okay, there's one good thing about getting up early to run before work.
Showing posts with label operation infinite pulchritude. Show all posts
Showing posts with label operation infinite pulchritude. Show all posts
05.08.09
101 in 1001 {II}: 088 meet with a personal trainer [completed 05.07.09]
i have a hu-uge fitness crush on the biggest loser's jillian, the gravelly, motorcycle-jacketed trainer who makes contestants cry and puke and carry her around the gym on their backs. i've e-mailed with her a few times for work and always stop just short of telling her she's so cool.* she's what i imagine my ideal trainer would be: a slightly sadistic older sister who quit the soccer team to join a girl gang. bring the pain, fitness lady!
yesterday's session brought pain, to be sure, but it was sneaky pain. my actual trainer, a very pretty runner named noelle, informed me that 21.3% was an okay body fat percentage,** but that to get down to the excellent range i would have to lose twelve pounds. cold, noelle! one hires a personal trainer to be told these things, though: i get that. she told me that my eating habits sounded fine, took me through an hour of plyometric exercises that clued us in to where that pesky 21.3% must be (i have the abdominal muscles of a newborn kitten), and folded me up like a wonton for a while (assisted stretching: so much better than crappy old massages! i feel a magazine article about this welling up in me). i didn't feel punished, but i was coming around to the idea of having a workout buddy who tells me what to do: why not?
because, alas, such a buddy costs $500 for six sessions. i told noelle that joe and i would talk it over this weekend, but i'm pretty obviously going to have to learn to turn into a wonton on my own. my consolation, i suppose, is that while my first-one's-free hour is long gone, the civil unrest in my lower back feels like it'll be around until at least next week.
101 in 1001 {II}: 088 meet with a personal trainer [completed 05.07.09]
i have a hu-uge fitness crush on the biggest loser's jillian, the gravelly, motorcycle-jacketed trainer who makes contestants cry and puke and carry her around the gym on their backs. i've e-mailed with her a few times for work and always stop just short of telling her she's so cool.* she's what i imagine my ideal trainer would be: a slightly sadistic older sister who quit the soccer team to join a girl gang. bring the pain, fitness lady!
yesterday's session brought pain, to be sure, but it was sneaky pain. my actual trainer, a very pretty runner named noelle, informed me that 21.3% was an okay body fat percentage,** but that to get down to the excellent range i would have to lose twelve pounds. cold, noelle! one hires a personal trainer to be told these things, though: i get that. she told me that my eating habits sounded fine, took me through an hour of plyometric exercises that clued us in to where that pesky 21.3% must be (i have the abdominal muscles of a newborn kitten), and folded me up like a wonton for a while (assisted stretching: so much better than crappy old massages! i feel a magazine article about this welling up in me). i didn't feel punished, but i was coming around to the idea of having a workout buddy who tells me what to do: why not?
because, alas, such a buddy costs $500 for six sessions. i told noelle that joe and i would talk it over this weekend, but i'm pretty obviously going to have to learn to turn into a wonton on my own. my consolation, i suppose, is that while my first-one's-free hour is long gone, the civil unrest in my lower back feels like it'll be around until at least next week.
*it's now been almost two years since i last said something accidentally creepy to a celebrity! progress, right?
**it shocked me, actually: i've always figured i was at least 80% candy.
:: 101 in 1001: the revenge ::
start date: 18 february 2009
end date: 16 november 2011
items completed: 043
items remaining: 058
items completed have bracketed numbers; i'll alter stats and supply completion details as appropriate. without further ado and in no particular order, once again...
