A Life about Transition

Well.. I did 1.85 miles (or 3K) in 25 min. Not bad really. It is technically a 15 min mile. I’m hoping that once in Redondo, I’ll start running 5-6 days a week and see if I can eventually get to a 13 min mile. The main reason is so that I’m not spending time exercising and spending more time doing other stuff. It means if I did a 5K marathon I’d be done in 45 min (roughly). While I won’t win any races, I will finish and I think that’s good in itself.

It’s interesting that when I get up, I so do not want to run but once I’ve done it, I feel awesome. And my recovery is pretty easy — maybe a couple of hours. These Vibrams have been one of the best investments for me at encouraging me to run. It does make a difference to have good shoes. My first set were Keen Sandals. I swear by them. And now these. If I could only wear Keens and Vibrams all the time, I’d be set.

Anyways.. now I’m off for a long-overdue massage.

And it feels so good!!

This morning’s run was good but hot. Running with a binder on is almost like running with a sweater on. I really want top surgery so I can just run with a single layer.

Soon, hopefully.

It’s weird how I’ve been running (with lots of walking in between but becoming less walking now) every other day and controlling my caloric intake (no more than 1,800 per day and sometimes lower than 1,400). Even though I’m burning at least 2,400 calories a day, I haven’t lost weight. It’s kind of annoying but I know what’s going on (or at least, I’m hoping I know what’s going on). I’m toning up (particularly in hips/legs area) and losing weight around the belly (that has shrunk in size by a few inches thus far). I have some suspicion that it may be due to not drinking enough water. I’ve being ensuring that I drink 4-5 32-oz bottles (same bottle) a day.

I think I may need to return to a more non-processed diet. I’ve been doing more processed food because it’s been hard to get out and buy fresh fruit/veggies (those 10-12 hour days are brutal). But since I won’t have another class until sometime in September, that leaves me with a more flexible schedule and means I should be able to stay away from processed food stuff.

I will be glad when this whole move thing is done. I feel so out of place and disoriented right now.  Half the place is packed up and I’m hesitant to do the rest because the stuff that remains I might need. I did, however, finally took the bed frame apart and should be able to get a fair amount of the larger items out of here this week thanks to 1800GotJunk. I’m hoping that will help with keeping the place cooler and allow more air to flow through the apartment.

I’m looking forward to this new place and being able to sit out in the backyard, listening to … nothing as the world passes us by.

If you haven’t heard, the economy — especially in the US — sucks. With an overall unemployment rate in the U.S. is 9.6% right now (as of today) and for those who are new graduates, it’s apparently 8.8%. I find it hard to believe and it might be an overall average but doesn’t indicate what it is for various disciplines. I know for K, it’s been a battle. Since she’s been home she’s applied for every job — no matter where in L.A. — that she can find (probably in the order of over 200 jobs in 3 months) and only today got a call back for an interview.

I’m hopeful that this might turn into full employment for her but who knows? At the least, it’s great that she has the interview. It’s been heartbreaking to listen to her as she tries to find work but cannot. As a recent grad, there are no unemployment benefits for her if she cannot find work. The GOP-types (aka deficit hawks) may think that not infusing the economy with funds means a better deficit, I believe it will do the opposite. It reduces the tax base while increasing demand on services. The goal should be to reduce the demand on services and increase the tax base. If more people are working, then more funds come in and the overall tax rate can remain consistent.

I’m lucky enough to be employed and to have a decent salary. It’s enough that I can support us both but it would be tight.

But it would be sweet if she got it.. So if you pray or have good thoughts, offer them towards her interview.

It’s weird. When I first got my Vibram Five Finger shoes I wasn’t sure how I’d respond to the running but thus far, my body and mind have been in sync. I’m actually enjoying it. And that feels weird for some reason. I guess I was kind of surprised how much I’d enjoy it.

To make it even better, the weather was perfect this morning. After the storm went through the area yesterday, the temps dropped and the humidity vanished. Running this morning was glorious. The temp was cool with a slight breeze to follow me as I ran through the Park.

So far, I’ve finished the 2nd week and will start, on Wednesday week 3 (jogging for 3 minutes at a time) for nearly 45 min of walking and jogging.

Oh wow. I’ve been bad again about keeping things up to date, eh? Lots of good things have happened in the last little while so may be time for an update.

