Tag Archives: Exercise

I got so mad I bought a bike.

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The Gulf spill has me so angry, I often can’t articulate passed “I’m really fucking pissed!” followed by grunting and a tightening of my stomach. I was thinking about how mad I was at BP, but then it occurred to me: Who’s really to blame? Who keeps BP in business? We do. Everyone who buys their gas or products is to blame. Our sickening dependence on oil is why this happened. Blame BP all you want, but the truth is that while yes, they are indeed hell bent on destroying the planet, we most certainly give them the money to do it. Even I, friend to the Earth, buy my gasoline at ARCO. No more.

As with all these situations of planetary crisis, I ask myself what I can do. What can I change? First off, I’m boycotting BP and all their brands: BP, AMPM, Aral, ARCO, BP Travel Centre, BP Connect, BP Shop, BP 2go, and Castrol. Anything with BP in it…boycotted.

Secondly, I used this disaster as the final push to get that bike I’ve been dreaming about for ages. My master plan includes two bikes: My 3-wheeler with a basket for shopping and my 1974 Schwinn Breeze for getting around town. Right. Excellent. I’ve got the bikes, now what? I haven’t rode a bike since I was 12. While I’ve never been totally out of shape, I’ve never been in great shape. Turns out, riding a bike is hard work – especially around Pasadena which is incline-city. I found out on Friday how a minor incline doesn’t even occur to you in a car, but it really kicks your ass on a bike. The good news is, it gets easier.

Day One I just about died, but I hit it again the next day and the next and the next, going further and further each day. Sure my knees are now more apparent to me and my ass is complaining, but you know what? Riding a bike is damned fun! Holy crap is it fun! I feel free, the breeze on my face, working up a sweat on those baby inclines and then gliding all the way back home. The best part is, BP can suck it.

In the real world, I don’t actually live in riding or walking distance of all the places I need or want to go. For work, I need my car and will use it for out of town excursions and trips I don’t have time to bike to. What I figure is that I can cut my driving by half which means I buy half as much gasoline. I’ll save money, I’m pretty sure I’ve already lost some weight, I’ll get healthy, and I feel pretty darned good about myself. I’m gonna pat myself on the back…hang on. OK. Dude, I seriously deserve it. I’m putting my money where my mouth is and in my own way, I’m sending BP et al. a message: “Fuck off“.

Biking half the time doesn’t solve the problem. It does a bit and I feel pretty great about it, but one person biking half the time doesn’t make a big enough dent. We all need to figure out ways to drive less, walk more, bike more, save ourselves, save the planet, and send a real message to these assholes who are cashing in by killing our home.

Some tips:

1. Google has walking, biking, and public transit directions for just about everywhere now. Use it. I’ve been charting my bike routes with it and it’s great.
2. Buy a bike. I got both of mine on Craigslist – sweet little vintage numbers that need a little TLC, but work great for under $200.00.
3. Don’t drive if it’s a mile or less. A mile is less than you think. Walk or bike.
4. Read this: No Excuses! Ride a bike.

You’re pissed about the oil spill too. So what are you gonna do about it?

The Last Few Days

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Getting behind. Need to catch up.

Valentimes: AJB and I spent the day slugging around the house. Flowers arrived at 5:30pm. We had dinner at our favorite Indian restaurant Akbar’s and then saw “He’s Just Not That Into You” – which, considering the stellar cast, was one of the dumbest chick flicks I’ve ever seen. It goes into the “Under the Tuscan Sun” category.

herbiebananasOn Sunday, we took my Mom to see a small production of Ray Bradbury’s “The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit” at South Pasadena’s Fremont Theater. I’m not the biggest fan of theater and I’m less a fan of community theater, but aside from this being a cute story, it also starred Joaquin Garay III – whom you may know as Paco from Herbie Goes Bananas; who befriends Herbie, gets into all kinds of trouble with Harvey Corman (RIP) and Cloris Leachman and shows the world that Mexican stereotypes can also comes from Guatemala.

Yesterday I gave my Mom my old PC and hooked it up for her – it’s much faster than the one she has now. I showed her how to use iTunes and Picasa and spent the day hanging out, talking, and installing Windows programs. It was nice to do something other than real work for a change. I also realized that making a PC do what a Mac can do is like forcing a round peg into a square hole.

Yesterday, the Wii Fit arrived. AJB and I have been desperately searching for something to help us shed some pounds for the wedding and I figured, the Wii Fit should do nicely. It’s cheaper than a gym membership and something we can do alone or together. The Wii Fit also seems to make exercising easy and fun – so while there are cute games to play, you can also do some real aerobics, yoga, and strength training. In addition to the interface being cute and highly Japanese, I figure it’s a good way to enthusiastically exercise and set realistic goals for ourselves. Further motivation is your Wii Fit Age – which apparently, I’m 51 and AJB is 47. I’m older and he’s younger. This confuses me. In my defense, the Wii Fit Age is calculated by your BMI and your ability to balance. I got a bad score on the balancing part because I didn’t quite understand how the test worked. Now that I understand it, I’m pretty sure I can get that number lower. I also found out that my BMI and weight are both normal. So why don’t I feel normal? According to Wii Fit, I’m 133 pounds. So does this mean the scale in my bathroom is wrong? It often tells me I’m 136. Maybe it’s because I had rice for dinner the other night.

I agree that the Wii Fit doesn’t replace a gym membership (cause of the no machines), I think it does one thing very well: Gets you to do some form of exercise…and that’s what we need.

I’m off to Enid and Edgar’s for the weekly photo shoot. Online job listings have been scarce. I need to figure out a way to continue working through this economic crisis. It’s getting harder and harder.

*Note: My Mom’s tomato plant is off the hook. Considering it’s Winter, they should be dead or dying. We found out, the trick is accidentally planting your plants next to the dryer vent – keeps ‘em warm and cozy. Good tip. I love happy accidents.