Sunday, December 21, 2003
I can't decide if it's depressing or not that my greatest excitement this Christmas is over the fact that I will get my shopping done in time to avoid an early-morning run on Christmas eve. This makes me feel old. I have also avoided purchasing anything for myself while shopping, a sure sign of financial responsibility and other important bullshit.
Balanced against these furtive signs of maturity is my desire to participate in a no-limit Texas Hold 'Em game this Friday. I will surely blow 20 dollars betting that my feeble poker skills will see me through 1-in-6 odds of turning a profit, but 20 dollars seems a small sum to pay in exchange for an evening of good conversation and the occasionally thrilling moment. Plus, gambling is inherently fun.
Balanced against these furtive signs of maturity is my desire to participate in a no-limit Texas Hold 'Em game this Friday. I will surely blow 20 dollars betting that my feeble poker skills will see me through 1-in-6 odds of turning a profit, but 20 dollars seems a small sum to pay in exchange for an evening of good conversation and the occasionally thrilling moment. Plus, gambling is inherently fun.
Sunday, December 14, 2003
I'd say I've lost 5-7 pounds since my last post, which has been nice. Crucial to my workouts have been the post-run pullups I've been knocking out on the exposed I-beam in the Starons' basement. There are few feats of strength as viscerally gratifying as fingertip pullups. When every muscle group is firing in orderly succession, I never feel huger. Of course, I am nowhere near huge. But that's the magic of fingertip pullups.
Yesterday, I heard the song "Rainbow in the Dark," by ex-Sabbath frontman Ronnie James Dio. Not that he'd deny it, but Tenacious D's Jack Black obviously gets a lot of his act from Dio. Of course, Dio was quite sincere in delivering lines like "I cry for magic/I see it dancing in the light," while Black is hilarious because he's aware, when singing such a line, of how stupid it actually sounds. At a certain point, though, you have to wonder--when you're driving in your car with your radio at full blast, does the singer's relative level of sincerity really matter? To me, it does not: I will rock out to Dio and the D with equal intensity. And then I'll laugh out loud, and who cares why?
"Now it's time for me to tell you about Young Nasty Man, archrival and nemesis of Wonderboy, with powers comparable TO WONDERBOY!"
Yesterday, I heard the song "Rainbow in the Dark," by ex-Sabbath frontman Ronnie James Dio. Not that he'd deny it, but Tenacious D's Jack Black obviously gets a lot of his act from Dio. Of course, Dio was quite sincere in delivering lines like "I cry for magic/I see it dancing in the light," while Black is hilarious because he's aware, when singing such a line, of how stupid it actually sounds. At a certain point, though, you have to wonder--when you're driving in your car with your radio at full blast, does the singer's relative level of sincerity really matter? To me, it does not: I will rock out to Dio and the D with equal intensity. And then I'll laugh out loud, and who cares why?
"Now it's time for me to tell you about Young Nasty Man, archrival and nemesis of Wonderboy, with powers comparable TO WONDERBOY!"
Thursday, December 04, 2003
Rest easy. I have not died or been turned into a slug or other animal without opposable thumbs. I'm just sort of lazy, and bored, and a touch overweight. A common theme in my life (and the lives of many of my friends, if their blogs be true) has been blandness. Not much going on, good or bad. I am looking forward to the holidays and all the family gatherings, and I'm finally taking a few of my licensure exams this Saturday.
I've also started working out again, which means that I'm losing weight and blowing off steam regularly--both very important for me. I don't know why I allow myself to fall out of shape so often, though it may have something to do with the fact that it's easier for me to motivate myself to run when I'm fat. I find it easier to get through workouts when they're a struggle, moreso than when I'm just marking time on the treadmill until I'm done. It's a paradox.
"That depends."
"Depends on what?"
"On whether you like a paradox."
I've also started working out again, which means that I'm losing weight and blowing off steam regularly--both very important for me. I don't know why I allow myself to fall out of shape so often, though it may have something to do with the fact that it's easier for me to motivate myself to run when I'm fat. I find it easier to get through workouts when they're a struggle, moreso than when I'm just marking time on the treadmill until I'm done. It's a paradox.
"That depends."
"Depends on what?"
"On whether you like a paradox."
