Inspired by the bicycle in which I lap the Twin Cities, I am working toward a goal of dropping to around 200 lbs. by the end of the year.
How will I do this, you may ask?
Well, first off, I have emptied my cupboards of candy and snack food. No more chocolate and no more cookies. I am also not getting the rare candy bar on the way home or the fast food route.
I looked at my stomach, well, all of the time. It has never been as flat as it could be and I can see the signs of muscle underneath, many due to cycling a lot this summer.
But the trick to being a better cyclist is not lightening up the bike, perhaps, but in lighting up the rider. The average Tour de France rider, while being 5'9", is also 160 lbs. I am 222.5. I could shed 10 pounds easily and healthily if I really want to and I really want to. This is the first time, in a long time, that I am close to the 220 barrier. If I can drop below it will give me enough confidence to get to 210 and, hopefully, 200. According to ancient statistics, the idea weight for someone my height is 188. Really? I like to lift weights, thank you, and I don't plan on atrophying my body so I think I can just increase the burn.
Well, wish me luck.
And... GO OBAMA!!!
Friday, August 29, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Re-writing the play
Here I sit with a script in one hand and a coffee in the other. I am going through a time of not finishing any plays, a new thing for me.
I am working on them, I swear, but this is also a time to revisit first drafts and make revisions. The play I am editing right now is called "The Bond." It is a play about a young girl who tries to kill herself but fails and must deal with the unraveling through therapy and the reasons behind her choice. A real comfy story, huh?
Anyway, the first couple scenes were terrible. I made so many changes right away that I was worried that it was going to be a total rewrite. However, it has gotten better so I will keep going.
The problem with writing a first draft is that you are simply trying to get all the thoughts down and finish the idea off. That takes a lot of time and energy. Most times I put the draft away for at least a year and move onto something else. This time I pulled out one of them and the pain begins again because it is now you, later on, and all of your new experiences have to deal with how you were when you wrote it originally.
But you do it. You spend even more time, literally, going line-by-line, pages after pages, marking it up and, hopefully, you get the draft done... Until you do it all over again another year or so later.
So, right now, I am slogging through the script, hoping that, by editing, I will draw inspiration for the next play I will finish. My goal was to have at least five done by this time but I have the big zero done. Pretty sad, if I do say.
I am working on them, I swear, but this is also a time to revisit first drafts and make revisions. The play I am editing right now is called "The Bond." It is a play about a young girl who tries to kill herself but fails and must deal with the unraveling through therapy and the reasons behind her choice. A real comfy story, huh?
Anyway, the first couple scenes were terrible. I made so many changes right away that I was worried that it was going to be a total rewrite. However, it has gotten better so I will keep going.
The problem with writing a first draft is that you are simply trying to get all the thoughts down and finish the idea off. That takes a lot of time and energy. Most times I put the draft away for at least a year and move onto something else. This time I pulled out one of them and the pain begins again because it is now you, later on, and all of your new experiences have to deal with how you were when you wrote it originally.
But you do it. You spend even more time, literally, going line-by-line, pages after pages, marking it up and, hopefully, you get the draft done... Until you do it all over again another year or so later.
So, right now, I am slogging through the script, hoping that, by editing, I will draw inspiration for the next play I will finish. My goal was to have at least five done by this time but I have the big zero done. Pretty sad, if I do say.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Ow! Sore...
Yesterday I pushed myself, once again, harder than ever. Last week I went for a 33-mile ride around the Twin Cities. As fun as that was, I was in a good deal of pain for days, having shoehorned the ride between tough shifts at work.
Yesterday was really no different.
I had just come off of four shifts, over the weekend, where I was pretty beat up. So what do I do? I jump on my bike! The beginning was tough going. The legs didn't respond well, at first, and you have to uncreak the creaky.
I headed from my apartment to Hopkins, a new route I had done the prior week, only I went farther. I ended up riding through a construction zone, the first of a couple that day, and I added about a mile to the route.
