Working out

Well, it's been about 2 and a half months since I last worked out. It's amazing how much you can forget in that time...like how much you think you'd feel better if you didn't have any arms after doing bench press.

Charleen and I were working out on MWF for about 3 months. It was nice, max weights were going up. We were keeping each other working out. I got my bench max up to about 130 lbs. I say about because the bench set I have only goes up to a max of 96 lbs. Using an online calculator, that gives an estimate of having a max somewhere between 120 and 130 with being able to do 10 reps of 96lbs. Personally I prefer to go by a 5 rep max, but I just don't have the weight.

Anyway, we were going along great and then a trip hit us...and then something else came up the next week...most of you know where that lead to. Like anything else that we know is good for us but takes effort, it's really easy to fall off track. So, I'm going to start using the blog to try to keep myself accountable. TY Dammerung for the idea. I did curls and bench on Wednesday and today. I'll take the weekend off and then continue with a MWF schedule.

Finally, I'll end with a request. Does anyone know of any other exercises that I can do using the bench or the bench weights? I used to do millitary press a few months ago, but I stopped after it was causing my shoulder constant pain. Other than that, I'm open to suggestions. Once we have the money, I plan to apply for a gym membership so I can do a more thorough workout. Squat was my favorite in HS since all my strength is in my legs. Anyway, before I ramble on too much I'll leave it at that. That should get a little more orange on the front page for Charleen. =D

I Didn't Miss It

Interview went well . . . but again, that doesn't really matter except in comparison to how well everyone else's interview goes. But their last one is on Monday, and I should hear back by the end of next week.

(C'mon Pat, there's a little too much blue, not enough orange on this front page.)

Today is Wednesday

Today is Wednesday.

Today is Wednesday.

Today is Wednesday.

I've had to keep very close track on what the days are this week because, for the first time, I actually have something important going on that I'm desperately afraid of missing simply because the days all run together for me. In fact, when the person called me that lead to this important thing being scheduled and said "I have some times late this week," I was a bit confused simply because I wasn't sure what "this week" was, because I couldn't remember if we were at the beginning of a new week, or still in the later part of the previous week (turns out it was actually Monday).

So tomorrow (Thursday, Thursday, Thursday . . .), after nearly two years of being unemployed, I have my first job interview.

I am refusing to get my hopes up about this. I've applied to tons of places since moving back in January (okay, so I got distracted with unpacking and cleaning and didn't really start looking till March . . .) and this is, quite sadly, the first time I've even gotten called back. I've applied for retail positions, fast food positions, and of course my usual random clerical positions. Unfortunately, we picked pretty much the worst possible time to move, and with tons of people currently looking for jobs, it's just pretty sucky out there. Especially for someone with a useless degree; BA in Music (not teacher certified) doesn't exactly open a whole lot of doors.

So, we'll see how things go tomorrow. And of course, even if things go great tomorrow, there's still always the possibility that things go even greater for someone else. In the meantime . . .

Today is Wednesday.

Books and Movies

So I've been thinking about this for a while. Every time I see a movie that was based on a book (at least, a book that I've read), I go into it with the understanding that things are going to be different. Some things that work great in books just don't translate well to screen, not to mention that, unless it's a fairly short book, there's usually a time restriction as well. So, my judgment of whether or not the movie lives up to the book is based mostly on two things.

First, does it keep the overall story intact? Most movies do, but sometimes the movie-makers seem to just take an idea and run with it so that, while it might be a great movie on its own, to call it an adaptation of a book is a bit misleading.

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, does the movie stand up on its own? Would someone who hasn't read the book be able to follow what's going on without getting confused?

Now, since I'm of course judging movies that come from books that I have read, my view is a bit skewed. For better or worse, I do have all the knowledge that came with the books, and I can fill in gaps that the movie might have left. So, a lot of times it's hard for me to say. For example, when I first saw The DaVinci Code, I thought that some parts seemed really rushed, and I wondered if I'd have been able to keep up had I not read the book previously. But since I had, I really couldn't say one way or another; wonder was all I could do.

