Since we're still putting off NutriSystem until our bank accounts recover from the move, Kelly and I have been focusing on exercise instead. So far it's mostly a lap around the apartment complex a few nights a week, saying hi to underdressed strangers walking their dogs. Last weekend we tried the mall. If you haven't been to Sarasota, let's just say it makes Naperville look like Cicero. Rich people paying hundreds of dollars for a pair of shoes they'll wear once; artwork priced at what you paid for your last new car. At least it keeps us from impulse buying while we stroll past.

Tonight we used the fitness center at the apartment complex for the first time, now that we've finally gotten the passcode, just to try it and see if we like it. It's mostly weight machines, which I'd gladly give up to make room for a single bike. I spent ten minutes on the treadmill at a low pace and burned a mere 30 calories, probably only one drink of soda's worth, but it felt good to make that first step. I feel like a business owner who frames his first dollar.


Three Replies to WLW: The First 30

Matthew Preston | March 13, 2008
Nice job, keep it up! The hardest part I've found with exercising is finding the motivation to start. The accomplishment of a completed workout is such a great feeling however.

You likely burned more than 30 calories though. Because calories are a measurement of heat, those machines aren't exactly the best calculators. Did it give you the option to enter your weight? Did you break a sweat? According to the online calculator I listed below, I would burn 121 calories walking briskly. Check it out (probably not the foremost in reputable counters, but a good place to start).

http://www.caloriecontrol.org/exercalc.html

Anna Gregoline | March 13, 2008
Good for you!

Jackie Mason | March 14, 2008
[hidden by author request]


Logical Operator

The creator of Funeratic, Scott Hardie, blogs about running this site, losing weight, and other passions including his wife Kelly, his friends, movies, gaming, and Florida. Read more »

The Angry Number

Steve Dunn is bemused when people speak out against corporate America, as if it's a bad thing that they give millions of people jobs and create the products & services that enrich our lives. I'm with him, but sometimes I do get tired of being treated like a number. I've been a good tenant at this apartment complex for three years – always paid rent on time, no loud parties or messy pets or maintenance problems. Go »

Solitaire

Right now, I don't think I could write emotionally about my feelings from last night as well as I could have in the moment, but I haven't finished considering them and this is a part of that process. Long story short, I found myself passing on friends who really wanted to spend time with me in order to sit here and write code for Celebrity Goo Game, and I came to question what the hell I was doing. As in, my whole lifestyle. Go »

Modern Music

Sadness is not when one of your favorite bands (Smashing Pumpkins) puts out their final album in MP3 format only and you miss it because you don't want to get into file-sharing. Sadness is five years later, when you happily stumble across a website with the entire thing available for download and you finally learn how heinous and unpublishable the album was all along. Go »

Fur and Feathers

Yesterday was a good day: To celebrate my mother's 75th birthday, we took her out for a day around Sarasota doing things that appealed to her love of animals. After starting with a big breakfast, we went to a local attraction that we've all been meaning to see for years, the Big Cat Habitat that takes care of exotic animals that were born in captivity but abandoned by their owners. The lions and tigers and liger were the prime attraction, but they also had bears, monkeys, a chimpanzee, parrots, emu, turkeys, goats, koi, and even stranger animals like a kangaroo, kinkajou, and coati. Go »

Upstream Color

Every since seeing the strange and poetic Upstream Color, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. I highly recommend it if you're in the mood for something weird and beautiful. After a very limited theatrical release in April, it jumped straight to VOD in May, and now it's on Netflix Streaming and Amazon Instant. Go »

Without Teeth

Turns out I'm not the only one in this household in need of medical attention. I took my cat to the vet for an eye infection, wound up getting her a $500 physical since she's overdue, and the doctor wants to pull her teeth in a few weeks for another $400. He says her teeth and gums are impossibly infected and there's nothing else that can be done now. Go »