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Feeling Nostalgic? The archives
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What's a Recent Accomplishment You're Most Proud Of?
I hear you on this one, Gus. About a year and a half ago I weighed 260 after a pizza and alcohol-fueled Memorial Day weekend. I started working out intensely and dropped down to 223 but felt pretty weak, then started to push weights pretty hard and gained some muscle...now I'm at about 240 and can see the muscle and still fit in the same jeans. I don't know all the measurements and the like (I wish I knew how my body fat had changed) but I went from wearing 40" jeans or tight 38"s to 36" jeans. And I like working out. This last week I haven't been able to do so because I don't want to be the jackass who gets even more sick when going to the gym with bronchtitis, and I miss it.So congrats, Gus. If we were teammates on The Biggest Loser we'd kick some ass.
Please don't waste away, Gus! Kidding... :) I'm really just kidding.
Dawww, I'm very happy for you, friend. I'm sure you'll need the extra energy now that Sophia's getting older.
Good job, you guys! I'm impressed!
Yeah, that's good going, chaps. My greatest recent accomplishment, health-wise, is that I have thrown all caution to the wind and spat firmly in the sombre face of the surgeon general by upping my nicotine intake to no less than 40 a day. If all goes according to plan, I estimate that I'll be able to go without breathing around the age of 56.
What Jackie said. :)Richard: 40 what? Cigarettes? Grams of nicotine? :P PACKS??!!
Yep, awesome job guys. Gus - I assume the 15.5 inches for your arms is measured around the middle of the bicep, right? Do they have you flex or relax when measuring? The Dadaist poet/boxer Arthur Cravan supposedly had 19 inch arms...so that's my goal...
Richard - I'm still impressed that you finished that 10K a few weeks ago. I thought that I read that Orwell got up to three or four packs a day in his later years.
Tad, yes, you're correct. My trainer did not have me flex. He says there's some debate about the correct way to measure someone's arms; he believes the arm should be in a relaxed mode for a more accurate measurement. If he had me flex, I think I could have probably given him an addition inch.
Damn, Tad, if true genius takes three or four packs a day, I've still got quite a bit of puffing to do. Mind you, Orwell probably had his cigs burning in the ashtray beside him, whereas I take them for a walk outside.
Yeah! That's what she said!!!!
No...seriously, thanks for the interesting info, Gus. I am also curious if a post-workout measurement would yield a higher number than usual, as my arms seem to "puff up" for awhile after lifting. Typically I try to strut around in the vicinity of my wife during this time, but often she is too busy with facebook to be properly awed...alas...
Richard: Ah...I think that you are well on your way in the genius department, my friend, despite the nicotine deficiency. These days I only partake of the occasional clove (whenever i'm feeling especially gothy and pretentious), but now i'm intrigued by the topic of cigarette consumption levels by renowned writers. Google provided nothing of value in this case, with the exception of this amusing blog entry:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/pe...
Tadpole: Did you know that cloves are no longer being sold in the US thanks to Obama's bill? Also, that article is great. I'm really torn: on one hand, smoking can make you look cool and it is an escape, and on the other, every time I see someone come out of Wal-Mart and immediately light up, I think, "Never again."
Really? Is this a part of the health care bill or something else altogether? To my detriment i'm often more consumed with quirky writer factoids and general wisecrackery instead of political issues. If this is the case then I guess I will have to switch to absinthe or crack *shrugs* to get my pretentious literary buzz on...I agree with your take on cigarettes, Angie. Each time that I lit up it was like a five minute vacation, but I soon found myself chained to an endless string of vacations. I have no issues with whatever other people choose to do, but it didn't work for me.
It's part of the bill passed outlawing "flavored cigarettes." I was worried it was applying to hookah tobacco as well, but no, just flavored cigarettes, which cloves are part of. (Menthol is okay, though, because we Americans don't consider "mint" to be a proper flavor.)I remember when one afternoon cigarette was all I needed. Sadly, it became much more than that. Being a smoker also allows me, someone who struggles with anxiety flare-ups every now and then, as well as just general "ohmygoodnessIneedtogetawayfromthesepeople" attacks, a legitimate excuse to go outside for a few minutes.
I'm psychologically addicted to them, not physically, and I'm okay with the psychological for the time being, so long as it doesn't turn into a physical addiction.
I stopped smoking for four years when my two youngest kids were born, but as soon as I resumed writing the habit crept up on me again like a patient predator. I see it as an excuse to briefly do nothing in the midst of life that demands that I do so much more.Thanks for that welcome, but wholly undeserved pat on the back, Tad.
this thread has me seriously wondering what accomplishments have i even had recently. hmmmm
(Menthol is okay, though, because we Americans don't consider "mint" to be a proper flavor.)Sadly, it's actually because menthol was aggressively marketed to black people, who purchase 75% of menthol cigarettes sold in the U.S. 28% of the cigarette industry's profits come from menthol cigarette sales. Why waste decades of niche marketing?
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Kevin, you were the father of one of the participants for two different weddings this summer and managed to 1) avoid embarassing your children, and 2) survive. So you've accomplished quite a bit, in my eyes.
thanks RA. i really needed that. hadn't occurred to me and i was starting to feel sorta down about my lack of accomplishments. sometimes i feel that we look for the grandiose and spectacular when simple things are right in front of us.some of the best moments of my life have been subtle
Depending on how you want to define "recent" don't forget your trips abroad, Kevin. I think what you do there is especially cool.
