motivation

When I was younger, I was in fantastic shape. I played hockey three nights a week on average, plus a game on the weekends. I walked everywhere I could, just because. I ate well, I stretched . . . in other words, I did everything I could to take good care of myself.

Then I got older, got busier, and slowly but steadily allowed my once-perfect system of exercise to break down.

Though broken by occasional events like a 5K, marathon or 3 day walk, I admit and acknowledge (with no small amount of disgust and disappointment) that I am stuck in a go-nowhere pattern of rolling out of bed, working all day, sitting with my family at night, and going to sleep so I can start the whole thing over again the next day.

I recently saw some film of myself from about two weeks ago, where I'm sitting weird in a chair, and holy shit do I look like a fat bitch. I only weigh about 155, which is good and average for my height and body type, but the way I was sitting pushed what little tubby gut I have up over my belt, and made me look about thirty pounds heavier than I am. Yeah, goodtimes. Good times. "Hey, he's not smuggling hams, he's just a big fat kid!"

Anyway, this is all to introduce today's xkcd, which may just give me the motivation I need to use the chin-up bar that my wife keeps threatening to take down, clean up my diet (which is already significantly better than the average American diet, but could stand a reduction in coffee and beer) and get out to walk -- and maybe even run -- more.

Why is it that these great ideas always come up right around the beginning of Winter, instead of the middle of Spring when, you know, it would actually be nice to get outside every day? I mean, here in Los Angeles, it can get all the way down to 55 degrees -- during the day, no less -- and sometimes, it's even cloudy! It's madness. Pure madness.