Καλό Μήνα Ιούνιος

Good Month, June!

Just finished watching the Blackhawks win game 2 against the LA Kings.

Today was the final day of Exercise Across Abbott, and I did more exercise each week for four weeks.  I think our whole team did, so we get tee shirts.  It was mostly on the strength of riding my bike to work most days of the week.

I checked the job board, but it was empty (no jobs in my area).

I have fallen behind in my working on The Chicago Lincoln Avenue Trail, which is tied into my history podcast.

I am also woefully behind on my studying Greek.  I will have to redouble my efforts in June.

Once I get caught up with something I have to do for the Lincoln Avenue Trail I have something special in mind for this blog.  I found some interesting writing exercises that I will share with you.  I'll share my efforts in the exercises as well.

Late Report Again

Let's see, I last posted on 12 May 13 and it is 22 May 13 today, that's 10 days and I'm supposed to be reporting my progress on my goals weekly.  Also, if I want readership then I have to post regularly, but I'm not.  You can't see it, but Sister Mary Agony of OLBA (Our Lady of Blessed Acceleration) has a yard stick (Sister don't truck with no metric) ready to crack my knuckles, as well I deserve.

I did start Exercise Across Abbott, and that's a good thing.  From 6 May 13 to 9 June 13 I have to track my workouts and try to increase the number of minutes each week.  The first week we went to Boston to pick up Little Propette #1 so it was easy to keep the minutes to a minimum.  I increased the next week by 53 minutes.  This week I am on track to increase again, even though I had a cold the end of last week through yesterday / today.

I've also been studying Greek a bit more.

I'm feeling extra guilty though because I let the deadline for two writing contests slip by and I didn't submit anything, although I had started stories for both.

I know that both Terry Pratchett and Ray Bradbury say that you need to write daily.  I think Pratchett said 400 words and Bradbury said 500.

Not an excuse (or maybe just a little excuse, please don't tell Sister) but one thing that has me a bit flustered is that I've stirred up interest in Howlina, and while I am interested in that story, it is just a bit too involved to get into right now.  Also, I really want to write a mystery story, but I'm not really sure I can do it.  All the previous mysteries I've written just don't seem to work.  I'm also fidgeting with wanting to write a fantasy, and a horror story (two different stories), but those come easy and they feel like cop-outs, but on the other hand the better fantasy stories and better horror stories don't come easy.  I suppose that seems like several (excuses) but it really comes down to state of mind.  I'm not sure what state of mind I want to put myself into and keep myself in long enough to write a story.

I know I can throw 1,000 words on a page a day, but I have to stop doing everything else to do it and in the end I have a pile of pages each with a pile of words.  I've done it multiple times and I have multiple unpublishable novels to show for it.  I don't think that's the answer.

And anyway, that's not a goal I set for myself this year.

I suppose I should go off to check the job boards and do ten Hail Mary's.

Goal Poll, and Poll and Goal

My April poll was very simple.  Are you still working on your New Year's Resolution?  I'm the only one who answered and I said, "Yes."

I don't know how much easier the polls can get.

The May Poll will be about super powers.  Which one would you like to have?

This week my goal work is as follows (I'm only going to cover the goals that are not finished yet):


2.  Learn Greek = I am back to about 50% of the days, so I'm improving.  I'll have to continue to get better
3.  Quarterly Dates = I need to work on this for this quarter
4.  Get a new job = I'm checking weekly for an appropriate position
6.  Gold JtE = too early to tell
7.  Fortnightly History Podcast = nuthin' yet
8.  Learn the trees = I am going to have to start this this week
9.  Archaeology activity = I am going to learn the trees and learn to start a fire the way the Amerindians in this area did it, by hand rubbing two sticks.
10.  Join a club = I have joined the on-line group for The North Shore Ukulele Society. I will probably start meeting with them next month.

Χριστός Ανέστη

ΑΛΗΘΩΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ!  Happy Pascha (Greek Easter) everyone!
I'm enjoying some Greek coffee on my in-law's patio on this beautiful day.
Yesterday, my youngest and I were out camping with the Girl Scouts.  We went canoing and she also did high ropes and built a lean-to shelter.
I have not much to report on my goals this week, but as long as I'm here I get a "free" Greek lesson.
Enjoy the day.

Late Καλό Mήνα Again

Good new month everybody.

I'm going to give a quick rundown of my Goal progress for April.

1. P90X = Done
2. Learn Greek = fell back some in April, but I will get better
3. Quarterly Dates = Fail
4. Get a new job = I got nuthin'
5. Get Girl Scout trained = DONE
6. Gold JtE = too early to tell
7. Fortnightly History Podcast = nuthin' so far
8. Learn the trees = not yet, but we're getting close with the warm weather and new buds
9. Archaeology activity = I got one picked out, but haven't done anything about it, yet
10. Join a club = actually this one is probably the most interesting.  I volunteer with someone who also plays ukulele.  He's part of The North Shore Ukulele Society.  They meet and jam once a month.  I may join them.  This month's meeting is on Πάσχα so I won't be going, but coming soon...

Late Report

It's been two weeks since I posted.  That's a shame, but since I've finished two big goals I didn't think I had too much to report, but it turns out I do.

I started riding my bike to work.  Not too much to start, I rode one day two weeks ago, but that was a very rainy week (more rain than most entire months of April).  Last week I rode two days.  This week I'm hoping to ride three days.

I think I'll more fully report those rides in a later post.

I took a week off of exercise for the most part, then last week I worked out 4 days (down from 6), but back to pretty intense workouts.

I went looking for a second yogo DVD.  I have a Kathy Smith one from Beach Body, but that is only 20 minutes.  The P90X one is 93 minutes.  That's too much of a drop.  I guess I'll keep using the P90X DVDs but in my own mix, and only on days I don't ride my bike.

We went camping with the Girl Scouts last Friday.  We were in one of the leaders backyards but, it was pretty intense since we were out from about 18:30 until 09:00 the next morning and we squeezed in three meals and a snack.  Everybody got a chance to light a fire, learn some knots, erect a tent and cook. 
Next Friday we are going to the local Council's Camporee, but that's in cabins with dining hall meals.

I had been working on quite a bit of Greek too, spending my lunches with electronic flashcards.  I'm building my vocabulary at a glacial pace, but now I need to practice.

Finished P90X!!!!!!!!

I did it!  I finished!  I am indulging myself today and I feel kind of fat, so I think I'll save photos until I go back to doing cardio and feel thinner.

This is the chart I used to keep track of what day I was on.  I started after the first month because it got a bit confusing and this was much easier than most other formats.  I crossed off any day I did.  I circled days I missed.  The Xs are the week I doubled up so I  could make up days I missed.

I didn't get where I wanted to from this program.  After 70 days of P90 in 2008 I was down to 216.  That's the lowest I've weighed since I don't know when.  Admittedly I did a lot of other things in addition to the P90, but I expected to at least get below 220 and I only got down to 225 this year.

I'm not blaming the program.  I probably didn't do something the right way.  I suspect my bad knee and the days I had to miss were part of the problem.

Anyway, I'm done.  I did it.  I am a P90X graduate.

Now, what's next?

I should reward myself, but how?

I'll have to think about that, but for now, I have one more goal down.