Monday, March 19, 2012

New leaf, turned over and such

Hey! Why does it echo here! here. here...here.

Okay, let's get this done. Yes, been a long time and all that. If anyone still has this still in their feed I'd be surprised. If you do, thanks!

First off, I want to thank Florinda, Stacey, Cookie and Dreamybee (not all their real names) for their nice words on my last post about the passing of my step-mom, Mary. None of you have met her, and I've only met one of you in real life, so thanks. That was really nice.

So, yes, my year started of pretty bad. Sure, I told you about Mary, but two weeks before that Jenn's cousin, who was my age (!), passed away and two weeks after Mary my dad's cousin passed away. It had not been a fun start to the year. The worst part now is getting my dad through the grief. He and Mary were married over 40 years; you don't get over that in a month's time. He's been pretty down, obviously, and since he doesn't have any hobbies to keep him busy, it's been extra tough on him. I know he'll be okay, I just wish it would be sooner rather than later.

Oh, I forgot! We had a little health scare with Jenn's mom, too! Luckily, it has turned out okay, but we had a few weeks of waiting on that one, too.

Anyway, that's been the year so far. That is part of the reason not much has happened here in this space. Sure, I've been slacking off for a while, but I really haven't felt much like writing anything. See how depressing this started out? Did I want to make all the (4) people who read this more depressed during the long, cold winter months?! See, I was helping you all along.

So, on to the present, and what got me to write here. Yes, it's been a crappy start, and I need to turn things around. In a few areas.

First, health-wise. I have to get back to the running. I was at the doctor the other day and found out I had gained 10lbs since December. I tend to eat, as many people do, during times of stress and I certainly did my fair share these last few months. Some of the weight gain was due to some medicine for my own (minor) medical issues, but not all. So, yes, get more excerise. I had signed up for the Shamrock Shuffle next weekend, but it is not going to happen. I just finally got over a 3 week-long cold and can't run that far without hurting myself. My plan is to slowly get the mileage up and run something in April. I have a few ideas of races, we'll have to see what fits into my work schedule.

Also, I have to kick Dr. Pepper out of my life. Sorry, doc, I love ya, but you are no good for me. You fill  me with empty calories and only give me a few minutes of pleasure in return. Yes, I could try diet, but why? Oh, and don't even bring up Dr. Pepper Ten. I tried it. It tastes like cough syrup. Also, the marketing for it is way too stupid for me to acknowledge it's existence.

Second, well, I need to do more of this here blogging stuff. Not only here, but I owe John and Patrick over at Functional Nerds some music reviews. They have been nice enough not to send me e-mails asking me why I've been such a loser, so I can't let them down any longer than I have.

By the way, even though I haven't been here much I have been on Twitter and posting some photos on Google + and I do have a Tumblr. I don't know if I've ever mentioned Tumblr here.

Lastly, and I should have put this with the Dr. Pepper stuff, but I need to fix my diet. With the way I've been eating lately I fully expect cheese to come out of my veins the next time I do blood work. The nurse will need to switch out the needle for one of those taps they use to get sap out of maple trees. I've been eating some salads for lunch at work, but when I come home all bets are off. I did good today, though. I went to the grocery store and didn't buy any candy. Believe it or not. I don't. (But it's true!)

In short, (if you skipped to the end, that's okay, I wrap it all up here) I need to get moving, exercise, eat better and write some more stuff. Besides, all I've been doing at night is sitting in from of the TV with my iPad and posting stupid tweets. This is way more important.

Oh, It's been like 80 degrees here for about a week now. It's been great, but a little too good. You know what I mean? Either the bottom is going to fall out and we are going to be covered in snow in two weeks, or we are unwitting participants in some kind of experiment. Maybe something like the Stephen King book, Under the Dome, or The Simpsons Movie. Could go either way. I have started to build my very own Doomsday Bunker just to be ready.

4 comments:

stacey said...

Hang in there, Mike, and good luck with the running! Good news from me is I finished my first photography class and got a new lense last week. Every journey starts with one step, sometimes an actual step, and sometimes not. Still hoping to set up a photo day in the Windy City!

Florinda said...

"All I've been doing at night is sitting in from of the TV with my iPad and posting stupid tweets." I didn't realize you'd been at my house this whole time 😄. It's great to see you back here, though.

I feel bad that I play Words With Friends with you every day and didn't know about most of this stuff. Hope things start turning around for you soon!

Do you have to quit M&Ms too, or just Dr Pepper?

Cookie said...

Oh goodness!

Mike, I am so sorry that you and your family are having such a hard time. It's so hard to deal with one loss but a cluster of them is just unthinkable.

Has your father considered checking out the "senior center" or whatever it is in his area? While he might not feel like he's old enough, he might enjoy meeting new people and getting out once in a while. Just a thought from someone in the old people trenches.

Hang in there, sweetie. You're stronger than Dr. Pepper!

Mike said...

Stacey: Thanks! That's great on the class. What did you end up buying? That stuff is expensive, right?

Florinda: Thanks. I didn't talk about everything much because it's too depressing and it's not my style. I tend to keep a lot of stuff to myself. I don't know why. Jenn says it's not healthy. :)

Cookie: I don't think he has. The lake he lives on is kind of like a senior center. There are so many old people there. :) Dr. Pepper ain't shit compared to me!