39 - Humid

There's been a lot of rain and the temperature doesn't want to seem to drop. This equation means that humidity level is freakin' high. It also means that I am sweating up a storm when doing my workouts, regardless of the time of day.

First thing in the morning I start off with 10 minutes of stretching, 15 minutes of j-ropes and 8 minutes of abs, all before breakfast. Usually somewhere in the middle of the j-ropes, the sweat just starts pouring down my face and into my eyes. I think I'm getting better at "zen jumping" 'cause I can't see a thing when that happens! My workout clothes immediately go into the hamper after that.

Then, after my half-hour walk around downtown during my lunch, I'm back at my desk hugging my little fan in an attempt to cool down. Yeah, the building has air-conditioning, but the breeze from my fan seems to help me cool down faster.

And by the time I get home after work, the humidity is so high that all I have to do is look at the j-rope and I start breaking out into a sweat! When I've finished with the KFB exercises for the day, another set of workout clothes go right into the hamper. I've only got about 6 sets of outfits, which means that I have to do laundry about every two to three days just so I can have some clothes to workout in the next day.

Of course, the upside of all the humidity is that it usually makes me more thirsty than normal, so water consumption is up. I don't necessarily like the flavor plain water, so I've been making fresh brewed ice tea with some of my favorite Celestial Seasonings teas, sometimes with a touch of agave nectar. Mmmmmmm! Tasty!

Gotta go now. I've got to throw another load into the washing machine.

38 - Shadow

The first day of shadow-boxing—man, was that fun! Okay, so I probably went a little overboard screaming "hiya!" with each punch and kick, but it made for a great time that ended all too quickly! (The lowest my iPhone timer will go is 1 minute, so I do more than the 40 seconds recommended by the sheet. The time still flies by!)

Slowly I'm getting better with the pull-ups. It's taken most of the year, but I'm actually getting closer to getting my nose to the bar—at least for the first couple of reps. The rest of the time I'm able to pull myself up (without needing to put my toes on the floor!) so it doesn't look like I'm just hanging there in some sort of seizure.

Yeah, nothing too profound to post today.

36 - Pride

Today is Pride Celebration Weekend for the Gay & Lesbian community here. The starts off with a rainbow flag raising outside of city hall, followed by a parade, which ends at a cultural event in a plaza outside one of the museums. There will be lots of music, food, merchants, dancing, community groups, and—because the weather will be hot—lots of shirtless guys! (Some will definitely be good looking and then there's the other who really should put their shirts back on.)


So, with all the fun and festivities going on in the city, what am I doing sitting at home?

It's called plumbing issues. The sewer drain is backing up into the cellar. Luckily we caught it pretty early so it was just a small puddle, but that meant we couldn't run any water until it got fixed. It also meant that someone had to stay home to wait for the plumber to arrive.

Today was going to be a pretty busy day beyond Pride. We also have a graduation party to attend but it's a bit of a distance away. I knew I was going to have somehow squeeze KFB in there somewhere this day—and amazingly enough, the universe provided the answer.

Off I ran with the day's new "reduced time" KFB exercises. It was a breeze to go through! I think I must have gotten use to the longer routine because it felt like it went too quick. Well, I only had time to kill, so I ran through the targeted punches and kicks from last week again.

The plumber eventually arrived around 1pm. A relatively quick roto-rooting later and the problem cleared up. Soon I'll be on my way to Pride (after a quick shower). I'm going to walk all the way there—it's about 3 miles down the hill and into the city in 90 degree weather. I'm prepared for it, though. I've got my water bottle and sunscreen lotion sitting by the door.

Later dudes!

28 - Indulgence

Every Friday, a group of my friends gather together at someone's house to watch movies—and eat. Pretty much it's a potluck dinner anytime we socialize with each other. Sometimes we seem to non-verbally coordinate very well and have a healthful spread fit for a king. Other times it's not so good as it is desserts as far as the eye can see. Tonight was a mostly healthy night.

My indulgence really didn't take on the typical quality of craving something sweet or salty—items that are usually associated with junk food. Strangely enough, I had the desire for eating more than my 140 grams of veggies for dinner.

Ever since I went vegetarian, my friends have been pretty good about bring some sort of veggie dish for me. Over the past few months, the number of vegetarian items have increased as many of them have been on a health kick—going to the YMCA or the gym. I don't know if my success from PCP had anything to do with their motivation, but I like to think it did.

The way the spread was set-up, we didn't have to walk very far to grab something to eat while the movie was playing. In fact, we didn't need to walk at all. We literally covered this rather large coffee table with food which we then proceeded to sit around. Although some items did need to be eaten off plates, most were pretty much of the finger-food variety.

The evil about this kind of grazing is that a person can have absolutely no idea how much food they have put into their system. The movie is playing, people are talking and having a good time, and you've only eaten one carrot stick—or at least you think that's all you've eaten.

I've shrunk a number of sizes since last summer and I'm a bit more conscious about what I'm eating. I allowed my self a little extra helping of pasta salad; noshed on roasted parsnips topped with cheddar cheese, sour cream, and chives; took a bit more of the artichoke dip; and hit the point where I could say that I was 100 percent full.

Meanwhile, I'm watching everyone else eat. And eat. And eat. And eat some more. I'm not sure if their cognizant of how much food is going into their bodies, but I am. Granted, there were a lot of distractions going on with veritable smorgasbord before them that required no energy whatsoever to retrieve. It was the total opposite of "mindful consumption" which could be best described as "mindless grazing".

Unfortunately, my partner and I couldn't stay there much later than 10pm. We had a bit of a walk ahead of us (yes, we hoofed it to our friend's house) and I wanted to be home early enough so I could get some sleep before needing to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at work the next morning. (Yay Saturday work schedules.) Plus I wanted to hit the farmer's market for my weekly supply of veggies before I needed to clock in.

