Just finished with the WFAC (www.wfac.ca), and it was really great. I took Friday off so I could attend every available minute of festival.
I saw:
Wolf's Children
Hells
Babeldom
Tibetan Dog
Crulic: The Path to Beyond
Arrugas
Blood-C: The Last Dark
a trio of shorts(Pretend Not to See, The Spider Girl and another I don't recall the name of now)
Jensen & Jensen
A Letter to Momo
Library War: The Wings of Revolution
only a portion of Heart String Marionette
Asura
The Tragedy of Man
Strange Frame
Rainbow Firefly
The movies varied from really awesome to really strange. Most of them being above average for movies I've seen this year. I'm always impressed by the fantastic visuals and the dedication to the art. It always inspires me and makes me wish I could draw or do computer animations.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
2013 coming up...
I haven't been blogging much. Really, this isn't much of an issue, because people really don't read this blog. Mostly just me.
So, no blogging usually means I'm too busy doing something, or busy not doing anything. This break was more of the latter.
2013 is coming up in a bit over 45 days, and I'm starting to feel the itch for planning out big and exciting things to do this year.
As I do every year (though usually closer to December's end), I review the things I set out for myself, and make new plans.
Last year, I posted just 4 things as part of the "Big, Fun, Scary" list I've put together for a couple of years now. In short, Fitness, Language, Money and Art.
Fitness, I've had some success so far, and hope to gain back some lost ground before the end of the year, so there's still a chance there.
Language, I have failed to keep on top of German, and haven't really tried to do much for any other language either.
Money is a bit of a toss up. I'm still just about as behind as I was before, but I'm making regular payments, and finally making a bit of headway on one of my debts. The rest will take me far longer.
Art. This is where I've fallen down the hardest. I've done nothing to generate original art, and my other creative outlets have been more or less stymied.
So, thus far, I'm pretty poor. Not even really 1 out of 4. My lack of success is pretty telling of where my head has been. Still, I can turn around some of this and make some good plans for next year. I really just need to get my head screwed on right, and that'll help a lot.
So, no blogging usually means I'm too busy doing something, or busy not doing anything. This break was more of the latter.
2013 is coming up in a bit over 45 days, and I'm starting to feel the itch for planning out big and exciting things to do this year.
As I do every year (though usually closer to December's end), I review the things I set out for myself, and make new plans.
Last year, I posted just 4 things as part of the "Big, Fun, Scary" list I've put together for a couple of years now. In short, Fitness, Language, Money and Art.
Fitness, I've had some success so far, and hope to gain back some lost ground before the end of the year, so there's still a chance there.
Language, I have failed to keep on top of German, and haven't really tried to do much for any other language either.
Money is a bit of a toss up. I'm still just about as behind as I was before, but I'm making regular payments, and finally making a bit of headway on one of my debts. The rest will take me far longer.
Art. This is where I've fallen down the hardest. I've done nothing to generate original art, and my other creative outlets have been more or less stymied.
So, thus far, I'm pretty poor. Not even really 1 out of 4. My lack of success is pretty telling of where my head has been. Still, I can turn around some of this and make some good plans for next year. I really just need to get my head screwed on right, and that'll help a lot.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Hunger Games and other such sport
So, I have just finished reading The Hunger Games. Not a bad novel, but not great.
The physical aspects of the novel were pretty interesting, and with my desire to get in some more conditioning work, I'm finding that a reasonable motivator.
There are a couple of actual intense sport things that someone like me could take part in. Tough Mudder, the Spartan run and Zombie runs (and other such events) are scheduled at multiple times and places over the year.
Entry is usually cheaper the earlier you book, and generally represents a commitment to participating. I'd not want to put in the cost to participate without being sure I'd be able to handle the bulk of the event. I don't need to expect it to be easy - just possible.
Preparation for an event like the Tough Mudder requires me to have a couple areas of fitness where I am very lacking. Running, for one. While not mandatory in any of the events I've seen so far, it does give you a bit of an advantage if you are doing something like a survival or zombie run. Being faster than the average enemy helps.
Climbing is another area where I'm pretty weak. I don't really have much in the way of upper body strength, especially if it comes to hauling the rest of my body up off the ground. Then there the general conditioning. The ability to keep going after running, jumping, crawling, climbing and whatever else for an hour or two or more.
