On April 14, I’m moving out of New York City. When Andy and I decided to live together when his current lease expired, we quickly realized that we could not afford a doorman building in Manhattan. Having lived in a shitty walk up building in a tiny apartment with no closets for the last six years, I really wanted to live a little bit better (Read: Someone to sign for my packages). I also wanted other luxuries that typically come from this type of building, including laundry, a dishwasher and a gym. I was tired of bringing my laundry on the subway to my mom’s in Queens every two months or so, and I was tired of “hoarding” my clothes because I never know what I might want to wear two weeks from now. Then I end up not wearing it either time — both now and two weeks from now — and all the stress was for nothing.

Now that you all know I am neurotic, let’s move on.

I work in Jersey City and when I first learned about this opportunity I said, “Ew!” I actually knew nothing about Jersey City. I worked in the World Financial Center for three years and often looked across the river at JC and wondered what went on there. My former company, Merrill Lynch, even had two offices there which I communicated with but never thought to visit. I didn’t understand who worked there or why.

When my roommate got a job in Jersey City a few years ago I was really surprised. When she quit a few days later, I was not as surprised.

I considered not even coming to my job interview. Jersey City? Stigma.

I don’t know where this stigma came from or why, but when I stepped off the PATH train for my first interview last summer, I was shocked by how pretty, quiet and peaceful it is here. The view of Manhattan over the Hudson River, the prettiness of the neighborhood, the walking path along the water. It was a very short train ride from the city but I felt like I went under a river and into a whole other world.

So when we realized we can’t afford the city, we set out search on Jersey City. Just to look. We spent one weekend in February looking at apartments, thinking we were way too early to look for the May 1 move in we needed. It turns out we weren’t too early, and when we fell in love with an apartment and building right off the PATH stop, that was it.

The building comes with a free membership to Club H gym, which is a really nice gym with fancy treadmills that you plug your iPod into and can watch things on and do other cool things I don’t know about yet since I haven’t actually tried them. The gym has an abundant class schedule which includes spinning and yoga, as well as a steam room and sauna. All for free. I was hoping for a standard apartment building gym, and never could have imaged THIS would be my freebie. Obviously this was a big draw for me. Although I still plan to go into the city after work for Refine a couple times a week. I need my fix.

The other great things about the apartment and the building include a gorgeous outdoor pool and sundeck with grills, a tennis court, on-site dry cleaning, a washer dryer IN MY APARTMENT (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), a dishwasher, four closets – one which is a HUGE WALK-IN, floor to ceiling windows, stainless steel fridge (my current apartment came equipped with a dorm room fridge), a nice entry way into the apartment, a kinda-big bathroom with nice black tiled floors and a normal sized sink (my current sink is mini: lots of splashing occurs), a carpeted bedroom and an overall gorgeous space. The area is fantastic: right off the Grove Street PATH stop by tons of cute restaurants and a couple of blocks from the Hudson River Waterfront and running path, and very close to Liberty State Park where more running can happen.

An apartment like this would be insanely expensive in Manhattan. An apartment with half the amenities and space would still be insanely expensive. Our apartment is actually affordable. You get so much more for so much less money.

[My new running grounds]

And I get to live with my sweet Andy.

There is a lot we are really excited about but of course I have some concerns, and I will list below the things I will and will not miss about living in Manhattan.

Keep in mind that Manhattan is a 5-10 minute PATH train ride away depending on which train I take. Also keep in mind that the people on the PATH are overall less annoying, and I have only seen one beggar in my nine months of riding it. And lastly, keep in mind that I will be living so much closer to the West Side Hudson River running path that’s in Manhattan and by leaving the city, I will actually get to take advantage of this much more than when I lived there. If I want to.

I will also be closer to the far less crowded Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s in Manhattan and be able to do actual shopping at these stores. Right now, where I live, it’s impossible. I find it funny how certain things in Manhattan will be easier for me to get to after I move away than they are when I live there.