Yeah, I agree with Jim and Tad, forgot about the India thing...
going to Haiti next wednesday for 8 days to do a water project in a small rural villagethanks guys. here is a quote i like that i am reminded of:
"friends sing the song of your heart when you have forgotten the words"
Great work, Kevin. Doing stuff like that in Haiti must feel like trying to bail the ocean with a fork.I truly admire what you do.
Good for you, have fun and be careful Kevin
Nah, nah, Kevin doesn't do anything important...:)
By the way, Tad, my measurements were taking before my workout. Post-workout measurements are never accurate, as your muscles have certainly increased at the moment but won't stay that way until you've recovered.
Kevin "El Liso Grande" wrote: "going to Haiti next wednesday for 8 days to do a water project in a small rural villagethanks guys. here is a quote i like that i am reminded of:
"friends sing the song of your heart when you ha..."
See Kevin, every time you think you haven't done much "recently" just think of what you have done, period. Sometimes life throws us curveballs, and weddings to attend, so we can't always do what makes us feel good all the time, but there are people out there like you who have that pull inside of them, 24/7.
And Natalie: Wow. I had no idea.
Reading everyone else's posts, all I can think is "Good for you! Congratuations! Way to go!" ...I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but I've racked my brain for the past two days trying to think of something I've accomplished recently, only I'm drawing a complete blank. It's also a tangible reminder that goals are good and I probably should have some.
Look how happy you make Robby, that is an accomplishment.
My latest accomplishment is having read 10 books in the month of September. (Started reading and finished, not just finished.)It's an accomplishment, yes, but then again, it isn't really, as I'm unemployed and literally do nothing but read and write all day.
Now, if I can keep this up, then maybe THAT will be an accomplishment.
And Heidi, sometimes making it through the day without losing your head or killing someone is an accomplishment. I've bet you've had moments where you did accomplish something, but you might not recognize it as an accomplishment.
I FINALLY received a job offer! Been looking since April. Does that count as an accomplishment?Kevin, you're awesome.
Lylly: Totally! That's awesome! Congrats!!!
Angie: 100 books. In 30 days? That's like 3 books a day. Where do you get the time?
Lylly: Congrats on returning to the working world.
Lylly: Congrats on returning to the working world.
Gus wrote: "Angie: 100 books. In 30 days? That's like 3 books a day. Where do you get the time?TEN books, Gus... not 100.
Angie wrote: "And Heidi, sometimes making it through the day without losing your head or killing someone is an accomplishment. I've bet you've had moments where you did accomplish something, but you might not recognize it as an accomplishment."Honestly, I've felt like I've been in limbo for the past several months - we've been so busy at work, and I keep telling myself it's temporary. So I think being able to say I've kept my job is a bit of an accomplishment in my eyes. It's been incredibly stressful around here.
Congratulations, Lylly. That absolutely counts. I hope you feel comfortable as you're acclimating/orienting to the new job.
I definitely think it's an accomplishment, Heidi, even being able to deal with the busy-ness is an accomplishment!And Gus, I'm unemployed. :P I'm also a fast but thorough reader, but mostly I'm just unemployed, haha.
Lylly. def does. congrats and best wishes
Thanks guys. Reading through this thread just reminds me how smart and capable and amazing we all are. Gus, well done on posting it.
TEN books, Gus... not 100.
Whoops! Good thing I'm wearing glasses now; I totally misread that one.
Whoops! Good thing I'm wearing glasses now; I totally misread that one.
Lylly wrote: "I FINALLY received a job offer! Been looking since April. Does that count as an accomplishment?Kevin, you're awesome."
Good for you Lylly!
Heidi, just living through such busy times is an accomplishment to be proud of. Someone once told me, when I said I felt like such a failure in life, he said, "You've lived until forty, you must have been doing something right."
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And here we have proof that I was correct in blaming the problem on the browser. Got one right!
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And I figured out how to make Firefox reopen with the tabs I had open when I shut down. Apparently they turned off this feature with the latest release.
Still working on the gray tabs, though.
Now, everybody take a seat for this one.I seeded, nurtured and grew several plants over the summer without killing any. We'll see what happens over the winter.
Kind of sad when that's the only accomplishment you can think of. I've accomplished feeling depressed about not accomplishing anything of worth.
Barb is shebang organizer par excellence.
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I'd like to kick off this thread by giving everyone the opportunity to brag (if bragging's your thing) about something you've accomplished that makes you proud or happy or whatever. I think more often than not people tend to minimize their accomplishments, no matter how big or small they are. I know I'm very guilty of that, and I shouldn't minimize my accomplishments.
So I'll kick this thread off.
I was at the gym last night, for my weekly personal training appointment. Before we kicked off our training session, he wanted to take my measurements; it had been 90 days since I started working out with him, and I'd previously been self-training with decent results - loss of about 25 pounds before I began working out with my trainer.
My new measurements completely had me floored.
Weight - 250 (Before: 272)
Body Fat - 16.8% (Before: 22%)
Waist - 38" (Before: 42")
Chest - 50" (Before: 53")
Arms - 15.5" (Before: 14")
Thighs - 18" (Before: 17")
I couldn't have been more elated. My trainer told me I should brag about my results. That's why you make this kind of effort.
So, yeah, I got guns now.
Alright, go ahead and brag about yourselves.