cynosure

This is what I look forward to every morning. I love breakfast!

Project: Summer 2010! (Project What?) Weeks – 1 & 2 | 3 & 4 | 5 & 6 | 7 & 8

By popular demand, Project: Summer 2010! will now be hosted weekly. Just a few more weeks until it becomes Project: Fall 2010!

Week 9

• Monday: The “Canada 5k!” to commemorate my last day in Canada. Except I totally forgot my mile markers and went the wrong way… so it was the Canada 4.5k instead Also didn’t time miles separately. Total: 2.8 miles, 27:01 at 9:38 pace. 0.63 mile walk. Not too bad– best pace ever!
• Tuesday: My flight back to the US which took all day… and exhausted me. And I was… sore!
• Wednesday: My first run back in my hometown… HILLS, HILLS, HILLS! Went from going completely flat in Brossard to very varied elevation! Still a little sore from Monday. 30 minute run (2.75 miles at 10:54 pace). 0.78 mile walk. My pace went totally downhill.. as I climbed uphill (ohoho).
• Thursday: 32 minute run (2.9 miles at 11:02 pace). HILLS ARE A DEFINITE CHALLENGE! Also, one of my shoes was very loosely tied and it bothered me the whole time.
• Friday: Rest. I’ve been resting a LOT more than usual, to acclimate myself to hills.
• Saturday: When I was in high school, 2 miles seemed forever. BUT ON THIS DAY, I RAN MY FIRST EVER 4-MILER! It came out of nowhere… and I DID IT! 47:08, 11:46 pace. 0.48 mile walk. I almost ran for an entire hour ! Wow.
• Sunday: Walking around SF/resting.

Books Finished this Week

• The Sky’s The Limit by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer – One of the sequels to Your Erroneous Zones. Not as lifechanging or compelling as Your Erroneous Zones, but it did provide me with some new insights, though it didn’t really make me feel more like a “No-Limit Person” (which I was already ).

• Kafka on the Shore by Murakami Haruki – The fifth novel of Murakami’s I’ve read this year, and I don’t even like his novels that much. (I do enjoy his short stories.) But this one was the first novel I really liked of his! (I did enjoy The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, but I didn’t really feel much from it.) And it was so in sync with what I’ve been feeling and pondering lately (“What does it feel like? To be yourself and part of me at the same time?”) that I really appreciated it. Even if I still have issues with his representations of females and female sexuality.
• The Reader by Bernhard Schlink – A quick read and small diversion into post-Nazi Germany with an interesting romance.

Epiphanies & Observations

• Hydrate hydrate hydrate WELL.
• Most important (running) lesson of the past month or so: Always bring tissues when running! I am not proficient at blowing snot rockets and I don’t want to do it on my shirt, so I need the tissues.

Random Links of Awesome

• Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling in Graduation Speech. Awesome speech summing up what I think about organized education. Watch the video of the sppech here.
• Coca-Cola Sued for Vitaminwater Health Claims. Enough said.
• Awesome woman quits job and emails the entire office these awesome photos. Screw being a corporate slave. Go out on your own!

And now I want to know…

What have you learned from life in the past week? What’re you reading? Any cool links to share?

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August evenings
bring solemn warnings
to remember to kiss the ones you love good night
You never know what temporal days may bring
so laugh, love, live free and sing
When life is in discord
praise ye the Lord

Anberlin

I quote these lyrics every single August. Whether you believe in God or not, remember to “kiss the ones you love good night” & express your gratitude for all that is great in your life. Which is probably more than you think. ♥

Project: Summer 2010! (Project What?) Weeks – 1 & 2 | 3 & 4 | 5 & 6

There’s a LOT to write about my overall growth in July & my focus for August, but that’s for another post (or two!) coming soon. Until then, here’s a recap!

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A photo I took in Canada two years ago. The sky is always beautiful here!

Project: Summer 2010! (Project What?) Weeks – 1 & 2 | 3 & 4

I’m pretty sure that after this summer, I’m going to have a Project: Fall 2010! and a Project: Winter 2011!, et cetera… After all, you & I never stop growing, and this is a great way to be accountable without having to post every single day about what I’ve been up to

Week 5

• Monday: Sprinted up & down stairs 20+ times. It was absolutely hot outside and I didn’t know what to do… just stay inside doing nothing all day!?
• Tuesday: Walked around downtown just a little. Still hot.
• Wednesday: Walked up and down stairs a few times. Some random stretches and core exercises. This day was actually my turning point when I realized I could still move my body inside (the idea never occurred to me before, inside to me used to just call to mind “treadmill, ugh”.)
• Thursday: Some plyometrics exercises. My whole body was sore for four days… and it was sore just walking… ahaha.
• Friday: A little easy indoor cardio. There was a thunderstorm this day and after the storm I walked to and from the grocery store.
• Saturday: Finally cool enough to jog outside again! Ran/walked 2.3 miles, and did core exercises in the evening. Still sore.
• Sunday: Finally my torso was no longer sore… but my legs still were! So I spent an hour stretching as a recovery day.

