Monday, May 25, 2009

Two Miles: Home Ownership

We have finally moved in, the construction is half way done, and I finally got to jump in the pool.

Happy Memorial Day everyone, today I spent the day mowing the swamp, I mean my overgrown lawn. I haven't done yard work in two years, but today was the day. Got up early, got a hearty breakfast, and down to home depot to pick up oil, a gas tank, and a spark plug. After dusting off the old lawn mower, it was time to start her up. It came to live instantly as if it had been running all this time. I jump on the arduous task of mowing the yard. Lucky for me is not a big yard, so I thought. Turns out its much bigger than I had realized, so I spent a couple of hours mowing and picking up the remainder of the the branches and leaves after six straight days of rain and storms.

The afternoon was occupied by the hedges. My wife really enjoys the view of the water and golf course, so she wanted to have it even clearer so five inches of hedges had to go. A pair of pruning scissors, electric hedge trimmer, scroll saw, and a trip to ace hardware for Lopping Shears and three hours later, the view is magnificent.

After a full day of laboring, there was nothing left to do but go for the two miles. Yeap, the two miles were accomplished at a crawling and painful pace, but done none-the-less. The best part of the two miles is the sense of accomplishment. Just when I thought I couldn't go on, I finished with several laps in the pool, followed by a very relaxing jump into the hot spa.

The bottom line is that we all have goals and lack of energy, lack of time, or otherwise is not an excuse to not get things done. I thought I wanted to buy a house, turns out I just wanted a private pool and spa. I'm glad that we are now homeowners once again and will be even more excited when the renovation is finished and I don't have to climb out of a window to enjoy my backyard.

P.S. We had our first alligator sighting today. As we were cleaning up the tools a nice size gator when swimming past us. I threw a few sticks its way to get it a little excited, but after several minutes the novelty wore off and I got bored.

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Monday, May 18, 2009

2 Miles: Unpacking, rain, and health club

It has been raining non-stop all day today, the wind has started to pick up and I don't see any way to perform my two miles.

We have spend the whole day running errands, back and forth to the old house a few times, and I'm just glad to be out of that place. We have only spend two nights at our new place, but it seems like night and day. I can't believe we lived there for one year, so cramp, yet happily storing cash away.

The rain commence around 10 this morning and has not ceased. They claimed is a northeastern, I'm still not sure what this means, something about the storm coming from the North East, but I'm in the South East ... come on!

I see no option, but to go running at the gym. Gosh, it has been over a month since I step foot in that place. I guess this prove that sometimes there is a need to pay the high premiums for such amenities. I had been going to the gym in the wee hours of the AM until my wife underwent surgery and all exercise activities seemed to had cease soon after until the 2 mile challenge came along.

The place was very crowded, now I remember why we decided to exercise while it was still dark and was hard to roll out of bed. I jumped on the only free treadmill to perform the arduous task. It seems to me that it was just a lot easier to run on the treadmill than on the streets of my neighborhood. I went two miles and decided to extend it to three, finishing at 3.25 miles and 500+ calories burnt.

The bottom line is that when there is a will, there is a way, I needed to do my two miles and I wasn't going to let the bad weather stop me from doing it. It felt cramp and uncomfortable to be doing it at the gym, I don't know what has changed. The place still the same, I was a gym rat before, but seems like nature has change me instead.

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Sunday, May 17, 2009

2 Miles: Survivor

We survived the move and started finding a place for our things as best we can. Renovations will probably take another month and dust will be flying until then. Therefore there is no sense is rolling anything out till all construction is done.

Even though I found my body with every muscle aching and hurting, I drag myself out for a two mile jog around the neighborhood. I notice how many of the houses have American Flags flying from their mailboxes and find myself wondering if there will be some sort of memorial day parade taking place. I also wondered how come I didn't get the flag memo, or did those jerks who we purchase the home from took a flag that was suppose to be left behind. If that's the case, that's just unpatriotic and they should be ... well I'm not one for ill fated wishes.

The bottom line is that we survive the move and nothing was found broken, except for a few muscle fibers that will recovered. I enjoyed this afternoon jog as it stretched the sore muscles and got me back in track to survive another day. Will see how the survivor finale wraps up. I have to believe that JT will take this season.

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Saturday, May 16, 2009

2 Miles: Moving Day

Today was a great two miles. I woke up and went for a nice jog which helped clear my head and get prepare for the move ahead.

Movers showed up promptly a few minutes before 8 AM, I was feeling refresh. Two guys showed up in a Ponte Vedra Movers truck. Why is it that movers are always skinny, yet strong and full of stamina? These two fellows got the truck loaded in 3 hours and out and placed in 2 hours.

I was feeling bored and decided to pitched-in with some of the box and bed lifting. All in all not a bad moved. Of course after having moved 19 times, we seem to have it down to a science. This time around though we felt behind as we didn't pack the kitchen and decided to move it on our own.

The bottom line is that if you prepare ahead you can get things done very quickly. The movers were surprised how well prepare we were. Beds had been taken apart, pictures, mirrors, and paintings had already been transplanted, and all miscellaneous items were boxed and ready to rolled.

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Friday, May 15, 2009

2 Miles: Leg Cramps

Today we went for our two miles, everything seemed fine until we got home. I felt exhausted and quickly dropped to the ground. I recovered, showered and got ready to go to work.

While my short ride in, my thigh muscle started spasming and I had a hard time walking in. I hope I have not cause any damage by doing this two miles everyday.

The bottom line is that I made a commitment to myself doing these two mile exercise walking, jogging, or running routine for two months. A month and a half in I have not missed any days and I'm planning to sticking to my commitment, even if I have to drag myself out there.

