Another week down.
Push Ups Remaining: 4,570
Monday, January 30, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Push Up Challenge: UPDATE
Believe it or not, I am still pushing up. I decided no one wants a daily update, so I'll just periodically update. It's been awhile since my last update, but I have clicked another 110 push ups off!
Push Ups Remaining: 4,670
I swear, when I get under 4,000, I'm going to celebrate!
Push Ups Remaining: 4,670
I swear, when I get under 4,000, I'm going to celebrate!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Super Hero
Being a Super Hero is a large responsibility.
Not only do you have to save the world from evil, you also have to look good in some goofy outfits. Spandex?? Not for me.
Before Tuesday, I had never done anything I would consider Super Hero-ish. Never really thought about starting, either. The world, after all, has lots of Heroes...politicians, actors, Lady GaGa...
I awoke Tuesday like any other day. Woke up, kissed my little boy, and popped some ibuprofen. We went to lunch with my dad, then to Wal Mart. At this point I was still blissfully unaware of my new calling. Soon, I would know.
I parked and exited my car. The wind swirled briskly, nearly removing my hat. It was unseasonably warm for a January day. I pulled my hat down, and worked my way over to get Hendrix from his car seat. I unbuckled his belt and lifted him to my hip. He flinched at the blowing wind.
I moved nimbly towards the entrance. To my left, about 50 yards away, a tan mini van lumbered towards me. To my right, danger lurked! The wind had gained enough power to propel an errant cart down the lane in front of the store. The cart wasn't just rolling...it seemed to racing with a power usually reserved for rockets and such. I am truly shocked flames weren't coming from the sides.
I had to act fast. I had time to move, but the distance and the rate of speed of the cart would have made it virtually impossible for the tan mini van to negotiate and successfully navigate around the cart. There was sure to be a collision, and I couldn't let that happen!
Lots of things go through your mind when you are faced with an emergency situation: Should I just move? Should I intervene? Should I have spaghetti for dinner? It was a lot to process in a split second. I looked at Hendrix, and we mutually agreed that the evil flying cart had to be stopped. We braced ourselves for impact.
I stuck out my arm, I braced my back leg, I tightened my grip on Hendrix, who was still in my arms, head tucked under mine. The cart, by this time speeding at about 15-20 miles per hour, slammed into my outstretched arm. I buckled slightly, but held my ground. My shoes slid, creating a soft black scuff on the pavement (ok, that didn't happen, but it makes for some darn nice imagery!)
I swung the cart around and moved off the road and onto the sidewalk. The lady in the tan mini van pulled up beside me and thanked me for saving her van from the damage that was imminent. I assured her it was my pleasure, and I went about my day.
Wherever there is a cart bearing down on a mini van, I will be there. It is my Super Hero duty. I never felt like a Super Hero before Tuesday, but after the cart incident, I certainly do now!!
Not only do you have to save the world from evil, you also have to look good in some goofy outfits. Spandex?? Not for me.
Before Tuesday, I had never done anything I would consider Super Hero-ish. Never really thought about starting, either. The world, after all, has lots of Heroes...politicians, actors, Lady GaGa...
I awoke Tuesday like any other day. Woke up, kissed my little boy, and popped some ibuprofen. We went to lunch with my dad, then to Wal Mart. At this point I was still blissfully unaware of my new calling. Soon, I would know.
I parked and exited my car. The wind swirled briskly, nearly removing my hat. It was unseasonably warm for a January day. I pulled my hat down, and worked my way over to get Hendrix from his car seat. I unbuckled his belt and lifted him to my hip. He flinched at the blowing wind.
I moved nimbly towards the entrance. To my left, about 50 yards away, a tan mini van lumbered towards me. To my right, danger lurked! The wind had gained enough power to propel an errant cart down the lane in front of the store. The cart wasn't just rolling...it seemed to racing with a power usually reserved for rockets and such. I am truly shocked flames weren't coming from the sides.
I had to act fast. I had time to move, but the distance and the rate of speed of the cart would have made it virtually impossible for the tan mini van to negotiate and successfully navigate around the cart. There was sure to be a collision, and I couldn't let that happen!