Week 6

• Monday: I don’t know why, after a day of rest, I woke up feeling nauseous and sick! So I rested for most of the day, tried to do some yoga but stopped after half an hour (I don’t have a mat and there’s just hardwood floor, so I kept on slipping… plus to be honest I was a little bored! I’ll try again when I actually have a mat).
• Tuesday: I thought I was getting better but I still woke up nauseous. Still, by evening time I finally felt up to running again, so I did! Yay! Did more core exercises, and walked home after dinner.
• Wednesday: Today I ran about 20+ minutes straight for the first time without walking! It was the longest time I’d ever continuously run. Yay! I went really easy and before I knew it it was over! Also did a 10 minute cardio video later on.
• Thursday: Plyometrics exercises again. It was easier this time now that I knew to protect my knees/legs more, and all that soreness gave me some endurance. Then I walked to the bus, then 3.2+ miles around downtown, and later walked home from the bus.
• Friday: Ran/walked, then walked 2.65 miles around the neighborhood. More core exercises. Later on I walked to and from the bus station to a restaurant (about 4.2 miles).
• Saturday: Other than walking a little around downtown, today was another rest day. Must eat more mindfully every day! Part of the reason was that I slept way longer than I thought (guess I was tired!).
• Sunday: I had an insomniac night, the first in ages… and slept past 5am. Yet I was still able to run 2.77 miles, for which I’m very glad!

Epiphanies (or Notes to Self)

• My original July goal was to move every single day. I had issues with this when it got really hot, until I realized the answer (home exercise videos, haha). But also I realized that rest & recovery days are really important. If our bodies don’t get time to heal, and we continue to push hard, that’s not taking care of ourselves and our bodies at all. At first I got antsy but I’m starting to learn to enjoy a rest day.
• Start out slow. Pace yourself.
• Prioritize reading more!
• I’m eating mostly vegan lately. Still undecided if I’ll go completely. I’ll probably do a monthlong trial in September or October. It hasn’t been that hard…
• I feel more at peace & equilibrium with my spirit, mind, and body than I ever have in my life. Finding a way to just move my body almost every day has led me to feel better about myself and my body image, and it leads me to be so relaxed that I don’t need a self-destructive outlet to channel any pent-up frustration or tension. I feel happy with my little accomplishments.
  • When I still overate occasionally in the past few weeks, I bounced back within a day instead of getting into a long, hurtful cycle of self-hatred, and that is something in particular I’m more than happy about.
• Soy milk is a great recovery drink! The right ratio of proteins, carbs, and a little sodium to replenish electrolytes… I like mine organic/non-GMO
  • I know there’s a lot of public health drama about soy, but soy is like corn. In its natural state it’s awesome, processed it is not, and the US processes it a tad too much (soy protein isolate anyone?). Yes, tofu and soy milk are also processed, but not to the point of being additive ingredients in & of themselves, and uh… at least a few entire nations (China, Japan, Korea…) have ate tofu & soy milk for literally hundreds of years and have never had any problems. One famous Japanese model swears on eating soy in every form– soybeans, soy milk, tofu, etc.– to keep healthy. Anyway, that’s my beef with other people’s beef with soy. You can choose to think it’s a secret evil, or just take it as it is: an alternative to dairy/meat, a source of protein for vegetarians, damn delicious (mm tempeh!), whatever.

New Things to Do (and some Interesting Links)

• Become plastic- & petrochemical-free. (Slowly.) As I was picking up blueberries last week I realized that if I wanted blueberries (or any other berry, for that matter) that weren’t in individual plastic containers, I wouldn’t find them anywhere in a chain supermarket with freezing air-conditioning. Then again, I’m getting a CSA share once I move into my new place (so excited!) and well, the preliminary step is awareness. I could always do better. (Kudos to Trader Joe’s for their compostable plastic containers of dates, though!)
• Similarly… Switch to safer/natural/homemade personal care products. I already don’t wear makeup, but damnit, are there toxic chemicals in the stuff I put on to protect my skin from sun damage? I’ll probably be using stuff like shea butter, coconut butter, etc., instead. There are currently no regulations for cosmetics (or what’s labeled “organic”, either!). Watch: The Story of Cosmetics & stop and think about what possible carcinogens you’re putting on your bodies and the bodies of your loved ones.
  • Also, ever stop to realize that petroleum jelly/Vaseline is made from petroleum? Yes, THAT petroleum. (Thanks Mary for the wake-up call!)
• Ponder the Bechdel test and not only why there aren’t movies that can actually pass the test, but why film schools teach screenwriters deliberately not to pass the test.
• In other news, for some reason I stumbled across this post (the 6th ever on this site!) from deep within the crevasses of past posts the other day and was pleasantly surprised. It still rings true, and I needed the reminder. Read: We all survive. We all heal.

