Of Moose And Men
The Best Laid Plans Of Both Often Go Astray

1. I’m fat (by which I mean I’m well overweight, not that I’m fatally obese).
2. I don’t like what my body looks like, naked.
3. The state of my body and health embarrasses me.
4. Being overweight affects my self-confidence in all aspects of my life.
5. I do not have self-control over junk food.
6. My body is not forgiving, so my diet needs to be exemplary.
7. I’m an emotional eater.
8. When I don’t plan my eating, I don’t eat well.
9. I spend too much energy trying to find a perfect, total solution to these problems, rather than focusing on small, incremental changes.
10. I get angry when small setbacks occur.
11. I give in to the negative talk in my head.
12. I obsess over my flaws.
13. These things hold me back from being the person I want to be.

I decided I’m not going to do an uberlist this year. I didn’t want to deal with coming up with 112 things to do over the course of the year, when my track record is getting only around half of them done. The list doesn’t change, but circumstances do, and I no longer find it a useful or fun tool. Instead I popped over onto Wunderlist and did up a number of lists in different areas (finances, health, “us” stuff, etc.) with some immediate goals, and a mind to checking in on them and updating them as life moves on. Goals are important, and reasonable, achievable ones even more so. We preach specificity of goals in coaching, so here I go. Won’t be posting them, but will be using them.

No clue what I’m going to do race-wise this year. I was signed up for one race, but we now have another event that weekend out of town, so no can do. Ugh. And I’m not thrilled with the local choices, mainly because I’ll be coaching folks through them. Might still do them (especially if I can get a comped entry or two), but at the moment I’d rather focus on my newbies.

1. Columbia Triathlon
2. DC Triathlon
3. Rockett’s Landing
4. Nation’s Triathlon
5. Cupid’s Undies Run
6. Get a PR at the Olympic distance
7. Start a weight training routine
8. Replace the dishwasher
9. Replace the disposer
10. Frame my graduate school diplomas
11. Clean behind the fridge
12. Host a bad movies party
13. Host a game day
14. Take a knife skills class
15. Come up with a display for my race medals
16. Frame my finished cross stitch projects
17. Art for the bathroom
18. Go to the Holocaust museum
19. Donate more books
20. Clean out my desk at work
21. Dispose of the roomba batteries
22. Replace the roomba battery
23. Get a better tool box
24. Integrate a regular yoga practice
25. Go dancing
26. Take a CPR class
27. Get coaching certification
28. End the year with smaller credit card balances
29. Get replacement shades for the lamps
30. Prepare 2012’s tracking sheet
31. Prepare 2012’s Uberlist before 2012 begins
32. VO2 Max test
33. Clean out the file cabinet
34. Set out NTP lessons learned for co-leaders
35. Get a new TV
36. Go out more
37. Rescreen the balcony
38. Get blinds for the living room
39. Remove the black bookshelf from the living room
40. Paint the living room
41. Price countertops
42. Price painting the kitchen cabinets & walls
43. Clean out the dressers
44. Rearrange the closets
45. Donate unused jackets
46. Begin a meditation practice
47. Join WABA
48. Hire a cleaner for the apartment
49. Fix up the planters
50. Cut HFCS out of my diet
51. Get network cables for the various machines
52. Participate in more group workouts with the Club
53. Get a mat(s) for the kitchen
54. Get demineralization cartridges for the humidifiers
55. Inventory and toss the cassette tapes
56. Recycle the old PCs
57. Get a new backup drive
58. Visit New York
59. Visit SF
60. Get a travel laptop
61. Replace two messenger bags
62. Get my teeth whitened
63. Read one of the books on Rhetoric
64. Buy something at the fish market
65. Donate clothes
66. Visit the local library
67. Check out other brunch sites for Sundays
68. Update my resume
69. Pick up items from Les
70. Replace a jacket
71. Fix the kitchen sink aerator
72. Annual physical
73. Two dental visits
74. Knit myself gloves
75. Get new earbuds
76. Buy someone jewelry
77. Go somewhere random
78. Stock the wine rack
79. Bake cookies
80. Bake a new cupcake recipe
81. Try a new vegan recipe
82. Try a new omnivore recipe
83. Learn a new cooking skill
84. Go to bear happy hour
85. Go to dinner with friends
86. Knit a hat for myself
87. Knit a scarf
88. Teach someone to knit
89. Cook with my niece
90. Continue brunching
91. Finish more of the physical books in The Book Pile
92. Get a new plant for the living room
93. Buy flowers
94. Get another piece of ink
95. Get another piercing
96. Fix the fu dog book end
97. Finish a cross stitch pattern
98. Reorganize the living room bookshelves
99. Renew my theater subscription
100. Grow basil
101. Make pesto
102. Replace the gimpy tire on the Mini
103. Go to a Body Electric workshop
104. Buy someone a snuggie
105. Go see a movie in the theater
106. Write a poem
107. Have dinner on the balcony with a friend
108. Play Gloom
109. Buy a new board game/expansion
110. Go to Canada
111. Put hooks for my pride flag on the balcony