Lots of things go through your mind when you are faced with an emergency situation: Should I just move? Should I intervene? Should I have spaghetti for dinner? It was a lot to process in a split second. I looked at Hendrix, and we mutually agreed that the evil flying cart had to be stopped. We braced ourselves for impact.
I stuck out my arm, I braced my back leg, I tightened my grip on Hendrix, who was still in my arms, head tucked under mine. The cart, by this time speeding at about 15-20 miles per hour, slammed into my outstretched arm. I buckled slightly, but held my ground. My shoes slid, creating a soft black scuff on the pavement (ok, that didn't happen, but it makes for some darn nice imagery!)
I swung the cart around and moved off the road and onto the sidewalk. The lady in the tan mini van pulled up beside me and thanked me for saving her van from the damage that was imminent. I assured her it was my pleasure, and I went about my day.
Wherever there is a cart bearing down on a mini van, I will be there. It is my Super Hero duty. I never felt like a Super Hero before Tuesday, but after the cart incident, I certainly do now!!
Indianapolis Home Show
Maybe it's just me, but I'm not often asked to do "things." Yes, the occasional "can you pick me up something from Wal Mart," or "can you take me to work," kinda stuff, but nothing that requires my full attention.
I was surprised when I received a call from the manager of the Antique Mall where I peddle my records. He asked my if I wanted to share a booth with a few other vendors at the Indianapolis Home Show. For those of you not in the know, The Indy Home Show is a big, BIG deal. It attracts 30-40,000 people, and is hosted by big stars like Ty Pennington (Extreme Home Makeover), Kathy Ireland (Clothing designer and former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model) and many other great stars from HGTV, etc.
I was honored and quickly accepted. I went to work compiling an idea for my spot in the booth. Of the 100's of vendors at the Antique Mall, I was one of 4 chosen to have space in the Home Show booth. The space would be paid for by the Mall, and they also graciously agreed to work the booth for the entire 3 days. All I had to do was set up, and tear down. What a great deal!
I set up shop in the basement, pulling box after box of records I deemed "Show Worthy." I've never done a show before, but I wanted to do it BIG. 800-1000 records, a giveaway, uniformed crates...the whole nine yards!
(The early stages...what a mess!)
I decided to go old school and put all the records in the old Peach Crates as opposed to boxes. I thought it would give it that "Antiquey" feel, and would make for a nice display. I made up some fronts for each of the crates to help promote my "Business."
(Crate Fronts...Pretty nice!)
I was alloted 2 six foot tables to be placed in the corner of the booth in an "L" shape. I measured the crates and found that 5 would fit perfectly on one table. So, I set my goal for 9 total crates to leave some room for CDs, the giveaway, etc.
As I worked on the records, I decided to sort them for better organization. Beatles, Solo Fabs, Zappa, Beach Boys, and a few others had their own spots. The rest I went 60's, 70's, 80's etc. Becky printed out some new business cards and bookmark flyers to stuff in the records...I wanted to do a lot of advertising of the website and Booth (btw...www.facebook.com/gillespierecords if you are interested!!)
After a week and a half of being knee deep in records, I was finally ready. I stayed up til 2 am the night before I was to set up, just making sure everything was perfect.
It wasn't. At the zero hour, I changed the categories from 60's, 70's etc to musical genres. Rock/Pop, R&B/Soul, Jazz/Blues, Folk, etc...I liked that a lot better!
I borrowed dad's van, and was set. At 7 am I was up and loading the 9 crates of records and 2 tables. Then:
STRIKE ONE: It was then I realized I had TEN crates. Crap! Oh well, I would deal with it when I got there.
STRIKE TWO: I left my GPS in my car, which dad had! CRAP! I suck at directions. I quickly Google Mapped it, and hoped for the best.
I triple checked everything so there wouldn't be a strike three. I had the records, the tables, the giveaway prize, the ballots, the business cards, tape...I was set!
I made it to the Fairgrounds but couldn't find the building. I drove around for 15 minutes searching, made phone calls, asked people...finally I found it. I helped unload a neighbors truck, and pulled in to unload the van.
