Oct 20
Time Consumer
ryan | biking, election, life, working out | October 20, 2008 | 1 Comment »

Today was the beginning of my third week straight of going to the gym and my attempt to sustain an active lifestyle. Between weightlifting, running, and biking on the weekend, I’ve been surprised at how little effort it has taken. It seems to have fallen into my every day routine, and it’s very refreshing to know that I haven’t met any real challenges in trying to meet my goal. This isn’t very fitting, but a lyric just came on iTunes that says “Pain is only a pulse if you just stop feeling it.” I thought it was kind of interesting.

I’m kind of anxious for the presidential elections to be over. I think almost everyone can agree that it’s turned into a bit of a circus. I guess I’m generally tired of political strategy getting in the way of real issues, and the use of gimmicks and distractions by both presidential candidates. I have no doubt in my mind that Obama will be our next president come election day, but I feel like I’ve been following this 20-month road only for it to turn into a round-about discussion about nothing at the very end. I know who I’m voting for, and I’m tired of hearing about it all.

On a side note, I’ve also been getting back into playing guitar recently. My playing has been sparse at best in the past couple years, and I feel like I have a renewed interest in learning new songs and trying to improve myself. Maybe it’s a trend in life - when you try to improve yourself in one area, you start developing a want to improve in other areas as well. The only downside is that I haven’t had much time outside of work and the gym to explore other opportunities, like making friends and meeting girls. Oh well.

I noticed an interesting thing while biking these past two weekends. I used to take a lot of time out of my days in the past to reflect on things, and over the last year or so I’ve digressed a bit from that. I used to sit and listen to music while writing; I used to write music; I used to walk places and spend time alone in preparation for what I thought my soon-to-be future would be. Now, in riding 20-plus miles a week, I’ve had time to really be on my own, alone in my environment and I’ve had time to really think. It’s refreshing, but I have found myself thinking where hours of my time have gone. Whereas I would usually attribute this loss in time to surfing the internet or something as time-consuming and relatively pointless, I now can be proud that I’m actually moving toward a positive goal that I’ve set. A week from now, I hope that I can say that I’m starting my fourth week of bettering myself - in discipline and in persistence.


Jul 29

This weekend was spent on a nice, short trip home to see family that I haven’t seen in years. Reunions aren’t really my thing, but it was relaxing to spend an entire day at a lake in the mountains. Between barbequeing, not catching any fish, drinking with relatives, and playing guitar in the rain, I have to say that it was a success. It’s so strange any time I go back home, but this time I got to meet a ton of new people, and the definite lack of stress that comes with fishing in the mountains was welcomed with open arms.

The weirdest part about this weekend was seeing everyone grown up. It’s amazing how much 2-5 years can change people - sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. It also forced me to take an introspective look at myself and how much I’ve changed over the years. I won’t go into any details, but it was probably the first time I’ve dug that deep into myself without sinking into a slump. Turning myself inside out was never this painless, and it was never this rewarding. I didn’t think my perspective could get much fresher, but it did, and it was a pretty amazing experience.

Also, I saw The Dark Knight twice, and am planning on seeing it again - hopefully in IMAX. That movie has restored my faith in a lot of ways, and it will remain in my mind for a long time as one of the first great things I have experienced here in California. The first of many. Right along with watching the sun set behind the ocean. Right along with conquering my first mountain on a bike.

For now, I just need to work on taking things one step at a time.