woolcovered

Despite the fact that I don't go in until 8:30 a.m. today (an hour later than my usual start), my sleep schedule finds me awake for more or less the usual time (ironic to anyone who has known me awhile, I'm sure). Anyway, I figured this would be a good time to blog.

Fittingly, I've been meaning to write on 'routines' of late, largely because mine has consumed most of my life. The Arnold book I've referred to in the past has a little passage on 'living cleanly' that I've been using as a general philosophy. He's speaking more about keeping a lifestyle akin to bodybuilding, talking about making smarter choices about what you eat ('clean' food referring to unprocessed things), getting rest, etc. So basically antithetical to the student lifestyle I've been crawling out of for the past little while.

The progress has been interesting. Doing all my own food prep is probably the hardest part, especially when cooking for one. It's all too tempting to just buy a lunch, but I know if I take one with me I'll feel better/have more energy later in the day while also saving money. Let's face it: finding a cheap, healthy, quickly-prepared lunch I could buy would be more or less impossible (as I realize these are all rather subjective terms, I digress).

Anyway, by the time I finish work, come back home to North York, run to the gym (another timehole in my day), and come back to eat/make meals for the next day and do a little cleaning, I'm more or less at the end of my day. Not much time for 'leisure' or even news reading/watching. Sleep is the one area I'm still falling a little short on, but aside from that things seem to be more or less successful.

This'll be a 'part one' of sorts, as I'd like to talk about a different aspect of agency (more moral than health-related) I've been discussing with a friend lately.

The title line for this entry comes care of Editors, it's from "Racing Rats" on their new album An End Has A Start. Normally I like to keep a bit of mystery in these, but it came out last week and I think folks should know. I'd recommend it to fans of Interpol and the British indie/alternative sound.

Posted by Jason Guitard at 07:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So I'm back to school, which means I'm back to living out here on my own in North York.

I returned to start this semester in a strange headspace. I no longer feel as anxious as before to please everybody and everyone (a weakness of mine, but who doesn't want to be liked?). I'm also a bit more confident that I've got a pretty decent skillset to not only continue to succeed in this program, but to snag that ever-elusive first job.

I'm also back at the gym, and back to cooking my own meals. Working out has been a bit of a stumbled start, with my slacking over the holidays causing my energy levels to drop. I'm thinking it'll take me a week to get back up to where I was before I left. Until then, I think I'm probably in the most frustrating part of fitness - not getting the results I expect out of myself makes it too tempting to take days off, or to just quit. The only thing I could think of that would be worse is time lost due to injury of some sort. But anyway, I'm trying to use this bit of adversity to inspire me, rather than hold me back.

While talking to Noah over the break, I came to a realization: I have a really hard time being motivated when I don't 'go to a gym' to get the workout in. I'm not sure if working out at home (or Colleen's house) just doesn't put me in the right headspace, but I have a hard time really getting the body moving if I'm not going out to do it. I've read that habits take about two-to-three weeks to set in, so what I was experiencing over the holidays likely came as a result of being out of my better habits for two-to-three weeks on end. I say this, because I did notice I would still yearn for the treadmill when I was at Co's place over weekends during the term. This is going to sound like a total meathead line, but after being at the gym from Mon-Thu, by Friday I was all antsy, itching to burn off some excess energy. This was the best proof I could ever ask for that living well does actually positively change the way you feel on a day-to-day basis.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you lack the inspiration or energy to get out and be active, slug it out for a few weeks and you'll wonder how you ever got by before!

If only I could apply the same ethic to my guitar-playing. Sigh, hopefully I'll get that one off the backburner soon enough.

Posted by Jason Guitard at 01:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

So, with 2007 upon us, I'm feeling like I should wrap up my favourite releases from the past 12 months. My listening habits have been all over the map this year: I find myself looking back more and more, but still trying to stay on top of the week's releases. To be honest, I generally prefered the former, and had a hard time really getting into a lot of what 'the industry' had to offer this year.

