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January 22, 2000 |
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First thing today… working out. It's past 3pm. It's nice to know that
I'm back to my old ways again. [Sigh] I get changed and go on my
run. Running doesn't hurt anymore… normally. It would seem that I
sprained my left ankle and had to take it easy on the run.
This naturally makes me feel like a complete failure in life. Okay, maybe
not quite that drastic. I did rationalize that I would rather take it easy
for a couple of days instead of risking injury and being out for a couple
of weeks. That would really suck.
Well, I had a number of things to do today. Getting my Camaro back into running order and I vowed to myself that I would clean my place up a bit.
First, I had to get my Camaro back in running condition. Now, the camaro is my second car, so I don't drive it that frequently anymore. On occasion, I loan the car to people. Whenever a friend's car breaks down, I offer up my car. No biggie. It may not be the fanciest car. It doesn't drive well in the snow. It is not the epitome of fuel efficiency, but it runs.
Or to put it more accurately, it ran. Now okay, I don't want to sound like I'm biased here, but let's see. I've loaned my car to a number of people before; all without incident. This is my first time loaning my car to someone who is… young (twenty-one at the time) and Asian and a woman. Now this young woman got into a car accident with it within the first week… the car can't start on its own… and it won't go on reverse. Okay, I'm trying not form a biased opinion, but you do the math.
The damage from the body was merely cosmetic. I'll deal with fixing it a little later. The first thing I was going to deal with is getting the car started. It seems as though the battery was simply drained. [Why?] I remove the battery from the car. I'll charge it later. I could start charging it now, but it takes about three hours for a full charge and I would be going to dinner soon, and didn't want to leave it unattended.
I went to Hooters for dinner. Okay, now Hooters chicken wings really are my favorite food. I was there watching the scores roll by and reading the Seattle Weekly. The scores are boring; there's no baseball. It'll be about six more weeks of agony before spring training begins. [Sigh] As I'm reading the Seattle Weekly, I notice there are an unusually high number of ads for health clubs, there are four to be precise. There are also eight ads on other self-improvement such as laser surgery, liposuction, etc. …the parasitic bastards! I know that there are many people who vow that this year will be different, but look at the numbers folks. It's really pretty sad.
If you are one of these folks, keep this in mind. There's no reason why January is any better at starting your workout than say… May. Don't let the advertisement lull you into doing it. Also, start out easily. Most people have these grandiose plans of what they will look like and how often they'll work out. Get that out of your mind right now! Get used to going into the health club regularly, then worry about what you do on your workout. Too many people get either burned out or injured (from overdoing it) by February or March.
Also, get used to working out on your own. Yes, it is wonderful to go with a friend. You can support each other and compete and keep each other company and when the time comes… you can both quit together. That's what happened to me the first couple of times I started working out. I work out mostly alone now, and I've been going every week for about three years.
My friend Jim vowed to come back to the gym with me. He started by joining me twice a week. He hasn't been back since early November. He says he'll be back. I'll believe that when I see it.
Sorry to be so negative, but it is just that I see too many of my friends beat themselves up about not working out. If you're going to do it. Just do it! Start by setting one night or morning aside each week when you don't schedule anything else and do your workout; that's the easiest way to do it. If you're not going to do it, that's fine. Don't do it. Just don't beat yourself up about it and tell yourself that you'll make it in sometime this week when you won't.
Life is tough enough without the self-esteem problems associated with working out.
I'm not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Am not a hardbody. However, at least I'm dragging my whiny ass in and am doing something about keeping fit.
Enough about working out…
I ended up buying two calendars that tonight. Yes, one of them was a Hooters calendar. I never said I went there strictly for the chicken wings. I could lie and tell you that I didn't get one, or that it was for a friend of mine, or something similar, but I won't.
The second calendar is one called Soft as Steel - The Best of Julie Bell. Julie Bell is a gifted illustrator. Her style is similar to Boris Vallejo, who I believe was her mentor. They do photorealistic illustrations that depict human anatomy particularly lifelike. It's tough to describe, suffice it to say, I'm a big fan of both of their works. I wasn't aware that Bell had put together a calendar; I was pleasantly surprised to find one.
The next question, what will I do with two calendars?
January 22, 2000