Support, Fitness Competition Style

A couple weeks ago, I headed to Chi-town (Chicago) to support my friend Morven compete in a fitness competition. 

We have a little "group" that talks about fitness, workouts, nutrition, trends, and is one of the BEST support systems around!!!!!!!!!!!  So it was so exciting for me to see her hard work pay off (finally).  (She's been signed up and then moved dates for like, 6 months.)

I have to be honest, it was one of the coolest, and also a bit weird, things I have witnessed. 

We started out at the morning competition, where all of the judging occurs.  There were thousands (not literally) different categories - fitness, figure, men's, women's, by age, by height...lots and lots of categories!  And the folks came on stage only in groups of 4-5 people.

Which meant tons of different bodies, shapes, sizes - all BUFF though.  Here's an example of one of the men's categories:

Although extremely lean, fit, and strong, these guys do not look too crazy huge to me.  This was a "Natural" bodybuilding federation - meaning no drugs and limited supplements.  My friend even had to take a lie detector test!  (The weirdest question: "Have you ever lied to the police to get a friend in trouble?".  Hm.)

After lots of watching and waiting, and giggling at some of these things with my sissy, and seeing some WAY too dark of spray tans and sweat, it was SHOWTIME!  (she's on the left)

Unfortunately, my phone's camera sucks.  And I wanted to scream and cheer more than I wanted to take photos.  So that's all I have.  Except for this one, post-morning judging:

What an awesome cheering section - most of us all the way from ATL!!! 

A special shout-out to the sisters in the group - my sister Amy for attending (I think her feminist butt puckered often throughout the day) and Morven's sister Sho for hosting all of us at her house during the afternoon!

What is the white space for?

I have been busy.

Like, really busy.  At work.  (Not complaining though.  Seriously.  It's tough, but manageable.  Sort of.)

Let me explain...

I was asked to participate on a special project - which turned out to be manning a colleague's desk and daily responsbilities while they are working on the special project.

I am truly not complaining.  It's actually kind of fun (I really like learning new things).  It's tough, but manageable.  Sort of.  Let me explain the situation further...

Last year I volunteered for a role that has expanded into a 2-year stint.  Originally the scope of the role was a bit o' reporting and some trade shows.  This year a different vision has been set forth, which includes acting as a conduit of a bunch of activity (ie, lots more work that I had first signed up for).

Again, not complaining. It's tough, but manageable. Sort of.

It's all good stuff. 

The problem is the white space.  Or lack of it.

The white space is the "negative space" on a written page.  It exists so our eye doesn't get overwhelmed, so we can communicate clearly, so people pay attention.

All of this "other stuff" crowds out the margins on the page.  Makes the font size smaller.  Eliminates the photos.  Creeps into the white space.

And now I have no room in the margins to scribble my notes, to put things in ALL CAPS when required, and turn memories into photos.

That's good stuff too.