With all this in mind, I'm going to put a bit of time into compiling what did raise my eyebrows & bob my head in 2006. This'll likely be my next entry, and could be the last thing I write before I pack up compy to head back to North York.

So what have I been up to over the break? Well, I've been spending a lot of time in Cambridge, making the most of the holiday to be with Colleen. I seem to have struck up a decent balance between hanging out with the family, Co & her family, and the friends that I didn't get to see much over the fall. For the same reason, I haven't really been feeling the blogging of late. I've been on my computer, but generally only at odd hours with a single purpose in mind (like taking advantage of the leeching opportunities on my bitorrent server of choice).

The Christmas was good, and the New Year's Eve celebrations went off without a hitch. Thanks to all those who made it out to the latter!

Although last entry I assumed that spending time at Co's would mean more time on the treadmill, it didn't seem to work out that way. As such, some of the pounds have come back that I lost in the first half of the break, leaving me at just under 160 lbs. This could change tomorrow for all I know, my weight ebbs & flows at a discomforting rate. I'm doubting it though; the holiday meals were a little out of control so the weight was more or less expected. Ideally, I'd be about five pounds lighter than this, so I'm aiming to start working on that a bit harder when I get back to the gym on the 8th.

Posted by Jason Guitard at 07:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Documenting 'progress' in my current health improvement efforts is a tricky thing to do. The continual nature of the project makes it difficult to set landmarks. But much in the way that we need a sign in the mall to tell us that 'you are here', I feel like the time has come to regroup and consider where I should go from here.

Now, when I started going to the gym, I weighed myself religiously (and I still do everyday). The problem is, between my Guelph home, Colleen's place and the Seneca gym, I've found little agreement between scales. So, when citing how I've done, depending on the last time I was at the Seneca scale (where I had my initial reading of 173lbs), I'll often give a rough range. As it stands right now, I've lost anywhere from 15-20 lbs, as I just stepped off a scale at Co's reading 154 lbs. I think I may have dropped a few pounds since I've come down with this cold I've had since around Friday, so this number will probably climb back up a few notches. But, as it stands right now, I'm currently at what I had defined as my 'ideal' weight when I started this project.

As any dieter could attest, you rarely lose the weight in the manner you want to. For example, when my colitis was really acting up, I lost a ton of weight (actually about this much), but it came from spots like my face. I've concluded that I'll probably never lose inches from my waistline in quite the way I want to, so it'll probably take a fair amount of work to get a 'trim' look.

Ironically, due to my current cold and lack of ambition, I've only worked out once in the past week and a bit. I'm looking at using U of G's resources (they're not doing ID checks over the break), but once they close up for the holidays at the end of this week, I'll pretty much be out of options (save for Colleen's treadmill and small freeweight set). So its looking like this could be a fairly long 'break' in every sense of the term. Two of my xmas goals are to finally put together an eating guide for maximum nutrition and revamp my workout plan according to this Arnold book, so I'm figuring that could be a good way to inspire me to get rolling in the new year. I'm figuring staying over at Co's over the break a lot will get me on the treadmill following those hearty holiday meals and sweet snacks.

Posted by Jason Guitard at 05:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

So, it seems that spending time with Co, Kalin and my family have tag-teamed with school responsibilities (including seeing The Queen along with standard homework fare) to sabotage my initial plans to update frequently. Ah well, I'm sure there's worse bloggers out there.

To keep with some variety here, I guess it would be a good time to give an updatet of sorts of my 'new leaf'.

Probably the biggest detriment to my ongoing efforts to live a healthy lifestyle would be my lack of sleep. I average somewhere around 5.5-6.5 hours each weeknight. This has a two-fold effect. First, there's obviously the fact that if I'm not properly rested, I won't be able to work properly at the gym or give my muscles enough rest time to fully benefit from the previous workout. The other effect of this is that I have to drink a few (average of 2 or 3) cups of coffee.

