Well, I haven’t written here for a while (sorry about that) and in that time I have had a few more SCUBA experiences that I should really blog about. Looking over my previous posts I see that I haven’t blogged about any of them – my bad. Let me remedy that with a brief overview of each of my twelve dives to-date.

Actually, scratch that. I’m going to make each dive its own detailed post and, hopefully, by the time I get to the end of the twelve dives I have under my belt right now I will have even more to add. Tuesday is as good a day as any to blog about diving, so Tuesday – well, let’s say every other Tuesday – it will be.

Dive 1

The very first dive I did was in an inlet somewhere in the general Vancouver area, but I can’t recall the specifics. I think it was near port-moody. Anyway, it was a significant dive due to one, unfortunate, incident. First, however, the dive was intended to be simply a ‘fun’ dive, which is to say that all we did was swim around and look at things while getting a feel for the whole underwater experience. I was using a neoprene dry-suit and as I got colder I added air to the suit to warm me up. I also used the suit for buoyancy control. For some, this is the standard practice, but I discovered later that it’s not encouraged for new divers to do this. Rather, new divers are supposed to focus on using their BCD (Buoyancy Control Device). I also discovered why.

The other thing I should note is that I seem to have larger than average neck and thighs. This is significant because the size of suit that I would normally fit, in terms of height, was too small around my legs and I couldn’t get it on. The next size up had a very, very tight neck seal (which can kill you underwater by putting pressure on your carotid artery and altering your heart rate) so, in the end I was ‘stuck’ with an XL suit. This meant that the foot size for the suit was a few sizes larger than it should have been, and combined with an in-experienced use of dry-suit air, lead to the unfortunate incident which makes this dive so memorable for me.

At one point somewhere during this dive I ended up getting air trapped in one of my legs. The only vent in a dry suit is (typically) on the left shoulder, meaning that you have to be upright (and leaning slightly to the right) in order to release air. In the process of trying to right myself to do so the air in my leg ‘popped’ the foot of the suit right off my foot. Because the suit was a few sizes too big, my whole leg – foot and all – fit inside just the leg part of the suite (the foot part was empty). The fin stayed attached to the suit thankfully, but was useless to me as I was unable to kick with it because it was, effectively, dangling off my foot.

Following that was the inevitable uncontrolled ascent (due to the fact that I couldn’t get the air out and air expands, becoming lighter, as you rise). I was unable to direct myself anywhere with just one fin, so my buddy got to practice towing an out-of-commission diver to shore.

This particular issue has haunted me many times since this dive, mostly due to the fact that I can only rent dry-suits (from the shop I do my courses through) that are too big for me, and this size issue makes the whole process just that much more difficult.

Despite this, however, I still enjoyed the dive very much and was enthralled to get my very first, first-hand glance into the world under our particular segment of the Pacific. Also, despite this issue continuing to be a problem for me, I still continue to dive and to enjoy each one…typically.

(Sorry it’s so long.)

Stella and I recently went to Cuba on vacation. Before going, we looked up as much information online as we figured we needed and, as a direct result, avoided many unpleasant situations. So, to return the favour to the online community I figured I would write my own little review of holiday-ing in Cuba. Keep in mind as you read this that neither Stella nor I had done anything remotely similar to this before; we were both newbies when it came to vacationing abroad. Any advice I give will be coming from someone who has only ever done this once, so use what I say as a starting point for your research into this country and not as the definitive word.

First, a brief list of pros, cons, and tips.

Pros:

• Very sunny!!!
• Amazing beaches
• Great SCUBA diving areas
• Friendly people (for the most part)
• Fascinating history
• Lots to do (but usually costs more)
• The dates of our trip (early March) meant that the heat was not unbearable
• The time of year also meant that we didn’t have to deal with mosquitoes which arrive sometime in April, I think.
• Low crime rate
• Amazing opportunities to see old, vintage cars in operation

Cons:

• Lower quality resorts (I am told a 5 star is equal to about a 3 star in Mexico)
• Bland food (bring something to ‘kick it up a notch’…or even just ketchup)
• Outside the resort areas the bathroom situation is not good. No toilet seats and you must tip for a ration of toilet paper.
• Things tend to be a bit more expensive than they should be, but you can barter with (some) people.
• Add about $100 – $200 per week for tipping alone. (I don’t know if that’s a lot or not.)
• Outside the resort areas there is quite a bit of poverty.
• If you are from the U.S. you will need to pretend not to be (they really don’t like Americans)
• No-smoking areas DO NOT exist at all. Smoking is everywhere and all the time. (I guess this is a ‘pro’ if you’re a smoker.)

