health & fitness 3 Comments

Eureka Moment

Last night, I was standing naked in the bathroom, having just brushed my teeth before bed. The door was partially closed (probably thanks to the cat), so I saw my reflection in the full-length mirror mounted to the back of said door as I turned to head back into the bedroom.

I’m used to looking at myself either in profile or straight-on — or just looking down my front from my normal, real-life, non-mirror perspective — so seeing myself reflected back at an oblique angle kind of threw me for a second. I saw how much closer my stomach is to being almost-flat, and how much my gut has really deflated. It didn’t look like me.

It was cool.

I still wouldn’t win any pageants or anything, but I can at least tell that I’m closer to my goal. Sometimes you just have to look at things from a different perspective, I guess.

family

An Open Letter To My Father

Dear Butch,
Dear “Dad,”
Dear Robert,

Hello,

We’ve never officially met. Not that I could remember, anyway. I’m sure you know who I am, though.

You and my mom were an item back in 1975, until she got pregnant. From how I’ve heard it told, you offered to pay for her to have an abortion. I’m a little unclear as to whether that was before or after you two broke up. It doesn’t matter at this point, though, since she refused, and subsequently lost a paternity suit against you.

At any rate, you know who I am, even though we’ve never met. I honestly don’t know much about you, although your family is pretty cool and always accepted me as one of their own. Whatever. Like I said, it doesn’t matter at this point.

I’ve thought over the years about what I’d like to say to you, if I ever happened to be in the same room as you, or if I could ever get up the nerve to look you up in the phone book and find your address to write to you. Since I think I’m fairly safe here on the internet — since hundreds of friends and strangers will read this, but the likelihood of you actually finding it is slim to none — I choose to make this my venue to say what needs saying.
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weight loss 7 Comments

Diet & Fitness Update, Week Ending 9/16/06

Official week-ending weigh-in: 202.5

Notable changes in measurements in the past two months:
Bust: down 1.25″
Chest (below bust): down 1.5″
Upper Arm: down 1.25″

I also took in-progress photos today, and was pleasantly surprized at the belly shrinkage since July. My calves also seem to be more defined, and my collarbones might be even a little more pronounced than before. Or maybe that was just the light. I also think my upper back is looking less fatty, although that could be a function of not having a ponytail to hide the definition, too. At any rate, I’m experiencing visible progress, even if the numbers don’t show much.

This week was a slackeriffic exercise week, to a point. On Thursday, I think it was, I did a few sets of deep squats while I was waiting for my dinner to cook in the microwave. Just those two or three sets of ten deep squats worked my leg muscles like nobody’s business. Good stuff. Then, today, I went on a jog in the park with Aaron, and I got a lot farther than usual before I had to slow to a walk. Maybe it was just female machismo on my part, or maybe I actually am getting in better shape, but I’m satisfied with the progress either way.

Because I’m so behind on my PUSH DVDs, I’ve suspended my account for two months to give me a chance to catch up. I have quite the backlog. So, my goal this week is to do my PUSH workout three times, so that I can feel comfortable graduating up to the next disc for next week. I tried Disc 4 once, after a recent hiatus from working out, and it kicked my ass *bad*. I’m thinking that, if I get myself up to speed with the previous workout, the next disc shouldn’t be so daunting.

I’m also going to make a concerted effort to increase my protein intake. I’ve been good with keeping the carbs down to below 40% of my daily caloric intake. Unfortunately, my fat intake has probably been a little higher than it really should. I’m going to focus on increasing protein, though, rather than decreasing fat, in hopes of taking a more positive approach. If I add the right protein-rich foods, then, in theory, those should bump out the fat I’d normally be eating. I just need to make a conscious effort to go easy on the Vegenaise and the less lean meats, and this should work.

In other health news… I should really get myself to various medical professionals. Doctor. Gynecologist. Dentist. It’s been over five years since I’ve seen any of those, and I should probably do that before… well, soon, anyway.

anecdotes 1 Comment

The Perils of Suburban Life

There’s some sort of little-league football team that’s been practicing in the vacant grassy lot across the street from our house. Mind you, we live on a dead end, so when all the parents come to watch little Tyrone and Jamal play football, they park their cars / trucks / minivans / SUVs such that our comings and goings are challenging at best. They don’t seem to comprehend that it’s a big, open field, with plenty of room for you to park your vehicle. No, they have to park either on or in the street, often simply stopping to idle in the exact middle of the street, forcing me to come to a complete stop and glare at them until they get the idea and move to the side so I can get around their giant SUV and actually park in my own goddamn driveway.

We were upset on Tuesday morning, when the garbage men actually took the giant branch that had been sitting on our curb for two weeks; that branch had kept the annoying minivan fucker from parking in front of our house. Somehow, though, the inconvenience must have trained Minivan Fucker not to park in front of our house anymore, as she’s continued parking in front of our neighbor’s house.

We’ve had quite enough of the peewee football practice, thankyouverymuch. We’re ready for it to be over, or for it to move elsewhere.

This evening, they seem to be having some sort of cookout. There’s a charcoal grill puffing smoke and tables laden with buns and paper plates. The boys are playing football without their pads and uniforms, and someone is booming rap music out of their truck.

The good news is that this could conceivably be the end of peewee football season. The bad news is that I have to put up with rap music and hollering kids (and parents) for a few hours.

I think it’ll be worth it in the end.

otaku 1 Comment

Those Crazy Japanese

For anyone who hasn’t seen this yet…

Along the lines of All Things Japanese, this site was helpful for me in deciphering why it was amusing for an anime convention to be named Nan Desu Kan. I’d heard enough Japanese to recognize it (or, rather, “nan desu ka”) as a common turn of phrase, but the Learn Japanese website explained that it means, “What is it?”

I’d love to take a Japanese class. I don’t think there are any local evening classes taught by native speakers, though. I want to be able to do more than count to twenty badly, ask “what is it,” and other fun otaku tricks. If the Learn Japanese site had audio clips to confirm pronunciation, it would be even better. I’ll have to look into some of the podcasts on learning to speak Japanese.

Not like I’m ever going to make it to Japan any time soon, unlike *some* people I know. And, yes, I do know more than one person who either has been or is going to Japan. ^_^