the list
[001] visit iceland [see 04.15.11]
002 write (publish) another mcsweeney’s list
003 donate platelets at least 12 times [05/12 as of 12.27.10]
[004] work out at a gym at least 200 times [completed 04.30.11]
005 take a foreign language class
006 attend shabbat service at a synagogue
007 reach a balance of at least $5000 in original ‘101 in 1001’ savings account
[008] see elvis costello in concert [see 06.11.09]
[009] visit an acupuncturist [see 07.20.11]
[010] buy an apartment [see 10.18.09]
[011] contribute work to a gallery show [see 09.01.10]
[012] watch duck soup [see 07.17.10]
013 attend mass at saint patrick’s cathedral
014 tour an abandoned subway tunnel
015 frame my college diploma
016 go birdwatching
[017] make a blurb-ish photo book [completed 12.20.09]
018 have 3 photos featured on flickr’s explore page
019 print, mat, and frame one of my photos
[020] take another class at the astor center [completed 04.29.09]
[021] visit canada [see 10.26.10, 10.28.10, 11.04.10]
[022] walk across the brooklyn bridge [completed 03.22.09; see photo set]
023 have pizza at grimaldi’s
[024] get another tattoo [see 04.19.11]
025 take a martial arts class
026 complete and frame another needlepoint project
[027] invent a bitchin’ cupcake recipe [see 06.06.09]
028 attempt a gozer costume for halloween
029 visit the new york city tenement museum
[030] buy a bikini (and wear it in public) [completed 04.06.10]
[031] go to an MLS game [see 07.17.09]
032 go to the opera
[033] make pickles from scratch [see 04.27.09]
034 take an etsy labs class
035 write (publish) three ‘letters to the editor’
[036] buy a pair of hot shit designer shoes [see 05.03.09]
037 volunteer at a soup kitchen
[038] cook with 12 ingredients I’ve never used before [see 07.05.11]
039 run 8 miles in less than an hour [distance/hr to date: 6.99 mi]
040 make a blanket
[041] get a bikini wax [see 11.15.11]
042 read gravity’s rainbow (thomas pynchon)
043 enter a cooking or baking contest
044 get my name printed in the new york times
045 get a shout-out at design*sponge
046 score at least 3 new bylines
047 learn to identify at least 12 constellations
048 donate whole blood at least 12 times [06/12 as of 11.08.10]
049 watch three kubrick films i haven't seen
[050] read the big sleep (raymond chandler)
[051] read neuromancer (william gibson)
052 visit at least 3 cemeteries in the new york area
053 attend tea ceremony or a cooking lesson at cha-an in the east village
[054] have dinner at sripraphai in queens [see 04.13.09]
[055] subscribe to another literary magazine [granta, subscribed 10.22.09]
056 write a fan letter
057 go skydiving
058 dip my toe in the atlantic and pacific oceans on the same day
059 see the northern lights
060 take a class at mud, sweat & tears
[061] make a terrarium [see 10.10.11]
063 watch a video at the paley center for media
[064] visit the russian tea room [see 11.16.09]
[065] have a drink at a sneaky-sneaky hipster bar [completed 11.06.09]
[066] take a photo every day for a year [see 08.06.10; photos here]
067 visit the new york botanical garden
068 go without restaurant meals and takeout for a month
069 drink nothing but water for a fortnight
070 sell something on etsy
071 visit (non-tijuana) mexico
072 throw a round nine
073 take a copyediting class
074 see david bowie in concert
[075] read a john updike novel [rabbit, run]
[076] follow an amy’s bread recipe [see 02.20.09]
[077] make ramen or pho from scratch [see 02.23.09]
078 volunteer at an animal shelter
[079] see david beckham play soccer [see 07.17.09]
[080] see a show at joe’s pub [see 11.06.11]
081 go to coney island
082 join a new CSA
083 spend the night in a lodge
084 go to the bronx zoo
[085] buy and start using vacuum storage bags [completed 03.07.09]
086 read 3 library books
[087] raise my credit score [completed 07.28.09]
[088] meet with a personal trainer [see 05.08.09]
[089] attend a screening at the tribeca film festival [see 04.29.10]
090 buy a laptop
[091] make granola [see 02.27.09]
[092] watch taxi driver [see 12.16.10]
[093] watch raging bull
094 submit at least 3 nonfiction pieces for publication
095 take trapeze lessons
[096] ride the subway on staten island [see 11.18.11]
[097] attend an event at the prospect park bandshell [see 07.28.10]
098 see a summer movie at bryant park
[099] eat at a top chef alum’s restaurant [completed 05.17.10]
[100] make a linoleum block print [completed 03.30.09; see 03.31.09]
101 make a magnetic chalkboard
The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).
Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as new year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.
start date: 18 february 2009
end date: 16 november 2011
items completed: 043
items remaining: 058
items completed have bracketed numbers; i'll alter stats and supply completion details as appropriate. without further ado and in no particular order, once again...
