Kickboxing and weight

So I noted in my last post that I'm not kickboxing any more.  While that is true it doesn't entirely explain the situation.  Last November, I switched from the kickboxing class to the Wing Chun martial arts class at the dojo and have beeen taking that for almost a year now.  This past may I successfully tested for my yellow sash and I'm working towards my orange sash. 

I've really enjoyed the classes and the process of learning the various forms and techniques within Wing Chun.  I feel since I've been taking it, I'm strong, more balanced and more confident. 

The only downside is that it is nowhere near as aerobic as kickboxing was (at least not at such a beginner level; we don't do sparring at this point) so a major workout that I had 2-3 times a week is gone and replaced with something I love, but not as much of a workout.

Add to this the fact that in the spring I broke my foot and have been trying to stay off of it enough to let it heal, which takes running out of the equation for the moment.  I'm awaiting results from my doctor to know that it's fully healed.

Really the hardest part with the weight loss is motivation and I just have not had it lately.  Life is good, but I am in a bit of a rut I think when it comes to motiviation.  I'm hoping to work on that over the fall/winter.  We'll see how it goes.

Read More

Ugh–what a day

The original message for this post (which was going to be posted yesterday) was “What a difference a day makes”.

 

Here’s the post as I wrote it.

 

Well, even though it’s colder and everything that melted has frozen over, I’m having SUCH a better day today!

 

The good day partly started last night after a successful run through of Laramie Project.  Even though I was in a funky mood yesterday, it never ceases to amaze me how much a show and it’s rehearsals actually end up energizing me, instead of exhausting me.  I got a reasonably good night’s sleep as well.  So that’s gotta count for something. :)

 

Today I got a call from my accountant that my tax return was ready to submit, and I just needed to sign.  It turns out I’m getting back a good bit more than I had planned on.  Added to that I forgot I’m getting a stipend for a conference session I organized.

 

I also managed to resolve a server problem that has been causing me issues since early January.

 

So overall, it’s been a good day.  Let’s hope things continue moving up!

Almost as I finished typing this, I was eating my meatball sandwich and I ended up biting off more than I could chew, as it were.  I have had some times in my life when eating things that I have difficulty swallowing it.  It’s typically when eating meat (steak, chicken, scallops, hot dog), but I’ve had the issue with soft foods too (like pancakes).  At the risk of too much information, the issue is that I will swallow something and it’ll go part way down my esophagus, but won’t drop into my stomach.  It’ll sit there halfway down.  One thing to note is that this doesn’t affect my ability to breath, so I wasn’t in any immediate danger, just in pain.  Sometimes a glass of water will push it down, other times it’s just too painful to do that.  This was one of those times.  I then tried to move it “up” and out (you can figure out what I mean) and that wasn’t working either.   I managed to expel some of it, but was still having issues and I noticed I now had blood mixed in with the bile that I was throwing up.  I ended up having some of the WPI EMTs in the production I’m in drive me up to the ER down the street.  By the time I got there, the last bit of food passed, but I wanted to make sure there wasn’t an issue with the blood.  Five hours later, I got an x-ray and shortly thereafter spoke with the doctor.  Good news is that I had no damage and I was fine. 

 

At this point I need to follow up with my PCP to get a referral to a GI specialist for more testing.   I have had testing for this very issue before (endoscopy, barium swallow) but it didn’t show any issues.  Since it’s happening again, it’s time for more tests. 

 

Until I know what’s happening, I’m going to be chewing like you teach little children (chew it 40 times!) and sticking to liquid or softer foods when possible.

 

So I guess I was just a bit premature in declaring yesterday such a great day.

Read More

Need a recharge

So currently at WPI we’re in the midst of the dreaded “C Term”.  It’s the 7 week term from mid January to the end of February, and it’s also the dead of winter.  The phrase “C Term Sucks” is often stated by students.  It was true in my undergrad days and really hasn’t changed in the intervening years, even as a staff member.

 

Since the new year started, it feels like I’ve been running just to stay in place.  I’ve had several systems that just fell apart at work.  While some have been worked out, others still are partially broken.  I feel like every step forward is another step back.

 

The constant barrage of snow is also getting to me.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m a new Englander, born and bred, and I love all four seasons and the snow, but I need green right now.  I need things growing.  I need warmer weather.  I need to be able to open my windows and let the breeze in.

 

I have always counted on the fact that I’m generally a positive, upbeat person, but these days it’s feeling like I’m going through the motions a bit, that it’s just a bit harder to put the smile on.

 

I’m sure all of this will work itself out in the coming weeks, but I can honestly say I won’t be sorry to see February go.