And now it's time for me to punch out. Goodnight all!

27 - Cheater

I cheated and looked ahead. Tomorrow is indulgence day. I'm not looking forward to it. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I haven't been the paradigm of diet perfection the past few weeks. This was so unlike PCP-me who remained vigilant and faithful throughout the entire program. KFB-me seems to be a cheater. Oh, it's never anything big or horrendous—just little items like a cookie here or a bit of extra carb there.

Because of those slip-ups, I don't feel I deserve to have an indulgence day. That's suppose to be a treat for being good, not for slackers like me. But I know that I'm going to allow myself to indulge anyway. That's pretty sad.

26 - Coexist

There's another blog that I read, almost on a daily basis, called Break the Illusion. It's written by this young gay guy who calls himself Davey Wavey. Most of the time his posts are very "zen spiritual" (if that's a term), but then there will be entries that are very frank and blunt about sex and sexuality. In his video entries he is almost never without a smile and almost always without a shirt—and pants. (It helps that he pretty damn hot!)

In one of his more recent entries, Davey talks about coexisting with others. (Be forewarned before clicking on the link—the second half of that entry talks about his trip to Chinatown in New York City and includes a picture of carved phallic items being sold in a store there.)

Although his post is quite interesting, what intrigued me more were a number of the comments that turned into mini-discussions/arguments. Sometimes those commentators get real nasty and there are moments when I wonder why the heck they bother reading Davey's blog when all they do is insult him. I do have to give it up to the boy, though—regardless of how vehement people get, he always seems to keep that smile going. I'm not sure I could do that.

Anyway, I don't know how or why, but my mind latched onto the conundrum of coexistence with others and the whole concept has been bouncing around in my brain—even during my meditations. ("Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Oh, here comes that coexistence thought. Wave to the nice subject as it goes by kids. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Looks like coexistence is passing through again. Everyone get out of the street! There it goes again. Breathe out. Breathe in....")

In the post, Davey says: "But at the end of the day, we don’t all need to be on the same page; we don’t all need to be friends. But we do need to live together. We need to coexist. And as such, I think it makes sense to have a healthy appreciate for opinions, ideas, cultures and beliefs that aren’t our own (with the exception of racism, sexism and all the other -isms that minimize others)."

Here was the first place my brain paused. Did his statement just make sense? On one hand he says that we need to appreciate other opinions and beliefs and yet he excludes "-isms that minimize others". That isn't coexisting with everyone because he's just blocked anyone who believes in an -ism.

Now, as one commentator responded: "In Iran (and other places I'm sure), they hang teenagers for being gay ... I don't need to live with these people or coexist with them. I need to see them disappear." Obviously this person doesn't believe that people of different opinions can coexist together. He seems to feel that the only way to live together is to get rid of everyone who doesn't fit in his ideals.

A responder to that comment makes a point: "If you want people to accept your views and beliefs I feel it’s critical to set the example and respect theirs, whether or not you agree with them. I think it’s a crime against humanity to kill someone for choosing to be whatever they will be but if our reaction to that is crushing their system and replacing it with our own we are no better than they are."

It was immediately argued by someone else: "I should respect the views of murderers, rapists and child molesters? If someone can’t tell good from evil, well then I just feel sorry for them. And if they can’t stand up to evil when they see it, they’re just cowards."

To which the responder adds: "I understand that some of these behaviours are harmful while others aren’t. We have laws to deal with behaviours that are harmful. But hatred towards these people isn’t helpful in the least. Without some compassion we will never understand why people act as they do and believe as they do."

The argument continued with: "...there ARE evil people out there. Rational, sane people recognize the difference between evil deeds and differences of opinion. Believing people deserve to die because they are gay is an opinion, killing them because they are gay is an evil deed. That is a line that sane, rational people do not cross." This person at least makes the distinction between beliefs and actions, which is fairly valid point.

But I think this person summed up the conundrum best: "The inherent paradox of suggesting people should allow different viewpoints to “coexist” or suggesting that all beliefs are o.k. and valid for people to have is that eventually there will be beliefs that directly oppose *that* idea. There are some belief systems and viewpoints that specifically say one should convert others to yours, or that people who don’t see the world/believe like you are bad. . ."

For a while, this puzzle has been bouncing around in my head. There are people out there who say that this world would be a better place if everyone could just learn to live together, and yet what they really mean is that the world would be a better place if everyone believes just like me. Some say that we could live in harmony if only we got rid of the "evil" people—but who gets to dictate the definition of evil? Is it truly possible for people to coexist without putting any qualifiers or conditions on each other in order to have a harmonious relationship?

Somewhere along the line, the different fragments of thought that had been swimming in my gray matter began to fall into place. I get it—but I can't seem to express what's in my head. It's like trying to explain to a van Gogh painting to a blind person or a Beethoven symphony to someone who is hearing impaired. It's more than just the colors or the notes. There's an experiential quality to them that just can't be put into words.

But it's not enough to just know. One has to live it, incorporate it into their actions—their being. The hard part is over, and yet the hard part hasn't even begun.

25 - Weak

This past weekend is still affecting me. Although time seems to have returned to a normal pace, my stamina hasn't. I was doing alright during the jump rope and Strength section of the workout sheet, and I was still going strong at the beginning of the Agility section—that is, until I encountered the Kicks. My legs started getting more and more tired, I began sweating up a storm, and my form eventually went to hell. I think I was pretty much dead by that point. Thankfully I only had the Flexibility exercises to go. Hopefully the energy levels will return tomorrow.