I like the idea of New Year’s resolutions, as they provide us with an opportunity to be better. Not everyone does. They say things like “my resolution is to not make resolutions” or “they never work” . I suspect it’s because they have not had a positive experience in executing them, and therefore see it as an exercise in futility. Maybe they made too many, or they weren’t able to be completed in a year. But I digress …
The question we should ask ourselves is “how can I be better ?”. There are other questions you could ask, like “what do i want?”, “What’s missing from my life?”, “How can I make this year suck less than last year?”, but in the end they’re essentially asking the same thing.
Reflecting on this and other years past, I’ve realized that I don’t take enough chances. When confronted with a situation where I could be disappointed with the outcome, I distance myself from it and consequently prevent that possible outcome from presenting itself. Additionally, I need to get fit. I have a sizable amount of weight to shed. I have a picture in my head of what I should look like. I’m guessing that to get from here to there is about 50 pounds, but it’s probably more. The challenge I run into is that, the ultimate goal seems so far off, that it seems impossible. So I give up before I start. I know I’m not the only one that feels this way.
But that was then. this is now. This is the moment to change. It’s in your power to change your life. the first step is decide that you want it. The next step is to do it. With all your drive, power, and determination, do everything you can to make it happen. No one else can do it for you. Others can help, and you should reach out to them, but ultimately, the power is in your hands. Good luck and godspeed!
My Resolutions:
Quotes
- “Courage is the first of the human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all the others” –Sir Winston Churchill
- “Why not go out on a limb? isn’t that where the fruit is?” –Frank Scully
- “Fortune and love favor the brave” –Ovid
- “Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared” –Eddie Rickenbacker
Here in Washington state, there is a mission to reduce peoples’ reliance on cars and their impact. It’s strongest in Seattle where Mayor Greg Nickels is trying to incentivise people not to drive their cars. Part of the solution is to provide an alternate means of transportation. In Seattle, that comes in the form of buses, almost-here (coming in late 2009) light rail, monorail, and the SLUT.
I’ve been making the effort in my own life to minimize my driving. I walk a lot more. Typically if my destination is in downtown or near Seattle Center I’ll walk. Optionally I’ll ride the monorail or the SLUT. Outside of that I’ll take the bus. Even after all that, there are still a few times I’ll drive my car. But I’m supporter of mass transit. I see it as essential for any city of significance. So I’m glad the city of Seattle is encouraging people to take mass transit. What I’m not glad about, is what I witnessed over the last few days.
There’s a snow storm going on now. While the amount of snow we’re getting is uncommon for Seattle (some are calling it Snopocalypse ‘08) it’s pretty run of the mill for cities like Chicago, New York City, and Boston. I wanted to go to Lower Queen Anne on Saturday night so I went to over to 3rd street and Pike to catch the bus. Routes 3, 4, and 16 all can get me where i wanted to go, or at least close enough. I waited about 25 minutes before I pulled up the internet on my mobile to check the status. What I discovered was that many routes had been suspended. I wasn’t the only one out there. There was a crowd of people all standing in the frigid night waiting for a bus to take them home. These people were failed by King County Metro. They need to realize that if you want people to rely on mass transit, it has to always be available. You can’t just take it away when the weather isn’t optimal. People still need to go places and have lives to lead. I’m disappointed that King County Metro failed these people. I’m sure they weren’t the only ones, and I’m sure it will happen again.
The startup community is interested in how their fellow entrepreneurs are doing. I’m sure there are others but two sites that come to mind that discuss the health of start up companies – killerstartups.com and fuckedstartups.com. KillerStartups.com discusses the companies that are doing well, succeeding even, with their business. FuckedStartups.com discusses those that are in turmoil, slashing large parts of their employees, or closing their doors.
While reading through my RSS feeds, I saw the headline “Jumpcut.com is heading to Deadpool”. OK, so they’re closing their doors for business. I wonder how many people knew it was gonna happen? So I’m thinking, what if people could bet which companies were gonna go under and when? wouldnt that be cool?! I’d have to say yes, that would be cool. But I’m biased, since it’s my idea after all. Now I’m not a lawyer, but I’m pretty certain online gambling is illegal in the United States. So no money would change hands. Instead it’s done by points. It would use a weighted point system, to be precise. It’s related to when you cast your vote for a company and when they actally close their doors. the greater the value between the two dates, the more points you get. Basically, it would justify your trash talking to your friends. The other restriction is that you only get a limited number of companies to select. Lets say you had 5 slots. You could remove one of your existing companies to replace it with a different one, or when a company actually does go out of business, a slot becomes available for you.
Now, here the question. How many of you would be intersted in this application? The initial application would be pretty simple. As time goes on, i could add more features. If you would like to help out, let me know.
Today was a great day for a run. I ran the Jingle Bell with my two team mates, Wendy Chisholm and Erika Hargadine, as well as new comer Summer, a friend of Wendy’s. Thousands of people showed up this morning to run. The race got off to a slow start, but soon quickly picked up in the first 1/2 mile as people spread out. As we headed into the express lane tunnels, the Seattle PD were trying to steer the runners away from the side of the road where ice had formed. Fortunately I didn’t witness anybody falling on the ice, but with thousands of of people the odds are good that someone took a spill.
I had bundles of energy at this point. I had a good pace, and not alot of people were passing me. As I exited the tunnel, the runners spread out using the wider road to its advantge. I was able to pass many more people as I took advantage of the downhill. It was pretty level near the 2 mile marker. I felt ok, but I was starting to feel a little out of breath due to faster the normal pace. I tried to slow my stride but found that difficult. The adrenaline of being in the pack with still driving me. Around 2.5 miles, we reached the off ramp, which is 2 small consective uphills, with the second more dramatic than the first. This is where my stride got smaller, but my pace only slowed a little. The legs were willing, but I was really struggling with maintaining a good breathe. This is where I really wanted just to walk, but I knew if I could just reach the crest that it’s all downhill after that. I didn’t walk. I managed to keep the run going. As I turned on to Pine St. and saw the finish line, it was easy to keep going. It was great feeling to cross the finish knowing that I didn’t give up.
It wasn’t until I got home after breakfast that I caculated the time it took for me to finish. I didn’t have my digital watch, so I used the songs on my ipod playlist. It took me 33:08 to run the course. In my training I was averaging 37 minutes. That’s a big difference. Also running on the treadmill is easier. For my next race, I need to do more road work in my training.