Category: Uncategorized

  • ODDS and ENDS: World Travel, This Made Me Laugh, Easter, and You Know

    (I write, you read, we’re all happy)

    I have not left the confines of the United States, and that is a situation I would like to correct. I would like to leave the North American continent, and see the world. And when I say that, I really mean there is only one place that I have to go and see before I die, and that is the zebra crossing in front of Abbey Road. I want to walk it, and have my picture taken while crossing it, and I even what to be in other people’s pictures when they cross it. That’s it. I just want to be in the same place where my favorite and best band once walked. Everything else in the world, I can take or leave. Sorry Taj Mahal, and the Pyramids.

    Sesame Street is a National Treasure!

    https://ew.com/tv/brett-goldstein-sesame-street-first-look-cookie-monster-tamir/

    As a secular family, Easter is hard to explain to a seven-year old. She loves the Easter Bunny, and the coming of Spring, but trying to make her understand that people get very happy about the son of God getting killed, then coming back from the dead, and NOT being a zombie, is a little hard for her to wrap her head around. But we try.

    Tottenham is in fourth place. That is all.

  • One Month at the Gym

    I never thought I would go to a gym, let alone go for a month. I have completed four weeks of really just going to run on a treadmill for thirty minutes. The conventional wisdom is that I need to get eight more weeks in for it to become a habit. I would hope that with eight additional weeks, that I might start to enjoy it.

    For the record, none of the benefits of going to the gym have arrived. I have lost one pound, but I am not convinced that my working out caused that, or the fact that Trader Joe’s hasn’t had my favorite ice cream for the past two weeks. I am not sleeping better, I do not have more energy, and I do not feel more positive about life. So, 0 for 4 on the life changes.

    The one thing that I do like is that going to the gym has given a better structure to my week. Adding this activity means that I have less time to sit around and look at my phone, if I want to get all of my tasks, errand, and responsibilities taken care of. Not sure I would say that I am being more efficient, but I am more aware of how much time I have to get stuff done.

    Also, just like hiking last summer, I have to go buy more gear. I need more workout clothes, and I need a new pair of running shoes. The financial commitment has started, which is the sign that I want to take it seriously. Sink in the game means you want to win.

    And I do want to get healthier. At least, trying to be healthier so I have a little more time with the people I care about.

  • Going to a Candy Store

    It’s been a busy day, but I’m making the time to take the kid to a candy store in the Lower East Side.

  • President’s Day

    What am I doing on this holiday? Why, doing laundry, and then taking the kid to the park for a very long time!

    I got up like normal, and actually went to the gym. As I was running on the tredmill, I kept thinking that my mind would clear and I would start think about important things. Like, what to do with the kid this week as she is off from school for Winter Break. Or, I could have thought about what I should make for dinner tonight. Or, I could have thought about what to blog. OR, I could have spent some time working out the end of the story that I am working on.

    What I ended up doing was just listening to music, and think about how cool it was to roll the windows down in my car, and play mu music really loud as I went down the highway. That’s what was on my mind, just driving and listening to music.

    (I think I can do better, when it comes to a blog. I might be back later…)

  • Habits (Unedited Draft)

    As I start new habits, I seem to be failing at the old ones. The new habit of going to the gym, has been going okay, as I have gone twice now, and accomplished my goal of going on Tuesday and Thursday. The wife joined me on both days at the gym, and she’s being doing yoga every day this week as well. So, she’s taking this more seriously than I. In fact, today, she told me that it’s okay for me to go to the gym by myself, that I don’t have to wait for her. I took that to mean that I need to go to the gym more.

    Also, we did okay with thirty days of not drinking, which means that that we didn’t drink during the week. So, that got a mix result. We are going to continue the process of cutting back on our drinking, after the Super Bowl weekend. We do have junk food plans for Sunday; wings, nachos, mozzarella sticks… gorging mainly. Beer and bourbon will be involved as well. Not that we care about the game. I’m here for Snoop Dog and the commercials.

    The old habits that I am failing on is writing. Normally, I journal every weekday, but for the past two weeks, I have been only getting on two days. Also, I haven’t been working on any new material. Yesterday, I forced myself to go to the local library and write for an hour. It wasn’t the easiest work, but I got about 500 done. I fear that I am losing the drive to work. To actually make the time and follow through. It’s like the thing I want to do most, I let myself get the most distracted from.

    Either way, I’ll try again.