Back in the Zumba Groove
Posted on April 4, 2024 by Ching under Zumba.
I rejoined the YMCA team back in December and since then I’ve been trying to grow my Wednesday night class attendance by providing prizes on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Right now class consists mainly of Zumba enthusiasts most of which are women. Occasionally, I will see Efrain or another guy in class but it’s almost all women 100% of the time. I am trying to get more of my pickleball friends into Zumba but right now it’s just mostly Zumba people so my giveaways are mostly Zumba swag and goodies.
This water bottle is what the winner got last month. I do have more pickleball-oriented prizes because I tend to host a bunch of pickleball events so I’ve amassed some prizes for that. I think as I have more pickleball people come and try class, I might give away some pickleball swag too. Our special prize day this month is on Wednesday, April 24.
April is a big month for me. Initially, I started with only one Zumba class a week on Wednesdays at West YMCA. However, my friend Jessie Silva who is the coordinator at the Downtown Wichita YMCA recently reached out to me about helping her cover some of her classes while she recovers from foot surgery this month. While we were chatting about covering her classes, she mentioned that she would like to add an Aqua Zumba class in the evenings. Voila! Just like that I picked up my second class — Aqua Zumba at the Downtown YMCA on Tuesday evenings. My first class was just the other day, April 2.
You’re probably wondering what possessed me to pick up another class. Well, a couple of months ago, I volunteered to host a Zumba party as one of the silent auction items at West YMCA (to raise money for the Greater Wichita YMCA’s annual strong community campaign). The winner wanted an Aqua Zumba party instead of party in the studio.
Rather than having to scramble a few days before the party (which is on April 20), I figured having a weekly class would help me prepare by refreshing my Aqua Zumba choreography ahead of time. Plus, I’ll get weekly practice. Besides that, I have an abundance of free time right now because I am unable to play pickleball everyday.
Although, my free time will considerably be restricted once Jessie has her surgery because I’m picking up her Sunday afternoon and Monday evening Zumba classes so, starting next week, I’ll be teaching Sunday through Wednesday.
Here’s my new schedule effective April 14:
- Sunday 1:00 PM – Zumba at Downtown YMCA
- Monday 6:30 PM – Zumba at Downtown YMCA
- Tuesday 5:30 PM – Aqua Zumba at Downtown YMCA
- Wednesday 6:30 PM – Zumba at West YMCA
The Sundays and Mondays are temporary. I’m only covering them until Jessie returns. The Tuesdays and Wednesdays are my own permanent classes. I hope to see you soon at one of these!
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CNP Ambassadors Sip N Play
Posted on April 3, 2024 by Ching under Community, Pickleball.
Once a month, Chicken N Pickle reserves a couple of pickleball courts at local CNP locations all over the nation for CNP ambassadors to get together. Here are some pics from our “sip n play” event last month.
Donnie Lesperance and I wore our matching shirts that day!
Our next ambassador sip n play is on April 11. Feel free to swing by and say hello!
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El Capital Seafood & Grill
Posted on April 2, 2024 by Ching under Food and Drink.
I made Brian and Chris try a new Mexican seafood restaurant with me not too long ago. Chris and I actually went there before that, but we went on a Wednesday, and that just happens to be the one day a week that the restaurant is closed. I know. Weird, right? Normally most places choose to be closed on a Monday.
We ended up going to Doc Greens next door that day since we couldn’t go to El Capitan. A couple of weeks later, we returned on a Tuesday and met Brian there. Here are the pictures of our food.
I can’t say enough about the seafood soup I had. It was delicious. The shrimp offered a little bit of sweetness to balance the savory spices. Also, the soup had chayote as one of the ingredients. Chayote is common in Filipino food but rarely do I ever come across it in American cooking. In fact, I don’t even know the English translation for the word.
Anyway, if you ever get a hankering for some Mexican seafood, I highly recommend El Capitan. Brian could take or leave it but I really liked my soup.
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Dinner with the Dills at Our Favorite Spot
Posted on April 1, 2024 by Ching under Food and Drink.
It’s been ages since we’ve seen these two, let alone sit down to have dinner with them. They’re always running off to some luxurious resort or another, living the “Travel Junkie” lifestyle. Anyway, we finally caught up with them a couple of weeks ago. Here are some pics of our dinner at the Belmont.
Speaking of the Belmont, Brian and I are actually due for another visit. Our friend Jen Reifschneider who is the executive chef there recently revamped the restaurant’s dinner menu and I’m dying to try it.
In other news, Jay Dill was nominated as Visionary of the Year. Interestingly enough, I know two others who are candidates alongside him — Erica Case and Clayton Dir. I know Wichita is small so you usually know at least one of the candidates but to have three of them competing for the title in the same year is just wild. No matter who you are supporting, all of the money raised goes toward supporting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society so everyone wins. Best of luck to all the candidates!
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Newbie Night at Chicken N Pickle
Posted on March 25, 2024 by Ching under Pickleball, Things to Do.
I’m on a mission to get all of my friends.. Scratch that. I’m on a mission to get every single person I meet into pickleball. Recently, I met a couple of friends (Jarrica Briedenthal, a friend from Zumba, and Teresa Winfield, an former coworker) at Chicken N Pickle for Newbie Night.
Me and Jarrica
Me and Teresa
Michael Harris, director of pickleball at our Chicken N Pickle in Wichita, did a wonderful job of leading the session.
Newbie Nights are a great way to introduce friends to pickleball because of the fun casual environment. Besides that, they also provide all the equipment so you don’t even have to have your own paddle. Most people who are eager to get into the sport have already bought a starter set from Amazon and usually show up with their own paddles but it is not required.
I remember dragging mom and dad, and even some of my Leadership Wichita classmates, to a Newbie Night a couple of years ago when they were first getting into pickleball also. Anyway, if you would like to check it out, the next one is on Tuesday, April 16.
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