Sunday, September 25, 2011

Challenge: Day 19

Write Your Own Eulogy.

Eff that. I'm not doing this one. What do you want me to say? He was born in New York, swam, got married, (maybe) had a bunch of kids, and then died. Let me actually do some living first. P.S. I'd prefer if my tombstone read something like this:


Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Challenge: Day 18

Schedule a Physical Exam

Well, before last year I hadn't seen a doctor in nearly six years. So that's probably why this is on the Man Month list. Whatever. I'll do it. I need my balls groped by an old lady while the nurse stands in the room to make sure no foul play occurs like I need chocolate chip pancakes. I want chocolate chip pancakes. What is she going to tell me? "Eric, you're pretty heavy." "Yeah, but I'm not fat and all of my blood numbers are within the healthy range." "Still, I want to see you give up red meat and chicken skins on them and to lose weight." "But I'm healthy, healthiest mutha fucka that this office has ever seen. I just also happen to have gigantic thighs and neck."
Yup, I can see where this is going.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Challenge: Day 17

Find Your N.U.T.s

Your Non-negotiable Unalterable Terms. I'm fairly lenient so I guess this might be a tough one for me. I guess they would be:

I will exercise 5 days per week barring a vacation or catastrophic event.
Punctuality is key. Being late is a sign to me that you don't give a fuck.
I will eat meat at 26/27 meals per week.
Not giving a fuck.

I guess that's a good start. I could add that I ought to be devoted to my wife, my work and blah, blah, blah. But whatever, that shit gets done even if I don't write it down. Whatever, fuck.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Challenge: Day 17

Talk to Strangers
Umm, I guess because i'm hardly kidnapable that it's ok now? Homie needs some more friends. Homie doesn't have the opportunity to talk to strangers, really. I literally spend every waking moment at work, the gym or with my wife. Just the social butterfly.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Challenge: Day 16

Create a Budget

How can I save more money? Easy; plan. How much should groceries cost me per week? How about regular expenses like my car payment, condo fee and the like. How about fun time? Movies, apple picking and maize mazes cost $. Duh. But to plan this within the context of bi-weekly pay checks is the trick. Save enough money for myself and the missus. With the economy in the tank and prospects for economic growth stagnant (trust me, I listen to NPR) it feels like people are on their own.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Challenge: Day 15

Make a Meal.

Perfect. I like to cook. All you need is meat, veggies and a starch, preferably potatoes, I love potatoes.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Challenge: Day 14

Write a Letter to Your Father

Yikes. My old man was/is pretty impressive. He's a professional jazz musician. He's an Eagle Scout and can literally paint an entire house in a weekend, prep and all. But, he was/is still a wonderful dad. We played catch, he was my woodwind teacher and now that I'm older we can share a beer and shoot the shit about how horrible the Mets are. The letter that I write will more than likely be a touch too personal for this blog. Although nobody reads it, there's a shot in hell that somebody could randomly find this POS.

So anyways, the Chinese train hard in weightlifting, huh?

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Challenge: Day 13

Declutter Your Life.

Unknowingly did this yesterday. Did some weeding, vacuumed. The downstairs doesn't look like a disaster zone any more. Let's try and keep it that way.

In other news, today is the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Try and do something fun today. Call friends and family. In general, be a good person. Not that hard.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Challenge: Day 12

Create a Bucket List

Visit Norway, Sweden and Denmark
Become COO of Pepsico
Go to the Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals
Get my MBA, possibly PhD in finance (will lead to item #2)
Qualify for weightlifting nationals

Simple, straight forward, will take a shit ton of work. Whatever.

Easy there Dave

Friday, September 9, 2011

Challenge: Day 11

Give Myself a Testicular Exam

Done. Easy.

In other news, football is back. Hooray! I can forget about this atrocious Mets season.

This is a pretty rad Grateful Dead cover. Neato.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Challenge: Day 10

Memorize If by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son!

People used to memorize things. This seems like something worthwhile to memorize. Maybe your mom's cell phone number? That might be good.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Challenge: Day 9

Take a Woman on a Date.

Easy peazy lemon squeezy. Carlee, want to head to McDonalds? Awesome.
Actually, it's raining so my date will have to wait for the weekend. Bummer. Besides, she's got a Team in Training meeting tonight for which she is going to be a coach. Hooray! This weekend we'll probably go apple picking. Maybe to a maize maze. Something more fun than just dinner and a terrible summer movie.


Their beards are epic

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Challenge: Day 8

Start a Journal

I guess that's what this pathetic excuse for a website is. It's obviously grown from a place to just store my training schedule. Will I write in it everyday. Obviously not, I forgot yesterday. I'm sorry I'm not sorry. But what I think that I'd like to do is when I have something interesting happen to me (rarely, if ever, does something interesting happen to me) I'll write about in here. In the meantime, I'm going to do some mobility, play with my cats and maybe, just maybe, go to the mall to look for a suit. How's that for an interesting life. Not chronicling that would be a crime against history.


Friday, September 2, 2011

Challenge: Day 7

Reconnect with an old friend

Made easy with Facebook. You hear that Sam and Doug. I'm coming for you. Maybe we'll legit hang out next time I'm back in NY. It should be noted that, from 2nd thru 4th grade, I quite literally had a sleep over with these two every weekend.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Challenge: Day 6

Update Your Resume

I don't really have time to do this this morning. I'll have to update you all on how it goes tomorrow morning. In the meantime, I'm going to route some Pepsi trucks. Hooray Pepsi!

Probably the best concert I've ever been to. You know, except for the shooting outside the theater afterward as we were exiting. Awesome times. This kind of music makes me feel good about being white.