Tips:

• See a travel clinic and get advice on traveler’s diarrhea. (And take the advice given!)
• Take everything you might possibly need with you as there are few (if any) places to get ‘things’.
• Keep the exit tax ($25 per person) aside right from day one and don’t spend it.
• Keep a reserve of money aside for an emergency. (Doing so saved our vacation.)
• Look up the history of Cuba before you go.
• Bring ketchup.
• On the tours, make sure to grab a roll of toilet paper from the hotel/resort to bring with you.
• Keep in mind that it is a poor country, so don’t hold back on tips. They really help people out.
• Keep in mind that one convertible peso actually can go a long way for a Cuban, so don’t tip too much. (That is, unless you’re not following the previous tip, in which case you should tip a lot when you do tip. In my opinion, however, it is better to tip a little bit of money more frequently than to tip a lot of money but only occasionally.)

Details

Tours

Stella and I did the Havana Colonial Tour (the full day without the show at the end) and the Jeep Tour. The other tour we hear good things about was the Catamaran Tour. As much as I would have loved to have swum with the dolphins, I am glad we did the ones we chose. We did the tours later in our vacation, and I think that it may be better to do them nearer the start of the vacation simply because they are a great way to meet other people from your resort.

Havana Colonial

We chose the Havana Colonial over the Havana Special for one main reason: it’s not as long a day. A lot of the tours start at 7:45 AM, you can’t avoid that. However, the Havana Special includes a show at the end of the tour so you don’t get back until around 2 or 3 in the morning. Stella’s tummy had been acting up so we decided against the late night and, in retrospect, I am very glad we did. If you don’t mind staying out late, and have nothing to do the next day, then by all means, go for the special. (The show at the end is supposed to be world-class.) We are not those people, however, and we are very glad about the choice we made.

The Havana Colonial takes you through the most historic sites in Havana and is geared more towards people who want to learn the history of the city (and the country) and who like to take pictures of monuments than it is towards people who want to go shopping. If you want to shop in Havana (and it looks like it would be a blast to do so) you really need to take a cab from your hotel to the city and not a tour. The tour does include stopping at a “souvenir market”, but not for very long at all. We were there for 45 minutes and really needed at least 2 hours minimum to see everything there – let alone do our shopping. However, for what it is, I do recommend the Havana Colonial.

Jeep Tour

The Jeep Tour differs from the Havana Special in many ways, one of which is the fact that you are constantly on the move to do things and not just sitting and listening to a narrator. First, everyone is divided into groups of four and given a jeep. Then, all the jeeps caravan to the different locations where you are given the tours. While I don’t recommend driving in Cuba, if you are paired with someone who doesn’t mind it then it’s all good. If you really, really don’t want to drive, just say you can’t drive stick (all the jeeps are manual transmission).

The places you tour are a “real” farm (I’m not totally sure how real it is compared to others where tourists aren’t always poking around), a tourist farm (one set up specifically to accommodate tourists), a reef (via snorkeling) if the weather permits, and a cavern (where you can snorkel if you didn’t get to at the reef). It’s all go-go-go (and incredibly bumpy!) as you are constantly trying to keep up with every other jeep and don’t spend too much time in any given spot. It’s also the most ideal setting to be able to give stuff away to Cubans in need. Which brings me to…

Giving Stuff Away

Stella and I both read in a few places that giving stuff away was a great thing to do so we planned on doing this. What we discovered, however, was that there are good ways to do this and bad ways to do this. It didn’t seem very appropriate to give ‘stuff’ away at the resort (they are already getting the tips anyway), but we didn’t realize that there would be opportunities beyond this. When we went on the Jeep Tour there were sections of road that had mothers with young children lined up along the sides just in case anyone in the jeeps was giving stuff away. This was the perfect opportunity, but we had left our ‘stuff’ in our room. When we did the Havana Colonial Tour, however we brought everything we had to give.

If you are in the middle of the street in Havana (and likely elsewhere) and it looks like you might be one of those people who give things away, you will be mobbed. Consider yourself warned. Stella reached into my backpack at one point to hand something out and we were swarmed by kids all trying to take anything they could from my pack (which contained more than just stuff to give away). She panicked (thankfully) and managed to close the pack and say that there was no more. Later, after depositing everything except what I had to give away on the bus, I tried this again. My hands contained the toothpaste, gum (wonderful combination), and other things for just long enough to let the children understand that it was stuff I was giving away and then the kids mobbed me and ripped the packages open trying to all get at the same items. (When I got back on the bus everyone’s face was plastered against the window watching. I had become the sight to see, apparently.)

