured as I did. The result? I can be really tough on myself. Super critical. I rarely live up to my own expectations because they often can be summed up in one word: perfection. And if I can’t be perfect, then why bother trying?

That is certainly the case with me and my nearly 20-year weight battle. I’m angry and disappointed at myself for being overweight, and when I’m angry and disappointed, I can’t muster the energy to change it.

I’m trying to take the advice of the authors of two of the most recently popular weight loss books. “Only kindness makes sense,” says Geneen Roth, in her bestseller Woman, Food and God. “Anything else is excruciating.”

Through Marianne Williamson’s A Course in Weight Loss, I’m trying to learn what she calls the “discipline of love.”

“Love is merciful, gentle, understanding, patient, forgiving, and kind,” she says. “So you must be toward yourself as you go through this process.”

Those qualities come in handy in other endeavors as well. If I keep them in mind during meditation, I have a richer, deeper practice. Otherwise, I’m obsessing about perfect posture, aggressively following my breath, and before I know it, I’m making a grocery list and planning my next vacation.

The same is true for my djembe drumming hobby. The more critical and impatient I am with myself, particularly on challenging patterns, the worse I play. And the less I enjoy playing.

Whether it’s weight loss, meditation, drumming or life in general, I am working to remember that I’m human, and therefore, not perfect. Not even close. So I’m trying give myself a break. I’m trying to like myself, despite some things that I’d like to change. I’m trying to be more forgiving when I do something that I’d rather I hadn’t, or when I have an off moment, or day – or week. Because I know now that seeing, accepting, caring for and loving yourself is as perfect as it gets.

Beginning Again

It’s been nearly three months since I aired my plus-size laundry in public, sharing plans to finally lick my two-decades-long weight loss struggle. I promised to check-in after a couple of months or after the first 15-pound weight loss.

The months? Check. The weight loss? Not so much.

I was encouraged for a while, buoyed by the freedom of publicly acknowledging my struggle. I was blown away by the heartfelt messages of support (Thanks to all of you). Then, partly because of the public acknowledgment and the heartfelt messages, I panicked. And soon, I was back to my old ways. In the March post, I confessed to being a few Blizzards and Chinese buffets away from 300 pounds. When I weighed in for the weight loss challenge at work on the morning of May 10, it would be more accurate to say that I was a couple of Tic Tacs away.

So, I borrowed a trusted lesson from my meditation practice: I began again. In other words, I exercised the prerogative that you never outgrow and gave myself a do-over. It’s been only two weeks, but I feel like I’m on my way.

Some steps in that direction:
1. I entered the aforementioned weight loss challenge at work, on a team with three female colleagues. Highest team weight loss percentage wins the contest, which runs from May 10 to Aug. 9. There are prizes, but we’re in it for the motivation. (OK, and the glory.)
2. I got a physical exam, even though I knew there would be a scale and needles involved.
3. I’m eating better. More vegetables, fruits, lean protein, whole grains and good fats. Less bad fat and cholesterol (see #2), white flour, sugar and preservatives. I’m not weighing and measuring, or counting calories. Just aiming for generally healthy meals, and moderation when they’re not.
4. I’m treating my night eating issue like the addiction it’s become – remaining ever vigilant and taking one day at a time.
5. I joined a gym – one that I have to drive by on the way home from work – and am shooting for five workouts a week.
6. I signed up with a trainer who will work with me two times a week and direct the remaining three workouts. I’m hoping that the small fortune I invested will help keep me motivated.
7. I’ve recommitted to a regular meditation practice for several reasons, including the fact that I want a fighting chance at numbers 1 through 6.

So, I’m getting busy with the business of beginning again. I’ll check back soon after the Aug. 9 end to the weight loss challenge. I’m hoping for the best for me – and for the trainer, who I’ll call “Jackie” in honor of the beloved Jack LaLanne. I’m changing her name in the likely event that I’ll want to say mean things about her in the future.

An actual portion of our first meeting, as I detailed the 11 p.m. snacking habit I’ve been battling:
Jackie: “What are you doing up at 11 p.m.?”
Me: “I’m eating.”

It looks like she’ll have to earn every cent of that small fortune.

A Vacation of One's Own

Cat takes a bath break.

Go on vacation alone. I put it on my bucket list because I knew that it would be a challenge. And I knew I needed it.

Three days in, I can clearly see that the challenge is a gift. I’m writing this from a meditation and writing retreat in the Colorado Rockies. It’s breezy but sunny and I’m at a picnic table in the “downtown” area of the Shambhala Mountain Center. One of the center’s cats is keeping me company.

It’s “writing time” during the retreat and we can go anywhere and write about anything. We can go for a walk, do a bit of reading, sit around and think, whatever gets our juices flowing, as long as it doesn’t involve talking. That’s a challenge for me as well. In general, I’d like to do more thinking and writing and less talking. Those around me would probably like that as well.

We started the day with breakfast, meditation and free-flow writing, where we handwrite in a journal three pages of something, anything – pretty much a stream of consciousness. Then, there are two and a half hours of writing time, which puts me where I am right now. After lunch, there will be more meditating and more writing, a group tea, a discussion on Buddhism or meditation, dinner, more meditating, reading aloud our works and gentle critiques from the group, and then 10:30 p.m. curfew. It’s a six-day program and I tacked on a day before and a day after. That makes for a lot of alone time. And that is something that just a few years ago, I couldn’t imagine ever putting myself through, much less considering it a gift.

Aside from a three-month internship one summer when I was in my 20s, I’ve never lived alone. I went from the Connecticut house where I grew up to college dorms and then apartments, where I always had roommates. After graduation, I spent some time in LA, renting a room in a house. Then, I moved in with the man who would become my husband. When we divorced after 16 years and our then 10-year old began spending two nights a week with him, it was the first time I was ever alone on a regular basis. I was so ill at ease that I would pick up the phone the moment I got in, would obsess about someone breaking in – was generally uncomfortable in my own home. In therapy at the time, I ended up working as much on that as I did on the end of my marriage.

I learned that it was my skin, not my house, in which I was uncomfortable. I learned to allow – even welcome – the thoughts and feelings and memories that slip in during moments of quiet. And I learned to create those moments more often, to take time away from the phone, e-mail, the Internet, the jam-packed schedule that for most of us is the status quo. Now, I actually look forward to having time alone, to think, to putter, to write, to meditate, to just be. In short, I’ve come to appreciate the pleasure of my own company.

But there still is that bucket list, so here I am in Colorado. In addition to the fact that I have my own room and hours of free time that I must spend alone, there is no music, no television, no cell phone service and Internet only for occasional e-mail checks and of course, to upload this post. (We’re not animals after all.) It’s a big change from how I spend most of my days back at home. It’s a big change from how I spend most of my vacations, too.

View outside my room.

I’m reveling in the differences – the breathtaking scenery, the grace and wisdom of the bestselling author who is leading the retreat, some creative vegetarian and vegan meals (I’m going meatless the whole time) and the company of interesting folks on paths similar to my own.

While I’m here, I’m reading the latest book by the author who is leading the retreat, Susan Piver. This retreat center is one of her favorite places and she wrote some of “The Wisdom of a Broken Heart,” while she was here. I just finished the chapter on meditation. A couple of lines could have been written for me, at this very moment: “Meditation is the noble act of making friends with yourself, just as you are. ...When you sit and meditate, you are agreeing to hang out with yourself, exactly as you are.”