I seem to be on the ‘once a month update schedule’ these days. Working on the Uberlist for 2011, a bit over halfway there. Managed to get over half the stuff on 2010’s list done, which I consider to be a successful list year. Way too many books ordered in the past week, and they all seem to have shown up at the same time. Along with a new living room rug (which I’d been eyeing for months and which I’m really glad I ordered the moment they put it on sale – I can’t find the thing on their site any more), which is currently sitting, rolled up, in the front hall because I don’t have the energy to move all the furniture tonight to get it in place. Plenty of time this weekend, and maybe even tomorrow night.

The aforementioned planning has gone slightly more slowly than I expected, but I’m not terribly worried about it. I will be writing this weekend to try & get stuff done and out for review by the other co-leaders next week. For my own training, I’m delaying the formal start of my stuff in order to do some weight loss related stuff first. I’m a lot heavier than I need to be to race well, and that’s gotta change. The 10 lbs (and 3-4 percentage points of body fat) I gained post-IM haven’t helped, either. Yuck. So yes, I’m going to be a resolutioner this year, but if I want to gain speed this year, I need to help improve the ‘infrastructure’ needed for that.

2010 hasn’t been a bad year for me, and 2011 is shaping up to continue in the same vein.

So far so good on the new year. Did manage to get up too late to bike (on the trainer) this morning, but managed it this evening. Stopped by the gym on the way home and, once again, the manager wasn’t in so they couldn’t take updated credit card info, but I left a note to have him call me. I think the first time I’ll get in to actually swim will be next week, but I’d like there to be no hang ups with getting into the pool. Not that I’m dying to get into the pool, but since it’s a third of the triathlon, and my weakest leg, it’s kinda necessary.

Got to ring in the new year itself with Mike and some friends of mine here in DC. Was a pleasant time together, with fun friends, good drinks, and board games.

I’m taking a sort of perverse amusement from the fact that it’s below 50 degrees down in Tampa where my snow bird parental units are. The bone-chilling cold we’ve had here in the DC area for the past several days hasn’t been fun, but it’s not like it doesn’t get down here on occasion in the winter, so we can prep for it. Tampa? Not so much, at least not as cold as it’s been getting. Crazy stuff. And partially why I’m trying to clear the gym up – I can use their treadmills to run inside so I’m not out in 20-some degree weather freezing my toes off.

And of course I already want to change some items on my Uberlist, but I’ll stick with what’s written for now. Doesn’t mean plans don’t change, even this quickly, but that’s the fun of a big doc like that. I’m thinking something more private and flexible might not be a bad idea, though, so help set out priorities and make some longer term plans for handling stuff.

