I just don’t have the time to maintain two blogs, so I am merging coldspeLL with my main blog :skyecade online. See you there.

It’s been quiet here at coldspeLL lately. I’m not going to lie to you, I’m in a major rut. Alas, the point of this blog is not to chronicle just the good times, but the not-so-good times too. It’s important to understand your dips so you can learn how to claw your way out of them. From April to October, I was a self-improving machine. I was highly focused and highly energized. Things started to fall apart right around November. I didn’t see it falling apart at the time..you never do..but looking back, I can see how my routine slowly decayed. That got me thinking about routines.. and water for that matter. Routines are a great tool to have, but the more rigid you make them, the more fragile they become. That’s what I think happened to me. The next routine I conjure up will be a lot less rigid and a lot more fluid..like water. I want to be able to change up my routine any time I have to with out throwing the entire process out of balance. Now I just have to figure out how to do that.

So what did happen? Where did it all go wrong for me? I think it really started when the cold weather set in. It’s very hard to get up at five in the morning when it’s two degrees out. It’s also pitch black until seven o’clock this time of year..so depressing! I found myself not getting up so much, and since a good chunk of my daily routine involved me getting up at the crack of dawn, the whole process suffered as a result.

Then, sometime in October I injured my hamstring. It wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t run on it, or at least that’s what I thought. I’m not, what one might call, an athletic person. I don’t have much knowledge of muscles and muscle groups and other such things. As my hamstring got worse, I would take a week off from running here and there. It never seemed to get better though. Then December came around and I decided not to run at all and see if it would eventually heal. It hasn’t.

Then came the holidays. My daily routine wasn’t very compatible with the holiday season. Especially the eating healthy foods part. Blah! The rest of my goals just fell apart after that. I all but stopped getting up early, which lead to less Python lessons and less meditation. Lack of running coupled with eating junk has taken a toll on my energy levels. Lack of energy had me opting to watch TV rather than read or study Russian. It was a nasty domino effect.

It’s not over yet, though. I’ve been reading a lot of the entries I made into my journal. Trying to remember what I did, how I felt, etc… It’s like getting advice from my past self. Then I remembered why everything worked for me. I started small. I need to get back to the basics. Back when I started all this I kept telling myself that anything was better than nothing. If I didn’t feel like exercising, I would just repeat that quote and commit to something lite, like ten push-ups. Ten isn’t much, but it was better than nothing. I used the same philosophy with my studies. Instead of studying a full section in my Python book, I might read a few Python blogs, or browse the Python forums. It’s not much, but it was better than nothing. This also helps to build confidence. Instead of giving in and not exercising at all, I would just lower the task and complete it. A completed task is a victory, at least on a subconscious level.

I also love Nike’s “Just Do It” slogan. Those three words have motivated me more than any other three words I can think of. “Just Do It”. So I did. And I kept on doing it.

Now I just have to do it again. Stay tuned…

Who is Federico? Federico is the name I gave to my motivation. You see, motivation is like a good friend who stands behind you whispering words of encouragement as you engage in some sort of activity that you would normally tend to avoid. Your own personal pep talker, if you will. Unfortunately, Federico hasn’t been around for the last two weeks. I can’t find him anywhere! Without him,… lifting weights, running, programming, eating healthy… just about everything I set out to do doesn’t seem quite so exciting.

Then there is Jack. Jack is my self discipline. Jack is more like a drill sergeant, constantly yelling at me, telling me to do this or that. Jack’s not as subtle as Federico and he can be downright mean at times. When Jack is around, he gets the job done. The thing is, I think Jack left with Federico. Where can they be?

So now I’m forced to hang out with Daryl and Seth. Daryl is my procrastination and Seth is my laziness. Seth just sits around all day doing nothing. He pisses me off. Daryl is good friends with Seth. He never wants to do anything now, always later. He says things like, “we can just do it tomorrow” or “we might as well start fresh next week” or “I’m to tired right now, maybe later”. He pisses me off too, especially when I take his advice.

I think it’s time for Seth and Daryl to take their leave. They’ve been hanging around too much lately. I’m going to confront them today and tell them they are not welcome here anymore. It’s going to be awkward. Wish me luck…

The perfect coldspeLL week that is. I used to call my little experiments like this “the okTober Projekt”. Notice my brilliant use of the letter “k”. I’ve been experimenting with weekly routines for a few months now and I’ve finally come up with one that I think might work. So starting today (my perfect week goes from Saturday to Friday), I will jump into it full force. First I’m going to break down my weekly schedule by subject, and then by days of the week. This is really for my own reference, but I figured why not post it to the world. Here goes…

By subject:

Health:

Running = Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday : from 1pm to 2pm. (including shower)
Weight training = Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday : from 6pm to 7pm
Meditation = Everyday : from 6:30am to 6:45am
Meals = Seven healthy meals/snacks a day @ 6am, 8am, 9:30am, 11pm, 2:30pm, 4pm, 6pm (or 7pm on lifting days)

Studies:

Python = Monday, Wednesday, Friday: from 5:30am to 6:15am
Writing = Tuesday, Thursday : from 5:30am to 6:15am
Piano = Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday : from 6:15 to 6:30
Russian = Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday from 5pm to 5:30pm (I can do this while commuting to and from work)
Photography = Sunday (anytime)

Saturday
Sleep late, rest up, do whatever I want. I’ll still eat healthy and meditate (though probably at night), but I’m not committed to any studies or exercise regiments. I do, however, reserve the right to partake in any of the above activities if the urge strikes. — We’ll just call this a wild card day.

