Winding down -- Friday

Friday -- only the weekend left -- and then back to work:  ah well.


The usual morning thing:  make lunches, get people out the door, browse internet.


Took a nap from around 9:30am-10:30am.  Got up, had some food, watched Dark Mirror -- again!!!  Meant to catch the 11:30am showing of Stan and Laurel, but I lost track of time and didn't properly start getting ready until about 11:30:  even with the 10 minutes of ads, plus the trailer -- wasn't going to make it.  Okay, change of plans.


Considered going to visit a friend from work at his nursing home:  about half a year ago he had a mysterious brain issue -- like a stroke, but global -- so his brain is pretty much fried:  very sad.  I tried visiting him in the hospital on two occasions, but he was asleep both times -- even though I hung around for a chunk of a day.

But then, decided against it.  Maybe tomorrow.


Took the weights out of the vinegar bath, scrubbed them with a wire brush, rinsed them in a tub of water with a few shakes of baking soda, then rinsed.  Put them in the oven for about a half hour at 100C (to make them completely dry, plus to heat them up), then rubbed them with a candle (which melted upon contact) to seal the metal to prevent rust.

That description makes it sound shorter than it actually was.  I didn't check the time.


Somewhere in there, ate some food -- while watching Black Mirror.


Around 3:30pm I turned my attention to the cord that I'm using to shoot the property line.  Turns out that the cheap rope that I bought would've been fine if I'd completed the task in a timely manner -- but it's been several months, so the UV damage now makes the rope break at various spots.  Was also heating up some garlic bread.  At it -- while watching Black Mirror.

Around 4:15pm I decided to head to the hardware store to get more rope.   Starting to rain lightly.  At the store it took me a little time to figure out which of the many options I wanted.  The receipt says that I paid at 4:42pm. 


Came home, raining more heavily.  Went "eh" and re-strung some of the rope on the boundary line -- but then got really heavy, and also the lightning was getting closer -- so I went inside.


The Lady wasn't home yet, due to a school thing, so I played the drums (it annoys the family if I do it when they're at home):  had a grand time, and came up with some drum beats that I might use someday.  I'm not a good drummer -- but I'm un-schooled enough that I come up with my own way of doing things -- which sometimes converts into "originality".


Everyone came home.  A quick dinner.


For some reason, around 7pm I was fairly sleepy -- considered just going to bed.  But I wanted to get more things done, so I didn't.

Still raining like everything. 

Decided to log today's purchases; also logged various purchases from a pile that's been on the floor next to my desk for -- it turns out -- about a year (whoops). 

The pile of papers that I went through freed an African slit drum that my late paternal grandfather had made for use when we were kids.  Unfortunately, he had seen them, but didn't understand their functionality -- so the "tongues" weren't tuned, and therefore the drum was unusual for "real" music-making (fine for little kids to make noise, of course).

Over the last half year or so I've been getting into hand percussion -- so I turned it over and tried playing the back.  It actually sounds really good! 

So, that's how I'm going to use it:  on my lap, with the slits serving as sound holes.  


It's 10:25pm:  the rain has completely stopped, and I'm not sure when -- but probably in the last half hour.

Will play electric guitar through a "blues" overdrive pedal that was in a bag among the pile of papers I went through.  Depending on whether fatigue hits me or not, I'll play for a half hour or hour, then go to bed.  Or, play, then watch more Black Mirror -- maybe while playing the three-string acoustic guitar.

A pretty good day.  A shame that the rain prevented me from finishing running the new rope along the property line:  ah well; tomorrow.

Kind of funny that if I hadn't needed more rope, I would've spend the entire day without leaving my yard:  I'm okay with that.



--GG

If I were a rich man

One of the great things about getting older (and older...) is having an ever-increasing sense of "self":  what you value, and who you are.

My job is the best job I have ever had:  interesting (usually!) work that is useful to society, with good co-workers, a good boss, and a good boss' boss.  I used to say that if I won the big lottery I'd still keep working half-time.

But, over the Easter weekend, I realized:  nah.  I have way too many things that I enjoy doing -- such that working half-time still wouldn't leave me enough time to accomplish everything that I'd want to.

On March 31st, I wrote this note to myself:  “I need to retire now, just to accomplish all my songwriting/recording/instrument-learning/woodworking/gardening/reading/exercising/martial arts goals!!!”


If I had the time, and didn’t think my muscle memory would get confused, I’d take two martial arts a week: maybe a grappling style plus a striking-based style, to minimize the muscle memory overlap.

Oh:  and I'd take tap-dancing lessons.


Here's some preliminary planning -- in anticipation of winning the lottery.


Activities:

-Martial arts
-Woodworking
-Film/video shooting
-Recording songs
-Tap dance
-Learning instruments
-Weightlifting
-Yardwork
-Typing up my backlog of notes and such from over the years.


