New Perspectives

It's always a good idea to step back and take a look at the big picture in your life. Sometimes it will surprise you to find out that the little things in life really don't matter as much as you thought they did. However, there are small pleasures in life that we often take for granted. Take time out today to appreciate these little things - there is a lot to be grateful for.

I recently spent the weekend with a friend, and for the most part was surrounded by women the entire time (not what you're thinking!). It's always an eye opener to step outside of your usual routine and see the world from someone else's point of view. You never know what someone else has been through or is going through. Spending my weekend with women opened my eyes to some joys and fears that the mid-20s American female is going through. If you just take the time to listen there's a lot to learn from everyone around you.

I also took the opportunity this weekend to gain a small window into life as an occupational therapist. My friend works at the hospital, rehabbing folks who are recuperating from life-changing experiences, such as having a stroke. Thinking about someone who isn't able to do everyday "mundane" tasks like walking, throwing a football, or signing their own name really re-emphasized to me how lucky I really am. I'm in good health, all my appendages work as they should, and I don't have any lingering pain/disability that haunts me on a daily basis (physically or mentally).

Take time out today to appreciate the little things - there is a lot to be grateful for. The little things in life can be the source of your frustration or the bright spot of every day. If you let the bad ones go and cherish the good ones you'll start living a happier and healthier life. Remind yourself each morning to step back and look at the big picture. Life is too short to dwell on the bad little things, when there's so many good little things to go around.

Respect for the fallen

Ok. Enough. Instead of the hate talk, how about you do some reading. Go to the Wikipedia page on Michael Jackson's life and read the section "1993–1994: Sexual abuse accusations and marriage". You should really read the whole thing but since you probably won't, I'll transpose some of it here so you can get a feel for the relevant information (text was bolded by me):

Jackson was accused of child sexual abuse by a 13-year-old child named Jordan Chandler and his father Evan Chandler. Sometime afterwards, Evan Chandler was tape-recorded saying amongst other things, "If I go through with this, I win big-time. There's no way I lose. I will get everything I want and they will be destroyed forever...Michael's career will be over". A year after they had met, under the influence of a controversial sedative, Jordan Chandler told his father that Jackson had touched his penis. Evan Chandler and Jackson, represented by their legal teams, then engaged in unsuccessful negotiations to resolve the issue in a financial settlement; the negotiations were initiated by Chandler but Jackson did make several counter offers. Jordan Chandler then told a psychiatrist and later police that he and Jackson had engaged in acts of kissing, masturbation and oral sex, as well as giving a detailed description of what he alleged were the singer's genitals.

Read the bold part again. Seems a little suspicious? That's because it is. I'm not saying I know definitively that he is not a pedophile. For all I know he could be a pedophile, but c'mon people you're acting as if YOU were there. It's ludicrous. The simple fact is the man was never convicted by our judicial system (settled out of court to stop his name from getting dragged through the mud any longer). If you have a problem with that you have a problem with the judicial system, and not Michael Jackson.

Now, aside from rumors and accusations read the rest of the Wikipedia page on his life. How about his charitable work?

- "He donated his $5 million share from the Victory Tour to charity".
- "Jackson co-wrote the charity single "We Are the World" with Lionel Richie... 20 million copies sold and millions of dollars donated to famine relief."
- "From 1985 to 1990, Jackson donated $500,000 to the United Negro College Fund, and all of the profits from his single "Man in the Mirror" went to charity."
- "In 2000, Jackson was listed in the book of Guinness World Records for his support of 39 charities".

The list goes on and on. The man is to be admired, even before considering his ground breaking music that changed an entire industry and inspired hundreds of young people to become musicians. His talent is off the charts, his giving spirit is nearly unparalleled, and he's the ultimate entertainer.

A man passed away yesterday. He was a good man, and yet all you can talk about is an incident where someone tried to take advantage of his generosity in order to make a quick buck. For shame. Even if you don't agree with that interpretation of the incident with Jordan Chandler at least give the man some respect for a lifetime of accomplishment both on and off the stage.

Interval Training

It's always good to mix up your routine, it keeps you interested and entertained. Sure, consistency is the key to success in exercise (as it is in most things in life), but doing the same thing every day can get to be disheartening! I think a change (a change) would do me good (a change would do me good).

Here's my current workout each morning:

1) Biking for 12-18 minutes, depending on how I feel
2) Pushups x 20
3) Crunches x 50

Repeat 1-3 twice or three times if I have extra time.

