Another inspiring "loser"

I have been a fan of The Biggest Loser since it started. Beyond the game play, I find the journey and the stories inspiring. Holly has become a fan as well the last few seasons, so we are both on the couch Tuesday evenings to see how the contestants do each week. The recent season just ended, including the marathon episode where one of the women finished in 4:38. The new season is only a few weeks away, but in the meantime I thought I'd pass along a video.

The video chronicles the journey of an ordinary guy who loses 120 pounds and ends up becoming a runner and triathlete. He has been unhappy for some time, and something finally clicks inside to make him lose the weight. I haven't seen Tim recently to see if he has been successful in his own journey, but that is only because I have been lax at getting to the gym to swim.

YouTube link

Round two

I've printed out a copy of the first draft of my novel. Armed with a highlighter, pen and a strong cup of coffee, it is time to read it and rip it apart. Give me strength.

Early Christmas present

My Mom has been saving all of these empty coffee bags for me. Why? Because each one is worth a free cup of coffee at Starbucks. So the next 12 cups are on Mom.

Vacations are no time for rest

It has been a whirlwind so far. My flight up was delayed for about two hours, but there haven't been many pauses since. I have been able to see a bunch of friends so far, and I haven't been to bed before 2:30am the last three days. I also haven't slept in the same place twice, so it is that much more chaotic.

Last night was another great Christmas tradition. One of the couples in our circle has hosted a Christmas party/sleepover for the last ten years or so. Most of us met when we worked together at a restaurant over 15 years ago, and we have stayed close friends long after we stopped carrying drinks to tables. The party goes into the wee hours, and people are encouraged to stay the night, usually curled up in a sleeping bag wherever they can find floorspace. There are kids now, so things are a little tamer these days, but not by much. The morning after there is lots of coffee and bacon, and we hang out into the afternoon enjoying each other's company at a less frenetic pace.

I look forward to this party each year, but this Christmas it was that much more special to see everyone now that I am down in California. I am exhausted, but wouldn't change a minute so far.

But tonight, we sleep!

Christmas traditions

Christmas has always been my favorite time of year, but the meaning has changed over the years.

Of course as a kid you counted down the days until Christmas morning, and it seemed to take forever. You folded pages over in the Sears catalog (dating myself) and wrote everything down so you could pass on your wishes to Santa. I can remember sneaking candy canes off the tree every day. I would start with the ones in the back, thinking that I was so clever, but of course nobody was fooled when there were none remaining by Christmas morning. And of course there is that moment when the image of Santa changes in a kid's mind. I still remember seeing a present under my parents bed that later showed up with a tag from Santa. I don't think I have snooped for a present since.

As an adult, the month of December seems to fly by. As the schedule filled up more and more each year, it was harder to ease into the holiday, and a little more of the magic dissipated. It was still a wonderful day, but it took on the sense of deadline to be met rather than the pinnacle of a wonderful journey.

But in the past I did my best to stay in the moment and actually enjoyed shopping for people. I would put in my favorite Christmas CD and that would be the signal that the season had begun. The first time to the mall, I would wander around looking for ideas and inspiration. I would spend several hours that first day and buy absolutely nothing. And I loved it.

The past couple of years my family has skipped exchanging gifts. It was partly the economy and also realizing that we already had so much stuff. Christmas morning is now entirely about time spent with each other, and it is wonderful. It was never about the gifts, but at the same time, it does feel a little odd not to have that not part of the season. I think it is better this way, it is just different.

A friend recently posted something on Facebook. A nine year relationship has ended recently, and she wondered if a Christmas tree would make her happy or sad. I understand completely. Just shopping for and putting up a tree by yourself, when in the past there has been someone with you is difficult. And then you take out the ornaments and other decorations that chronicle your life, and the meaning is totally different. I had not had to face that challenge myself yet. Last year we sold the house November 30th and I was at my parent's house in December. This year I was in San Diego while trees are going up and I will be back at my parent's for Christmas morning.

But yesterday, I was down at the storage unit going through our Christmas stuff. I had offered to send down J's personal and childhood ornaments this year. I was a task that we had both put off, and of course it was difficult to go through our things once again. After seven or eight years, your tree tells a story, and it was what Christmas had come to mean. But like the other things I've mentioned, the meaning has changed.

