Vacation

I'm back.  Thanks to all you non-existent readers for your patience.

I took a full week off from work and feel pretty damn good about it.  I got some general spring cleaning done and am several steps closer to having my sewing room.

I watched a fair amount of bad TV with my feet kicked up and my jammies on.

I dealt with Critter Control because, unbeknownst to me, Raccoons are very fond of nesting in open chimneys.  So, a couple traps later, we are raccoon free and have a heavy duty steel cap on our chimney now.

I bought a new (vintage) sewing machine.  I found a Singer Fashion Mate 237 at an antique store for $20.  I may need to replace the motor on it, but I'm still getting a better and stronger machine for a fraction of the cost of a new one.

Not my actual machine, but that's the make/model/color.  While doing the research on the machine I have found that naming a sewing machine is sort of a thing.

Should I, shouldn't I?

DOMS

Yesterday I posted that I was sore from an excessive workout on Monday.

Today, I learned the term Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.  I only thought I was sore yesterday.

I can barely walk.  Stairs are a horrible, horrible thing.

So, today is a learning curve day.  I am looking into causes of muscle soreness, i.e. pushing myself way to far during a fitness class, as well as cures and prevention.

Under cures I am seeing a lot of rest and light no-impact exercise (walking) and don't be such a macho dumbass next time.  Under prevention I am seeing: keep on working out and eventually your muscles will get used to it and you won't feel this way anymore.  Also, things like whey protein shakes and such.

Ow...Ow...Ow

So I stopped in at the gym I mentioned yesterday.  To get a feel for the place, one of the owners invited me back to a spinning class.  I figured, what the heck?  Exercise is good for, no matter what form, right?

Ow.

Ow.

Ow.

My legs are still a bit wobbly and quite frankly, my butt hurts.  Ow.

Back in the military our fitness coordinator encouraged us to try different forms of exercise, not just running and push-ups.  One time he talked a group of us into trying a step aerobics class.

Picture, if you will, a group of about a half-dozen men in their twenties to thirties who think that they are in shape and pretty bad-ass.  Now picture them waltzing in to a step aerobics class with a bunch of military wives and an instructor who has been doing this for years.

We thought it would be easy.

We thought we were in decent shape and coordinated.

We were wrong.  So very wrong.

I honestly cannot even describe how much of an uncoordinated and awkward mess we made of that class.  The instructor did her best to encourage us, but it was a lost cause.  It was like dropping a blindfolded orangutan into a ballroom dance.  We hung our heads with humble shame and left afterwards, never to return.

The spinning class, for me, was kind of like that.  Except that this time, I'm going back for more punishment.  I'm so going back there.  Possibly for another spinning class, but they also offer weight training, HIIT, and boxing classes (non-sparring).

Ow.
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Current stats for my own tracking:
Weight 245
Body fat 30.51

Monday Update

So, over the weekend, we did some spring cleaning as referenced in my previous post.  I'm coming down off the allergy attack that followed.

We did some basic shopping and as a step towards working my way further into the low-carbohydrate lifestyle I downloaded an app to track my foods and exercise.  According to several calculators I am at about 30% body-fat which is just unacceptable.  I've gotten better about the foods I have been eating, now it's time to focus on the exercise.

I mentioned a few posts back about my new running shoes and a few of my goals.

Overall I have been updating those as time moves forward.  My goals as of today are: run the two races I have planned.  Be able to do 50 push-ups by the 1/2 marathon in October.  Get my body-fat down to 20%.

I don't think that any of those are unreasonable.  Each and every one is achievable with discipline, effort and discipline.  Did I mention the discipline?

There is a gym pretty close to my house.  I'm considering joining.  Not a chain gym, just a little local one that seems to offer the sort of classes I am looking for and has some activities that should line up with my goals.

Spring Cleaning - BEWARE!

So, the wife and I have begun the Herculean task of cleaning out our upstairs storage/pit of no return.

The upstairs in our house is a finished & carpeted area with minimal heating or cooling.  Therefore, in the summer it roasts and in the winter it freezes.  So, for the most part we have been using it as long term storage.  This can also be identified as pretty much anything that we just don't want to make a decision on in the next year, goes upstairs and is never heard from again.  Our upstairs area currently resembles an episode of Hoarders.  We probably won't ever resemble an episode of Beautiful Homes of Whatever, but we would like the upstairs to actually be useful to some degree and not have so much stuff that it will eventually collapse in on itself and create a black hole above the bathroom..

The cats of the house, who do NOT approve of change, are upset with us and are underfoot.

