Still slumping

I'm still in a slump. I didn't work out at all last week. I'm not sure what it's going to take to get back on track. I did some thinking about it and came up with some possible reasons I'm in this slump.

Reason 1: I'm so awesome. I'm so awesome that I don't want to discourage anyone that's trying to reach their goals by reaching mine while they don't reach their goals. Imagine playing basketball against Michael Jordan. You have no hope to win. Same principle here. I'm the Michael Jordan of blogging and reaching goals.

Reason 2: My goals are too easy to reach. If I reach my goals now what else am I going to do with the rest of my life? I'm that good.

Reason 3: The weather. It's cold here. Who wants to be outside when it's so cold? Ain't nobody got time for that.

Reason 4: I keep making excuses to not do anything with myself. I think this one is most likely to be the root cause. That and my inability to plan anything and use my time wisely are the culprits.

Not one for dwelling on problems I suppose I should fix this. It's Monday so there's no better time than now. I just have to fit my goals in better with my busy schedule with the kids. I know that I'm going to be gone during the evenings at least 4 days a week. On weekends, I know my morning and afternoons are taken with the kids. Knowing all that I HAVE to plan better. I HAVE to make some concrete plans.

Here they are:

• Monday - walk after dinner
• Tuesday - yoga
• Wednesday - yoga
• Thursday - walk after dinner
• Friday - yoga

Those are my plans. Now I just have to stick to it. I'm a believer in taking things head on. I think the best way to the other side of a problem is through it. Here I come week.

...and I'm back

Not that anyone missed me but I'm back. I took a self imposed hiatus from blogging. Read: I got lazy. That's the truth.

Actually I have been busy. My father in law (FIL) came to visit for about a month so I had to make some adjustments to my schedule and everyday comings and goings to accommodate him. It was a good visit for the most part.

I work from home about 80% of the time and having an extra body to entertain while working has it's trappings. Normally I work right from my couch but needing peace and quiet I had to move my work into my bedroom. At the same time I played good host and would come out and check on him from time to time. Often times I work in shorts and even in my underwear. That definitely had to change.  My FIL being old school probably had this idea that you had to 'show' up for work in order for it to be considered working. Working from home probably didn't seem like I was really working to him. But we live in the age of the nerd, it's right after the age of Aquarius. Working from home is a viable option.

My FIL is the type to stay busy. He can't just sit. I enjoy my silence since I live such a constantly on the go life with the kids. I enjoy just sitting sometimes, it's meditative. My FIL would go out and check the oil on the cars if he had nothing better to do. If we were watching a movie he would ask random questions about the movie just to break the silence. That took getting used to.

I'm still glad he came though. He got to see the kids play in their various sports. It was odd explaining football to him though. He's not a sports guy. He knows cars and tools.

You would think with all my time off from blogging that I've at least been eating clean and exercising. Nope. My FIL is a mean cook. He made dinner quite a bit and none of it was healthy but damn was it good!

Now that he's gone, he's been gone for about a week and a half it's time to get back on the horse. I've been mentally going over my days and trying to plan ahead. Tonight I plan on going for a quick walk just to get the blood flowing again. I plan on walking 3 times this week then start running next week. I need to jump back in to yoga again too.

Last but not least I need to go back to setting goals. This week's goals are:

• Log my food all week
• Walk 3 times
• Clean off the couch in the bedroom that's piled up with folded laundry

So I'm back and hopefully will start blogging more often.

Parent trap

I was thinking about this the other day, amongst many other thoughts, there are different types of sports dads. I draw this from experience mainly as a parent, coach, supporter of an athlete(s).

The first parent is the passive aggressive dad. This dad complains on the sideline about everything from playing time to coaching style. Usually this parent's kid is a middle tier athlete. He's not a bad player but he's not a great player.  This parent is very supportive though. He's at every game and attends every practice. The downside is that this parent will complain the entire time to anyone who will listen. Outside of that he's nice enough so you don't really write him off. You just tune him out.

The second dad is pro sport dad. He's constantly coaching, even when he's not the coach. He calls his kid over various times throughout the game and offers tips and advice. Bear in mind this dad probably didn't play sports (but he watches sports) at all or if he did he sucked. He's living vicariously through his kid. He applauds his kid's every move, even a -2 yard run. He says stuff like, 'Did you see that run? He broke 3 tackles and turned a -5 yard run into a -2 yard run.' He really thinks his son is going to be a pro player some day.

The third dad is the money dad. He spends tons of money on his kid. He sends his kid to every camp possible. His kid has all the latest sports gear. His kid has the best equipment. Unfortunately money can't buy love. His kid doesn't love sports. His kid would rather be playing in instrument but is instead guilted into playing because of all the money his dad spends on sports.

