Yesterday was a long day; last night was a late night. And I hope to always remember that a 4-hour car ride is totally worth a 2-hour dinner with old friends.
shanti,
mjh
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
magazine talk, part 1
As I wait for my INDD program to unfreeze, I thought I would start this/these posts.
Background:
I have always wanted to start/run a magazine. It always seemed like a hip, worthwhile, interesting dream to have, and, though I have never fully pursued it, I still wonder if I might succeed someday. I was inspired during my college and grad school years.
My first inspiration: Jack Gallo.
My second inspiration, however, was much more tangible and important to me. I found myself surrounded by great friends who were writers, researchers, artists, designers, etc. Realizing that all of us English and Art majors would likely be forced to define ourselves through corporate America, meaning that, for the most part, personal inspiration and talent would be curtailed by the Market's definition of what was important or valuable, I decided a magazine would be the perfect outlet to not only allow my peers to earn a living, but also to keep them close to me. Furthermore, it was the closest thing to a commune I could come up with without the creepy-commune vibe.
Needless to say, no magazine was ever started, and I have lost touch with some of the most talented folks who ever graced my college campus.
I'm hoping to post about my first magazine idea soon, then to follow that up with my newest magazine scheme; right now, however, it looks like a reboot is in order.
shanti,
mjh
Background:
I have always wanted to start/run a magazine. It always seemed like a hip, worthwhile, interesting dream to have, and, though I have never fully pursued it, I still wonder if I might succeed someday. I was inspired during my college and grad school years.
My first inspiration: Jack Gallo.
My second inspiration, however, was much more tangible and important to me. I found myself surrounded by great friends who were writers, researchers, artists, designers, etc. Realizing that all of us English and Art majors would likely be forced to define ourselves through corporate America, meaning that, for the most part, personal inspiration and talent would be curtailed by the Market's definition of what was important or valuable, I decided a magazine would be the perfect outlet to not only allow my peers to earn a living, but also to keep them close to me. Furthermore, it was the closest thing to a commune I could come up with without the creepy-commune vibe.
Needless to say, no magazine was ever started, and I have lost touch with some of the most talented folks who ever graced my college campus.
I'm hoping to post about my first magazine idea soon, then to follow that up with my newest magazine scheme; right now, however, it looks like a reboot is in order.
shanti,
mjh
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
The Spiral Road
Just want to say that I am reading The Spiral Road by Jan de Hartog and loving every minute of it. It's been a long time since I have had the opportunity to just sit and read all day; one of those days would be nice right now.
shanti,
mjh
shanti,
mjh
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
#3--i'm going straight to health...
Every time I approach my blog these days, I feel overwhelmed. It is a good problem, I guess, to have more to say than time to say it. Better, at least, than the converse. I have dug my own hole, so there is no legs in complaining. With presences on facebook, myspace, linkedin, my own blog, my friends' blogs...not to mention work, family, etc., it seems that my virtual time and real time run out too quickly. Again, my own fault. I think i'll start by nixing myspace.
So, thing #3 that I have been meaning to write about.
personal training and my hatred of all things physically painful.
I assume it is perfectly natural to hate working out. right? the truth is that I have never worked out a day in my life until yesterday. Marching band in high school was probably the most physical activity I ever did for a long stretch of time; Mission Tour being the most in a short timeframe. Not to downplay the physicality of either of these, but neither of them really pushed me up to my limit (though some of those longer puppet numbers were very close). For those who did not know me in the early 90s...yes, I did say puppets.
In a fit of insanity (or complete clarity), I have decided to try and be in the best shape of my life by my 32nd birthday, not only for my own sake, but because I have a family now, and I'd kinda like to be around to see them for a few more years. So, I signed up with a personal trainer, and I am going to use part of this blog to periodically document my progress, struggles, etc. It's not that I think all people are interested in my workout habits; instead, it is all about accountability. If I am honest here in the beginning, I feel like I will be compelled to be honest in the future (including that terrible future post where I have to admit that I quit...hopefully, I will never have to write that one, but I am realistically leaving it on the table for the time being. I am in much pain tonight.).
Before I can show any progress, however, I must start with the down-and-dirty details.
Here I am:
Overall fitness score: 26 out of 100 (yah, that's not good)
Total Weight: 197 pounds
Lean Weight: 154.8 pounds
Fat Weight: 42.2 pounds (yah, that's a lot of freakin' fat I'm toting around)
Percent Body Fat: 21.4 (ugh)
Resting Heart Rate: 91 Beats per minute (which puts me in the 5th percentile, which is very not good)
After 3-Minute Step test: 130 Bpm (10th percentile; again, not good)
Pushup test: 17 (thankfully, that's average)
Flexibility test: 16.25 inches (I scored above average on this one. *whew*)
There you go. Matt in some unflattering numbers. What is the future of this post? One of two things will likely happen. Either I will re-post my health in numbers again in about 6 weeks, after getting retested. Or I will write a short, simple, and sad post some day saying that I have given up. I don't consider myself a quitter at all...however, the past two days have been quite rough, physically and mentally.
here's to the future: pain, adrenaline, healthy food, cheating, goals acheived, whining, and new outlooks on life.
shanti,
mjh
So, thing #3 that I have been meaning to write about.
personal training and my hatred of all things physically painful.