1. Ironman Louisville
2. Eagleman Triathlon
3. Columbia Triathlon
4. Total 200
5. Get an entertainment center
6. Reorganize the closets
7. Replace my dishwasher
8. Replace the disposer
9. Frame my graduate school diplomas
10. Assist with a CBE class
11. Knit something for my nieces
12. Paint a room
13. Play a game online with a friend
14. Reduce my caffeine use
15. Clean behind the fridge
16. Find a storage option for my bicycles
17. Fix or get rid of the mountain bike
18. Attend a heart circle
19. Have friends over for dinner
20. Host a bad movies party
21. Host a game day
22. Do a massage exchange
23. Take a knife skills class
24. Pick up items from Les
25. Read the unread Chinese fiction in my collection
26. Get ink
27. Clean out my kitchen cabinets
28. Come up with a display for my medals
29. Frame my finished cross stitch projects
30. Get a body fat scale
31. Get a power tap for the tri bike
32. Decorate the bathroom
33. Go to the Holocaust museum
34. Grow balcony plants
35. Cook some of what I grow on the balcony
36. Donate more books
37. Get away from my desk at lunch
38. Volunteer at a race
39. Get a pedicure
40. Attend a play
41. Do regular core work
42. Reduce surface clutter in the apartment
43. Finish two pair of socks
44. Clean out the work desk
45. Readjust my sleep schedule to earlier
46. Get rid of the extra crates
47. Dispose of the roomba battery properly
48. Store my bike rack better
49. Get a better tool box
50. Get a new heart rate monitor
51. Volunteer with the tri club
52. Get out to more NTP workouts
53. Integrate a regular yoga practice
54. Get closer to race weight
55. Eat more fruit
56. Attend a Code party
57. Dance
58. Go clothes shopping
59. Replace my tuxedo jacket
60. Get cufflinks
61. Take a CPR class
62. Replace the aerobars water bottle
63. Cut down on miscellaneous extraneous purchases
64. Get up to Boston as often as practicable
65. Bring better snacks to the office
66. Stay on top of mail-order nutrition needs
67. Bake cookies
68. Donate the moose dishes
69. Get replacement shades for the leg lamps
70. Mount the antlers
71. Rearrange the art in the bedroom
72. Go through the boxes in the closets and toss what I can
73. Keep sending cards
74. Beat a DS game
75. Beat an Xbox game
76. Beat a Wii game
77. Get a PS3
78. Beat a PS3 game
79. Prepare 2011’s tracking sheet
80. Replace the shower liner hooks
81. New bath towels
82. Prepare 2011’s Uberlist before the end of 2010
83. Annual physical
84. Two dental visits
85. Get through one dental visit without getting fussed at to floss more
86. Look into toe surgery
87. Track my workout/health stats more consistently
88. Analyze the stats to see where I need improvement
89. Treat my eczema more aggressively
90. Replace a set of sheets
91. Pay off a student loan company
92. Pay off a credit card
93. Donate unused tri stuff to the club
94. VO2 Max test
95. Resting Metabolic Rate test
96. Clean out the file cabinet
97. Rearrange the kitchen counters
98. Find a chiropractor
99. Find a regular place to get my hair cut
100. Replace the couch
101. Cull my files at work
102. Repot my office plants. Again.
103. Deactivate web accounts that I don’t use.
104. Cut down the number of unwanted voluntary web site emails
105. Start archiving historical info on the NTP
106. Get the Xbox 360 repaired
107. Get a new, larger TV
108. Organize/toss the electronic “stuff” in my cabinets
109. Toss old computer games, manuals and guides
110. Recycle my old PCs

Did a final push tonight to ensure I can do Columbia on Sunday. Swam a little over a mile (3×500 as the main set, with about a minute rest between each), got home, changed, zipped out for a run of about six and a half miles (a little more than what I’ll be doing Sunday, though on flat and not hills like Columbia will be). Not bad, though I predict I will be a bit sore tomorrow. If nothing else there’ll be a small blister on the left foot from the new orthoses. I think next week will be time for new shoes, too. And hey, should sleep nicely tonight.

I got a pretty nasty little sunburn on Sunday while driving back from Tidewater. It’s fading, and isn’t quite as red as it was on Monday. I keep slathering it with aftersun lotion (and sunscreen when I go out), and no peeling, either. Yay moisturizer. Made an appointment for early June to get the mini’s AC fixed so I won’t do that to myself again.

I want to spend some time next week going through my uberlist for this year. Some things have been completed, and some have changed or been rendered moot. And it’s time for a review, after getting through this first race.

Had Chris over today to help me cull my clothing collection. 20-odd T-shirts went out, as well as polos, button downs, and others. Much space was made in the drawers and in the closet. All in all, four paper grocery bags got filled with neatly folded clothes. Also found some items I shall offer to my brother for his daughters (blankets our grandmother made, etc.) so perhaps they’ll get use rather than taking up space in my closet which could be better used.