The fourth dad is the blamer dad. He blames everything on everyone else. He's similar to the passive aggressive dad in that he complains all the time but he complains loudly, even to the coach. His kid never does anything wrong in his eyes. It's always another kid's fault. He writes the board, he tries to get coaches fired. His kid is a good kid and likely a really good player. His kid is also embarrassed by his dad.

The last dad is the quiet dad. He doesn't say much, he just supports his kid. He's always there. He always encourages.

Which dad are you?

Weekend wrapup - ON TIME

Imagine that, I'm actually writing about my weekend, week on a Monday! All praise due the blogger gods.

I had a great weekend. My week was pretty good too. Work is still busy but it's been nice to do some of the things my new boss has me doing. She's of the mind that high level analysts should be doing high level work. What this means for me is that I don't have to deal with the daily, trivial work that comes our way. Instead, I get to focus on bigger projects and I simply mentor and oversee the lower analysts work. Also she has us doing more focused work. I no longer have to drive to a different state to hook up a printer. It's not my job. She's working on reigning our duties back in to doing what we do best, nerd shit. Oh and she also called my ideas brilliant!

No exercise for me still. It's pretty much been put on the back burner. I really have no excuse why. I just haven't been exercising nor eating clean. I'm fixing that tonight. After practice I plan on going for a short run. It's going to kill me but it needs to be done. It will give me some alone time away from home. I'll put on my headphones and run in the rain.

Speaking of rain, we've had torrential downpours over last week and into today. This time of year and the weather always has a way of dragging me down. That weather shift from sun to darker days is a killer. That on top of the anniversary of my dad passing sucks any motivation out of my body.

Being the pragmatist (is that a word?) I am, I need to figure out how to work out of my funk. Setting goals in the past worked for me so why not go with the tried and true?

Goals for this week:

• Run twice
• Yoga 3 times 

Set small goals that work towards the bigger goal. That's my motto.

All in all it was a great week and an even greater weekend. Today's motivational quote is this.

"Our greatest weekend lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time."
-Thomas Edison

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.
Thomas A. Edison
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_motivational.html#HDlz4hsm80SgwDd7.99

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thomasaed149049.html#3cH2EsAuJH59ov8G.99

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thomasaed149049.html#3cH2EsAuJH59ov8G.99

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.
Thomas A. Edison
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_motivational.html#HDlz4hsm80SgwDd7.99

Weekend wrapup

I know, it's late. I had all kinds of plans to do my wrap up yesterday but that fell to the way side. I'm starting to think that it's not a good idea since I can't be consistent. It's not like anyone reads my blog anyway! :-)

I did have a great weekend though. I spent most of it ferrying my youngest around to bjj practices. Lately we've been practicing at another academy on weekends on their invite. Let me tell you...it's so much better. It's organized, structured, and disciplined. It's nothing like his current gym. If he hadn't been invited to train up there maybe we wouldn't know any better. When my son first started training as a parent I loved our current gym. It was inviting and had a great atmosphere. It's very family oriented.

But since training on occasion at this new gym, I know better. You can be inviting and have a great atmosphere but still have some order. My son, on his own, decided that he wants to train full time at the new gym. He said, 'I learn so much more here then I do at my normal gym.' Words of a 9 year old. If he can see it then there must be some truth to it. For the amount of money we're paying, we're just not getting enough value. We're just waiting for our contract to run out before we change gyms.

I haven't been eating right and exercising lately. It's fallen to the wayside. I do think about it everyday though. One of the things that makes it tough is my father in law visiting for the next month. That guy can cook but unfortunately it's not the always the healthiest meal. He seems to be blessed with the world's best metabolism. I on the other hand stay true to the saying, 'A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips.' I'm the living embodiment of it. If I eat it, the fat will come. He's only been here for a week so we're still settling into a routine. Once we get there I'll hop back on the horse.

Part of me is still trying to find my 'workout rhythm.' I recently canceled my gym membership because I'm not

sure lifting weights is for me. I've tried Crossfit, meh. Not for me either. I did like yoga. I like the stretching and spiritual aspect of it. Between that and running I believe I can get fit. That's my goal, to get fit. My visions of being buff are out the window. Chalk it up to my advanced age. I'm an old man. Let's face it. Healthy and fit are the new buff.

Oh and I've gone back to planning my day. It really helps. I use a planning app on my phone, Wunderlist, that also has a web version. You can add tasks via their website and it will sync to your phone. I've been doing this for the last week and I've successfully completed 11 tasks this week! Being productive feels really good. I feel all accomplished and shit.

So that's my weekend and last few days. I need to keep reminding myself, this is amazing. If you have to ask yourself 'what' is amazing, it's not amazing enough.

