About me:

I always cut my own hair. Usually at night. Sometimes it is really hard to get right. This time, I think I can live with it.
It is really hard to get totally right right now because I am actually trying to let it grow out on top but at the same time I get really uncomfortable if it isn't "clean cut." The last time that I cut it I felt like I faded the back too high. I did a better job this time but the sides are a lot longer so it makes it really hard to blend with just one hand. The top is about five inches in length and I faded it from a #2 extension (<1/4 inch) on the clippers. It is a low fade - which I think is harder, but it looks better. Note that low and high refer to the point on the head where the haircut is blended and not the length of the hair.
I know that a post like this really needs a picture... maybe I will put one up soon.

me

PS. This really needs a short addendum - When I say "totally right" I really mean TOTALLY. The number one reason that I do my own haircuts is because I think that I do a better job than what I pay for at the barber. I think that everybody has a little obsession (as in OCD) and this is definitely mine. If I say "I think that I can live with it" it means that it is a good haircut. I CAN'T live with jankety haircuts

Monday's Music

I am in a Stadium Arcadium mood right now.

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Hard to Concentrate




RHCP, Hey

Red Hot Chili Peppers- Hey


me

Prioritizing

I need to prepare lessons for tomorrow. I need to read. I need to study Portuguese. I watched the Super Bowl. I am not a sports fan and I am not a sports commentator. I am a good procrastinator and I am a big play-offs fan. Tonight, I think that I made the right choice. I am really, REALLY unhappy with the outcome of the game, but I think that the Cardinals proved a lot to a lot of people. Santonio Holmes had a great game winning drive, but I think that the real story of this Super Bowl was the defense on both sides of the ball. The interception by the Steelers is what made this a game. Other than that, it was the Cardinals the whole time. The Cardinals stopped the Steelers during the whole game. The only touch down pass that the Steelers had was in the fourth quarter. I really think that the story of the game was the defense.
That is all that I have to say about that. I know that this is going to be in the papers/on the Internet/on the television tomorrow. If you want to get more about this, well, you know where to look.
Bye.
me

Happy Birthday

It is Beck's birthday.

Yay!

I know it's not Monday

Don't worry. Monday is already taken care of. This is just something I wanted to share today.


Conchita, Nada que perder






Something about this song really moves me. I like it.



me

Running Journal

What to write? This journaling is annoying. A little more guidance would be nice. At least it gives me something to blog about. The only problem is that I don't want this blog to turn into me just talking about working out all the time. I am way more complex, way more sentimental than that. So keep your Kleenex handy, folks.

Okay, the running journal: Today I went 2 miles in approximately 15 minutes. I am a little annoyed at the lack of a consistent routine – every class we do something different. Today the workout started with a one lap walk. I didn't participate. I had just walked over there from where I work on campus and I don't really think of walking a lap in 25 degree weather as a "warm up". I filled my water bottle with hot water and put my stuff in a locker in the men's locker room and then I started my jog. A good slow jog is a better warm up (in my opinion) than a freeze-your-ass-off walk.

I felt really good. My lungs hurt from the cold during the first mile but they were with me during the whole run (usually my lungs try to quit before the rest of me is ready to stop). My legs felt fresh, not heavy. My back didn't feel too tight. I felt really good today.

