Reflections on Megamadness 2014

It's been almost 48 hours since MegaMadness ended on Saturday night and I've had to give it some time to sink in.  This was my 2nd MegaMadness that I've traveled to, I've done plenty of local quarterlies, but those are on such a smaller scale.  This event just seems to get more and more amazing.   I thought a good place to start would be to re-read my reflections from last year's Mega and see how differently or the same I feel this time around.  Here is the link to last year's reflections:
http://pamharperhorst.blogspot.com/2013/03/renewed-rejuvenated-ready.html

Well, this year was an overall different experience for me.  Work, like expected was ridiculously busy before leaving and I literally had to work through the night on Wednesday to try to get as much done as possible.  As I sit here and write this, I am still very behind with travel quotes.  After working through the night, I went to the gym to do a peer review for a fellow spin instructor, then back to my office to work, finally pack, shower and get to the airport.  I brought files with me, but really did not have time to do any work.  Once I arrived, got to the ARIA resort, checked-in and then met up with Jocelyn and several other friends for dinner.  Before dinner, I ran into both my BodyFlow trainer Rachel and my BodyCombat trainer Rebecca- so good to see them both and that made me stop and think. Just a year ago, I only taught 1 Les Mills format and now I am certified to teach three!  I have got to believe that it was last year's Mega experience that really inspired me to take on more - yes, me the crazy busy person taking on more!   There is still a possibility that I may take on two more formats, but we'll see.  I really would like to do the RPM training, Jocelyn just got certified and loves it - and at this Mega, they did the launch preview of the new Born to Move program for kids, which I think is going to be a super program.  Time will tell.

Thursday dinner went well, did a little gambling with Jocelyn & Gediz- they gambled, I watched and we finally got to our rooms around 1230am..yes I had been up since 830am on Wednesday morning, so about 40 hours by the time I got to bed and then was up at 615am to start Day One with full day of AIM 1 for Body Combat (Advanced Instructor Training).  Initially, I was nervous for this AIM because I am still a rookie with Body Combat- last year for Body Pump, I was a seasoned instructor and very comfortable in my Body Pump skin.  But this year, I had the comfort of knowing a BUNCH of people taking AIM, last year I went in alone.  It was awesome!  Not only was this training led by Dan Cohen- the program director for Body Combat, but he had several Rock Star trainers with him to assist...Angel, Jericho, Will, Ben, Petter & Peggy - all well know Body Combat Trainers/Presenters.  I was in Will's group and we had our track assignments, which we randomly signed up for - I got Track 8- which is such a fun boxing track with great music.  After we each did our presentations, we received immediate feedback and Will simply had to say, "AWESOME, that track was made for you, you completely dialed into the music, you coached, you motivated" - he went onto say if he had to pick on anything and it would be nit-picky it would be to work on my uppercuts and I know that- I'm much better than I was 6 months ago, but that strike is still a challenge for me.  I felt really great afterwards.  After all of our group presented - and we had a total of 19 presentations per group x 6 groups- so we had about 130 people in this training!  We then continued the afternoon with lectures by Angel and Dan and then drills - learning about the essence of each martial art.  This was so beneficial and eye opening.  In many ways, I loved this AIM more than Body Pump and it could very well be just that I learned so much more that is going to help me as an instructor of Body Combat.  Dan Cohen is simply amazing, he's funny, he's approachable, he made a point of meeting with each and everyone of us in small groups...just awesome, amazing, phenomenal...Friday finished on a serious HIGH and we had so much more to come!

