Freedomizing

I'll reference a country song, "God is great, beer is good, and people are crazy!" I love the lyrics in my mind couldn't be said better, though I would change a few things. Like God is crazy beer is great, and people are good. Oh wait, is that the most un-PC thing I've said yet? Just wait, I'm sure my rants will not get any better. Let's diagnose my perspective. A couple of facts: I am not religious, I fear my type of person, and I know that I sure as hell don't know a whole hell of a lot about anything, especially God Religion and Our System! So let's get into the inner voice: many of my closest friends are religious, and for me there has been a direct correlation to those that I can trust and their religious beliefs. Take it with a grain of salt, but "profiling" is fact finding at its best. Over my short tenure of life experiences, those that have a fear of God are generally better people than those that don't. What I mean by bett...

Everyone has done it, and ideally you have learned from it. But sometimes it takes a different perspective to get in into your head. Luckily I was able to learn this lesson with a $50 volleyball (that I got for a steal of $15) I think the most valuable lesson here can be explained by the "rich" dude with an import sports car in his garage and a daily commuter. The import NEVER gets driven, and when you finally ask the guy, "it's too nice to drive" "I'm scared I'll wreck it" "I don't want to scratch it" then why the hell did you buy it?! Look around your home, you have something like this while ideally it isn't the Ferrari but instead, a $50 volleyball you don't want to take to the park because you don't want to ruin it in case you get serious and start playing like a pro! Make a decision about this "product" for me like I said it is this damn volleyball I've had for five years, never even hit it becau...

I got all hopped up on this whole Ironman thing, still am I guess, except that it is two weeks away, and I'm not feeling very confident that I will be finishing the thing! Yes, that pains me to write, and yes it will pain me even further when I hit that publish button. Triathlons = a terrible ongoing expense FIRST - you pay for registration SECOND - you pay to train THIRD - you pay for equipment No, that isn't a typo, at least for me, I paid for registration well before paying to train or having the equipment. And actually (knowing that I have under-trained and may end up with a DNF) I think for my first one I did it right all until a month or two ago when I bought a "tri bike." As you know, I LOVE my bikes, obsession ... maybe. Therefore, I am doing a Triathlon; I need a "TT" (Time Trial) bike. Like all good frugal's out there I did my research into the good bikes, into the right size, even went to a couple of shops to look. Came to the conclu...

I have now been up for about 4 hours, researching races/events that I could sign up for to force me to "train" more. However, I am just now realizing that what I am doing is trying to find events that I am confident I can finish and feel good about to try mentally to prepare for this Aug 2nd adventure! Let's go back about four days ... Woke up early to head downtown Seattle to run the Rock and Roll Marathon. I am more than 20lbs lighter than I was for my first Marathon in Denver; this was to be at sea level, to say I was interested to see the results was an understatement. I have been training my body to use its fat supplies as energy instead of needing to fuel mid-exercise, this was to be that test! Started the race low and slow, and as always, right off the bat I needed to take a huge shit, so mile 2 or maybe 3 I waited in line and took a load off. Back on the road and running, first 10K down and feeling pretty good. I wanted the next 10K to be a good one; I wanted ...

It's like a disease, a thing, whatever that thing may be that doesn't allow you to be in the moment. Is it your job, relationship, finances? Whatever it may be, you must find a way to clear your head. I am the first to admit this is something that everyone says, but come on when it comes to it; it just ain't that easy! For me, when I have that looming cloud, that feeling of never being able to escape the negative thoughts of a pending future, I resort to the ABC's. At first, I didn't even realize how effective this treatment was until one day finishing a longer ride I reflected and thought, wow, I just looked around, my sense of smell, sight, touch was enacted for the first time in a long time. I enjoyed the sun on my skin, the burn of my legs climbing a hill, the view of nature, trees, birds, etc. The smell of fall, spring or whatever season! It takes endorphin for your body to overwhelm your active mind and "stop and smell the roses." Your mind is a ve...