A Year in Review

It's been about a year since my older daughter and grandson moved back home with me.  It's been a bit of an adjustment.  My wife and I had just gotten used to having some evenings to ourselves.  We had a guest bedroom and a storage room.  Not anymore.  We had to adjust to becoming built-in babysitters while my daughter was at school and working.  We had to get used to the baby waking up in the middle of the night.

Since then, my daughter has completed school and has landed her first job, and the baby is growing by leaps and bounds.  He's walking and talking, and he has a wonderful relationship with his grandparents... a relationship that wouldn't be nearly as strong if they hadn't moved back in.  Furthermore, due to the fact that my wife and I were able to provide for my daughter and grandson, they didn't have to go on welfare.

Recently, I had a revelation.  Over the last hundred years or so, the family has changed a lot, most of these changes, in my opinion, are for the worse.  The extended family is nowhere near as strong as it used to be.  This, I think, is primarily because the extended family isn't as available as it used to be.  Yes, we've had to give up some things with my daughter and grandson moving back in.  But overall, I think it's a good thing.  I may have lost a guest room.  We might have lost a storage room.  We certainly have had to spend a lot of money keeping additional food on the table and clothing on their backs.  But I'd absolutely make the same choice again.  Life isn't about things.  It's not about a big house, or a fat bank account.  It's about relationships.  And what's resulted from the return home is that my relationship with my daughter and grandson are far stronger than what would have been if they'd have tried to tough it out on their own.  I hope that, in addition to strengthening the bond with my daughter, and forging the relationship with my grandson, that I've instilled these values into both of them.

Fitness Report

It's been a bit over a year and a half since I decided to get in shape.  As a former Marine, I decided to use the Marine Corps' Physical Fitness Test (PFT) as a guideline for my progress.  It's kind of funny... I've always considered myself a relatively healthy, active guy, but when I started exercising, I couldn't run three miles within the allotted time.  I kept at it though, and within three months I was able to pass a Marine Corps PFT.  Within six months, I scored a first class PFT.  Within a year, I was in better shape than I was at 25, and in the best shape of my life if you account for aging.  I've hit a couple of plateaus during this time.  One plateau lasted over three months, but I was eventually able to plow through it.  I'm still riding the second one, which has lasted almost six months.  It's theoretically possible that I've peaked physically.  It's okay if I have peaked, but I hope that I haven't.  Regardless, here are a few things I've learned along the way.

-Be willing to change your routine.  I learned this early on.  When I started, I was running in minimalist shoes.  I'd read a lot about minimalist running, and heard that it was the way to go.  It didn't work for me though. When I decided to start running with standard running shoes, my run time improved significantly and I stopped injuring myself.  I recently made another major change to my routine with the hope that I can break through my current plateau.  I haven't been using this updated regimen for long, but it seems to be working so far.

-Listen to your body.  This kind of relates to my previous statement.  When I was doing the minimalist running, I hurt my feet frequently.  I listened to my body, and when my feet hurt, I stopped running and rode the exercise bike until my feet healed.  On days when I was unusually tired, I gave myself permission to take it easy.  On days where I felt particularly energized, I pushed myself a little harder.  When I was sore from the previous workout, I backed off a bit.

-Variety is the spice of life.  Every now and then, I don't feel like lifting weights.  Sometimes I suck it up and lift anyway.  Other times, I swim.  What's important is that you do something.

-Goals are good.  When you attain one goal, set another.  I have one goal that I set early in this journey, and I still haven't hit it.  That's okay.  There are several other goals that I've hit along the way.  The point is that you always need to be striving for something.

-Give yourself permission to relax.  Maybe you're sick.  Maybe you're on vacation.  If so, that's okay.  Don't sweat missing a workout or two.  That said though, I don't recommend skipping workouts if you're just starting.  Don't skip workouts until you're at a point in your lifestyle change that skipping out seems like a disappointment, rather than a treat.  Also, don't skip more than a week.  And if you do skip, give yourself a little slack that first day or two back at the gym.

-Be prepared for the occasional backslide.  This kind of ties in to my plateaus.  When I hit each plateau, I actually backslid a bit.  This has partially been due to the change of seasons.  When spring hits, life tends to get a bit busy for me; as a result, I tend to miss a few workouts during this time of year.  Not only do I not make progress during this time, but I actually find that my run time is a bit slower, I can't do quite a many pull-ups, and my bench press suffers a bit.  This is part of the game.  Again, keep at it.