Friday evening we had the cocktail party and Reebok fashion show, it was a very nice event and ended about 915pm and we still hadn't had dinner!  After a day of bagels, nuts, protein bars- we wanted something to stick to our gut- so Jocelyn and I decided to go to the Steakhouse and it did not disappoint.  Very nice dinner, conversation, champagne and we finished up around 1130pm, strolled by the casino tables to find Gediz still up and gambling...I think I finally got to bed around 1am- with another early morning on Saturday- up for Body Pump at 730am!  That was a struggle, but worth every bit of it!  They launched for us Body Pump 90, the release that we won't even receive until May 9th!  It was awesome and fun to take a class where you have no idea what is coming next!  Holy Chest & Shoulder tracks!   This set the pace for an awesome day that was filled with Education Sessions for Body Flow with Josef, Body Combat with Dan & Rach and Body Pump with Susan - lots of great takeaways from each of those sessions.   And a few more workouts- Body Combat 60 (again the release that we will receive in May) which was amazing- marking Body Combat's 15th year!  To take a class like that with 1000 people, there just are no words.  We finished off the day with a Glow in the Dark Body Flow class with release 64- the one that is coming out this month.  Beautiful release and I hope that I get a chance to teach it soon.

Adding to this amazing day- a preview of the new program for kids - Born to Move, a group of kids from the local YMCA came to enjoy the class and boy what fun they had doing it and what fun we had watching the program in action.  It's going to be an amazing addition and something our society needs- we need to get kids moving again, start the fight on globesity at a young age!  I'd love to teach this program, but we'll see if we can find time for that and where it will be offered.   The evening keynote speaker- incredible!  Kyle Maynard gave such an amazing and inspirational presentation - lots of messages, but what I got from it:  live life to its fullest, there are no excuses and there is always going to be someone in a worst predicament than yourself.  If he can feel that way with virtually no arms/legs.  Just incredible...if you'd like to find out more about him- check out this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czXTkNyzF98

After the day was over, we still had the After Party and Les Mills & Reebok know how to do this in style and Les Mills Instructors love to party!   We had exclusive use of the HAZE nightclub for 2.5 hours with open bar and heavy appetizers and it was a ton of fun and I'll tell you- instructors clean up nicely!  We finished off the night with some gambling and a late night breakfast before finally heading to bed around 130am- of course, I had to enjoy a quick bubble bath since the tub was amazing- but couldn't enjoy it for too long, I was tired.

Overall, a great weekend of spending time with Tribe friends, meeting some who I've only known via email or facebook, making brand new friends, connecting with a few Las Vegas ladies who were in my Body Pump AIM last year, meeting the world class trainers and program directors- it was just a fabulous experience and I can't wait to go again!

Sunday was the day of getting home (smoothly), chillin' on the couch - Ok napping on the couch, trying to do work (didn't get any of it done) and then today after getting up for my 7am Body Pump class, chiropractic adjustment, I ended up crawling back into bed and sleeping until 2pm..I'm still tired and don't feel well.  Usually, my allergies flare up after a trip and they also flare up when in a smoky environment (casinos)- so I am hoping that is all, but only time will tell.  I've gone through enough stupid Kleenex though and I'm about to hit the hay and get some sleep- lots of it.  Still have a ton of work to do, but I just can't focus when I feel like this.  Hoping tomorrow is a better day!

So happy that they had a photo booth with a scheduled time to take pictures with your favorite "Les Mills Celebrities"-  The One & Only Body Combat Duo:  Dan Cohen & Rachael Newsham!

