A fairly nice day.

Well, I finally managed to wake up at 5am without being too tired to get up. I got up, went to the bathroom, checked the thermometer, and changed my T-Shirt, and...
I layed back down. I wasn't tired, but I really didn't feel like sitting at the computer for 4 hours. After about 45 minutes, I realized that I should just get the lessons over-with. I had a couple of bowls of cold cereal. And then I logged online. After about 45 minutes of surfing the Internet (and procrastinating), I finally started my online lessons for the day. I finished my lessons about 11pm.

About 12:30pm, I walked to the "local" post office to pick up my Amazon order. It was a nice day for walking. It was an hour walk there, and another hour back. I returned home about 2:30. I dropped off my DVD (yep, another one), and got my granny cart. I needed to go shopping. I walked to downtown Yonkers about a 30 minute walk. I stopped at the imitation five and dime store, and then I headed for the 99 cent store. Then at about 5pm, I went to Shop-rite for milk, wheat bread, cold cereal, orange juice etc...

From Shop-rite (with my full granny cart, and an extra bag to carry), I stopped at the bank. I walked back home from the bank. I arrived home about 6:45pm. Since I was already soaked with sweat, I decided to get on my rowing machine for about an hour. After rowing, I soaked in the bath for about 30 minutes. For dinner, I had leftovers from yesterday. Now, I am writing my blog entry.

Well, I think that is about it. I want another early evening. Tomorrow, I start my 3rd professional development class. When I finish with this class, I will have my BSed+30 credits. 30+ just means that my salary will be a little bit higher in the fall.

Yes, this time I remembered to weigh myself before eating dinner.
198.8lbs. / 29.8%BMI / 149.6CalB.


Post Date - Tuesday, July 31, 2007 9:58pm

Another relapse. Today was basically a lazy day. I started my online course about 9:30 and finished about 1:30pm. After finishing, I just was not in the mood to clean or do anything. At 2pm, I watched Judge Mathis. I had a bowl of low sodium beef with vegetable soup. I didn't really like the soup. I think the low sodium chicken is okay, but the beef is really not very good. I picked out the beef pieces and drank the broth. I threw away the rest. I took a brief nap.

About 6pm, I walked to the local bodega at the top of the hill to buy the Daily News. When I returned, I washed the dishes in the sink. I also took the meat out of the refrigerator (it has been in there for about a week). I decided to bake the lamb and the pork chops. Nothing fancy. I put the meat in the oven (set on low), then rowed for about an hour. After my bath, it was late, but I ate dinner (zucchini, rice and lamp chops). I was surprised. The meat came out much better than I thought, it was nice and (falling of the bone) tender. Usually, it is dry and hard as a bone.

Well, I'd better end this now. My rowing results are below. This evening, I forgot to weigh myself before eating dinner (I was hungrier than I thought), so my numbers are higher than they would have been if I hadn't made a pig out of myself.

205.6lbs. / 32.0%BMI / 159.5CalB


Post Date - Monday, July 30, 2007 11:04pm.

Sunday Update. I have a few minutes before my bedtime, so I thought I would do another blog entry so that I would have no excuse tomorrow morning when I should be doing my online lesson.

Let's see. I think I left off from the last blog entry about 11am. After logging off, I decided to go get the Sunday paper. Today I've been thinking about going back to reading the New York Sunday Times, I used to read it before I moved to Japan. Next weekend, I think I'll go back to reading the NY Times. Today however, I went to buy the Daily News. Today was the first time I went outside in almost a week. I think the last time I went out was last Monday.

Anyway, it looked liked the sky was about to open up with a downpour when I went to get the Sunday paper. My plan was to just get the newspaper and a half of gallon of 2% milk. However, once I climbed the hill, I suddenly had a taste for some fried chicken from the local Chinese takeout place. Since I hadn't eaten breakfast, I was too weak to resist. I bought 5 (fried) chicken wings to go. I got the paper and returned home. I ate the chicken wings with a few slices of plain wheat bread and orange juice. I read my newspaper and watched a little bit of TV on my computer. Cool isn't it! After watching TV, I took a brief nap. I woke up about 4pm.

Once up, I decided to finally start really cleaning up, starting with the piles of papers on my couch. I narrowed the piles to...a few piles (school papers, documents, unopened mail, little papers [including receipts], and papers with personal information [for shredding]). Oh, while I was cleaning my living room, I found $58 dollars (1 twenty, 4 fives, 18 dollars).

At about 7pm, I decided to get on my rowing machine. I was on for about an hour. I then went to relax in the bathtub with the plan of only staying for about 30 minutes. However, I ended up staying in for about 90 minutes. I got out of the tub at 10:07pm. Since it was too late to cook, I made the lazy man's dinner (a cup of microwavable rice over sardines in mustard sauce and orange juice. Now, I am finishing this blog entry. I will watch the 11pm news on the TV and then call it a night. Hopefully, I will have a better sleep then last night. Tonight I am planning for an 11:30 bedtime.

202.2lbs. / 29.7%BMI / 150.8CalB.


Post Date - Sunday, July 29, 2007 10:58pm

Today is Sunday. I just finished a couple of online lessons(about 4 hours). I'm happy. I have 9 down and 11 to go. I still did not start at 6am. I did manage to wake up about 5:30, but I didn't get out of bed until 6am. Then (although I got online quickly), I procrastinated online.

Now that I've done at least two lessons today, my mind no longer has to be preoccupied with the lessons (or avoiding the lessons), this should allow me time to do a little cleaning of my apartment. First, I need to eat breakfast.

Quick summary of yesterday.
Yesterday was another hermit's day of existance. I didn't go out and I didn't do much. I think I started my online lessons about 12 midday, I finished about 4:30pm. I started doing a little bit of cleaning. Although you can't tell from the last couple of "apartment" photos, I really don't like messes and disorganization. Actually I hate it. However, I have a slight borderline compulsive personality. Everything has to have a place, but when it doesn't, my mind locks up. I don't know where to put things, so I start making piles and groups. Unfortunately, the piles over time start to bleed into mounds of mess. Yesterday, I finally had enough of the mounds, so I started cleaning, by...making piles. :)

I cleared off my coffee table and my cardtable(I'm using it as a dining room table), and pile everything on my futon (I'm using it as a couch). It looks like a mound of a mess, but there is method to the madness...I think. It looks like one big mess, but if you look closer, I have several piles and "areas" together. At the far end of the couch are 3D things (big or small), in the middle I have a pile of papers, piles of small papers like receipts, etc...Well, I think you get the idea.

After about an hour of making piles, I decided to get on my rowing machine for about 45 minutes. After, I soaked in bath for about 30 minutes. After the bath, I was planning to do another online lesson, but I procrastinated online, until it did not make sense to start a lesson. I watched a little bit of PBS, and had some low sodium soup and a couple of slices of plain wheat bread. I also ate a couple of cups of Jell-O with fruit. I really wanted to be in bed by 11pm. I managed to go to bed about 11:07.