Smooth! It took less time to set up than it did to find the right building. With a little organizational help, this is what the set up looked like:
I did have to sit the tenth crate on the ground, but I'm not overly concerned about that. The Home Show is Friday the 20th of January - Sunday the 22nd of January. If you love records, go check my set up out for yourself. South Pavillion, Hall B.
Hopefully, I'll make a little money...worst case scenario, i'll at least get some good exposure!
I was surprised when I received a call from the manager of the Antique Mall where I peddle my records. He asked my if I wanted to share a booth with a few other vendors at the Indianapolis Home Show. For those of you not in the know, The Indy Home Show is a big, BIG deal. It attracts 30-40,000 people, and is hosted by big stars like Ty Pennington (Extreme Home Makeover), Kathy Ireland (Clothing designer and former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model) and many other great stars from HGTV, etc.
I was honored and quickly accepted. I went to work compiling an idea for my spot in the booth. Of the 100's of vendors at the Antique Mall, I was one of 4 chosen to have space in the Home Show booth. The space would be paid for by the Mall, and they also graciously agreed to work the booth for the entire 3 days. All I had to do was set up, and tear down. What a great deal!
I set up shop in the basement, pulling box after box of records I deemed "Show Worthy." I've never done a show before, but I wanted to do it BIG. 800-1000 records, a giveaway, uniformed crates...the whole nine yards!
(The early stages...what a mess!)
I decided to go old school and put all the records in the old Peach Crates as opposed to boxes. I thought it would give it that "Antiquey" feel, and would make for a nice display. I made up some fronts for each of the crates to help promote my "Business."
(Crate Fronts...Pretty nice!)
I was alloted 2 six foot tables to be placed in the corner of the booth in an "L" shape. I measured the crates and found that 5 would fit perfectly on one table. So, I set my goal for 9 total crates to leave some room for CDs, the giveaway, etc.
As I worked on the records, I decided to sort them for better organization. Beatles, Solo Fabs, Zappa, Beach Boys, and a few others had their own spots. The rest I went 60's, 70's, 80's etc. Becky printed out some new business cards and bookmark flyers to stuff in the records...I wanted to do a lot of advertising of the website and Booth (btw...www.facebook.com/gillespierecords if you are interested!!)
After a week and a half of being knee deep in records, I was finally ready. I stayed up til 2 am the night before I was to set up, just making sure everything was perfect.
It wasn't. At the zero hour, I changed the categories from 60's, 70's etc to musical genres. Rock/Pop, R&B/Soul, Jazz/Blues, Folk, etc...I liked that a lot better!
I borrowed dad's van, and was set. At 7 am I was up and loading the 9 crates of records and 2 tables. Then:
STRIKE ONE: It was then I realized I had TEN crates. Crap! Oh well, I would deal with it when I got there.
STRIKE TWO: I left my GPS in my car, which dad had! CRAP! I suck at directions. I quickly Google Mapped it, and hoped for the best.
I triple checked everything so there wouldn't be a strike three. I had the records, the tables, the giveaway prize, the ballots, the business cards, tape...I was set!
I made it to the Fairgrounds but couldn't find the building. I drove around for 15 minutes searching, made phone calls, asked people...finally I found it. I helped unload a neighbors truck, and pulled in to unload the van.
Smooth! It took less time to set up than it did to find the right building. With a little organizational help, this is what the set up looked like:
I did have to sit the tenth crate on the ground, but I'm not overly concerned about that. The Home Show is Friday the 20th of January - Sunday the 22nd of January. If you love records, go check my set up out for yourself. South Pavillion, Hall B.
Hopefully, I'll make a little money...worst case scenario, i'll at least get some good exposure!
Friday, January 13, 2012
A Clean Conversation
A conversation with my 3 1/2 year old, Hendrix.
Location: In the basement putting stickers on records to be sold.
Me: "Hey, buddy, do you want to go into business with me? We can rename the business 'Gillespie and Son Records'."
Hendrix: "YES! What do we do?"
