Getting Motivated
Oh, these early winter days… Haven’t seen sunlight in about ten days, and we’ve had snow flurries the past couple of mornings. Thankfully, no more than that. I appreciate the aesthetic value of snow, but, when you’re driving a tiny two-seater with rear-wheel drive, snow is the enemy. Drivers around here constantly forget how to handle driving in poor conditions- like many right-wingers, they think that wanting is enough, and their anger will somehow change things to suit their desires- and so it gets quite risky. Every time there’s a serious snow or ice, it always amuses me to see how many big pickups and SUVs end up in the ditch because idiot drivers somehow think the laws of physics don’t apply to them.
As the year continues to wind down, I reflect on a few other changes that have taken place in my life. For starters, I’ve made the gym at least five times a week now for the past three months, I’ve been using my newest workout app for the past month, and I’ve seen great changes from both of those. I mean, I was already hitting the gym pretty regularly already, but I’m now making even more progress than I already was, and I’m holding more to a steady workout development system.
Seriously, if you’re looking around for an app to help your muscle development, I’d recommend Caliber. There are paid levels of the app, but the free one is all I need. I should also point out that I do not get paid for saying this, nor receive any perks, I do not work for the company, nor any company with connections to it. This is all coming strictly from my experience and satisfaction.
I also noticed, whilst grocery shopping yesterday, that it has been over two weeks since I ate a frozen pizza. I’ve actually been eating moderately healthily for the past couple, and it feels pretty good. Granted, most days I only eat one real meal- part of the difficulty of never actually feeling hungry is that I can go the whole of the day and not even be inclined to eat-, but my old go-to has taken a break from my diet. Credit due in part to Ashley for dropping those three fantastic new cookbooks on me! My next project is lasagna, recipe coming from one of my favorite restaurants of all time, The Stinking Rose, on Columbus Ave in San Francisco. Oh, and there’s also one somewhere around LA, but we don’t talk about that one.
As I’ve written before, my phone’s been on silent for 2–3 months now, and I’m also perfectly okay to let that continue. It started as just something I had to do at work- when you’re working with the student docs, you don’t need your phone going off- and at mass (I do get quite irritated when we’re trying to work our way through the liturgy and someone’s ringtone interrupts; especially when they don’t even try to silence or muffle it), and I realized a few things. First, if I have my headphones or earbuds in, I still hear my ringtones anyway; and, most of the time, unless I’m at work, I’ve got them in. Second, I rarely get phone calls that I want to pick up anyway, so who cares if I hear them or not?? Finally, when messages or texts come in, I can normally hear or feel my phone vibrate, so why should other people have to hear it? Not to mention constantly having my phone on silent allows me greater license to fake phone calls when I don’t want to talk to people (like at the grocery or other locations) and I won’t be given away if, God forbid, someone should actually call or message me whilst I’m faking them out.
I’m not an anti-social person most of the time, but there are moments in my existence when I really don’t want to be obligated to socialize. Namely if I’m at the grocery, I want to get in and out as quickly as possible. Especially if I’m there assisting my housemate. Walking a mostly blind person through the store, having to locate items and call out or compare prices is a tedious enough task, I really don’t feel like small talk and feigning interest. If I’m at the gym, I’m there to work out, not to socialize. I spend the better part of an hour there doing my workouts, I don’t want to add time having to be polite, especially if I’ve had to wait for equipment, or if someone else is waiting to use mine. It’s not that I often have many other things beating down my door to be done, but it still doesn’t mean I want to burn off even more time in meaningless chit chat.
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God, maybe I am becoming an introvert.
This is not to say that, if you’re a friend I haven’t seen in months, you shouldn’t come over and say hi. Just understand that these places are not the best to strike up a conversation. And, if I say, “It’s great to see you; we should catch up sometime!” it’s not me blowing you off; I mean exactly what I say, just that the grocery or gym are not the optimal places for that kind of reunion.
In other personal achievements, I am now down to a pack every three days; in fact, the current pack (of which I have a half cig left) has lasted me well over three and a half days. Cold and wet weather do their part(s), as I’m less inclined to stand outside, just as summer heat and humidity discourages me from smoking, but still, with the stress level having been up, it’s pleasantly surprising that my smoking has decreased. Not to mention that it’s better for my currently stretched economics.
Related, I’ve weaned myself down on soda intake. I’m now going through a 2-litre about every 4–5 days; that’s a massive downswing for a guy who almost exclusively consumed soda in his youth. I can even go a day without soda without having a massive headache kick in; another great achievement.
Don’t mistake me- I’m not planning on kicking either habit, it’s just nice to know that I’m limiting both, and effectively.
Today is also the third anniversary of adopting my wonderful owner, the ever-noble Jude.
For those who don’t know, he’s about six years old now, follows me around quite often, and he’s very vocal. My housemate informs me that, if I’m not around when he wakes from one of his naps, he will search for me throughout the house, yowling his head off, and only then will come to her for attention. It’s nice to be loved and needed, and he’s come a long way from the cat I had to crawl under my bed to pet.
I will say this for the holiday season- my home is on a roll for peaceful mornings! Between my housemate’s thrice a week dialysis appointments in the morning, and her spending more time with her boyfriend since he’s off work, I have managed a great deal more time to myself than that to which I am accustomed. It’s nice to wake up and have a peaceful home. Don’t mistake me- I still love and appreciate my housemate, it’s just that having her here all day every day tends to wear on me a bit.
Four more days of 2023, what to do with them… Well, gym time, obviously. There’s some cooking to be done in the relatively near future, I’ll have to ascertain my supplies available for that lasagna. Beyond those two? I’ll have to see.
So what are your goals for the last few days of the year? Are you happy to see 2023 departing, or do you stress about 2024? Any resolutions amongst my readers? As always, feel free to comment or message them over!