And, for some reason, I could not go to sleep. It wasn't that hot, but I could not go to sleep. Finally, about 12:18 (the last time I checked the clock), I started to feel sleepy. I was up about 3 times to go to the bathroom, the last time, I noticed the room felt chilly. I had my fan on low, and not facing me, but the room was still cooler than the rest of the apartment.

This morning I was up and at the computer about 7am. I feel okay...I think. Hopefully, tonight will be better.

Last evenings workout results
202.8lbs. / 29.9%BMI / 89.1CalB.


Post Date - Sunday, July 29, 2007 11:53am

Not bad. I just finished a couple of my online classes (a total of 4 hours here in front of the computer). The last lesson was about teaching gifted students (part 1). I have to say that lesson was fairly interesting. When the lesson is interesting, I don't mind sitting and listening. I still did not manage to start at 6am. I did manage to wake up at 5:20am, but since I still felt tired (and I did not really have any place to go), I went back to sleep.

Yesterday, I really was not in a study mode. I did not start my online lesson until about 3pm. I finished about 7pm. I realized that I have not really been taking care of myself these last couple of weeks, so I forced my self to cook some fish for dinner. It was prepared frozen fillet fish, that I only needed to put in the oven for about 20 minutes. 20 minutes later, I was eating fish, green beans, and microwabable rice. I started to watch Austin Powers - Goldmember, but I already saw it, so I decided to watch one of the dozon or so DVDs that are just piling up. I watched "Spirited Away" by Hayao Miyazaki, I enjoyed the movie very much. The artwork was very nice. From time to time, it was like looking at a moving painting. Miyazaki is known for his attention to details.

Well, I think that is about it. I really need to get up out of this chair, the aches and pains from being seditary for days on end are returning, so I need to do something physical today. Hopefully, I will be able to motivate myself to get on my rowing machine. I also would like to do another lesson for my online lesson course. If I do 3 lessons per day, I could be finish by next week.

It is lunchtime now. I think I will have some sardines over a cup of microwable rice. I also need a shower.

Post Date - Saturday, July 28, 2007 1:01pm

Procrastinating on my new computer. I should be doing my online lesson. I also need to get out of the "funk" I've been in for the past few days (figuratively and literally).

Yesterday, I did manage to do two hours of my online course. I started much later than 6am. Afterward, I spent a bit more time getting used to my new PC. I got off the computer about 7pm. For dinner, I ate the last of my turkey Sloppy Joe. I threw in some broccoli, and cup of microwaved rice, and made a meal of it in a microwavable container. For dessert, I ate a couple of cups of Jell-O fruit cups. I watched TV for a while,then I called it a night about 12:15am.

A lazy day. Today, I finally started my online class. I sat for about 2 hours listening to a lecture about using games to teach students. I also downloaded my legal copy (from Amazon.com) of Microsoft Word. So how was it. It took me about 3 or 4 minutes to find the margin rulers that used to be automatic. My Tool Bar is also too busy, as well as too many messages that seem to pop up after almost each key stroke.

Well, I'm tired, so I am going to cut this short. I was at my computer for most of the day. Since I ate breakfast around 11pm, I did not eat lunch. UPS delivered my Amazon order. I bought a THERMOS-vacuum insulated bottle with a pump. It is suppose to keep cold drinks cold for 24 hours, and hot drinks hot for 12. they seemed to be everywhere in Japan. I've been telling myself that I would be drinking more hot green tea -- yes, they do drink hot green tea in Japan during the summer. Oh, and without sugar! Having gotten used to drinking green tea without sugar, coming here and having American green tea, it was like drinking sugar water. Anyway, I have not been drinking green tea lately. Yes, I've been too lazy to microwave a mug of water.

I also bought another DVD. This one is Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki. I actually watched this movie in Japan in Japanese (even though I didn't understand a word of Japanese). While browsing on Amazon, the idea that it might be available. I bought it on an impulse. But then, you probably already knew that.

Another day of no exercising. Tomorrow, I am going to try to get up about 6am to do a double online lecture. That means my day would still start about the same time as it has for the last couple of weeks. Also, it would mean that I would be finished my online class in about 6 days, and I would be finish before my other class starts.

Well, that is about it. I'd better call it a night. This time (unlike last night), I won't eat a half gallon of sherbet.

206.8lbs.

Post Date - Wednesday, July 25, 2007 11:39pm.

Finally, I have set up my new computer. So far, it looks and feels great. I just have to get used to the new programs, new looks, and new layout, etc...

My day started about 9:30am. I woke up feeling much better than I did yesterday. I had none of the aches and pains that I had yesterday. I mulled around for a couple of hours. Then about 12midday, I decided to finally put up my new PC. First, I had to removed my old laptop that I bought second hand while I was in Japan. Then, I wiped down my computer cart and unpacked the boxes.

The computer had very easy to follow diagrams for setting up the computer. Once I set up the computer, I did a little bit of Internet surfing, just to get the feel of the new computer. I have to get used to the detailed information that seems to pop up every couple of minutes. The computer came preloaded with Google and Dell programs, search engines and homepages (not what I used to have). It will take me a while to get used to this new computer. It is kind of like moving into a new apartment, in a new neighborhood. I also have to get used to the American layout of the keyboard. My second-handed computer had a few changes in the keyboard layout.

The rest of my day was fairly uneventful. For lunch, I ate leftover Sloppy Joes (with turkey meat). I watched TV for a couple of hours. About 5:30pm, I went shopping for some milk, orange juice, and wheat bread. I took the Metro-North to downtown Yonkers. Since it was around rush hour, I did not have to wait a whole hour. When I returned home, I watched more TV. I did not feel like cooking dinner, and wasn't very hungry, until about 9pm, so I made a couple of turkey sandwiches. I also spent about an hour transferring files from my secondhand laptop to a portable hard drive (120GB). I ended up transferring about 2GB of my files, and programs. I like my portable hard drive. I think I am going to use as my backup file storage. It is very portable, and it acts just like a flash drive. It is 3 inches by 5 inches and about a half inch thick.

Well, I think that is about it for today. Tomorrow, I hope to start my online computer course. Each lesson is about 2 hours, so I will need to double up a couple of lessons for a few days to be finish by August 10th (when the class closes, and the materials will be taken off the Internet).

Oh, I didn't exercise today. Although I am feeling better, I did not want to push my good luck.

Post Date - Tuesday, July 24, 2007 11:23pm

A very rainy day. It rained here in NYC for most of the day. This morning I woke up tired, and achy. I just assumed that it was a head cold that was taking its time leaving. Most of the morning, I just did not have the energy to move or do much of anything. About 12midday, I decided that I would go to the post office to pick up my Amazon.com order (DVDS and City Walks - New York). Since I had the ticket for about a week, I was worried that the package might be sent back.

