The Major

Category: Blatherings

  • Well, That’s One Way to Start my Diet

    When I got back from Maryland, my muscles were aching big time. I was hoping that it was just because of the tiny seat, but I knew in the back of my mind that I was sick.

    And yesterday I couldn’t really take off of work because of it, since it was my first day back. So I went to work feeling like crap. But at least I got some work done and I made it through the day. Of course the day would have been a little easier if I had remembered my Tylenol. I came home last night and went straight to bed after a bath. I slept from 6:30pm to 4am.

    I weighed myself yesterday morning and this morning…and because of being ill I have lost 3.5 pounds. A horrible way to do it, but you’ve got to look at the bright side of things. 🙂

    I don’t think today will be much better. My muscles are aching less and I don’t have a headache yet, but my throat is horribly sore. Ouchie! I hate getting sick.

  • Uncharacteristically, I Can’t Sleep

    I usually fall asleep very easily. Not tonight. It is not something that particularly worries me, but a short while back I was listening to a podcast with a sleep expert and he said that if you can’t fall asleep, then you should get out of bed and write down your thoughts. Well, I have been a bit behind on updating my blog anyway, so I figured I would throw some stuff on here.

    It may sound a bit cheesy, but my new year’s resolution is to lose weight. I am sparing myself the stress of worrying about it until after (the day after, to be exact) I get back from Maryland. So I will start on January 3. I will be sure to make a post that includes my current weight, my target weight, and a picture of my belly. So if you are easily creeped out by a hairy beer belly, then you might want to block all images originated from the fourmajor.com domain. I am going to do this for a before/after effect.

    One thing that I have recently learned, and that I have previously written about, is that if I am to stop something, it has to be cold turkey. So for the purpose of my diet, I am going to completely abstain from all things sugary until I hit my goal weight. And same goes for grease. And mixed drinks. And non-light beer (I am not ready to give up drinking altogether, otherwise what would William and I find to do together?).

    This is a difficult block to live on to avoid those things. Without crossing a street, I can go to my favorite ice cream shop in the entire country and my second favorite pizza place in the entire country. They’ll be missing out on my business for a few months.

    I have decided that once I hit my target weight, I am not going to allow myself to go above it. I haven’t felt this motivated about losing weight in, well, ever.

    On to other news, I went from worst barber shop experience ever to best barber shop experience ever. Thanks to Yelp, I discovered 1512 Barber Shop. It is about 10 blocks from my apartment and well worth the walk. Sal is a very friendly, soft-spoken, and professional barber. For the first time in my life, I made an appointment to get a hair cut, and surprisingly I didn’t feel strange doing it. A two-chair barber shop, 1512 has been open for about six months, and I learned that Sal had most or all of the furniture custom made in Mexico. Even though it has been open for such a short time, the barber shop really has the feeling that it has been around for a long time. It was the most I have ever spent for a haircut ($20), and I felt like it should have cost more. I think I will go there once a month and get a haircut and a straight-razor shave. Sal described it as taking an hour and a half and being like a massage. Sounds like a man’s version of a pedicure. Count me in.

    Last but absolutely not least, I have recently returned from Maui, where I was vacationing for a week with Alyssa’s family. What a great time we had. I was fortunate enough to have joined them on the trip in which they stayed in the nicest condos they have had yet. The view from our condo was absolutely beautiful. We ate like kings (I have never had such tasty pineapple!), I learned of a great Hawaiian breakfast (papaya topped with banana), we had the best sushi I have ever tasted at Sensei’s and the best overall meal I have had in a long time at a restaurant, the name of which I don’t remember. And to top it all off, I ate the most in one sitting that I have in a long time (three t-bone steaks; I really don’t know how I did it).

    Other than eating, which by itself would have made it a great week, we went snorkeling at Molokini and we went to the Ocean Center. Just how I like it, the vacation wasn’t too jam-packed with activities, leaving plenty of time to bum around and read.

