Reboot 2/12/16

Inspired by Wil Wheaton’s reboot and a comment I made to a friend today, I’ve decided to reboot my life. This is my day 1. My letter of intent. I’d love it if you read and commented. Yes, you.

So, first of all, what I said to my friend

Motivating myself is the big fight. Without external judgement, I really do find it difficult. That’s paleo, exercise or just leaving leftovers for tomorrow…

This is very much a problem, so I’ve decided to use social media to support me in feeling some social pressure. I invite anyone to comment, nudge me, give advice or even berate me for a fail week.

So, here are the things I want to change:

• Diet
• No drunken foolishness
• Exercise
• Writing
• Reading

I’m sure there are other things, but they’re the ones that are principle in my mind at the moment.

The truth is, I’ve put on a lot of weight over the last few months, and that needs to stop. I’m at around 93 kilos at the moment (14.6 stone, 205 lbs) where I’ve fallen below 89 before. To quote another part of this morning’s email (thanks, Dan!):

It´s the cravings and habits. If I’m tired or stressed, I want a doughnut. That’s very quickly become my habit, and I’ve put on a load of weight.

I need to carve out my routine in a healthier way, but I truly am struggling.

So, just like Mr. Wheaton, I’m going to be giving myself a grade. I’m going to aim for every couple of weeks, as that’s when I’ve set a reminder to weigh myself. If I do it more frequently, all the better. So, status quo…

Diet

I’ve been eating something sweet everyday; either the aforementioned doughnuts, pan dulce or something similar. I’ve also gotten into the habit of stopping for junk food after work/before my Spanish classes. I got into a great routine when a friend of mine, Magda, cooked for me (thanks!), but I’ve yet to develop a habit of doing that for myself, despite all the shiny new Tupperware I bought. Grade: 0.

No Drunken Foolishness

I’m doing rather well on this one. Following an historically quite mild drunken incident I don’t remember terrible well, and a Culture Club gig I don’t remember as well as I would like to, I decided to quit drinking. I did that for over 100 days, then started again with the odd glass of wine or craft beer. The quitting might have been permanent, but the main goal was to reestablish my relationship with alcohol. I feel I’ve done that, and only drink when I want to; when I’m comfortable; and, most importantly, stop when I’m ready to stop. I consider every mouthful, and that has really helped me to keep it in moderation, and the aforementioned foolishness hasn’t occurred for five months (July 2nd when Culture Club were here). Grade: 10.

Exercise

On the other hand, it’s now been about a year since I stopped training with Magda and Dan to prepare me for my first half-marathon (that ought to have happened last summer). This isn’t their faults. All of us have had a tumultuous year, and my schedule has gotten packed. Nevertheless, you don’t need a team nor much equipment to jog. I just haven’t, despite the zombie-themed app that still sits in the “Health” folder on my phone.

It was around the same time that I acquired my then-girlfriend’s static bike. It’s still in my living room, though Aida is no longer a part of my life. It’s currently holding on to a couple of hats and a belt I should probably throw away. I’ve excused myself because the display is broken, but I downloaded a couple of apps for that too. It’s pure laziness; particularly at the end of my 12–15 hour days, and my desire to relax at the weekends as a response to them.

That said, I do tend to walk between work, uni and (when the weather is nice and no plans, home). This isn’t a lot, I appreciate, but it’s something.

Grade: 5.

Writing

Once again, I started and “lost” NaNoWriMo this year. I stopped updating the website at 12,000 words and an average of 500 words a day. What I didn’t do, however, was stop writing. Even now, I’m averaging about a page of my little notebook everyday, and I’m still working on the same cyberpunk story. It’s not a lot, but it is progress. I’m including writing on here to keep a record and make sure I keep up the good work. Grade: 8.

Reading

At one point early this year, I fell out of the habit of reading. Now, with Audible and using my ereader again, not to mention the need to read ahead of my students meant I picked up the practice once again.

Currently Reading: Goddess by Kelly Gardener (found thanks to inspiration from the Cracked Podcast).

Currently Listening to: Vampires: the Recent Undead. It’s an anthology I bought as part of an Audible deal.

I’ve also been enjoying the Geekomancer and Genrenauts series by Michael R. Underwood recently. The latter anthology will be my next purchase.

Grade: 8. I could be reading more and watching less YouTube panel shows. I’d up the grade if I were watching stuff with narrative value.

Final Grade

Just to be clear, anything below a 6 is a fail here in Mexico. I’ve never been terribly sure why it isn’t a 1–5 scale, but there it is.

So:

• Diet: 0
• No drunken foolishness: 10
• Exercise: 5
• Writing: 8
• Reading: 8
• Final Grade: 6.2. Could be worse. Let’s see if we can’t push that up. That’s not a score that’ll go on anyone’s fridge.