Sunday
5:00am = Wake up, grab my camera, and don’t let it out of my site for the rest of the day.
7:00am = Meditate.
9:00am = Free time until dinner.
4:00pm = Dinner, lunches, and clothes for next day.
5:30 = Weight training. (Chest and Triceps)
10:30 = Time for bed.

Monday
5:00am = Wake up.
5:30am = Python studies.
6:15am = Piano lesson.
6:30am = Meditate.
6:45am = Shower and get ready for work.
7:20am = Leave for work, Russian lesson.
7:45am = At work.
1:00pm = Run 2 miles.
5:00pm = Leave work, Russian lesson.
5:30pm = Home from work. Make lunch and get cloths ready for the next day. Free time.
10:30pm = Time for bed.

Tuesday
5:00am = Wake up
5:30am = Write, Write, Write.
6:15am = Piano lesson.
6:30am = Meditate.
6:45am = Shower and get ready for work.
7:20am = Leave for work, Russian lesson.
7:45am = At work.
1:00pm = Run 2.8 miles.
5:00pm = Leave work, Russian lesson.
5:30pm = Home from work.
6:00pm = Weight training. (Biceps and Back)
7:00pm = Make lunch and get cloths ready for the next day. Free time.Free time.
10:30pm = Time for bed.

Wednesday
5:00am = Wake up.
5:30am = Python studies.
6:15am = Piano lessons.
6:30am = Meditate.
6:45am = Shower and get ready for work.
7:20am = Leave for work, Russian lesson.
7:45am = At work.
5:00pm = Leave work, Russian lesson.
5:30pm = Home from work. Make lunch and get cloths ready for the next day. Free time.
10:30pm = Time for bed.

Wednesday is another rest day. No running or lifting.

Thursday
5:00am = Wake up.
5:30am = Write, Write, Write.
6:15am = Piano lesson.
6:30am = Meditate.
6:45am = Shower and get ready for work.
7:20am = Leave for work, Russian lesson.
7:45am = At work.
1:00pm = Run 3 miles.
5:00pm = Leave work, Russian lesson.
5:30pm = Home from work.
6:00pm = Weight training. (Shoulders)
7:00pm = Make lunch and get cloths ready for the next day. Free time.
10:30pm = Time for bed.

Friday
5:00am = Wake up.
5:30am = Python studies.
6:15am = Piano lessons.
6:30am = Meditate.
6:45am = Shower and get ready for work.
7:20am = Leave for work, Russian lesson.
7:45am = At work.
1:00pm = Run 3.5 miles.
5:00pm = Leave work, Russian lesson.
6:00pm = Friday nights are free.

And there you have it. Exciting, huh? What’s that? I need to get a life? Blah! Who needs that!

My goal is to follow this plan, as is, for one entire week. After that I will reevaluate. Also, anytime I use the phrase “Free time”, this could mean anything from playing with my daughter, to cleaning the house, to preparing meals, to painting my kitchen to, well, anything else that life has in store for me. Free time is not me skipping around, singing Skip to my Lou, my darlin. Though it could be.

One last thing. While experimenting with these weekly routines, I’ve realized the need to be flexible. Life, unfortunately, doesn’t always want to follow my routine, so I need to be ready to adapt. Be like water and flow with life, don’t struggle against it. See, you even get a touch of Taoism here at coldspeLL.

I’m still here, though you wouldn’t think it by reading this blog. I’m still running, lifting and eating healthy, I’m still coding, I’m still speaking Russian, and I’m still meditating almost every day. I am also writing, playing the piano, and taking photographs, though not nearly as much as I’d like to. I hope to remedy this.

On a side note, I’ve decided to read a minimum of one book a month. I’ve always wanted to read more, but I can never seem to find the time. That’s a sad excuse if you ask me. How hard is it to read a few pages a day. It’s not, actually, or at least that’s what I keep telling my daughter who has a book report due in one month. To help her realize this, I took the number of pages in her book and divided it by 30. I then grabbed a sticky pad and started to write the numbers 1 through 30 on them, one for each day of the month. According to my calculations, she needs to read 8 pages a day to reach her goal. I took each sticky note and placed them on the page that she should be on for each particular date (every 8 pages). Okay, so I know this isn’t some revolutionary idea, but it seems to help her when I set small goals instead of big ones. 8 pages a day, to her, is a lot less frighting than 240 pages. Then it hit me! What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. So I did the same thing for the book that I’m presently reading and it turns out that all I have to do is read 10 pages a day to meet my monthly quota. That’s a nice small goal that I’m pretty sure I can handle.

Just in time too, my Amazon wish list is getting a bit out of control.

I’m exhausted today and my body feels like it was run over by a dump truck. My brain hurts too, and I think I might even be a bit feverish (though probably not). It’s time to ease off the throttle a bit.

I’m only going to work half a day today, then I’m heading home and relaxing. No workouts, no lessons, no contemplation, no chores, no writing (except for this)… I’m just gong to do brainless activities. I may watch a movie or take a nap or play a video game. I’ve been pushing myself hard the last few months and I’m going to reward myself with a little bit of doing nothing. I think everyone deserves a day like this from time to time. Just don’t make it a habit.