What an interesting and overall excellent week this has been!
Prior to flight up to Detroit from Austin on Tuesday, I communicated to myself that while in Detroit I would do two things - be good to my work, and be good to my body. And I had this strong feeling that if I did these two things, my mindset and outlook - somewhat drearier in these months of shortened sunlight - would improve.
My work went well - a number of tasks were completed, I continued training of a co-worker, and I put myself in the position to hear how things were going on my project from a very high level. On a sad note, the team discovered at the end of the week that one of our valued members would not have his contract reviewed. It is sometimes harsh dealing with these realities of the business world, but after a few rounds of layoffs and cut projects, I/we have come to expect it. My future after January is unclear right now, but a former project manager once told me that they do not cut folks who know the systems or operations; and I know them for this project better than anyone else, often thinking of myself as Scotty of Star Trek.
My health continued to improve as I was able to find some divine motivation to continue my workouts. Up until this week, my consistency had been poor - some weeks working out 1 or 2 days, others working out none, having been too tired to do so. The key is metabolism - and it provides a catch-22 to the obese in our world. Folks with low metabolism do not work out because they are too tired and unable to motivate, thereby keeping them at a low metabolism. What is needed is a shock to kickstart that initial session that can work to raise a person's metabolic rate. And then its all a positive, upward cycle. My shock most likely came from the combination of the thought of seeing Maria this weekend, and the thought of taking the course at the University of Texas. Regardless, I was able to put my health at the highest of priorities, successfully incorporating a workout into each day this week, and as a result, my metabolism has improved. It's all upward from here.
One result of the higher metabolism and the lack of tiredness, was that I was able to go out for some very social lunches and evenings. Even my icq conversations were imbued with the old positive shine that had been come to define my personality. What a wonderful place this is for me to be at mentally.
Posted by brian at December 14, 2001 04:19 PM