That's certainly not to say there haven't been improvements. Those who remember my eight-month haze in Waterloo last year should note that this a fairly large improvement. No more allnighters - in this sense, I've been a bit bad on weekends, where my days have a bit less structure. I think I've only pulled one so far this school term during the week. My attendance in class has also been near-perfect, only missing my Wednesday class in Week 1 due to a doctor's appointment. Even on the coffee-drinking front, I've seen some areas where I've done a bit better. A 2-3 cup average is actually well-below where I was at last year. I also no longer have a percolater at my place of residence, so that keeps me from the late-night coffee binge. When it comes to quantity, I've also downgraded my size from large/XL to almost always medium. This was largely a matter of personal preference: I've found that if I'm sitting in class or otherwise occupied, medium is the biggest size I can have to ensure I will finish it before it gets cold. At the advice of a classmate, I also switched over to milk as opposed to cream in my double-double.

In terms of fitness, working out seems to have become my number one distraction. Most people make up exuses to get out of going to the gym. I find myself going to the gym to get away from all of the other things in life. Its a time when I can forget, focusing all of my energy on a simple task, just getting to that next destination (a time or distance on the treadmill, a number of reps, etc). Its a time when I'm pretty antisocial, I listen to some new tunes and usually avoid talking to anyone. The rush of endorphins I feel as I walk out of a good workout has become my drug of choice. I wish the gym was open earlier so I could go before class; it would be far more beneficial to have that rush carry me through my day rather than my evening. It does usually kickstart my homework and cooking efforts, though.

Speaking of cooking, I've been trying to work on boosting my metabolism by having a series (I've seen reccomendations as high as seven for my body type) of small meals throughout the day. Its sort of funny how different things were when we were young. Back I was growing up, I was always told not to spoil my meal by snacking before the time. I realize things were different then, as a growing child has very different physiological needs than an adult trying to lose weight. But due to this conditioning, I can't help but feel a little guilty as I micromeal. I'm still not up to seven, nor am I sure how large these 'meals' are supposed to be, but I basically have been eating until I'm no longer hungry, stopping far short of when I'm stuffed (which went out the window at the buffett on Friday, but I never claimed to be perfect).

Anyway, I think I'm going to try and shoot for an actual day of sleep tonight, despite the fact that its now 3:10 a.m.

Posted by Jason Guitard at 03:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Well, I've gotta say I'm feeling pretty darn good right now.

After a busy day (and last night) in the core (many thanks to both Kevin and Kelsie for their excellent hospitality), I came back to North York and the apartment. After a few hours of trying to catch up with my BoingBoing feed (I'm still at Sept. 29th!), I decided to hit up the gym before it closed.

I was feeling a little tired due to my poor rest last night (and the rest of the week really), so I approached the cardio aspect with a bit of distain. However, after weighing in two pounds above yesterday's weight, I figured I should probably work off the crazy food I consumed over the past 24 hours. So, up the stairs I went to start. I decided today would be the day I stay on the thing for a half an hour. After some inital cramps, I managed to hit a new speed/distance record in the first fifteen minutes (the time I normally devote to running) and then walked/ran/jogged in varying amounts for the second half. I finally did it, I worked as long as recommended! Also, this new speed/distance record puts me a mere 0.04 m/kph (honestly not certain what it is) away from my goal for the end of December. This means finishing at least a month early should be quite manageable.

After that, some weight-training ensued, and I left the gym with the feeling of "the pump" still strong in me. Having the time to actually work out that fully in a nearly empty gym makes me wish I was around more Friday's.

Now, I'm thinking the play-by-play of my workout (regardless of how good it made me feel) probably isn't what most of you have come to expect from this blog. I like this site to serve as a record of the changes in my life, some way to asign a narrative of this life's crazy trajectory. But I know recently I've strayed from what I used to devote much of my time talking about (namely, music and culture), and its due partially to a change in my interests. Its not that any of the enduring interests have faded, they just don't seem as newsworthy as the still-novel changes in my life of late. I'm curious though, do the readers enjoy the constantly-evolving hodge-podge of topics found here? I think I had about half as many entry categories when I started this, for example. I've thought of broadening my horizons even further, devoting some space to food/nutrition (though I guess that'd sitll be 'Health'). Basically, my lifestyle of late has been a bit of a science experiment-in-progress, so it would be a reflection of my findings, and generally a way to tap my readers for some tips of their own.