the list
[001] visit iceland [see 04.15.11]
002 write (publish) another mcsweeney’s list
003 donate platelets at least 12 times [05/12 as of 12.27.10]
[004] work out at a gym at least 200 times [completed 04.30.11]
005 take a foreign language class
006 attend shabbat service at a synagogue
007 reach a balance of at least $5000 in original ‘101 in 1001’ savings account
[008] see elvis costello in concert [see 06.11.09]
[009] visit an acupuncturist [see 07.20.11]
[010] buy an apartment [see 10.18.09]
[011] contribute work to a gallery show [see 09.01.10]
[012] watch duck soup [see 07.17.10]
013 attend mass at saint patrick’s cathedral
014 tour an abandoned subway tunnel
015 frame my college diploma
016 go birdwatching
[017] make a blurb-ish photo book [completed 12.20.09]
018 have 3 photos featured on flickr’s explore page
019 print, mat, and frame one of my photos
[020] take another class at the astor center [completed 04.29.09]
[021] visit canada [see 10.26.10, 10.28.10, 11.04.10]
[022] walk across the brooklyn bridge [completed 03.22.09; see photo set]
023 have pizza at grimaldi’s
[024] get another tattoo [see 04.19.11]
025 take a martial arts class
026 complete and frame another needlepoint project
[027] invent a bitchin’ cupcake recipe [see 06.06.09]
028 attempt a gozer costume for halloween
029 visit the new york city tenement museum
[030] buy a bikini (and wear it in public) [completed 04.06.10]
[031] go to an MLS game [see 07.17.09]
032 go to the opera
[033] make pickles from scratch [see 04.27.09]
034 take an etsy labs class
035 write (publish) three ‘letters to the editor’
[036] buy a pair of hot shit designer shoes [see 05.03.09]
037 volunteer at a soup kitchen
[038] cook with 12 ingredients I’ve never used before [see 07.05.11]
039 run 8 miles in less than an hour [distance/hr to date: 6.99 mi]
040 make a blanket
[041] get a bikini wax [see 11.15.11]
042 read gravity’s rainbow (thomas pynchon)
043 enter a cooking or baking contest
044 get my name printed in the new york times
045 get a shout-out at design*sponge
046 score at least 3 new bylines
047 learn to identify at least 12 constellations
048 donate whole blood at least 12 times [06/12 as of 11.08.10]
049 watch three kubrick films i haven't seen
[050] read the big sleep (raymond chandler)
[051] read neuromancer (william gibson)
052 visit at least 3 cemeteries in the new york area
053 attend tea ceremony or a cooking lesson at cha-an in the east village
[054] have dinner at sripraphai in queens [see 04.13.09]
[055] subscribe to another literary magazine [granta, subscribed 10.22.09]
056 write a fan letter
057 go skydiving
058 dip my toe in the atlantic and pacific oceans on the same day
059 see the northern lights
060 take a class at mud, sweat & tears
[061] make a terrarium [see 10.10.11]
063 watch a video at the paley center for media
[064] visit the russian tea room [see 11.16.09]
[065] have a drink at a sneaky-sneaky hipster bar [completed 11.06.09]
[066] take a photo every day for a year [see 08.06.10; photos here]
067 visit the new york botanical garden
068 go without restaurant meals and takeout for a month
069 drink nothing but water for a fortnight
070 sell something on etsy
071 visit (non-tijuana) mexico
072 throw a round nine
073 take a copyediting class
074 see david bowie in concert
[075] read a john updike novel [rabbit, run]
[076] follow an amy’s bread recipe [see 02.20.09]
[077] make ramen or pho from scratch [see 02.23.09]
078 volunteer at an animal shelter
[079] see david beckham play soccer [see 07.17.09]
[080] see a show at joe’s pub [see 11.06.11]
081 go to coney island
082 join a new CSA
083 spend the night in a lodge
084 go to the bronx zoo
[085] buy and start using vacuum storage bags [completed 03.07.09]
086 read 3 library books
[087] raise my credit score [completed 07.28.09]
[088] meet with a personal trainer [see 05.08.09]
[089] attend a screening at the tribeca film festival [see 04.29.10]
090 buy a laptop
[091] make granola [see 02.27.09]
[092] watch taxi driver [see 12.16.10]
[093] watch raging bull
094 submit at least 3 nonfiction pieces for publication
095 take trapeze lessons
[096] ride the subway on staten island [see 11.18.11]
[097] attend an event at the prospect park bandshell [see 07.28.10]
098 see a summer movie at bryant park
[099] eat at a top chef alum’s restaurant [completed 05.17.10]
[100] make a linoleum block print [completed 03.30.09; see 03.31.09]
101 make a magnetic chalkboard
02.11.09: 101 in 1001 II: havana nights
i never did get around to writing about the end of my first '101 in 1001' list ("complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days") last may. most of my notes at the ol' denouement would have been things i'd already said as i chugged through ("hey, accidentally popping up in books is great! so, goals involving gambling are really stupid! hot shit, i really did quit smoking!"), and i was on the fence about bragging about completing only 36 of my list items. then again, managing to accomplish one out of every three things i claim i'm going to do as a general proposition...would be pretty staggering. really, who's that effective all the time?
i am ready, internets, to begin a new list. a handful of items (like 046 buy an apartment) will migrate from the first edition to the second; some are dying the deaths they deserve (053 visit a nudist colony, i'm looking at you); others are meaner versions of goals i liked before (i'll be saving more money and hitting the gym a bit harder). other others don't exist yet; i'm trying to pace myself as i put this one together (and i'd love some suggestions). here's what i've got so far; what would you add? for that matter, what would you drop?
