Go Jill Go!!!

I wanted to post a very public way to go for my wife Jill. She has been working out very hard over the last week. For three of the last four days she has been working out like a fiend. And she would have done it all four days in a row had I not finagled a second game of scrabble at her mom's house on Saturday.

Our goal is to be in better shape, not only for the rest of our lives, but specifically for our vacation in a few weeks. So far so good, but we really need to keep at it so we don't fall off the work out wagon. Wish us both luck!

Crickets...

I went to a Buck's game last night because I was offered free tickets by a friend. I don't really care for NBA basketball, but I thought what the hell, I don't really do much, plus it's free! And for those of you who know me well, that is all I need to hear: FREE!

So I get to the Bradley Center a little after the game has started. My initial thought is "great, now I'm not going to find any parking, and if I do it will cost $20!" Well to my surprise, after just one lap around the arena, I found a legal street spot. That's right people FREE PARKING!!! So, now I'm ecstatic because I have a free parking spot and a free ticket to the game! I met up with my friends at a restaurant before heading to the game. They were just finishing their meal so I decided to just wait it out and eat later. Not that I had much choice. Twice the waitress came to the table while I was sitting there to ask if Casey or Kayla needed anything, and both times I didn't even have a chance to say I'd like a diet coke. It was like I wasn't there. Even when I said excuse me as she was walking away I got no response. The third time she came around, Casey stopped her and asked if I wanted anything, but by this point I didn't want anything just on principle!

So after this we headed to the game and were very surprised to find that our tickets had cost $111! That's right $111 for a NON-PLAYOFF BUCKS game! Once we were inside we quickly found our seats, very nice seats about 15 rows up center court. But you couldn't tell that you were at a professional sporting event. The game was going on, but there was no excitement, no cheering, not even any booing. It was like the crowd at your 8 year olds piano recital! The loudest and most raucous cheering heard all night, was for the Portessi Pizza give away sometime in the third quarter. It was a bit pathetic. Now, I know this is not indicative of all Milwaukee sports having been to many a Brewer game, but seriously, why do we even have a NBA team? No one can afford to go, no one really wants to be there, and the players play like it is scrimmage game not really worth anything...

It's just sad.

Hey you, you're not doing your job...

Have you ever had one of those awkward moments when you're talking about someone who isn't doing what they're supposed to be doing, and they're in the room? Well, now I have too.

Let me set the scene for you. I'm attending my first ever presentation to a Board of Directors meeting for a credit union to give them our recommendations as to what they should be doing with their branch. It's in a tiny little room (maybe 10ft by 6 ft) with no fan or air conditioning of any kind. Oh yeah, and it's 70+ degrees outside. Now lets add 15 people to this scene, mostly older members of the board, plus my boss, the president of our company, and myself. In this room there is also a little projector that we give our presentations on. This little guy gives off incredible amounts of heat. So with all these things added up we're looking at about 90 degrees, give or take.

As we're rolling through the presentation, we get to their branch office. Everyone sits up a little straighter in their chairs, this is the part everyone wants to know about. they have this tiny little branch that is in a fantastic demographic area, and it's barely doing any business at all. Our recommendation: remodel the branch, change the manager of the branch to someone who will aggressively pursue new members and loan opportunities. This is what everyone wanted to hear, exactly what they were thinking. Everyone, that is, except the manager of the branch who just happens to be sitting in the room. She is this little 65 year old lady who just doesn't want to spend the effort going after the people that live around her branch.

So basically, we told this little old lady, in front of everyone that she works for, that she's not doing her job and that she should be replaced. I'm suprised that she didn't fall down and die right there in that room. Talk about awkward...

On a positive note, the rest of the board loved the presentation, and hopefully we'll be able to get some more work out of the deal. But man, that was not a great feeling...

Sweets A-hoy

Ok, so I feel like this post might irk a few of you, but it can't be helped. I'm so freakin' sick of the people in my office bringing in sweets. I mean seriously, I've been working here for three weeks and already I've seen Cupcakes (3-times), Cookies, chocolate, girl scout cookies, and a weird Italian cake thing with dried orange peels and almonds. Enough is enough! I don't mind that people bring things in. In fact, it is very nice that the office has that type of atmosphere, but can't we space it out a little bit, or maybe bring in something healthy? Or at the very least a little less sugar heavy? I haven't partaken in much of it, mostly because I've been trying to reduce the amount of sugar and carbs that I intake, but also because it's just too much! Honestly!

Ok, well, onto other things going on. Speaking of work, it is going well. Everyone here loves me, and loves what I can do for them. the downside is that everyone now wants a piece of me. I can handle it for now, but it might get to be a bit much. I guess we'll see.

Ok, well since I am at work and I have a couple of projects that need attention I'm going to have to cut this one short. Take it easy people.

Run away if you can....

It's that time again. The workouts are getting serious. I have worked out everyday save two since last Monday. I can hear some of you cheering in the background. Don't cheer just yet. I've made these kinds of efforts before. This one feels like the one where I lost 85 lbs in 6 months, but the wagon is easy to fall off of. This time around I'm using music to pump me up and take the focus off of actually running. For the most part this works great, as long as I'm a little sleepy. A little tip for all of you who are like me and hate to run because you feel like you don't like it: run VERY early in the morning. If you are still half awake, you can't think about how much you hate running. It's brilliant, your body just takes over and does the work without feeling like you are torturing yourself. Late at night also works, but there are a few drawbacks. First, it can make it difficult to sleep. If you work out hard enough it will sap your energy and put you right to sleep, but if you don't, you'll just be awake for hours. Next, your brain isn't quite as tired and it is more difficult to keep the thoughts of rage from piercing your tranquility.

Anyway, running is the key to my health situation. Eating better can only do so much, so physical activity is my new remedy. Let's see how it goes.