Since I was going to be in someone else's house for Christmas again, I was going to have a pass on the decision of whether or not to put up a tree. But after going through most difficult part of opening up the boxes, I decided "what the heck" and grabbed a few of my own ornaments. My friends Holly and Kristy had given me some ornaments before leaving San Diego, and I had brought them up with me as well. I bought a small Christmas shrub at Home Depot, put in that favorite CD that I hadn't played yet, and decorated my own little Charlie Brown tree.

It is a little different each year, but it is still Christmas. And there is still some magic left.

Good stuff

A couple of good posts over at 3six5posterous.

Teasers:

After a moment, we each started to do the same: tossing small rocks at the crashing waves, a tiny act of futile rebellion against nature.

And somehow, spontaneously, we started labeling each rock with all the things that we wanted to let go.

“Being afraid” – plunk.

“Bossing my little brother” – plunk.

“Never feeling good enough” – plunk.

“Yelling at mommy” – plunk.

“Not being honest about my feelings” – plunk.

by Jason Oke

---

Despite the exhaustion that accompanies the odd hour, there is a beautiful peacefulness in the stillness of our house. The sounds of sleep make their way down the hall. Snoring from three separate bedrooms -- one husband, two sons -- and the occasional giggle from a dream worth dreaming. I listen to their noises as I plug in our Christmas tree and sit quietly in its light. I decide not to turn on the computer and work. I sit, silent.

I breathe. I think. I relax. I wiggle my toes and smile. I nestle into the corner of the couch, pulling the soft green blanket around me. Nothing Earth-shattering comes to mind. I do not solve world hunger. I do not magically feel at ease with everything in my life. I simply sit. It feels fantastic.

by Jenna Hatfield

Travelling companion

When I left Seattle to move down to San Diego, my friends sent me off in style. In addition to the parties, they gave me a nice photo album full of pictures of their families and our adventures together. Two friends also gave me a travelling companion at a later party. Not a travelling gnome, but rather a travelling leprechaun.

This is his story.



YouTube link

Christmas with friends

I am headed home for the holidays. My flight takes off tomorrow, and I am really looking forward to seeing my family and Washington friends, and spending Christmas back home.

But at the same time, it feels odd to be leaving my current home halfway through the season. My wonderful friends and roomies hosted an early Christmas dinner for me and another friend. It was really wonderful and took a bit of the sting out of leaving tomorrow.

At one point during dinner, we shared some favorite Christmas stories. One of my favorite Christmas memories was when I first moved out on my own. A buddy and I shared an apartment and also worked together at McDonald's. We were making about $4 an hour and living off of Top Ramen and cheeseburgers from work. Affording Christmas was not in the cards.

Mike and I were closing the restaurant together two days before Christmas. When we got back to the apartment, there was a decorated tree in our living room. Our girlfriends had sweet-talked a guy at one of the tree lots into giving them the tree for a couple of bucks. They snuck the tree in and decorated it with homemade things and ornaments swiped from their own family trees. It was such a thoughtful thing to do and great surprise for us both.

For most of us, Christmas is all about family, and I am one of the luckiest in that respect. I have an amazing immediate and extended family, and there will be some 40 people gathered under one roof Christmas evening. But spending the Christmas season with friends is pretty special too, and I am clearly blessed in that respect as well.

Thank you dear friends and Merry Christmas.

That reminds me of a joke

"So I am at the Goose, and a duck walks in..."

Sounds like the start of a joke, but it actually happened. There is a pub in Bellevue called the Goose, and we went there a few times after work for a beer and a game of darts. One night, a duck walks in the front door and wandered around for about five minutes before heading back outside. This was years ago, and if it had happened today everyone would have whipped out their phones to capture it on video.

So today, I am at the Upstart Crow and a pigeon walks in.

The Upstart Crow is this great bookstore/coffee shop in the Seaport Village area of San Diego. I was there with a cup of coffee finishing the first draft of my novel when a pigeon walked in. It was not there long enough to pose for a picture, but I have a feeling that this is not all that unusual. While I was sitting there, several smaller birds (finches?) flew in looking for crumbs. They also did not sit still for long, but they looked like they were plenty comfortable being inside.