Overall, I'm glad I've started hitting the gym again.  I feel a lot better.  I hope that it will add quality as well as quantity to my life.  Please understand though, I'm not here to preach, and I'm not here to brag.  My reason for writing this today is to share my progress with anyone who may care.  And if I'm really lucky, my words will help someone else who's decided improve their physical fitness.

How Many Days Until Retirement?

I took my annual Boys' Trip vacation last week.  "Boys' Trip" has become a euphemism though, because girls have been allowed for the last three to five years.  That in and of itself is kind of a funny story.  I've got two daughters.  By the time they were 10 or so, they started asking if they could go on our trips.  My friends said no, so I was out-voted.  Now, my friends have daughters interested in going, they finally see my point, and girls are allowed on the Boys' Trip.  But I'm digressing.

Those of you who know me, know that I believe in God.  Though I've gone to church for several years now, there is no time or place I feel closer to God than when I'm on these trips.  Yes, I feel close to God in general when I'm outdoors, but the Boys' Trips in particular tend to be very spiritual for me.  I am never closer to nature, and there is always a bit of alone time to ponder the miracle of creation.  It's calming and awe-inspiring at the same time.  I always return home appreciative of what God's provided... a loving family... a close circle of great friends... a roof over my head and food in my stomach....

This year, I realized that I'm no longer fulfilled by my job.  I'm a computer geek.  I know computers and networks, and to some extent, I enjoy computers and networks.  But I realized that it's no longer my passion.  If I could retire today, I'd stop working on computers and never look back.

When I came back from my trip, and I tried to talk to several people about my realization... my wife... my friends... one of my pastors... my kids.  But they were all wrapped in their own problems.  Their problem du jour seemed to overshadow my issue.  When I got back to work, I had to hit the ground running, and for the next couple of days, the crazy pace continued, as did my realization that, in the grand scheme of things, my job really doesn't matter.  I tried to share this with a couple of other friends, but once again, when I tried to share my thoughts, it quickly became obvious that they were more interested in talking than listening, so this revelation has remained unrevealed... until now.

That's right.  I am no longer fulfilled by my job.  I've said it.  It's out.  As soon as I can, I will retire from my current career, and start the next phase of my life.  What I'd like to do is become a permanent volunteer.  This way I could do what I want, when I want, for whichever cause I choose.  I could work in hospice for a month or two... then work for VA for a while... then work for the Humane Society for a bit.  The point is that I've reached a point in my life where doing menial stuff for worthwhile organizations is more rewarding than being well compensated to do tasks that really don't advance mankind as a whole.

I want to be clear about this... I'm not a malcontent.  I'm not crying in my millions (relatively speaking).  I'm not having a midlife crisis or existential issue.  I've merely reached the point where I can acknowledge my lack of fulfillment, and am realistic enough to know that it will be a while before I can actually do something (outside of the house) that's personally rewarding.  Either way though, it's kind of liberating to know this, and be able to say it.

Giving an Obliviot Her Comeuppance

I was out riding my motorcycle earlier today, with my older daughter riding on the back.  Fortunately for us, I ride defensively, because some stupid bitch who was too busy talking on her cell phone, decided to turn left immediately in front of us, to the point that I locked my back brake during the emergency stop.

I actually saw all of this coming, thanks to experience and some pointers I picked up during my motorcycle safety course.  (Watch their wheels... if the wheels start rolling, they're going.)  As a result, I wasn't panicked, and catastrophe was avoided.  But I did lay on the horn during the stop, and I watched the chick as she continued her left turn in front of me.  She never looked at me, and she never stopped talking on the phone.  It was as if I didn't exist.  It was as if she never realized she could have seriously injured my daughter and me.

If she'd have acknowledged that she screwed up, (you know... the wave) that would have been the end of it.  But she didn't.  I was incensed... furious to the point that I (safely) made a U-turn and followed her to her destination, (a local grocery store) where I gave her a piece of my mind.

"Hey!" I screamed.  "I just wanted to thank you for being too fucking busy talking on your cell phone to see that you cut me off!"

She tried to say that she wasn't talking on her phone, but my daughter saw it too, and called her on her lie.

"Oh, I didn't see you because of that other car," she finally muttered.

"Yeah, that's because you were too busy talking on your fucking cell phone to watch for motorcycles."

"Do I need to call the cops?" she retorted, defensively.