--me

Weird

This is not a look-at-me post; I am not bragging or boasting; and I admit a certain degree of narcissism (show me somebody who isn't vain). The motive behind what I am sharing now is just that - sharing.
What happened to me today at the gym was weird. But first, let me just say that I am VERY comfortable in my own skin. I don't diet and I won't diet. I work out and I enjoy working out but I don't live in a gym like some people. I have always had a very stable weight - since I left boot camp over ten years ago I have hovered around 180 lbs plus or minus 5 lbs. I have had the same size waist since my sophomore year in high school - about 32" max. I don't lose too much weight when I am not in the gym and I never, never gain weight by eating too much. I can gain weight when I am lifting weights regularly but I have absolutely no understanding of what it is to gain unwanted pounds. I cannot empathize with overweight people. I don't know what it is like to be overweight. I admit that I don't like it and I think that a lot of it has to do with lifestyle. I am very active. It is part of who I am. All the same, I recognize that I have been blessed physically - I got my mom's slender build and my dad's strength (thank you both).
In the gym, I am the guy that a lot of people envy: the big strong guys who work out to lose weight think I have got what they want and I am just big enough and strong enough to fall outside the 'too skinny' classification so even a lot of the skinny guys are trying to get to where I am (even if they only see it as one rung on the ladder they want to climb and not the final destination). There are always gym rats - they are not the people I am talking about though. When I say "a lot of people..." I am referring to the regular guys. I consider myself a regular guy and not a gym rat.
Don't misunderstand - I am not bragging. However, I won't diminish the truth in order to obtain some false sense of modesty either - that is not my style. So - now to what happened at the gym today:
I was there working out with two co-workers - a guy and a girl, two people I really enjoy being around. The girl is trying to gain weight and the guy is trying to tighten some things up and get stronger. Honestly, I think that he has the potential to get huge, that is the build he has. On the other hand, as far as I can tell, she has a real uphill battle ahead to gain the weight she wants. Bigger people may not understand, but I think that really skinny people have a harder time getting where they want to be in the gym. The reasons all come to diet. Bigger people can diet and work out and reasonably expect to lose weight if they are consistent and honest with what they do. The skinny people, in the mean time, who don't gain weight no matter how much they pig out have a very hard time because to gain healthy weight they have to be as active or more active than usual - which doesn't seem logically to lead to weight gain - and they have to do what already doesn't put pounds on their bodies - eat a lot.
Anyway, the girl was checking her stomach in the mirror and I lifted my shirt only a few inches to see myself in the mirror. It was not more than a second! As soon as I lifted my shirt this guy who I didn't even see in the gym calls out "I want that." Definitely talking to me/about me, and not to the girl I was working out with.
First thought that crosses my mind: Weird! It wasn't just some dude flirting with me. As weird as that would be, that would be less weird that this guy. After his little burst of enthusiasm, he comes straight over to me - definitely entering my comfort zone - and says to me "How can I get that?" Again, if this was a gay come on, I totally missed it (otherwise... - you pay for dinner... who knows, it might be a heck of a lot easier to 'get that' than you might guess). This time when he asked me how to get my stomach, he lifted his shirt as if I could somehow put a magic stethoscope on his belly and diagnose it right there. What am I, a cross between Richard Simmons and Dr. House? (That might give me nightmares!) It is not even like the guy was in really bad shape, he just has a bit of a beer gut. (But when I flex you can see the eight pack).
I told him that to get the lower abs cut that he was envying he needed to run (not jog). He asked if just dieting would do it. Isn't that just typical!? Everybody wants a runner's body - a runner's legs, butt, and stomach - but nobody wants to do that sort of work. To quote Ronnie Coleman, a former Mr. Olympia, "Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder but nobody wanna lift no heavy ass weight."
Anyway, the whole thing seemed to be pretty weird to me, but then again, I have never been in that guy's skin.

me

Running Journal

Well, I don't really want to be doing this running journal right now. I just got done running. It is raining today so we didn't go outside to run. I really like having this class. I know that last time I complained about the lunges but even after that I did a pretty heavy leg workout with the weights on Friday. I am really enjoying the part of this jogging class that is not jogging. We do some strengthening exercises every class and we have done some basic Yoga stretches each time as well. I really like it. Today we stayed in and ran around the basketball court. We did one lap and then stairs followed by two laps and stairs, three laps and stairs, etc. – for 15 minutes or so. I started out with a pretty fast pace and I think that I was working on the nine laps set when we finished. I felt strong, fast, and healthy today. Since the New Year I have had very little soda to drink. It wasn't really a resolution; I think that it may have been a resolution that B. made. I really have no idea. If it was I don't know how she is doing with it either. So… not much soda (not much sugar, period), plain oats and milk everyday for breakfast, lots of workouts, lots of protein…. I think that I will be looking good for summer. I also think that I will be running a sub-24 minute 5K before the end the semester. We will see. I went to run a 5K race this weekend but I was confused about the start time and the location and I ended up missing it. I go there right after the runners started. I was able to see the leaders at the 2 mile mark and, truthfully, I think that I could have been there with them. The leaders' times at 2 miles was about 13 minutes. Anyway, that gives me a lot of confidence. We will see where I am and how humbled I am after I actually show up to run on time. Really, I am not trying to sound boastful.

So, today was a good run – good breathing, good sweat, and my legs and chest felt pretty solid today. And the weather indoors was pretty nice.