001 visit iceland
002 write (publish) another mcsweeney’s list
003 donate platelets at least 12 times
004 work out at a gym at least 200 times
005 take a foreign language class
006 attend shabbat service at a synagogue
007 reach a balance of at least $5000 in original ‘101 in 1001’ savings account
008 see elvis costello in concert
009 visit an acupuncturist
010 buy an apartment
011 contribute work to a gallery show
012 watch duck soup
013 attend mass at saint patrick’s cathedral
014 tour an abandoned subway tunnel
015 frame my college diploma
016 go birdwatching
017 make a blurb-ish photo book
018 have 3 photos featured on flickr’s explore page
019 print, mat, and frame one of my photos
020 take another class at the astor center
021 visit canada
022 walk across the brooklyn bridge
023 have pizza at grimaldi’s
024 get another tattoo
025 take a martial arts class
026 complete and frame another needlepoint project
027 invent a bitchin’ cupcake recipe
028 attempt a gozer costume for halloween
029 visit the new york city tenement museum
030 buy a bikini (and wear it in public)*
031 go to an MLS game
032 go to the opera
033 make pickles from scratch
034 take an etsy labs class
035 write (publish) three ‘letters to the editor’
036 buy a pair of hot shit designer shoes
037 volunteer at a soup kitchen
038 cook with 12 ingredients I’ve never used before
039 run 8 miles in less than an hour
040 make a blanket
041 get a bikini wax**
042 read gravity’s rainbow (thomas pynchon)
043 enter a cooking or baking contest
044 get my name printed in the new york times
045 get a shout-out at design*sponge
046 score at least 3 new bylines
047 learn to identify at least 12 constellations
048 donate whole blood at least 12 times
049 watch three kubrick films i haven't seen
050 read the big sleep (raymond chandler)
051 read neuromancer (william gibson)
052 visit at least 3 cemeteries in the new york area
053 attend tea ceremony or a cooking lesson at cha-an in the east village
054 have dinner at sripraphai in queens
055 subscribe to another literary magazine
056 write a fan letter
057 go skydiving
058 dip my toe in the atlantic and pacific oceans on the same day
059 see the northern lights
060 take a class at mud, sweat & tears
061 make a terrarium
063 watch a video at the paley center for media
064 visit the russian tea room
065 have a drink at a sneaky-sneaky hipster bar
066 take a photo every day for a year
067 visit the new york botanical garden
i never did get around to writing about the end of my first '101 in 1001' list ("complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days") last may. most of my notes at the ol' denouement would have been things i'd already said as i chugged through ("hey, accidentally popping up in books is great! so, goals involving gambling are really stupid! hot shit, i really did quit smoking!"), and i was on the fence about bragging about completing only 36 of my list items. then again, managing to accomplish one out of every three things i claim i'm going to do as a general proposition...would be pretty staggering. really, who's that effective all the time?
i am ready, internets, to begin a new list. a handful of items (like 046 buy an apartment) will migrate from the first edition to the second; some are dying the deaths they deserve (053 visit a nudist colony, i'm looking at you); others are meaner versions of goals i liked before (i'll be saving more money and hitting the gym a bit harder). other others don't exist yet; i'm trying to pace myself as i put this one together (and i'd love some suggestions). here's what i've got so far; what would you add? for that matter, what would you drop?
001 visit iceland
002 write (publish) another mcsweeney’s list
003 donate platelets at least 12 times
004 work out at a gym at least 200 times
005 take a foreign language class
006 attend shabbat service at a synagogue
007 reach a balance of at least $5000 in original ‘101 in 1001’ savings account
008 see elvis costello in concert
009 visit an acupuncturist
010 buy an apartment
011 contribute work to a gallery show
012 watch duck soup
013 attend mass at saint patrick’s cathedral
014 tour an abandoned subway tunnel
015 frame my college diploma
016 go birdwatching
017 make a blurb-ish photo book
018 have 3 photos featured on flickr’s explore page
019 print, mat, and frame one of my photos
020 take another class at the astor center
021 visit canada
022 walk across the brooklyn bridge
023 have pizza at grimaldi’s
024 get another tattoo
025 take a martial arts class
026 complete and frame another needlepoint project
027 invent a bitchin’ cupcake recipe
028 attempt a gozer costume for halloween
029 visit the new york city tenement museum
030 buy a bikini (and wear it in public)*
031 go to an MLS game
032 go to the opera
033 make pickles from scratch
034 take an etsy labs class
035 write (publish) three ‘letters to the editor’
036 buy a pair of hot shit designer shoes
037 volunteer at a soup kitchen
038 cook with 12 ingredients I’ve never used before
039 run 8 miles in less than an hour
040 make a blanket
041 get a bikini wax**
042 read gravity’s rainbow (thomas pynchon)
043 enter a cooking or baking contest
044 get my name printed in the new york times
045 get a shout-out at design*sponge
046 score at least 3 new bylines
047 learn to identify at least 12 constellations
048 donate whole blood at least 12 times
049 watch three kubrick films i haven't seen
050 read the big sleep (raymond chandler)
051 read neuromancer (william gibson)
052 visit at least 3 cemeteries in the new york area
053 attend tea ceremony or a cooking lesson at cha-an in the east village
054 have dinner at sripraphai in queens
055 subscribe to another literary magazine
056 write a fan letter
057 go skydiving
058 dip my toe in the atlantic and pacific oceans on the same day
059 see the northern lights
060 take a class at mud, sweat & tears
061 make a terrarium
063 watch a video at the paley center for media
064 visit the russian tea room
065 have a drink at a sneaky-sneaky hipster bar
066 take a photo every day for a year
067 visit the new york botanical garden
*this might be two items for the price of one. both are pretty scary.