Me: "We put these records in sleeves, then put stickers on them and sell them and make lots of money."
Hendrix begins to put stickers on the sleeves where I tell him.
Me: "Buddy, what are you going to buy with all the money you make??"
Hendrix: "I buy soap! And juice."
Soap and juice...I sure do wish I knew what was going on in that little brain of his!!
Location: In the basement putting stickers on records to be sold.
Me: "Hey, buddy, do you want to go into business with me? We can rename the business 'Gillespie and Son Records'."
Hendrix: "YES! What do we do?"
Me: "We put these records in sleeves, then put stickers on them and sell them and make lots of money."
Hendrix begins to put stickers on the sleeves where I tell him.
Me: "Buddy, what are you going to buy with all the money you make??"
Hendrix: "I buy soap! And juice."
Soap and juice...I sure do wish I knew what was going on in that little brain of his!!
Monday, January 09, 2012
Push Up Challenge: Day Seven
Push Ups Today: 30
Push Ups Remaining = 4,780
Made it through the volleyball tonight...sore, sore, sore.
SIDE NOTE: On Day One, I did as many push ups as I felt I could do in a row. I barely could do 10. Tonight being the one week mark, I maxed out at 20 in a row! The strength is improving! I was wondering if doing 10 at a time would actually make me stronger...the answer, so far, is yes. Will keep doing max sets once a week to gauge improvement!
Push Ups Remaining = 4,780
Made it through the volleyball tonight...sore, sore, sore.
SIDE NOTE: On Day One, I did as many push ups as I felt I could do in a row. I barely could do 10. Tonight being the one week mark, I maxed out at 20 in a row! The strength is improving! I was wondering if doing 10 at a time would actually make me stronger...the answer, so far, is yes. Will keep doing max sets once a week to gauge improvement!
Sunday, January 08, 2012
Jammed...NOT Jammin'!!
As I was cleaning out my car a month or so ago, Hendrix was up in the front seat doing his 3 year old thing. I wasn't really concerned, as I am pretty sure he can't start the car, shift into gear, and take off on a joy ride. What he can do, I quickly found out, was discover the slot that is my CD player.
And he found it with a mysterious grind and subsequent failure of any and all CD's I tried to play. It would just spin, grind, crackle and eject. ERROR!
I know about as much about cars as a fat kid knows about broccoli, so I did a Google search to find out how to even get into my CD player. It looked like the website was in French or something, (what the heck is a Torx screw anyway??) but I copied down the info, and went to the car.
After about 10 minutes of frustration with the inability to find an allen wrench the right size to unscrew a torx screw, I Googled an image of a torx screw, and realized it was square, not allen wrench sized (hexagon? octagonal? whatever!)
(Torx screw loosened, shifter removed!)
After that it was smooth sailing!!
(Remove the gear shift console panel.)
(Remove this thing...)
(And these pieces...I don't know the names, and you don't care anyway!)
(Finally, I got to the CD player!)
I popped it out of the dash, and pryed open the CD mouth, looked in and saw the culprit...
(.25 for all that work?)
It didn't just slide out, it was wedged in there! I had to get a long metal ruler and jimmy that bad boy out, but I got it, and I did it without any help! The Year of Doing, people!!
Gotta make sure Hendrix isn't left unsupervised in the front seat anymore, but if he does, at least I know what to do!
And he found it with a mysterious grind and subsequent failure of any and all CD's I tried to play. It would just spin, grind, crackle and eject. ERROR!
I know about as much about cars as a fat kid knows about broccoli, so I did a Google search to find out how to even get into my CD player. It looked like the website was in French or something, (what the heck is a Torx screw anyway??) but I copied down the info, and went to the car.
After about 10 minutes of frustration with the inability to find an allen wrench the right size to unscrew a torx screw, I Googled an image of a torx screw, and realized it was square, not allen wrench sized (hexagon? octagonal? whatever!)
(Torx screw loosened, shifter removed!)
After that it was smooth sailing!!
(Remove the gear shift console panel.)
(Remove this thing...)
(And these pieces...I don't know the names, and you don't care anyway!)
