Taking it easy and progressing at the same time
Posted: January 28, 2012 Filed under: My good days. Diary/log, My life 2 Comments »Sometimes changing things up a little bit can be rejuvenating. That has been the case for me for the last three weeks. During the weeks or months of the holidays I went out quite a bit. I’m glad that I have friends to socialize with, but when you’re out three or so times a week it’s hard to get things done. Maybe I had a delayed drive to do some resolution stuff, but I’ve followed through on making some changes on how I spend my spare time.
First I started to politely decline offers to go out. In the future I’ll see these people, they are all my friends, and I’m sure they understood that I need time by myself. With time available I finally got into a gym schedule that makes sense. For the past three weeks I’ve been going to the gym on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday nights. And I go on either Saturday or Sunday. This totals four workouts that I lift and run a week. It is a little more regular and more intense that the three times a week I tried to do in fall.
I wouldn’t call it cooking. But having cereal, easy to boil noodles, fruit, and other easy to make food at home has decreased my spending bills. So on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday when I get back from the gym I can eat simply and not have to go out again for takeout. I work late Monday and Thursday, and I’ve been eating cheaply at home on those nights too.
Over the past month I’ve read a little more, which I find is easier to do when I stay in. I can kind of make a routine, and I have my comfy chair in my room. Sometimes I do dork around on the computer, but not everything has to be productive, and there are worse things to do than watching videos on youtube or listening to Pandora.
Lastly, and the change I’m most proud of is that I wrote a short story this week. I signed up for another class at Gotham Writers. The first class was last Sunday. I decided to sign up to pass my story out at the next class to be critiqued the following week. So basically I had a deadline. For months now I’ve thought about this story. The teacher said the maximum length for a story was 15 pages double-spaced. My concept of a story was longer than that. I quickly figured out how to shorten it. On Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights I wrote it out by hand. On Thursday like a maniac I typed up the whole thing. It ended up being 13 pages and 4,000 words. Today I fixed the obvious typos, and on Sunday when I pass it out, I’ll say it’s a first draft, and ask for suggestions on how to revise. I learned from this that ideas I have for stories I just need to think it over a little bit and then start writing.
I feel I’m taking it easy in some ways but also improving quite a bit at writing, and my general health. And tomorrow I plan to skate (50 degrees in late January) and have a relaxed dinner with some friends.
Headphones ruin memories, an Opinion with no research at all.
Posted: January 21, 2012 Filed under: Lifestyle choices, My attempts at humor, My take on pop culture and me. Leave a comment »I’m 34 going on 84 with this entry. I have not used my blog to simply say my opinions, and I’ll try to start with this one. The topic at hand is Ipods, or the fact that everyone walking around wears headphones listening to their own little soundtrack. Right now I have headphones and I’m listening to Pandora as I type while my roommate watches television in the same room. But I do not walk around with headphones on in public!
Safety first. To me when I’m walking through NYC I like that I can hear cars at intersections, or if someone is walking around me. I know that NYC is supposedly safer than Disney World these days, but being aware of one surroundings is important. If there is a danger, or a collision about to be made, having the sense of hearing can give one a heads up. I used to run on the streets with headphones, so that is all I will say about safety.
My main beef with headphones is that people think it gives them the right not to be bothered, and not to be approached. A few years ago in Forest Hills, a more well to do part of Queens, I saw a sight that pissed me off. This kind of attractive women in her twenties took off her headphones, got ugly, and said to an elderly immigrant woman, ‘Do you not see that I have headphones on? That means I’m don’t want to talk to anyone, *(&^%.” I realized that this elderly woman was simply asking for directions. I thought the younger woman really reacted like a spoiled child, and anyone lost should be able to ask directions. Wearing headphones does not simply erase being decent to other people. The street map in Queens and the city can be confusing, and I’m glad that when I ask directions, people respond with an answer. The people I’ve asked for directions might give me the directions, think they know and give wrong directions, or say they don’t know. But I’ve very rarely been chewed out for asking directions. And I’m not a meek old lady with an accent. So headphones or no headphones, that woman was out of line.