Would a separate post with important/interesting links be better than jamming all miscellanea into one post? Probably(?). Let me know what you think

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Reminder: Comment & tell me your comments, complaints, & critiques about cynosure here! Let me know what you honestly think so you can keep on reading articles you love– suggestions for anything you want me to write about in particular are not only welcome but VERY encouraged!

Pleiades pre-orders are going strong, but if you’d like to take advantage of the additional special gifts, hurry & pre-order today! (What’s Pleiades? What special gifts?)

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Project: Summer 2010! (Project What?) – Weeks 1 & 2

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Hello friends! Hope your June is swell

Happy Father’s Day!

I’m here & happy to report on my progress for Project: Summer 2010, my way of growing ridiculously more each and every day this summer (and maybe inspiring you, too, to grow more in whatever way works best for you)!

I have yet to really start tackling my reading goals (or interpersonal goals), but I won’t waste your time or mine trying to give excuses. I still have about 260 pages of Anna Karenina to go (out of 867 or so… ahh) and all 1488 pages of Les Miserables is looming over my head (so much for the 1100 pages I thought it was).

Anyway, here’s a chronicle of my journey so far…
 

Week 1:

• Wednesday: Walked downhill to the downtown library.. about 4 miles. Carried books along the way, leading my arms to be sore on…
• Thursday: Ran half the time up a hill, ran until I was tired and then jogged/walked up 8 flights of stairs, then did a few weights/squats while watching shows.
• Friday: Ran most of the way to a presentation in the morning, packed some stuff into the car, but oddly got a painful stomachache that dissuaded me from doing anything further.
• Saturday: Packed and moved, which involved 4 flights of stairs round-trip each time. Danced (with my arms!) for a bit during the car ride. After eating until I was quite full at dinner, I walked and jogged around the neighborhood.
• Sunday: Walked around entire two floors of a mall, shot hoops at the arcade (while standing… ohoho), walked around a park for a while.

Week 2:

• Monday: Walked up a moderate hilly road (about 3 miles) which actually wasn’t bad at all, ran up 3.5 flights of stairs and walked the remaining 4.5, ran through a parking lot.
• Tuesday: Rested because the day was really hot. Didn’t do much so I felt like I was in a funk and made some pretty unhealthy decisions.
• Wednesday: Jogged and walked on and off 2 miles, sprinting the last stretch.
• Thursday: Walked around Santa Monica (the Promenade and the Pier) for a while. Also knocked down another bullet from my 43things– “Go to the Santa Monica Pier.”
• Friday: Since it was hot, I had a good idea… run up and down the stairs (which I used to do at my brother’s house, but his stairs weren’t as tall as the ones where I was staying on Friday!). I ran up and walked down the stairs 43 times! I wanted to go for 50 (my initial goal was 10, then I was pushed to do 15, then I did 30 and went for 40!) but by then I needed energy.
• Saturday: I actually followed the plan of week 2 of Couch to 5k. And it was fun! And felt good. And was simpler than I thought. At first I was surprised at the intensity, but by the second to last jogging interval I felt it was natural! The last one was a little tough though.

Observations and Epiphanies:

• Running/any activity designed to foster more physical strength also forces you to stretch your mental muscles, especially when that little voice is just telling you you can stop now… but your heart says “Push on!” I’ve known this before but I’m really experiencing it now more so than ever.
• I’ve tread way too hard when I jog/run, so I’m working on being nicer to my knees and making lighter steps.
• Taking care of myself and doing an activity that is not only good for me but makes me feel great is way, way better than the groggy, sick, hangover-like feeling from binge eating. After a good walk or run, I’m not only happy with myself for accomplishing it, but my body feels better, too. And since I, in the past, wasn’t as hungry as often as I’d liked, by actually using my energy I get hungry enough to enjoy more energy– er, food, later on.

All in all, I’m getting excited to go for longer distances. Who knows, maybe by the end of this year I can do a half-marathon! Or at least a 10k.

Finally, the lovely Mara of Medicinal Marzipan bestowed this Happy 101 award upon me…

…and word on the street says I have to tell you 10 things that make me happy.

So here goes, in no particular order:

• steel-cut oatmeal with raisins, cinnamon, & granola
• mango sweet sticky rice (currently, anyway– I’m on a kick)
• hiking
• books
• making food
• big parks/wildlife reserves
• growing
• interesting people
• comfortable footwear
• honey

Haha, it seems my life revolves around good food… and other things. Anyway, the award now goes to…

• Positively Present
• Oh She Glows
• Inny Vinny
• LOLZHANG
• The Demoiselles

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