Misinformation, too much information

I know I suck at blogging lately. I've been really busy with work and life.

At work I have a huge project going on that doesn't end until October. It pretty much consumes my everyday work day. The upside is once it's done, I'll go back to be the norm of work. The downside is that I have daily contact with people I normally wouldn't have contact with...and these people can be idiots, alarmists, and generally talk too much.

If you didn't know, I'm a software guy. I make those buttons you click do something magical. Usually I stay pretty far behind the scenes. You have to achieve victory in the lower levels to get to me. I'm like the boss bad guy in a video game only I'm less scary and in 4d. With this project there's a lot of testing involved. They test, I fix. It's supposed to be that simple. Turns out it's not. This week I've had to deal with reports of stuff broken. Guess what? It wasn't broken. The problem is they were trying to test with no valid data. If a report is supposed to capture specific data, you have to have that specific data in the system. Imagine going to a store that's since been closed to buy something. How can you expect to buy something in a store that has no product? After pointing that out they quickly figured it out and they also figured out it wasn't a software issue. In the business we call it an I-D-10-T issue...IDIOT. I can't really blame the users/testers for this. It's a project management issue. Who ever was in charge of the testing should have covered this. It's Testing 101.

On top of this project I'm in the process of interviewing applicants for a few openings at work. That's an arduous task. It sounds simple but it's really time consuming. You have to wade through hundreds of applicants and narrow down the pool. Once you complete that process you have to narrow it even further to those you want to interview. Once you get through interviews you have to narrow further to decide who goes on to round 2. It's a long, drawn out process. We got through the the first round of interviews this week. So what does all that mean? It means I'm in a ton of meetings, interviews, and project happenings everyday. It literally takes up 30 or so hours of my 40 hour week. Good times.

On another note I was at the gas station last night filling up the wife's tank. As I'm getting gas I'm eavesdropping on two ladies' conversation. One lady was talking about how broke she was and how money issues kept piling up. The other lady suggested bankruptcy and said that she and her husband declared bankruptcy. She then proceeded to tell her how it only affects your credit for 2-3 years and after that it drops off your credit report.

NO NO NO!

Banruptcy is on your credit report for 10 years, not 2-3. Is it an alternative to get out of financial issues? Yes but I don't think it's the best alternative. It's a last resort thing. When you have no choice, do it. Until then you plug away.

Maybe I'm just an eternal optimist. Maybe I'm just more motivated than others. But I can't believe in not having choices. I always feel like there's a way out that's better than the worst. I always feel like things turn out for the best, not by sitting idly by, but by going after what you want. You take from life. Life doesn't give to you otherwise.

Despite life and it being busy, life is nevertheless amazing. Remember that.

Weekend wrapup + bonus content

Breaking news: I vacuumed my car last week! It looks brand new! Okay so maybe not brand new but it's certainly cleaner. It made a huge difference in how I feel about my car and how it looks. I never realized how dirty and messy it was inside until I cleaned it. It looks so much better now.

The weekend was pretty good. We were at a big bjj tournament. My son did well. He lost but I take the blame for a good chunk of it. He was up on points and should have just stalled. It's pretty common in bjj to play like that. You get ahead, you protect the lead. My problem was that I coached it like a wrestling match. In wrestling you're aggressive. You go for the pin. In bjj, you don't. It's a game of being patient. The patient player usually wins. You wait for your opponent to make a mistake. Had I told my son to stall once up on points he wouldn't have been so aggressive and gotten caught in submissions. My bad. I'm still learning. It's only our 3rd tournament. He has another tournament in two weeks.

Did I mention that I vacuumed my car?? It's worth saying again just in case.

This morning I waited at the bus stop with my youngest. With my other boys in middle school, he's the only one that rides the bus to elementary. I noticed something ineresting.  There's a main road that splits the bus route. On one side is my neighborhood. On the other side is another. My neighborhood is newer. The other is older.

Judging by the kids and parents waiting for the bus you can pretty much tell who lives where. Some of us drive our kids to the bus stop and just park on the road. Once our kids get picked up we leave for work from there. From my neighborhood there was an Audi, a Saab, and a newer Dodge truck. On the other side there was a Ford Tempo. The kids on our side for the most part were well dressed. The kids on the other side? Not so well dressed. One kid had on rain boots despite the forecast of 80* weather.

On our side, the parents were made up of me, a soldier, and a mom about to go running. The other side a mom was in sweats smoking. Another mom I watched walk from her house to the bus stop. She also had on sweats and what looked like a bad bleach job. In her fenced front yard I saw 5 dogs running around.

The socioeconomic divide was pretty evident. I'm not judging at all. I just found it interesting that based on how everyone looked, you could tell where everyone lived. I'm a nerd.