At the place I had lunch earlier, there was a sign on the deck asking people not to feed the birds. I guess there needs to be signs on the tables inside as well. Not that the Upstart Crow needs to get any cooler, but having birds perched on chairs and bookshelves does give it that extra little something.

"Winter" in San Diego

I suppose winter doesn't technically start until the 21st or so, but it feels like winter should start shortly after Thanksgiving. Of course back in Washington, snow and cold temperatures showed up before Thanksgiving, so they are ahead of the game this year.

It is a little different down here. The mornings are definitely cooler, but we are still seeing temperatures in the 70's. According to the national weather service, there have only been 9 days where the temperature was below freezing in San Diego since 1872, so it doesn't look like I will be seeing winter weather anytime soon.

It looks like they do experience some stormy weather however, as each year they create these sand berms to protect against flooding. It has definitely been more windy down by the beach on my weekend runs. I happened to take my camera along with me on my run today and this is what they look like.

It is odd to be thinking about Christmas when it is so warm. The calendar says it is only two weeks away, but that can't be right. Matt and Holly did put up a wonderful tree a few days ago, and we watched "It's a Wonderful Life" this evening, but it still feels off. Like Christmas in July.

But the city is trying their best to celebrate the season. Someone has "planted" this Christmas tree in the sand at Ocean Beach, and Santa was actually visiting today.

But a Christmas tree on a beach, next to a palm tree? Well, they aren't trying to fool anyone into believing they're in a winter wonderland. Even the lamp post decorations let you know where you are.

Working on the farm

So I'm digging holes and pouring concrete in December, but that really isn't all that unusual. I built decks for about seven years in Seattle, and in good years we had work into December.

No, the unusual part is that it is 75 degrees and I am surrounded by Alpacas.

We are working in a town east of us, and the homeowner raises Alpacas. He actually has a webcam so you could look at them online, but it was mounted to the patio cover we tore down. He sheers off their coats for the fiber, but I get the feeling that they are mostly kept for pets. We moved all the dirt we dug up into their pen, and each time we went in they would walk over to check us out. They are pretty curious creatures and I have to say kinda cute.

The one cool thing about working outside in December - quitting time comes early. You can't go much past sunset.

Apple Cup 2010

Today is the 103rd Apple Cup, the annual football game between the University of Washington Huskies and the Washington State Cougars. Most college teams have a natural or created rival, and the game between them is usually the last of the season. The Apple Cup is our rival game and inspires lots of smack talk and jokes leading up to the game (Q: How do you keep Cougars out of your yard? A: Put up goalposts.) Even in years where neither team is very good (most of the last decade), everyone gears up for the annual grudge match for state bragging rights.

I have not been able to see many Husky games this year. They haven't been good enough to get national attention, and of course I am outside the local broadcasting area. I have had to "watch" most games online, and it is a poor substitute. This is what it looks like:



Kind of reminds me of the old vibrating football games



But the Apple Cup is being broadcast on Versus this year, which is one of the only channels we get beyond the local stations. My butt will be on the couch from 4pm on, cheering on the purple and gold. There is actually a little more at stake this year, because if the Huskies win, they should be headed to a bowl game for the first time since 2002.

GO DAWGS!!

Quote of the day

Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much.

~Oscar Wilde

There's a pill for that

There seems to be a quick-fix pill for nearly every problem these days. "Don't put down that bacon double cheeseburger, just take this pill and you will lose weight!" I assume that most of the American public have become skeptical of these miracle pills by now, but someone is clearly buying them.

I read about another one in the Seattle Times this morning. And they finally found one that made me go look it up - the Wake Up On Time Pill. I have mentioned repeatedly that sleep is an issue for me. Insomnia is frustrating enough, but more demoralizing problem is waking up every day tired. I never wake up thinking, "that was enough sleep". Doesn't matter if I slept seven, eight, nine or ten hours; I wake up tired, often exhausted.

From the article: (emphasis mine)

Wake Up On Time, a pill containing all natural ingredients in a delay-release coating. The pill is designed to boost energy levels and is made up of a blend of B vitamins, amino acids, guarana seed extract and Siberian ginseng...If taken at bedtime, the natural coating allows the ingredients to dissolve over seven to eight hours, and "wake you up when the alarm clock rings," Beggan said.