With all this in mind, today I've started toying with the idea of starting another blog. One devoted more to food/fitness/nutrition, etc. I suppose if I wanted to go far enough, it would be part workout/diet journal, part research/experience-based tips, partly a forum for folks to share their own ideas. I don't know how detailed I'd go with it: after all, I'm still toying with the idea of starting it in the first place.

Thoughts?

Posted by Jason Guitard at 11:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Alright, so it appears as though I'll be using at least part of my extra hour working on an entry. I'm tired but surprisingly not quite sleepy yet, so I figure I'll plug away here for a little while until I'm ready to crawl into a nice, warm, bed...I'm already getting excited about it!

Anyway, this also marks the beginning of my last day of reading week. In some ways, its just felt like a slightly longer weekend, in others, I feel like I haven't been back into the swing of things in awhile. As much as I've missed the daily interactions with the classmates and profs, the whole 'class attendance experience' (my undergrad classmates will be surprised to know I've missed only one class this term, and it was for a Doc's appt.), what's really thrown me out of sync is not going to the gym. I just couldn't get inspired to try and do no-weight sets at home (I'm not quite knowledgeable enough to pull this off yet, but I'm working on it), so I only ended up working out once all week. My time at Co's where there's a few weights and a treadmill, was largely eaten up by homework and bonding time.

I'm hoping to get back on the fitness wagon (I went to the gym Mon-Thurs in the week before reading week), very soon. Part of the reason I'm still awake is that I've just finished reading a bit of the Arnold book I spoke of in a previous entry. I'm in the beginning stages of putting together a solid diet and a more structured routine. It is a little disheartening to try and work out my routine. My somatotype basically means I have to work really hard and long and I don't get to eat if I want to achieve the best results. I actually took down some points to better explain what I'm talking about here: I am what they call an endomorph, which means I've got more bulk on me than the skinny ectomorphs or the more chisled-looking mesomorphs. Why does this matter? Well, it means I've got to lose far while gaining muscle mass if I want this training to really work. The workout? Higher numbers of sets with more reps than average with short rests in between. Also 30-45 minutes of aerobic activity (I currently do 15) is reccomended. My diet? A low-calorie affair with the minimum amounts of protein, carbohydrates and fats (vitamin supplements reccomended). As I currently already spend about an hour+ at the gym when I go, implementing these changes will prove to be a scheduling nightmare.

So, although blogging is a totally self-indulgent activity, why am I bothering to go into this much detail? Well, those who plan on starting to training, or have started training and aren't happy with your results can take note. Look at the pictures I've linked to and determine your body type (its said that no one is 100% one type, I merely outlined my dominant one). If you can properly tailor your workout, the experts say you should start to see results quicker. It can also be fun to see if the personality traits listed for your type are a good match for you (mine are pretty much dead-on).

Well, I was going to talk about the rest of the reading week, but it looks like I blabbed a bit on that tangent. So, my sleeping schedule was on par with my efforts to work out, and my eating habits were marginally better but a bit below par. I look forward to being back at my apartment, cooking for myself.

On the academic front, I've finished most of what I intended to accomplish this week, with more work to follow once I wake up and get home tomorrow. Given that I slacked off for a few days, I'm pretty happy with this.

I also tried to do a bit more leisure reading than usual. Aside from the bodybuilding book, I finally read my Daredevil hardcover volume I've had for over a year and Frank Miller's well-written Batman: Year One. I'm wishing they would've green-lit this script for adaptation, as I'm now realizing Batman Begins is just a Hollywoodized take on the story foundation already had in place. For those who aren't sold on it, it would've meant no Katie Holmes!

