Focus on the positive

Knowing that the gloomy, wintry weather would probably keep me housebound this weekend, I got in a Saturday workout with Joe and a couple Boot Campers I don’t get to see other days of the week. We did a lot of boxing, which can be a lot harder than some of our normal exercises. It’s also very empowering. There’s nothing quite like punching something as hard as you can — safely, of course.

As we were finishing up, I commented to one of the other campers that she had great legs. Her response: Who me? It made me realize (1) many of us are not very good at taking compliments and (2) we have a tendency to focus on the negative things about ourselves.

When you look in the mirror, do you see the good things or do your eyes immediately settle on your trouble zones? I know that my eyes settle on my midsection — the part I like least about myself. Joe suggests taking a full-length photo of yourself. With a Sharpie, write your goals on the photo. Additionally, you should write good things on the photo. How about things like “I want to tone my middle” and “I love my strong, toned arms.”

I know “self-talk” is a bit of a cliche, but sometimes we have to say nice things to ourselves. We have to remind ourselves that we’re stronger, have more energy, feel better and yes, look better thanks to our workouts. Maybe your trouble area isn’t as toned as you’d like it to be, but I bet you can find something about yourself you do like. Give it a try. You may feel silly at first but you may realize there are a lot more positives than you originally thought.

Cross posted

It's Friday!

Take that, week!

And now for some real controversy

And to wash the angry out of my mouth ...

It's true. They are.

In which I get controversial*

Yesterday, I read something that reminded me a billboard here in town that shows a young boy leaning against a disembodied pregnant belly. The sign says, "A person's a person, no matter how small."

I hate that billboard with a passion and it makes me so angry every time I see it -- because of its imagery and for highjacking Dr. Seuss for a self-righteous, misguided message. You see, the message I take away from it is this: A person's a person, no matter how small -- unless it's a pregnant woman. Then she's just a belly -- a vessel for carrying the real person.

Ugh.

*to some people

Do re mi fa so la ti do

After having a discussion with my guitar teacher yesterday about how our brains in our heads don't always communicate with our fingers, I proceeded to rock the hell out of the Ionian (or Major) scale. That's do-re-mi. Thank you very much, "Sound of Music."

He said he's never seen anyone play it so well in just a week. Woo! I guess I'm a scale prodigy.

He then assured me that learning scales and practicing them will help with every other aspect of the guitar. Good to know. Because I still feel like I can't play a song to save my life.

Still, I bet now, I could kick butt on Guitar Hero. Do they sell a scales-only version?

I think God would edit this

There's a church near my house that always has a "clever" saying on its sign. This week's says:

If a grave I'm nexting, it's because I drove while texting.

I have grown to accept that "texting" is now a real word -- as is "texted." I don't like it, but I'll accept it. I will not -- ever -- accept the word "nexting." What exactly is that sign even supposed to mean?

I would have accepted: If a grave I'm next in, it's because I drove while textin'. Or even a skewed rhyme of next in/texting. But not "nexting."

Because if that's the way our language is headed, there is no God!

UPDATE: I drove by the sign again yesterday, and tt's worse than I had originally remembered. It actually says, "If a grave I'm nexting: It's because I drove while texting." Made up words AND bad punctuation. God help us.

I whine about the same old things

I will readily admit that I am a huge procrastinator. It's practically an art form. I will sometimes wait until Wednesday mid-day to finish up -- heck, start -- a story that's due by close of business Wednesday.

Still, I don't like being made to wait. For the past several weeks, I've gotten my test drive assignments at the last minute. Last week, I got the contact's name at noon on Wednesday. I can't push my deadlines back too far because these stories go to print Thursday.

This week, I got the contact information this morning (Monday) and called right away. Then called again a few hours later. I'm still waiting to hear back from the dealership. So, can I drive the car tomorrow or will it have to be Wednesday morning? On top of that, it looks like next week's test drive is still up in the air.

If I procrastinate on making phone calls or starting my story, I can only blame myself for feeling rushed. When I'm waiting around for other people who are procrastinating, I can blame them. I'd rather blame myself. Whining is so unbecoming.

Today in weird products

Current TV's "Infomania" (which you can watch here) has a segment called "We've Got You Covered." Which gives an overview of what's happening in magazines. Within that segment, they have something called "How the @#*! is this a magazine?" In that vein, I bring you "How the @#*! is this a real product advertised in a magazine?"

In the back of the S.O.'s "Men's Fitness," there is an ad for this product: The Goatee Saver. It's a template to help guys shave their goatee. Or as the Web site says, "an innovative grooming tool designed to give you the perfect goatee every time you shave."

I'm thinking the model on the Web site may have Photoshopped his goatee. I don't know any guy who has facial hair that looks quite like that. I'm also thinking if you need some kind of pattern to help you cut your goatee -- a template that you appear to have to hold in your mouth while you shave, no less -- maybe you should forgo the facial hair all together. It's just a thought.

On the other hand, "grooming perfection makes a perfect gift for that hard-to-buy-for guy."