 |
| That's me in the mask (2011). |
Back in July, Professor Bill Schneider of George Mason University wondered if 2016 wasn't this generation's 1968. This was before Trump won the election and the Cubs won the World Series.
Last night I had a dream that Donald Trump started a nuclear war. I was in a restaurant and we all did the "duck and cover" drill like school children from the 1950s. I hope that if I was stuck under a table and world was going all to shit, maybe then I'd say to hell with propriety and kiss that French-Canadian girl.
But I can't worry about Trump. Or perhaps I can worry a little, but I don't want to ruminate on it. It's better to spend your life energy on things you can control than to rage over things you can't. The nuclear war will kill you either way.
So, with that said, I want to celebrate a couple of things from 2016 and write down some health plans for 2017. After all, it's the season of Epiphany; we're learning how to live, how to belong to this world, to our country, to our places. Thanks to Brett Jenkins for the format of this post.
Last night I had a dream that Donald Trump started a nuclear war. I was in a restaurant and we all did the "duck and cover" drill like school children from the 1950s. I hope that if I was stuck under a table and world was going all to shit, maybe then I'd say to hell with propriety and kiss that French-Canadian girl.
But I can't worry about Trump. Or perhaps I can worry a little, but I don't want to ruminate on it. It's better to spend your life energy on things you can control than to rage over things you can't. The nuclear war will kill you either way.
So, with that said, I want to celebrate a couple of things from 2016 and write down some health plans for 2017. After all, it's the season of Epiphany; we're learning how to live, how to belong to this world, to our country, to our places. Thanks to Brett Jenkins for the format of this post.
I took my life back
Between mid-2013 and the end of 2015, I lost my health, my passions and routines and networks, a 3-year relationship, and my family. In 2016, I rebuilt my life.
A Softball Championship
A little story: In 2015, my softball team finished the regular season undefeated but lost in the semi-finals after a controversial rule change to the tournament format (we got screwed). In 2016, we lost a couple games during the regular season, but upset the defending champions in the title game. I love the dudes on my softball team. I even made a few circus catches out in right field because I'm that damned good.
Between mid-2013 and the end of 2015, I lost my health, my passions and routines and networks, a 3-year relationship, and my family. In 2016, I rebuilt my life.
A Softball Championship
A little story: In 2015, my softball team finished the regular season undefeated but lost in the semi-finals after a controversial rule change to the tournament format (we got screwed). In 2016, we lost a couple games during the regular season, but upset the defending champions in the title game. I love the dudes on my softball team. I even made a few circus catches out in right field because I'm that damned good.
I discovered Whole30
Brett Jenkins also gets credit for this. Social media gets a lot of flak, and rightly so, but if it wasn't for Brett's Facebook pics of avocados and raspberries and black coffee, I'd have never learned about the Whole30. It changed the way I eat and the way I think about food.
I learned new songs on my acoustic
Brett Jenkins also gets credit for this. Social media gets a lot of flak, and rightly so, but if it wasn't for Brett's Facebook pics of avocados and raspberries and black coffee, I'd have never learned about the Whole30. It changed the way I eat and the way I think about food.
I learned new songs on my acoustic
Most of them are from Jackson Browne.
I got back into the gym
After I got sick, my gym routine died a slow, agonizing death and for a year or so I didn't go. Then the old gym I loved closed its doors, and that made getting back into it even more of a chore. But in 2016, I pushed through, I got a gym membership, and I started easing my way in. Now, I'm back at it, 4 days a week, doing the 5/3/1.
I traveled a lot
Dallas for WrestleMania; Hawaii and San Fran over Christmas (#travelingwithkev); Las Vegas with dad for a business expo; a family ski trip to Crystal Mountain; Holland and Silver Lake, Michigan with the girl who was way too young and I shouldn't have been dating. What an awesome year.
I was in a play
I was cast as the King of Bohemia in a Sherlock Holmes play. Rehearsals 5 nights a week for a month and a half. Performances 3 nights a week (and a night of brush ups) for 3 weeks. I'd never done community theatre before, but it was an overwhelmingly positive experience.
I learned how to saunter
I read Walking by Thoreau and I took up the practice of sauntering, which around here means putting on some good walking shoes and trespassing over backyards and farms and taking summer naps by ponds and rivers. Walk like the whole planet is yours to enjoy.
I saw Weird Al in concert
Bob Vanderkolk and I had a drunkenly good time at the arcade before the show.
I saw two musicals
Antigone and Oklahoma! Both at Taylor University. They were wonderful.
I discovered Rick and Morty
If you haven't watched it, go change that.
I went to Cedar Point
With two lifelong friends, Jordan and Daniel. One of the best times of my life.
I went to Cedar Point
With two lifelong friends, Jordan and Daniel. One of the best times of my life.
I became the Bluffton Elementary and Middle School chess coach
I'm not great at chess. I'm not even sure I qualify as good. But I know enough to introduce kids to the game and to the Masters on YouTube.