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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

2 Miles: Health Club

This morning we were able to get up bright and early. It seems that if we are able to get out of bed when the alarm clock goes off, we are able to quickly get moving and stay motivated to achieve our two miles. As well, it helps that now that Florida has achieve full hotness, it's easier to perform outside activities while is still cooler.

As we were completing our two miles and had slowed our pace, we started to discuss the pros and cons of maintaining a gym membership. We are currently members of World Gym and have enjoyed the membership for a little over a year. When we first signed up we receive a few extra months free as part of a special promotion. We paid the entire year upfront, but now that is time to re-up we are wondering whether we really have used it to justify the price.

It seems that lately we have been performing a lot of our exercise activities outdoors, and haven't really been to the gym in the past two months. Since we live in Florida, we enjoy warm weather for about 10 months with January and February temperatures typically dropping to high 40s and sometimes waking up to some white roofs in the 20s.

The bottom line is that it just doesn't seemed like a great idea to pay for something we can get for free. At first, it was a great motivation to exercise as we were paying for something, that feeling quickly dried up and the reality is that motivation comes from within not by external factors.

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Wednesday, May 06, 2009

2 Miles: TPC


Today I got to enjoy a nice afternoon outdoors walking around the Tournament Players Club (TPC) Sawgrass. It was nice to get out and see some golf celebrities swinging the clubs and waking some balls

It was also nice to see that even the pros still hit a ball or two in the water. It is amazing to me that professional players make so much money at these events. Last year's prize purse was 9.5 million dollars of which winner, Sergio Garcia, got 1.71 million. Not a bad payday for 4 days of work. I'm not one to criticize professional players, regardless of the sport. They have a unique ability and get paid as such. It wouldn't be fair for me to state otherwise, is not like I can go out there and do it.



Although, we walked around for what seemed miles, I still decided not to count this as my two miles for the day and got home and decided to hit the pavement for a nice two mile run. I used to hate having to run, but now I look forward to it. It is a challenge, but nothing feels better than to accomplished and succeed any challenge.



The bottom line is that you need to push yourself and achieve every goal you set for yourself. The professionals get paid handsomely for it, but there is no better compensation than extending my life a few years by overcoming the two mile plus challenge each and every day.

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Friday, May 01, 2009

2 Miles: Tired but done.

Friday morning I was awaken by ADT Alarms, my colleague set off the alarm at the office. He claims a senior moment, I think otherwise, but prefer not to express it here.

I decided to leave work around 5:15 instead of my usual 6pm or later. I got home and thought about paying the dollar and heading to bed. However, I have too much of a competitive spirit to give in that easy. We pulled it together, threw on the walking shoes and out the door we went.

While discussing future plans, we thought about our new house and the palms trees that surround it. I looked up and saw some that showed some much needed trimming. It is amazing how we drive and walk around and never take in our surroundings. With that thought in mind, I started noticing how most palm trees throughout our walk need trimming. It's hard to think about trimming a palm, they are so tall, but with so many dead leaves still hanging strong all the way on top, how do you trim a palm tree anyways?

The bottom line is that even if you are too tire, look within yourself and you will find it to pull thru. While there, take a closer look at yourself and yoru surrounding, after all we are a product of our surroundings, who knows you may need a little trimming to improve yoursel.

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Wednesday, April 22, 2009

2-Miles: Earth Day

With Biggest Loser season 7 now winding down to the end, it seems like Tara can't loose a challenge and will take this thing to the end. With that said, I think people have now become very health conscious and the whole world is hype up on losing weight.

This past Wednesday my colleagues decided to start a 2 mile challenge. That is, the folks who decided to join have to walk 2 miles a day, seven days a week. These two miles were imposed to motivate folks to step out of their daily life and comfort zone. With summer coming it seemed like a good idea. I typically run 3 miles four days a week and this seemed like the perfect thing to get me out of the house every day instead. My wife has decided to join me and we use the time to wind out the day and stroll down the neighborhood and beach.

I started thinking that there are so many different things that we observed on our daily life and as such, I decided to document in this blog the things I come out at me as different during my two miles.

Happy Earth Day 2009As a celebration today being Earth Day, I started noticing while walking on the beach, that sometimes we disrespect our planet and our fellow cohabitants by polluting and trashing our share space on this Earth. We started our walk this evening a few minutes past 6 and as the sun started to set and the beach started to become more desolate, I notice the garbage people leave behind. The photo here depicts a bottle cap left behind from a sprite bottle. The bottle was gone, but the cap remained. So the people having this drink decided that they would pick up the bottle and leave a cap behind. Something this small could easily be picked up and swallow by one of the many dogs that are walked thereby leading to indigestion, or worse, death.

The bottom line is that there are so many things that we can do to change ourselves and our environment. It is the little things and details that set us apart. Do your part and start picking up after yourself. That 10 seconds it takes to pick a bottle cap can save our planet and a life.

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Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Fit Students are Stress Free and Sexually Active

Those of you who know me, know that I'm straight forward and don't beat around the bush. I tell it like it is, therefore from time to time end up putting my foot in my mouth.

With that said, I just read a story in Reuters entitle "Women drawn to men with muscles." First off, all men have muscles. Second, I understand they mean men who are physically fit, but this is no big surprise. Did it really deem a full two page article? This came from the oddly enough news area of the site, again those of you who know me, know I love to read this area of Reuters as it is designed to present funny stories about the stupid/odd things people do.

The story is about a study/research conducted by the University of California Los Angeles which interviewed 99 college men to find out how many sexual partners they had. The study was designed to elaborate on the fact that muscular men were twice as likely to have had more than three sex partners than the underdeveloped types.

The bottom line is that, "a study, really!", if you want to get some action while in college you better get to the gym. Not only will you find yourself fighting the chicks off, but you will enjoy a healthier life overall.

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