Posted by Jason Guitard at 06:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I've always been interested by how language can impact perception.

On Wednesday my classmates and I were forced to endure a double-header of afternoon classes. Our Media Relations professor was a bit short-sighed in the rescheduling, resulting in us having a twenty-minute break to separate six hours of class time. Many of my classmates were forced to scramble to get something into their stomachs as a result of this tight squeeze (the soup of the day was my only option).

As I was slurping up the rest of my small meal, Mark offered me a Dorito, then laughed to himself (and a little bit at me) as he remembered that I couldn't actually eat the things. I told him it was O.K., as I stopped eating chips about a month ago. His reaction was pretty telling, falling somwhere between being surprised and a bit defensive. I quickly followed up with a reassurance that it was something I was trying out to see if I'd notice any real health benefits. I'm fairly convinced my reaction allowed him to save some face.

So what does this have to do with language? Well, I've noticed that when I speak of my new approach to nutrition to people, they generally feel as if I'm passing judgment on their own eating habits. This is both unfortunate and inaccurate. As someone who worked and went to classes in the same buildings, I'm certainly aware of how one's stomach can tumble down the list of daily priorities at the expense of convenience.

I have gained empathy for those who practice vegetarianism as a result of my experiences. It seems when you make an active choice not to do something, those who do it get a little perturbed. Its amusing there's as much of a difference in reaction when dieting is such a common practce. I'm wonder if the reactions would be different if I said I was on a 'diet'? I'm pretty sure today I could even dodge the gender-based stigma attached to the practice. But 'dieting' implies a short-term, goal-based practice, and I'd generally avoid the whole conversation that would result from saying that ("oh really? how much are you hoping to lose?").

I'm curious to know what people think about this, as I hope those I love don't think I'm passing judgement on their practices. I've simply made an active move towards an alternative choice when the mainstream one wasn't working for me.

I guess in the end the best answer is "no, thanks".

Posted by Jason Guitard at 06:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Wow, so I guess time flies when you're having fun, right? Yeeeeeah...fun. Things have been pretty crazy here in the North York. My typical weekdays seem to go more or less as follows: I wake up earlier than I'd like to (I've made a habit of getting up an hour before my first class, no small feat for me), go to a morning class (usually starting around 10am), have a group lunch meeting for one of my seven group projects, do most of the reading for my next class, then go to said class.

After those end in the late afternoon (usually between 3-4pm), I generally briskly walk home, change into the workout clothes, then head back exactly where I came from to work out at the school's gym. I'm usually there for about an hour and fifteen minutes (1 hr. weights, 15 min. cardio), but it never quite feels like enough and I'm usually rushing towards the end of my sets to not waste too much of my night there.

I usually walk home around the late evening, shower and try to prepare a meal, though I'm usually distracted by an assignment or some other fun distraction. Before I know it, its 10 p.m. and The National is on. If I have something due the next day (usually the case), I'll turn my attention to schoolwork after the lead stories but keep Mansbridge on in the background. I basically have to keep current on events for my program, so this is like part of my homework in a sense. At 11 p.m., I get my fun taste of the news, and am entertained by John Stewart and the Daily Show. I love having the comedy network, because by watching it an hour earlier (its on at midnight on CTV, for those who don't follow) I'm not quite as tempted to stay up for Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

At 11:30, I usually skip The Colbert Report in favour of trying to finish whatever homework and reading I've got to do. Finally, when I'm either done or can't take anymore reading, I fix myself a decent lunch and throw it in the fridge for the morning. Somewhere between 12:30 a.m. and 2:30 am I usually finally pick my morning wake-up playlist and pass out.

Repeat.