For lunch, I decided to make Sloppy Joes using ground turkey meat. But, before I could make it, I had to clean the pots that have been sitting on my stove for a couple of months. Leaving pots to "soak" for a couple of months is not a good idea. I ended up finishing my lunch about 2pm. I also called up the Professional Development program to find out about a couple of classes that I'd registered for. One class had me registered for the wrong sessions, and the other class was cancelled, but no one told me. Everything appears to be straightened out.

Anyway, I left home about 2:51 to catch the Metro-North train going north. Since my unlimited rides pass is for going south, I had to pay $2.25 one way. Since I wasn't in the mood for walking, I thought that I would take the MN to save time. For those of you that don't know, Westerchester is built in the mountains, and the Metro-North is at the bottom (at sea level) on the Hudson River. It took me about 22 minutes to walk up the side of the mountain to North Broadway (the entrance to the office park (the post office is located in the office complex...in the back). From the entrance to the post office, it was another 12 to 15 minute walk.

After getting my package, I walked back home. Since I wasn't feeling well, it took about an hour to return home. I arrived about 5pm.

I finished reading the Sunday paper, then checked out my Amazon order. I bought 3 animation DVDs, and a City Walks (what I thought was a book).

The City Walks Guide is not a book, but a series of 50 cards that outlines different walks. Nice. I was surprised that the Brooklyn Bridge was not among the walks.

About 5:30 I started getting sleepy. I dozed off, and woke up about 8:30. My body was still sore, and now my joints were also achy. For dinner, I had low sodium soup and a few slices of wheat toast (4).

I just registered for another Professional Development class for the Fall. I would much rather taking the courses from the NYC program, then the "professional development" offered in my school.

Well, I think that is it. Since I was still achy this evening, I did not do any rowing today.

206.4lbs.

Post Date - Monday, July 23, 2007 11:48pm

Weekend Summary.

Saturday. Not much done. I planned to walk to the post office to pick up another package from Amazon.com, but a moment resting, turned into a 2 hour nap. I woke up about 4:30pm. The post office closes at 4pm. I did get on my rowing machine, but I was not really focused. I am not sure how many calories were burned. I relaxed in the bath for about 30 minutes. For dinner I had a can of low sodium chicken soup, and a couple slices of wheat toast (with butter) :( Last night, I also had to deal with a small head cold (I hope), that kept my head pounding, and my nose running all night.

201.8lbs. / 29.9BMI / CalB.???

Sunday. I was feeling a little bit better, but my nose was still like a drippy fauct. I started cleaning off my computer cart, so that I could finally put up my new computer. Alas, I didn't get to finish, so my computer is still in the boxes. My air-conditioner is also. I also did my laundry. All of the dirty clothes in my apartment. That includes the clothes I wore to school for the last week of school, my winter coat (and jacket), and my blankets. Did I mention that I hate doing laundry, so I tend to put it off. I did about 6 loads of laundry (two of those were for the two blankets that have been on my bed for quite a while. For lunch I had a cup of microwaved rice over a can of sardines in mustard sauce. When I finished the laundry, I decided to walk to downtown Yonkers to go shopping. I needed a bucket to wash down the computer cart (among other things). My plan was to walk there and then walk to the Shoprite to do my food shopping, and then return on the Metro-North. After I finished shopping in the imitation five and dime, my granny cart was full. I decided to walk back home, then take the Metro-North back to downtown Yonkers to go to Shoprite, then take the Metro-North back home. After shopping in Shoprite, I lose track of time, and didn't realize it, until it was too late to catch the Metro-North back. The wait for the next train would have been an hour, so I walked back home with my full granny cart, and two extra bags that would not fit into the granny cart. In total, I spent 131. 01 cents. After getting home, I quickly put the food away. I then got on my rowing machine for an hour. Since I ended up getting on the machine after 8pm, I did not take a bath, but showered instead. Since it was late, I did not each dinner. I had taken out the chopped/ground turkey meat planning on making spaghetti sauce with ground turkey meat meat sauce. But, I will just save the meat for Sloppy Joe's for lunch tomorrow.

Tomorrow morning, I need to walk to the post office to pick up my Amazon order before they send it back. Then, I hope I can put my new computer together so that I can start that online class.

200.6lbs. / 33.0%BMI / 206.5CalB.

Post Date - Monday, July 23, 2007 12:13am

I am a bit excited. The final Harry Potter book just arrived (see attached photo). Even though the book has 759 pages, I am looking forward to reading it. I wasn't expecting it until next week. I only applied for the regular shipment. I was told that it would arrive sometime next week, but it arrived today. I need to finish reading the book I am currently reading (Sword of Shannara). Shannara sure did take a long time to get the action started, but now halfway thru, the book is finally starting to get interesting.

Now that I have the book, I will have to put it back in its box and put it away for now. If I see it lying around, I know I'll start reading it. The last Potter book, "...the Half-Blood Prince" I read from cover to cover over the weekend.

Some people take drugs to escape, I rely on Fantasy and Science-Fiction. Well, I better go, I have a lot of reading to do.

Post Date - Saturday, July 21, 2007 11:41am

Today was the last day of my Professional Development class on using desktop publishing in the classroom. So over-all, how was it? The instructor was a bit disorganized, and on occasion not prepared. Today, she spent about an hour typing up the "final project" for the class. The assignment was to make two newsletters. I spent the first 10 or 15 minutes teaching the Russian lady next to me, how to check her e-mail. Despite the statements above, I enjoyed the class. I kind of got the impression that the instructor's "teaching style" was knowledge through repetition. For example, over the course of the week, the students were asked to make about 6 or 7 different kinds of flyers that a teacher might send home to parents. Although her format is a bit "wordy" (in my opinion), I did learn several things that I really would like to try out for my students next school year. I believe that we could have been taught a lot more. The instructor's definition of desktop publishing is the inserting (and organization of) text and graphics. I think there is more to it than that, Today (the last day), the instructor mentioned a couple of things that probably are interesting, but was not covered. For example, creating a data base using Microsoft Access so that a teacher would not have to retype the students date over, and over. Despite the negatives, I enjoyed the class. I liked that even though I had the feeling of mostly doing "busy work", the instructor did have a nice air of professionalism that was nice. She drilled the basics over and over. She also remained friendly and patient during the "low end" questions. I also liked the class for another reason. It helped to give me a "student's view" of the learning process. I saw things that I would not do, and things that I would. The instructor spoke a bit too quickly, and made assumptions of students' understanding. On the other hand, she was (relatively) patient, and drilled the basics. The instructor seemed knowledgeable about computers, but also had room for improvement. Monday thru Wednesday, most of the instructions were verbal, by Thursday afternoon, she finally used a visual aid. She linked her computer to the overhead so that we could see what she was saying. Unfortunately, she had a smartboard, but did not use it. I suspect that most of the instructor's computer knowledge came from an interest in computers, not from formal training. I don't think she knew how to use a smartboard.

All in all, I enjoyed the class for what I could take and apply to improve my own teaching skills, and that was my main reason for taking the class. Next school year, I want to do a class newsletter, improve my progress reports etc...