**i already know this is a terrible idea, but jen's new list made me do it.
02.09.09: champions
i might be back to believing that breakfast is a capitalist lie: i ate oatmeal every morning for a week just now and gained three and a half pounds. where's the revolution in that? one might note that the scale at our gym appears to be broken (joe had the same gain), but still. what the eff, oatmeal.
i have switched over to eating puffins, which is much more icelandic anyway.
i might be back to believing that breakfast is a capitalist lie: i ate oatmeal every morning for a week just now and gained three and a half pounds. where's the revolution in that? one might note that the scale at our gym appears to be broken (joe had the same gain), but still. what the eff, oatmeal.
i have switched over to eating puffins, which is much more icelandic anyway.
01.12.09: good-bye to all that
going to the gym in the morning has the magical effect of making me suitable for little more than television and couch-lounging, at least for an hour or two, which is why i could never be one of those people who goes before work (i'd be unemployed in a week). forgetting that we had a luscious netflix pile of dark shadows and x-files episodes, the missus and i blew a bit of our saturday on a style network "dos and don'ts" show (don't paint yourself orange, do follow trends [except for the painting yourself orange trend], &c).
to my great surprise, the item about excessive facial piercings actually got to me. my eyebrow bar and i are great friends, and i could give a monkey's about what people in the office think about it, but i was finally able to admit to myself that it doesn't have a lot of relevance for me these days. joe and i had a long talk, i took a deep breath, and i took out all of my exotic piercings* - for good. the tragus ring that inspired mom to threaten to keep me from going to college: adieu! the cartilage bar i acquired in berkeley on a date with paul: bless! the eyebrow bar, snagger of sweaters, instant dater of wedding pictures, way to kill fifteen minutes in london when lukas refused to leave a record shop on berwick street: may the wind ever be at your back! you were all great friends of mine, and i feel pretty naked at the moment, but i think i needed to slough a few outdated bits of identity. also, i've always been a big fan of monkeying with my appearance: change is the constant, no?
okay, really naked.
going to the gym in the morning has the magical effect of making me suitable for little more than television and couch-lounging, at least for an hour or two, which is why i could never be one of those people who goes before work (i'd be unemployed in a week). forgetting that we had a luscious netflix pile of dark shadows and x-files episodes, the missus and i blew a bit of our saturday on a style network "dos and don'ts" show (don't paint yourself orange, do follow trends [except for the painting yourself orange trend], &c).
to my great surprise, the item about excessive facial piercings actually got to me. my eyebrow bar and i are great friends, and i could give a monkey's about what people in the office think about it, but i was finally able to admit to myself that it doesn't have a lot of relevance for me these days. joe and i had a long talk, i took a deep breath, and i took out all of my exotic piercings* - for good. the tragus ring that inspired mom to threaten to keep me from going to college: adieu! the cartilage bar i acquired in berkeley on a date with paul: bless! the eyebrow bar, snagger of sweaters, instant dater of wedding pictures, way to kill fifteen minutes in london when lukas refused to leave a record shop on berwick street: may the wind ever be at your back! you were all great friends of mine, and i feel pretty naked at the moment, but i think i needed to slough a few outdated bits of identity. also, i've always been a big fan of monkeying with my appearance: change is the constant, no?
okay, really naked.
*except for ye olde navel ring. it's had such a hard life (remember, kids: captive bead rings are not key rings) that i don't have the heart to confront it again.
12.10.08: während du schliefst
i am neither a big list-maker nor a particularly effective self-starter, but i get all hot and bothered about Gettin' Things Done (and then Recording Said Things) when joe is out of town and i'm forced to amuse myself. what's gone down since he left for mexico* on sunday? well, let me tell you.