Once, we tried giving a lady a toothbrush and toothpaste set by taking out a bad containing 5 such sets and giving her one. She took the one we gave her and the bag before we could stop her. She did it very smoothly without us realizing really what was happening, but she also seemed very, very poor so we didn’t say anything or try to get it back at all. However, the experience lead me to realize that you should never have a bag of stuff you are giving things out of because the bag will just get taken before you can distribute everything fairly. Rather, give things out one at a time. If you must give things away from a bag, make it a bag that’s attached to you somehow. No one would have reached into my wife’s purse, for example.

So, where to go to give things away:

• DO NOT give things away on the side of the street, even if you feel safe from being mobbed.
• On the Havana Tour you will go to a museum dedicated, in part, to the literacy movement. This is a great place to give away pens, pencils, and other stationary to the ladies at the museum.
• The Jeep Tour is a good opportunity to give things away because you are handing it out of your jeep window to one person at a time. (Pedestrians do not have right of way in Cuba, so they will not walk in front of your vehicle.)
• If you feel generous, a nicer gift for the person who turns down your room each day may be an idea. Just leave it on the last day with the tip. Keep in mind that they are used to a slightly higher standard of living, so go with things like Body Shop items as opposed to no-name, dollar store things.
• There were cleaning ladies at the airport, just outside the washrooms (who doubled as the people you tip) who took an interest in my wife’s bag when she opened it to get something. This is another good, non-mobbing opportunity to give things away.

Now, what to give away?

• Well, like I said about the museum, pens, pencils, and other stationary are good things to give away at that spot on the Havana Tour
• Cubans seem to really like gum. However, I did notice a lot of bad dental hygiene (only outside the resort areas, though). I would avoid gum if I was heading down there again just because of this.
• Along those lines, toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss, etc., all seem to go over quite well (except in one case where a kid got some floss and gave a look to Stella that said “Are you serious?!?”).
• Two thing that we were actually asked for were soap and shampoo. Should’a brought more of that.

Friendly People

Most of the people you meet will be very friendly. Most of the people you meet will think you have lots of money. I am not sure whether the friendly atmosphere was a result of wanting tips or a natural friendliness (it’s hard to tell) but don’t be surprised if you see the opposite. Four times I noticed people ranging from elderly to young children giving the tour I was on the finger. From what I gather there are very mixed feelings about the tourism industry in Cuba; apparently some people really don’t like it.

That said, keep in mind that the crime rate is low, so you are generally pretty safe. Also keep in mind that ripping off tourists is not a crime, so be prudent. And most of the Cuban people do seem to realize that if you enjoy yourself you are more likely to come back and do it again.

Oh, and if you’re American, don’t tell anyone. It is not like other countries where you simply don’t get treated quite as well if you are from the U.S., in Cuba they actually seem to really, really, *really* dislike America. They have pictures in the airport of Cubans who are in American jails with the caption of “Heroes of Cuba”. And yes, Americans can go to Cuba despite it being illegal for them to do so – the ones I talked with were enjoying themselves very much from what I could tell – because you do not get your passport stamped. No one back home in the U.S. will be able to tell you’ve been there because there won’t be a record of it. That said, it *is* illegal, so I can’t endorse it.

Tipping

I always try to figure out how much should be tipped for what before I go and I usually don’t find the information I am looking for. So, I am going to post what I think seemed to be about right for the amounts to tip in different situations. (Also, bear in mind that these situations are – mostly – in an all-inclusive resort. 10% is apparently normal when paying for a meal, for example.) All $’s are Cuban Pesos.

• Quick Service (eg. getting a drink or exchanging a beach towel): 25 – 50 cents.
• Regular Service (eg. tipping the maid, waiter at a meal): $1
• Outstanding, Regular Service: $2
• Bus Drivers and Tour Guides: $1 per every 2 hours or tour/trip at end of tour/trip
• Toilet Paper: 25 cents
• Brief Entertainment (eg. on the side of the street): 50 cents – $1
• Dinner Entertainment: $1 – $2, more if it was really, really good.

Trying to get small change for tipping at the resort was very difficult. No one wants to give out change at all, even outside the resort this was true. If you gave a $1 bill and asked for change you would get a $1 coin. The only way, it seems, to get smaller change is to buy things. However, if you are not on the resort you can give $1 and ask for change for the washrooms. That will give you some quarters. I didn’t try this, but you might even be able to do the same thing at the front desk in the resort just prior to a tour.