 

:-/

Read More

Resolutions

So with the new year, come new resolutions.  These lovely things that everyone says they will do that they don’t.  The question then becomes, why do we do it?  Are we lying? Are we merely masochists who are trying to force behavior changes only to fail?  Who knows, but I’m going to try to set some realistic goals.

 

• I resolve to (schedule permitting) run a 5k this spring with my friend Di.
• I resolve to get to 185 lbs and maintain it.
• I resolve to finally upgrade my entertainment center with a 55” HD TV [Hey aren’t all resolutions self-serving to some degree :) ]
• I resolve to take the GMAT and apply for my MBA.
• I resolve to take time to visit friends I don’t see often enough.
• I resolve to post more often to my blog.

 

What do you think?  Anything else I’m forgetting?

Read More

Tomorrow

Well, I can’t say enough how much I have appreciated all the kind words I’ve received after posting my “letter”.  That it moved some of you to tears, moved me as well.

Tomorrow (Wednesday, October 20, 2010) many people will be wearing purple to honor the 7 boys who have committed suicide in recent weeks due to homophobia and bullying as well as all of those who have been and continued to be bullied.

One of my favorite songs, especially when my days are grey and lonely is “Tomorrow” from Annie; which incidentally was the first musical I ever saw.  My Mom took me when I was 8.  So as you see it’s her fault I’m gay ;)

Additionally, Matt Doyle and other Broadway stars have put together a new song for the "It Get’s Better” project.

Remember – wear purple tomorrow!

Read More

Odds and Ends

Small Campus/Large Campus

So I’ve noticed something amusing recently.  I’ve found that there are some people on campus I see almost daily.  They aren’t necessarily even people I know, but people I remember interacting with at NSO or other times, and it seems I can’t go anywhere on campus without passing them.

On the other hand, there are some people I almost never see on campus.  My neighbor Cory for instance, I think I’ve seen him on campus about 4 times in 4 years.  My cousin Adam, I’ve only seen “randomly” on NSO.  Other than that it was when I went to dinner with him and my Dad earlier this month.

It’s just interesting and amusing on such a small campus to see who I do and don’t run into over time.

Headaches

I’ve been getting headaches lately.  Not quite migraines, as I don’t really get them, but some pretty sever stress headaches.  Now after the last post about my new glasses, some might think it’d be an eyestrain issue, but that isn’t it.  I got checked out and I’m nearly 20/20. 

I had similar headaches at the same time last year, so I don’t know if it’s seasonal, the stress of the students returning, the stress of the musical, or some combination of the three.

At any rate, I’ve just got to keep rested and hydrated and hopefully it will pass.

Coming attractions

I am very excited that I’m going to see a few show’s in the near future:

• October 2: A Little Night Music with Bernadette Peters and Eileen Stritch
• November 6: Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake

Read More

One of those days…

So we’ll get back to the back-posts soon enough.  Trust me there’s more to catch you up on.

At any rate, things have been going well.  I finished the bet and did well will the weight loss – 25 lbs in 4 months.  I want to lose another 13-15 lbs and these are going to be the really hard ones as I get closer and closer to the goal.

I've been running at the indoor track at Bally’s lately and been feeling pretty good about how I’ve been doing.  My speed has been good and my distance has also been good.  Or has it….

Come to find out the track at Bally’s isn’t exactly an eighth mile track.  Apparently it’s a ninth mile track.  So I’ve been miscounting my laps by one for every “mile” I thought I ran.  That means my stellar 7:45/mile 2 mile run is only an 8:44/mile for 1.78 miles, and the 3 mile run is merely a 9:30/mile run for 2.67 miles.  And my beyond excitement single mile at 6:44 today?  Simply a 7:34/mile pace for 0.89 miles.

Now granted, those are still pretty good times all things considered, but when you think you do a lot better, it’s a bit of a let down.

Oh and that mile I did today?  I was trying to change things up and really push it on a single mile and go back to a longer distance tomorrow or Thursday.  Yeah… not the best idea.  I might have pushed the legs a bit too hard.  We’ll see tomorrow.

Leaving the gym I left to go to Trader Joe’s to pick up some of the Greek yogurt that Dani turned me on to.  It’s quite good, even plain.  I like it with cinnamon.  Well I get to Trader’s at 9:05 only to find out they close at 9:00.

Finally, I got my new laptop today at work and it ended up having a faulty touch screen.  There was a dead zone about an inch square in the upper right corner.  Now I have to wait two days for the repair depot shipping box to arrive, ship it back, wait another 5 days or so for them to repair it and then a few more days for it to come back.

So yeah… it’s been one of those days.

Read More