I left class about 1:30pm. I arrived at the Bronx Metro-North about 3pm. I took the express train to Yonkers and walked home from there(about 30 minutes). At home a planned to jump on the rowing machine while I was soaked with sweat, but I ended up falling asleep. I woke up about 5:30pm. I did get on my rowing machine for an hour. I soaked in the bath for about 30 minutes. For dinner, I ate the last of the baked chicken I made a few days ago, and ate a couple of slices of wheat bread. I watched a bit of TV (Brit Coms).

Well, that's it for today.

200.4lbs. / 30.0BMI / 172.4CalB.

Post Date - Friday, July 20, 2007 11:55pm

I just finished my computer class homework. After class, I returned home. I rowed on my machine for about an hour. I need to sleep now, because I will need to (one more time), get up at 5am to be on time for my computer class in Queens.

200lbs. / 28.7BMI / 182.9CalB.

Post Date - Friday, July 20, 2007 1:10am

Strange day in a nice kind of way. This morning, by the time I reached Queens, the rain really started to come down. Luckily for me, there was a bus that that I could take that dropped me off right across the street from the school. Today, I was happy about doing my homework, but I bit disappointed that the instructor did not ask for it, or even look at it. She just said that it should be put into our work folders. Since the rain was really coming down, I decided to try getting school lunch. Actually, the rain was just a good reason. The school I am attending the summer course is located in a residential area, with not much, in the 15 to 20 minute break that we receive. Anyway, it turned out to not be difficult at all to buy school lunch ($4). Today's lunch was fried chicken patties, french fries, bread, salad (with two kinds of cheeses), and milk. It wasn't the best or great, but it was better than what I could do outside in terms of both cost and quantity. I was a bit annoyed with myself that a woman went out to the Dunkin Donuts in the downpour, while I was worried about getting wet.

Today went by fairly nice. We were given about 3 assignments to complete. About 11pm, one student had to leave due to flooding in his basement. Later about 3 others also had flooding in their basements. The instructor said that she would dismiss the class at 12 instead on 1pm, so that everyone can go check their homes. I stayed to finish my assignment.

We had to make up a flyer about an artist. I was very, very shocked at the teachers in my row cutting and pasting from the Internet without little if any thought about what they were plagiarizing, they were doing exactly the same thing that my students have done.

I ended up finishing at 1pm. I asked the instructor if we would be taking our work home, but she said no, she would be keeping the work (but I could print copies for myself if I wanted to).

I was glad to see the rain had stopped on my walk to the train station. I managed to reach the Metro-North just in time to take the express train to Yonkers. Since I was feeling in a good mood, I decided to walk home from Yonkers instead of waiting for the next local train. While in Yonkers, I stopped at the bank. I then visited a local store, to see how much they were asking for their hot water maker. They wanted $40. I said no thank you. I thought it would rain on my walk back home, but it didn't. When I arrived home, the post person left me a notice card. That means another walk to the post office to pick up a package from Amazon.com.

Since I arrived home soaked with sweat, I decided to get on my rowing machine. Since I was in a relatively good mood, I stayed on longer than 45 minutes (one hour). After rowing, I soaked in the bath. I sat and watched the different news stories about the steampipe explosion. For some strange reason, I wasn't hungry. I did not feel like eating, so I didn't.

Well, I better go. I have another early morning day. A few more days before the final Harry Potter book is released. I saw on the news that some people are trying to spoil the book, by leaking information. Currently, I am still reading "The Sword of Shannara". At about 776 pages, it has been a bit of a slow read for me, but today, the action is finally happening at about the 300th page.

199.6lbs. / 28.6%BMI / 168.2CalB.

Post Date - Wednesday, July 18, 2007 10:56pm

I'm feeling tired, but I feel good. I just finished my homework for my desktop publishing class. Each student had to copy the teacher's trip letter and supply list.

Now, I will do a quick summary before I call it a night. Last night, after finishing my blog entries, it was about 1:00am, I went to bed about 1:15am. I was up about 5:21 this morning. Class was okay. It would be better if the instructor used a visual aid to help. She speaks and sometimes she speaks too quickly. She has a whiteboard (she uses sometimes) and a smartboard (she does not use it...ever.

After class, I stopped at the Subways Restaurant on my way home. I ordered a 6-inch pastrami sandwich.

When I returned home, I decided to walk to the post office to pick up another Amazon.com order. When I returned home, I decided to get on my rowing machince for my 45 minute workout.

200.4lbs. / 28.9 BMI / 88.8CalB.

Post Date - Tuesday, July 17, 2007 9:56pm.

Professional Development
My day started about 5:21am. I was tired, went to bed the previous night about 11pm. Since, I didn't have to stress about kids going wild, I did not have much difficult getting myself together and out on time.

I arrived at the school about 7:40. The class is a professional development for teachers. The class was scheduled for 8:00 to 3pm. The program is for the teachers to gain 30 hours of "development". About 8:00, the instructor came to the auditorium (where we were told to wait), to take us to the room. The room was located on the 4th floor, I decided to take the stairs rather than crowd into the elevator.

8:05 - The instructor explains that "paperwork" needs to be done(attendance, policies, etc...). Nothing has started.

A lady came to sit next to me. From her body language, I got the impression she did not know a lot about computers, and was looking to sit next to someone who could "help out". She sat, started pushing the monitor on button several times. And since it would not come on, she moved down one seat. She did not bother to try the power button. I thought I lucked out, but then...

20 minutes late, another person (a Russian lady) came (with the same "look") and sat next to me. She dropped her purse in my space, then starts giggling the mouse and repeating the same panic button push the other woman did. Wondering why the computer would not come on. I told her the class had not started yet, and that I was going to wait until the instructor told me what to do. But that was not good enough because "the others have their computers on". She was determined to get that computer on. She did manage the power button, but that wasn't enough, she then wanted to know the password. It amazed (and frightened) me at the behavior of a few of the teachers in that room. It is late, so I can give the details that I wanted to...sleeping, complaining, making shopping list, not paying attention, having to be told 4 or 5 times, and still not following directions, excessive talking etc...

8:50 - The instructor gives a 5 minute "talk" about the parking problem of last week. Still doing "paperwork". After the "talk" about parking, a couple of teachers were advised to move their cars. The instructor said that she would not start until they (two teachers) returned.

9:15 - Parkers returned. Instructor begins with...dismissal time. We (the class) have an option of leaving at 1pm with homework, or leaving at 2pm without homework. She tells us that it has to an all agreement, if even one objects, then 2pm will be the dismissal time. One guy honesty admits that he does not want homework, so he does not mind staying til 2pm. Then others agree with him. Others also don't want to do anything without the instructor to "help" them if they have difficulty. It is obvious to me that the instructor wants to leave at 1pm, but others can't see that, so they continue to defend their positions that 2pm is better than 1pm. After explaining the benefits of 1pm, again, the instructor tries to "take a vote". Again, it is not a unanimous vote. So, the instructors says that "since some are confused" we will revisit the discussion again later.