After cruising to Minnetonka Blvd, a great, smooth stretch until you get to the Kenwood Trail, I was feeling much stronger and my speed was better. Oh, before I forget, there are hills in Hopkins that are just brutal for riders, especially at the beginning of a ride.
So, anyway, I decided, this time, to head into downtown. Little did I know the trail ends near the Target Center due to the Twins Stadium construction. Riding in the city is more daunting because of the cars. Lovely! Then I ran into the gravel machines ruining my smooth roads (Road bikes and gravel don't mix).
The ride got better as I caught the path along the river and over the Stone Arch bridge. Beautiful view of the mill ruins, the Guthrie and, of course, the new I35W bridge. I rode over to the middle of the bridge next to it and stopped at the plaque in the middle. I had brought a granola bar, which I inhaled, and continued on to South Minneapolis where I wove my way through to the West River Parkway. It is is nice ride, although the tar paths are pretty cracked (once, again, not road bike friendly).
About the time I got to Minnehaha Falls, I was nearing 30 miles. Understand that my previous week's ride was 33 miles and I wasn't close to home by a stretch. You can catch a wicked fun path along the creek from there. At 30 miles I stopped at Super America and filled up on power bars and a Gatorade and refilled the 24 oz. bottles I use. Oh, if you can get ice, get ice. Cold water on a ride is so much more refreshing.
When I got closer to home I decided to go back to Lake Harriet since I was too close to home to get 40 miles in. This adds about 3 miles if you play it right. When I got on the path I noticed a familiar bike: The same model I ride. I had to pass him and pay him an ironic comment, which was well-met, and then proceeded to kick some ass for a mile ahead.
The rest of the ride was uneventful. I usually try to do a sprint at the end of a ride but I was pretty worn out. As I got to the half-mile point I decided I needed to exceed 40 miles so I took a turn and added an unnecessary mile to the end of the run.
That night the pain truly sunk in and, as I am typing this, I am smarting quite a bit. Yeah! And I have to work tonight!!!
I went shopping to get some recovery aides. I bought some protein bars and some gels and some protein pills because, frankly, I am in for the long haul of being a rider.
By next weekend I want to go over the 50 mile mark in a single ride. My odometer is at 380 miles so far. I want to hit 500 or 600 by September. All of this at the young age of 34 with little riding prior. All I can say is awesome.
Peace.
Yesterday was really no different.
I had just come off of four shifts, over the weekend, where I was pretty beat up. So what do I do? I jump on my bike! The beginning was tough going. The legs didn't respond well, at first, and you have to uncreak the creaky.
I headed from my apartment to Hopkins, a new route I had done the prior week, only I went farther. I ended up riding through a construction zone, the first of a couple that day, and I added about a mile to the route.
After cruising to Minnetonka Blvd, a great, smooth stretch until you get to the Kenwood Trail, I was feeling much stronger and my speed was better. Oh, before I forget, there are hills in Hopkins that are just brutal for riders, especially at the beginning of a ride.
So, anyway, I decided, this time, to head into downtown. Little did I know the trail ends near the Target Center due to the Twins Stadium construction. Riding in the city is more daunting because of the cars. Lovely! Then I ran into the gravel machines ruining my smooth roads (Road bikes and gravel don't mix).
The ride got better as I caught the path along the river and over the Stone Arch bridge. Beautiful view of the mill ruins, the Guthrie and, of course, the new I35W bridge. I rode over to the middle of the bridge next to it and stopped at the plaque in the middle. I had brought a granola bar, which I inhaled, and continued on to South Minneapolis where I wove my way through to the West River Parkway. It is is nice ride, although the tar paths are pretty cracked (once, again, not road bike friendly).
About the time I got to Minnehaha Falls, I was nearing 30 miles. Understand that my previous week's ride was 33 miles and I wasn't close to home by a stretch. You can catch a wicked fun path along the creek from there. At 30 miles I stopped at Super America and filled up on power bars and a Gatorade and refilled the 24 oz. bottles I use. Oh, if you can get ice, get ice. Cold water on a ride is so much more refreshing.
