My lack of recent posting is due to a large project I've been working on. I have had plenty of free time to write, just not the focus to think about something else enough to write about it.
My project is an upgrade to our companies business system. I have been working on this project for a very long time. On and off for a couple of years at least. As you might guess, there have been a variety of hurdles that delayed the project and even caused a few restarts. Somehow... we managed to finally arrive at cut-over.
I'll be working this weekend on the conversion, so perhaps as I'm watching the status bars slowly move, I'll find something interesting to write about.
We shall see.
- ND
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
The Plateau...
I've reached a plateau and I'm frustrated.
If you are a regular reader you already know that I purchased a Fitbit and started walking. Most of the walking has been at the mall, but last Sunday was an unusually beautiful day for February and I walked 8.5 miles in my subdivision.
I'm motivated for success. M. is encouraging me, and I'm feeling great.
I'm not accustomed to exercise and dieting. I'm lucky I'm not gigantic considering my disdain of purposeful exertion. I never monitored calories, or turned down an offer of super-sizing. How I managed to avoid obesity I know not.
Suddenly I'm excited to exercise. I drink lots of water. I take the stairs. Who is this guy?
Now the bad news... I seem to have reached a plateau.
Because I have so little experience in exercise and healthy habits, I'm frustrated by my inability to crash through barriers.
I have gotten good advice from my friends who are "fitness people". They say things like... stay the course... muscle weighs more than fat... mix your routine with cardio and strength training... bla bla bla... Yeah I get it. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon. Somehow, knowing that doesn't make it any less frustrating.
I'll get there.
- ND
If you are a regular reader you already know that I purchased a Fitbit and started walking. Most of the walking has been at the mall, but last Sunday was an unusually beautiful day for February and I walked 8.5 miles in my subdivision.
I'm motivated for success. M. is encouraging me, and I'm feeling great.
I'm not accustomed to exercise and dieting. I'm lucky I'm not gigantic considering my disdain of purposeful exertion. I never monitored calories, or turned down an offer of super-sizing. How I managed to avoid obesity I know not.
Suddenly I'm excited to exercise. I drink lots of water. I take the stairs. Who is this guy?
Now the bad news... I seem to have reached a plateau.
Because I have so little experience in exercise and healthy habits, I'm frustrated by my inability to crash through barriers.
I have gotten good advice from my friends who are "fitness people". They say things like... stay the course... muscle weighs more than fat... mix your routine with cardio and strength training... bla bla bla... Yeah I get it. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon. Somehow, knowing that doesn't make it any less frustrating.
I'll get there.
- ND
Friday, February 06, 2015
What Death Teaches About Life...
Last Saturday I attended a funeral mass for a friends mother. I hadn't seen my friends mother for a very long time. I'm not sure that she would have recognized or remembered me.
Her mass was packed wall to wall. There must have been 500 people at mass that Saturday morning. I couldn't help but think that this woman had touched many lives.
After a homily that included many wonderful stories about her life, two eulogies were given. One was from a close friend, and the other was from a person who was a member of a organization where my friends mother volunteered. Both eulogies were funny and gave a good insight into her life. They didn't overplay the good and ignore the bad, they humanized her, and that was refreshing.
As we were leaving the after mass gathering, I turned to M. and said...
You know what I was thinking, I was thinking that I really haven't done much with my life. M. responded, that she had been thinking the same thing about herself.
In contrast to the life that my friends mother had led... one filled with volunteer work and devotion to her family and church. I felt that I had accomplished little.
Over the last week I have had the opportunity to think about this more. What I believe, is that perhaps everyone has a different way of giving. We are not all volunteers. We are not all parents or parishioners. We give in the way we are comfortable with, and it isn't always measurable in time, or value against the deeds of others.
What if being a good husband, brother or friend is all I accomplish?
Perhaps that is enough.
- ND
Her mass was packed wall to wall. There must have been 500 people at mass that Saturday morning. I couldn't help but think that this woman had touched many lives.
After a homily that included many wonderful stories about her life, two eulogies were given. One was from a close friend, and the other was from a person who was a member of a organization where my friends mother volunteered. Both eulogies were funny and gave a good insight into her life. They didn't overplay the good and ignore the bad, they humanized her, and that was refreshing.
As we were leaving the after mass gathering, I turned to M. and said...
You know what I was thinking, I was thinking that I really haven't done much with my life. M. responded, that she had been thinking the same thing about herself.
In contrast to the life that my friends mother had led... one filled with volunteer work and devotion to her family and church. I felt that I had accomplished little.