9:25 - The lesson begins with....individual introductions.

9:55 - The individual introductions are now finished. And...it is break time. After about 5 minutes of conversations, the instructor finally tells us the return time from the break is 10:15.

9:16 - I arrived back. The school is located in a residential area, the nearest store is a few blocks away. I returned. The instructor is having a one on one conversation with a student. The conversation finishes about 10:30am

10:30 - The lesson finally starts with the basics. "This is a mouse. This is how we hold a mouse." The first skill was typing our name two times, then saving the document. The next skill was typing our name three times, bolding the last one, then saving the document. Next, students were asked to type the Star-Spangled Banner lyrics, while the instructor left the room for something. I cheated. I cut and pasted the lyrics from the Internet. When the instructor returned, we were asked to changed the fonts, colors, etc...

12:30 - The subject of dismissal time is revisited. This time, the instructor clarifies, homework will be assigned whether dismissal time is 1 or 2pm. Then, instructor asked for a show of hands for those that objected to leaving at 1pm. No hands went up...Democracy at work.

Since we did not have a lunch break the instructor told us that we would be leaving earlier than 1pm. She is telling us this at 12:30. We only had to finish the Name Poems we were working on. We finished....1pm

I headed home. I stopped at 42nd street. I had lunch at the Japanese takeout restaurant "Yoshinoya". I returned to the Bronx about 5 minutes after the Metro-North leaving, so I went food shopping and stopped at the 99 cent shop. I bought milk, juice, and wheat bread at the supermarket, and disposable cups and plates at the 99 cent shop.

I returned home a little after 4pm. I was going to go to the post office to pick up anther package from Amazon.com, but I changed my mind. I laid down with a plan of resting for a couple of minutes, but ended up falling asleep. I woke up 5:31pm. I could have went on another walking event with the walking club I joined, but I did not want to risk pushing myself too much. Finishing at about 8pm, getting home about 10 (or 11pm). I finally dumped the 5 or 6 trash bags that have been laying around. I then decided to bake the chicken that had been in my refrigerator for a few days. I put the oven on low so that I could do my rowing and soak in the bath.
I rowed for about 45 minutes, and relaxed in the bath for about 30 minutes. Since it was late, instead of making a big meal, I ate about 3 chicken legs, 2 slices of wheat bread, and a glass of orange juice.

My day is finished, my blog entries are finished, and it is way, way past my bedtime.


199.6lbs / 29.2BMI / 125.6CalB.
Post Date - Tuesday, July 17, 2007 12:11am

Wow, I really, really have to manage my time better. I should have started writing this blog entry at 9:30, but procrastinations and distractions ate up my computer time. I was just looking at the local supermarket that allows shoppers to shop for groceries online for home delivery.

I'll have to keep this short, I have my class tomorrow. Again, another 5am wake up. Although, I did not get out of bed until about 5:21am. Before I summarize (briefly I hope) my first day in class, I will summarize my Central Park walk.

Saturday.
I met a new e-pal and we went walking through Central Park. For the last few weeks, we've been exchanging e-mails. I answered her ad from Craigslist. She was looking for new friends, I was looking for e-pals. It was interesting to find that we have several things in common:

We have the same last name
We have similar occupations
We are the same age
We have like the same kinds of movies
We both enjoy walking


Finally, we decided to meet. We met on 72nd street at the Broadway train station at about 1pm. I arrived about 12pm. The #1 train line was under construction, so it took longer for me to arrive, but I was still early. My e-pal arrived a little past 1pm, she walked past me a couple of times talking on her telephone, so I thought she was not the person. However, she eventually came up and introduced herself to me. Maybe she was worried that I was a nutcase.

We walked (and talked) around Central Park for a couple of hours, About 4:30pm, we ate a lite dinner at a Subways restaurant. We then walked around looking for an ice cream shop. On the way looking for an ice cream shop, we stopped at a book store. She looked around, I went to the bathroom. We finally found a yogurt/ice cream shop near Lincoln Center (around 60th street). I had a bananna split.

After the ice cream, my e-pal took me to a Whole Foods store at 59th street and Columbus Circle. I was very impressed with the food store. At first I was a bit turned off by the high prices, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked the store. I think I am going to return to the Whole Foods store. I enjoyed the walk. I will post another time some photos that I took during our walk.

About 6pm, my e-pal told me that she likes to be home before it gets dark (another similarity). We went our separate ways at the train station at Columbus Circle. When I returned home, I did my 45 minutes on my rowing machine. The results were posted on a previous entry.

Post Date - Monday, July 16, 2007 11:06pm

Quick entry. The procrastinator strikes again. This morning, I was so tired from two days of walking activities that I did not get out of bed until about 12midday. I went to Target store to do a bit of "school shopping". My class starts tomorrow. I was only planning to buy a couple of items, but somehow, I got a bit carried away. I ended up staying til about 4pm, and spending about $400. I also missed the train, so I had to wait an hour for the next train. When I arrived, I went to the laundry to wash the new clothes, and a few of my other clothes. Since it was late, I had beef with broccoli takeout for dinner. I turned on the TV just to watch while I ate dinner, but I ended up watching a bit too much. I watched "60 Minutes", and a PBS program about Winsor Castle. I stopped off at Amazon.com, and discovered that my first order "Microsoft Office" was returned to sender due to incorrect address. I sent them an e-mail to ask the order be resent. Now, I have to go. Since I waited until the last minute, I have no time to row today. I will also have to write about Saturday's walking activity another time. I have to wake up at 5am tomorrow morning, so I need to be in bed by 10:30 the latest.

Post Date - Sunday, July 15, 2007 9:58pm.

I'm tired, so I am going to try limiting this entry to about 30 minutes. I just finished soaking in the bathtub, so I am ready for bed. Today, I met one of my e-pals, and we had an enjoyable day walking around Central Park. I had a very nice day. However, before I summarize today, I should recap yesterday's visit to Liberty Island.

Friday. I left my apartment about 9:30am. In the Bronx, I stopped at the Target store to develop photos of my classroom. When I file my grievance for the "D" rating that I receive, I want to include photos of my classroom as supporting data against receiving a "D" rating. Anyway, I went to the photo kiosk and inserted my camera disk, and was I surprised...There were a couple of photos that should not have appeared on the screen.

I took a couple of photos of myself for "Before" shots, hoping that someday I can have an "After" photo showing an incredible transformation. The other photos were just a couple of "au natural" type. I deleted the photos from the disk while the disk was in my computer, and the photos did not appear when I reinserted the disk into my camera. I panicked for a while at the thought that the photos were floating around cyberspace, but I am feeling a little bit better.