Most weekdays, here's my preliminary schedule:

-Take the kids to school, then drive back home
-A quick breakfast
-Practice instrument #1 for 15 mins
-Practice instrument #2 for 15 mins
-Spend 3 hrs 45 mins doing something creative (recording music or shooting and/or editing film or doing woodworking or writing a screenplay)
-About 15 mins cleaning up (e.g. showering, if I've been woodworking)
-A quick (late) lunch
-Go get the kids from school, bring them back home
-About 15 mins on the punching bag
-Evenings:  help w/ kids' homework some nights; martial arts classes other nights


It's actually a moderate drive to my kids' school -- so two days a week I'd just hang out in that neighborhood during the day, rather than making two round trips.

The plan would be:

-Drive the kids to school
-Borrow one of their music practice rooms (more like little booths) for a half hour and practice an instrument
-Put the instrument in the car and jog to the local gym
-Work out for about four hours
-Jog back to school
-Get the kids and bring them home (while sweating like a monkey)


Weekends:  mostly yardwork, plus errands


Anyhow -- that's the plan.  Now I just need to win the lottery...  ;)


--GG

Going with my interests

This morning was grey, drizzly, and a little windy.  As I sat on our porch, putting on my officeworker shoes, I thought, "I wish I could stay home and just sharpen chisels."

But I went to work instead.

I came home early, as I typically do on Thursdays, to take my kids to their Tae Kwon Do class.  Usually I go for a short jog while they're in class -- which I don't enjoy, but it's good for me. 

But I decided not to.  Instead, before we left home I packed up my sharpening gear and a fistfull of chisels (and two tool totes, to carry everything), and sat on a bench near their class -- and sharpened chisels.

Afterwards, we picked up some fish & chips for dinner.  While waiting for the fish & chips, the kids and I wandered past a shop with a basket full of wise sayings on little clay plaques.  One of them said "Do things that make you happy."


Which I had done.


Because I'm Middle-Aged Guy, and I now know what I enjoy, and what I don't.  :)


--GG

Lesson learned

One of the things about exercising is that I learn more about how my body works.

From past experience, I already knew that I feel crummy -- i.e. "nauseous" -- if I do a full-scale workout after being "away" for a while.  For example, back in Seattle I took a semester off from kung fu (I had a class that conflicted):  after the first kung fu class upon my return, I had to dash to the men's room and throw up.  Yep.

So, I prevent getting sick from exercising by doing one or two partial-intensity workouts in the week leading up to it

I've now learned something else:  if I'm working out and I drink diluted juice during the workout, instead of water, then afterwards I end up feeling crummy and throwing up.  Although doing sit-ups as part of the workout possibly didn't help.

So, OK -- I get it.  ;)


--GG

Run like Gump

For the past few days I've noticed I'm in kind of a "running" phase.  I don't like running for exercise -- but for the last half-year or so I've run-walked from work to the train station, about three blocks away.

Starting just a few days ago, I've been "loping" around downtown, while running errands during my lunch break.  It's just kinda fun to run -- not a sprint; more of a gentle lope -- instead of walk.

Dunno how long this will last.  Maybe until the weather heats up again:  right now it's still winter for us.


--GG

Random thought regarding mightiness

A random thought.  Or rather, relating to Lego Architect (a co-worker).


"He has the strength of ten men -- or thirty-six angry leprechauns."


--GG

Darndest thing

Last week was my second Krav Maga class.  Different instructor -- the first one was just subbing -- and we had a tougher opening workout.  Not brutal -- but we had to do several brisk laps around the gym, which  made me realize that I'm out of shape in terms of running.

(I do a moderate amount of walking -- but I haven't run more than a few yards in years and yeas.  I'm OK with most forms of exercise -- but I've never liked running (or sit-ups).)

So, at the end of the class the instructor said that it's up to us, but he recommends putting in some work on our own time, or else our in-class exercises aren't going to get any easier.  I can believe that.


I've learned that for my own body, at least, my body starts to adapt to exercise in two or three days.  So I've started doing some light jogging -- mostly jog a bit, walk a bit -- in front of my house.  Done it twice since the last class -- and allowing a full day of rest before the next class.

I don't enjoy it -- but I'm hoping the investment in discomfort now will save me some discomfort later.  I'm enjoying the Krav classes except for the jogging -- but it's part of the package, so whatever I can do to make it less unpleasant during that part of class...
 

The jogging went well enough.  Oddly, my quads are fine -- but after I got done with my run my butt was sore. So I guess running -- or at least, the way **I** do it -- uses the butt muscles a lot.  Hm!

The butt-soreness may be due to the slight incline along my street.  It's subtle enough that you don't notice it while driving -- but you sure do while running!  I reckon it's a five degree incline.  And I tried to have my "walking" segments going downhill, and my "jogging" segments uphill.


We'll see if my exercising makes the warm-ups for this next Krav class any easier.


--GG

Sandbag training

Here's a link to a guy's blog post that discusses sandbag training.  Sounds interesting, and it has  fitness applications for martial artists.

Basically, a duffel bag filled with sand, with an extra handle or two.  Lift it, throw it around.

Based on the exercises in the video at the end of the above-linked post, sandbag training seems to have elements of old-time medicine ball training, plus kettle bells (see above photo).

If you have some rope, some duct tape, and an old gym bag -- and some sand -- it seems like an inexpensive but effective way to go.


--GG

Wii Fit parody

Parody of Wii Fit.  Amusing.




--GG