August 31, 2004
RANDOM UPDATE/THOUGHTS
I'm So Sore: This past Saturday, after moving a TV that felt like it weighed at least 500 lbs. down three flights of stairs, I headed over to my gym for what I thought would be a quick afternoon workout. Unfortunately, due to repairs, the top floor of the gym--which houses all of the elliptical trainers and treadmills--was closed, leaving only the bottom floor, which houses a couple of pools, some basketball courts, and a climbing wall, available for me to use. Rather than use the closing as an excuse not to exercise, I instead chose to grab a basketball and work up a sweat by running up and down the court while playing solo games of HORSE, DORK, and LOSER. About an hour in, a couple of guys asked if I wanted to play 21 (a fast-paced half-court game of basketball that requires three players, all of whom are trying to score exactly 21 points against one another without there being any out-of-bounds or fouls.. in other words, roughhouse basketball where anything goes). I surprised myself by scoring 19 points, but in the process I ended up using a lot of muscles and movements that I don't normally get into on an elliptical trainer or treadmill. Feeling pretty good about the 19-point effort, I accepted an invite to join in on a full-court game of five-on-five. An hour later, after my team lost two bump-and-grind games of non-stop back and forth basketball, I decided I'd had enough, and instead found a jump-rope, which I proceeded to use with surprisingly relative ease for the next 15 minutes. A few jump shots later and I decided that I really had had enough, so I took a nice long relaxing shower and steam, and then proceeded home. The next day, Sunday, and again yesterday, and even this morning, my legs were and still are so amazingly sore that it's actually comical. I mean, come on, what in the heck was I thinking... playing full-court games of basketball followed by jumping rope, boxer style no less. I'll tell ya what I was thinking... I was thinking, "Hey, this is fun; don't stop!"
Moral Gymnastics: There's a lot of indignation flying around over the controversy surrounding the USA's Paul Hamm and the gold medal he was awarded in the men's all-around gymnastics competition at the Athens Olympics. In a somewhat remarkable comeback, which was aided by his main competitors mistakes, Hamm overcame a huge mistake of his own on the vault and managed to climb from 12th place to first with solid performances in his last two rotations (on the parallel bars and the high bar). When it was all said and done, Hamm captured gold by a slim 12-thousandths of a point, but a day later it was revealed that due to a judges' scoring error, South Korean gymnast Kim Dae Eun took third place, when he should have actually been awarded the gold medal given the Hamm. In other words, Hamm was not the high scorer. He was second. In the days following the news that the South Korean was the legitimate winner, Hamm has not only refused to acknowledge that he didn't actually win, but he has objected to a compromise solution of awarding Kim a second gold medal. And to make matters worse, the U.S. Olympic Committee is said to be "furious" that anybody would even think to ask Hamm to do the honorable thing. Hamm's athletic performance at the 2004 Olympics was solid made-for-TV stuff, but now he's engaging in the worst sort of moral gymnastics. And fairly or not, it's the kind of thing that too many people around the world will point to as further evidence that the United States of America plays by its own rules in all things, including the Olympics. Hamm now clutches onto a medal forever tarnished with a stain, when he could have set a sterling example by accepting silver.
Visiting my Mother and Brother: Neglected to mention this before now, but the weekend before last (August 20th to the 22nd) I went out to West Dover, Vermont, for a visit with my Mom and my brother, Kenny, whose birthday was Friday the 20th. It rained all day Saturday but Sunday was gorgeous, to say the least. Anywho, a good time was had by all, and I think I'll try to make it up to Vermont at least one more time before the end of the year.
And Last But Certainly Not Least: My boss thought it would be a good idea for all of us on the Acquisitions team at work to have a group bonding experience outside of the office. While a lot of ideas were tossed around, here's here's what we ended up doing:
Yes folks, that's right... I'm the only male on the Acquisitions team, and all of the women wanted pedicures, so who was I to argue or put up a fight. Actually, and I'm speaking to men in the audience now, pedicures aren't half-bad. You get to soak your feet in warm water, and if you have it done at the Absolu Spa here in Indianapolis, you get to have your feet worked on by some really hot women!
Posted by Mikal at August 31, 2004 5:55 AM
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