(icelandic thrillers and other) reading: abbreviated, as the key to our mailbox went to mexico with joe and i can't pick up our new york (no big loss) or our new yorker (nooo!). i did, however, just finish voices, the third arnaldur indriðason thriller now in translation. this one takes place over the week leading up to christmas - it's about a murdered hotel santa claus, actually - and gives what i imagine is a fairly true-to-life idea of what it must be like to be in reykjavik in december. murder aside, it sounds really lovely: i'm starting to feel like a visit during the off-season (instead of next summer, which was my original plan) might not be the worst idea ever (even though we'd be limited to reykjavik, since domestic travel when iceland is choked with snow is not so feasible). it's so much cheaper (though the icelandic economy is in the crapper, airfare from new york is still exorbitant once spring gets going), and we're already going away twice next summer for weddings...but it's hard to justify such a big trip in such a weird economic climate. hold on, iceland! i'm doing my best!
gymgoing: also touch and go, since i'm getting over an especially pernicious sinus infection, but i squeaked out my customary six miles on the treadmill yesterday. our gym has discontinued towel service, for they are cheap bastards, and i discovered that the leetle bit of lung capacity i'm still missing made, as frost would say, all the difference - so in terms of workout-related sex appeal, last night might have been a personal best for me. i'm heading back tonight, but i am not running.
the craft: the stag beetle needlepoint (beetlepoint?) i picked back up last week is tootling along nicely; there is very little on television that i need to absorb this week, so i've been stitching away while listening to jarvis cocker and various scottish bands.** in bigger craft news, i was seized last week with the unexpected urge to pitch myself as a lifestyle expert and, after doing circles around our building with furrowed brow, nail-biting over mock posts, checking with our editor in chief, and hunting around for a thumbnail photo that doesn't make me look like an asshole, i'll be Blogging for the ladymag. i'm guessing that i won't make much mention of Blogging here, since the 'champ is wee and personal and i would like it to stay that way, but if you'd like to know more about the site (once it's up and running, probably in a month or so), drop me a line. Blogging, with capital letters and everything! i'm nervous but happy, i think.
i am neither a big list-maker nor a particularly effective self-starter, but i get all hot and bothered about Gettin' Things Done (and then Recording Said Things) when joe is out of town and i'm forced to amuse myself. what's gone down since he left for mexico* on sunday? well, let me tell you.
(icelandic thrillers and other) reading: abbreviated, as the key to our mailbox went to mexico with joe and i can't pick up our new york (no big loss) or our new yorker (nooo!). i did, however, just finish voices, the third arnaldur indriðason thriller now in translation. this one takes place over the week leading up to christmas - it's about a murdered hotel santa claus, actually - and gives what i imagine is a fairly true-to-life idea of what it must be like to be in reykjavik in december. murder aside, it sounds really lovely: i'm starting to feel like a visit during the off-season (instead of next summer, which was my original plan) might not be the worst idea ever (even though we'd be limited to reykjavik, since domestic travel when iceland is choked with snow is not so feasible). it's so much cheaper (though the icelandic economy is in the crapper, airfare from new york is still exorbitant once spring gets going), and we're already going away twice next summer for weddings...but it's hard to justify such a big trip in such a weird economic climate. hold on, iceland! i'm doing my best!
gymgoing: also touch and go, since i'm getting over an especially pernicious sinus infection, but i squeaked out my customary six miles on the treadmill yesterday. our gym has discontinued towel service, for they are cheap bastards, and i discovered that the leetle bit of lung capacity i'm still missing made, as frost would say, all the difference - so in terms of workout-related sex appeal, last night might have been a personal best for me. i'm heading back tonight, but i am not running.
the craft: the stag beetle needlepoint (beetlepoint?) i picked back up last week is tootling along nicely; there is very little on television that i need to absorb this week, so i've been stitching away while listening to jarvis cocker and various scottish bands.** in bigger craft news, i was seized last week with the unexpected urge to pitch myself as a lifestyle expert and, after doing circles around our building with furrowed brow, nail-biting over mock posts, checking with our editor in chief, and hunting around for a thumbnail photo that doesn't make me look like an asshole, i'll be Blogging for the ladymag. i'm guessing that i won't make much mention of Blogging here, since the 'champ is wee and personal and i would like it to stay that way, but if you'd like to know more about the site (once it's up and running, probably in a month or so), drop me a line. Blogging, with capital letters and everything! i'm nervous but happy, i think.
*yeah, the missus went to mexico with his folks for the week; after the political shenanigans of the last few months, he's due some rest and relaxation (and has a ton of vacation time to spare). i too have a ton of vacation time to spare - and i love mexican food and the beach even more than he does (especially the beach; he refuses to get involved with the ocean, due to a bone-rattling fear of sharks, whereas if i could figure out how to swim while eating nachos i would never come back to shore) - but we're closing an issue of the ladymag this week, and now is not a good time to look less than utterly committed to print publishing. i told him to bring me a friendship bracelet.
**i used the joe-absence as an excuse to netflix a bunch of stuff he'd hate (come to me, the diving bell and the butterfly!), but see above re: the mail key. he'll be returning to a postal bomb of subtitled sadness.