[The view of NYC from JC]

Things I will miss about Manhattan

• Taxis
• Late night taxis
• Ease of getting anywhere quickly (in part, thanks to taxis)
• The ability to walk to any store I could possibly need without even crossing a street
• The proximity to Queens, where my mommy lives
• Central Park
• Ease of getting to early morning NYRR races
• Refine Method being a 10-block walk away
• Bed Bath & Beyond, Home Depot and Bloomingdale’s all being in a three-block radius of my apartment
• Taxis

Things I will not miss about Manhattan

• City taxes (not to be confused with taxis)
  
• The subway
• MetroCards (they never work)
• People on the subways (I hate them all)
• Non-moving lines for stairs (WHY is this a thing?)
• Weekend schedules/construction
• People stepping on my foot (ow)
• Apartments with no space
• Laundromats
• Second Avenue subway construction
• Slow walkers
• The cost of orange juice
• Long waits for brunch
• The air
• The noise
• The price of everything
• Commuting

The stigma of JC is obviously gone, and time seems to be moving so slowly until moving day. My biggest concern (don’t laugh) was not being able to get to Refine as often or easily, but I know I can make it work. Plus I hope to run more often with the river so readily available, which goes well with my plans to PR in a few distances this year. And having an awesome gym right downstairs takes a lot of the edge off.

Time has felt very slow since the day we signed the lease, and these last two weeks are barely crawling. But the fact that I only have one more blog post to write before I move makes it better. Two blogs from now, I’ll be in my new place.

I’m really excited to live like a grownup for the first time. I plan to get matching nightstands that also match the dresser, just like real grownups have in their bedrooms. I also realize that real grownups don’t need to always say how grownup they are, because the whole point of being a grownup is just being one without talking about it. I guess I’m not quite there yet.

“Ugh, I’m so bad at this class. I got corrected so many times.”

“I don’t want to go to class with you because you’ll see how many adjustments I get from the instructor.”

“The class was good but I felt so singled out with corrections.”

Sound familiar? Sound like you? I am always surprised when I hear people say statements like this about a workout. I hear it all the time. And I don’t get it.

One of the greatest benefits of a group fitness class with a great instructor is getting corrected. This is one of the most important reasons I love Refine so much. Despite having taken Refine for about 16 months, I get corrected in every single class.

And I feel fortunate for this. I actually like when I show up and there are only a few other people there, not because I don’t want the business to succeed but because it means I will get even more attention and correction. This is why the one-instructor classes at Refine are capped at 12 students and the larger classes have two instructors, and why the instructors primarily come from dance backgrounds.

Sometimes, one little correction alerts me to something I’ve been doing incorrectly  for a very long time. Once the instructor fixes me, something I do all the time like a plank becomes like an entirely new exercise when I’m moved back just an inch! It’s so much harder and I feel my abs working much, much more.

Other times, despite having been corrected in a certain exercise plenty of times before — I’m thinking of lat pulldowns here — my body just falls back to its old habits. It takes an instructor coming up to me and putting her hand between my shoulder blades to remind me to actively squeeze them together. Getting into this habit will help me not only during the exercise, but always. Who wants their shoulders hunched up by their ears all the time? I’m constantly remembering my instructors’ advice and actively press my shoulders down and back while at my desk at work.

Or the way my body naturally leans back during some exercises. When I’m moved forward a little, it feels wrong, like I’m too far forward — but that’s just because I’ve been doing it wrong forever and have to get accustomed to this new feeling.  Now I make an effort to keep my body forward during certain exercises even if it feels “off” because I’ve been corrected so many times that I know it is right.

No matter how much I might think I’ve “perfected” a move, there are always ways to improve and I wouldn’t know any of these ways without the constant instruction and guidance from the teachers. Not to mention the times I might be doing something in an unsafe way that could lead to injury — those are ESPECIALLY the times I am grateful to have such targeted attention.

There are also always corrections to make an exercise harder once you have the hang of it. I never would have thought to keep my elbows at a 45-degree angle during pushups if I didn’t have someone correcting me to do so. I did them at more of a 90 degree angle for a very long time and didn’t know there was a “more advanced” way. Now this exercise comes with an entirely new set of challenges, which leads to more ways to improve.

And then there are the smaller corrections. During “jump rope” (there aren’t actual jump ropes but we do the exercise as though there were) I might get a reminder to keep my abs in. Little things that take pressure off my back, strengthen my core and if I remember to always follow this advice, will improve the overall shape I am in.

I recently read a couple of class reviews where the reviewer complained about getting corrected in a class, and compared herself to another student who “did well.” She felt discouraged and didn’t want to go back to the class. And I have a friend who also feels frustrated by corrections. She thinks it means she’s in “bad” shape. But it doesn’t matter what shape you are in — every single person can stand to be corrected to be sure they are getting the most effective and safest workout possible. That is the benefit of small classes where the instructors are knowledgeable on proper form! That is one of the reasons they come with a higher price tag. You’re paying to get your best workout, but how can you get it if you aren’t doing things correctly?