I redesigned our business website
This was a project I'd had in mind for a while and this past spring I finally did it. It took a several 12-hour days and then some but I'm happy with how it turned out. I did a lot of other good things here at the storage facility in 2016.
I visited a therapist once a week for over 8 months
This was helpful.
I learned how to set helpful boundaries for myself with other people
Especially customers, and on a related note, I became better at telling people "yes" when I mean "yes" and "no" when I mean "no fucking way, that's your fucking problem, own your shit and deal with it."
I ended a dating relationship that needed to end
And not a moment too soon (though possibly a little late, as is my habit).
I gave a sermon at my church
It was my first sermon and it was about politics.
My closest friends all survived
Some people I knew died in 2016, but my closest mates and all my family made it through. It won't always be that way.
Good stuff. Now, here are some wellness goals for 2017:
5/3/1 and Agile 8
I'm going to get back to my old training routine. 4 days in the gym per week, doing the 5/3/1 and the Agile 8. The former is for strength, the latter is for agility. In the past I've always let my agility work slide, but not this time - my new rule is that before I lift I must do my agility training. I like the 5/3/1 for its simplicity and the way it splits up the lifts. I'll post the basics here. If you're interested, click on the link or do a web search.
Monday - Overhead Press
Tuesday - Deadlift
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - Squat
Friday - Bench Press
The Agile 8 is a straightforward flexibility routine. The video is very helpful.
Intermittent Fasting
This is something very new for me. Towards the end of 2016 I began fasting regularly, usually on Mondays. This year, for spiritual practice, physical health, and proper attitude towards food and eating, I'm going to begin an Intermittent Fasting routine. I'm good at following eating plans. I actually keep a food log. What this looks like in practice is a 6 hour eating window each day followed by an 18 hour fasting period. So if I eat from 2-8pm on Monday, I won't eat again until 2pm on Tuesday, stopping at 8pm, rinse and repeat. It's called the 18/6. 18 hours of fasting, 6 hours of eating, per day. I've been doing it for a week and it works well for me. I may need to tinker with the exact eating hours, but generally I like this approach. I've stacked it with the Whole30.
Finishing what I started
I'm getting back in the ring and finishing my pro-wrestling training and I'm not quitting. I want to learn how to tell a story through the medium of pro-wrestling. That probably sounds funny to a lot of you; I want to become good enough such that if you come watch me, you won't find it so laughable.
I hope 2017 treats you well. Maybe you'll meet a French-Canadian.
Peace
I redesigned our business website
This was a project I'd had in mind for a while and this past spring I finally did it. It took a several 12-hour days and then some but I'm happy with how it turned out. I did a lot of other good things here at the storage facility in 2016.
I visited a therapist once a week for over 8 months
This was helpful.
I learned how to set helpful boundaries for myself with other people
Especially customers, and on a related note, I became better at telling people "yes" when I mean "yes" and "no" when I mean "no fucking way, that's your fucking problem, own your shit and deal with it."
I ended a dating relationship that needed to end
And not a moment too soon (though possibly a little late, as is my habit).
I gave a sermon at my church
It was my first sermon and it was about politics.
My closest friends all survived
Some people I knew died in 2016, but my closest mates and all my family made it through. It won't always be that way.
Good stuff. Now, here are some wellness goals for 2017:
5/3/1 and Agile 8
I'm going to get back to my old training routine. 4 days in the gym per week, doing the 5/3/1 and the Agile 8. The former is for strength, the latter is for agility. In the past I've always let my agility work slide, but not this time - my new rule is that before I lift I must do my agility training. I like the 5/3/1 for its simplicity and the way it splits up the lifts. I'll post the basics here. If you're interested, click on the link or do a web search.
Monday - Overhead Press
Tuesday - Deadlift
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - Squat
Friday - Bench Press
The Agile 8 is a straightforward flexibility routine. The video is very helpful.
Intermittent Fasting
This is something very new for me. Towards the end of 2016 I began fasting regularly, usually on Mondays. This year, for spiritual practice, physical health, and proper attitude towards food and eating, I'm going to begin an Intermittent Fasting routine. I'm good at following eating plans. I actually keep a food log. What this looks like in practice is a 6 hour eating window each day followed by an 18 hour fasting period. So if I eat from 2-8pm on Monday, I won't eat again until 2pm on Tuesday, stopping at 8pm, rinse and repeat. It's called the 18/6. 18 hours of fasting, 6 hours of eating, per day. I've been doing it for a week and it works well for me. I may need to tinker with the exact eating hours, but generally I like this approach. I've stacked it with the Whole30.
Finishing what I started
I'm getting back in the ring and finishing my pro-wrestling training and I'm not quitting. I want to learn how to tell a story through the medium of pro-wrestling. That probably sounds funny to a lot of you; I want to become good enough such that if you come watch me, you won't find it so laughable.
I hope 2017 treats you well. Maybe you'll meet a French-Canadian.
Peace
No comments:
Post a Comment