Now, why did I bother detailing this (I hope it wasn't too boring)? Well, for those who haven't read my manifesto of sorts a few weeks back, I've been trying to implement a number of changes in my life: namely, a healthier lifestyle by eating better, getting regular exercise, and sleeping for a decent number of hours. Also, I've made a commitment to break my slacker student habits of my undergrad years, not pulling allnighters to study or write papers that I've put off 'till the last minute. I'd like to believe that if I had've smartened up in those WLU years, I could've made Dean's List. But now I'll never know, so all I can do is try and improve the present. I was fairly content with my marks before I started really giving it my all, so this year I'm trying to surprise myself.

For the most part, these changes have been going fairly smoothly. This is the first night in awhile I haven't worked on schoolwork (because of a cancellation I have no class tomorrow), so I indulged myself a bit and caught up on torrents and watched Colbert, South Park, and Conan. Finally, I also visited the Jane+Finch Mall (and lived to tell of it!) because it turns out that's where the closest drugstore is located to my place. Oh, the irony! Anyway, as far as eating goes, I've been doing well during the week, not quite perfect on weekends. So, its getting there. Thanks to the weight set and treadmill in Co's basement (where I seem to wind up when I'm not here in N.York) I'm averaging about 5 workouts per week. I'm debating intramurals (dodgeball or floor hockey?), but would feel like a bit of a loser there if I'm the only one there in my twenties. So we'll see on that.

This routine has become pretty important to me; I try to get happy about all of the things I used to feign apathy for, the little things tht motivate me to get through the day: running just a little bit further in my set time on the treadmill, weighing just a little bit less on the scale, chosing a marginally heavier weight for my sets than last time. And outside the gym, getting some good feedback from a prof or going up and feeling like I've nailed even the most informal, impromptu presentation seem to be my metaphorical pats on the back in the classroom. Finally, eating the fruit of my labors while watching other folks herd themselves into and out of greasy food eateries reminds me why I started this modified diet in the first place. I wanted to take full advantage of my automony now that I'm back out on my own, and I seem to be slowly taking full control of my life. That alone is a comforting feeling, but when it starts to stray from my memory, I just try and use those little reminders to keep me going when I want to just go home and go to sleep after class or give up in some other way.

Anyway, hopefully I can work 'blogging dilligence' back into my routine, as there's a few other tangents I was going to post on but never quite got around to.

Posted by Jason Guitard at 03:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Irony has always been a source of great amusement to me. For example, I can't help but smile when I type the starting of this entry, as what I'm about to talk about is in firm contradiction to my current status. As I sit here at 5 a.m. on a Satuday night (Sunday morning?), probably still awake as a result of the junk-food I binged on earlier in the evening, I'm preparing to talk about how I'm working towards a healthier lifestyle.

See, until tonight, I'd actually been pretty good. Its largely been a case of falling into old habits on the lazy weekend. I've mentioned a little bit about self-improvement in the blog of late, but I haven't really talked about what lead me to do this, because like most things in my life, it was an excessively cerebral experience (I've been a bit overanalytic lately). So, let me tell a little story (it would be a good idea to get settled now, this could be a little long)...

It all started about a month ago I'd say. I was sitting in Hammond, looking forward to the year to come, the move, and everything. But then I realized I was really scared. I mean, what was I thinking? I'm about to move to a new city, sign into a twelve-month lease to go study a program I'm not even sure I want to pursue as a career. It's my third move in as many years (fifth if you count the four-month stops in Guelph, but I don't), my third time I'm going to have to go out and meet new people without anybody's help. I had visions of Mary Tyler Moore spinning around while "You're gonna make it after all" (only in my head it was "on your own" 'cause I didn't know the words. Same idea really.) So anyway, what followed was actually a fairly lonely month as well, as my work schedule lead to a rather solitary existence (save for seeing Colleen whenever I could).

But, a few weeks after I started to get this anxiety (in more traditional sense of the term, excitement and fear mixed together quite equally), I started to come down with the same old sickness that has revisited my body every once in awhile over the past year of my life. As I mentioned in the entries at the time, this caught me as quite a surprise. It was around then that I started to wonder about how I was living my life. I was pretty much always tired, I had been drinking more (for a string of almost every weekend this summer for a little while, a first for me), I had put on some of the weight back on I had lost last August. My physical job wasn't really enough to condition me, and I had no real sports on the horizon because I can't play hockey this year (it'll be the first full year since way before moving to Ontario in my pre-teens). So, in a lot of ways, things were starting to look a little bleak for the coming year.

