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I’m Walking. Yesiree I’m Walking

24 Apr

If you haven’t heard yet, Wednesday is the first annual Start! Walking at Work Day, sponsored by the American Heart Association.

The purpose of the day is to promote a culture of physical activity in the workplace, which will help people live longer, healthier lives. (No word if that longer, healthier life includes more time at work.)

Apparently, we’re working 164 more hours a year than in previous years, which leads to more sedentary lives. Blah blah blah.

So on Wednesday, at exactly 2:41 pm, you’re supposed to get up from your desk and walk.

Walk anywhere, I suppose. Take a lap around the office. Or walk outside. Just walk somewhere.

And why, you may be asking, is this happening at 2:41? Well, according to the AHA, adults may gain as many as two hours of life for every one hour of regular exercise. (That’s their joke, not mine.)

And there’s your PSA for the day. Continue reading →

Taking My Time

7 Feb

In every issue, Esquire runs a few quick endorsements.

So allow me to run one of my own: the random day off.

I’ve become a big fan of taking nothing-special-to-do, just-a-day-off days off as a chance to just hang out, relax, and catch up on my life. I took a couple in December when I was trying to burn them off (at my company, if you don’t use your days off, you lose them), and I took one today too.

The benefits of these kinds of days off are plentiful: You can sleep in. You can watch morning TV shows, such as Regis & Kelly, or Ellen, or old Dawson’s Creek reruns (oh, and today’s was a classic from back when Brittany Daniel was on). You can run errands at stores like Shaw’s or Target, go to the movies (more on that later), or walk down Newbury Street, and all of it is practically empty.

Similarly, you can actually do your laundry because no one else is competing for the machines. I also enjoy treating myself to a nice-er lunch, or rewarding myself simply because I’m not at work.

I’ll likely take another day in a month or two so I can go to the doctor for a physical.

I think we all tend to save our vacation days for actual vacations (I know I generally do), but I highly recommend taking random days off like this when you have the chance.

Welcome to the Wow

12 Jan

Just when I had adjusted to the three-hour time difference, I’m back from Vegas and very tired.

Overall, it was a good trip, as I’ve already said: productive and cost-effective as far as my work objectives go, and fun as far as everything else goes.

Here are some “reporter’s notebook”-style things I thought I’d mention: Continue reading →

Words for Wednesday

8 Nov

Some quick thoughts for today …

A Good Day to Be a Democrat

I find it a fun coincidence that right as the Democrats were washing the Republicans out of power, Mother Nature decided to sprinkle some rain and wash away the whole thing. It’s metaphorical, in a really obvious way. Personally, y’all know how I feel about being woken up early, and if George Bush was really gracious in defeat, he wouldn’t have been calling people to tell them as much at 7:15 a.m. this morning.

Vicious Circle

Many nights, as I’m walking home from work around 8 p.m., I ponder the eternal question: Am I working late because I have nothing to do, or do I have nothing to do because I am working late? And then, last night, I found more fuel for my fire. I left work around 6:15 to go vote, and when I got home, I had nothing to do but watch the returns come in on MSNBC. I tried to watch some of the shows I’ve recorded in the past week, but to be honest, week-old What About Brian? or Six Degrees, or even the Chevy Chase episode of Law & Order, just had no appeal. I guess the whole thing only served to remind me that I need a new hobby or two.

Losing Lost

Tonight is the last episode — new or otherwise — of Lost until February. Which means that IsLostARepeat.com will be stuck on “Yes” for a while, I’m guessing. Either way, just when it was getting good, now it’s being taken away. That sucks.

Still There for Me

Check out what I just found, still on the web from September 2003.

Personnel Announcement

22 Jun

Generally, I try to keep this blog a work-free zone, but for those readers who I actually know, who I haven’t been in touch with recently — or those I don’t know who would be interested — I thought I’d post an announcement that I’ve been promoted, and I’m now a Senior Managing Editor.

I’m still working on the same magazines, but now I also manage three employees (in addition to our team of interns) and I’ll be taking on other responsibilities as well.

It’s all good, and I’m quite happy about the news, as you may assume. Continue reading →

Walk On By

1 May

You probably could not have asked for a better day than yesterday for WalkAmerica.

Skies were as blue as possible, with nary a cloud in the sky, temps in the high 50s (or low 60s — weather reports were conflicting), and a slight breeze off the Charles.

