Tomorrow is the last day of January; I cannot believe how a months that feels so excruciatingly slow has gone by so fast. In another month, I will turn 42. I can’t believe how fast that’s flown by; I mean, I was only 19 just the other day! I used to think 42 was old, but the truth is, it is quite the opposite. There’s a lot of great (but not guaranteed) years ahead of me. Elvis died on the commode when he was 42; I cannot afford to let that happen to me!
Most of my resolutions involve Luchrisa and I being able to enter our golden years with a little dignity. The most logical process in this quest is to first, become self-employed. Next, never, EVER lose track of my workouts. Finally, make as much money DOING WHAT I LOVE to save for our future. I have learned that the “steady company job” is not usually the safest way to plan for the future (unfortunately, I have almost waited till too late to understand this, but the point is that I finally figured it out).
So here’s the update on Resolution One, Make workouts more cardio-oriented. I have always worked out with heavy weights (my all-time max bench was 320), and did some walking, eventually running five miles five days a week, but from this year forward my workouts will be focusing on breathing and heart strength; hopefully, this will lower my triglycerides as well.
I had already lost 5 pounds and almost got my heart rate where it used to be in my prime when the bronchitis hit. Now it’s been over two weeks since I had done a push-up, a pull-up, or even jumped rope. I have been slowly working back into the routine, but I am still having a little trouble breathing, so I have to resist the temptation to jump back in at full force, especially in my natural desire to want to try and reverse the damage the bronchitis did to my body!
The next resolution is the one about wanting to work harder towards breaking myself of blue-collar life. Even though there is that urgency to make this happen as quickly as possible, I have to do this the smart way, because Reality wins out over ideas every time! Yeah, I still need that paycheck to keep steady until my ship finally comes in!
So, I have been exploring many other online writing opportunities during this past month, and finding out what will work for me and my schedule and unique situation and gradually building towards a nice income. Likewise, I am learning more and more about freelancing and want to eventually make my living that way as well.
Next, the novels! Yeah, I got four of them going (or maybe five; not sure), and I have resolved to finish at least the basic plot points before 2011, and have at least two of them done completely during the summer. As for my music-related goals, I still dedicating Tuesdays and Thursdays to practicing with the guys, but I cannot do Saturdays any more if I am to have extra time to create online content and such. Sorry, sometimes we all have to make some painful choices in life!
I am still learning to read music for both guitar and bass, but primarily bass since that’s still my primary performing axe. That is coming along decent, but I have been having trouble budgeting my time in the past couple years (which brings us to Resolution Five: Get My Time Under Control!). I have learned several years ago that time is even more valuable than money, although it is similar to money in the way which it behaves. In short, you have to tell your hours (and your dollars) what to do to get the most out of them!
So, on days I just don’t sit down in a chair right after work and fall asleep for two or three hours, I try to follow the schedule in my new DayPlanner (like I used to use in the good old days, before my life became “6 AM-8 PM – WORK / 8 PM-10 PM – CHORES). Now that I have time on my hands (not to mention this lucky break with the snowstorm), I can better organize it and make more efficient use of it.
Well, that’s all for now, as far as the first leg of my journey into the unknown. It is an exciting, but I have to admit one thing: I’m scared shitless! You see, except for a brief period serving in the Navy, blue collar is the only life I’ve ever known. I am fixing to take my wife and I on an entirely new, unknown path, and sometimes it freaks me out a little. But I can NEVER let that stop me from trying, because when my break(s) finally come, they’ll come fast, and I had better be ready for them!