If there’s anyone else out there who has been to Cuba and has discovered amounts other than what I’ve posted here are actually better, please, please leave a comment saying so. I still don’t really know if I was being cheap or if I was way over-tipping. The only really guide I have is that one of the tour guides said that $5 for guide and $5 for bus driver was pretty typical. (That’s where I figured out the $1 per 2 hours of trip thing as that tour had been about 10 hours.)

SCUBA in Cuba

This will get its own post soon, though I will say that if you want to buy the photos that one of the tour guides take (no need to bring your own camera – unless you want quality pics) it will be $20. Stay tuned for more.

Conclusion

Cuba is, overall, a blast and I highly recommend it. If you are prepared and have an idea as to what to expect then it will be quite enjoyable. Oh, and you should research reviews of the various resorts as well. It may be an idea, as well, to try to find one where people in your age group frequent so you don’t end up with no one to really ‘hang’ with. I think about the only thing I would do different again is that I would go with another couple. It was great to do this with Stella, but it would have been sooooooooo much more fun to have had someone else there to hang out with. (And it would have given Stella something to do while I went diving.)

Anyway, if you have been to Cuba and have experienced something different from what I’ve posted here, please post a comment to that effect (noting, of course, what that difference was). I would be interested in comparing notes.

I wish I was able to measure my cholesterol just as easily as I can measure my weight. I haven’t really been losing any weight, but I’ve been eating far better. It makes me wonder if I’ve made any progress at all.

I need to start exercising again. I was walking 4.5 km per day until Stella and I realized that swimming was an option. Shortly after I started swimming I also started SCUBA lessons. (YAY! New Years resolution #2 met!) SCUBA itself is ‘technically’ not physically demanding. However, pre-SCUBA and post-SCUBA definitely is. (Lugging hundreds of pounds worth of equipment between your car and the dive site, adding all that weight to your body and walking around with an extra hundred pounds, etc.) So, I ended up replacing swimming with SCUBA. Sounds good, right?

Then SCUBA lessons stopped and that was it for my exercise. It’s the exercise that causes me to lose weight, so I am now back to 190 lbs. (Not that I really left 190 by very much.) I wish I could measure my cholesterol because I would then know if I’ve actually made any progress or not.

Oh, and by the way…

SCUBA IS AWSOME!!!

I have a habit. I have a few, actually. One of them is to set the alarm on my cell when I go to bed and toss the cell to the other end of the room. (Don’t worry, it’s a loving toss. Think curling, not football.) This means that, come morning, I must get out of the bed in order to turn the alarm off. Usually I use this morning maneuver to make me get up. Usually. Occasionally – especially if I know I forgot to set the coffee – it doesn’t work and I just go right back to bed, hitting snooze until I have no time left and am in a rush.

Combine the above with the fact that my wife is both practical and funny, and add to that the time of year, and what do you get?

Well, one of my presents this year was a “Roll-Away-Alarm Clock.” We laughed a lot when I opened this. That was on Christmas. The last night of the holidays, January 3rd, I finally got around to testing the thing out. I could not find my alarm-cell anywhere and thought that this would be the ideal time to test out the new toy. I ran to the store to get batteries.

Once I was back I had to hunt for a small enough screwdriver to open the battery area. Once done, Stella said, quite wisely, “You should really test it out before going to bed.” So I set the alarm for a minute later. The alarm was pretty good, but the clock itself didn’t run away. Thinking that maybe it only did that after you snoozed once I hit snooze.

The snooze is a 1 minute snooze, though you can set it to something else.

With the clock still not running away from me I tried the last resort: reading the manual. AH! I had to specifically set it to run away when I set the alarm. Okay, fair enough. I tried it again. This time it spun around in circles bumping into the mess on my side of the bedroom. Stella and I lost it laughing. Apparently when the alarm is set to “run-away” mode, it sounds a lot like R2D2. Then I heard it under the bed. Stella was in stiches as I leaned over the edge of the bed hunting for the rouge alarm clock. It just kept bouncing off things and re-directing itself. It was awesome.

When the alarm went off the following morning I was quick to grab for it, if not to turn it ‘right-side-up’ so I could turn it off. I’m not sure whether Stella will be able to live with it or not, but I think it’s perfect!