--me

Monday's Music

Today, we are going to travel. Don't worry, we are still sticking with English for now.
First, a question: How many of you are claustrophobic? I am not, but I imagine that it is a feeling like the world getting too small to live in. Sometimes in life things happen that make this planet smaller. When violence steals great beauty from the world it gets smaller. This happened in Pakistan in 2005 when Taliban militants destroyed many ancient Buddhist and Hindu statues. Something like this also happened in a way that touches us here a lot more personally - when John Lennon was gunned down in 1980 on his way home from the studio. There are many great artists in the world who make this planet easier to live on, but among artists John Lennon was part of a special class.
Less well known, but equally tragic is the case of Lucky Dube (pronounced Doobay). He was South Africa's best selling Reggae singer of all time. Contrary to the image that many people have of Reggae, he did not use drugs, drink, or smoke. His music is driven by a belief in peace and unity. In many of his songs, he sings about the need to work together, the need for education, above all he sings about love - in all of its forms.
Lucky Dube is his given name; it has no connection to marijuana. I read somewhere that he was not named for several months after he was born because his mother had suffered several unsuccessful pregnancies and thought that he would die as well. When he did not die in early infancy his mother named him Lucky. Lucky Dube was shot dead by carjackers in 2007 after taking some of his children to a relative's house. Senseless. And the whole world lost something good. If you are interested in hearing part of an interview by Lucky Dube, you can check it out HERE.

Love is the answer... so keep on playing those mind games together.
--John Lennon, Mind Games




"...yeah, we're playing those mind games forever.... faith in the future... out of the now"


Lucky Dube, I Want To Know What Love Is
I know that this is a cover, but couldn't find the video that I wanted to share (Sometimes I Cry), and I think that this captures his particular sound very well.



If you like this, listen to this as well: God Bless the Women.
Enjoy,
me

Blue's Clues...

Okay, a while back I said that I was going to make this post. Here it is. I got a video - it is much easier than writing. First, a little background. You know how after a shower or a hot bath if you touch a mirror or glass the moisture that has soaked into your hands will make a steamy sort of a hand print. Well, Gabe really likes "a clue, a clue" from Blue's Clues - I mean for a while everywhere we went we had to make clues. Most of the time this was done with paper and ink but then one day when I took him out of the tub I stuck his hand on the mirror to make a "clue." Since then that has become a ritual, but it is a ritual that has evolved. Previously, I wrote about his penis obsession... well, it has come to affect his clue making as well.
See for yourself:


me

Technical difficulties

I somehow lost the first entry in my "Running Journal," the one that said it was for Tuesday and Wednesday. I was using Microsoft Word to post the journal entries and somehow when I posted the new entry it replaced the previous entry. It is lost to me completely. I don't know if there is anybody out there who gets an RSS feed of my blog that might be able to help me out (actually I know that there are 8 people who subscribe to my blog feed - thanks to Google Reader). If you do get a feed of this it is possible that your feed saved both versions. It is also possible that it didn't. Anyway, if you still have a copy of the first Running Journal entry, can you send it to me either in my email if you have that or in the comments? It might be better if you can check that before refreshing the feed or doing a send/receive.
I hope that I am not asking too much. Really, I doubt that any of you have this but it would save me a little bit of work of trying to recreate the post (not for the blog's sake, but for the class' sake).
Thanks,
me

Running Journal, Thursday 1/22/09

Okay, I just got out of the jogging class and here are my thoughts: WTF!!

The teacher had us start the class with a little bit of stretching and then we went out to the track and did 200 meters of lunges. WTF is that about!? This is the second day of actual work outs. Never, not on any team I have ever been on, did I have to do 200 meters of lunges. Okay, really I don't mind. It is hard and most of the students' form was not very good but what I am used to doing is several sets of 10 to 15 yards. I think that would much more reasonable but I am a student in the class, not a teacher.

After the torture of the lunges we did some running. I don't know how long we were supposed to run. I ran 6 laps. I felt slow at the start (could it be the lunges?) and at 4 laps my legs felt really heavy so I stopped and drank some water. In the fifth lap I started to loosen up and I felt really good. I had a very strong sixth lap and while I was doing the sixth lap the class went to field in the center of the track and began doing stretching. We ended the class with about twenty minutes of stretching and a few minutes in Yoga's corpse pose. I felt like my pace overall was faster than on Tuesday but I also didn't run as far. If I run in a 5K this weekend (I am actually planning on this), I think that I would have to keep my pace somewhat slower to be able to finish. I think that pushing myself right now I could run a 24 min 5K but I feel like starting out with a 30 min pace will be better and then deciding if I want to speed things up after half way. Truthfully, I just don't think I have the lungs for a 24 min time at that distance right now.