"It's more than a vitamin, it's time in a bottle because instead of hitting the snooze button over and over again, it allows you to bounce out of bed ready to go," Beggan said. "The product helps you to effortlessly wake right up in the morning feeling alert, happy, and ready for anything your demanding schedule throws at you."

The article continues:

The guarana seed extract is probably what gives the supplement its kick, since it has a high concentration of caffeine, said Louis E. Teichholz, chief and medical director of cardiac services and chief, division of complementary medicine program at Hackensack University Medical Center.

"I can't say whether it works or doesn't work, but if it does, it's probably from the guarana," Teichholz said. "If you're going to use it, I would recommend doing so with caution because the caffeine may cause higher blood pressure in people who already have high blood pressure and it could cause palpitations."

So it is basically a time released cup of coffee along with up to 1,667% of the recommended dose of B vitamins. I went to the site anyway to check it out, and found that they not only sell pills to help you wake up on time, but also:

• Stay Up All Day
• Sleep Tight All Night
• Light'n Up
• Loosen Up (not to be confused with Royal Flush)
• Don't Forget
• MenoPAUSE Chill Pills
• Stress FREE
• Wrinkle Remedy
• Go Away Gray
• As well as the generic Get Healthy

One stop shopping for miracle cures! It think I will stick with coffee. And at $1.50 a dose, I can get a good cup of coffee at Starbucks for less.

Now is the time on Sprockets when we dance!

30 days, 50,000 words, first draft of novel (nearly) finished.

I crossed the first finish line sometime just before noon today. In typical procrastinator fashion, there was some last minute cramming before the final. I wrote over 16,000 words over the last five days to get it done on time (probably no coincidence that the word 'coffee' shows up 92 times in the book).  After my five day break in Arizona, I was doing a decent job at erasing the deficit and getting back on track. But then around the 33,000 word count, I stalled again. I was approaching the big scene in the book and I still hadn't figured out exactly what it was going to be.

When I started this novel, I basically had one scene and an opening line. That was it. Sure there were some vague ideas, but most of what ended up on the paper (screen) was created on the fly. As someone who tends to plan rather meticulously, this was a leap of faith. I took inspiration from the book "On Writing" by Stephen King (excellent book by the way). He mentioned that several of his books have been started with just one scene in mind, and that the story developed as he wrote. I don't know if I would do this again without at least a little outlining, but I think it was the perfect way to approach it for the first time. As I wrote, the story seemed to follow a natural path.

However, it certainly did not "write itself" as I have seen some describe the process. It was a struggle for 95% of the time, but there would be enough flashes of "This feels like the next logical step" to keep me moving forward.

Part of the goal of National Novel Writing Month is to give yourself a difficult enough of a deadline that you have to leave your inner critic and editor behind. There simply isn't enough time to make it perfect, so you're supposed to just get everything down on paper as fast as you can. Quantity over quality for now, and you can clean it up later.

I'd like to say that I was able to lock away my editor, but I was only partially successful. I wrote in fits and starts, struggled over lines, and hit the backspace button far too often. My one bit of success is that I have not gone back to read what I have written so far. Each day I would read the last couple of paragraphs to see where I left off, but I wouldn't go back any farther to do any corrections. So I only vaguely remember what I wrote a month ago.

The good news/bad news? I'm not done. When I was stalled at 33,000 words, I didn't think I had enough left to say to make it to the 50,000 word mark. But the turning point ended up being longer than expected, so I have a few more chapters to go until I reach "The End". I am hoping to get this done within the week.

The original plan was to walk away until the new year, but I may print it out and start the editing process when I am back home for Christmas. I am both excited and scared to read what I have written. I have a feeling the editing process will be a little painful, but I am also hoping to find some good bits among the rubble. There is a lot of work to be done, but hopefully I will end up with something I would like someone else to read. If not, I'm still glad I wrote it.

So I'd like to thank the academy...actually I would like to thank my friend Sean. He was the one who encouraged me to do this, and I am glad that he gave me the push. His motto for NaNoWriMo is "You don't have to like it, you just have to do it."

Well I did it. I didn't always like it, but I love that I did it.