Peace, Love and Throwing a Perfect Hook

At some point on one of my workout DVDs, the instructor says, "This may look easy, but it's not!" Does she think we're lounging on the couch, drinking a beer, watching her work out? I am doing the workout, lady. I know it's not easy.

I've been doing aerobic kickboxing for 5 years or so now. The best thing about it for me is learning not to carry tension in my neck and shoulders, where mine is usually centered. The only move where I still have to concentrate to keep those muscles relaxed is my hook. Well, I just realized (five years, folks...) that the reason I have to think about it so much there is that my form is totally screwed up. I'm abruptly stopping my hook at a center point, rather than following through.

Everyone, fists up, protecting your face. Ideally, you should stand, to put your body into it. Don't worry, your boss isn't watching. Now take your left fist and pull back and do a hook like you're punching someone in the jaw, across their face, left to right. When you end the punch, it should be almost in line with your right shoulder.

Now try it again, stopping at the center of your chest. You have to tighten your neck and shoulder to stop the inertia. Now alternate left, right, left, right.

Hey. Are you doing this or what?

Alright. Let's talk about FamilySearch then. The website is a genealogy research resource run by the Mormon Church. Anyone can use the site and help index records though. Kimberly just got me started doing indexing for FamilySearch. It's really fun!! Volunteers like me transcribe data from scanned papers into computer-searchable databases. The data transcriptions are divided into 30-60 minute batches, so you can do one now and then whenever you have some time. Their software downloads a batch to your computer, then you process it and upload the data to the site. It's really interesting, particularly the WWI US draft registration cards I did last night.

If you speak a foreign language, they do have records in other languages as well. I saw Spanish and Japanese yesterday.

Lauren signed up, too. She enjoyed processing a batch of marriage certificates from the early 1900's in South Africa!