After Target, I went down to Battery Park to get my ticket for the ferry ride to Liberty Island. The ticket booth was located in Castle Clinton (named after the governor at that time), the wait for the ticket was about 15 to 20 minutes. The adult ticket cost was $17 for an audio tour of the grounds on Liberty Island. For $10.50, you only got the ferry ride. To go inside the pedestal, reservations had to be made in advance. There were a few ticket that could be purchased at the ticket gate, but were already sold out. Then there was the line to get on the ferry, that line was about an hour wait. Once I arrived closed to the ferry, all passengers had to go through "security area" (A white tent). Once inside, just picture the airport check-in, it was the same. Before approaching the "security area", rent-a-cops kept shouting about the things that could not be brought in (including, big backpacks, coolers, large bags, and liquids). Yes liquids. A lot of people started to panic, and started throwing out their water, sodas, etc...Being the cheapskate that I am, I decided that someone was going to have to tell me directly to throw away my almost empty bottle of water. When I got to the "security area" door, the sign read, "No open bottles of drinks". Inside (just like the airport, passagers were assigned lines, on the lines, pockets had to be empty, metals removed etc...For some strange reason, the old lady in front of me had to take off her shoes. I had no problems going through.

On the Liberty Island, since I did not have a ticket to go into the pedestal, my plan was to just walk the perimeter and return. I got lucky, a free tour by a park ranger was just starting, so I followed that group. I thought the tour was interesting and informative. One of the things that I learned was that the guy who designed the Eiffle Tower also designed the Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World (the official title). I stayed on the island for about 45 minutes, and then returned.

Back on the mainland, I decided to go to the movies. I got off the train at 34th street, got a newspaper and realized that I was looking at an outdated movie schedule. The movie on 34th street was no longer showing Fantastic Four - Rise of the Silver Surfer, so I walked to 42nd street. On 42nd street, I was very surprised...

There was a Yoshinoya restaurant. Only those from Japan (or have been) know about the restaurant. A cheap, but good meal for only a few dollars. There specialty is the beef bowl. It was slightly Americanized, but I enjoyed my beef bowl.

The movie theater was a bit strange, it seemed to be getting bigger the higher up you went. the movie theater I went to #22 was on the fifth floor. The movie theater was small, I think there were about 40 or 50 seats.

The movie was nice, not great, not bad, just nice. Nothing special. I've attached a few photos from my visit to Liberty Island. The name of the photo will tell you what the photo is about.

After the movie, I returned home. I managed to get on my rowing machine for 45 minutes (see the results in yesterday's blog entry), then I soaked in the bath for about 30 minutes.

Since it is late, I will have to do a blog entry about my Central Park walk tomorrow. Since I also did my rowing for 45 minutes today, I will put the results below.

200.4lbs. / 29.3%BMI / 86.3CalB.

Post Date - Saturday, July 14, 2007 11:31pm

Yesterday, I went to the Statue of Liberty, then I saw a the movie "Fantastic Four - Rise of the Silver Surver". When I returned home, I was too tired to write up a blog entry. I will give more details (including a bit of an embarassing incident at Target).

200.4lbs. / 29.5%BMI / 102.2CalB.

Post Date - Saturday, July 14, 2007 10:31am

Attached are the photos I took during the walking group's walk over the Williamsburg Bridge on Monday, July 9, 2007. The walk was from about 6:50pm to about 8:45pm. The first photo is a of the Transit Museum in Brooklyn. The next photo is of the meeting place. The next photo is a statue in Chinatown of an envoy for the emperor of that time. Next, the group being the walk over the bridge. Next, we are now on the Brooklyn side of the bridge. The statue photo is in a park next to the bridge. Finally, the last photo is the sunseting as we do the return walk.

Today was a tiring day, and I am not sure why. I woke up tired, and I was tired for most of the day. I didn't do much this morning but resizing and posting my photos from the Williamsburg Bridge walk. Since I did not do any cleaning, I did not take out my computer (or set up my air conditioner). After watching Judge Mathis, I decided to walk to the "nearest" post office. The Yonkers main post office is closer to me, but the clerks there seem to move slower than molasses. There always seems to be a long line, and the building itself looks like it has been around for many years. Stepping inside is like stepping through a time machine back to 1950s (early 1950s). Sorry, I got off-track.

The walk to my "nearest" post office is about a 50 minute walk...one way. Therefore, just to pick up my parcels was a two hour event. I was expecting my Amazon order of my Microsoft Office software and my New York Walks book, but it was just a couple of animation DVDs also from Amazon.com. I'm really starting to like that company.

I left about 3:30 and returned about 5:40. On my way home, I stopped to order some beef with broccoli to go. I also stopped at the local bodega to buy a gallon of milk (2%). I ate my takeout for dinner as soon as I returned home. I then went to the laundromat to do some of my clothes. Since I've been on vacation, laundry has been a low, low priority. But, when you don't have clean underwear, then the priority changes.

After returning from the laundromat, I decided to get on my rowing machine. I did my usually 45 minutes, but I did not put as much effort into the workout, and it shows. After the rowing, I relaxed in the bath for about 30 minutes.

Tomorrow I have a plan to do a couple of activities. I just hope I am not feeling tired. I am going to end this entry now so that I can go to bed. I need to start going to bed, much earlier, so that my body will be used to the early wake up next week when I start taking my Professional Developement class.

Wt. = 202.0lbs / BMI = 30.5 / CalB. = 69.8

Post Date - Thursday, July 12, 2007 11:28pm.

It has arrived!!! My new computer. However, I have not opened the boxes yet. I have to do some more cleaning and organizing. Also, I am planning to move my computer into my bedroom, and keep it there for the next couple of months during this summer weather. Remember, I bought an air conditioner a few days ago. I haven't put up the air conditioner yet, but when I do, The air conditioning will help keep the computer from over heating.

Today, I spent most of the day cleaning and organizing my apartment, I still have a long way to go. I also received a postal card notifying me that I have a package from Amazon.com. I ordered Microsoft Office from Amazon.com because it was cheaper than getting it from Dell.

Today, I did another very late exercising session.

It is late, so I am going to end this entry now.

Wt. = 201.0lbs / BMI = 29.8% / CalB. = 120.9


Post Date - Thursday, July 12, 2007 1:23am

This morning, my legs were still bothering me from the walking that I did yesterday, so I decided to not do anything. I spent most of the day surfing, and watching daytime TV. I watched the court programs (Judge Judy and the others).

I also surfed. I spent about a half an hour trying to find the nearest train station to the Professional Developement class that starts next week. 30 credit hours starting at 8am. To get to the school in Queens, I will have to leave about 6am. Luckily the class is only for one week (8am to 3pm), I should be able to manage. The class is supposed to teach basic computer applications for the classroom teacher. A class I really need to take. Anyway, I tried to use the Google and then the Yahoo maps to try to find the nearest train station, but the maps were a bit too sophisticated for me and my computer. Everytime a map loaded, my computer would freeze, or the program kept saying that the school address could not be recognized. Finally, I just settled for the MTA's travel planner website.

http://tripplanner.mta.info/

The MTA's travel planner was much, much easier to use. Starting location, and end location. You can choose arrival time or departure time to help you with your planning.

