On the Art of Sucking It Up...
So I have a goal of being a different kind of person than the norm, as well as a different kind of person than the person I actually am. A good example is my current AIM tagline which states "Consumption reduction is the elephant in the living room because Americans are afraid that if they talk about it, it'll block their big screen TVs."
But I actually think I'm abysmal at keeping a small carbon footprint, being frugal, or going without the newest neat thing. Burning fewer fossil fuels for me would involve a lot of sucking it up and coming to terms with being cold, wet, and schedule-bound much more often than I presently am.
Similarly I have all these great ideas about spending less money, reading more, and writing more, and sure enough I still spend at least a hundred dollars a week on eating out and drinking, I've been reading The Audacity of Hope for three weeks and am only halfway in, and my NaNoWriMo count is at a whopping 3,000 words.
The good news is that for the last few weeks I have successfully been attending classes at my gym - some straight-up aerobics based, some dance-based, some martial arts-based, and some yoga/pilates-based, and I've not only enjoyed them but felt like some of them, at least, should be a vital part of my regular routine. Additionally, the Champaign marathon is set for April 11 and Kate has nearly convinced me to do the full one (the half was a given, the full... a little crazier than I'd like to admit I am, but well, perhaps I am).
Post-LSoH I've also began attending Eucharist again and various church-related events (election returns party, Somethings Society, and the stewardship dinner, all in the past week), and I'm glad of it. I like it there, I like the people, and I've invited a friend (and maybe two) to go with me on Sunday because it is Invite A Friend To Church Day or some-such. I do not know if they had the upcoming holidays in mind for choosing this week for the event but given the openness of the congregation it is likely an ideal time for local parishioners to meet people without Thanksgiving or Christmas plans and then open their homes to them. Two Something Society members, God bless them, already announced their intention for such at dinner last night. It's a tragedy for people to be lonely on the holidays when it would be so easy for other people to include them.
With regard to the marathon training, I keep wondering if there's a way to do it running only twice a week. Were I to do so I would do the super-hard aerobics class on Tuesdays and Thursdays (the one that the instructors of the other classes take), a tai-chi/yogalates class on Saturday mornings, a long run on Sunday afternoons, and a half-the-long-run run on Wednesdays. That way when the weather is nice I could ride on Monday nights and Saturday afternoons.
All of this though, requires me to get on a better schedule. I concluded this morning that all of the most productive people I know drink coffee, thus I shouldn't attempt to shun it in favor of avoiding chemical dependence. I need caffeine to function, I suspect, especially if I'm to wake cheerfully in the morning to get things done (and even more so if I'm to wake cheerfully to brave the cold to walk or bike or utilize public transportation for my commute). Alas, in the immortal words of the indubitable Mr. Heidkamp, "Suck it up."
But I actually think I'm abysmal at keeping a small carbon footprint, being frugal, or going without the newest neat thing. Burning fewer fossil fuels for me would involve a lot of sucking it up and coming to terms with being cold, wet, and schedule-bound much more often than I presently am.
Similarly I have all these great ideas about spending less money, reading more, and writing more, and sure enough I still spend at least a hundred dollars a week on eating out and drinking, I've been reading The Audacity of Hope for three weeks and am only halfway in, and my NaNoWriMo count is at a whopping 3,000 words.
The good news is that for the last few weeks I have successfully been attending classes at my gym - some straight-up aerobics based, some dance-based, some martial arts-based, and some yoga/pilates-based, and I've not only enjoyed them but felt like some of them, at least, should be a vital part of my regular routine. Additionally, the Champaign marathon is set for April 11 and Kate has nearly convinced me to do the full one (the half was a given, the full... a little crazier than I'd like to admit I am, but well, perhaps I am).
Post-LSoH I've also began attending Eucharist again and various church-related events (election returns party, Somethings Society, and the stewardship dinner, all in the past week), and I'm glad of it. I like it there, I like the people, and I've invited a friend (and maybe two) to go with me on Sunday because it is Invite A Friend To Church Day or some-such. I do not know if they had the upcoming holidays in mind for choosing this week for the event but given the openness of the congregation it is likely an ideal time for local parishioners to meet people without Thanksgiving or Christmas plans and then open their homes to them. Two Something Society members, God bless them, already announced their intention for such at dinner last night. It's a tragedy for people to be lonely on the holidays when it would be so easy for other people to include them.
With regard to the marathon training, I keep wondering if there's a way to do it running only twice a week. Were I to do so I would do the super-hard aerobics class on Tuesdays and Thursdays (the one that the instructors of the other classes take), a tai-chi/yogalates class on Saturday mornings, a long run on Sunday afternoons, and a half-the-long-run run on Wednesdays. That way when the weather is nice I could ride on Monday nights and Saturday afternoons.
All of this though, requires me to get on a better schedule. I concluded this morning that all of the most productive people I know drink coffee, thus I shouldn't attempt to shun it in favor of avoiding chemical dependence. I need caffeine to function, I suspect, especially if I'm to wake cheerfully in the morning to get things done (and even more so if I'm to wake cheerfully to brave the cold to walk or bike or utilize public transportation for my commute). Alas, in the immortal words of the indubitable Mr. Heidkamp, "Suck it up."