Over the last week I have had the opportunity to think about this more. What I believe, is that perhaps everyone has a different way of giving. We are not all volunteers. We are not all parents or parishioners. We give in the way we are comfortable with, and it isn't always measurable in time, or value against the deeds of others.
What if being a good husband, brother or friend is all I accomplish?
Perhaps that is enough.
- ND
Tuesday, February 03, 2015
49 Days...
M. pointed out this morning that we are now 7 weeks smoke free.
I have moments periodically where I think about a smoke. I wouldn't really call it a pang, or an urge, so much as just a thought.
This is what those thoughts are like...
For the last 2 years we have rented a house in the Florida Keys for a late season vacation with friends. Our friends have been generous enough to let M. and I stay in the master suite, which has a lovely covered balcony.
As M. and I were both smokers the balcony was a perfect place to step outside and partake without having to wander down to the main floor to go outside. As the only smokers on the trip this was an ideal arrangement for us.
One of the highlights of the vacation was waking up in the morning before the sunrise. I spent every morning in a chair on the balcony waiting for the sun to come up. I'm not a morning person, but being in this beautiful place makes you want to experience every sunrise.
I was normally the first person awake, so I went to the kitchen and brewed a pot of coffee. I brought my coffee up to the balcony, had a smoke and savored the coffee, while waiting for the sun to creep up over the water. This whole process is pure enjoyment, and an experience that I wish I could repeat every day for the rest of my life.
So let me circle back to the original point...
As a non-smoker, I think about the activities that I enjoyed while I was a smoker, and ask myself if I will enjoy those activities as much now that I don't smoke. If I'm lucky enough to sit on that balcony again in the future, coffee in hand and waiting for the sun to rise over the ocean, will it be less enjoyable without the cigarette? Was the cigarette an important part of the experience?
It is a silly question really. I know that everything I do as a non-smoker is better than before. I also know that the thing of beauty was the sunrise, and that sipping a cup of coffee on a balcony in paradise doesn't require a cigarette to be complete. Yet my mind continues to ask if that is true. If the absence of the cigarette lessens the experience.
I'm not sure if that describes the pangs or urges that everyone who has quit encounters, or if this is unique to me. What I know is that I am winning the battle with my addiction. That 7 weeks have passed, and no experience has been less enjoyable because I failed to smoke.
Most importantly... I hope that not smoking will enable me to have many more visits to the balcony for coffee and beautiful sunrises.
- ND
I have moments periodically where I think about a smoke. I wouldn't really call it a pang, or an urge, so much as just a thought.
This is what those thoughts are like...
For the last 2 years we have rented a house in the Florida Keys for a late season vacation with friends. Our friends have been generous enough to let M. and I stay in the master suite, which has a lovely covered balcony.
Here's a look at the view
As M. and I were both smokers the balcony was a perfect place to step outside and partake without having to wander down to the main floor to go outside. As the only smokers on the trip this was an ideal arrangement for us.
One of the highlights of the vacation was waking up in the morning before the sunrise. I spent every morning in a chair on the balcony waiting for the sun to come up. I'm not a morning person, but being in this beautiful place makes you want to experience every sunrise.
Here's an example of a sunrise from the balcony.
I was normally the first person awake, so I went to the kitchen and brewed a pot of coffee. I brought my coffee up to the balcony, had a smoke and savored the coffee, while waiting for the sun to creep up over the water. This whole process is pure enjoyment, and an experience that I wish I could repeat every day for the rest of my life.
So let me circle back to the original point...
As a non-smoker, I think about the activities that I enjoyed while I was a smoker, and ask myself if I will enjoy those activities as much now that I don't smoke. If I'm lucky enough to sit on that balcony again in the future, coffee in hand and waiting for the sun to rise over the ocean, will it be less enjoyable without the cigarette? Was the cigarette an important part of the experience?
It is a silly question really. I know that everything I do as a non-smoker is better than before. I also know that the thing of beauty was the sunrise, and that sipping a cup of coffee on a balcony in paradise doesn't require a cigarette to be complete. Yet my mind continues to ask if that is true. If the absence of the cigarette lessens the experience.
I'm not sure if that describes the pangs or urges that everyone who has quit encounters, or if this is unique to me. What I know is that I am winning the battle with my addiction. That 7 weeks have passed, and no experience has been less enjoyable because I failed to smoke.
Most importantly... I hope that not smoking will enable me to have many more visits to the balcony for coffee and beautiful sunrises.
- ND
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