    I kind of feel like a bum, having not earned almost any money since September and taking two straight vacations. Yet I know that I accomplished something very valuable in those months and when I get back to San Francisco on the 2nd, I will have months of hard work ahead of me, both at work and on my new year’s resolution, before I have my next major break.

    And on a side note, I had a bit of a realization yesterday. I think I realized what brings me a great deal of happiness. As I was out running errands on foot, I was enjoying walking around the city. So in life, you have the things that you enjoy doing and you have the things that you have to do. I don’t think the hard part is enjoying the things that you like to do anyway. I think the hard part is bringing the most enjoyment to the things that you have to do. And while I would rather be doing a great number of things rather than visiting the Coinstar at Cala Foods, at least I can walk next to the cable car on my way home, among many other pleasant sights in my neighborhood.

    I leave you with this picture of the view from our condo in Maui:

    Oh yeah, and mele kalikimaka.

  • New Word for Shower

    De-stink. Credit goes to Alyssa.

  • Finally cold

    It is finally getting cold in San Francisco. Up until about a week ago, it was staying pretty warm in the city. Low of 38 today. Nice.

  • Why I Love Living in the City

    Everything is just so close. Directions to my polling place this morning (looked up afterwards, for effect):

    “1. Head from Larkin St – go 163 ft
    2. Arrive at 2200 Larkin St
    San Francisco, CA 94109”

  • My Life Was a Novel for About Five Minutes

    I got on the bus last night to take a trek to Amoeba Music in the Haight. On the bus was a man quietly playing a guitar. The guitar music made a usually mundane and ugly thing into a beautiful thing. And then the novel came to an end – The man with the guitar got off of the bus.

    I think maybe if I followed the man off of the bus the novel may have continued. But something bad may have eventually happened to the main character. I’ll save my novel for another day.

  • Spufdaboogie

    That’s the word of the night.

  • DOGGY

  • Recent Comings and Goings

    A few weeks ago I had a thought hit me pretty hard. It was a realization that I have rarely ever worked as hard as I could in my life. I have frequently been compelled to work just hard enough to get results that were “acceptable.” Well, when I had this realization, I decided that it needed to change.

    The results have been pretty good so far. I had failed my first two attempts at passing the Cisco BSCI exam. After my realization, I hunkered down and studied hard for the few days before my third attempt and I passed. I then began studying fresh for my next exam, the BCMSN. Yesterday, after 2.5 weeks of studying, I passed on my first try by over 100 points. Now those are the kind of results I am looking for.

    The thing is, I am pleased with myself and the results. But I know that I could have worked harder. I don’t think I will be completely satisfied until I see what happens when I truly put 100% into something.

    But even if I don’t get to that point, just striving to work harder is going to bring better results. Additionally, a lot of working harder doesn’t even involve dedicating more time to what you are working for. Sure, that is part of it. But I think a bigger part of it is to work smarter, to work more efficiently.

    That may be one reason I haven’t been blogging as much lately. Blogging is something that “just takes a few minutes” but isn’t that fun compared to other activities. So I will tend to do a few things that “just take a few minutes,” and in the end you’ll end up wasting an hour.

    Now, when you are satisfied with the work you have done for the day, you can relax and do the things that you really enjoy doing. In my case, read, play a video game, walk around the city, hang out with Alyssa (Hi, sweetie!), cook, et cetera.

    Anyway, only two more tests to go, and hopefully my new realization will help me pass them quickly.

  • Defrosting the Freezer

    A little before I had been in this apartment for one year, my freezer started frosting up again. I went at it with a screwdriver and hammer, and got the bulk of it out. Well, a few weeks later, the iceberg was on its way back. I guess the ice was in some air holes or something, making it build up even faster than it did the first time.

    OK, I guess I have to go all out this time. I carried a 40-lb. bag of ice from the liquor store 5 blocks away (tip – it’s not easy). Then I turned my sink into a temporary fridge, moving everything from the fridge to the sink:

    Then I figured I would accelerate the defrost process with some boiling water:

    And there you have it – my little project for the night. I hope it is 100% done by morning so I don’t have to worry about all the ice in the sink melting while I am at the library tomorrow.