07.24.08: while visions of bolludagsvöndur danced in her head
a fellow ladymag editor is going to be out for the next couple of weeks; when i wished her a happy vacation, she said that she was going to paris (hooray!) but felt like it would be the last trip she and her husband took until they were forty, thanks to the worthless dollar (bah!). oh, i hear that: i told her about how joe and i were in a similar position with our trip to iceland (we're their age and have the same budget). of course, our trip isn't actually on the books yet: i've talked about it as a distant future, pie-in-the-sky thing for several years (since '02, according to the 'champ archives) and as a "when i've saved enough money by quitting smoking" thing for the last year, but nothing has actually been puzzled out...which is getting ridiculous. our '08-'09 rent increase aces out the butt money i would have socked away (cheers, new management company!), iceland is always expensive (like, switzerland-expensive), and we're not getting any younger. as bill o'reilly would say, fuck it. we'll do it live! we're not leaving tomorrow or anything, but i plunked down my $22.99 for a lonely planet iceland* yesterday, and this trip will happen in 2009 (and get planned ASAP, so i have a sexy trip to anticipate) if it kills me. i'm announcing it to the internets, so it must be so!**
PHASE I: THE SEASONING
cold weather is a friend of mine (and iceland's practically-'round-the-clock summer sun makes me think of insomnia, from That One Summer Robin Williams Played a Bunch of So-So Villains), so part of me thinks that we should try to save money by going toward the end of the off season. according to icelandair, that's march, when flights from new york city to reykjavik jump from $302 each way (on 3/16) to $850 each way (on 3/17). i have no idea (yet) why monday to tuesday is such a key flop there: the closest holiday appears to be "beer day" in reykjavik on the first of the month (to celebrate the end of icelandic prohibition), which...god, iceland is adorable. the bad news is that we're not big sportspeople and wouldn't make much of the snow, at least in the skiing-and-snowboarding sense (i could be convinced to snowshoe): the good news is that november to mid-march is the best season for viewing the northern lights, so i could run around in the middle of the night and pretend to be lyra from the golden compass.
then again, high seasons are high seasons for a reason: iceland's green hills are supposed to be jaw-dropping. i've also read that some of the smaller, more far-flung villages (read: most of what's outside of reykjavik) are only accessible via public transport in the warmer months. if we do manage to get to iceland more than once in our lives, that second visit probably won't happen for a very long time - so we have to see everything we need to see this time. which brings me to august and the flight of the pufflings. according to national geographic,
i'm new to this research, internets, and would be grateful for your land-of-bjork-visiting guidance, if you have any (or want to make something up). know anyone who's been to iceland? when would you go, and what would you want to do there? planning any overseas jaunts of your own?
a fellow ladymag editor is going to be out for the next couple of weeks; when i wished her a happy vacation, she said that she was going to paris (hooray!) but felt like it would be the last trip she and her husband took until they were forty, thanks to the worthless dollar (bah!). oh, i hear that: i told her about how joe and i were in a similar position with our trip to iceland (we're their age and have the same budget). of course, our trip isn't actually on the books yet: i've talked about it as a distant future, pie-in-the-sky thing for several years (since '02, according to the 'champ archives) and as a "when i've saved enough money by quitting smoking" thing for the last year, but nothing has actually been puzzled out...which is getting ridiculous. our '08-'09 rent increase aces out the butt money i would have socked away (cheers, new management company!), iceland is always expensive (like, switzerland-expensive), and we're not getting any younger. as bill o'reilly would say, fuck it. we'll do it live! we're not leaving tomorrow or anything, but i plunked down my $22.99 for a lonely planet iceland* yesterday, and this trip will happen in 2009 (and get planned ASAP, so i have a sexy trip to anticipate) if it kills me. i'm announcing it to the internets, so it must be so!**
PHASE I: THE SEASONING
cold weather is a friend of mine (and iceland's practically-'round-the-clock summer sun makes me think of insomnia, from That One Summer Robin Williams Played a Bunch of So-So Villains), so part of me thinks that we should try to save money by going toward the end of the off season. according to icelandair, that's march, when flights from new york city to reykjavik jump from $302 each way (on 3/16) to $850 each way (on 3/17). i have no idea (yet) why monday to tuesday is such a key flop there: the closest holiday appears to be "beer day" in reykjavik on the first of the month (to celebrate the end of icelandic prohibition), which...god, iceland is adorable. the bad news is that we're not big sportspeople and wouldn't make much of the snow, at least in the skiing-and-snowboarding sense (i could be convinced to snowshoe): the good news is that november to mid-march is the best season for viewing the northern lights, so i could run around in the middle of the night and pretend to be lyra from the golden compass.
then again, high seasons are high seasons for a reason: iceland's green hills are supposed to be jaw-dropping. i've also read that some of the smaller, more far-flung villages (read: most of what's outside of reykjavik) are only accessible via public transport in the warmer months. if we do manage to get to iceland more than once in our lives, that second visit probably won't happen for a very long time - so we have to see everything we need to see this time. which brings me to august and the flight of the pufflings. according to national geographic,
Iceland is home to one of the world's largest colonies of puffins, and every August millions of newborn puffins leave their burrows in the cliffs of Heimaey—the main island in the Westmann Islands chain off the south coast of Iceland—to fly off over the north Atlantic. They leave at night, using the moon to navigate. But the streetlights of Heimaey seem to throw off some of the young birds' flight plans.the next day, the kids chuck the pufflings back into the air like footballs, which apparently gives them time to get their bearings and ride an updraft into the sky (or at least splash-land in the ocean instead of in a town square). it sounds adorable, and i might need to see it (especially if i can't be in iceland for bun day before lent, when icelandic children beat their parents with cream puffs).