I also did a bit more shopping with Amazon.com. I also explored the zipcar website:

www.zipcar.com

I found an article in the Monday, July 9, 2007 Daily News newspaper. So what is "zipcar"? A company that lets you rent a car by the hour. All this time, I've struggled without a car. You pay a $50 dollar membership fee, and they charge about $8 to $10 per hour to rent a car. It would be great to have a car for those weekly errands like shopping, or going to the mall or movies. Unfortunately for me, the nearest company lot is 6 stations away on the Metro-North Hudson Line. I sent the company an e-mail asking for a location closer to me. If I could get a location to me I would be very happy.

Finally, as I mentioned above, I spent the entire day doing almost nothing. I almost avoided rowing today. But at the last minute(10:00pm) I decided to row eventhough I really did not feel like it. This time around, I only burned 105 calories, but I am very happy that I did exercise. Hopefully, I will be able to stick with the exercise routine.

Wt. = 198.2lbs. / BMI = 29.5% / CalB. = 105

Post Date - Wednesday, July 11, 2007 2:01am

This will need to be brief. I did quite a bit of walking today, and my legs are already sore. I rowed this morning on my machine for 45 minutes, burning 118 calories. I took a shower, then ate a quick lunch, I had a cup of microwavable rice and a can of sardines in mustard sauce. I left my apartment about 2:30. My plan was to go to the Transit Museum then walk over the Brooklyn Bridge to the meeting spot of the walking group that I would attend today.

I arrived at the museum entrance...it was closed. It closed at 4pm. I decided to walk over the Manhattan Bridge, then walk from Chinatown to the meeting spot of the walking group. The meeting time was 6:30pm at the scupture across the street from the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge. However, the walking event was to walk over (and back) the Williamsburg Bridge. I did not realize it at the time, but I had already walked over the Williamsburg Bridge a few months ago.

I arrived at the meeting spot an hour early. The two walking group leaders arrived around the 6:40pm. The group waited until 6:50 before starting the walk. There were 7 participates in total.

After we walked the bridge, everyone seemed to scatter (going in his or her own direction). The walk ended about 8:45pm. I ended up by myself on Delancy Street on the east side. I was planning to walk to the west side to catch the #1 train, but I realized that I would have to take the Metro-North which was now on an hourly schedule. About 9pm, I walked to Spring street. I ended up missing the Metro-North train, so I had to wait about 40 minutes for the next train. Since I had time to kill, I went to the Chinese restaurant to order a small eggdrop soup.

As soon as I finish this blog entry, I will soak in the bath. The attached photo is of the Williamsburg Bridge taken from the Brooklyn side. I will upload the other 5 photos taken another time. I'm too tired now.


Wt. = 200.6lbs. / BMI = 30.5% / Cal. = 118cal.

Post Date - Tuesday, July 10, 2007 12:10am

Lazy Sunday. I chatted and surfed for most of the morning. Napped also. I did manage to get on my rowing machine, so I was very happy. I did 45 minutes on my rowing machine. If I read the display correctly, I burned 116 calories on the rower. After rowing, I showered, I then went food shopping. I spent $101.19 on food. I tried to buy healthy (Wheat cereals, 2% milk, orange juice, Campbell's low sodium soup, flavored oatmeal, Dole's fruit cups with gelatin, frozen vegetables, iced-fruit bars, etc... I also did a little bit of shopping online at Amazon.com. (DVDs[animation], and an insulated water bottle bag) For dinner, I had a can of low sodium soup and a couple of slices of wheat toast, with a glass of water. The toast would have been healthy, if I hadn't put butter on it.

Well, that is it for today. Tomorrow, I will be joining a walking group. Stress from work kept me from joining any walks for the past couple of months. I am also thinking about going to the movies since I didn't go on Friday (my "movie day"). I also need to start my online class before my brick and mortar classes start. The very last thing I need is to get stressed during the summer.

Until next time...

Wt. = 203.6lbs. / BMI = 32.9%


Post Date - Sunday, July 8, 2007 11:36pm

Back on the wagon...again. I finally did some exercising today. I didn't do much else, but I felt good to do something instead of planning, but doing nothing. Today started out pretty much the same as the past few days. Cold (sugar)cereal for breakfast, then chatting online.

However, I finally got on my rowing machine after a couple of months of it just sitting on the living room floor collecting dust. I also started to clean up (a little bit) of the mountains of trash that have been really piling up. I hope I am finally back on track.

I did 30 minutes on my rowing machine. I was planning to do another 30 minutes later today, but after showering, I was out like a light. I was up again about 4:30. I started going through the papers, and dumping most of it. I took 4 shopping bags full of newspapers to the trash compactor. I filled up 4 trashbags full of the papers and trash. However, I was too embarassed to be leaving 4 bags of trash (a lot of it with my name on it) in the trash compactor, so I will take the bags of garbage to the trash compound. Dinner tonight was the last bit of leftover spaghetti.

I watched an interesting program on PBS, "The Six Wivies of King Henry VIII". Tonights installment (I did not realize it was a series) was on Catherine of Aragon. It was like watching a historical soap opera. Catherine was at first King Henry's sister-in-law, but then when her husband died, she married King Henry (her brother in law). I caught about the last 30 minutes of the program. Catherine kept trying to have a male heir, but could only muster a single daughter after 6 or 7 miscarriages...Wow! Finally, King Henry got tired of waiting, so he wanted to dump Catherine for his new mistress Anne Boleyn. It ended there, with a to be continued.

I became interested while I was typing this blog entry, so I did a quick Google search. Below is the link I came up with:

http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/sixwives.htm

Well, this blog is longer than I was planning to write. I better end this now, so that I can call it a night. Hopefully, I good night's sleep will give me the strength to get on my rowing machine tomorrow.


Wt. = 205.4lbs. / BMI = 36.3%

Post Date - Saturday, July 7, 2007 11:58pm

Quick entry. I want to try to be in bed before midnight. Here it is almost midnight, and I have neighbors shouting out their windows having a conversation. Apparently, there is a party happening tomorrow in New Jersey. Sorry.

Today, I was planning....never mind. I did not do much. This morning, I decided to get a air conditioner. I walked to the store, but I did not feel like walking back, so I took the Metro-North back home. I did not set up the air conditioner yet. This Sunday it is supposed to be very hot, I hope to have the air conditioner set up by then.

I was supposed to workout today on my rowing machine, but I did not feel like working out. I started cleaning up the living room...a little bit. I filled up 4 grocery bags with old newspapers, and 3 black trashbags with burnable papers and other trash. I watched TV, then later, I watched a couple of episodes of the Boondocks DVD.

Well, I better end this, hopefully, if I go to bed early, I won't feel too tired tomorrow morning to exercise.

Post Date - Friday, July 6, 2007 11:28pm

I just visited the "BODIES" website. No picture taking allow. Now, I am not sure if I will go.

Slow start to the day, but I did make an attempt.

