Monthly Archives: September 2014

DAY SIXTY-SIX: No Progress… Or Maybe a Little

100 Days,

Today I had planned to work on my stuff, but I ended up cleaning and sorting other people’s stuff. My spouse volunteered to clean up a rental house for some relatives who were moving out. “We only left a few things,” they said.

Yeah, right. We spent all day over there, and we’re not finished yet.

On the bright side, they left about twenty plastic storage bins. At ten to fifteen dollars a pop, that’s worth two hundred dollars or so, money we will not have to spend to pack up our own stuff.

Also, they left two broken computers. I’ve been looking up parts online. Depending on what it will cost me to get a Windows operating system, the Toshiba laptop might be worth fixing, as replacement hard drives are fairly inexpensive for PC-based computers. Of course, I have to find out if the Toshiba will even fire up. “The charger is there with it.” Yeah, right, again. The charger that was with it was for a Canon camera and does not fit the computer. I ordered a replacement charger through Amazon a few minutes ago. It’s worth the fifteen dollar gamble. If the computer powers up, it will probably be worth replacing the defective hard drive… if that’s actually the problem. A new hard drive and updated RAM, plus the charger, will cost only a bit over a hundred dollars. Then I’ll have a short-term replacement computer for when my MacBook Pro finally stops working for good. It will be something to get me through until I can afford a new Mac… I have my eyes set on a desktop system this time… altho’ optimally with something like a small MacBook Air or Pro or maybe just an iPad for mobile purposes.

Anyway, the weekend is over and my house is more full than it was at the beginning, with twenty empty plastic storage bins and some broken computer parts now cluttering up the space… in addition to the pre-existing clutter.

DAY SIXTY-FIVE: Sorrowful Saturday

100 Days, ,

I find myself overwhelmed by waves of despair and a sense of futility as I try to sort through all my junk. Hours of effort today with no visible result, other than more clutter and confusion and chaos.

I’m feeling fat and tired and old.

Walked 10 kilometers today. Saw several cars parked where the local ultra-runners gather to practice on “Long Road,” the route of the Peacock 100 race that’s coming up next month. Seeing stickers on the cars promoting various 100k and even a 1000k stage race and slogans like “Sea Level is for Sissies” left me feeling ever fatter and older and more tired as I waddled along at a slow walking pace.

My work trousers barely fit around the waistline.

DAY SIXTY-THREE: 198.6

100 Days,

Thursday. Weekly weigh-in day. 198.6 pounds. That’s, like, almost two pounds heavier than last week. Yay, me.

What am I gonna do about it? Last night on the way home from work I stopped at the grocery store and stocked up on two liter bottles of sparkling water. At the present time I feel I need cola beverages to keep me going through the work day, but I am going to gradually decrease my soda intake by first phasing out drinking soda at home. Last night I was successful – no Coca Cola with supper!

Yesterday after work, even though I got home later than expected, I laced up my running shoes and… okay, I didn’t run, I walked five kilometers, or about three miles. I felt pathetic walking rather than jogging or running, but… I’m fat, and I can feel it. I have determined that I will walk at least five kilometers daily for the next week, and I will only walk for at least a week before I attempt running. I can feel how out of shape I have become. Thus far I have avoided injury when running, and I hope to keep it that way.

DAY SIXTY-TWO: Mid-Week Blahs

100 Days

I’m posting from work because my home computer is becoming so tiresome to use. Also, by the time I get home from work I’m so tired that I don’t feel like posting, or like doing much of anything else. My efforts toward accomplishing anything have been negligible so far this week.

I see in the news that pro cyclist Jens Voight, at age 43, set a new one-hour distance record of 51.1 kilometers last week. Also, Bradley Wiggins has won the world road-racing time trial championship for the first time.

I have not turned so much as a single pedal rotation on my “cruiser” style bike in months. The bike is sitting out in the laundry shed getting rusty.

DAY SIXTY-ONE: Eighty-Twenty Rule

100 Days,

The price of a two litre bottle of soda has increased from $1.25 to $1.50 in the last week. “It’s only a quarter, no big deal,” you might say. Actually, it is a big deal, because this is a twenty percent price increase. Twenty percent seems to have become the norm for price increases. Property taxes increased by twenty percent. Insurance costs increase by twenty percent. Electricity rates have increased by twenty percent over the past several months.

The only thing that is not increasing is my income. Continue reading DAY SIXTY-ONE: Eighty-Twenty Rule →

DAY SIXTY: Hopeless

100 Days

I’m feeling very much as though all my efforts toward accomplishing either cleaning out the house, listing the house for sale, paying off debts, or losing weight and improving my health and fitness are hopeless and pointless.

In addition to my car not running well enough to drive to work, my computer is almost non-functional at this point. The USB ports barely work – plugs require considerable jiggling to make contact. The built-in CD drive does not work. The hard drive often will not power up after the machine is shut down, so I now leave the computer turned on all the time. The trackpad is becoming unresponsive to clicking.

I do not have the money or the credit to replace either the car or the computer at this point.

So what am I gonna do about any of this? Whine? Okay, yeah, for sure. But that won’t fix anything. What else can I do? I dunno, but when I figure it out I’ll let you know. ‘Cuz, y’know, that’s basically what this blog is supposed to be about – figuring out how to do stuff.