(Finally, I got to the CD player!)
I popped it out of the dash, and pryed open the CD mouth, looked in and saw the culprit...
(.25 for all that work?)
It didn't just slide out, it was wedged in there! I had to get a long metal ruler and jimmy that bad boy out, but I got it, and I did it without any help! The Year of Doing, people!!
Gotta make sure Hendrix isn't left unsupervised in the front seat anymore, but if he does, at least I know what to do!
Push Up Challenge: Day Six
Push Ups Today = 30
Push Ups Remaining = 4,810
Volleyball tonite also...and tomorrow. Ugh, these back to back matches are tearing my freaking knee apart!!
Push Ups Remaining = 4,810
Volleyball tonite also...and tomorrow. Ugh, these back to back matches are tearing my freaking knee apart!!
Saturday, January 07, 2012
Push Up Challenge: Day Four
Push ups Today = 30
Push Ups Remaining = 4,850
Sorry, I'm a day behind! Will catch up soon!
Push Ups Remaining = 4,850
Sorry, I'm a day behind! Will catch up soon!
Friday, January 06, 2012
Push Up Challenge: Day Three
Push Ups Today = 40
Push Ups Remaining = 4,880
NOTES: Played Volleyball tonite, too.
Push Ups Remaining = 4,880
NOTES: Played Volleyball tonite, too.
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Generation Gap
Today, I sent a message to a buddy of mine. He's 18, a music fan like myself, and recently entered into a relationship. I'll call him Keaton...well, basically, because that's his name. Our conversation went like this:
ME: Keaton...This Friday and Saturday are open, if you and your dad are free and want to hang? Let me know what you think!! PS...You can bring Yoko, if you want! ;) T
KEATON: Yoko??
ME: Ha ha...just lovingly (and jokingly) nicknaming your new squeeze!
KEATON: New squeeze??
ME: Holy Crap, are you kidding me right now?!? Your Girlfriend!!
KEATON: Ohh!! You have to remember, I'm a young kid. I don't understand old man! lol
I tried to explain to him young love kinda follows the John and Yoko approach...i.e., you probably always want to be by each others side, and if he was hanging with her, but still wanted to come over, he could bring her along. Guess the reference was lost on him completely!
When did I get so old??
(Actually, I want to know how in the heck doesn't catch a Yoko reference?!? Really!! HA!!)
ME: Keaton...This Friday and Saturday are open, if you and your dad are free and want to hang? Let me know what you think!! PS...You can bring Yoko, if you want! ;) T
KEATON: Yoko??
ME: Ha ha...just lovingly (and jokingly) nicknaming your new squeeze!
KEATON: New squeeze??
ME: Holy Crap, are you kidding me right now?!? Your Girlfriend!!
KEATON: Ohh!! You have to remember, I'm a young kid. I don't understand old man! lol
I tried to explain to him young love kinda follows the John and Yoko approach...i.e., you probably always want to be by each others side, and if he was hanging with her, but still wanted to come over, he could bring her along. Guess the reference was lost on him completely!
When did I get so old??
(Actually, I want to know how in the heck doesn't catch a Yoko reference?!? Really!! HA!!)
Push Up Challenge: Day Two
Push Ups Today = 40
Push Ups Remaining = 4,920
NOTES: 45 minutes on treadmill.
Push Ups Remaining = 4,920
NOTES: 45 minutes on treadmill.
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Push Up Challenge: Day One
Push Ups Today = 40
Push Ups Remaining = 4,960
You got to start somewhere!
NOTES:
20 of the push ups were with Hendrix on my back. An additional 40 pounds!
Also did 45 minutes on the treadmill.
Push Ups Remaining = 4,960
You got to start somewhere!
NOTES:
20 of the push ups were with Hendrix on my back. An additional 40 pounds!
Also did 45 minutes on the treadmill.
Monday, January 02, 2012
Push Up Challenge
I'm not an exercise guy. I'm certainly NOT a push up guy. But I am a challenge guy. I'm gonna challenge myself this year, and it starts today.
I am going to do 5,000 push ups before January 1, 2013.