Well, it’s time once more (or…for the first time ever) for me to post my New Year’s resolutions. Many people don’t like New Year’s resolutions because you just end up “breaking” them and then you get all down on yourself, and then start to hate the New Year’s celebration all together, and then you become bitter, and then you take in all kinds of stray cats, and then…

I don’t necessarily hate resolutions themselves, but I do have a disliking of certain types of New Year’s resolutions. The first type of resolution I hate is the one where you stop doing something. Quitting smoking, quitting drinking (after the party, of course), and quitting biting your nails are all great examples of resolutions you should not make. Why? Because there’s no marker for when you’ve accomplished the goal. So, rule #1: The goal must end (addendum – within the year).

However, even beyond the comments above, if you do set a marker (no McDonalds for 4 months) thinking that once you reach this marker you will no longer feel the draw of the Big Mac addict, but then give in 7 months later, now you suddenly feel bad about yourself again even though you met your goal. So, rule #2: No never-ending tasks which continue past the measuring point.

A good example of a resolution (that I will never make) which does meet these guidelines, would be “to run a half marathon” verses the type of resolution I don’t like which would be “to run more.” While some people would say it’s a matter of making the resolution one that is attainable, I don’t think that is enough. After all, “quitting pizza” is, technically, attainable, but it never ends. “Get a new career” is attainable, but it doesn’t have an end point (even though it does end, the end point cannot be defined for certain as it involves way too many variables).

Lastly, rule #3 is: It needs to be reasonable – according to my wife! I would not make a resolution I did not think was reasonable. However, I would think that what is not reasonable actually is. If you know me, you understand. I think that this too is an area that people often fail at. They actually do think that their resolutions are reasonable, but their opinion of what they can and cannot do is a little skewed. (I would quit my job to be a writer, for instance – despite the fact that I am no where near a place where I could make a living at it.)

So, before I go and list off my goals, I would like to just quickly say why I actually like New Year’s resolutions. I like goal setting. I feel that setting goals is key to success in life in general, regardless of whether or not you attain your goals. After all, if you aim at nothing you are guaranteed to hit your target. And while goal setting can, admittedly, be done at any time of the year, unless it is you mine as well use New Year’s as your excuse for it.

With all that said, what are my goals? Well, Stella is asleep so I can’t actually get her approval on these just yet. However, I think I will list them out here and then she can let me know if I should adjust any of them. I do think they are more than reasonable myself.

Every year I am given many books. Every year I don’t read many of the books I am given. This year I was given nine books and four magazines. My first goal is that I will attempt to read every book I got for Christmas. While this could be a goal which I fail at doing, I don’t mind that because failing at it doesn’t mean I am a poor reader or a bad person, it means I was given too many books. That said, I do think that one a month is a reasonable reading rate.

My next goal is something I’ve always wanted to do, but never done. I will get my SCUBA license this year. In January or February, in fact. This is a goal I have had for a while, but this year I was given lessons by Stella (I LOVE MY WIFE!!!) who managed to find them at half price. WOW!

My third goal was not set by me, and if I had any say in the matter I would not make this resolution. However, it was God who made my body the way He did which has necessitated my doctor mandating that I reduce my girth. Because ignoring my doctor’s advice would be stupid I mine as well make it a New Year’s resolution. Wait, no. Forget it. I’ve changed my mind. While this will be a goal of mine, it will not be a New Year’s resolution. So, my goal is to get my girth down to 94 centimeters and to be at or below that when I go visit my doctor to let him know the results.

So, for my real third resolution, I wanted something to do with writing. I did not, however, want anything like “I want to write more” or even “I want to write the first chapter of my novel” or anything like that. Than I realized that I hadn’t finished that DVD series I got for my birthday on how to build great sentences. So that will be my third New Year’s resolution.

So, honey, do you think these are reasonable New Year’s resolutions for me?

1. Read all the books I got for Christmas
2. Get my SCUBA license
3. Finish the “How to Write a Great Sentence” series

Assuming so, I will keep everyone updated on the progress for each of these, as well as on the progress of my 94 centimeter goal.

Did I call it, or did I call it! Something gave. I got sick.

Last Thursday and Friday I was very, very sick. However, it was just a cold and not a flu or anything worse. Whew. That means I am good to go for work today. I hope.

It was actually a little weird. When I walked home on Tuesday I could feel my body was just a little colder than normal. My feet especially were very cold. I thought to myself that I bet I’m going to get sick. The next day at work I started to feel that pain on the back end of the roof of my mouth that indicates (to me) that I am getting sick. By the time I got home Wednesday I had that cloudy head feeling, and when I woke up the cold was in full force.