However, in this challenge I also started to see an opportunity. Although I am getting a little help from my parents (rent and hopefully some food money), I'm on my own for my day-to-day life. I had the option to look into the mealplan, which in alot of ways would be the easy way out. I could be lazy, concentrate fully on school, and if I took all the cash out in bulk the 'rents would probably pay for it all upfront. However, after looking at the actual selection of the cafeteria and talking to some folks about it (namely Kelsie, one of the few people I was lucky enough to spend some quality time with in August) I realized that I should pursue more wholesome options.

So, when my mother took me out to shop this week, I made some bigger decisions. I bought all of the fruits, veggies, bread, and perishables I could get my hands on. I bought enough food to keep me fed, not buying too much else for fear that all of this fresh food would spoil if I was not eating it more or less exclusively. So, by the time I had the groceries I needed in the cart, there was no room (and I didn't want to mooch more money) to shell out for all of the frozen foods that used to be my staples. With my own small fridge, and a little organization, I decided I could keep an eye on everything and make sure it all gets eaten in time. The funny part is, I didn't even realize I'd shunned most of the more processed items until I was finished shopping. I knew I wanted to eat better, but didn't realize I'd been creative enough (as most of my food purchases used to be impulse buys) to actually think of enough stuff to fill up the cart; it was never a matter of saying "ixnay on the bad stuff!".

Now, around the time I was entering my last week of work, I finally got around to watching Supersize Me. See, I had joked with guys at work that this movie would continue to sit on my hard drive unwatched (as it had all summer), because the only time I watch movies on my computer is when I'm filling my face after work, and I knew it wouldn't be that appetizing to watch. But, one night I finished eating fairly soon and decided I'd worked up the nerve to finally see this. Now, I'd hate to say the film changed my life, but its defintely something that came to me at the right time. The combination of these feelings of lethargy along with my illness made for a rather compelling viewing experience. in the week since viewing the film, I haven't touched fast food of any sort. I don't think I'm going to drop it cold turkey, because I'm generally a fan of everything in moderation (and sometimes there just isn't time to eat right, unfortunately) but I do think its a cheap-quick-filling-addictive-processed-carb-rush I'm going to try and steer clear of when I can help it. On my first day back at school, I had a slice of pizza and half a bottle of pop and I decided then and there I was going to pack a lunch when I could help it.

Now, I haven't been perfect. When coming back for doctor's appointments and the like with my mother, I've been forced to eat 'out' and such. Also, leftovers got me through before I was able to fully shop (with no cash right away). But, the things I used to rely on (burger platters and the like) have been replaced by pitas and slightly more greeny meals. Tonight when Co and I went to dinner, I actually ate chicken, mashed potatoes and vegetables, something I never would've ordered from a restaurant a year ago. So, I figure if these little things are the liberties I take, I could be on the right track to improving my overall eating. I haven't decided if multivitamins are going to work into this equation to make sure I'm not missing anything vital, so I'm hoping to do a little research into that in the weeks to come with the few folks I know who've been 'using'.

But, the eating is not where I wanted to stop this. I've decided that I will also be sleeping better (remember I mentioned this was an ironic entry?), because my year in Waterloo was essentially a wild run of insomnia. Between work, school, hockey, socialization and a steady diet of video games and late-night television, the eight months not only flew by but I was caffeinated and strung out for their duration. Now, that being said, I had a lot of fun, and I don't regret any of the use of my time. I knew it was going to be a self-contained, eight-month stay, and I wanted to make the most of it. However, I just think I might be getting a little too old for my body to continue to be treated that way. I'm not over the hill, but I would like a shot at kicking this sickness once and for all (at least for a few years), and not getting any rest whatsoever will prohibit that.