It's not a whole lot when you do the math (a little less than 14 a day) but like I said, I'm not a push up guy at all, so this is a good first step for me. I'll keep the blog updated with my count.
Wish me luck!!
I am going to do 5,000 push ups before January 1, 2013.
It's not a whole lot when you do the math (a little less than 14 a day) but like I said, I'm not a push up guy at all, so this is a good first step for me. I'll keep the blog updated with my count.
Wish me luck!!
Sunday, January 01, 2012
I'm Fixin' A Hole
There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who do, and those who have done for them.
Generally speaking, I am in the second group. I am not very handy, but I've never really tried, either. When you have a dad who is good at everything, it's easy to get lazy and pick up the phone instead of the crescent wrench...not that I could tell you what a crescent wrench was.
I've decided to change that. I'm not sure why, really. Maybe it's because I'm a guy. Maybe it's because I feel bad because I feel like I'm taking advantage of my dad's good nature. Maybe it's because I have a son now, and I want to be able to do for him, what my dad has done for me. Whatever the reason, I decided I need to put the years of knowledge that I learned while holding the flashlight for dad to the test.
I decided to start small. A drywall problem in the bathroom by the shower. Normally, I would expect this to take numerous trips to Lowe's, and several hours. So, I tried to do my planning ahead of time to make sure I had all the things I would need.
(As you can see, the wall was in deseperate need of repair.)
I made my list, I made my plan, I made one trip to Lowe's. Of course, I was there for an hour or so and didn't find what I was looking for (some sort of plexi type guard to prevent future rot), but I was confident I had what I needed at home.
The first thing I did was carefully cut out the troubled section of drywall, being careful to not disturb the surrounding wall. I measured, and, amazingly, cut out a perfect replacement piece!
(Measure once, cut twice?? Not this time!!)
I cut the corner tape away from the far wall, and replaced the seam and spackled it all up. Since I couldn't find a corner piece, or a plexi equivilent, I decided to use one of those black rubber trim pieces that you typically find in high schools.
(Hey, it's not pretty, but it's effective!)
A quick coat of white paint, some caulking around the seams...
A few more coats of paint, and voila!! A completed repair!! To my surprise, it only took a couple hours (mainly dry time), one trip to Lowe's, and under $20.
Next up, fix my car's CD player!!
Generally speaking, I am in the second group. I am not very handy, but I've never really tried, either. When you have a dad who is good at everything, it's easy to get lazy and pick up the phone instead of the crescent wrench...not that I could tell you what a crescent wrench was.
I've decided to change that. I'm not sure why, really. Maybe it's because I'm a guy. Maybe it's because I feel bad because I feel like I'm taking advantage of my dad's good nature. Maybe it's because I have a son now, and I want to be able to do for him, what my dad has done for me. Whatever the reason, I decided I need to put the years of knowledge that I learned while holding the flashlight for dad to the test.
I decided to start small. A drywall problem in the bathroom by the shower. Normally, I would expect this to take numerous trips to Lowe's, and several hours. So, I tried to do my planning ahead of time to make sure I had all the things I would need.
(As you can see, the wall was in deseperate need of repair.)
I made my list, I made my plan, I made one trip to Lowe's. Of course, I was there for an hour or so and didn't find what I was looking for (some sort of plexi type guard to prevent future rot), but I was confident I had what I needed at home.
The first thing I did was carefully cut out the troubled section of drywall, being careful to not disturb the surrounding wall. I measured, and, amazingly, cut out a perfect replacement piece!
(Measure once, cut twice?? Not this time!!)
I cut the corner tape away from the far wall, and replaced the seam and spackled it all up. Since I couldn't find a corner piece, or a plexi equivilent, I decided to use one of those black rubber trim pieces that you typically find in high schools.
(Hey, it's not pretty, but it's effective!)
A quick coat of white paint, some caulking around the seams...
A few more coats of paint, and voila!! A completed repair!! To my surprise, it only took a couple hours (mainly dry time), one trip to Lowe's, and under $20.
Next up, fix my car's CD player!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)