When that happens, it's time for the children of Heimaey to launch the Puffin Patrol—basically a search and rescue operation for the befuddled birds, which, instead of flying out to sea, fly into town where they crash-land and end up on the streets.
"They don't survive if they stay in the town; cats and dogs eat them, or they just die. It's really good to save them," said Einar Karason, a young Icelandic boy.
Each night during the month of August, moms and dads lead troops of kids through town looking for stranded pufflings. They use flashlights to search the ground near buildings and streetlights.
When a bird is spotted, children rush to scoop it up and bring it in off the "mean streets" of Heimaey for the night.
i'm new to this research, internets, and would be grateful for your land-of-bjork-visiting guidance, if you have any (or want to make something up). know anyone who's been to iceland? when would you go, and what would you want to do there? planning any overseas jaunts of your own?
*damn, even the guidebooks are getting crazy expensive; also, damn, i could have saved like $7 by not seizing the day and ordering by mail instead.
**hey, it worked for smoking. i have great faith in kidchamp announcements.
03.31.08
101 in 1001: 013 donate platelets at least 12 times [completed 03.26.08]
finishing this one was kind of emotional, internets: the new york blood center and i have been through a lot together (particularly tiny bags of cheez-its and viewings of the transporter). this isn't the end of my platelet donation career, to be sure, but if i succeed in becoming ridiculously fit and get a celebratory tattoo, i'll be disqualified for at least a year (getting tattooed in a foreign country, now that i think about it, could bump me for good). i wanted to take some commemorative photos of my blood crawling through the lost in space tubes in the apheresis machine, but i didn't want to creep out the techs; maybe bodily fluid portraits will make the next list. or not.
101 in 1001: 017 work out at a gym at least 100 times [completed 03.30.08]
i should've put more into banging this one out before getting hitched back in '06; a few workouts a week would have been good prep work for, y'know, the most expensive photo session of our lives. that said, becoming a gym rat now got me past smoking when i finally decided to quit, and it's hard to regret that. it's scary to think of the shape my system was in when i first dug ye olde spandex pants out of the closet this fall: my pulse climbed over 200 for the first week or so, and i'd get numbness down one side during serious cardio (stupid to push that hard, i know). but! i can now tool away as furiously as i like. my little tyrannosaurus arms are developing real muscles (i made like wabes and took up rowing; since i still plan to go to iceland,* i'm, um, rowing there from new york in my head.) i have not lost reality-tv-worthy amounts of weight (women in my family muscle up before slimming down, which...is hard on our pants), but i won't say you can't bounce a quarter off of my ass.
101 in 1001: 013 donate platelets at least 12 times [completed 03.26.08]
finishing this one was kind of emotional, internets: the new york blood center and i have been through a lot together (particularly tiny bags of cheez-its and viewings of the transporter). this isn't the end of my platelet donation career, to be sure, but if i succeed in becoming ridiculously fit and get a celebratory tattoo, i'll be disqualified for at least a year (getting tattooed in a foreign country, now that i think about it, could bump me for good). i wanted to take some commemorative photos of my blood crawling through the lost in space tubes in the apheresis machine, but i didn't want to creep out the techs; maybe bodily fluid portraits will make the next list. or not.
101 in 1001: 017 work out at a gym at least 100 times [completed 03.30.08]
i should've put more into banging this one out before getting hitched back in '06; a few workouts a week would have been good prep work for, y'know, the most expensive photo session of our lives. that said, becoming a gym rat now got me past smoking when i finally decided to quit, and it's hard to regret that. it's scary to think of the shape my system was in when i first dug ye olde spandex pants out of the closet this fall: my pulse climbed over 200 for the first week or so, and i'd get numbness down one side during serious cardio (stupid to push that hard, i know). but! i can now tool away as furiously as i like. my little tyrannosaurus arms are developing real muscles (i made like wabes and took up rowing; since i still plan to go to iceland,* i'm, um, rowing there from new york in my head.) i have not lost reality-tv-worthy amounts of weight (women in my family muscle up before slimming down, which...is hard on our pants), but i won't say you can't bounce a quarter off of my ass.
*for my celebratory "no smoking hot damn look at all this money!" trip. it's going to take a while to save, thank you currency market, but it will happen.
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