I can already tell that this sort of school environment is going to be demanding in a whole new way. One of my profs said this week that we've spent all of university learning how to work alone, and now that we're here to learn how to work in the real world it becomes very important that we learn how to work on a team. This is obvious anyway given the interpersonal by nature of my chosen occupation, but large projects on tight deadlines basically mandate smooth teamworking skills. Now, I always stress team assignments - in my undergrad years, I always made sure I did them first, before my individual (often more valuable) assignments that I procrastinated horrendously for. This is because I never wanted anyone to suffer on account of me, and I didn't want the embarassment of being the loose link in the chain. As such, I know that I'm going to have to be 'on' this year for school, that I can't show up to class half the time, half-asleep, with several days worth of scruff on my face. Basically, I've got to 'show up' in the professional sense of the term. In many ways, I'm considering this a job, but one with lots of homework! Given that I generally don't wake up too gracefully, I figure the easiest way to do this is to make sure I'm going to bed at regular hours and getting up with time to spare.

Now, what about when I can't sleep? Well, that brings me to my next point. In order to help out my energy levels, to ensure that my body is regular for routine rest and then refueled for the next day, I've started working out again. This is very recent, as I got my student card Thursday afternoon, went to the gym Friday, then worked out at Colleen's earlier this afternoon with some freeweights (which I was a little lost with, so it was a bit less productive), but I'm trying to put myself on the right track to go five nights a week. The school gym, while fairly adaquate despite its small size, isn't open on weekends, so its going to put the onus on me to get out there during the week in the evenings. I also picked up some proper running shoes today, so now I can get some cardio, being it jogging, or running the treadmills during the week.

So, in a sense we've got a four-fold plan of self-improvement in motion as I work on my eating, sleeping, work ethic and exercise. Like the keener I am, I'm actually going to work on some schoolwork briefly before I go to bed as well and tomorrow morning. But, all this would be for naught if I could not keep it up. And, after this hour's worth of blabbing, if you are doubting my conviction at how wholeheartedly I plan to stick to this, I really don't blame you. However, I've made a fairly important decision: as I my winter tuition will not cap my line of credit (I thankfully cleared most of it off this summer, though I did take a hit with textbooks) I've decided that I will most likely not be working part-time in this term. I feel a little guilty about this, as this may require me to get a little more dependent on my parents than I already am, but I think this guilt will be a fairly good motivator. If I was working, I would have money to throw away on junk food, meals out, and various items of entertainment media that will just really waste time I should be trying to spend a little more productively. I figure if I'm really busy with my school-life-routine, the weeks will fly by and I won't spend nearly so much cash.

So in the end, I'm banking on the fact that I'm not really going to have a lot of spare time. In a sense, its a blessing of sorts that I really don't have anybody here in walking distance with which to socialize, because it will make me use my time well if I have to work to see people. The way I see if, if I want to get together with Colleen (or say, Ryan and Sarah this coming weekend for their housewarming party in Waterloo which I'm very excited about), I've got to make sure I've got all of my shit together before I can bother. Hanging out with Andrea tonight (whom I'm lucky if I see a handful of times a year) was actually a startling reminder of how much I've missed all of those I love. My family from high school, from Brantford, and even the few buds I managed to make in Waterloo have been lingering on my mind of late. In a lot of ways, I'm coming to terms with the fact that I probably won't see many people this year. This is a little depressing, but by the same token, it is inspiring to have something to work towards. This has made me wonder a bit on whether I'll start to drift away from some and get closer to others, but I think that sort of soul-searching would be best suited for its own entry. Dealing with one crossroads in my life is enough for this morning.

Anyway, I apologize for the length of this, but I've had a lot of time to think things through and this was a rather helpful way of sorting out my little headspace here. And like some friends who write such life goals in their blog, I'm hoping that this forum will encourage me to stick to my ethic should temptation arise.

Posted by Jason Guitard at 06:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)