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I Resolve To …

1 Jan

Like it or not, January and 2010 are both here.

Among other things, that means it’s time to stop looking back and start to look forward.

In most cases, that also means coming up with some resolutions for things to change in the new year.

Generally, I don’t make New Year’s resolutions because I’m never able to keep them.

But this year I’m going to publish my list of resolutions here, and I’m hoping that the public declaration will help me stick to them.

So with that in mind, I resolve to … Continue reading →

Eat It

19 Aug

I don’t buy this whole diet thing. Oh, sure, you could probably tell by some of the things I post on here that I’m not the healthiest of eaters (exhibit a or exhibit b, anyone?). But in true Gemini style, there’s an opposite side of me that truly does want to lose some weight. And it’s been a constant struggle between the two sides for a long time now. Doesn’t take a genius to figure out which one is winning.

I don’t mind telling you that August was supposed to be the start of Martin Eats Healthy — or at least, Martin Eats Healthier. And I have made some impressive strides in that department (relatively speaking). For example, I rarely eat frozen chicken nuggets for dinner anymore. Now my meals consist more of actual meat — chicken, mostly. And instead of eating pasta as a side dish, I have either eaten corn on the cob, or broccoli, or carrots, or string beans, or some combination of them. For breakfast, I’ve stopped eating chocolate chip muffins, and now I eat a yogurt every day with some fruit (cantaloupe).

Generally, it’s alright. I have actually become somewhat addicted to corn on the cob this summer (much to the dismay of my teeth). But the yogurts? I have tried a few different flavors, and a couple different brands, but they all basically have the same tart taste, no matter what the flavor supposedly is. I’ve even been to that new place, Chill, in Cleveland Circle, and had the tart yogurt — but I have to say, it wasn’t great (I mean, compared to real ice cream, anyway). I’ve had salad for lunch, but it’s just not filling enough, and nor is a yogurt in the morning. A couple hours later and I’m hungry again.

Of course, I haven’t cut out bad foods entirely (still a few of those), but yeah, at least I’m trying. Eventually I’ll get it through my skull that eating better (relatively speaking) is only half the puzzle, and the other half is I need to exercise more. But that’ll happen in due time. Maybe if I start to see some actual results, it’ll encourage me to do more. But until then, I’m just not sure I’m cut out for this whole diet thing.

Happy Time

19 Mar

A funny thing happens when you’re happy … You have less to blog about, and less incentive to blog because you’d rather be living your life offline.

At least that’s how it has been for me lately.

And I know my “life is good” attitude runs counter to the general mood of the public (it certainly runs counter to that of many people I know), so I’ve also made a conscious attempt not to make too big a deal about it for fear I’d appear to be rubbing it in.

But I am happy these days, more so than I’ve been in a very long time.

And I just wanted to say that because, well, I don’t see why I shouldn’t.

She Ain’t Heavy, She’s Just Oprah

10 Dec

Not that anyone asked her, but Oprah Winfrey has admitted that she now tips the scales at 200 pounds (the story is in the latest issue of O magazine). So as if my week wasn’t already going well, now I can also take pride in the fact that as heavy as I am, I don’t weigh as much as Oprah Winfrey does. Phew!

Thank You, Summer

30 Oct

I hate being sick. It’s well documented that I’m not a very good sick person. So it gives me no great pleasure to say that for a few days now I’ve been sneezing and I’m congested, and I get a sore throat and cough (but only at night for some reason). That’s why I called in sick on Wednesday for the first time in more than two years in an effort to help myself get over whatever it is that I have (some call it a cold, I think it’s something else).

So yeah. I stayed home yesterday. And I’ve gotta tell you: after waking up later than usual and settling into position on the couch, I quickly found myself bored. Jeez … What happened to the sick day? Isn’t this supposed to be a fun day? The kind of day you long for where you get to watch game shows and all kinds of cheesy TV all day, and you relax and bake cookies, and by day’s end you feel so much better? I don’t know about that. By 10 a.m. I was already checking my work email and browsing around on the Interwebs and looking for other ways to keep busy. I mean, what else was I going to do, watch The View? That would only make me feel worse. Now of course, I could have done some apartment cleaning or read a book — you know, something productive — but I didn’t. I basically just caught up on some shows I’d recorded in recent weeks, took it easy, spent too much time on my computer, and somehow the day flew.