When I got closer to home I decided to go back to Lake Harriet since I was too close to home to get 40 miles in. This adds about 3 miles if you play it right. When I got on the path I noticed a familiar bike: The same model I ride. I had to pass him and pay him an ironic comment, which was well-met, and then proceeded to kick some ass for a mile ahead.
The rest of the ride was uneventful. I usually try to do a sprint at the end of a ride but I was pretty worn out. As I got to the half-mile point I decided I needed to exceed 40 miles so I took a turn and added an unnecessary mile to the end of the run.
That night the pain truly sunk in and, as I am typing this, I am smarting quite a bit. Yeah! And I have to work tonight!!!
I went shopping to get some recovery aides. I bought some protein bars and some gels and some protein pills because, frankly, I am in for the long haul of being a rider.
By next weekend I want to go over the 50 mile mark in a single ride. My odometer is at 380 miles so far. I want to hit 500 or 600 by September. All of this at the young age of 34 with little riding prior. All I can say is awesome.
Peace.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Dear Hollywood: Stop destroying my memories!
Somewhere in Los Angeles is a little, tiny video store. It is filled to the ceiling with great popcorn movies but goes little noticed in the everyday world of large video stores and rental boxes... Until now.
This tiny video store has been discovered by the desperate young Hollywood producers and they plan on remaking pretty much every movie from the 1970s and 80s as they can find.
The latest example was found on the Hollywood Stock Exchange (HSX), a game I have played religiously since 2000. The initial public offering for the day is a movie called "Red Dawn." You remember that movie, right? High schoolers try to stave off an invasion of the Soviets? Funny thing is that it worked mostly because of the Cold War and the fear of communism. Now how would that work?
To me, it isn't the idea of a remake that kills me... Okay, yes it it. Usually a remake is less entertaining and forgets the original charm that made us like the movie or song in the first place. Yes, I don't limit my distain for remakes to movies. At work they play a long-play CD and there are some remakes of songs that need not be remade for any reason ever. The reason you remake something is to add to it, right? If you add nothing then you are just using nostalgia to make some money. Bastards!
Yes, this summer we were treated to some remakes and some bastardizations of our childhood (Transformers, anyone?) that will essentially make us loath our childhoods (G.I. Joe movie, Robotech movie). It's just a shame that Hollywood thinks only that we want to have our past retooled for today's audience. We don't. We want our memories. We just want this generation to make their own. (Oh crap, I forgot about Miley Cyrus. My bad).
Peace.
This tiny video store has been discovered by the desperate young Hollywood producers and they plan on remaking pretty much every movie from the 1970s and 80s as they can find.
The latest example was found on the Hollywood Stock Exchange (HSX), a game I have played religiously since 2000. The initial public offering for the day is a movie called "Red Dawn." You remember that movie, right? High schoolers try to stave off an invasion of the Soviets? Funny thing is that it worked mostly because of the Cold War and the fear of communism. Now how would that work?
To me, it isn't the idea of a remake that kills me... Okay, yes it it. Usually a remake is less entertaining and forgets the original charm that made us like the movie or song in the first place. Yes, I don't limit my distain for remakes to movies. At work they play a long-play CD and there are some remakes of songs that need not be remade for any reason ever. The reason you remake something is to add to it, right? If you add nothing then you are just using nostalgia to make some money. Bastards!
Yes, this summer we were treated to some remakes and some bastardizations of our childhood (Transformers, anyone?) that will essentially make us loath our childhoods (G.I. Joe movie, Robotech movie). It's just a shame that Hollywood thinks only that we want to have our past retooled for today's audience. We don't. We want our memories. We just want this generation to make their own. (Oh crap, I forgot about Miley Cyrus. My bad).
Peace.
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