"Why, to tell them you can't drive?"  Reminder, I'm screaming at her this whole time.  My objective was to publicly shame her, and possibly scare her, with the idea that she looks out for bikes in the future.

"No, because you're causing a scene."

"That's because you're a stupid fucking cunt who doesn't watch for motorcycles!"

At this point, people in the parking lot started paying attention.  This is what I wanted.  It's apparent that she didn't want the attention.  She walked into the store.  My daughter and I got back on the bike and continued our ride.

Now for my commentary on the whole thing...

-The bitch deserved to get her ass chewed.

-I kind of enjoyed being the hammer of justice... the voice of righteous indignation.  Kind of un-Christian of me, eh?

-The primary reason that I did this is because she looked right through me... even when she realized that she did wrong, she never gave the wave, or anything to acknowledge that she made a mistake.  A very close second is to hopefully sear the encounter into her little brain housing group, and get her to watch for bikes in the future.  I don't expect this to happen.

-I will admit that I swear more than I should, but I know that 'cunt' is a particularly offensive word, and I reserve it for the most grievous of situations.  This woman deserved the word.

Illinois Tollway F*cking Sucks!

I did everything I was supposed to do.  I bought an iPass.  I activated it.  I linked it to my truck.  I made sure that there was money on the iPass.  Unfortunately, there was a flaw in the activation and I ended up getting a ticket for $155!  After receiving the ticket, I checked to make sure that my iPass still had money on it, but somehow my iPass had completely disappeared from their system, as if I had never activated it.  To make matters worse, when I originally activated it, I tossed the box that the iPass originally came in, so I can't activate it.  This means that I did the right thing, and I'm out $200 bucks for my effort!  It would have been 10 times cheaper to pay cash for the tolls!

Furthermore, though the ticket alleges approximately ten infractions, there's only one picture of my truck's license plate, with no date time stamp to give any indication of when or where the picture was taken.  This means that there's no real evidence indicating that I even ran through the tollways in the first place.  This screams Class Action Lawsuit.  Yep, no doubt about it, the Illinois Tollway f*cking sucks!

Please Look for Motorcycles

I found out this morning that my uncle was killed in a motorcycle accident.  Please don't construe this as a ploy for sympathy.  In all honesty, I was not that close to my uncle.  Instead, take this as a plea to watch out for motorcycles.  My uncle, by all accounts, was a safe rider who always wore his riding gear.  Unfortunately, it didn't stop an idiot from pulling out in front of him, and taking his life.  I ask this not only as the nephew of someone who died in a bike accident, but also as a rider, and as the father of a rider. The life you save may be mine, or my daughter's.

Evaluating the Sena SMH10 Bluetooth Headset

When I purchased my new helmet last month, I also decided to upgrade my Bluetooth headset.  My decision to upgrade was partially because my previous Bluetooth setup was hard-wired into my old helmet, and partially because I wanted a set, so that I could communicate with my daughters, who frequently ride on the back of my bike.

After a lot of research, I chose the Sena SMH10 headset, and I'm happy with my purchase.  Installation was simple and straight-forward.  The only difficulty I had was finding the proper position for the speakers, and that wasn't a real problem... just a bit of trial and error.

Sound quality is far superior to what I had with my old helmet.  I was able to receive phone calls and communicate with passengers at freeway speeds.  I was able to hear music at freeway speeds, but the sound quality wasn't that good.  This, however, is still a massive improvement over the old system, which was effectively useless at speeds above 45 MPH or so.  The two things I've noticed aren't directly related to the headset itself... One is that the headset mounts in such a way that opening and closing the sun visor on my helmet is a bit problematic.  The other is that, because I'm an animated speaker, people tend to look at me like I'm crazy, because when I talk to my passenger, I tend to nod, shake my head and so forth.  With all of the Bluetooth headsets available for phones in general these days, you'd think that people would be a bit more used to this, but I guess not.

It's very simple to switch back and forth between the intercom and the phone, fast forward or rewind music, and increase/decrease volume via a dial.  My daughter, who's a bit shorter than me, wishes that the dial didn't stick out so far from the helmet, because she usually looks over my left shoulder, and it blocks her view a bit, but this was an offhand comment, not a consistent complaint.

While the set isn't as clear as a set of Beats, you really can't expect that from a motorcycle headset.  That said though, the sound quality is adequate enough to play music (unless you're on the freeway) and good enough to communicate with a passenger or take a phone call even at freeway speeds.