Conditioning work helps with this, since building up a tolerance to the lactose in the muscles, and learning how to just keep pushing through, even if you want to stop is really where the benefits start to stack up.
I've been thinking for some time that I really should start putting some goals ahead of me for conditioning and strength training in general. Whether that's entering a lifting competition or working towards running one of these obstacle events, or simply overcoming a challenge of my own making, I really do feel like having a concrete timeline and goal would help.
I don't want to schedule in too many goals, as they start to plague my thinking and distract from focusing on the workouts. It's better for me to focus on doing one thing, than thinking about how many things I should be doing.
Still, the concept is a useful one, and I'm going to give a bit more time to thinking about how I can include it. Until then, I will probably just step up the conditioning work a little at a time. I'm still not doing much of it, but I am doing some.
The physical aspects of the novel were pretty interesting, and with my desire to get in some more conditioning work, I'm finding that a reasonable motivator.
There are a couple of actual intense sport things that someone like me could take part in. Tough Mudder, the Spartan run and Zombie runs (and other such events) are scheduled at multiple times and places over the year.
Entry is usually cheaper the earlier you book, and generally represents a commitment to participating. I'd not want to put in the cost to participate without being sure I'd be able to handle the bulk of the event. I don't need to expect it to be easy - just possible.
Preparation for an event like the Tough Mudder requires me to have a couple areas of fitness where I am very lacking. Running, for one. While not mandatory in any of the events I've seen so far, it does give you a bit of an advantage if you are doing something like a survival or zombie run. Being faster than the average enemy helps.
Climbing is another area where I'm pretty weak. I don't really have much in the way of upper body strength, especially if it comes to hauling the rest of my body up off the ground. Then there the general conditioning. The ability to keep going after running, jumping, crawling, climbing and whatever else for an hour or two or more.
Conditioning work helps with this, since building up a tolerance to the lactose in the muscles, and learning how to just keep pushing through, even if you want to stop is really where the benefits start to stack up.
I've been thinking for some time that I really should start putting some goals ahead of me for conditioning and strength training in general. Whether that's entering a lifting competition or working towards running one of these obstacle events, or simply overcoming a challenge of my own making, I really do feel like having a concrete timeline and goal would help.
I don't want to schedule in too many goals, as they start to plague my thinking and distract from focusing on the workouts. It's better for me to focus on doing one thing, than thinking about how many things I should be doing.
Still, the concept is a useful one, and I'm going to give a bit more time to thinking about how I can include it. Until then, I will probably just step up the conditioning work a little at a time. I'm still not doing much of it, but I am doing some.
Monday, October 1, 2012
End of September Stats
Stats:
Weight: 175 (0; -10)
BF%: 20.2% (0%; -1.6%)
Waist: 99 (-1; -5)
Hips: 99 (-1; -3)
Chest: 105 (0; -6)
Thigh: 58 (-1; -3)
Calf: 35 (0; 0)
Arm: 33 (1; -1)
So, the August to September cycle is done, and here's the final point and start point for the next cycle.
The totals are pretty good all around. Down 10 pounds, and at 0 or lower for all of the measurements.
I'm wearing size 34 (and maybe could fit into smaller) jeans. About half of my work shirts are too big on me now, which means I need new ones, and also means I look pretty bad in them.
While I made the first goal, I never made any progress towards the second goal. But that's fine. I made the first goal I wanted. Admittedly, my weight loss was lower than desired, but about the range I expected.
I am still tooling up the October to December plan, so there's nothing I can say on it yet. While I'm tooling up, I'm taking on the default goal of "lose 5 pounds."
I figure that's a reasonable starting point while I figure out what else I want to do.
Weight: 175 (0; -10)
BF%: 20.2% (0%; -1.6%)
Waist: 99 (-1; -5)
Hips: 99 (-1; -3)
Chest: 105 (0; -6)
Thigh: 58 (-1; -3)
Calf: 35 (0; 0)
Arm: 33 (1; -1)
So, the August to September cycle is done, and here's the final point and start point for the next cycle.
The totals are pretty good all around. Down 10 pounds, and at 0 or lower for all of the measurements.
I'm wearing size 34 (and maybe could fit into smaller) jeans. About half of my work shirts are too big on me now, which means I need new ones, and also means I look pretty bad in them.