It's a pretty good workout I think; I'm able to work my lower body, midsection, and upper body all while getting both an anaerobic and an aerobic workout. What's that thing I was looking for? Oh yeah, balance!

After reading this I'm thinking about adding interval training to my regimen, maybe once or twice a week. Really, the article doesn't have much to do with what I'm thinking about, but it gave me the idea for interval training. Now I just need to figure out what I'll be doing on these intervals.

One of my weakest points has always been sports with burst involved. Basketball comes to mind, so does ultimate frisbee, and soccer too. Speaking of soccer, who saw the USA beat Spain? I was actually excited to see it - I think I'm getting a sport crush. In any case, interval training could really help me in one of my weakest areas.

So for now I'm thinking once or twice a week I'll head down to the local park and run some kind of sprints. There's a football field there, so I'm thinking maybe 50 yard sprints, followed by 50 yard walkback/rest, repeat 5-10 times. It's possible that I might even do some ladders (sprint 5, walkback, sprint 10, walkback, sprint 15, etc for 50 yards) but this is one of my worst memories of football. There's also a pretty decent hill there, so maybe I could run some hills on days that I'm not feeling the sprints. Anyone have any interval training advice?

Also, sorry for the Sheryl Crow reference.

Patience

Patience is a virtue, or so I'm told. Still, I hate waiting for things. Waiting makes my skin crawl and my leg bounce with anticipation; but wait I shall because wait I must. Patience is a virtue. Keep your eyes on the prize. Stay the course. I should get those statements on tape, and listen to it on repeat.

In my quest to become a healthier person I've lost around 10-12 pounds thus far, but when I look down I still see a long way to go. The healthy way to lose weight is to watch what you eat and exercise. Unfortunately this is also the slow way. They say that if you lose 2-3 pounds a week you're doing well and doing it in a healthy manner. Well damn. I want to lose another 40-50 pounds, so we're looking at a minimum of 14 weeks or so, or 3.5 months. Augh, I can't wait! I suppose every journey has to have a beginning, middle, and an end but this middle is too long! Patience is a virtue. Keep your eyes on the prize. Stay the course.

Another thing I can't wait for is to be a piano/keyboard god. I still practice nearly daily but I feel as if I've hit a wall of sorts. See, the problem is the lessons that I've been watching on YouTube have gone into reading music, different inflections (sharps, flats, piano, forte, etc) and other non-playing subjects. I know a lot of this stuff from playing the trumpet, but I still want to watch it again as a refresher and in case there was something specific to the piano I wasn't aware of (for instance, I just learned about 2nds, 3rds, 4ths, etc). I try to watch one every couple of days so it has time to sink in, but again I find it hard to wait! One day you can call me Ben Folds Jr, but not quite yet. Patience is a virtue. Keep your eyes on the prize. Stay the course.

Still yet another thing I'm waiting on is paying down my debt. I've got a ton of student loans and a fairly high credit card bill that I'm really not happy about. These aren't just things that go away overnight though. It takes consistent payment and extra payment to get the number to budge, even a little. I'm almost done with one of the private loans, so that will be an extra $100 towards one of the other ones. Damn you money! Patience is a virtue. Keep your eyes on the prize. Stay the course.

Every day brings new challenges for which you must exercise patience. Patience with a customer representative on the phone. Patience with a significant other. Patience with our own faults. With consistent hard work and patience you can resolve your problems one step at a time and be much happier in the long run.

Perseverance Through Adversity

It's well known that to be successful in sports you must not only be better than the other guy/team, you also have to be so much better that you can take the unfair hits/calls and still pull out a victory. This holds true for life as well. There are going to be times in your life where it seems like nothing can go right. You've probably heard the phrases: "Bad news comes in threes" and "When it rains, it pours". I'm always amazed to see it, but it's true. Bad things can sometimes beget other bad things. It's hard to stay positive sometimes, but you have to persevere.

A short memory can come in handy here. I've often been reprimanded for my awful memory, but more often than not it's helped me stay happy through tough times. Think not of the past, nor of the future, but only of the present. By keeping your mind focused on your immediate goals you can be a happier person. This is not to say it's a good idea to forget the past, but take it with a grain of salt. It's in the past; it can't be changed. If it's something negative, live life the best you can and push it out of your mind. You have no control over it, so why even worry about it?

Bad things happen to good people. It's a fact of life. The key is to not get hung up on those bad things and fall into a downward spiral or a regression. Instead, call an old friend, work out, or play a musical instrument! With perseverance and a short memory you can stay positive, happy, and optimistic about your present and your future.