As an enticement to come play fashion critic, I offered lunch. The menu, from The Voluptuous Vegan, was pomme frites, a roasted garlic and herbes de provence aiolï, citrus and cucumber salad, and a provençal stew with couscous. Was tasty, though the pomme frites could have been better (they kept sticking to the paper, making it difficult to turn them when needed).

Finally cleaned up all the dishes (thank heavens I was cleaning as I went along or I’d never have had room for it all), and inventoried and bagged the culled clothing. Relaxing now with a glass of the pinot grigio I opened for use in the stew, and enjoying not having any more dishes to clean. It did push home the need to replace the blinkin’ dishwasher, though – doing that many by hand was trying, and not good for my hands (yay eczema).

Got it finished, so without further ado:

1. Breathe
2. Find my rituals
3. Race an Aqua-velo
4. Fix the foot for good
5. Go to Comrades in June
6. Get an entertainment center
7. Replace my shelves
8. Reorganize the closets
9. Hire a cleaning service
10. Replace my dishwasher
11. Participate in a charity ride, if there is one this year
12. Cull my clothing
13. Donate the old microwave
14. Check on upgrading my cable service to digital
15. Re-read the Book of the Way and its Power, in Mandarin
16. Frame my graduate school diplomas
17. Assist at CBE in April in Philly
18. Take more pictures
19. Knit some socks
20. Knit Kathy’s hat
21. Knit Tina’s baby scarf
22. Knit something for my nieces
23. Establish a weight routine
24. Visit Atlantic City
25. Make margarita cupcakes
26. Learn to use my convection oven
27. Paint a room
28. Beat 2 games on the Xbox
29. Beat 2 games on the Wii
30. Play a game online with a friend
31. Reduce my waist size back to a comfortable one
32. Increase the gauge on my earrings
33. Commission a piece of art
34. Reduce or eliminate caffeine
35. Reduce my consumption of HFCS
36. Replace the old PC
37. Get a set of blinds
38. Clean behind the fridge
39. “Fix” the front hall
40. Floss regularly
41. Get at least one professional massage
42. Attend a heart circle
43. Pay off another student sub-loan
44. Read more books
45. Get below 155lbs
46. Have friends over for dinner
47. Host a bad movies party
48. Host a game day
49. Do a massage exchange
50. Take a knife skills class
51. Pick up items from Les
52. Brunch
53. Practice erotic play
54. Read the unread Chinese fiction in my collection
55. Go see A in Vancouver
56. Look into getting ink
57. Cry
58. Clean out the kitchen cabinets
59. Update my resume
60. Roomba-ize the living room
61. Go dancing
62. Get folks down to Cantina Marina
63. Come up with a display for my medals
64. Frame my finished cross stitch projects
65. Finish a cross stitch pattern
66. Get a power tap for the tri bike
67. Get a body fat scale
68. Get photos done
69. Use my crock pot
70. Take leftovers in for lunch
71. Decorate the bathroom
72. Go on a date
73. Pay off a credit card
74. Remember that I have an oven
75. Record things in Quicken faster
76. Track my cash spending
77. Clip coupons
78. Go to the Holocaust museum
79. Join a museum society
80. Meet Tycho
81. Fix the tire sensor on the car
82. Fix the AC in the car
83. Get air purifiers
84. Increase my TSP contributions
85. Water my plants regularly
86. Grow balcony plants
87. Cook what I grow on the balcony
88. Use some of my unused gear
89. Donate more books
90. Go to the optometrist
91. Get my annual physical
92. Get away from desk at lunch more often
93. Volunteer at a race
94. Get to a farmers market
95. Get a pedicure
96. Attend a play
97. Do regular core work
98. Reduce surface clutter in the apartment
99. Learn how to do multicolor knitting
100. Clean out work desk
101. Go grocery shopping more often
102. Readjust my sleep schedule to earlier
103. Take chair & shelf to parents
104. Get rid of the extra crates
105. Dispose of roomba battery properly
106. Get prescription goggles
107. Store my bike rack properly
108. Use or donate my old cooking magazines
109. Get a better tool box

Well, I’ve lived up to one of the items on my as yet unpublished Uberlist:

Cry