But I think a lot of people in this city wear headphones for that exact reason, so they can avoid conversations with strangers. It’s kind of weird concept. That on your commute to your job, or from point A to B, you can close off encounters and background noise by just having your own soundtrack. I’m a fan of music, but either at home on my computer, or in a bar where the musical experience is shared with the people in the establishment. I like that I can be aware on my commutes. If someone asks me directions, and I can point them toward the right way, I feel good, not pressed upon.
Lastly, I’m not the first to point this off in the skate world. But if you’re skating with people I think it’s rude to wear headphones, it’s nulls the shared experience. On a larger scale of that, I think wearing headphones in any group situation or around people is rude. I think memorable events for everyone involves a group of characters. To tell a good personal story, you need to remember what other people said, what the surroundings were, and the string of events. If people have their headphones on all the time, they are cutting of several perceptual senses, and therefore have less interesting things happen to them. That’s a stretch, but is an idea. I think to be part of something you need to be there, and not in a personal soundtrack la la land.
Trying to accept the fact I can’t grow full beards by shaving
Posted: January 11, 2012 Filed under: My good days. Diary/log, My life | Tags: facial hair, hair styles, winter beard Leave a comment »
More than ten days have passed since I wrote up a blog entry. Should one write about anything to keep a schedule or should one wait until they have something to write about? From my experience with blogging, it needs to be regular, which means at least once a week. Then you get views from the people you email the post, and those that see it on facebook, twitter, and other sites. But the more your write on different subjects the more searches can get to your blog. Because of that I think more is better, and it only takes one media person to link a post on a major site to get exposure. I really do not have much to talk about today, so I’m going to stoop low and talk about hair, facial hair that is.
For the past few winters I got the itch to grow a beard. My facial hair is not the fullest, and is kind of straggly. To a certain point it looks good. One friend 3 or 4 years ago told me the trick is to shave your neck, and that gives some boundaries for the beard and makes it look better. I decided in early November to grow a beard so I would have one for my thanksgiving holiday. I had my beard until tonight, and other than shaving my neck every few days I did not trim it at all.
Over dinner on Sunday, my sister kind of looked at my beard and said, “It’s starting to look a little wild.” With that statement she kind of had a smile or an expression to make me think it was getting out of control. My sister is a very smart woman, and knows a lot about fashion. She told me years ago never to buy pleated slacks, but always get flat front slacks. And she is right.
Anyway, my beard was freshly on my mind. On Monday morning after a quick shower before work I headed out toward the bus stop. I put my hand on my beard and noticed it was still wet. We have had some super warm weather recently, but what happens when it does get really cold. Would I have a frozen beard? When I eat pizza, does the grease stay on my beard and chin? If my nose starts running, would the snot stay on my mustache? I’m not a neat freak, but maybe it’s called being ‘clean’ shaven because it’s more hygienic.
Today at work, my beard is still on my mind. I asked a few coworkers. Someone pointed out either trim it or shave it off. A few customers made funny but nice comments on it, so I decided I would shave it off. Originally I planned to keep it until April, but I guess I’m a quitter.
On the bus ride home I saw a dude that had a thick beard. I could grow it until next thanksgiving, and mine would not look like a manly beard. So I came home and walked to my barber, but the barber closed at seven. So I got some food, came home, and started the long process of shaving. I started with a small pair of scissors I use to trim my nose hair. And then I found a disposable razor, and then I used the expensive razor. This felt like it took a long time.
One thing I was on the fence about shaving my beard was if I did that at the barber, I would have to get a hair cut too. But by shaving myself I can continue to let my hair grow.
I’m not trying to tell people not to grow beards with this blog entry, but encourage people to try different things and do what works. For me, I don’t think facial hair works, unless I spent time styling it, which I won’t do.