Yes, yes. I did succumb to the hype and got an iPhone 4. And to be honest, I love it. I still haven’t had the same issues that I keep reading about. My signal has been pretty good to begin with and I did get a bumper (which has been recently refunded thanks to Apple). I had been waiting, for what seemed like forever, for Otter Box to release their Defender series case. That arrive today and my iPhone is now snuggled into a decent case to protect against my clumsiness. Thankfully, it’s not as nearly as big as my Blackberry Otter Box case nor as heavy. The multitasking OS is awesome now and far more helpful. I’ve become more of an app addict and have found more apps that are useful for me.

And speaking of apps, I started using C25K (Couch-to-5K). I’ve been using this in the last couple of weeks to increase my weight loss. I had lost 10lbs but had plateaued. With my online teaching and the heat index, I hadn’t been leaving the apartment that much. This program has been helpful at pushing my body to burn more calories. Every other day I run/walk (5 min warmup, 30 min run and 5 min cool down) towards eventually running a 5k (this is a 9 week program). Once I do that, I’ll probably get the “Ease into 10K” (10 week program) or “Bridge to 10K” (6 week program). Thus far, I’ve lost an additional 4lbs (see chart below).

Get your own graph at skinnyr

While I still qualify as “morbidly obese”, I’m making progress. I’ve dropped 3+ points on the BMI scale and if I continue at this rate (about 7-8lbs per month, I might break 200 by the end of the year. This would be good for a variety of reasons: better health, top surgery options, better self-opinion of myself. I’ve never been happy with myself when I can barely fit into seats on airplanes and this will help me deal with that better. I’ve lost about 2-3 inches off the waist as well so that’s good.

And I might be flying more (not necessarily more often but rather I may be doing fewer online classes). I’ve gotten a new role in the company. While I’m still an instructor, I’ve also picked up the role of tech lead. This will mean I’ll be doing more specialized classes and a lot of research (which I enjoy and should allow me a more flexible schedule). I’m still waiting to see what happens with the visa (should be hearing on that in September sometime). Although I cannot leave the US until that time is up, I may have to so I can get a new passport. I finally got my birth certificate changed and have sent off for a new SIN number. With the birth certificate and SIN, I could finally get a new passport with my new name.

I don’t think I could ever envision I could be this happy with my life.

Life is good, indeed.

But well worth the wait for the Fall. At the end of August, I’ll be heading out to Los Angeles finally. I’ve begun the slow process of getting rid of what we don’t want/need any more. My forays into Craigslist proved to be without success. People expect goldmines for the price of a pack of bubble gum. So I’ve given up on selling it and decided to give it to charity. I figured if I have to give it up for pennies, it might as well go to helping someone truly in need. I think I might try them (likely Salvation Army since they are one of the few who will pick up in Queens — I know, I know; they have a nasty LGBTQ policy but poverty and helping those in need doesn’t) in a couple of weeks and see if they will come and get the sofa, my old desks, the bed frame (I’ll sleep on the mattresses fine), dining room table and about 6 bags of clothes.

So while I’m depressed at being alone (to a degree — whiny, old cat doesn’t count), I’ve had some good things happen. Work wise things are going well. I can’t get into details but there are some changes and it may mean an ok change or a wonderful change. We’ll see. In other work things, there’s a new visa in the works so that bodes well for the long term. So fingers crossed that in September or October I’ll have a new visa.

In other news, I succumbed to all the hype and went for the iPhone 4. I did need to get a new phone since my existing one died a horrible death (closing it caused it to shut down or crash — even on a full new battery). It’s a great phone and I’ve been enjoying it. I think I got the one that actually works compared to the news reports I’ve been reading. I am getting a case for it. The glass front and back make me very nervous. I’m a klutz when it comes to geek gear and this is why I have an Otter Box on my Blackberry. I so need to get one for this thing. Until I get a good case, I’m getting a decent one for now. I may get an armband case/carry as well. I’m going to start running in a couple of weeks to help improve my weight loss.

I got a Body Bugg a few weeks ago to help me track my calorie burned (if you’ve ever seen Biggest Loser, you know what a Body Bugg is). It’s been pretty awesome. I even know how well I sleep each night. It’s been pretty good at helping me keep on track for my caloric intake and output. I still have to record what I eat. I’ve plateaued a bit over the last couple of weeks so I figure running, even 3 times a week, will help break that a bit. Additionally, I’ll have to add push ups and pull ups to my daily routine to help me improve my chest muscles in prep for future plans.

Anyways, to say that life is good is an understatement albeit a bit lonely with K.