love story

I ran into an old friend on Saturday. I'll call him Sam. I know Sam because his ex-partner was my sister's boss . Sam is a very friendly, outgoing, guy who at the time was making a killing as a salesman for computer parts. His then partner (who I will refer to as) Denise was the kind of boss who inspired you to want to work hard. My sister loved working with Denise. I always thought Sam and Denise made a great couple.

A few years ago Denise found out she had cancer and didn't have that much longer to live. Seeing that his time with Denise was limited, Sam eventually left his high-powered job to spend whatever time he could with Denise. After a three year battle, Denise passed away. I always felt horrible about this. Even more, I always wondered how Sam was doing.

On Saturday I was working in San Francisco when I saw Sam. He was shopping with a woman who seemed to be his girlfriend. I wanted to say hello. But I didn't want to remind Sam of Denise's passing. After all, it was through Denise that I even know him. After thinking it over, I realized that I may never see Sam ever again and that it would be a shame to not say hello.

Sam greeted me with a warm hug and we caught up a little bit. I asked how he was doing and he said that the past year or so has been rough without Denise. He said, "She was truly the love of my life." I nearly died hearing him say this. He then explained that before she passed, Denise signed him up for a dating service. Two months after her passing, Sam started getting the emails, all of which he ignored. In fact, he was angry that Denise would ever do such a thing. In the correspondence, Denise made it clear that she wanted Sam to move on. She didn't want him to feel empty for the rest of his life. Though they shared a great love, she wanted to make sure his love (even for someone else) would keep moving forward. At the new year, Sam finally responded to the dating service. He eventually met a lovely woman (the one he was with that day) and they've been together ever since.

Sam's story was so beautiful that it made me cry. I just had to share it with all of you. Admittedly, I'm equal parts romantic and cynic, which makes for a confusingly bitter person. I'm working on the bitter cynic part. Okay. Instead of ending on such a sour note, I'd like to send well wishes to Sam and his new love...

Warm-up
Run 800 meters
Prep for the WOD

CrossFit One World WOD
Front Squat 3/3/3/3/3

Joanne's Final Weight - 83/103/113/123/128x2

Notes (to myself) about this workout: Getting to work out has been tough these days. Between teaching, writing, working, applications, my life is one crazy mess. I was glad to FINALLY make it in today. I was even more happy to do some lifting with Jason K. (kudos!). Unfortunately, the front squat is my least favorite squat. However, I'm really happy with today's performance. Here's why....

The last two sets were rough. At 123# my first lift was good, the second was faltering, and the last one was a major struggle. At 128# my first lift was really challenging. The second lift was really off and Jason told me to re-set. I was surprised that I was able to do so. My final lift failed. However, I was glad because I really stuck it out at 128#. I took my time, got stuck in the middle, and just battled with it. If I completed the third lift, it would have been even sweeter. Regardless, I am really happy!

After a lot of thought, I'm seriously considering buying some weightlifting shoes. I've been plateau-ing on the weight and I think it's because of stabilization and practice issues. A lot of people have been telling me it's also best to start lifting with shoes. Here is what I'm thinking of: I actually think these may be Tia's shoes. I'd like them to be full leather (like the photo), black with deep purple and purple stitching. I'd like to heels to read "sassy j-ro." A friend suggested "sexy j-ro," but I didn't want to be presumptuous. ha ha. Any thoughts?