It feels good to breath. My legs are responding to the work outs already. I feel a greater fullness in my quads and in my lower abs. I know that that sounds funny but I have enough experience working out to be aware of those things – that, and the fact that it is my own body I am talking about.

Alright, I have to run now (pun intended). I have to do some work for Portuguese.

me

The Man...

*... is watching you!*
I use sitemeter to track visits to my blog. Here is what came today:

Visit Detail
senate.gov ? (U.S. Government)
IP
Address
156.33.57.#
(U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms)
ISP
U.S.
Senate Sergeant at Arms
Location
District of
Columbia
City :
Washington

Referring URL
http://www.google.co...2
ww2 advertisement
Search Engine
google.com
Search Words
"what
did you do for
freedom today?" ww2 advertisement
Visit Entry
Page
http://maunderblog.blogspot.com/2008_06_01_archive.html
Visit
Exit Page
http://maunderblog.blogspot.com/2008_06_01_archive.html
Out
Click
Visitor's
Time
Jan 20 2009
12:10:55 pm

"The Man" was looking for something (during Obama's inauguration speech!) that was not available on my blog, but I have reposted it here (below) for you all to see. It is a post about a Medal of Honor that was awarded and I included an image of a WW2 poster that says, "What have you done for freedom today?" with the image of a dead soldier laying face down in the mud. Thank you War Department for this bit of propaganda.

You have now been warned: you are being watched!

God bless America, land of the free

There was a medal of honor awarded today (ORIGINALLY POSTED ON 6/2/08). I am truly thankful for the honor of those who serve our country in this time of war. I think that they provide many worthy examples for others to learn from. Nevertheless, I wonder if that honor and those examples couldn't be put to better use at home. What do we do here for freedom and justice in the world? Do preemptive wars of aggression really help spread an ideology of peace, freedom, and civilized dialogue in the uncivilized parts of the world where our troops are deployed (those areas are uncivilized - nothing spells uncivilized like the homicide by suicide that caused 9/11 and continues to take lives every day over in the Middle East)? I ask, does killing half a million Iraqis really make the rest of them free? How can we spread a better ideology than the one for which we now award medals of honor posthumously? This country cannot afford to spill its bravest blood in the sands of far off lands. We need to bring that faith and that courage home with our flags flying high at their return rather than draping their coffins.

As the picture says, what did you do for freedom today?

Hope, Change, Inauguration

I didn't watch the inauguration today. After the election I was pretty tired of politics and I haven't watched much politics at all. That is not the reason that I didn't watch the inauguration today though - I was busy working on stuff for school. But I still have an opinion:
I am glad for the optimism that so many people feel with this transition. We live in a time when it is very easy to feel pessimism; it feels like the whole economy is going to pieces and every time it seems like it can't get any worse we are proven wrong.
Hope is not a material change, it is much more spiritual. You can't feed yourself on hope but it is nevertheless the fuel of just about every accomplishment. It combines with faith in a very practical manner to make real advances and bring to pass real change. Hope is good.
There is another side to hope that is harder to deal with though. I refer to the side that is the disillusionment, the loss of patience, and the hopelessness. These come when seeds sown in hope hope fail to bear fruit. This is my great fear, and it is part of the reason I turned the news off after November 4. I fear that so many people - most of whom are good people that I can agree with in many ways - have invested so much in the rhetoric of hope and that if the real changes don't live up to expectations, to the hoped for changes... Well, I fear that there could be a collective disappointment that, when combined with the hard times that we are already facing, could lead us into a pit that this country has never seen the likes of.
Here is part of something that I wrote in November of 2007. I still have it on my end of the blog but it is one of about 200 posts that I made private:
I think that the key to happiness is the complete relinquishment of all expectations.

... Expectations are what make disappointment possible. Expectations are what make
family relationships more challenging than the run of the mill relationships
that we have with strangers with whom we have no expectations. If we give up all
expectations, what is left? Then we take things as they come, whatever they are....

And yet I am hopeful.

But unassuming.

I would add to that quoted piece that we are left with a lot of emptiness and mediocrity when we give up hope and expectations. I don't want that.

me