I assume it is perfectly natural to hate working out. right? the truth is that I have never worked out a day in my life until yesterday. Marching band in high school was probably the most physical activity I ever did for a long stretch of time; Mission Tour being the most in a short timeframe. Not to downplay the physicality of either of these, but neither of them really pushed me up to my limit (though some of those longer puppet numbers were very close). For those who did not know me in the early 90s...yes, I did say puppets.
In a fit of insanity (or complete clarity), I have decided to try and be in the best shape of my life by my 32nd birthday, not only for my own sake, but because I have a family now, and I'd kinda like to be around to see them for a few more years. So, I signed up with a personal trainer, and I am going to use part of this blog to periodically document my progress, struggles, etc. It's not that I think all people are interested in my workout habits; instead, it is all about accountability. If I am honest here in the beginning, I feel like I will be compelled to be honest in the future (including that terrible future post where I have to admit that I quit...hopefully, I will never have to write that one, but I am realistically leaving it on the table for the time being. I am in much pain tonight.).
Before I can show any progress, however, I must start with the down-and-dirty details.
Here I am:
Overall fitness score: 26 out of 100 (yah, that's not good)
Total Weight: 197 pounds
Lean Weight: 154.8 pounds
Fat Weight: 42.2 pounds (yah, that's a lot of freakin' fat I'm toting around)
Percent Body Fat: 21.4 (ugh)
Resting Heart Rate: 91 Beats per minute (which puts me in the 5th percentile, which is very not good)
After 3-Minute Step test: 130 Bpm (10th percentile; again, not good)
Pushup test: 17 (thankfully, that's average)
Flexibility test: 16.25 inches (I scored above average on this one. *whew*)
There you go. Matt in some unflattering numbers. What is the future of this post? One of two things will likely happen. Either I will re-post my health in numbers again in about 6 weeks, after getting retested. Or I will write a short, simple, and sad post some day saying that I have given up. I don't consider myself a quitter at all...however, the past two days have been quite rough, physically and mentally.
here's to the future: pain, adrenaline, healthy food, cheating, goals acheived, whining, and new outlooks on life.
shanti,
mjh
Friday, August 8, 2008
TV Guide for my blog
since it doesn't look like I will have much time to write today, here is a list of upcoming topics that I have been "writing" about in my mind but have not had the energy to put to physical words. Think of this as your TV Guide for my blog; you can see what I will be writing about in the near future and decide if you want to tune back in:
1) Facebook: I'm back on Facebook after a two-year break. I don't really know why, but we'll see how it goes this time around.
2) Books: I'm reading again; this time I randomly chose "The Spiral Road" by Jan de Hartog. I'm 80 pages in and loving it. Since I never updated my quest for more Faust books, I hope to detail my road to Hartog.
3) Personal training: after taking the first week off due to illness, I am slated to start with my new trainer Monday morning. I'll give you all the dirty details next week.
4) Insects vs. people: I doubt I will get around to writing about this. Really, nobody should.
5) My blog: I have been thinking a lot lately about the purpose of my random writings...I had hoped to find a "direction" in my week off, but I feel drawn back into the chaos.
6) Magazine: I think I might start a new personal project. I want to detail it here and get your comments. Since it is my idea, I am a bit blind to its objectivity.
There you go. If you are interested, I'll see you back here over the weekend. If you are not, take a week or so off, and we'll catch up later.
Besides the blog-planning, life is good. I have a good job, a good family, and a good book. There's not much else I would ask for.
shanti,
mjh
1) Facebook: I'm back on Facebook after a two-year break. I don't really know why, but we'll see how it goes this time around.
2) Books: I'm reading again; this time I randomly chose "The Spiral Road" by Jan de Hartog. I'm 80 pages in and loving it. Since I never updated my quest for more Faust books, I hope to detail my road to Hartog.
3) Personal training: after taking the first week off due to illness, I am slated to start with my new trainer Monday morning. I'll give you all the dirty details next week.
4) Insects vs. people: I doubt I will get around to writing about this. Really, nobody should.
5) My blog: I have been thinking a lot lately about the purpose of my random writings...I had hoped to find a "direction" in my week off, but I feel drawn back into the chaos.
6) Magazine: I think I might start a new personal project. I want to detail it here and get your comments. Since it is my idea, I am a bit blind to its objectivity.
There you go. If you are interested, I'll see you back here over the weekend. If you are not, take a week or so off, and we'll catch up later.
Besides the blog-planning, life is good. I have a good job, a good family, and a good book. There's not much else I would ask for.
shanti,
mjh
Friday, August 1, 2008
breaking that brief silence for a hug
I just wanted to note that my little one has a friend at school. When they saw each other this morning, they hugged each other so hard that, after about 1 second upright, they both hit the floor...while still embracing. Neither of them cried, though they were perilously close to a dangerous edge. They got up, laughed, and went about their lives.
It was a great hug; it was a powerful hug; it was a true hug. Just another thing we could learn from the littlest among us.
shanti,
mjh
It was a great hug; it was a powerful hug; it was a true hug. Just another thing we could learn from the littlest among us.
shanti,
mjh
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