Sadly, it meant that I had to put my exercise and free-form writing on hold for the rest of the week, but I’ll start that up again today. Well, we’ll see how I feel after a day of work. As far as the “strength training” I’m doing, I think I may have to either restart, or at least restart week 2. Again. Sigh.

On the plus side, we did get our order of Kona coffee recently. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Okay, so yesterday I got up at 4am, lost track of time, and ended up catching the 6:40 bus rather than the 6:20 one. That 20 minute difference meant I got home 1 hour later than normal due to different bus schedules. As Stella was not going to be home until late I started making dinner. By the time dinner was done, it was time for me to go to bed. I didn’t even eat any of it.

I got to bed at 10:00, just enough time for a full 6 hours sleep.

Granted, part of this is due to the fact that I am no longer used to working in the kitchen and things do tend to take me longer than normal. I’m not sure how long it should have taken to make the veggie peanut stew with quinoa, but it took me just over an hour and a half. It makes me want to start getting up even earlier so I have more time in the day. Something’s gotta give.

That said, I also have good news: since starting this whole move-about-for-bit-each-day program (I think they call it exercise) I have been fluctuating between 190 and 194 pounds. Today, I am officially 186.2 lbs.! Yay!!!!

(Of course, some of that could be from having forgotten my lunch yesterday and not eating all day as a result, but I’ll take what I can get.)

First, I should say that, apparently, plus or minus four pounds is within normal fluctuations of weight and nothing to be concerned about or to fret over. Fair enough. I stand (on a scale) corrected.

Secondly, exercise is going well. I did, however, recently realize that my walk home was taking me an hour, not half an hour like the doctor mandated. I think I will still keep up with the walk as it is, however, and not adjust it. Once I start seeing the results I am looking for I can adjust the walk to be more for maintenance. On the down-side, it does mean that my commute home is now three hours, not just two, but on the positive side I end up walking past a grocery store and veggie market so I can pick up stuff on my way home and save Stella the trip (if we think of it ahead of time).

As well, I’ve finished the first week of my pushups program. I am thinking of incorporating a sit-ups program as well, but I want to get the pushups one going strong (heh) first before I add anything more to all this new routine. I do fear that if I try to add anything more I might not keep it all going; I might burn out. Slow and steady remembers the magic word “Oowungalaila!”

Thirdly, the other thing I’ve added to my routine (a little while ago, actually) was daily free-form writings. These are stream of consciousness articles I write up without editing what I’m typing and are not ever intended to be seen by anyone. I started this quite a while ago, but kinda let it die off. Now I’m back at it and it’s been going very well. There were a few days in a row where I either forgot my netbook at home or forgot to charge it (I do these writing exercises on the bus) but apart from that I’ve managed to keep to it.

I keep having this mental picture of one of my role-playing characters who wants to increase his skill at something and so he trains himself and earns points to bump up his skill level. I feel like that’s me. Like I’ve decided that I should increase some of my stats and so I am going about doing it. In the games, though, it’s not nearly so difficult or time consuming.

Edit: It just occured to me…none of the games I play simulate characters with high potential for heart attacks. Or even heart attacks at all. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Well, today was the third day for the walking, and was supposed to be the second day for strength training. However, I think I’ll put off the strength training until tomorrow. If Stela is right, I should be shedding pounds like crazy from just thinking about all this exercise. I was 190 three days ago. I’ve started eating both breakfast and lunch, and I’ve been exercising. I’m now 194.

…

Maybe I’ve stopped gaining 2 pounds per day and am only gaining 1.3?

Okay, okay it’s too early to tell, I know. I still need to keep this up and try and find some way to reward myself for what I’ve done so far that doesn’t involve food. Isn’t Starcraft 2 out now? Oh, that reminds me…Christmas list!

Okay, so that’s day 1 of my strength training done. I will let you know when I complete it.

EDIT:

Well, having done that seems to have given me just enough gumption to get out and gallop gallantly through the glades. Well, maybe not quite, but I did manage to follow my strength training up with a 30 minutes squeaky-walk (that’s a power walk with so little power to it, all you hear is a squeak). It’s not much, and I didn’t get very far, but it’s a start. Someone once said:

Beginnings are the hardest.

Granted, they were talking about writing. (Or, maybe I just heard it in that context, not totally sure. Not really sure I got the quote right either.) However, it still applies. I think if I can keep up this ‘beginning’ for maybe two weeks I should be good to go. (Good to go where?)