Actually, if you want to know the truth, the highlight of my day was (no kidding) watching a repeat of The O.C. on SoapNet. And not just any repeat, but the second-season Chrismukkah episode — one of the top-three best episodes of a not-always-great but still beloved series. And, well, despite any boredom I had felt all day, when Summer Roberts saved Chrismukkah for the Cohen clan, she had also saved my day from being a total loss. I’m not saying Summer is this year’s miracle cure or anything, but she made me feel a whole lot better. So yeah, Summer Roberts does it again. She saved Chrismukkah and she saved my sick day. Hooray for Summer Roberts! And hopefully, farewell to my cold really soon too.

Now I Feel Old

19 Feb

I’ve heard from more than a few friends who’ve been through it that buying real estate makes you feel more like a grown-up than anything else.

And then there was that day last summer when I was having back pain and felt old.

And we all know how much I’ve hated the college kids these past few months.

So maybe I’m sending out the wrong message on this blog about my true age, because when I got home tonight, what did I have in my mailbox? A membership application to join AARP.

No kidding. Continue reading →

It’s Not a Cold

13 Jan

All week I’ve been trying to stave off a cold. Or at least what I thought was a cold. But it turns out I may just have winter allergies, which I’m learning are more common than I thought. After all, if the only symptoms are sneezing, runny nose, and occasional watery eyes, and I’m not feeling run down and I don’t have a sore throat, etc. then it has to be allergies, right? Especially with the way the temperatures here in Boston have been fluctuating, I’m sure there are all kinds of irritants in the air. And I mean, when you go to CVS and you look at all the cold remedies, the ones that treat my symptoms are all labeled “allergy” medication. And Claritin-D seems to be working so well today. And, this would partly explain why the Zicam didn’t do squat all week. So, I’m making a self-diagnosis. I don’t have a cold, I have allergies. Phew!

Hello, Winter

4 Dec

Because I have nothing better to do, I’ve been doing a bit of thinking lately trying to decide what the worst thing about winter is.

Is it the bitter cold temperatures, and the winds that seem to make it even colder, and the fact that it seems to become cold right away without a slow drop in temperature?

Is it the iced up sidewalks that taunt me and almost dare me to walk on them and not fall? I include the parking lot outside my building, which I have no choice but to cross every day if I want to go somewhere; half of it is a sheet of ice right now.

Is it the over-crowded and less frequent T cars? Every year, same old story.

Is it dangling on the edge of being sick, and trying ever-so-hard not to catch a cold from everyone around me who seems to have something already.

Is it the fact that everyone’s so bundled up that they look almost unfriendly and unapproachable?

Is it not wanting to go outside to do stuff because it’s so much nicer on my couch in my warm apartment?

It may actually be a tie between all of those things. Winter just really sucks. There’s absolutely nothing good about this time of year (other than the holidays, of course). Brrrrrrrrrr…!

For a Few Extra Schillings …

6 Nov

If you ask me, it’s good news that Curt Schilling will be back on the Sox next year, finishing out his career right here in Boston. But the details of his new contract are a little suspect:

<< According to Schilling, who first posted the confirmation on his web site, the deal includes a possible $6 million in incentives in addition to his $8 million base salary: $2 million in weight incentives (based on six weigh-ins), $3 million based on innings pitched, and $1 million if he receives even a single Cy Young vote. >>

He gets $2 million in “weight incentives?” Are you kidding me?? Well, allow me to make this announcement: if the Sox (or, for that matter, any other company out there) wants to pay me $2 million to lose weight and keep it off, I’d gladly switch jobs. That’s crazy. But it’s certainly worth $2 million to me.

Yawn

26 Oct

One big difference between ’04 and ’07 is the fact that I just haven’t been able to stay up to watch the baseball games this week like I could three years ago.

I was falling asleep during game one, and because it was a blowout, I almost called it a night somewhere around the fifth or sixth inning — until I forced myself to stay awake and I got a second wind.

No such luck last night. Despite a close game, I nodded off on the couch late in the game and totally missed most of the eight inning and the top of the ninth. I woke up to the sound of Maria Stephanos’ voice and just went right to bed, without even knowing if we’d won or lost.

And I’d be totally embarrassed to admit that, except that as I walked into the kitchen here at work this morning, it seemed to be a common type of story. Continue reading →

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