September 2007 Archives

Monday after class I swung by a Constitution Day celebration (called a prosperity fair) in Provo. I remembered to take my camera with me since I knew there was to be an exotic car show (indeed, you could see it as you drove by on University Avenue in south Provo-- I wonder how many people stopped by just cause they noticed the cars).

In my opinion the cars here were cooler than the ones you usually see at the Auto Show in Sandy once a year-- I mean, I don't recall ever seeing a Lambo, Bentley, Spiker, or Ferrari, eh? (Maybe a Corvette...) Anyways-- I had to share this eye candy ;)
(You'll notice I'm not car geek enough to know the exact model of each, etc...)

Spiker

Another Spiker

Bentley

Corvette

Ferrari

I can't see that Ferrari logo / name and not think Ferris Bueller's Day Off-- or the tune by Yello... "oohhhhh yeahhh.... soo beautiful...." hehe...

Another Ferrari

And the Lambo....

Dang, those are some hot cars. They had I think an entire line of BMW M-series cars there too, but I didn't think they were quite up to par with these autos, at least style-wise. Even the Corvette, while looking pretty good for a 'Vette, is a bit out-classed by the rest of those pictured above-- but it was sporty enough (plus Shawn loves Corvettes, so....)

An explanation for the beard Kato calls nappy...

Dang. I don't remember the last time I posted my picture on my own blog.

During one of the courses I took earlier this year, the instructor / coach said something that just shot through to the core. He said "being private with your commitments is inauthentic." There's not a lot of power in inauthenticity, and there's lots of power in authenticity. Being public about your commitments is a way to really be authentic / straight about them.

So earlier this summer I made a commitment to get in better shape (ie lose weight / body fat through exercise and diet). That was a primarily private commitment-- maybe one or 2 people knew I had any goals (Mar is one of them... I can officially validate Kato's sentiment about "crap support"-- because we are crap support for each other, hehe). Well being mostly private and thus inauthentic with that commitment, it's no surprise that I failed miserably. It's not that I couldn't have done it-- I could have-- but by being private I have no accountability.

So I don't remember when I got this idea, but I decided that I would use my new beard as a way to be public about my commitment (I had heard of someone who let their hair grow long until they'd reach a certain level of fitness, and the more unkempt it got the more motivated they were to try to reach the goal...) I decided that I wouldn't trim it (cut it shorter) until I'd lost 10 lbs, and that I couldn't shave it off until I had reached my goal (I'd like to lose around 40lbs-- about what I lost in 2004 and subsequenty gained back through a couple bouts with depression and / or stress.) Hmm... maybe I should let my hair go too. That would drive me even more nuts than the beard, I bet.

See, sometimes I don't mind having a beard-- but a) I don't really like the attention it brings, and b) I like to keep it cut pretty short if I keep it-- it gets pretty frowzy looking when it gets long).

So there you have it. If my beard is just unkempt and out of control, it means I haven't been making decent progress. And you know it, and it leaves me accountable to other people for my actions.

Granted I don't see a lot of my blog readers often enough for them to see what the progress is, but making a public declaration like this is still authentic. It's time to take better care of the body I've been given and enjoy life more. For the record, the start weight is about 250lbs (readout on the scale fluctuates between 249 - 251). So we'll say when I hit 240 I can *trim* the beard down. Maybe I'll take a picture just prior to trimming it just to see the damage, hehe. You'll notice I already have maybe 3 weeks of growth without a lot of progress.

Anyhow, think about it in your own life. What commitments do you keep private for fear of accountability? Consider that actually making it public is what calls you into action in many cases-- because people will support you.

So Mar kinda summed up the trip, but I've got to go into more detail on at least a couple parts.

First of all... the ride up the mountain at 6am on the 8th of September. Winding up the hill is bad enough, but then you leave paved road half way there and it becomes bumpy too. You know, my stomach doesn't really care for food before a certain hour of the day, and that hour is usually after 9am. I don't know what I was thinking having orange juice and a banana at 5:45am.

So I get a little motion sick at some point. Put my head down on the bench in front of me in the van to rest a bit and try to minimize the motion sickness. At some point along the way I heard Marianne say from the bench behind me "Does anyone else feel like throwing up?"

I didn't. I was a bit dizzy but yeah-- the motion sickness was all upstairs. Didn't feel anything in my stomach, didn't feel like throwing up.

After about an hour or so, the van suddenly stops moving. We're to our drop off point. Strangely, having the motion STOP caused my saliva glands to kick into overdrive. That's when I know I'm going to launch. I'm on the second to last bench in this big van, waiting for most everyone else to filter off the van. My turn. As I reach and start to climb out, the first wave comes. I keep my mouth closed and hold it in. I take a couple steps outside the van and, if you've ever wondered why Garth calls it "spew"-- this is it, hahaha. Projectile vomit. Orange juice, chunks of banana, and a wee bit of bile.

One of the guys that had been sitting on the front bench laughed at the sight (I would have too). I had a smile on my face too, hehe. I took a few more steps and then crouched down to finish the job. And then... I felt AWESOME.

Marianne said something to the effect of "Ah, our first memory of the hike!" (I think it was Mar...)

See, people hate vomiting or they're afraid of it. I love it for this reason-- it totally relieves discomfort like this. I don't know why, but somehow vomiting balanced out my system and there was no more motion sickness-- instantly. Normally it would take several minutes for that kind of motion sickness to wear off. Nope-- gone instantly.

And I chuckled to myself the whole day about how I had started it. I dunno way it's so entertaining to me, but it is.

So the rest of the hike-- while Jesse was the last to get his feet wet, being pretty spry jumping from rock to rock, I was the first to just say "screw it." and go trudging through the water. No biggie, I figured. I didn't think it was *that* cold. Then again, I was the only one who didn't think it was chilly enough to wear a jacket that early in the morning up in the mountains. I'm thinking it's that 3-4% of body fat I think I put on over the summer (instead of losing it).

The river... oh man. Look at some of those pictures and see what kind of rocks are on the shore and in the river. Imagine the water being a wee bit deeper so you can't actually see those rocks because the water is murky from mud or whatever. And then feeling your way along with a walking stick trying not to slip or twist your ankle between rocks. It was a chore to say the least, and explains a stress fracture in my right foot and some severely sore calves (they still hurt today, almost a week later-- tho not so bad that I'm gimpy like I was until maybe yesterday).

16 miles in all, hiked in one day. If I were smart I would have done some conditioning prior to the hike so that I could have at least enjoyed it more and not been *quite* as beat up afterwards.

The sunset was gorgeous as we walked (well, I don't know if you could call what I was doing "walking") back into our camp site. Had I the energy I'd have taken a picture. It's probably been 15 years or so since I've been to Zion's National Park, what a pretty place it is.