While I made the first goal, I never made any progress towards the second goal. But that's fine. I made the first goal I wanted. Admittedly, my weight loss was lower than desired, but about the range I expected.
I am still tooling up the October to December plan, so there's nothing I can say on it yet. While I'm tooling up, I'm taking on the default goal of "lose 5 pounds."
I figure that's a reasonable starting point while I figure out what else I want to do.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Week 8 Stats
Here:
Weight: 175 (0; -10)
BF%: 20.2% (0%; -1.6%)
Waist: 100 (0; -4)
Hips: 100 (1; -2)
Chest: 105 (1; -6)
Thigh: 59 (1; -2)
Calf: 35 (-1; 0)
Arm: 32 (-0.5; -2)
No progress this week. I've fallen off the program entirely. Spinning wheels, and haven't learned how to eat yet.
Gonna get myself sorted and fix this thing.
Just 1 week to go. Got to stick it at 175 if I can.
Weight: 175 (0; -10)
BF%: 20.2% (0%; -1.6%)
Waist: 100 (0; -4)
Hips: 100 (1; -2)
Chest: 105 (1; -6)
Thigh: 59 (1; -2)
Calf: 35 (-1; 0)
Arm: 32 (-0.5; -2)
No progress this week. I've fallen off the program entirely. Spinning wheels, and haven't learned how to eat yet.
Gonna get myself sorted and fix this thing.
Just 1 week to go. Got to stick it at 175 if I can.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Looking back; looking ahead
With less than 2 weeks on the dockets for this cycle, I'm starting to take a look back at the things I've managed to accomplish.
I started August at 186#, and last week weighed in at 175#. That's 11 pounds down in 7 weeks, which is not quite the pace I was hoping for at the start, but does meet the first milestone.
With 2 weeks to go, there's a good chance of hitting the second milestone, provided I push myself towards it. Reaching 170# is possible, it just takes some refocusing and dedication to make it there.
After September is over, I will be starting a 3 month cycle. Oct-Dec. The goals for that cycle are settling in now, but are still changeable. I will probably make a post on it closer to the start.
Also, there are now just 103 days left in the year. I tend to start thinking about what to do with the rest of the year once things get down to 100 days. So I am doing some thinking already on what I can do and what I want to do in the time the year has left. I'll post more on that later too.
I started August at 186#, and last week weighed in at 175#. That's 11 pounds down in 7 weeks, which is not quite the pace I was hoping for at the start, but does meet the first milestone.
With 2 weeks to go, there's a good chance of hitting the second milestone, provided I push myself towards it. Reaching 170# is possible, it just takes some refocusing and dedication to make it there.
After September is over, I will be starting a 3 month cycle. Oct-Dec. The goals for that cycle are settling in now, but are still changeable. I will probably make a post on it closer to the start.
Also, there are now just 103 days left in the year. I tend to start thinking about what to do with the rest of the year once things get down to 100 days. So I am doing some thinking already on what I can do and what I want to do in the time the year has left. I'll post more on that later too.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Week 7 results
Stats:
Weight: 175 (-2; -10)
BF%: 20.2% (0%; -1.6%)
Waist: 100 (0; -4)
Hips: 99 (-1; -3)
Chest: 104 (0; -7)
Thigh: 58 (-1; -3)
Calf: 36 (0; +1)
Arm: 32.5 (0; -1.5)
Another flat week. Little change, but I did make the 2 pound shift in weight I wanted.
I ate really poorly over the weekend, and as of this morning, my weight is right back to 177#. I feel like this week will be a refocusing week, and I will need to work to get my eating, exercise and mindset back where they need to be.
I'm hopeful to reach 173 next week, and also hopeful to break through the 20% barrier and on to the next lowest branch.
Weight: 175 (-2; -10)
BF%: 20.2% (0%; -1.6%)
Waist: 100 (0; -4)
Hips: 99 (-1; -3)
Chest: 104 (0; -7)
Thigh: 58 (-1; -3)
Calf: 36 (0; +1)
Arm: 32.5 (0; -1.5)
Another flat week. Little change, but I did make the 2 pound shift in weight I wanted.
I ate really poorly over the weekend, and as of this morning, my weight is right back to 177#. I feel like this week will be a refocusing week, and I will need to work to get my eating, exercise and mindset back where they need to be.
I'm hopeful to reach 173 next week, and also hopeful to break through the 20% barrier and on to the next lowest branch.
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