I guarantee that you are NOT being singled out though. You might feel like you are because you’re focused on yourself. But everyone around you is going through the same thing even if you don’t see it.

So many factors determine why someone might not get corrected as much as someone else. Maybe this person has a fitness or dance background; maybe she works with a personal trainer and is familiar with proper form; maybe her body naturally aligns correctly or she has an intuitive sense of the “right” way to do something. Maybe it’s luck.

One of the biggest misconceptions that my own friends have is that I never get corrected. They say that because — like me — they are focused on themselves during class. They don’t see the constant corrections I get, just like I don’t see the corrections they get. I’m not judging them for getting corrected (which is a reason they don’t want to take class with me!).  I’m not even noticing it! We are all working out for ourselves.

Not getting corrected brings its own insecurities as well. In a class where I’m not being fixed as much, I start to wonder if I’m being ignored. Maybe the instructor isn’t paying attention to me? Is it because they think I have a handle on this and don’t need to look at me? Or am I just doing it right? Or do they not even see me? It’s ironic that so many people feel singled out when they’re corrected but I feel singled out when I’m not!

I know it can feel frustrating when it seems like you’re doing every exercise wrong, but that is not the case. If you’re someone who gets discouraged by instructors fixing you, try and remember that it’s for your own good, and remember that even the strongest in the class are being corrected as well.

As I like to say: If we did everything perfectly, we’d all be teaching!

How do you feel about corrections?

This morning my stomach woke me at 5 am with discomfort. My stomach is very much like the Capitol — even though it is my birthday, it made sure to remind me that I will never truly be free. Just like the citizens of the Districts in Panem.

Despite that little setback which required a rainy 6 am walk to Duane Reade, I’m feeling much better now and even put on a silk dress. It was on sale at Bloomingdale’s this weekend for 30% off the sale price. The cashier didn’t want to give me the sale price at all and I had to argue with her, and it escalated to another employee telling her she has to honor the price. I know they get commission at Bdales but this woman wasn’t even getting the commission anyway since another woman swooped in while the dress was still in my hand and claimed it for herself.

I celebrated on Saturday night with some of my friends. My only real option to go out happened to be on St Patrick’s Day, a holiday in which I do not partake. The dress I originally wanted to wear had too much green in it, so I refused to even wear that. And for the second year in a row, I happened to celebrate the night before the NYC Half Marathon (which was my very first half marathon on my birthday two years ago) and that weeded a few people out too. Then one of my friends forgot and another hit a motorcycle with her car, so needless to say it was pretty low key. But I am really grateful for the friends who did come because it usually takes my birthday celebration to remind me that I have lots of really great people who care about me.

And who know me very well, as evidenced by my Lululemon gift which I wasted absolutely no time trying on as soon as I got home that night:

The turtle pajamas are not from Lulu. They are from Duane Reade and if you’d like a pair for yourself, you will need to save up five dollars.

The party itself was fun! I got really excited when I saw a map on the wall that clearly said Jersey City. Have I mentioned I am moving there in three weeks? With my boyfriend? No? A post for another time then!

JeRsEy CiTy RePrEsENt! (Do they not do that there? Is it just a Queens thing?)

Anyway, I drank Muddled Cucumber Margaritas all night as evidenced in the photograph below. By the way, that attractive Asian next to me is my former roommate Michelle. Yesterday marked the six-year anniversary of us moving into the 320 square foot apartment with no closets that I still inhabit.

The other photo shows me holding a Louis Vuitton vintage red epileather bag that I got at a thrift shop for $45. I just wanted the world to know.

I got to wear my sexy gold heels too. The last time I wore them was at my brother’s wedding in 2010, and I got those heavily on sale too. The only downside is that they are four inch heels and I never wear heels. I hate being uncomfortable, but thanks to Duane Reade (Duane Reade did not pay me to say all these nice things about them. Rite Aid has better prices. All opinions are entirely my own.) I got these fold up flats for about $7.

You can find them near the turtle pajama section.

As always, I had friends from all different places and times in my life come, which is amazing. My best friend since first grade, my former roommate, my boyfriend, the owner of Refine, Ben from the internet,  my friend from camp/high school/grad school/former job, my friend from middle school and various significant others. A nice turnout considering the odds not being in my favor.

Tonight I’m celebrating be leaving work a little early, taking a Refine class (giving my new Lululemon top a test drive) and then going to dinner with Andy at a Mexican restaurant I’m really excited about because the name sounds like “tushie.”

And that is it for 29.