February Recap

 

Hi, apologies for ghosting the Hopper!

 

Been very busy at work and at home. First off, February’s a short month, and for accounting purposes that makes it a busy one, as essentially I’m losing three work days compared to January. Plus I have a new partner in the office, and there’s training and all that. Went out for lunch with the bosses and the new hire a few days ago to plan out the upcoming month. At home, with my two spiritual devotions (still to remain unnamed and anonymous), plus my odd-day weightlifting workouts (15 so far in 2025), plus Thursday night movies with Patch, plus Star hockey with the Mrs., plus two Valentine’s Day nights out, well, I haven’t really had the energy or the motivation to blog here.

 

But I do have some ideas in varying stages of enfleshment.

 

First, those two Valentine’s Day night outs. For something different, the Mrs. and I decided one night would be for one person’s interests, and the other, for the other’s. This worked out so well we’re going to do it again next year. Then I have two musical posts on the way. Also I’m reviving an old feature of mine, a variation of “Words I Hate volume X” with “Phrases I Hate volume X.” There’s two on deck, and hopefully once completed there’ll be more humorous and punny than crotchety “get off my lawn!”-ish.

 

Today, though, I want to semi-publicly acknowledge that my January resolutions are still intact. I am still on the low-low-low sugar diet. An additional 6 pounds of sugar has NOT been filtered through my stomach, bloodstream, liver, kidneys, and digestive track, bringing the total to somewhere around 13 pounds. Google tells me my Les Paul electric guitar weighs around that much, as does a gallon of paint, a bowling ball, or a groundhog. Picture that volume-wise in sugar.

 

As mentioned above, I’ve been consistent moving the iron. Have not been consistent, though, with my walking, as we’ve had two cold spells of below-freezing weather. In fact, ten days ago, driving Patch to school one morning, my phone told me it was minus-2 with the wind chill, a record for us in the four years we’ve been down in North Dallas. And I’m still alcohol- and soda-free.

 

Has it helped me? Somewhat, yes. I’m down 9.5 pounds since December 31. I don’t feel as flabby and sluggish as I did in 2024, so my body is glacially reshaping and my energy returning. I’m sleeping much better than before, though I did have two sleepless nights this past month. The most important part, I think, is that I am regaining some peace of mind. I actually can’t wait to have my bloodwork done at the doctor’s (I have an April appointment). I’m expecting a nosedive with my triglycerides, and a better balance of good/bad cholesterol.

 

The overarching point here is, yeah, go after those goals. As a man who’s had a love-hate relationship with goal-setting (mostly hate; I can’t tell you how many times over the years I’ve set ambitious goals only to be derailed by either myself or outside circumstances), this is a very unique experience I’m having. A long time ago a self-help guru once said, when you have a lot of things you need and want to do, start with the physical. And it seems to be working for me. (Fingers crossed.) I may actually start to move on to larger goals, such as a third career option in the third half of my worklife, or some other extracurricular activity I’ve been afraid to try. We’ll see.

 

So, more to follow in the next couple of weeks. My writing goal with the Hopper is to post twice weekly, shorter stuff as the longer stuff tends to bite into my packed schedule. I’d like to hit a hundred posts a year. A far cry from my original goal of a post-a-day from 2008, but ambitious nonetheless at this stage of my life.