Mild Amusement

I've probably mentioned the CrossFit workouts I do on occasion over time; it's something I've enjoyed doing for a while and something that I like to talk about. It's not all that rare for me to describe the whole thing to someone with obvious enthusiasm in my voice. Like I said, it's something I like doing. In fact, it's something I like doing enough that I try to keep that linked blog up to date as much as possible. I'm hardly perfect, but I do try to post the work outs before the week is up, at the very least. I don't entirely remember when it became a part of my routine, but at some point, it just became one of those things that I had to get done. Sure, other people can update the blog, and they've done it before. Still, that responsibility has fallen to me often enough that I try to post the work outs when I know what they are. It's almost a matter of habit at this point. Regardless, I know that it's hard to figure out how movements ...

Lately, I've been pretty bad about exercising consistently. There are a bunch of reasons, but I'll readily admit that laziness is a part of it. It's easy to fall into bad habits, and there have been a few occasions where I simply didn't feel like pushing myself. Don't get me wrong, I'm still eating relatively well and trying to take care of myself, I just haven't been working out with my usual gusto. I'm a creature of habit, though, so I know I'll get back to the routine soon enough. Part of the reason why I'm not overly concerned is that I have a lot of people around me who set good examples. No one in my immediate family has ever been the type to gorge themselves on deep fried donuts, so I've always known what a healthy diet looked like, almost unintentionally. Secondly, I have a bunch of friends who exercise regularly, and they do all sorts of fun-sounding activities. I have friends who compete in martial arts competitions, climb Kiliman...

Once, a very long time ago, Litmus Test remarked that I gave good hugs. I remember the comment because it surprised me. It's not like I sat around practicing or anything. All I had done was given her a good-bye hug, and she made the comment unprovoked. Like I've said before, though, I'll take the compliment over an insult any day. Anyhow, the comment was quickly forgotten over the years. Again, it's not like I sat around practicing how to give a good hug. And frankly, I wasn't sure what I had done in the first place to deserve the compliment. Recently, though, I was reminded of this long lost commentary. A buddy of mine was having a house-warming of sorts, and I was hanging out at his house catching up with various friends. There was one person in particular who I hadn't seen in a while, so it was good to catch up with her and meeting her boyfriend. We all shared a few laughs and the good times rolled on. As is wont to happen at those gatherings, though, e...

You know how people seem to have opinions about who I should and should not be dating? I've heard more than one version of people telling me that I should let them vet these women first recently. These comments always crack me up, but one particularly enterprising friend took it to another level. You see, she decided that I needed an intervention of sorts. We planned on hanging out for dinner, and she invited another friend of hers to tag along, as backup. Now, to be perfectly fair, it was more like dinner conversation just so happened to be about me. It's not like they sat there and dragged in people who I was hurting through my actions. Still, the general idea was to impart some wisdom on me to put me back on track. That alone was enough to get me to crack a smirk. As we were talking, though, the phrases, "how's your relationship with your parents?" and "mommy issues" actually came out. Oh man, I couldn't help but laugh when I heard that. I...

This, my friends, is a story about a molehill that turned in to a mountain. It all started innocently enough: a family friend met up with someone for lunch. Hours later, however, she went out to her driveway and realized that her car was not in the driveway. She was more than a little alarmed about this sudden turn of events, and she realized, in hindsight, that the dog had been barking an unusual amount in the moments before. Aw, crap. She hunted around in the nearby area, but the car was nowhere to be seen. In a sign of our times, she took to social media to try to get help. She alerted all of her friends that the car was missing, and she provided the make and model of the car. If any of them saw the car, she asked them to alert her and the police, so that the car could be retrieved. It's one of the quickest ways to cast an informal APB, so I immediately understood why she did this. Of course, there were a few laments about the sad turn of events. Now, this next part is where...

Salad and I have a funny history. For a good chunk of my youth, I didn't really eat any. I didn't believe it was a true form of food. Sure, it was served to you if you went out to eat, but it was neither filling nor satisfying to me. So I would usually avoid it when presented as an option. That stance has since changed, especially since the cafeteria at work sells some hearty salads that I enjoy. The initial preference for some other food item is still there, but I can have a salad for lunch and be okay with that. I still prefer that the salad have some heft to it, though, so I always throw in eggs and meat of some sort when given the option. Or as a friend once told me, I like "manly" salads (side note: a different friend claimed that baby spinach and portobello mushrooms made her salad "womanly," so there's gender parity with the salads). Anyhow, I was recently at the cafeteria buying lunch when I had an "encounter" with one of my favorit...

No, not that kind of goodbye. I don't think I've had to leave people or kick them out of my life often enough for that to really be a concern of mine. Though for the record, the most memorable version involved someone playing "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and then pointing at me. No, I'm talking about the actual, mundane task of saying something to someone as we part ways at the end of an outing. See, I'm never quite sure to say. I have enough of a grasp of basic manners that I know I have to wish someone a good night or wish them a safe journey, but it gets tricky. Often times, there's also a physical touch, usually a hug or a handshake, that can throw off the cadence of the whole experience (good bye before the hug? After? One apiece?). It's an ordeal, I'm telling you. Let's start with the words, though. Knowing that I am prone to screw this process up, I usually just stick to the basics. If I know the person is leaving on a trip, say, I...