Tribute to my Mom - Read at her Celebration of Life 3/9/13

Memories of my mom - Patricia Maureen Harper  5/23/29 - 1/12/14

My mother was a wonderful woman.  She was strong, loving & would do anything for her kids and grandkids.  She would listen to us, offer advice if we asked for it, lend support in any way she was capable of lending, she cried with us, she laughed with us and if we were hurt she was hurt, if we were happy she was happy.  She was our biggest fan, our number one cheerleader and supporter.  My mom was in every definition what a mother is supposed to be. I was also lucky to call her my best friend.  She loved to garden, cruise, play bingo, gamble & listen to the Giants games on her transistor radio.  She loved music and dancing - in fact one could hear her music playing down the hallway at Woodside Terrace (she never did get that hearing aid that she never really wanted to get).  And as for dancing, we have several pictures of her and her signature dance move!   She loved to help people; she had a HUGE heart and was so very giving.  She was silly, goofy and got a kick out of herself- often.  She loved her collections and in her lifetime she collected a lot of things:  thimbles, plates, spoons, dolls, teddy bears, music boxes, jewelry, decorations and anything butterfly...and yes many times she was over the top with her collections. But she loved them, they made her happy.  She also had a collection of singing/dancing holiday stuffed animals and she would just light up when she would play them.  Of course she had to share that joy with others, so she would bring these with her to her senior clubs, bingo sessions, coffee shops, and she loved to see other people loving these little entertainers.

 She was always aware of her appearance and took great pride in looking good.  It bothered her when she would see others who seemed to not care about their appearance.   Even in the ER the day before she passed, she asked if her hair looked OK and if she still had on lipstick.  The last thing I did for my mom before she passed the next day- I straightened her bangs and put on her lipstick. And although she couldn't speak, I think she knew and appreciated this gesture.  She went to heaven with snowmen on her thumbnails- she recently discovered nail art and looked forward to her manicures every other month to get a new nail design.

My mom was a fighter and a survivor.  When I look back at these last few years, the years when she battled one health crisis after another and some were more like wars quite honestly- her little body kept fighting even when she had made peace and was really ready to die.  I reminded her often that it was not up to her and that it just was not her time to go.    I am just so very thankful that this time, God decided he was ready for her because the Cancer war would not have been an easy or fair battle for her to fight.  At the end of the day, we really do have a kind and loving God.

I miss her terribly; we would talk on the phone every day and see each other several times a week.   It's a great loss. That being said, she is with me every single day and I can honestly say that every day since she has passed, she has spoken to me in one way or another.  I just don’t have to pick up the phone and dial 7 digits; I can just talk to her whenever and wherever. She & I had an incredible bond as both mother/daughter and best friends.  I know this is rare and I am very lucky.  At one point during her medical battles, she was in tears and feared that going through all of her medical issues with her would ruin our friendship, quite the contrary.  It was an honor and a privilege to be able to be her cheerleader, her supporter and help her like she had done all her life for me.

I have been told and will happily admit that I am very much like my mom.  She & I have the same kind of silliness, goofiness & sense of humor.    That’s a gift that I get to keep with me always.  And while I have a lifetime of memories with my mom, I'd like to share some of my most special ones:  anytime we traveled together and we did travel often after my dad passed away, but I most remember our first cruise together - a first for both of us in 1990 and we laughed so much because it was such a rocky ride up the coast to Vancouver.  We both fell in love with cruising on that trip & mom was so excited to meet the Captain.   

We had numerous weekend visits when she would come down to stay with Bill & I and it didn't matter what we did together, we just enjoyed being together laughing, taking naps, going to movies, playing bingo.  I especially loved our Christmas Eve tradition, my mom would do the prep work for the Turkey (breaking the bread) and I would cook the Turkey, reverse roles from when I used to do the same for her when I was growing up.  We'd do our little gift exchange with her and then watch "White Christmas" together while sipping Bailey's Coffees.  She would always say that we spoiled her too much, but we were happy to do that, it was fun to watch her open her gifts and get excited about them.  We'd all go to bed late and  then on Christmas Day, I'd be the one up early getting the bird into the oven and making Cinnamon Rolls & Coffee for breakfast.  

More recently, this past Christmas, I helped her decorate her apartment and she was just so excited to have all of her decorations out.  It was fun doing that together, while listening to Christmas Music and sipping on our Starbucks.  We had not decorated for the holidays together since I lived with her over 20 years ago.  She had the reputation at Woodside Terrace for having the most decorated doorway - always, holiday or not! Her doorway brought joy to all who passed by.  It was a blessing to know that in her very short time at Woodside Terrace, she had made her mark and people loved her there as well.

