Exercise is a drag...

Having managed to survive to my 31st year, it's come to my attention that things are not as easy as they once were. I've noticed that the learning curve of new knowledge is gradually getting steeper. I'm sure this is the technology generation gap beginning to catch up to me. There is so much interesting technological knowledge out there that I really just can't be bothered to keep abreast of anymore.

My ability to learn and adapt to new technologies is about be tested in an extreme way. Back in December I started working at a new architectural firm., and last week it was announced that we would be changing the way we work. The good old standby AutoCad (which I have been using ever since I learned how in grade 10) is being replaced by Revit. Not only is it new software, but an entire paradigm shift in the way buildings are designed and documented. Initially I was excited by the chance to learn this new way of doing things, and then it hit me. What if it's not as easy as I think it will be? What if I just can't? Of course I dream of diving into this, and rising to the top, soon to become the Revit superstar in the office... Only time will tell.

Since I titled this post as exercise, I guess I should get around to that too. It's amazing how you take your body for advantage, until one day you realize that a few trips up the stairs isn't as easy as it once was. How there are aches and pains in places you didn't even know you had... How you get up from the couch with a grunt or groan, as your wife looks on in horror trying to figure out what kind of furry animal decided to die over in the corner... And the snoring! Or so I've been told. I hadn't even realized that in the last 5 years, I've managed to put on 50lbs of additional weight. A quick trip to the doctor confirms that yes indeed, it is time to loose weight, get some exercise, and stop the sleeping habits of a 20 year old insomniac (well, actually, no one should be living on 3-4 hours of sleep a night). So I've started taking a good look at what I eat, mostly portion wise. I make sure to take my vitamins every day, eat/drink as many servings of vegetables as I can, and watch my portions. No more midnight snacking, and lots of water.

I've also started exercising... Nothing major yet. Just some walking (2.75km a night, increasing gradually). I'm certainly not going to be out running a 5k anytime soon (proud of you for wanting to do the 'rat race' this year sweety!) I've also managed to assemble some weights, figure out the timer on the rowing machine (20min of rowing is not like it was in high school...bleh), and even grabbed some fitness videos (I know you're laughing when you're reading this Laural!)

"It doesn't matter how long we may have been stuck in a sense of our limitations. If we go into a darkened room and turn on the light, it doesn't matter if the room has been dark for a day, a week, or ten thousand years - we turn on the light and it is illuminated. Once we control our capacity for love and happiness, the light has been turned on."
-Sharon Salzberg

Birthday Weekend!

So, I managed to turn 31 this weekend. Caught me quite by surprise actually. New years resolutions (the secret ones I told no one) are coming along quite well.

Firstly, I'd like to thank Laural for giving me such a great weekend. My first birthday gift was really quite a surprise, and early surprise... A new digital camera! I was floored. I'm loving our new Kodak C743 and all it's 7.1 Mega pixel goodness! Of course, it replaces our older Fujifilm FinePix 2650, a definite workhorse of a point and shoot digital camera. Of course, I had mentioned at some point over Christmas how the camera needed to be replaced, especially since the tiny LCD display was beginning what I was sure was the "shimmy of death". I guess one too many trips bouncing across the floor, and Matthew using it as a hammer every now and again was beginning to take it's toll.

The new camera's proving ground was today, at Monster Jam! (A Christmas present I would definitely recommend to anyone out there that loves noise, trucks, and children looking on in awe). Of course, that wasn't the end of the weekend goodies... Gift cards to my favorite store, cash, and...

Pink Floyd Boxers!!!! (Dark Side of the Moon indeed!)

But that wasn't the end of it... Since Laural was commuting by train to work in Toronto everyday, my big Christmas idea for her was an iPod Shuffle. I picked the shuffle, because it was small, cute, and super lightweight (for working out, etc.). Almost immediately I was jealous of Laural's technological superiority, and she took ample opportunity to make sure I knew I didn't have an iPod. Of course this was apparently her way of dropping subtle hints that her parents and she had split on ....

a 4GB iPod Nano for me. Mmm... Green.. This is by far one of the sweetest pieces of electronic crack ever developed. I am truely addicted to music, and this is just what I needed! I will fill out the rest of todays post with pictures from the new digital camera of Monster Jam, and other assorted birthday shots.




Matthew posing with the "sugar coated cake of doom!" I swear this kid will be on the Food Network decorating cakes in the near future...

Laural, thanks for such a great birthday. All the thought and effort you put in really made my weekend. I'm so lucky to have such a great wife... and such a great friend... and a child that loves loud things and wrecking trucks just like daddy!