And yes, this is on my mind because I just saw the new Harry Potter. Honestly, it left me feeling a little "meh," and I'm sure this is specifically because the ending didn't live up to my expectations. I knew going in some of the major changes from the book, and as I said before, I'm not opposed to that. The majority of the movie was pretty good. But the climax just seemed to lack a little "oomph."

Going in the other direction, I also just finished reading The Princess Bride. I must say, I have to favor the movie in this case, but the book is worth reading as well if you can appreciate the humor behind it. The plot of the story itself is almost identical. There are a couple things here and there that are different, but it's mostly the same story, and a lot of the dialogue is word for word. I had to force myself not to skip over the scenes that I know so well from the movie. But the presentation of the story is what's different, and the author commentary is really funny and incredibly well-done . . . considering it's all 100% fiction. I won't say more than that, here's the Wiki page if you're curious what I mean.

Nothing much

Well, I haven't posted in a while. There's not been a whole lot to report. Just cruising along. I have a couple hopefuls for finding a job, but 'till they get back to me there's not much to do. I've been playing a lot of Frisbee Golf. I'm finally getting better at putting. Also tonight there's a cruise night in town and the theme is Corvettes vs. T-Birds. I love Corvettes. Eventually I want to own a '72 Stingray Corvette T-Top with an Ontario Orange paint job and Saddle interior. Manual transmission of course. Basically the car pictured is my dream car. /sigh...some day...

The Doomsday Key

I just read the latest James Rollins novel, The Doomsday Key. He's one of my favorite authors. I stumbled across his Map of Bones a few years ago, recommended for fans of The DaVinci Code (which I'd read recently), and subsequently devoured everything else that he'd written. All action-adventure-type stuff, the kind of books that a lot of people might dismiss as fluff, but I love them. Dan Brown may have been my introduction to the genre, but James Rollins definitely got me hooked.

I put a hold on the book at my library two days after it was released. I looked it up in the catalogue on a whim, not expecting them to have something that had just come out. Imagine my surprise when, not only does almost every library in our area have a copy, but they're all checked out! (I guess I was just used to the NIU library where I worked in college; new fiction wasn't exactly their highest priority.) So I put a hold on it, but didn't know how many people might be ahead of me or how long I'd have to wait.

Well, new books are allowed out for two weeks. And yesterday, exactly two weeks after the day it was released -- and presumably checked out -- I got a notice saying that it was ready for pickup. I read it in a span of about 24 hours, and returned it to the library today so the next person in line (assuming there is one) could get it that much sooner. Knowing others could be waiting prompted me to read it a little faster than I might have otherwise . . . but not by much. The suspense really drove the story.

I would definitely recommend James Rollins to anyone who enjoys this type of reading . . . but I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book, at least not as your introduction to the author. This is the sixth in his "Sigma Force" series, and while each book pretty much stands alone in terms of plot, the characters and their lives carry over. Each book does refer to a bit of what's happened previously, and it builds more and more the later in the series you go.

For example, I read Map of Bones (the 2nd book) without reading Sandstorm (the 1st book) and there were maybe two short references to what had happened previously. Black Order (the 3rd book) stands on its own pretty well too. Past that, though, and I'd recommend starting from the beginning.

Goofing off in Warcraft

So, I've been playing World of Warcraft almost since release so...about 4 years now. Charleen quit a few months back and I just haven't been having as much fun with it as I used to. Anyway, I found out today that this very unique pet was tamable and I just so happened to have a hunter that was the right level to tame it. One last little bit of fun in getting something that I'm probably not meant to have. This is me with my worgen (wolf) pet.

Happy 4th!

We have readers! Or at least, a reader. I guess now we should maybe try to update a little more than once a week.

Actually, I've been holding myself back a bit. I could probably write just about every day without much trouble, but this is our blog, not my blog, and I don't want to take it over. I guess I could just nag Pat until he writes something.

At any rate, Happy Independence Day to those to whom it applies, and happy random day in July to all our foreign friends. We're heading over to a BBBQ with some friends later today (the extra B is for BYOBB . . . that extra B is a typo). Have some food, play some games, and then walk over to the park to watch the fireworks tonight. Fun times.