The Plan
To pay my rent and other bills. Go to buy my gym membership. Buy an air conditioner. And buy some towels and shower sandals for the gym.

My Day.
Breakfast (cold cereal). Chatting online. Shower and a nap. I finally got out about 1:30pm. I went to the rent office to drop off my rent check. I took the Metro-North to Yonkers. I debated (with myself) what type of Metro-North ticket to get (Monthly or weekly), I settled for a weekly. In Yonkers, I stopped at the bank, and discovered that I did not receive my salary at the end of June. Since I have direct deposit, I will be paid on the regular payment schedule (twice monthly). This last minute realization, put a bit of a crimp in my plans. I had just paid my rent, and sent off my other bills. I am now busted until next payday. I suppose I should be happy, that I did not get a lump sum payment. I went to the Y with the plan to get a monthly membership, but reading the fine print, signing up for a month by month payment required a 1 year commitment. With a credit card, the signing would have authorized the Y to collect the full year payment without written notification. I just told myself that I would wait until payday and pay the full amount. Since I bought my new computer on my credit card, I don't need anymore debit. After leaving the Y, I went shopping at the supermarket. I bought a gallon of milk, 2 half-gallons of orange juice, newspaper, chicken, ground turkey meat, etc... Since I was planning to buy an air conditioner, I had my luggage hand truck to wheel the aircon home. And, since I did not get the aircon, I had to carry my groceries and drag the hand truck with me.

My plan now is to use my rowing machine until the end of July, I will buy and start my gym membership in August. I will try doing a double workout this month. That means about 45 minutes in the morning and 45 minutes in the evening on my rowing machine. However, I will start off with 30 minute sessions, and gradually build to 45 minutes.

Oh, I almost forgot. I made a doctor's appointment today. The doctor was booked until August 17th. With the doctor's okay, I want to join the boxing program. I basically a marshmallow that wants to toughen up a bit.

For dinner, I had leftover spaghetti with gound turkey meat sauce. And I watched TV. Hopefully, I will be able to start rowing again tomorrow morning.

Oh, and I was thinking about going to the "BODIES" exhibition at the South Street Seaport. Also, I thinking about making Friday, my movie day, first up "Fantastic Four". We'll see.

Post Date - Thursday, July 5, 2007 11:02pm

A quiet (almost comatose) 4th of July. It was about eating, surfing (the internet) sleeping, watching (TV), and baking (chicken).

Post Date - Wednesday, July 4, 2007 10:52pm

One small step for me. Another lazy day. Basically the same as the last few days. However, about 5:30pm, I decided I'd better do something or spend the entire summer eating and sleeping. I decided to walk over to the local Y and sign up for something. The walk was about 23 minutes. I asked for a tour to help me decide. My tour guide was a 20-something guy offering me a deal. His sale's pitch:

For a limited time only, I am offering you a one year membership (normally $350) for $100.

The deal was only for a limited time, and only for me (if I paid cash). The deal could only be made in the stairwell, not in the lobby. If I brought someone who wanted the deal, the guy would have to first approve of the person before the person could be offered the deal. I really wasn't interested. I don't like doing dishonest things. However, I did not want to come across as an unhip nerd, so I told my tour guide that I would think about it.

The place was okay, the machines looked fairly new, and the place had all of the basics that you'd need in a health club (including a heated swimming pool). However, you would definitely never mistake this place for a downtown health club. I also liked that it was not crowded. I don't really like crowds.

I also liked that the place had a boxing program. I wanted to sign up for that as well, but first I will need to get a medical check up. Since the Y will be closed for the 4th of July, I will have to wait until Thursday to go back.

After the Y, I went shopping, then walked back home. Now, I am posting this entry. I will next heat up my spaghetti leftovers, watch some TV, and call it a night. Tomorrow, I think I will spend the day cleaning up this pigsty I am living in.

Post Date - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 7:51pm

Another lazy day. I did not do anything that I had plan to do for the last several days.

My day started with an online purchase of a new computer. I wanted a desktop. I got tired of typing over a hot laptop. Since I don't take my laptop with me, I did not see a reason to not have a desktop. I decided to buy the Dell Dimension C521 Desktop. I've seen the ad several times over the months in the Sunday paper, and I wanted to apply for the 10% teacher's discount. The desktop turned out to be harder to purchase than I thought it would be. Although the ad was for desktop PC, the order had each piece and part listed almost seperately. I had only a vague idea what those parts and pieces meant. In the end, the cost was about $738 without any extras like Microsoft Word. Dell wanted to charge $149 for Microsoft Office, but Amazon.com had it for about $112. I saved a few dollars for software, but since I did not get the 10% discount, I think it evened out in the end. My computer will either ship or arrive on July 12th. Hopefully, my computer will arrive before my computer class starts.

I also did some searching for local adventures that aren't too expensive....cheap! Some ideas that came up:

* Niagra Falls (Youth Hostel cost only about $20 per night)
* Canada
* Six Flags Great Adventure ($59 - not including a flash pass)
* Statue of Liberty
* Empire State Building
* Summer BlockBuster Movies like Spiderman (I like to go when there are not big crowds.)
The rest of the summer I plan to go to museums, zoos, and parks. If I go during the workweek, then I can avoid crowds. I'm not really a crowd person. I was also thinking about buying a Playstation 2, but I thought that I should be trying to get out of my apartment, not finding reasons to stay in.

And, I can't forget, I also have my "classes" to attend to, and (hopefully) a gym routine to start.

Also, I finally cut my hair. After the cut, I relaxed in the bath for about 2 hours. Now, I won't have any excuses for going out tomorrow. I've been putting off the haircut, but I know it needed to be done. I was just being lazy. The last time I had my "Y" photo taken, it looked like I fell out of bed...and I was stuck with the photo everytime I flashed the ID card to go to the gym. Now, that my hair is cut and I also shaved, I am as ready as I'll ever be for the gym photo.

Now, I am yawning, so it is time for me to end this entry.

Post Date - Tuesday, July, 3, 2007 1:03am

Eating and Sleeping. Wow, I just sum up my day in three words. Depressing isn't it?

I was up about 10am. I had breakfast of cream of wheat and green tea. I surfed for a while, then returned to bed until about 4pm. Since I did not have milk, and I wanted the Sunday paper, I forced myself to go out to the local bodega at the top of the hill. When I returned, since I hadn't eaten lunch, I ended up eating the two iced buns and a glass of milk. I then made some spaghetti with meat sauce. I used ground turkey meat for the meat in the meat sauce. I watched a PBS program about the Mormons, and read the Sunday newspaper. I am about to post this entry, then I will call it a night. I am going to try doing something that I have never done before. During the summer months, I am going to try to keep winter sleep routines. That means being in bed between 11:30 and 12midnight to hopefully be able to get up at 6am. I want to try going to the gym in the morning.

Once again, I will have to try being productive tomorrow. That means not sleeping the day away.

Post Date - Sunday, July 1, 2007 11:20pm