We had many Tahoe vacations as a family starting in my late teens and I'd like to share one year that involved a Kool & the Gang concert and Long Island Iced Teas.  It was "Ladies Night" for sure and "oh what a night" it was.   The Place:  Harrah's Showroom,   The Players:  My Sister,  mom,  Aunt Kitty,  Cousin Jeanne, friend Deanna and myself.   Two drink minimum, the waitress starts to take our orders - Deanna,  my sister &  I start off and order Long Island Iced Teas,   my Aunt orders a Pina Colada and  Jeanne orders one as well (although they brought her a Virgin one without asking for her ID and yes she wasn't 21, but she gets an A for effort) and then the waitress gets to my mom.  Mom asks, "what did they order?" and points to my sister and I, we tell her and she says "I'll have that".   My sister and I just smiled at each other knowing that this could become an interesting night.  The concert begins and of course mom's favorite song comes on, "Celebration"- her signature song and she bolts out of the booth and heads down to the stage to presumably dance with the band, she had a blast and we of course all enjoyed watching her.  The concert comes to an end, we are waiting for our pictures to purchase and mom needed to use the rest room, so we said we'd meet her out in the casino.  Well we couldn't find her anywhere, we found my dad and Uncle and they had not seen her. We headed back to our cabin at the Hacienda and there was mom in her bed fast asleep.  Seems two Long Island Iced Teas were more than she expected.  The next morning, the first words out of her mouth, "What was in that drink?"   Needless to say, she never had one of those again.

I mentioned that she liked to gamble, well she loved her lottery scratchers and would usually budget to buy her weekly allotment, and she was very lucky with them.  In fact, she was always so lucky with them that if I was with her when she bought tickets, I'd buy some for myself and I did not share her same luck..at all.  It was so frustrating to me.  While cleaning out her apartment, I found about $35 worth of tickets that she had not turned in yet, so I decided to reinvest them for her and had a good run for about 5 weeks- her luck finally ran out this past week.  But of course, I had not learned my lesson and all these weeks while reinvesting for her, I'd get a few for myself and would not do nearly as well as her tickets were...until this week.  Low & behold, I bought two tickets, one $5 and one $3 and scratched it on Friday night and it was a $1000 winner.  Like I said, she is with me every single day and as excited as I got about the winning ticket, I believe that she was probably even more excited for me.

I'd like to close with two poems that I found that I think are very fitting:

Thank You Mother

© Nicole J. Heath

Thank you mother- for all that you have done,
You took great care, of your daughters and sons.

You loved us all from the very start,
with your warm, kind, and loving heart.

Thank you mother, for being strong,
While trying to teach us right from wrong.

If anytime, we had a problem,
you were there to help us solve them.

You'd lift us up, when we were feeling blue,
Thank you mother, for we could always count on you.

You were such- an awesome mother,
The love you showed was like no other.

Thank you mother- for your dear, sweet love,
Now you'll watch over us from heaven above.

Source: Thank You Mother, Mother Death Poem http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/thank-you-mother#ixzz2sWcLOfr2
Family Friend Poems 

A Daughter's Promise

© Allie B. Quaglieri

Every time that I smile,
Every time that I sigh,
I think of your face,
And a tear escapes my eye.

You were my world,
My inspiration and my heart,
But when you left me,
I thought I would fall apart.

You were my best friend,
My one true 'confidante',
And that's not all you were,
You were also my mom.

I didn't want to live without you,
But you would have wanted me to,
And if there's anyone I want to make happy,
That anyone is you

I would have given anything to have you back,
But I know now that it was meant to be,
For you are still watching from up there,
And I know you're watching me.

I'll make you proud mom,
I'm going to fulfill your wish,
You're going to see me and smile,
That's a daughter's promise.

Source: Poem From Daughter To Departed Mother, A Daughter's Promise http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/a-daughters-promise#ixzz2sWbvUuUG
Family Friend Poems