Our primary goal is to clear out the upstairs, while sorting everything into three main categories.  Keep, Trash and Ukazoo (local second hand bookstore that buys used books).  My goal is to make sure that the Keep pile is the smallest of the three categories.

If we are successful in our tasking, then we can get a good idea of what to make out of the upstairs area.  A simple space heater and sweatpants would fix the winter chill and possibly a portable AC unit would take care of the summer baking.  In which case I think that it would become an excellent sewing studio, with a couple of comfy reading/relaxing/knitting chairs.

Running Shoes vs. Laziness

I bought a new pair of running shoes over the weekend.

Brooks Addiction 10

I am closing in on 40 years and my most recent physical went just fine.  However, some of the bad numbers are starting to creep upwards, while a couple of the good numbers are dwindling downwards.

I have done a bit of running on and off over the past few years and to be honest, the best I have felt physically in the past few years was just after completing my first 5K race.  My waistline was slimmer.  My energy was up.  My overall self image was good.

My problem is that I have a tendency to be habitually lazy.  I know this to be true.  I know that I can overcome this laziness when I want to; but in being habitually lazy, I don't always want to.

One way I have found to motivate myself is with pre-paid goals.  In this case, I have already signed up to run a 10K next month and even if I friggin limp & crawl across the finish line, I will finish.  Immediately after that I am going to sign up and start prepping for a half-marathon in October.  That will cost me a small chunk of cash to sign up as well as upgrading my drivers license to accommodate the international aspect of the run.

I am going to make certain that these running shoes will not be a fashion accessory   They are a tool to aid in my fitness quest.  I will earn a medal for my 10K and I will run across the Ambassador Bridge and earn a medal for completing a half-marathon.

These are my fitness goals.

One Comma Rule

One rule I try to live by is something I learned during my time in the military.  I forget who first explained it, but it makes so much sense.  In a world with about a bajillion choices for everything and people getting more and more self-centered and thoughtless, it's time to recognize the one comma rule.

Simply put, when ordering anything, most common issue is fast-food or at a restaurant, you are only allowed to modify your order with one comma.  That's it.  I don't include standard ordering commas, such as adding a drink or a side item.  I'm concerned with the modification commas.  Take a look at the following examples.

"I would like a Quarter-Pounder, no tomato."  You see, one single comma.  Simple and easy.
"I want a Big-Mac, hold the sauce, toast the bun, double cheese and extra pickles."  Too many commas, too much nit-picking.  You are wasting everybodys time and patience on crap like that.

"I would like to order a tall latte, add a shot of caramel."  Easy.  Not too complicated and quick.  No extra explanations or changes necessary.
"I want a half-soy, double-mocha, whipped, venti, chai tea, with a shot of decaf espresso."  What the hell did you just order?  And I don't want to hear anything about exaggeration.  You know you have been stuck behind this person in line any number of times.

"I want a cheeseburger with bacon, hold the mustard."  This will get made correctly because you have probably not annoyed the living hell out of your server.  You even snuck in an extra modification, but it's a logical order and will be overlooked by most waitstaff.
"I want a cheeseburger, only I want it with bacon, hold the mustard, add extra onion, could I get the mayo on the side, and could I get that on grilled rye toast instead of a bun?"  What is the chance of your server not spitting on your burger at this point?  Pretty slim.  If you want a patty-melt with bacon, ask for a freaking patty-melt with bacon.  If you have to modify your order with more than one basic comma, then you don't actually want what you are ordering and you need to find something else to purchase.

Also, as a side note of the one comma rule is that you must actually adhere to what is on the menu.  I have heard the following statement several times: "I know this says no substitutions, but could I get item-B instead of item-A?"

No.  You may not.  The establishment that you have chosen to eat at has asked you not to make any substitutions.  That means that you may not substitute item-B for item-A.  It's that simple.  You are not above the rules.  You are not special.  If a menu says that your meal will come with coleslaw and fries and you do not want coleslaw and fries, don't order that item.  Order something else.

If you cannot find something on the menu that you can safely order without violating the one comma rule, then go eat somewhere else.  If you are so picky about what you are eating that you will be forced to violate the one comma rule, you are eating in the wrong restaurant.  Go to a restaurant that has the type of meal you actually want to eat instead of tormenting the waitstaff by insisting that your Big-Mac be modified by five commas and then complain when it is not exactly how you ordered it.  No amount of commas will turn a McDonalds Quarter-Pounder into a Burger King Whopper.  If you want a Whopper, go to Burger King.  Don't take out your inability to cope with reality on the kid behind the McDonalds counter.