 I wore my track pants for the first time since I went skydiving.

My company’s team, in typical fashion, didn’t wait to be told “go.” Instead, we left 15 minutes before the official start time.

The walk itself was great; no sweat, as predicted. When most of our group seemed to split up and splinter off into smaller duos and threesomes, Stephani and I stayed together.

We finished the entire six-mile walk in just over two hours.

At the finish line, there was all kinds of food waiting for us (good thing, because I was starved), including delicious cake from Montillio’s (mmmmmmmmmm).

And, to top it all off, I had raised $350 in advance, which will be matched by my employer.

Thanks again to all who contributed.

All in all (despite a minor sunburn), a great day. (Click on the pictures to see a bigger version of each one.)

How Far Is Six Miles?

27 Apr

As WalkAmerica gets closer (it’s this Sunday), people have begun to ask me if I’m ready (and even able) to walk six miles.

Ha.

Like that’s such a long distance.

Sure, I tell them. No problem. I’ve walked that much in a day before.

But today I got my first reality check: Six miles is about a quarter of a mile longer than the distance between my apartment and my office (at least according to Mapquest), and I don’t ever walk that. Continue reading →

Walk This Way

23 Apr

Since it’s one week from today, just thought I’d post another plug for WalkAmerica, in which I’ll be participating next Sunday here in Boston.

As you may know, aside from being a great excuse to walk for six miles around the Charles River, this is a fundraising event to help in the fight against birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. (If you want to learn more, click here to read a recent story from Continental magazine.)

Like so many out there, it is such a worthy cause and I’m looking forward to being a part of this special event. If you are up to it, please help by making a donation. My company is generously matching all money raised by employes, so whether you give $5, $10, $20, $50 or any other amount (and anything you feel comfortable giving is appreciated), consider that doubled. Donating is easy, just click here. Thanks in advance.

I’m Walking the Line

30 Mar

This year, for the first time since I was in eighth grade, I’m participating in WalkAmerica.

It’s on April 30, starting at the Hatch Shell in Boston.

Yes, this means I’ll be walking six miles, and I am not at all worried about that. It’ll be no problem, as opposed to when I did the walk when I was 13 and could barely finish. (Aside from my youth, the snacks along the route didn’t help much.)

Anyway, WalkAmerica is an event sponsored by March of Dimes that seeks to raise funds for research in the fight against birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. Continental Airlines, whose inflight magazine I am the managing editor of, is a national sponsor (we wrote about their participation in the March issue), so some folks from my company and I are participating to support the cause and our client. (If you’re reading this and will also be walking, we’ll be the ones in the blue Continental t-shirts.)

I always feel awkward asking for donations from people because everyone has their own preferred causes and financial demands, but I thought I would just post something here in case any of my readers wanted to make a donation to support March of Dimes.

If you do, I thank you. Any amount is appreciated.

All you have to do is click on this link and follow the instructions.

As an incentive, my company will be matching any money raised, so a $25 donation from you is really a $50 donation, for example. You can also sign up to walk or volunteer to help in other ways if walking or donating money aren’t your thing.

Thanks again in advance.

Just Another Manic Monday

6 Feb

You ever have one of those days … ?

Checked my work email around midnight last night, got a bit of an angry rant from a coworker who was traveling on business. So I came in today expecting the worst. First hour or two in the office was pure damage control, trying to fix a seemingly crisis situation. We’re talking defusing a bomb. Code Black, if you saw Grey’s Anatomy last night. But then something happened. Suddenly my coworker, the one who had written the rant, was going out on a limb, disregarding all logic, and trying to defuse the situation in a way that defied all sane reasoning. And you know what? It totally worked. The man is a master of spin. So over the course of the day, things turned downright surreal. All of a sudden we were mostly in the clear. Our hyper-reaction this morning (an appropriate response at the time, given the tone of the email) began to seem like a complete over-reaction. And that crisis we were dealing with was deemed nothing more than a “bump in the road.” As we were told, “If there are no bumps in the road, then you’re not trying hard enough.” It’s after 6pm and I’m still stunned by the turn of events. Talk about a range of emotions.

My apologies for the unspecificity of this posting, but given that it’s a work thing, hopefully you’ll understand. Just wanted to say I’m baffled, confused, turned sideways, and utterly exhausted by the day.

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